Karl Fuller says I suppose you have to take the rough with the smooth!
As hard as it was to take conceding a late equaliser at Wigan, this time last week, we were revelling in the boot being on the other foot and heralding our own late goal scored by Will Keane against Stoke.
You must take the rough with the smooth, I guess.
Hearing of Wigan’s decent home record this season, I always thought that we would do well to get a point.
Once down to ten-man (again), I thought it was pretty much game over.
Then when Keane scored from the spot and we were seeing out much of the game untroubled, I was beginning to think that we were on course for a much-needed win. Yes, I am frustrated of course by the late leveller, but I’m more deflated that our cause is continuously not helped by makings of either our own doing or otherwise.
MORE: Frustrated Paul Lambert’s thoughts on the game at Wigan
Jonas Knudsen’s red card caused a debate on Twitter but for me, it was a red card all day long.
Did he need to make that challenge?
Luke Chambers was in a position to get across and Leon Clarke still had much to do to score.
A moment of madness for Jonas may have cost us a win, we’ll never know.
And if our luck with injuries that has run concurrently for at least three years was not bad enough, to lose Will Keane is another blow that we can simply do without.
It’s been rumoured that Ipswich Town is cursed and I’m beginning to believe that it may well be!
A Town trip to the DW Stadium always bring back memories of my first visit there in August 2003.
MORE: Town players ratings from the Wigan game
I travelled up to the game on a Tuesday with journalist Matt Plummer and my good friend Don Welsh and we were booked into a local hotel for an overnight stay.
Town lost the game 1-0 thanks to a goal from future Town striker Nathan Ellington. It was the fourth successive match that Town failed to win early in the 2003/04 season and some Town fans were not happy.
Whilst Don and I waited outside the ground for Matt to finish his post-match press duties, we found ourselves standing near the players’ coach and it wasn’t long before the players started to board the coach.
I remember one Town fan effing and blinding at the players telling them in no uncertain terms what he thought of their performances in yet another defeat.
Run-of-the-mill stuff I guess at times until proceedings took an interesting turn.
One Town player, who I will not name, took exception at what was being fired in his direction and responded with a barrage of words back over his shoulder as he went up the steps of the coach to the unhappy fan – who then had the nerve to fire back even more abuse.
With that, the Town player came off the coach and was heading towards the fan looking as if he was ready to give him a taste of his own medicine.
If it were not for a local steward holding the player back, I hate to think how that could have ended.
Matt finally found us and had with him another Town pressman in the form of Dave Allard.
This was the first time I met Dave and we have since become good friends over the years.
MORE: Stu Watson’s 5 observations from the draw at Wigan
Dave had managed to persuade Matt to give him a lift back to the hotel that he was staying at and on the way, he telephoned into the East Anglian Daily Times office to file his match report for the following morning’s paper.
Dave was soon in a state of agitation having to repeat himself as the poor copy-taker at the other end of the line struggled to keep up with him.
It’s a wonder that he ever got that report through at all and certainly the episode left a humorous early impression on me.
Finally, for this week, I am looking forward to attending the Kevin Beattie tribute night on Tuesday evening at Clacton’s Royal Hotel – an event organised by Town fan Malcolm Thompson.
It will be a great occasion and one where we can remember ‘The Beat’ with great fondness.
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