A great home win for Town last night! A good result and a good performance that sees Town in third place in the Championship (Derby, Middlesborough,Norwich and Brentford all won also and Bournemouth play tonight away at Nottingham Forest…this is one time I want Forest to win!).
Brief match highlights
Tyrone Mings scored his first Town goal after 50 appearances..nice! Freddie Sears scored twice…(first home goals for him)…very nice! Kevin Bru scored after Murphy should have scored…really nice!
It was a comfortable win for Town but they had to play well and they did against a good Birmingham side rejuvenated with new manager Gary Rowett. The only downsides were a fumble by keeper Bartoscz Bialkowski and Cole Skuse going off injured.
WELL PLAYED TOWN!
NEXT…Norwich away!
Well fantastic..On Sunday Town travel to Carrow Road for a very spicy derby match and I hope they beat the Canaries (budgies?!).
What a disappointing performance and result for Town! ITFC 0 Reading 1.
Losing at home is never a good result and Town didn’t put in a good performance. I listened to the game on Radio Suffolk live and Town actually started well but after about twenty minutes went behind to a Reading goal from nowhere and Reading improved dramatically and Town had a few chances but didn’t take them and didn’t take control of the game.
The Reading goal was a very accurate long range shot, which seemed to stun all the Town team. Some were blaming the keeper Bartosz Bialkowski, but it was a good shot by the Reading player.
So Town threw away a good opportunity to go level with Middlesborough who also lost to Leeds at home.
Derby were losing but managed to grab a late winner, guess who from? Darren Bent! That’s hard…..(Darren Bent ex Town player). In this competitive Championship, Brentford beat leaders Bournemouth and Norwich beat Watford and are now only a point behind Town.
I also watched the highlights on the TV with the football league show and really the highlights consisted of a very early Town chance and the Reading goal and Jay Tabb with a chance. Mick McCarthy said in his post match BBC Sport interview that the result “was not the end of the world” but you could tell he was very unhappy with it and the performance!
Let’s face it Town are not playing well this year! It is a problem being without David McGoldrick (injured) even with Darren Murphy in good form. Town have also lost Noel Hunt to a ligament injury and dipped into the transfer market for 2 new players, Richard Chaplow and Luke Varney.
If Town do not improve soon they will fall out of the play off places. For weeks, people around had been saying that Town are still in a good position despite not doing well this year. That though, is really pointless! Almost like Town this year (pun!?). As a supporter it brings me to despair! However, win, lose or draw I’ll support Town evermore!
In my heart and head I know Town have the players with the ability to do well and get promotion, but they do not seem to have that belief themselves. Can the team get back to consistent winning ways? Who knows? It is very hard to know which Ipswich team turn up to play, as they are being very inconsistent this year, after getting themselves in a good position. They need to rediscover their form of the first half of the season…COME ON TOWN…LET’S DO IT!
Since my last post, Town have played twice and won twice, stopping the slump of bad form they had encountered in January and early February 2015.
Firstly, Town beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at home and last weekend Town had a good away win 2-1 against Fulham. Daryl Murphy continues to score and is on 20 goals for the season, a huge part of Town’s success this season.
Well the Championship remains very tight at the top and tonight Middlesborough went top with a 1-1 draw away at Birmingham. Last Saturday Derby drew 3-3 with Rotherham and Town remain in fourth position but only 3 points behind leaders Middlesborough.
Bournemouth drew at home last Saturday against Huddersfield and Watford and Norwich are into the fifth and sixth play off positions. It is very close at the top and it is a well known fact that any side in this division can beat any other and the race for promotion remains very competitive as is every game in the Championship.
Town’s next game is home vs Reading (this coming Saturday..Sat 21 February 2015). Reading are in the quarter finals of the FA cup and playing well at the moment so again it will be a good test for Town to get a result there. If Jay Tabb plays for Town he would give 110% against his old club. Town have the players to win the game and it is all about physical and mental toughness to get results and points from every remaining game to the end of the season now for Town to maintain their promotion push.
Last weekend Town drew against Wigan and today they lost 2-0 against Rotherham.
Town have had a dreadful start to 2015 and are now 5th in the table. So many people are saying the Town
are still in a good position and we should be happy?! What are they talking about? They are talking rubbish! The Town team are playing badly and not getting points or results. The sign of a good team is that even when playing badly some points are gained either by winning or drawing.
So the team have thrown away a great opportunity to get points against teams they should be doing better against. Without an immediate change, the team are heading toward a mediocre season. What is the problem with the team? Is it all this nonsense being talked about by so many that we have been in a great position? Once the players start thinking like that, they start to lose focus and committment which appears to be the case. Well that obviously is not the whole trouble, but really the players should be kicking themselves really hard and they know should be trying everything they can to show everyone they are good enough to get out of the Championship and that they are a good team.
