TWTD.co.uk Blogs

Pre-Season Preview: Rayo Vallecano
Conference League finalists and the team that knocked Gary O'Neil's Strasbourg out of that same competition visit Portman Road on Saturday 8th August.

Pre-Season Preview: Le Havre
From Spain to France and a first pre-season outing at Portman Road as Le Havre come to Town. The French side, who are now going into their fourth season in Ligue 1, finished 14th last season, three points clear of the relegation play-offs.

Pre-Season Preview: Osasuna
Club football is back. New Season, new manager, new pre-season opponents.

Gary O’Neil: Operation Survival
It is safe to say that the €5m appointment of Strasbourg’s manager was received with initial disappointment by a sizeable demographic of Town supporters. ‘too safe’, ‘the easy option’ and ‘uninspiring’ were some of the semantics aimed at CEO Mark Ashton.

Kieran McKenna, Gary O'Neil and the Difference Between a Coach and a Builder
It's been a minute since my last blog and to be honest I hadn't planned on another until a rather enlightening conversation with an old friend.

Between The Lines, Special Edition - We Haven’t Got Super Kieran McKenna
Well, I didn't expect or want to write this poem as a bookend to the last season.

Some People Are On the Pitch...
My seat for QPR at home was three rows from the back of the West Stand. It offered a perfect view across along the Bobby Robson Stand so as the game went into injury time, I could see the crowd politely and excitedly hold itself back from entering the pitch.

Between The Lines, Champions League Final Edition - PSG Tips
PSG 1:1 Arsenal (AET, PSG win 4:3 on pens) UEFA Champions League Final - 30/05/26

Between The Lines, Championship Play-Off Final Edition - Tiger Feat
A couple of you mentioned doing a Saints ditty. Well, they get a brief mention here!

Between The Lines - The FA Crap Final
This isn't an ITFC poem, but for those of you starved of football-based irreverent poetry, here's my take on last weekend's cup final. Catch a recorded version on the socials soon.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of ITFC. No.47 - We’re Going Up Again!
When we look back on this game dispassionately, we’ll probably see it as comfortable. It didn’t feel it at the time, even with the two early goals. There was always a nagging doubt that if QPR somehow pulled one back, things would get nervy.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.46 - That’s Entertainment, Revisited
An extraordinary, pulsating, end-to-end-ding-dong of a game. Fantastic entertainment; what football should always be about. One game now left, three points still required.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.45 - The Point
I’m running out of words for these intros. The poem says it all. A point was needed, and we got it. Two poems left (hopefully). Three points required.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.44 - Stress
One word sums this game up. And the rest of the season, I imagine.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.43 - Monk-y Business
This was a battle that swung one way then the other, ending in a probably fair draw. And I saw a monk on the train.

No One Likes Us, Do We Care?
Scrolling through some socials after the Boro game, I was surprised at the level of antipathy expressed toward us. Although it was based largely on a view that the late penalty was dodgy, it actually went much further and painted a picture of us as a universally disliked club.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.42 - Expecting
Oh dear. Can we just forget this one? The poem’s short, let’s just get this over with and move onto Sunday. The less said the better.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.41 - Rocks
I don’t know about you, but I’m still grinning.

Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.40 - Fart Exhibition
A win. Up to second with two games in hand. That’s all you really need to say about this one.

Thoughts On What Has Gone On
The full facts of what has unfolded in the last few days at Ipswich Town FC may never be known. In what I regard as the poor and superficial public apology made by Mark Ashton that pivoted on four key factors, he has failed in my view to take true ownership or action on any of them.