| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. 18:29 - Apr 29 with 3734 views | The_Romford_Blue |
So I’ve been reflecting this week about how it is now as a Town fan. Win lose or draw tomorrow and no matter our fate on Saturday, things couldn’t feel any better as a football club. It’s been around 3 years since EvansOut became a reality, rather than just my irritating catchphrase on the train home after every game. Incredible to think what Gamechanger, Ashton and McKenna have done for our club.
Mid table league 1 team with attendances at 15k a week under Evans and no real hope for the future whatsoever as the club died a slow death. And then in the space of 3 short brilliant years the club has been transformed both on and off the pitch.
Just to think of the stadium how it was before, run down and generally a place full of those of us going through nothing more than habit to now where it’s vibrant, it’s been painted and every home match feels like a carnival atmosphere where we all want to be there. When Portman Road sold out against Newcastle years and years ago (Huws with the late equaliser for a 2-2), that felt like the first time in an eternity we saw the stadium full. Nowadays it’s sold out every week. Even last year was the same.
Away matches are no longer a chore where my reports spend 2 paragraphs talking about hotdogs, 3 about the journey up and the local surroundings but only 1 about the football. It used to be me going to Hull and Rotherham with 900 others watching us get beat without a shot on target as the season came to a close. Rotherham 7 years ago we made 10 changes as McCarthy decided that us as the travelling fans didn’t matter and he’d change the whole side for no reason at all. I remember coming on here after the Cardiff away game where we were awful. I was angry. I was disappointed. And then I got to Cardiff train station tired and miserable and across the platform was the Town players eating pizza and having a right old laugh. They didn’t care. That was March 2017. But that was the old regime. That was a football club with no pride in itself. Now we have a management; an ownership and a team that care just like we do. When we hurt, they hurt. McKenna was all of us the other day when he hit that dugout. He and they get it. They understand.
A year ago 5,500 of us trecked up to Barnsley. My coach from Sheffield to Manchester (was seeing my mate after the game) got cancelled and I ended up stranded in Sheffield until the early hours. If that was 5 years ago, I’d have spent the entire time wondering why on earth do I bother. Last year I spent the whole time strolling round Sheffield singing ‘We’ve got Suoer Kieran McKenna’ and ended up in a pub with some local Sheffield uni students who supported a variety of sides. All of them seemed genuinely jealous of the way it was for us as a club even in League 1 going up to the Championship.
And then now we find ourselves 4 points away from footballing mortality. From being only the 2nd team in 20 years to do an EFL double promotion. And if we can get over the line, we’ve done it with near enough the same great bunch of lads as last year. We haven’t gone out and tried to spend big and match the big hitters around us with the parachute payments. We’ve trusted our process so to speak and done it the Ipswich way. Kept the same balanced team and the same players have delivered. Whether this week ends in a promotion party or not, they’ve done us proud.
For so many years at school or college being the only Ipswich fan was something that can be used against me by so many. West Ham fans everywhere would mock. They were still my team so it didn’t matter really but I always wondered if just once I’d be able to say I’m an Ipswich fan and other people are jealous of the way things are going for us. I had to miss Hull on Saturday as it was my Mums 50th surprise party. I made sure the party venue had sky sports and had the game on. I think about half the pub were cheering Ipswich goals despite nobody supporting Towen but me. The footballing world wants us to go up for the story. The David v Goliath underdog fairytale. I even sang Conor Chaplin baby on karaoke a few hours later. It was amazing to feel like so many fans of so many other teams wanted to be me for a while. They wanted to feel how we all feel. On the cusp of greatness and overachieving despite all odds.
I know all of this is somewhat of a ramble but you lot are my only Ipswich link. I don’t have Ipswich mates round here. I don’t know Ipswich fans in Romford. So no matter how jealous other clubs are of us, I know only you lot understand how it feels. We are so bl00dy close and it’s so terrifying and exciting in equal measure but it’s incredible to think how a group of players, a group of management staff and a group of owners have brought so much happiness to so many of us. We might not go up this week but the journey over these three years have been quite magical.
