After seeing the new season ticket prices, I felt like writing something would be a good form of therapy to get some things off my chest about Ipswich.

I’ll preface by saying that I don’t have a season ticket myself due to where I live but I do try and make it down to as many games as possible but the last two seasons have really dampened my hopes of seeing any progress in the foreseeable future.

I remember the play-off season fondly as being the first season we were really fighting for promotion since I’ve been watching, mid-table mediocrity is all I’d been served until then, and the atmosphere was great.

We were Ipswich, the £10,000 team pushing for promotion, with a pragmatic but witty manager at the helm who was doing the best he could with the resources he had and going toe to toe with some of the big spenders in the division.

Last minute winners at Charlton and Watford, playing Middlesbrough off the park at Christmas and a 27-goal striker were just a few great memories that we have and, though it ended in heartbreak, it was something these past 18 months haven’t been - fun.

We were seeing where the ride would take us and in the summer with £8 million for Mings in the kitty, there was real optimism that this could be the year were we finally break our status of Championship dwellers.

But this is where the problems began, we stopped using our lack of funds as motivation but as an excuse for why we shouldn’t even be near some of the teams in this division let alone competing with them.

Our best players were leaving and we weren’t seeing any substantial reinvestment of the money we had received, instead being told it was going on wages or covering the losses of the club.

Owner Marcus Evans had seen the success that we’d had under Mick McCarthy without any investment and carried on with this drip feeding hoping that we’d strike it lucky and reach the promised land, an approach which has created a huge disconnect between club and fans which may have reached a point of no return.

As fans go I think we are some of the most patient in the country but this expectation that we’ll just keep putting up with dire football has understandably pushed many over the edge and season ticket renewals will no doubt plummet as a result.

As for the rising prices, I don’t think it’s the amount that has upset people but the principle that after an extremely poor season, those in charge think it’s acceptable to try and ask for even more from loyal fans who have had to sit through this season’s disaster.

It’s a stupid marketing strategy and confirms to me that the board haven’t got a footballing brain between them and think they can continue to treat the fans as cash machines and not supporters.

And as for enticing youngsters into Portman Road for the low price a £50 a ticket goes, to give a bit of context the WABITS (West Anglian Supporters) held their annual meeting last summer and there was one other under-18 there, let alone there was about 10 members there all together.

Why would a young kid want to come and watch Ipswich play safety first football for 90 minutes when they have a whole selection of Premier League clubs on Sky every other week with world class players to watch?

A whole generation of Ipswich fans are on the verge of being lost to the monopoly of Sky yet the club are happy to charge them more and then move the goalposts for the age of seniors, potentially alienating the most loyal supporters we have.

It beggars belief that the club do things like this and then present them in such a condescending tone and expect everyone to cheer and part with their money, I guess we’ll see next season how many are cheering at Portman Road.

Something needs to change at the club whether it be the owner, the manager or both because as things stand we are sleepwalking towards relegation in the coming years with no signs of returns.

To anyone who is renewing this year I salute your continued support during times like this, whether it be because of passion, insanity or a bit of both. Apologies if this is a bit all over the place but like I said, I just wanted to get it off my chest and express my views on the current situation. #OneOfOurOwn I guess.

The_Romford_Blue added 13:17 - Mar 18 Well said A very good post
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Wallop added 14:22 - Mar 18 Spot on!
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therein61 added 17:07 - Mar 18 Excellent post
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Blue041273 added 18:51 - Mar 18 An excellent blog which articulates much of the views of all supporters. Leaving aside the appalling lack of value in paying for a Portman Road match day experience this season, my gripe is with the seeming lack of any grasp of economics relating to the season ticket renewal offer. The ST price rise assuming renewals by 12,500 ST holders would yield probably less than £100k. Yet the club seemingly think it would be good business to offer a 5% rebate if 12,750 ST holders renew resulting in a loss of revenue of more than £250k. These sums from any perspective, are relatively unimportant in modern football finances and surely do not merit antagonising the loyal fan base to the point of risking widespread non-renewals which will inevitably hit gate revenues but more importantly drive a wedge between the club and its supporters which will take years to repair. Thanks for your contribution.

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Brownie added 08:28 - Mar 26 Good post and covers lots of things I agree with & have posted. Your,old or somewhere in the middle we're all fans and I think you have highlighted the issues very well.
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