Town fan KARL FULLER casts his eye over Ipswich’s 1-0 win at Preston and admits he would have settled for three points this week just gone – Town got four!
The fact that Preston had only lost one league game since we beat them 3-0 at Portman Road at the start of November made Saturday’s result a complete surprise but a very welcome one at that.
It’s so rare to sit down on a Saturday evening to write about a win, I’ve almost forgotten how to pen anything remotely positive.
It made the Championship programme on Channel 5 on Saturday night worth watching for once, especially as our game was afforded extended highlights.
On paper, the three games over the past week would have seen me accept three draws if offered before each game and three points would have been the outcome if I’d had my way.
Yet, despite the last-minute heartache at Norwich, the fact that we would not have scored against Cardiff if we were still playing that game now and a difficult prospect loomed in facing Preston, we’ve come out of the past week with four points. Football certainly is a funny old game.
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Some fans’ mood these days though will not really allow us to enjoy Saturday’s win as much as we should.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t quite as miserable for the rest of the weekend like I normally am and it would be a shame to waste the sweet taste of a victory – any victory in fact. But does it really change the bigger picture?
The paltry attendance again on Wednesday night spoke volumes of our problems.
Mick McCarthy stated in his press conference at the end of last week that he would not be driven out by a ‘small minority’ of fans.
I believe that it is the small minority that actually wants Mick to stay!
I could be wrong.
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The Cardiff game was the fourth successive game that I have been to where I have seen us fail to score.
I’ve not witnessed that statistic since 1995 and that included the 9-0 defeat at Manchester United in the run of four matches at that time.
Because I missed the Leeds game, I’ve not see us win since beating Reading in mid-December. I am seriously wondering where the value in my season ticket is these days and I am on the brink of not renewing next season.
As I said last week, something has to change.
I took a friend with me from work to the game last Wednesday – a Colchester United fan making his first-ever trip to Portman Road.
I had to offer him a free ticket to get him there – that’s how bad things have become when I cannot persuade any of my Ipswich-supporting family/friends to come to games anymore.
He enjoyed himself, mainly because of seeing his old Colchester favourite Freddie Sears playing.
But the next day at work, he said to another Colchester fan that the U’s would give us a game and could probably beat us.
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I did have to ask them where they were in the table mind you as I gave up looking after I got to about sixth place in league two. That at least kept them quiet, as I’m sure the Barnet result on Saturday will for the rest of this week!
As for ourselves, we’re in for a timid last couple of months of the season I feel.
Defeats will be met with more apathy but with no real outcry by anyone to cause any major uproar simply because, I think, no-one can be bothered. Victories will be welcome but not overly cherished.
We’re drifting once again towards a mediocre climax to end another mediocre season.
It’s a shame that’s there’s still two more months of it all to go.
Hull visit on Saturday and our recent record against them is not great.
I don’t know what to expect from this one but whatever the result, my gloomy outlook will no doubt, sadly, still be the same.
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