5 years ago today my Grandad who you all would’ve heard in my Rommy Reports sadly died. He was at that aforementioned Rotherham game. He was a Man U fan but always wanted the Town to do well and frankly just liked away matches with me. His face for the late win at Aston Villa one year was one of my favourite memories in football. I remember when we left Rotherham that day of the McCarthy changes he told me he knows he won’t see us in the premier league. I said to him I don’t think that I will in my lifetime either. I think when he died we’d been relegated or near enough. Perhaps it was the season after in fact but I can’t remember. I know he’d have never have believed our club could transform like it has. I know if we win tomorrow and Saturday he will be somewhere up there with a Whisky raising a glass with Sir Bobby. He won’t get to see it in person but I will. So many of us know people who would have loved to have seen what we’re seeing and I can imagine Saturday if we do it, there will be plenty of us in bits.
A few years ago when we scraped a 1-1 draw at Barnsley and the celebrations were ‘Scenes. Absolute Scenes’, that was something at the time that felt like it was all worth it. For moments like that. Now going to home and away games feels worthwhile no matter what happens. Everyone is pulling in the same direction. Everyone is together.
Saturday feels like do or die but it isn’t. It’s a crescendo to the first wave of Ipswich finally being back in the place we all dreamed it might be. Whether it’s championship or premier league next year, our football club that we lost for so long is back. As for the result on the pitch, all we can do now is make as much noise as possible for two massive matches and BELIEVE! [Post edited 29 Apr 18:37]
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 02:17 - Apr 30 with 677 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 21:53 - Apr 29 by BanksterDebtSlave |
I was thinking similar to this but the other way around if you get my drift. I've been dragging Junior to games since she was about 5 and a lot of it wasn't great on the footballing front. Brighton away one Christmas was about as good as it got until the last couple of years.
And then at Hull on Saturday night as we sang of our longing to feel the heat with Omari it struck me that come rain or shine and long after I'm gone she'll be stuck with supporting Towen and hopefully some happy memories of our games together too. [Post edited 29 Apr 22:08]
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She will mate. They’re the memories I treasure with my grandad. His face at Villa away when we won it in the last minute was a picture. Turning to my right amongst the carnage to see my usually calm and level-headed grandad in a group hug with a load of lads my age from the row behind as we all celebrated was a memory that makes up for all the boring games we went to together. | |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 05:40 - Apr 30 with 622 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 18:40 - Apr 29 by The_Romford_Blue |
Ahh yes so he did!
Until now I genuinely thought it was mortality!
Ohh. I thought it was Southampton only.
Well I won’t edit it. I’ve edited it already to add the paragraph about my dear Grandad who would have loved this whole last two years. But I won’t edit it again haha.
I’m terrified about Saturday and tomorrow but for me the whole journey of the last three seasons going from having no hope for our club to being on the brink of greatness is something I’ll remember no matter how this week goes. |
We understand... Norwich are easily forgotten! |  |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 06:07 - Apr 30 with 616 views | LA_Tractor_Boy |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 20:08 - Apr 29 by Swansea_Blue |
Great post and if anything it’s making me reminisce. Were you around for 2000? To me this feels very familiar, although it mirrors ‘92 rather than 2000, but the emotions are the same. Now we’re here I’m expecting it, and it feels like part of the natural cycle of ups and downs at a football club. But it didn’t feel like that under Evans. You’re right about not expecting to see us progress in our lifetimes. We wouldn’t have done under ME. |
This is why we need to enjoy the journey.
None of us know who GC will sell the club to. It could go horribly wrong in years to come, but for now we're on an upward trajectory. |  | | |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 06:47 - Apr 30 with 599 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 19:44 - Apr 29 by portmanking |
One of the best posts on here in YEARS and THIS was your response. Really? SMH. |
It's a great post and ITFC Forever said it's a great post. Nothing wrong with correcting a couple of slight errors... and Rommers has learnt something!
Fantastic stuff Rommers. The only thing that bothers me is your mum is younger than I am! |  |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 06:54 - Apr 30 with 595 views | IPS_wich |
Such a great post - thank you.
I want to pick up on one aspect of your post and that is about the nature of transformation.
My job title is actually Executive Director, Strategy and Transformation for a very large public sector agency in Australia. My whole job and indeed my career has been focused on change and chasing that elusive nirvana of 'sustainable change'.
There's an often used phrase that 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' that I think is really pertinent here, especially given your comments about the players eating pizza and joking around after a loss a few years ago. It's all well and good having a clear strategy/plan to improve, but often this can be rendered meaningless if the culture of the organisation isn't attuned to the ambition and the staff don't buy into the need or drive for change.
