They’re chirpy right now. Boy, they’re chirpy.
I talk, of course, of our friends down the A140.
And I suppose they have every right to be. Theirs has been a miserable existence for quite a long time now and, finally, they have something to cheer about and feel, with good reason, that their club is upwardly mobile.
They clearly have a good, young, progressive manager, the long-standing unrest between Marcus Evans and the club’s supporters is now very much a thing of the past, and it seems they’re cock-a-hoop with the new owners based on what they have already delivered and what they plan to deliver in the future.
As I understand it – and I stand to be corrected in the unlikely event an Ipswich supporter stumbles upon this page – they are owned by a US company called Gamechanger 20, which is backed by an Arizona state pension fund and headed by four US executives, who actively participate in the running of the club.
We mocked when it happened – to be financed by a pension fund sounded more than a bit iffy – but it’s worked for them. Not only has the money been used wisely – buying Kieran McKenna a virtually new squad for starters – but they are also investing in the infrastructure, both at Portman Road and at the training ground.
That the club doesn’t actually own the stadium nor the training ground is not for us to worry about, but maybe those from the US also have plans to rectify that.
Over this summer they are having a new pitch laid, which includes such novelties as undersoil heating, pop-up sprinklers, and a hybrid playing surface 🙂
But, whichever way we look at it (and we have really enjoyed looking at it over the last decade-plus) they are now moving in a forward direction and are currently benefitting from a sense of togetherness we can only dream of.
If you’re feeling brave, I’d reluctantly recommend a piece on The Athletic (it’s behind a paywall – sorry), which charts their rise and the route they have taken to overcome their own ‘sins of the past’, if only to count the number of similarities there are between them in 2023 and us in 2018.
The only obvious difference is that Ipswich have an ownership group that appears willing and able to fund those infrastructural changes, whereas everything that happened here did so within the restraints of Delia and Michael’s self-imposed regime of austerity – all of which shines a light on the achievements of Stuart Webber in the first half of his tenure.
But in there here and now, they are in a good place, have momentum, have a plan, and fancy their chances of having a serious crack at the Championship 2023-24.
All of which must have left them feeling a little underwhelmed when the fixtures were released and they discovered they can’t have a piece of us until nine days before Christmas or, put another way, matchday 22.
Make no mistake, while they were overjoyed at getting promoted and are ecstatic that their club is finally again one to be proud of, their road to redemption won’t be complete until they have, in their eyes, righted a wrong that’s been ongoing since 19 April 2009.
For anyone out there who’s unaware, that was the last time City were last beaten by Ipswich – a miserable 3-2 defeat at Portman Road that helped us on our way down to League One.
Since then, 12 derbies, seven City wins, and five draws.
So no wonder they were absolutely itching for the first derby of the season to be in the opening few weeks when they will be driven by that priceless energy that only comes from a recent promotion.
I suspect/hope that particular force will have subsided by mid-December, although who’s to say it won’t have been replaced by something equally powerful, like maybe the scent of promotion?
Who knows, but what there definitely will be is a thirst for revenge.
Fourteen years is a long time and there will be supporters on both sides of the fence who, either because they weren’t born in 2009 or because they were yet to be bitten by the football-supporting bug, have never experienced the gnawing pain/unbridled joy of an Ipswich derby win.
I know, weird, right?
On a personal level, I’ve long since passed the tipping point where local derbies are to be enjoyed, and the long unbeaten run has done nothing to ease that crippling sense of jeopardy that grows and grows in the days preceding the game.
In most aspects of life, I’ve tended to, or at least learned to, take things in my stride but derby day defeat remains very much an outlier.
So, for once, I was grateful to the fixture computer, and not just because it saw fit to deliver us the rarity of a home game on opening day.
I know those south of the border literally cannot wait to re-engage, but 16 December suits me just fine.
Interesting read Gary.
Strange how down below, supporters are having all of the development done without having to put their hand in their pocket to finances it, whereas we with our club saviours and only safe option have to buy bonds and pay some of the highest season ticket prices in order to slowly sink down the leagues.
