Let's not underestimate Ipswich

It's great to be confident, but a lot of people seem to think we just have to turn up to beat Ipswich on Sunday. I don't think it'll be so easy. There's a reason they have 60 points.

The main one is Mick McCarthy. He'll have them organised, committed, united and competitive. If you are looking for someone who can turn a limited bunch of mid-table Championship cloggers into promotion hopefuls, I doubt there is anyone better than McCarthy in the whole of England.

In football the most beautiful teams are not always the most successful. That's part of the frustration and the fascination of the game. Compare Bournemouth and Ipswich. The former have by general agreement probably played the most expansive and attractive football at times in the Championship this year. The latter would have got nul points for artistic expression if these were given. Yet they are one point ahead of Bournemouth after 33 games. Or think about the game at Ipswich earlier this season. We were so totally in control for 89 minutes of it that it was truly embarrassing (actually, I lie - it was enormously enjoyable) and yet they should have equalised in the early part of the second half when a player (Murphy?) missed a free header and their only chance of the game.

And that's how they'll approach this game. They'll hoof it and hoof it and hoof it, and it doesn't matter if we deal with it comfortably for the first 34 times. On the 35th we might switch off, and suddenly they've got a goal (and the goal we conceded at Blackburn suggests we haven't totally overcome our tendency to switch off at key moments). Class may always tell in the end (and God help Ipswich if they do get promoted), but hoofball can get you a long way with grit and a bit of luck.

So let's give them credit for what they have achieved with the very little they have at their disposal. And let's hope we play to our potential, that luck or the ref isn't against us, and we can make our vastly superior overall class tell on Sunday.

 

Shut up you tart

 

I'm feeling like I need to be a bit more positive about Ipswich given the terrible stats about their style posted the other day.

So let's all try and find something nice, shall we?

I'll go first. Ipswich are in the very impressive position of 3rd in the Championship for Fair Play, with just 56 yellows and no reds for the entire season. We're some way behind in 12th with 60 yellows and 3 reds.

 

Norwich boasts not one but TWO Cathedrals.

 

Thanks but this is a thread about being nice about Ipswich

 

And I wanted to say something nice about Norwich

 

They are not QPR

 

Norwich is the Cultural, Economic and Media Epicentre of East Anglia and it boasts a world famous University.

 

Probably the nicest thing you could ever say about them

 

Norfolk is a beautiful county.

 

Is that last bit actually true? "World famous"? I guess so.

Anyway, the points was being nice about Ipswich Town FC

 

I love Colmans Mustard especially on my Sausages and Norwich is world famous for the production of Colmans Mustard.

 

I notice they had a (princely) 17,161 attendance for their spanking win over Brum midweek.
So you don't just choose a seat, you can select an entire row, tier, stand or whatever your fancy
Our last home gate was 26,322 and they're higher up the table than we are

 

Illiteracy is not as bad as it once was in Ipswich (but clearly still quite bad )

 

They hold the record for goals against in one match in the EPL

I added this because they like their history!

 

Nice, I said Nice!

Though JWM is testing my patience by not appreciating this is about the football clubs!

 

This just about qualifies.

 

Ipswich managed to reduce losses by a massive £2.6m last year. That really is impressive.


See?

 

we have had better football kits then you.

 

The first bird I ever shagged came from Norwich!