After two terrific results I should be all smiles but I can't seem to be able to fully enjoy the moment I just say yeah but we will probably lose the next three It seems that the older I get (64) the more grumpier and cynical I am about almost everything But Ipswich has been a passion of mine all my life and I can't understand why I feel this way. Is this because for the last ten years or so the club has slowly had the life sucked out of it? Or maybe I am just a miserable old sod But I wonder if any of you elder fans feel the same way, or do I just need therapy But if the town carry on in this current vane of form maybe just maybe I can shake off this malaise
Great Post Yorkie and after these last 16 years of stagnation in this league I am left feeling the same way! These days you just have to enjoy the decent results when they come along because they are so seldom and so random! I have been supporting Town since I was a nipper and like you I experienced all the glory days with Bobby's wonderful teams and so I have been spoilt and grew up actually expecting it to always be like that! My eldest Son is Ipswich mad but has never experienced the joys of what we did growing up as a supporter. He was too young to remember the Burley years and all he has known is Town languishing in this league. We have said this time and again but the club is crying out for a new change in direction and philosophy but under Evans we have got no chance. It's just a case of bumbling along and when these mini hot streaks happen we should celebrate them for what they are.
Maybe we are victims of memories of past glories which results in having too high expectations and of course your right we should celebrate each win as and when they occur but it is quite difficult sometimes
Things could be worse mate just look at the mess the Budgies are in! Hubris and arrogance for so long with nothing to back it up!
I'm not yet reached 30 and I feel the same way. I started going to PR in the early 90's and got hooked, particularly under the Burley years, that really was a special time. Royle was good and so was the start of Jim's reign. As I keep saying if I was a young kid now taken to watch ITFC games I don't think I would even follow football let alone support Ipswich, as it just isn't very exciting. I saw on TWTD that today it is officially 10 years since Marcus Evans has owned the club and I was trying to think of a highlight but genuinely struggled. Over those 10 years i've probably only been to half of the games I went to in the previous 10 but I can only think of 1 or 2 games where I've genuinely enjoyed being at because it was a good match. The most exciting match I've been to in that time was Magilton's last match as manager 3-2 vs Norwich which was pretty much only year after ME took over. Other than that I've enjoyed the victory in the league cup over Arsenal and the 1-1 home draw with Norwich in the playoff semi finals but that was more down to the occasion and atmosphere rather than the entertainment value on the pitch. Now that is atrocious considering in the 10 years prior to this pretty much every game (bar Royles last season) was entertaining even if the results didn't always go our way. So no I don't think it's down to your age, it's down to 10 years of stagnation and boring football. I used to get butterflies in my stomach before I went to an Ipswich match and now I get the feeling of dread as to why I've wasted another £30 on being bored stiff.
Hubris AND arrogance! Awesome wordage mate! I have a few more synonyms if you need 'em! I don't see our position as a mess just yet, although it could turn out that way. We've enjoyed finishing above you lot for many a year, so there's that, for what it's worth. Just now, we're not, but I don't envy your higher position too much, in fact I think you deserve it for sticking by your team in that way us less well-heeled bods have to do. Where we (both) are is where we'll stay, more or less, there is no way we can compete with the riches of much of the premier league. Frankly, I don't think i want to any more. Clubs paying £100 mill plus for players can kiss my butt cheeks. I'd rather pit ourselves against our 'friends' down the road, and the like. If they have the upper hand just now, then so be it.
While I admire the romanticism from a Norwich fan used to yo-yoing between divisions, I think I speak for most Ipswich fans in saying we're fed up of this division and would like to experience Premier League football again. The collapse in form for Norwich has been surprising (and pleasantly satisfying) considering where our clubs were following your derby day victory. But while the Farke experiment may be treading water as you dip into lower mid-table, I must ask the Norwich visitor what your thoughts are on the financial situation at your club? As I understand it, your latest accounts revealed a startling loss and worrying times ahead. If you fail to achieve promotion this season, which is looking likelier by the week, you run out of parachute payments and still have several big-wage squad players on your books because your board did not possess the foresight to insert what are now customary relegation clauses in their contracts. Does Naismith's contract expire in the summer? I've heard he's on about £50/60k a week. Fortunately for you, your academy churns out some decent players, but do you think you can unearth another couple of Murphy brothers in the near future? Especially when your current manager seems so intent on throwing them all out on loan. It surprised me to recently see your Chief Executive outline so bluntly the financial reality of your club and then proceed to name three or four of your best players with an almost 'come and get them' pleading tone. Maddison is arguably your best player, but you seem overly-reliant on him. The chap Olivieria has gone cold lately and you're now 7 games without a win. I think talk of relegation is a little premature, but the recalibration of club objectives will undoubtedly affect some of your more casual supporters. In the near future, your packed out stadium would naturally start to a see a decrease in attendance, and after a few years of mediocrity, we could have two East Anglian clubs struggling to hit the 20,000 mark on match day.
What is the most shocking is that you can't compete with the "riches" of the championship, having spent much of the last 5 years rolling around in Premier League money like Scrooge McDuck. I don't think you're too far off a decent team, but it will be how quickly you can offload Naismith (Contract until 2019).. Or if you have to flog some of your better players instead that will determine where you find yourselves this time next year
I'd never wish a club to fold up and "die", even Norwich. Despite not being able to buy a win against them lately, I massively enjoy the local derby days! At worst, I think a few years in League One for Norwich would be nice to witness, they need knocking down a peg or two.
