As supporters we are all in this together. Regardless of our views on the management team, the owner, or indeed the the kind of football we are playing these days, we have to find a way to pick up some points and our next two home matches could be crucial in deciding our eventual fate.
Two defeats to lowly Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic would be nothing short of catastrophic and let’s face it, two draws would not do us many favours either, as we have seen when we succumbed to a string of draws more recently, that saw us fall further down the table and nearer and nearer to the drop zone.
There are no easy games coming up and if there is one thing I tend to agree with when Mick McCarthy opens his mouth, it is that there are no easy games in this division. It is arguably one of the toughest leagues in world football.
We can complain all we like about the defence orientated strategies employed by McCarthy and the poor standard of football on display week in and week out but this won’t help us to avoid the drop.
What might help us though is if we all show our support at Portman Road from the moment we kick off to the moment the final whistle blows. I have often argued that vociferous vocal support is the reason many clubs have excellent home records.
It is the level of noise that often persuades referees to give those dubious penalties – or even a red card to a visiting player for an innocuous challenge. Now I am not advocating that exactly but if we are going to get over the finishing line in tact, then we really need to make our support clearly heard.
That means no booing our own players – which I find despicable anyway and the need to chant and sing and make some noise!
If we are to return to fortress Portman Road then we must try to replicate the atmosphere generated when Town were doing well. It can be done, if we put our hearts and souls into it.
Perhaps that song by The Farm ‘All Together Now’ would be an appropriate chant to sing along too with a few subtle word swaps like ‘.. in Ipswich Land!’
Mick McCarthy was never my preferred choice as Ipswich boss but whilst he is still running the show, we must collectively try to back his team and that means showing our support from the start.
Far too often of late, Portman Road has resembled a graveyard in terms of its decibel levels so I just hope that the game on April the 1st against Birmingham does not makes fools of us all.
Come on you Blues!
Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich
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