That I know not what the hell I’m talking about is clear to anyone who reads my MFW musings. Football predictions are not my thing and to have only just beaten random-score-generating Siri in last season’s score prediction table tells the story far better than I can.
There’s also my horror at Gareth Southgate’s decision to play Declan Rice and Jordan Henderson in the same midfield against a team ranked 60 in the world – a decision that actually worked out okay.
But if anyone still needs convincing, there was the piece I wrote at the start of last season where I was struggling with relentless toing and froing between both sides of the Norfolk/Suffolk border.
You know… the old, you’ve never won f**k all (oh how I love that double negative), which gets countered with we have more fans than you, and then opens up a ding-dong that usually lasts for the rest of the day and includes references to stadium-size, trophy cabinets, ‘mind-the-gap’, ‘rent-free’, family relationships and the number of digits on one’s hand.
Some love it, others (like me) hate it, the grown-ups remain indifferent, but most agree it can become very very tiring.
I digress though. The offending sentence in the piece, when looking ahead to Ipswich’s chances in season 2018/19, went something like…
“… as much as it pains me to say it, I happen to think Ipswich will do okay this season. Lots of City fans have gone big on the bookies’ and pundits’ view that they’re destined for a season of struggle but free of the limitations of McCarthy-ball and with a young, forward-thinking manager.”
Not content with that load of nonsense, I doubled-down with this little nugget…
“… my view is a squad of some quality loanees and good players from League One can more than hold its own in the Championship if it’s well managed.”
The only mitigation I can offer is that later in the piece I prophetically made reference to them taking the ‘Lambert route’ a full 80-days before the ruddy-faced one entered the blue planet, and I did say well-managed – a phrase clearly not in the lexicon of Paul Hurst.
Amidst the usual waffle and banality, the point I was trying to make is that, for all the squabbling and insults that ping back and forth cross-border, our two clubs are not too dissimilar. In fact, I went as far as to say, there are few other clubs in the Football League who share more similarities.
I still believe this.
My call for some ground rules to be established before embarking on any given period of Norwich/Ipswich banter obviously (and quite rightly) went unheeded but for the record, they were thus…
- Ipswich have won more trophies in Norwich in their history
- Norwich get bigger crowds than Ipswich
- Ipswich have a rich owner but are not a wealthy club
- Norwich don’t have wealthy owners and are a self-funded club
- Whoever finishes higher after 46 games is the better side
The last bullet point was obviously written based on both teams competing in the same division, and so on that basis, despite both operating on similarly tight budgets, City were the better team last season, although it didn’t necessarily look like it on September 2, 2018, when we drew 1-1.
But, it’s some leap of faith for any Ipswich supporter to suggest they were better than City in a season where we finished 1st and they finished 24th.
Of course, with City now in the top tier and Town in the third, there will be ample opportunity for the North Stand chorus to unleash their old favourite … singing the blues, when Ipswich win and Norwich lose.
It’s a given. They will.
And they’ll lap up every single second of us stuttering and faltering against those for whom the Premier League is home. For us right now it feels like a holiday cottage.
That’s not to say every day is going to be like last Saturday, when West Ham went all Man City on us, because I still believe that with some tactical tweaks there is a combination of players in this squad good enough to keep us in this league.
Equally, there will be more when Ipswich win and Norwich lose afternoons, for which we’ll pay the price. And you know what, I kind of get it. I don’t blame them. And if the roles were reversed I’m almost certain we too would be giving it large.
Given the bragging rights have been ours for so long now – for a whole generation of Norwich fans derby day defeat is merely a concept – it’s hardly surprising that those down south are going to make capital out of every hint of adversity. That’s how it works.
Time to take it on the chin.
If we’d been subject to those glorious going up, going down choruses of last season, we too would be fairly keen to reclaim some ground at every given opportunity. So let’s not be too hard on them, even if there is clear water between our respective divisions.
We enjoyed League One. They’re allowed to.
And whether we like it or not, they’ve made a good start and in the form of the James Norwood, Paul Lambert – or “Lambo” has he’s been christened – has possibly uncovered a 2019 version of Grant Holt. He has a long way to go of course before he reaches Holty levels of greatness but his ability to get the Junior Blues excited with his witty quips and odd goal have worked so far. Time will tell.
The desperate wish emanating from down Portman Road way, is that come next August both teams will again be lining up in the same division, and those who in blue who like to over-think the embryonic league tables will be heartened by what they see. But it’s early days and one really cr@p afternoon in E20 doesn’t mean we’re already preparing to return whence we came.
But Ipswich ripping it up in League One with 5-0 wins over teams of 18-year-old trainees (for example) shouldn’t automatically send us into defensive mode, where we head straight for our own box of favourite retorts.
Let them enjoy it. Don’t feel bad. They still have Cole Skuse and Mr Fist Pump.
Well said Gary.
Thanks for reminding me that there is a team in Suffolk other than Lowestoft.
Do you mean Leiston Colin?
Hi Gary
An entertaining read this sunny Sunday morning whilst watching England try and not lose this game of cricket.
Being stationed in Thetford in the late 70’s I got a lot of stick from a mostly Ipswich fan base at a few locals we use to use but it was mostly fun until city got a good walloping from the blue noses.
