PJ out…and Hutchings cannot stop the rot….

Well, what dark days for Ipswich Town FC!
Losing to Derby (ITFC 1 Derby 2) seemed to be the last straw for Town manager Paul Jewell. I listened to the match commentary on Radio Suffolk and he did not give a post match interview. Why not? Apparently he was watching a video of Sheffield Wednesday (Town’s next opponents) to prepare for that game! Then the next day he was gone! Fired by mutual consent! Amazing!! Ipswich CEO Simon Clegg cannot even just sack the manager and take full responsibility. It was done by mutual consent!?

I can of course understand Jewell leaving. He had long enough to get things working at ITFC and he couldn’t do it. Not only that but the team now comprise many loan players and is not playing as a team and as a consequence are low on confidence and the classic vicious cycle of poor form continues! Still his friend and team coach Chris Hutchings fared even worse (& that is hard to do!) by losing badly to Sheffield Utd – (ITFC 0- Sheffield Wed 3).

So Town need a new manager, a new start and a new team and to get wins and points quickly otherwise the club will be relegated!
Whoever gets the manager’s job has a relegation battle to win but I feel the team are actually much better than their form has been and still feel they could start winning again if they wanted it enough. I think too many players thought they were too good to get into this situation and it is obvious the players have not been playing as a team and fighting hard enough for the good of the team and club! Surely now they can see the team’s predicament and can turn it around? They need to stand up and start performing and all together as a team!

Can this happen? I hope so and I hope the new manager (whoever it will be) can see this is what is needed and can make it happen! COYB!!!

Super blues have the blues….

Well the last 2 games for Town have continued the poor run of form and Town are definitely in a relegation battle (now second from bottom).

A home defeat vs Cardiff (ITFC 1 Cardiff 2) and the last loss away at Hull (Hull 2 ITFC 1) and the writing is on the wall for Town! I think the last 10 games have gone without a win, a dreadful run of form. Paul Jewell (the manager) looks a beaten man. He has been trying to deal with the mounting pressure the bad results bring and has made many temporary player loan signings and changes and yet the games are following a very similar pattern with no improvement in results.

These are dark days for all supporters of ITFC but we have to be positive under pressure. The club and team needs to show character and determination NOW to get points from games (preferably start winning). Now is the time to turn it around and reverse this current poor form, for if it continues it will get harder and harder to improve it.

So apparently Paul Jewell is considering his future at Town. He has changed many of the players and now his position is under threat. As the old saying goes “When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”.This needs fixing quickly and manager, players and supporters need to be positive and work hard in anyway they can for ITFC!

So let’s all get tough with tough love for this great football club. Obviously we are all hoping for better form to come and let’s all play our part to make this happen.
COYB!!!! Let’s DO IT!!

Bad form continues with 0-2 loss at home vs Wolves

ITFC 0 Wolves 2

This is the scoreline from tonight. This is bad.
ITFC are now second from bottom of the table.
ITFC need to win at home.

Here are the previous results:
Middlesborough 2 ITFC 0
ITFC 2 Huddersfield 2
Carlisle 2 ITFC 1

We need some steel and determination throughout the club and team to win games or draw games at the very least. The team can play good football but are not getting the results and I feel need leadership and steely determination and fighting team spirit. 12 leaders are needed on the pitch-and all the players and manager (and all staff/owner and supporters at ITFC) need to stand up and stand firm, take a lead and help secure the points every match. Isn’t it clear this determination is needed? ‘Nil point’ is not an option!

From the match reports it seemed the same story of wasted chances in front of goal and defensive mistakes. The team have to change this and work harder to get results and points and change this quickly otherwise they will find themselves stuck at the wrong end of the table and with a real prospect of relegation ahead.

Come on Town!

Lost 6-0 by Blackpool

Saturdays result was AWFUL!!

Blackpool 6 Ipswich Town 0

I am lost for words and bitterly disappointed.

Last season was a roller coaster ride for all at ITFC and surely we are not going to repeat the same mistakes over and over again this season?

Hopefully this will be a wake up call for ITFC but I am very worried.
To lose to a good team is usually not a problem if the manner of the defeat has some merit but to lose matches by such a large score has no merit and of course shows serious underlying problems.

All that can be done now is to move on positively so:
Come on team and management we all are better than this and the team has to perform better….man (& women!) up Town!!!!

New season starts…

A 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers today.
I was not at the game but heard Radio Suffolk summary.
It is a little difficult to comment from that alone but a draw against a side just relegated from the Premiership last season is not too bad a start to the season.