I’m afraid to say at the moment, Bournemouth, Derby and Middlesborough all look so much better than Town..ouch it hurts to say, that but the truth can be hard to acknowledge. The worrying thing is the Town team are endorsing that. There have been games in the past where Town have dug deep and salvaged games that they had been losing in, but that never looked likely today. Recently manager Mick McCarthy stated how “bonkers” the Championship is, but he knows that does not explain the Town’s poor form this year.
The next game comes round very soon for Town and it is overdue time for Town to stop the rot and get a rare win this year!
ITFC vs Sheffield Wednesday (Home)19:45
On a positive note there are enough games ahead to start playing better and finish the rest of the season strongly. I have been supporting this Team under Mick since he took over and he has done well with the Town with limited resources so far. This current bad run is an undoubted dip in form, so pick yourselves up now team and get back winning and show us that you really are the pride of Ipswich and East Anglia!
A disappointing loss to Brighton last night which meant Town lost the chance to go top of the Championship. Town are now in third place below Middlesborough (same points as ‘Boro but a worse goal difference). It is though very close at the top of the table as leaders Bournemoouth lost on Tuesday away at Leeds.
Up to now there has been no run away leader of the Championship and all the top 6 teams currently have great chances to get promotion this season. This is a crunch time for Town now both mentally and physically. Town need to be strong in both areas and work hard to get points for the remainder of the season. The performance against Brighton wasn’t great and Mick McCarthy was unhappy with it especially in the first half. There were some positives with Daryl Murphy scoring again and Freddie Sears scoring his first Town goal.
The next game for Town is Wigan at home on Sat 31 January so there is time to take a break and get prepared well for that. It is great Town are in such a good position and the team need to believe they can either win the Championship outright or be second and get automatic promotion. A play off place is of course possible but given Town’s position it is almost a poor option/consolation!
Here is a video compilation of manager Mick McCarthy over the last two years at Town:
It has been a great season so far for the team and supporters and as I said in my last post this is the time now for Town to push on. The loss at Brighton was not good but they can put it behind them on focus on every game one by one to win and at least get a point. This is the way to get the top or second place and get promotion and performances are not as important as winning points! Winning points and performing well is of course ideal but that cannot always happen. There is no reason Town should not be confident
enough to believe they are good enough to win the Championsship this season. Come on Town team, you can win the Championship if you get yourselves together and stay and play together for every game from now to the end of the season.
Town must be confident, but realistic and work hard and the reward of promotion will happen! COME ON YOU BLUES!!
Town’s fine unbeaten run came to an end with a home loss to Derby yesterday.
It was a difficult day for football with a gusty wind and both teams were quite evenly matched.
I listened to most of the game on BBC Radio Suffolk and watched the last 20 minutes on Sky TV.
From the radio commentary, Town started well and made a few chances but Derby gradually got into their game and started to be a threat.
The goal Town conceded was a classic simple error from a long ball upfield which Tommy Smith misjudged and Chris Martin took his chance well to get past Smith and dink the ball into the goal past a fairly stranded Town keeper, Bialokowski.
Then in the last 20 minutes Town threw everything they could at Derby but they held firm even after going to 10 men when Eustace was sent off with 10 minutes to go. Town huffed and puffed and it wasn’t pretty football as it often featured long ball play from the back, and very little actually started from mid-field. Cole Skuse was missing (ill) from the team and Luke Higham didn’t create enough from mid-field (he is though very hard working). Town got 2 half chances, a swerving shot from Kevin Bru that was well saved by Derby keeper (Grant) and a header from Smith that just went past the post with Noel Hunt bravely trying to divert it into the net.
Other results went well for Town as Norwich beat leaders Bournemouth. So this is a wake up call now for Town for the rest of the season. There really wasn’t much difference between Derby and Town yesterday and both are challenging for promotion. Town have got themselves into a great position yet, must dig deep for the rest of the season to keep up their promotion challenge.
While no one seems to be saying it Town could actually win the Championship! In my opinion they are as good as the contenders (especially Bournemouth and Derby).
COME ON YOU BLUES…I’m challenging all at ITFC..make 2015 your year and win the Championship and automatic promotion. This is entirely possible if Town dig deep and play to their potential. It is vital for Town in every Championship game to the end of the season, to get points and not to lose! EYES ON THE PRIZE, believe you can do this but keep concentrating and work harder to get promotion! GOODLUCK!
ITFC play Wolves tonight. Town won on Saturday away at Blackpool with manger Mick McCarthy celebrating 2 years in charge at Portman Road. Of course, Wolves were once managed by Mick and helped with Terry Connor too and Mick tonight will be hoping to beat one of his former clubs.
I think the news is that the Town team have several players out with injury (Jonny Parr, Jonny Williams, Dean Gerken, Cole Skuse and Teddy Bishop are all out) so it is a chance for other squad members to do well and stake their claims for regular first team places.
