Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.21 - A Portman Road Portmanteau
Blog written by The_Flashing_Smile
Published: 12th December 2025 9:43
This was a professional performance, lit up by another Jaden Philogene wonderstrike. Stoke were decent first half, but seemed to run out of ideas. Both teams tried things that didn’t quite live up to that second-minute sizzler, but Town rarely looked under too much threat.
Would’ve been nice to watch a bit more comfortably, say for example if the wrist-bandaged Iván Azón hadn’t blasted over a keeper-free net. But you can’t have everything.
Ipswich Town 1:0 Stoke City, 10/12/2025
<b>A Portman Road Portmanteau</b>
In rows,
we watch his twinkle toes.
The old, and cold, throw off their throws.
They stand in the stands, their hands write prose.
Some fat tattoos take off their clothes.
A jinking left, a deft stepover.
The first thing witnessed by Jehovah.
Godlike, strike, a swiping right.
Quiet as an arrow through the night.
The lights,
a stage, a bird that sings
philharmonic, Philothings.
A gloves-on-head-dance celebration;
Stoke, broken, in deflation,
indignation, castigation.
Leif-t for dust, then eye dilation.
The rest? Controlled, no fuss for us.
All hail
the Philogenius.
More blogs by The_Flashing_Smile:
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.34 - A Variety Of JamsI think you, the reader of these poems, needs to feel my pain. This weekend it wasn’t with the football, which was excellent. Instead it was a traffic jam on the A12 heading back to my mum’s in Essex, which I was in, and not moving, for three hours. I managed to weave that into this poem, so it wasn’t a total waste.
Published: 2nd March 2026 12:48
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.18 - Some WordsFootball can be a frustrating game. And this one was so typical of Ipswich. Nearly 80% possession in the first half. By the end, 17 shots, seven on target, two one-on-ones, one rattled post. And yet we come away with nothing but Leif’s lovely whack. So here’s some words to sum it up.
Published: 30th November 2025 10:32
Between The Lines, The Irreverent Poetry Of Ipswich Town. No.17 - Patience For The PatientsAnother six changes, more lack of cohesion, and the less said about the first half the better. But we upped the tempo, brought on the subs, and it was comfortable in the end. Good for Akpom to get off the mark, even if it was a very-close-to-offside tap-in my mum could’ve got. McKenna, like a skilled surgeon, knows what he’s doing. Pass the scalpel, let's dissect this one.
Published: 28th November 2025 9:53
Between The Lines no.12 - Jack In The SocksAnother bloody 12.30 kick-off, and a subsequently flat atmosphere and flat game. Insomnia by Faithless played out over the Tannoy before kick-off, and the game itself was almost the cure. Only lit up by Jack Clarke’s late twinkle toes.
Published: 29th October 2025 9:59
Between The Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.6It seems last week I was a bit premature with the nautical theme.
In this week’s there’s also a bonus ex-player reference, for those of you older than 25 to spot. There’s even a Greek god reference.
Published: 25th September 2025 9:05
Between The Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.5So you may have noticed, I've changed the name from Flowing Moves to Between The Lines. I just think it's a better title. Because obviously football is played 'between the lines' on the pitch. And also, with any kind of literary work (and especially mine) one should always read between the lines!
Published: 20th September 2025 11:50
Between the Lines - The Poetry Of Ipswich Town, No.4I'm not sure why this one came out like this. I think some of you calling for a different rhyme scheme got into my brain, but this stream of consciousness came to me upon waking this morning. Sometimes I just tune in, and it all drops out. It's best not to ask questions.
Published: 5th September 2025 15:37