If you were to poll Ipswich fans on who has been the biggest waste of money since Marcus Evans invested his millions (or a few of them at least) in the Town, the competition would be intense.

However, if you were to ask the same learned bunch of people which signing has led to the biggest embarrassment I'm sure that the competition would not be as hot.

If we cast our memories back to the summer of 2011 I don't believe that I was the only fan getting excited at signing "the best Championship striker".

OK I may have got carried away a bit when I thought I'd better go for the Silver Membership - well, I had to guarantee my Wembley ticket somehow but this was a signing that showed we meant business. Oh, how wrong we were.

Two goals in the opening game v Bristol City (he always scores v Bristol City he told us) was further proof that we had the bargain that Paul Jewell had said we had - after all he cost less than half what Billy Sharp would have done.

Early season goals were OK including one against Cardiff and a brace against Brighton. But already things behind the scenes were starting to turn sour. Little did I think that the reason why I'd seen him on his own at the hotel that the players were staying at before the Cardiff game was as he'd been at the Priory all week. It wasn't long before the details of the visit by certain 'businessmen' to the training ground emerged.

Most of the rest of the season was quiet-ish - he scored enough goals to keep the fans 'happy'. He said the right things regarding his rehabilitation, Town's form improved enough for us to yet again delude ourselves that we could mount a play-off push in 2012/13 and when he posted photos of himself "in great shape" on Twitter many of us probably got all excited again.

And then the wheels fell off the tractor.

I've never been one to publicly slag off a player on any social media site but when a colleague of mine asked me 'What's Chopra done this time' my reply was 'I have never been embarrassed to see someone play for Ipswich before' - it was the race-fixing affair.

But as a fan the most depressing aspect of the season was his constant bleating on Twitter. Similar to when you want to delete a file on a computer there should be a message that appears to certain footballers on Twitter asking "Have you thought that one through?". But whether it would make any difference I have my doubts.

Chopra is symptomatic of so much that is wrong with football. He earns too much money. His disdain for fans. His lack of understanding that not everything is about him. I'm glad that he will not wear a Town shirt again, yet fear that he will come back to haunt us.

As for the 30 goals he promised us last season, he didn't even score against Bristol City.

TR11BLU added 11:13 - Jul 25 Dont worry cvillage, your fear wont come back.
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martleshamitfc added 11:59 - Jul 25 I wonder how the Blackpool fans are feeling?
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JohnStirk added 12:59 - Jul 25 I'm just relieved that next time his name appears on the front pages for some scandal or other he will no longer be referred to as "Ipswich-Town-Footballer-Michael Chopra". He should have been sacked after the race-fixing.
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Michael11 added 13:14 - Jul 25 I think the Blackpool will welcome him. He's still quite a big name in our league and teams like Blackpool don't tend to sign them. If they keep him out of trouble and give him service he'll be likely to get you about 10 goals. However, he's certainly not the 20 goal a season man many on here keep describing him as.
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FANbaseMag added 13:49 - Jul 25 I take it he went to Blackpool as he noticed they were sponsored by 'Wonga'.
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HighgateBlue added 16:22 - Jul 25 I am glad to see the back of him. It's all very well for people to bang on about how addiction is a terrible affliction, but this guy was found guilty of conspiracy as part of a race-fixing scam. There my sympathy ends.
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RegencyBlue added 20:48 - Jul 25 I'm glad to see the back of him but take no pleasure in it as some on this site are doing. Had Chopra been successful then ITFC would have benefited accordingly and we would have got something for our money. Instead, like so much of it before, the millions paid too and for Chopra may just as well have been flushed down the toilet!
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wkj added 21:09 - Jul 25 Chopra will flourish at Blackpool and we know it; that is until someone upsets him- Chopra never got his head right and never had a manager to get the best out of him. BBy the time Big M came in the damage was irreversible. I hate having bad feelings towards outward town playersbut Chopra sadly will be the biggest disappointment in a Town sorry for me; hopefully none will ever top him on that in the future. THE FUTURES BRIGHT, THE FUTURES MCCARTHY

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Sindre94 added 00:57 - Jul 26 Great blog. Always wanted him on the back of my shirt, glad I never did it. Thanks, but goodbye
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DurhamTownFan added 09:00 - Jul 26 This won't be a very popular comment, but I throught this was a pretty pointless blog. It doesn't really say anything new about the situation. If you're going to so openly slate a player (even one who's annoyed so many of us) you have to do a bit more than just say 'he took the p*ss.' Chopra's conduct compares with other failed players of the recent past like Jimmy B, for example. Or, you might go into a little more detail about exactly why he's annoyed so many of us: his Twitter activity, for example, or his 'loan' from the club, or his extortionately high wages. I guess I'm just a little disappointed that such a promising blog tailed off a bit at the end. It's very easy to slag a player off simply based on the fact that he disappointed and cost a lot of money. I feel quite sorry for the guy as a person, although as a fan I'm as angry as any other Ipswich follower. The best thing we can all do is forget the whole sorry situation and back the guys we DO have in, buying in to Mick's new plan for sustainability nad potential success!

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BotesdaleBlue added 10:23 - Jul 26 DurhamTownFan - I could not disagree with you more. I think it is a anexcellent, timely, well considered blog and one that reflects my personal views on the man to a tee. Well done cvillageblue
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ShropshireBluenago09 added 20:50 - Jul 27 Durham Town Fan - i really dont think that Chopras arrogance and problems come anywhere close to the Bullard scenario.
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chripswich added 17:30 - Jul 29 Have to agree with shropshire... Chopra is ill..like it or not he is..its an addiction that will be with him all his life...no different to gazza, george best etc etc... addicts share one thing in common (whatever the addiction), total lack of empathy for anything or anyone. Not their fault, part of the disease..he did himslef no favours at all but i wouldnt want his problem for all the tea in china...(or indeed all the money a football player earns) If youve never experienced addiction (and i mean true addiction) its frightening... Glad hes gone as we dont need the issue at the club (a team game has no place for this illness) BUT blame the people (who knew the problem) who brought him here, not the man himself. Bullard on the other hand??...where to start really?!!..just a 'orrible greedy b******

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