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My Life and Times as an Ipswich Supporter
Written by Bluetone on Wednesday, 14th Mar 2018 11:18

I am old now, 81 years old and due to distance and mobility issues cannot attend games but it is still my, along with other supporters, club.

I remember many a misty, dreary winter night making my way home along West End Road and then Yarmouth Road and on to Bramford Road traffic lights and then onwards home.

My spirits were mostly high as I had watched my team, in my eyes the only team, play and win, lose or draw they had played football, skilful football and left the crowd impatient for the next game and more of the same.

Later I joined Ipswich Town Supporters Association and played table tennis for one of several Manor House table tennis teams this was then the property of ITSA. Later my wedding reception was held at Manor House.

This was in my younger years and my love for the club never wavered.

Then as I got older travelling became a problem and still I followed my team although my attendance became less frequent and on to today when old age means I cannot get to games except on rare occasions.

But would I want to go? Would I recognise my once proud club and the current negative play on a very, very poor playing surface; I remember the pristine green pitch of past years the envy of many clubs. I feel it is no longer our, the supporters, club.

It is no longer our club, our team, it is now the property of a recluse owner whose motives are far from clear.

One day it might be our club, our team but I fear it won't be in my lifetime.




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PortmanTerrorist added 11:54 - Mar 14
The most brief, heartfelt and utterly depressing Blog this site has seen for me. Old equals wise. Sad days indeed.

The only chink of light i see is the amount of Blue in the youth coaching ranks and see no reason why someone from there should not step up, if only in a caretaker role until the end of the season.....unless the owner wants to prolong the status quo and lose a generation of supporters along the way.
17

SouperJim added 12:46 - Mar 14
Beautifully written. It can be our club again, if we can find a way to make the owner listen.
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terryf added 17:16 - Mar 14
I'm in total agreement with Bluetone's blog. Having seen the very best times and some not so great times during my 56 years as a supporter these are very sad times. Ipswich Town was renowned for playing good football and both the Owners and Players identified with the fans. Sadly over the past five years the football has been very poor fare indeed and the supporters are now totally alienated from the Owner and particularly the Manager. We crave entertainment but McCarthy will not accept any criticism of either his Team selections or tactics. His body language during in his interview with Brenner Woolley after the Shefield Utd game said it all. He may argue that he has been badly affected by injuries, particularly to the midfield, but not getting the best out of the players at his disposal is just not acceptable. It's time for change?
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RevAdrian added 21:44 - Mar 14
Bluestone. .we should find a way of you meeting Marcus Evans...I and others should be there to support you and see you are safe. I have never before cried after reading a TWTD post...I have done so now. I am 66 so I suppose I could try to do sometching. ..but what? What can we do ? You our friend remind me..inspire me perhaps...that the choice some of us has is to stay or leave or stay and fight. What does that mean? Today we cannot know in detail but maybe tomorrow we will. In order to be in a position to do this we need to be together..meeting...talking...orgarising. Names?

2

Ardentitfc1978 added 22:24 - Mar 14
Respect to you sir.
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Felstow1978 added 23:12 - Mar 14
81 years old with mobility problems ... Reckon you could be in line for a first team call-up, Bluetone 😀
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carsey added 13:55 - Mar 15
Sadly because of the way football has gone in recent years no professional club in the top two or three divisions really belongs to the supporters now. It's a business and for those seriously looking for promotion the owners will sell and change anything.
Ipswich Town FC will never exist in the same way it once did and nor will any other.
3

wayway added 21:00 - Mar 15
It is not all despair Bluetone, it is only apathy and the old Suffolk way of not protesting too much that is the problem. I have said many times on these pages Evans PLC must be faced up to. they are the problem not McCarthy, any other owners would have had him out long ago. In the dark days of the John Duncan era there was an Ipswich Town Action Group, local businessmen and farmers, influential people who were able to put pressure on the board of directors, where are these people today? We need a few people of substance to stand up and be counted, people who could put a consortium together and rid us of these faceless absent owners. I have said before, the owners of the Port of Felixstowe would be a good fit for ITFC, what we need are influential people, ex players included, able to approach them and sound them out. Is it just apathy holding them back. We want our old club back with the respect it used to have before it is too late
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RevAdrian added 22:19 - Mar 15
Wayway...completely agree but how can we begin to make this happen?
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Felstow1978 added 22:26 - Mar 15
Sorry wayway, meant to upvote you. Curse of the chubby fingers I'm afraid 🙂
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AlexanderFields added 22:48 - Mar 15
This blog chimes with me. The first Town match I attended at Portman Road was versus Bishop Auckland in the FA Cup Third Round Proper on January 8, 1954. Town drew 2-2 and lost the replay the following Wednesday 3-0. After that disappointing start, I was lucky enough to enjoy the exhilarating days of Ramsey, Robson and Burley. Keane and Jewell were, let's say, the anti-climax. I seldom get to Portman Road these days as I have a long distance to travel but I keep up with what goes on, via newspapers, radio and the telly, and I get to at least two of the nearer-to-me away games each season. I don't much like what I have read, heard or seen this past few seasons. It saddens me that our wonderful club has fallen into such a moribund state, and I hope for a return to better times in future, although, realistically, I don't think they could ever again be as good as in times past when we had local owners who cared and were seen to care, and managers who built teams that played the beautiful game adventurously. Sadly, the game itself isn't what it was then. Boringly, it is dominated by a few big boys with all the money and all the clout. As I see it, the best the rest can aspire to now is promotion followed by survival for a season or two in the bottom half of the Premier League as little more than cannon fodder for the biggies. And, of course, the consolation prize of parachute money when eventually relegated. Compared with the heady achievements of the long-gone glory days, it isn't much to hope for. Although it's a lot better than the prospect of hoofing along forever, mid-table forever, in Division Two (sorry, The Championship).
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brittaniaman added 11:48 - Mar 16
Just to say Hi way way, with you all the time, But we have an Arrogant Belligerent Yorkshireman who is so Stubborn and would stay here for another season just to annoy the fans more !!!!
He can do the Talk, Talk, with Evans so there not much hope that he will be going soon unfortunately
1

MBG added 10:30 - Mar 17
I know exactly how you’re feeling, Bluetone. It is no longer our club and the owner doesn’t care what the fans think otherwise he would have done something to arrest the alarming fall in attendances. At most other sizeable clubs there would have been a supporters group scrutinising very carefully what was being done and calling for change. It might not happen in your lifetime or mine but there should be a campaign by fans and local business to take back control of this once great club.
2

MVBlue added 14:34 - Mar 17
This. As they say.
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awayfan added 10:11 - Mar 20
Written from the heart. Your second and third paragraphs in particular are lovely. Your memory of the crowd being left "impatient for the next game and more of the same" perfectly captures what we once had and what is so glaringly missing under the current owner and manager.
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