Tractor Boys Could Be On The Up Again!

Two wins before the international break has put the whole squad in good spirits once again and this applies too to the management team and our supporters far and wide.

We began so well in August if you recall and sat proudly, albeit briefly, at the very summit of the division!

September coincided with a discernible decline not only in points but also form and we all know what a lean month October turned out to be.

In many way it is frustrating that the season is disrupted on such a regular basis these days by the need to play internationals but as manager Mick McCarthy has pointed out, we just have to live with it.

Unlike other enforced curtailments of the domestic campaign, this one came after we had got back on track with a couple of important victories. We are still stuck in the middle of the table but as we all know, this can change rapidly if we keep winning!

If we manage to beat Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend it will be three wins in a row and more importantly nine points from nine!

The two week respite has given some of our fridge players more time to recover from injuries though and the news is that both Teddy Bishop and indeed Luke Varney are ‘progressing well’ according to our skipper Luke Chambers.

Chambers has also been in regular contact with winger Ryan Fraser, who is still back at Bournemouth but getting nearer to a return apparently – although how long that might be remains a mystery?

We have certainly missed his pace and guile up front but with Brett Pitman now finding some form and goals at just the right time, he is a valuable addition to our attack.

Daryl Murphy may still be waiting to break his international duck but at least he too has started to find the net in emphatic fashion at league level and with Freddy Sears also playing out of his skin, I expect the Town to take all three points this on Saturday at Portman Road, with a win that could take much nearer to those play-off spots.

As we all know however, there is no such a thing as an easy game in this division but having made such an impressive start to November, let us hope that the break has not broken our momentum and we can continue where we left off against Rotherham!


Frank Weston Editor of Vital Ipswich