Town did well away at struggling Blackpool last Saturday winning 2-0. Wolves will be a harder team to beat as they have done well this season following their promotion to the Championship and are above Town in the table (Wolves 4th and Town in 8th). There are several Championship games on tonight (Norwich away at Middlesborough) so it is an important night for all teams.
I cannot get to the match and plan on listening to commentary from Radio Suffolk. Bring it on! COME ON YOU BLUES…GOODLUCK TOWN…
Town lost away at Cardiff last night (Cardiff 3 Town 1..ending a run of eight unbeaten games for Town).
After a promising first half Town were not as good in the second half and Cardiff won comfortably in the end.
Here is Mick MaCarthy’s pre match interview:
Manager Mick McCarthy wasn’t happy with Town’s second half performance.
As ever the Championship is ultra competitive and that win for Cardiff moves them up the table. No team though is way ahead and looking certain to win the Championship at this stage of the season. Last season Leicester and Burnley were gaining momentum and were promising to be the best teams as was proved at the end of the season. Forest, Derby, Wolves and Watford, look strong but any team is capable of beating any other in the Championship! At the other end of the table Bolton and Blackpool and Birmingham are all struggling.
While Town have had positives at the start of this season they will have to do much better to be able to dream of promotion. September was a good month for Town but they need to play as well in every month to be competitive and challenge for promotion. They drew 1-1 at home last match against Blackburn and it was 2-2 away at Forest after being 2-1 in the lead. So Town haven’t helped themselves by dropping points in those games where they had winning chances.
Next game for Town is at home on Saturday against Huddersfield. A home win is needed..no pressure!
Well played Town on the first away win of the season: Wigan 1 ITFC 2 last Monday night.
The game was shown live on Sky tv and I managed to watch the second half. I was surprised to find Town leading at halftime (a goal by Luke Higham!).
The second half showed Wigan starting well and having lots of possession. Gradually though Town got to grips and started to get into the game. Mings was playing well and the defence in general looked very solid. Up front McGoldrick played well and Murphy had a chance that he should have at least tested the Wigan keeper but the ball bobbled away off his knee.
The second Town goal was a bit of a breakaway and somewhat scrappy from new loan signing Connor Sammon but showed persistence and good link up play from McGoldrick.Sammon powered his way toward goal and got a favourable bounce off the Wigan keeper trying to save and Sammon had an easy finish then but showed power and persistence to get the goal.
From the 75 minute on Town were under intense pressure and were holding on. Wigan had a series of corners and from one the ball fell to a Wigan player un marked in the penalty area who shot into the crowded goal and the ball was diverted by a Wigan player. Letting the Wigan player be unmarked in the area was a costly mistake.
Town were tired (Bishop went off with cramp and Ambrose came on) but held on for a fine win!
The Town team look to be getting better and are moving up the table now. Keep it up Town!
Next match is against Rotherham.
Town won against Millwall and last Saturday against Brighton…
Well done Town…COME ON YOU BLUES!
I have to admit to becoming somewhat disillusioned with Town after a draw at Birmingham and the home loss to Norwich. The first game, a home win against Fulham, was good and then the team stuttered and didn’t play well and failed to impress or get results. Not good.
So thank goodness they have now just won their last 2 games and kept clean sheets.
Against Brighton, Town scored 2 good goals (Parr and Murphy):
There have been a lot of team changes recently (Cresswell and Nouble have left along with Wordsworth on loan and Parr is in and McGoldrick continues to get back to match fitness and survived a transfer bid from Premiership Leicester City). Town are showing signs of improvement and long may it continue.
The Championship continues to be it’s normal competitive self. Fulham and Blackpool are struggling as are Birmingham. Forest are doing well (and I won’t mention Norwich!) and Charlton have improved and newly promoted Wolves and Brentford are also doing well so far. Yet basically any team are capable of beating anyone on any day in this league and only those that show consistent quality and effort (backed by strength in depth of the squads) stand any chance of getting promotion. The managerial madness continues and look at once mighty and proud Leeds who have suffered and are still having problems on and off the pitch. No club can rest on its laurels and Town are the same.
Town have flattered to deceive over the last two seasons but I cannot deny they have improved after the poor form seen under Roy Keane and Paul Jewell. This is thanks to the steady no nonsense approach of Mick McCarthy.
Town need to really push on this season and the recent sign of a revival is good. This must continue to help the team, me and every Town fan feel better about a club that was once the pride of East Anglia and needs to be in the Premiership! Struggling through and always missing out is demoralising and energy sapping and bad for Town who are a club with ambition and talent even if they have limited resources.
So in Mick’s third season in charge, come on Team and make it third time lucky for that promotion place!
There is a long season ahead but Town have to get results and stay in touch with the leaders otherwise it will be too hard to catch up toward the end of the season. Recent signs are encouraging…