This is perhaps the single most impressive factor in the Gamechanger/O'Leary/Ashton regime; and why if the desperate day comes that McKenna looks for pastures new I am confident that we will still thrive. The owners and senior executives of our club have made it clear what we stand for as an organisation, and have hired good people to execute the plan and manage the cultural expectations they have set.
In McKenna they have the prototype head coach for the era we are now in - a progressive, deep thinking, calm and (if we believe what we hear) fair/kind person. They have also invested in the right leaders in the squad who mirror the head coach's qualities. People like Chaplin, Morsy, Burgess and Luongo stand by the values of our club and demonstrate this in their actions and their words. In other words they all both talk the talk and walk the walk.
In many many ways ITFC in the 21st century are an absolute text book case for organisational psychology/development:
- the way we performed in 00/01 to finish 5th with pretty much the same squad that got us promoted demonstrated the virtue of loyalty, consistency and a unified approach
- the way it fell apart the next season when we pursued a hasty and ill conceived expansion plan; including bringing in people who were the wrong fit
- the way we bounced back from adversity (i.e. administration) using the strength of a few key personalities (Royle, Magilton the player, Kuqi, De Vos), but ultimately didn't have the resources or plan to see that through to completion
- the new life promised by our new investor who was pretty much looking for a quick buck and thought success could be easily bought
- followed by the years of stagnation and eventual decline when that owner didn't get the quick return they expected and lost interest
- ad now a genuine new world with new investors who realised that sustained success needs strong foundations
I genuinely believe that McKenna has accelerated our progress because he has skills and expertise beyond what we could have predicted or planned for; but our club now has some solid foundations for the first time since the late 90s. Regardless of how the next week goes, we are on the right trajectory.
We have our club back. | | | |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 07:06 - Apr 30 with 570 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 06:54 - Apr 30 by IPS_wich |
Such a great post - thank you.
I want to pick up on one aspect of your post and that is about the nature of transformation.
My job title is actually Executive Director, Strategy and Transformation for a very large public sector agency in Australia. My whole job and indeed my career has been focused on change and chasing that elusive nirvana of 'sustainable change'.
There's an often used phrase that 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' that I think is really pertinent here, especially given your comments about the players eating pizza and joking around after a loss a few years ago. It's all well and good having a clear strategy/plan to improve, but often this can be rendered meaningless if the culture of the organisation isn't attuned to the ambition and the staff don't buy into the need or drive for change.
This is perhaps the single most impressive factor in the Gamechanger/O'Leary/Ashton regime; and why if the desperate day comes that McKenna looks for pastures new I am confident that we will still thrive. The owners and senior executives of our club have made it clear what we stand for as an organisation, and have hired good people to execute the plan and manage the cultural expectations they have set.
In McKenna they have the prototype head coach for the era we are now in - a progressive, deep thinking, calm and (if we believe what we hear) fair/kind person. They have also invested in the right leaders in the squad who mirror the head coach's qualities. People like Chaplin, Morsy, Burgess and Luongo stand by the values of our club and demonstrate this in their actions and their words. In other words they all both talk the talk and walk the walk.
In many many ways ITFC in the 21st century are an absolute text book case for organisational psychology/development:
- the way we performed in 00/01 to finish 5th with pretty much the same squad that got us promoted demonstrated the virtue of loyalty, consistency and a unified approach
- the way it fell apart the next season when we pursued a hasty and ill conceived expansion plan; including bringing in people who were the wrong fit
- the way we bounced back from adversity (i.e. administration) using the strength of a few key personalities (Royle, Magilton the player, Kuqi, De Vos), but ultimately didn't have the resources or plan to see that through to completion
- the new life promised by our new investor who was pretty much looking for a quick buck and thought success could be easily bought
- followed by the years of stagnation and eventual decline when that owner didn't get the quick return they expected and lost interest
- ad now a genuine new world with new investors who realised that sustained success needs strong foundations
I genuinely believe that McKenna has accelerated our progress because he has skills and expertise beyond what we could have predicted or planned for; but our club now has some solid foundations for the first time since the late 90s. Regardless of how the next week goes, we are on the right trajectory.
We have our club back. |
Often used phrase?!? Maybe in your world, fella! I've never heard 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' in my life! | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 07:09 - Apr 30 with 569 views | Churchman |
Excellent post. Your last paragraph in particular is key. Big picture. Regardless of what happens by seasons end, we are getting stronger. I cannot believe where we are by comparison to just three and a bit years ago. It’s not just what we’ve done, but how we’ve gone about it.
