Town’s Play Off Dream Remains Exactly That

There was an article in the East Anglian Daily Times this morning by Andy Warren, in which he asks is your glass half full or half empty when it comes to the chances of Town making a serious push for the play-offs?

He argued that it was as black and white as that but I believe there are some of us that believe that the glass is neither half full or half empty because we are much more agnostically inclined.

Funny the way a couple of away victories on the bounce has got us all daring to dream again. The reality of course is that in the grand scheme of things, it is nothing more than another stat.

Town of course started the season brightly and against everyone’s expectations won their first four Championship encounters but that seems light years away today. Two away wins is a good return for a manager who says that a point away is always a good result. Well I guess it is, if you have such limited ambition.

I am sitting on the football fence for a number of reasons. It is true for example that nearly every season a club comes with a belated run of form that takes them to the fridges of those illusive play-off places but it normally starts and awful lot earlier than this and anyway, Town are barely winning matches.

Furthermore, as Warren himself alluded to, Ipswich would need to claim more than two points a game from the eleven remaining fixtures and to date, they have averaged around 1.5 from their ten games since the turn of the year.

What gives the half full brigade hope however is the next set of fixtures and if Town could replicate the points they are currently culling from away matches back at home, then they would quickly move up the table.

The key here perhaps is beating Sheffield United at Portman Road on Saturday. If they succeed, then there is genuine hope that the Blues could make it four wins in a row once again, with victory over out-of-sorts Hull City at home again on Tuesday.

Back-to-back wins for just the second time since August, will do wonders for the players self-belief – especially as they occurred on their travels and against the odds.

There is one former Town player who thinks it is not beyond the realms of possibility but only, if supporters finally start to get behind the team!

Town legend Kevin Beattie explained his feelings when he said, ‘That result on Tuesday has given the lads faith again and there is a glimmer of hope there after those two results. Let`s just hope this can get the fans back in because they were two excellent results but now we have to do it at home.’

It is nice to know that some of us still believe in football miracles and occasionally football miracles really do happen so I suppose where there is hope there is hope.


Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich