Ipswich Town fan Karl Fuller gives his take on the Blues in his weekly column...
On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling rather sad.
I was sad that on what should have been a milestone occasion for me personally, I was not to be at Portman Road on the day that fans were allowed to return, albeit, capped at 2,000.
Not because I did not get a ticket, but sad because I did not even want one.
My next game will be my 800th Ipswich Town game, but between Marcus Evans and Paul Lambert, they have sapped me from wanting to do as much as one more game at present.
Before I go any further, I must stress that for those of you that wanted to be there, were lucky enough to get a ticket, and were ultimately present, I am really pleased for you and totally understand the need for a bit of normality in your lives - fair play to you all.
I have since read that there were a number of regrets from some present, who will now not return again, after yet another shambolic performance where we were yet again been beaten by a promotion rival.
A run that has now seen us win just 3 of the last 25 matches played against the top 10 of last season and the 7 matches played against the current top 10 of this season.
Even more alarming is that of the 13 of those games played at Portman Road, there remains just the one solitary win over Accrington Stanley.
How easily we were beaten is such a worry too. Portsmouth should have won by a far bigger margin than two goals. I worry – again – that whilst plan b is nowhere to be seen, plan a is rapidly disappearing and I begin to wonder what the plan is at all.
MORE: North Stander: It's sad but true - we are Britain's most miserable football club
Someone please tell me that there is one! The refusal to start with two up front given the personnel we have available is staggering and our senior players do little to make life easier for the youngsters that are thrown in.
Much is made of our injuries, which of course does not help when we have some key players missing but dare I say it, there is a team who have found their way to the top of the Championship recently with as many injuries as we’ve suffered.
Besides, it’s not as if we are fielding a team in league games that we went with at Crawley recently in the EFL Trophy game. We still have enough to be playing better, if the manager was better.
I fear the club is heading further into trouble rather than in the opposite direction anytime soon. I’ve been singing the same tune every week here and would love to be proved wrong.
But the more that time goes on, the more the disgruntlement grows. I have had people contacting me that I’ve known for years, who like me, would bleed blue and white if you cut them open.
They agree with my sentiments. They will not enter any ballots whilst the current malaise is allowed to fester on. Some have cancelled season tickets, will not subscribe to iFollow and will not put another penny into the club through the shop etc.
How much longer can the club allow so many fans to simply drift away? During these horrible times, many fans have discovered other things to do and are so used to not attending games now, they’ve realised there’s more to life than supporting an ailing football club.
One final argument I’d like to put to bed is that I am often asked if I’ve got the money to buy Marcus Evans out and do any better.
Of course I haven’t, and neither has anyone else who feels the same way as me.
Because we haven’t though, it does not take away the right to voice our concerns. If you went to a restaurant, had a bad meal, one that you could not cook yourself, would you just sit there and not say a word and expect to carry on?
The longer our situation goes on, the worse it will get, but I don’t see anything changing anytime soon - and that has to be our biggest worry of all.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here