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A 62-year round-trip ... 18:30 - Mar 3 with 743 viewspablovian

The chances of gaining 13 points from the final 11 games are tiny. The chances of gaining 13 points more than Reading or Rotherham will gain are, for practical purposes, zero. The most we can hope for is that the team will play attractive football for the rest of the season and perhaps achieve a few unexpected wins. Then, after 62 years of continuous presence in the top two tiers of English football, the club will return to its roots.

As a Town fan for the last 52 of the 62 years, my reaction is one of relief. The first 25 years of the 62 were glory years (with a few dips). The last 35 years were choppier, with some ups but more downs. Among other circumstances, the establishment of the Premier league, with its huge financial risks and rewards, changed the nature of football. It became increasingly difficult for a relatively small club such as Ipswich to prosper; and survival in the Championship came at the costs of an over-reliance on loan players and playing an unattractive style of football. That cycle needed to be broken.

Relegation to League One is a form of homecoming. The club is big enough to prosper in League One, and will have an opportunity to evolve in ways that are sustainable and can provide a solid foundation for renewed success. In the short term, the squad can be pruned of loan players, chronically injured players, and older players. This will open up opportunities for younger players, and improve the alignment between costs and revenues. The club can return to the 'brand' of playing attractive football in front of enthusiastic supporters, which is how I remember teams of the late 1960's. If the long-term result is some more 'glory years', so much the better.

In my opinion, Paul Lambert is an almost ideal choice to manage the club at this point in its history. A believer in playing attractive football? Yes. A believer in playing in front of enthusiastic supporters? Yes. A track record of success in a comparable situation? Yes. I am looking forward to next season in a way that I have not experienced for a long time.
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