I am writing this blog to try and gauge interest in starting a dedicated and organised ultra group.

I’m a season ticket holder in the North lower and try to start/get involved in singing at matches as much as possible.

I have three main concerns: firstly, that although the atmosphere at Portman Road is generally OK, it’s too variable. Raucous one week, subdued the next.

Secondly, the chanting is too derivative. Although we have a fair few chants in our canon, barely any are uniquely ours.

Thirdly, we allow too much negativity towards the current owner/manager/bumbling Irish midfielder to creep into the chanting, creating a sometimes poisonous atmosphere.

This is an idea I've sat on for a while. Too long, really. I'm of the opinion that attending football matches isn't exclusively about entertainment but about supporting your team and as a result your wider community.

So I propose starting an organised group that is dedicated to three core principles: 1/ Getting chants going no matter the game and for the full 90 minutes; 2/ As many original chants as possible; 3/Chants that are only supportive of the team on the pitch.

Let me know what you think. I think people are a little put off by the organisational and hierarchical structure of European ultra groups, or even those closer to home like the Holmesdale Fanatics over at Crystal Palace. I want this to be totally democratic and maintain some spontaneity, as long as it’s dedicated to the principles identified above.

If this seems like something you’d be interested in, give me a reply. If there's enough of us then hell, it might just have some legs. Unlike Johnny Douglas...

UPPA TOWEN!

BackTheBlues added 10:48 - Feb 28 We should be signing Edward Ebeneezer Jeremiah Brown - EVERY SINGLE WEEK - as that is OUR SONG from a time gone by! Also - Bart needs a song haha!
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Ferguson added 11:01 - Feb 28 Wembley Final. 78. Sang for 3 hours. Sang the Gunners off the park Bobby Robsons.........Blue an White Army. Bring back the magic boys.
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Ferguson added 12:59 - Feb 28 Goalie's song BacktheBlues could be "On Ilkley moor BART hat......" sorry.
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BtreeBlueBlood added 13:20 - Feb 28 How do other supporters manage to get mega phones into grounds - so the crowd are all singing the same song. the north stand - the songs almost compete against each other The Ipswich town choir? rater than ultras which reminds me more of the hooligan factions
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Slambo added 14:40 - Feb 28 Jonnosdreadlocks - no, I don't like the term 'ultra'either. Just don't know what other term to use. May have to invent a new one. And as for the derivative chants, well, this is exactly what i'm trying to address. If enough of us band together we could really get something going and, who knows, other clubs might be copying our chants one of these days...
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IamSpartacus added 08:15 - Mar 1 The Leeds game was the first one this season where the away fans haven't called us a library in the first 20 minutes..... my son and I have a bet on which minute we'll hear it. Having more participation would be awesome, and having a club song would be perfect. Edward Ebeneezer is an okay shout, but fast lyrics rarely go well in a chant. An Ed Sheeran song would be a good call- the Hibs club song is only because The Proclaimers are local fans, and for those that call Sheeran 'cheesey', believe me, nothing gets more cheesey than The Proclaimers! Castle on the Hill is also too fast though. Blloyd333's suggestion of John Devers 'Take me home, country roads' seems a good call. The chorus adapted perhaps to: Country roads, take me home To the place I belong Ipswich Town, Portman Road Take me home, country roads ... plays up to the Tractors theme? Regardless, anything that gets more atmosphere into the ground for a whole match is something I'd love.

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LondonBlue73 added 12:19 - Mar 1 Great Idea and certainly will get my support. I have a north stand lower season ticket and drag my two teenage daughters to games as much as possible, they always say the same "that away grounds are much better atmospheres and our fans can't sing together". Despite my continued protestation that it wasn't always that way - they do not believe me. They accept being forced to support a team playing badly and they don't like the 250 mile round trip but if the atmosphere was better I am sure they and many others would come more willingly and more often, though I accept what happens on the pitch also helps so a catch 22. In short though I certainly would love a unique club song to get the ground involved and rocking. I hate to say it but Man City's Blue Moon and West Hams Bubbles when all four stands join in is amazing to witness, let alone Liverpool. Great idea - Ill do my bit.