I never thought I’d see the day where we’d be doing something like this. At one point we must have been the miserable, boring club in England to support. Literally nothing going on but slow decline and zippo to look forward to. A full stadium had been a rare event since 2002 and I never thought I’d see it again. Why would it be unless the Rolling Stones played there?
But here we are. Doing something special. The last two seasons are reward to those who stuck with it for so long and for those too young to have witnessed the peaks of the past. I’m particularly pleased to see the demographics in the ground. It’s a cliche but it really is a community club. So many younger people too - the future of ITFC.
If we do this, I will shed a tear with a smile for my dad and all those who have passed on. They are part of the fabric of this football club. Their moment too. Oh how he’d have loved this. Regardless of who owns it, money, what mistakes they make or otherwise, a football club is all about the people that follow it. That includes the staff, players and ex players who fall in love with it.
Ipswich Town feels safe now and going forwards, regardless of what happens before June, that’s the most important thing to me. |  | | |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 10:58 - Apr 30 with 499 views | Cafe_Newman |
Great post, Rommers. It brought back strong memories of my dad who passed away in July last year. He took me to Portman Road along with my brothers for 8 years during the Robson era. He was lucky enough to enjoy last year and I'm sure he'll be watching from above tonight.
Emotions will be very high tonight when we win.
I miss you, Dad. |  | | |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 16:25 - Apr 30 with 440 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 06:54 - Apr 30 by IPS_wich |
Such a great post - thank you.
I want to pick up on one aspect of your post and that is about the nature of transformation.
My job title is actually Executive Director, Strategy and Transformation for a very large public sector agency in Australia. My whole job and indeed my career has been focused on change and chasing that elusive nirvana of 'sustainable change'.
There's an often used phrase that 'culture eats strategy for breakfast' that I think is really pertinent here, especially given your comments about the players eating pizza and joking around after a loss a few years ago. It's all well and good having a clear strategy/plan to improve, but often this can be rendered meaningless if the culture of the organisation isn't attuned to the ambition and the staff don't buy into the need or drive for change.
This is perhaps the single most impressive factor in the Gamechanger/O'Leary/Ashton regime; and why if the desperate day comes that McKenna looks for pastures new I am confident that we will still thrive. The owners and senior executives of our club have made it clear what we stand for as an organisation, and have hired good people to execute the plan and manage the cultural expectations they have set.
In McKenna they have the prototype head coach for the era we are now in - a progressive, deep thinking, calm and (if we believe what we hear) fair/kind person. They have also invested in the right leaders in the squad who mirror the head coach's qualities. People like Chaplin, Morsy, Burgess and Luongo stand by the values of our club and demonstrate this in their actions and their words. In other words they all both talk the talk and walk the walk.
In many many ways ITFC in the 21st century are an absolute text book case for organisational psychology/development:
- the way we performed in 00/01 to finish 5th with pretty much the same squad that got us promoted demonstrated the virtue of loyalty, consistency and a unified approach
- the way it fell apart the next season when we pursued a hasty and ill conceived expansion plan; including bringing in people who were the wrong fit
- the way we bounced back from adversity (i.e. administration) using the strength of a few key personalities (Royle, Magilton the player, Kuqi, De Vos), but ultimately didn't have the resources or plan to see that through to completion
- the new life promised by our new investor who was pretty much looking for a quick buck and thought success could be easily bought
- followed by the years of stagnation and eventual decline when that owner didn't get the quick return they expected and lost interest
- ad now a genuine new world with new investors who realised that sustained success needs strong foundations
I genuinely believe that McKenna has accelerated our progress because he has skills and expertise beyond what we could have predicted or planned for; but our club now has some solid foundations for the first time since the late 90s. Regardless of how the next week goes, we are on the right trajectory.
We have our club back. |
Great post. If we do it, we’d have done it the Ipswich way | |
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| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 22:13 - Apr 30 with 380 views | Cafe_Newman |
| Then and now. A few words. A transformation. on 10:58 - Apr 30 by Cafe_Newman |
Great post, Rommers. It brought back strong memories of my dad who passed away in July last year. He took me to Portman Road along with my brothers for 8 years during the Robson era. He was lucky enough to enjoy last year and I'm sure he'll be watching from above tonight.
Emotions will be very high tonight when we win.
I miss you, Dad. |
That win was for you Dad, Rommy's grandpa and all the Town fans who are no longer with us.
#Dusty in here | | | |
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