I regret being mugged into renewing my season ticket having been tempted by the promise of investment from across the Atlantic.
It seems Ipswich have it right and we are out in the cold.
Agreed, John.
As you say, it gnaws away a bit that their reboot is being funded by a proactive board who appear ambitious and progressive, while ours was done against a background of penny-pinching and cutbacks. For all of Webber’s perceived faults, that was quite the miracle he performed in that first promotion.
I’ve always thought Webber was a prisoner of our owners inability to properly finance the club.
However, Webber burnt his bridges when he turned on the fans who, correctly or wrongly, blamed him for the current mess.
Hi Gary
I honestly cannot remember a pre-season during which we are running scared of the Binners before a ball has even been kicked in anger.
And, whoever you speak with, wherever you look, we are.
Running scared.
How the feck has it come to this?
Agreed, mate.
Have yet to find a City supporter who doesn’t believe the 14-season run will end in 2023-24.
They appear in such better shape (as things stand).
Why therefore is Delia hanging in there? She is doing more harm than good!
We need a new strategy & big investment. Sorry but she is now letting our club lag behind with outdated ideas & a complete lack of ambition & fire sight.
Time to go Delia, but a big thanks. Glen.
Tend to agree, Glen, albeit if I raise it I’m told to be patient 😀 But, as you say, it needs resolving sooner rather than later.
She should have gone when Lambert got us promoted.
Her inability to properly finance the club has ensured we have never met our true potential.
Hi Gary
Last time I was at Portaloo was February 1977, I travelled with a hard bunch of mariniers off the Ark Royal – all Navy storemen doing shore duty at RAF Honington, as it was their Buccaneer shore base.
Anyway it was also Valentines night and that’s where the good feeling stopped – City were hammered 5-0 and I was in the home end, but the Navy lads made sure I got lots of banter when each goal went in.
Later at Everards Hotel in Bury St Edmunds all was forgotten when the Abbot Ale started to flow – a great night, poor result.
Can Ipswich do a City and win another promotion? Let’s hope not. I just wonder how long before their owners just might get nervous if they have a poor start especially coming into a derby game.
Still no news on the search for a sporting director and I really think who ever it is will be the fall guy for a squad he hasn’t had a hand in building.
Good read as usual.
Cheers Alex … the 1970s were tough times in the world of East Anglian derbies if you were a Norwich fan, but sounds like you still managed to have a good night regardless!
I have no idea as to whether Ipswich are capable of doing a Lambert but their supporters certainly believe it to be possible!
As you say, not even a whisper on the prospect if a Webber replacement.
And thanks.
Ipswich is in my family, my sister married a Lowestoft lad called Micheal Spearitt who’s brother played a limited number of games for them before moving to Brighton.
Same here, Alex.
On my mum’s side, there are more Ipswich supporters than Norwich ones, which is why I try and leave the nasty, venomous stuff to others.
Lets see them kick a ball in this league for a few games first, before we get carried away.
There are are few clubs arounc who bounce between the Championship and League One ,i.e Sheff Weds, Rotherham,Wigan,Barnsley….who’s to say they won’t be one
I was going to say the same thing GJL.
They may well challenge for the playoffs but if I am honest I think all 3 promoted clubs from League One will struggle to do that.
As you say the gap from League One to the Championship in recent years has been massive.
So while I understand the Blues fans getting excited, so many times a period in League One seems to boost clubs fortunes, just as it did us under Lambert/ Culverhouse.
But the other side of the coin is yo-yo clubs like Rotherham, Barnsley and Wigan.
I don’t understand the pessimism surrounding the games against that lot. I don’t know any of their players and suspect McKenna will be off to a decent job long before December 16th (more likely 17th).
We might not set the world alight, but the squad should at least be competitive in a tough division and have the ability to put little 1p5wich back in their box.
Fair comment, Don.
The truth of the matter is we just don’t know, and neither do they.
But I had to write about something 😀
And I’m glad you do!
