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Town Supporters Demand Improvement

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With the Town squad looking stronger than it has for some time, there is really no excuse for another under-par performance and yet that is exactly what happened at Portman Road last Saturday.

It could be argued that where we are in the table means that it is not only the supporters that lack motivation but the players too and yet, if manager Mick McCarthy is serious about getting bums back on seats, then another lacklustre display tonight and the apathy will turn to anger once more.

He needs to prove to fans that he really does want to play attacking expansive football and that means resisting playing his old favourites Jonathan Douglas and Cole Skuse.

Only a win will do tonight and ideally a win that provides the home supporters with something to shout about. Far too often this season we have seen games at Portman Road that have failed to inspire and that is why it is imperative in my view that our manager gets this right before the seasons end.

Former captain and long time servant of Ipswich Town football club Mick Mills, said on Radio Suffolk recently that he has been disappointed by the way Town have started games and he is right.

We should be intent on making the away side feel as uncomfortable as possible, instead of perpetually playing a waiting game that often leads to us chasing it because of our lack of attacking purpose in the opening stages of it.

I can empathise with some of the tactics employed by McCarthy away from home but to do much the same on your home turf is simply unacceptable in my view.

Since he has reverted to three at the back we have seen a discernible improvement in our overall play but we still lack goals and of course it is goals that inevitably win games.

He will of course argue that he is always looking to win matches; both at home and away and yet it is no coincidence that we have drawn five of our last six Championship games because McCarthy is loathe to take risks and his after-match interviews usually revolve around how well the opposition played!

So then, on this Tuesday night at Portman Road, I am hopeful of a victory. But not just any old victory but a victory that is born out of a wholehearted desire to win and that means starting on the front foot and with plenty of attacking options on the bench.

Brett Pitman has been largely ignored of late but this evening I hope he will play some part.

If we are struggling to find the net then he has a habit of popping up in the right place from the bench and anything less than a win will simply not do.


Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich

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