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Bowls1e added 16:28 - Mar 1 It's a great idea, but it's one that can't be done half heartedly & needs to be driven with the help of the club & the fans. I remember somebody setting up a website to try & get a group together next to the away fans in the SAR lower a few years ago. I specifically brought a ticket in that area on the day the group was meant to begin & they'd obviously abandoned the plan before it started, as it was like a funeral. I've got a season ticket at Stoke now because of location & the wife. Whilst they don't have a massive repertoire of songs, the ones that they do sing really echo around the ground. They use their FA Cup final song from years ago 'We'll be with you' and obviously Delilah as well. Town fans just need a small selection of songs that are constantly sung, & the more it's sung the more the fans will adopt it as their own. As much as I hate the scum the way their PA guy counts them in 3,2,1 to On the Ball City as they come out the tunnel seems to work. The country road variation looks good, & I'm sure there are other songs that resonate with Ipswich & Suffolk. Good luck look forward to getting involved when I'm down.

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bigolconnor added 00:45 - Mar 3 "We are home, Portman Road, it's the place, we beeelooooong, Pride of Anglia, champions of europe, we are home, Portman Road" something like that maybe
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StavangerBlue added 22:46 - Mar 3 I am an Ipswich fan but have on occasion travelled to Liverpool to watch games. One of my mates is a red and well it was also a bit of fun for me. Liverpool fans, THE KOP, make a big effort and put on a big show. BUT IT IS THE FANS!!! FANS BUY THE BANNERS!!! FANS DESIGN THE BANNERS!!! FANS SING!!! The club help. The Police make concessions allowing flags to be waved (flag poles are banned - why Chelsea have employees waving flags not supporters) but they are quickly removed before kick off. Yes, by all means, organise a group but for example, why not design a new banner for the North Stand. Design it, price it up and then run a crowd funding effort and advertise on TWTD? I personally hate the anti-Norwich drone. It is boring but I am not from Suffolk. I would love us to have our own or try new alternatives.

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north_stand77 added 22:56 - Mar 3 I don't see a problem with adapting something of Ed Sheerans . 'Sing' would be ok as it has a good chorus that's bouncy. Also, as a previous poster suggested, singing 'Ipswich' to Amazing Grace used to sound brilliant especially as the whole ground used to join in and hold up scarves. A throw back to the past I know but was sung at the height of the most successful time in our clubs history

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BlueandTruesince82 added 12:31 - Mar 4 Ipswich boys we are here woooaahhhh, woooaahhhh, Ipswich boys we are here woooaahhhh, woooaahhhh. Ipswich boys we are here (insert names of opponents) we do not fear, Ipswich boys we are here woooaahhhh, woooaahhhh!
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BlueandTruesince82 added 12:49 - Mar 4 Let's not forget singing the blues whilst I'm at it
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BlueandTruesince82 added 13:09 - Mar 4 And what about do the Bart man for Bartoz?
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 16:11 - Mar 4 Although I'm an "oldie," I would definitely like to hear more singing at PR. I've done my share of singing in my time, often fairly mindless stuff because that was all that was on offer. Some good ideas above. 1) Forget the "ultras" tag, 2) perhaps liaise with the club, but this shouldn't lead to some anodyne crap like the "Good old Arsenal" of a few years back, 3) perhaps start with an anthem that everyone (young and old) would be happy to sing and that is uniquely Ipswich. Anthems happen at several grounds (Malmö in Sweden, I have experience of) and can be quite uplifting. There is much more singing abroad, and generally this creates a better atmosphere, although some of the songs and drum banging become very repetitive. If you could get the BR to sing in unison, that would be a big step forward. I'll be happy to join in as long as it's not abusive (might make a yellow exception -:)) and not negative about the team or manager. Singing should mostly be about encouraging the team or maybe having a light-hearted dig at the opposition. Again, no need for neanderthal abuse.

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Slambo added 18:26 - Mar 9 Thanks for all the input! As with all these things, there seems to be a lot of positive noises, but not a lot of action. We need to get a small group of 5 or 6 of us, establish a part of the ground, then it can snowball from there... It was horrible against Wolves. Again, mostly silent until a few bursts of ironic cheering when we got a shot on target, followed by the now mandatory full time booing. It's awful and will do more for keeping fans away than any amount of dull football (and it was dull, you won't hear me denying it). But the noise needs to return and the negativity stop... Anyway, if you want to get involved, let me know, either on this blog or via private message...

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Cakeman added 14:01 - Mar 13 We just need our team to play some decent football and the songs will come naturally and I may add not just from the North Stand.
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BlueMachines added 15:20 - Mar 14 I like this but good luck getting the tunnel side of the North Stand to sing at a normal pace. I sit bang in the middle behind the goal and the people to my right are wholly incapable of clapping at the right speed and insist on speeding up every chant until the pace is no longer maintainable.
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