I wonder how many games I will go to this season?
Anyway I hope to blog about my support for ITFC here throughout this new 2012/13 season.

C’mon you blues!

Championship table:

League table

A total of 24 teams contest the division: 18 sides remaining in the division from last season, three relegated from Premier League, and three promoted from League One.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Promotion or relegation
1 Blackpool 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Promotion to the 2013–14 Premier League
2 Burnley 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
3 Leicester City 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3 Qualification to the Championship Playoffs
4 Watford 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 3
5 Barnsley 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
6 Cardiff City 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
7 Hull City 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
8 Leeds United 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
9 Nottingham Forest 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
10 Derby County 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
11 Sheffield Wednesday 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
12 Birmingham City 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
13 Blackburn Rovers 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
14 Charlton Athletic 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
15 Ipswich Town 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1
16 Crystal Palace 1 0 0 1 2 3 −1 0
17 Brighton & Hove Albion 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
18 Bristol City 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
19 Huddersfield Town 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
20 Middlesbrough 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
21 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
22 Bolton Wanderers 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0 Relegation to the 2013–14 Football League One
23 Millwall 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
24 Peterborough United 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0

Updated to games played on 18 August 2012
Source:[citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

FIXTURES:
Watford V Ipswich
Tue 21 Aug 19:45
Championship

Blackpool V Ipswich
Sat 25 Aug 15:00
September 2012

Ipswich V Huddersfield
Sat 1 Sep 15:00
Championship

Middlesbrough V Ipswich
Sat 15 Sep 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Wolves
Wed 19 Sep 19:45
Championship

Ipswich V Charlton
Sat 22 Sep 15:00
Championship

Barnsley V Ipswich
Sat 29 Sep 15:00
October 2012

Brighton V Ipswich
Tue 2 Oct 19:45
Championship

Ipswich V Cardiff
Sat 6 Oct 17:20
Championship

Hull V Ipswich
Sat 20 Oct 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Derby
Tue 23 Oct 19:45
Championship

Ipswich V Sheff Wed
Sat 27 Oct 15:00
November 2012

Birmingham V Ipswich
Sat 3 Nov 15:00
Championship

Crystal Palace V Ipswich
Tue 6 Nov 19:45
Championship

Ipswich V Burnley
Sat 10 Nov 15:00
Championship

Leicester V Ipswich
Sat 17 Nov 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Peterborough
Sat 24 Nov 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Nottm Forest
Tue 27 Nov 19:45
December 2012

Bolton V Ipswich
Sat 1 Dec 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Millwall
Sat 8 Dec 15:00
Championship

Leeds United V Ipswich
Sat 15 Dec 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Bristol City
Sat 22 Dec 15:00
Championship

Charlton V Ipswich
Wed 26 Dec 13:00
Championship

Wolves V Ipswich
Sat 29 Dec 15:00
January 2013

Ipswich V Brighton
Tue 1 Jan 15:00
Championship

Cardiff V Ipswich
Sat 12 Jan 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Barnsley
Sat 19 Jan 15:00
Championship

Bristol City V Ipswich
Sat 26 Jan 15:00
February 2013

Ipswich V Middlesbrough
Sat 2 Feb 15:00
Championship

Blackburn V Ipswich
Sat 9 Feb 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Blackpool
Sat 16 Feb 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Watford
Tue 19 Feb 19:45
Championship

Huddersfield V Ipswich
Sat 23 Feb 15:00
March 2013

Ipswich V Leicester
Sat 2 Mar 15:00
Championship

Nottm Forest V Ipswich
Tue 5 Mar 19:45
Championship

Peterborough V Ipswich
Sat 9 Mar 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Bolton
Sat 16 Mar 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Leeds United
Sat 30 Mar 15:00
April 2013

Millwall V Ipswich
Mon 1 Apr 15:00
Championship

Derby V Ipswich
Sat 6 Apr 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Hull
Sat 13 Apr 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Crystal Palace
Tue 16 Apr 19:45
Championship

Sheff Wed V Ipswich
Sat 20 Apr 15:00
Championship

Ipswich V Birmingham
Sat 27 Apr 15:00
May 2013

Burnley V Ipswich
Sat 4 May 15:00

ITFC history:
1978 Charity Shield lost 5-0 to Nottingham Forest (after winning FA Cup by beating Arsenal 1-0 that season). I couldn’t get to the FA CupFinal but managed to get to the Charity Shield game at Wembley (with good friend Colin)…:-(…..