I was even at the home end for a couple of games with said friends and got some banter, so most of there supporters I can take but as with all clubs there will always be the aggressive side.
The Question I ask is would I like to see them promoted or not and to that I am not so sure maybe a couple of seasons in that league might just prove their undoing or maybe super rich zed Shearen might write a ditty to help their finances or take them over.
Off subject coaches are there so they say improve the players like Farke dies at city but how is England batting coach improving Roots, Bairstow, Buttler or Roy all seem to have gone backwards since Rampacash left.
City have had a difficult start without counting injuries, do we have enough to get us to the next transfer window so dought it in defence just on experience we are short do we need a temp fill in YES I think we do Williams of Swansea is a good fit but he could help steady the ship and pass on valuable knowledge to Godfrey and Zimmermann that would allow Amadou to strengthen the midfield.
But what do I know maybe someone could put me right.
Onwards and Upwards
OTBC
Very fair piece, one of which I cannot as a Blue dispute anything. I have thought of the good Lord as another Holt and he is certainly shaping up that way, a definite talisman, and the early signs are promising of at least one of the scenarios coming to fruition to enable real rivalry to return. Not sure you are doomed yet though and for both it is a long way to go. Because of our start those South of the border can, will, possibly have already assumed we will just walk this league. I am one of those who always worries we will lose a two goal lead in the 91st minute, but even I am confident we will be there or thereabouts. And to be honest, so we should, with our players and resources. But it is not a given.
You are right when you say we are similar clubs, with you, for the moment at least, in the ascendency. Banter from us these days is based on desperation, habit and hope that we can in league terms at least return to the same playing fields, though financially that will take a whole lot longer. It will always be thus. And don’t forget our ladies beat your ladies 4-1, a new strain of banter. Makes a change from “we’ve won more trophies than you” which of course we have……..
My response to any noise coming from the tractor boys at the mo is “don’t bother us son we’re counting the dosh”. And if they do have a successful season they’d better hide Lambo’s bike cause he’ll be off without a backwards glance.
A very well-reasoned article on our relationship with the Binners. whoops, Ipswich Town.
I often worked at one of our sites in Hadleigh where I became good mates with Colin H, who ran the post room, Colin was secretary of the ITFC social section (pool, darts, etc) and a more committed and fanatical Blue you would never meet. He knew several of their players personally.
One day we went to the Blackadder in the town centre which was owned by Alan Brazil at the time (early 1990s). In walked Brazil and John Wark after a round of golf. Straight away Colin said “this is Martin, he’s a budgie”.
My Club tie kind of gave it away anyway.
Actually both Brazil and Warky were very pleasant although I got a lot of stick in a nice kind of way. We’d call it banter now of course. Brazil slackened off when I told him I’d seen him play many times for Spurs and we had an enjoyable couple of minutes talking about Tottenham.
After the infamous “well done Bryan Gunn” derby defeat I got home, kicked the missus and kissed the dog.
I woke up at about midnight because I heard this hideous noise. It was the sound of my fax machine churning out hastily hand-drawn cartoons of a Suffolk Punch strangling a canary, crude comments about Gunny and Rob Ullathorne and more. Colin had unlocked the works building to do it – the fax had the Hadleigh site number on it.
As for the songs yes they are repetitive and boring, although as crude as it was I’ll make an exception for There is a Circus in the Town back in the days of George Burley.
It made me laugh the first time I heard it anyway.
Firstly, I’m an Ipswich fan, Always have been and always will be. Some of my best friends are Norwich fans, and we partake in friendly banter on a regular basis. My take on the current situation is as follows. Both teams deserve to be in the division they are currently in based on last seasons performance. I am confident that Ipswich will get promotion from league one. I am also pretty confident that Norwich will manage to stay up (and I hope that they do). Despite the rivalry between the two teams I think it’s great that a local team is mixing it with the ‘big boys’. That doesn’t make me a bad Ipswich supporter, that makes me a football supporter. Hopefully one day in the not so distant future both teams can mix it up again in the premiership! 👍
That’s a fine speech Andy.
Many rivalries are historic and steeped in what divided the clubs from the start – in most cases religion.
I’ve always thought our rivalry is based on what we have in common rather than what divides us. The big industrial town and city clubs ruled the roost for a long time – what we had in common with Ipswich was a desire to prove that country clubs like ourselves could take them on at the highest level.
Due to the inspired appointments of Ramsey and Robson unfortunately for us they managed to do it first.
Somehow the rivalry has become more bitter in the last 20 years – I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s a reflection of society as a whole. It’s still not a patch on Celtic v Rangers though, and I can’t believe we would ever employ such a vile and divisive character as Neil Lennon (there was a time when many of our fans wanted him as our manager), nor they someone like Roy Keane. Oh, hang on….
Anyway, for now they are in League One. This is our 10th season since we were there, and we’ll have spent 5 of them in the PL, so anyone gloating at their current fate could yet get a surprise over the next few years.
If they find a way of re-establishing themselves in the way we did first with McNally and now with Webber – good luck to them, they’ll get what they deserve. As long as we keep progressing too of course!
As far as I’m concerned it would be brilliant if our next League fixture with them was in the PL in the 21/22 season.