How its looking at the moment regarding Webbers dealings in the transfer market then we should be worried.Rumours of another young keeper coming,two more brazillians,plus the three already joined doesn’t hold out much hope,and not ONE rumour regarding a defensive midfielder which we’ve been crying out for for years.Has Webber lost the plot (again)or is it he cant be ar##d?
Sobering read Gary. The pension fund has indeed changed the direction of travel at Ipswich.
Of course the martyrs amongst our support would happily lose both fixtures next season to the Arizona funded outfit than see the end of saint delias self funded fiefdom.
Strange as it seems, the mini resurgence in their fortunes seems to have sharpened a few minds in relation to our own highly unsatisfactory situation.
I suspect that if we are outperformed by that outfit the sparks will start to fly.
Give an infinite amount of monkeys an infinite amount of typewriters … their time may be getting closer but I’ll start worryingly when it’s 14 years since we beat them. We’ve still got better players, even with the outgoings , we just need to get the best from them.
Not worried about Farke either, even with his newly infused white blood.
When we face the newly promoted sides in the Championship such as Sunderland we do as badly as against newly relegated sides from the Championship. Last game of 2022-23 anyone? Blackpool. QED
Hi Gary, your analysis is spot on! Ipswich are moving in the right direction! A colleague of mine is an Ipswich supporter and he cannot understand how Norwich city has failed so badly?
The new strategy of Ipswich town epitomise where we need to be!
It’s race to the bottom with the current owners, ideas, business planning, all pulled out of a hat?
We are closer to League One than the Premiership. I only hope bad results lead to the departure of the Stowmarket clowns?
Maybe I’ve been sitting too long in the sun but running scared? Of Ipswich? Not me.
Yes, they had a great season and as Gary acknowledged, are led by an outstanding young manager who I was hoping would be lured away by one of the relegated PL clubs.
Ipswich’s superb finish to the season was in direct contrast to our pathetic efforts, although worth remembering they only secured automatic promotion because of Sheff Wed’s amazing fall away when seemingly certain of winning the title.
As poor as we were, there’s possibly only two of their players i’d swap any of ours for. And we’ve since already recruited players who I think will toughen us up and give us a more competitive edge.
I’ve no idea where we’ll finish and it may well be that we’ll lose that long unbeaten record against them in December.. Local derbies often don’t go to form but even if they look to be in a better place than us at the moment, I’m far from convinced we’ll finish below them.
Come on City fans, grow some balls!
I’d agree with you malcolm that I wouldn’t swap a single Ipswich player with one of ours.
However the team is greater then the sum of its parts. In stark contrast to the shapeless jelly we became during the long run in.
Looking at the luton v Coventry play off final and the paucity of the 2 sides it would appear that 11 journeymen if properly set up and suitably motivated can get much further than better and bigger sides.
Great reply, Malcolm.
Was the slap around the face that I and others desperately needed 😀
I’m good now … back in the game. Six points for the taking 😀
At last, the voice of reason (Malcolm I mean). There was a huge chunk of last season where it was looking play offs at best for Ipswich.
Of course there are often times when teams carry a bit of momentum into the new season but that will probably have dissipated by December so don’t panic Captain Mainwaring.
Whatever happens it won’t take away the memories of that wonderful 2 hours I spent inside Portman Road watching our boys dismantle them 1-5, it was magical so bring it on I say.
Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) I think we have more than enough to be concerned over, much more than one team who looks to have had a break by another falling away. but still had to stump up and win some points. Good luck to them they might need a large chunk of it, like I think we will do..
Despite the very good 14-year period, I think I am correct in saying they still have the best of it in total, since 18/19 we have not been in the same league. Sadly they appear to be on the up, while on the other hand we continue to limp along our downward path.
They are I feel no longer such a joke amongst the yellow army despite having a Leee Evans in their midfield. so that’s what happened to one of the funniest guys
For whats its worth think they are in for rude awakening!
Look at the sides from last year – 2 went down and Sunderland who tbh were average at best.
Time will tell but come match day 22 they will be worried than us, Gary
Good comment, Thommo.
I so hope you’re right, pal.
Stay well.
G