| Why do you want us to be successful? 14:52 - Feb 11 with 3518 views | WarkTheWarkITFC |
It's not as stupid a question as it first seems when you think about it. It's something someone asked me and my reaction was the same as most of yours probably just was and then I thought about it. Actually there is some logic there.
What do you want from watching Ipswich? What is actually realistic?
I think we can all agree we are a million miles off the Premier League. Nothing at all about the Evans reign suggested we might get promoted once he’d got his feet under the table aside from an incredible season in 2014/15 where we still needed a shock home defeat for Derby to scrape into the playoffs.
Most of our recent memories have been wars of attrition, football that isn’t pleasing on the eye and punching above our financial weight under Mick. We are never likely to see the days of the 70’s and 80’s again as football has moved on, but as recently as 2000/01 we dared to dream and achieved what seemed like the impossible. For those too young to remember it’s what Sheffield United are doing now, only we went into the last day with a chance of making one of three Champions League spots, not four.
Speaking of The Blades, not long ago they were in this division and look at them now. It can be done. But absolutely nothing (again) about the Evans reign suggests an upturn in fortunes, let alone one so dramatic.
For me, the novelty of League One has been enjoyable. New grounds. New teams. It is depressing how far we have fallen but I am not desperate to get back into the Championship. What changes? If we were to go up and play better football then great but what says that will happen? There’s no evidence for that. Lambert has been here almost 18 months and the football is worse than when he first joined.
So for me, it’s about us having a chance of success, which we do this season, integrating the youth, which we have and yet I am still utterly depressed at the state of affairs because we don’t entertain, we don’t excite and most importantly there is no pathway in place to future success. Just a few unrealistic hopes that it’ll somehow get better if Evans sells up or if Lambert leaves. What sort of dream is that?
So what is the answer? What do you actually want? I would love us to go up, push on in the Championship but that doesn’t seem possible. Look at how bad we were last season and how good Luton and Barnsley were, two teams that are now well adrift.
Rotherham were almost as bad as us last year, they have known the Championship a lot of late and yes they are a much smaller club but they are happy. They are entertained. They have an infrastructure that might let them go up, stay up and push on.
We should be looking to clubs like Brentford, clubs like Sheffield United. That build an identity, a style of play, an ethos and have some hope for the future. We seem pretty hopeless on all fronts.
It isn’t the division that’s the problem for me. It’s more exciting being near the top of League One than in the middle of the Championship. It just feels like we are drifting along, further towards disaster and that nothing — not even the sale of Wolf and Downes would help, like it would with other clubs who reinvest and push on.
Am I being too dramatic? It seems like a perfect storm of mismanagement, lack of ambition, financial contraints, coupled with how successful we have been in the past that have led us to this impossible position where I am admiring the likes of Rotherham and wishing I could be happy like their fans are with what they have got.
Dear, oh dear indeed.
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:56 - Feb 11 with 3178 views | chicoazul |
I don't particularly care anymore and I recommend everyone else do the same, as the club we all grew up with and loved is dead. Go to games with your mates or family if you want and enjoy the day, and try not to worry about the annoying bit in the middle of the drinking and carousing. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:56 - Feb 11 with 3160 views | monytowbray |
Anything to cheer about when it's all said and done would be nice. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:57 - Feb 11 with 3165 views | Herbivore |
Bit too long for me that. On integrating youth though, we've not really done that at all and that's been one of many frustrations this season. We're 18th in the league for minutes given to under 23s. If ever there was a season to be able to build for the future it was this one but instead we've persisted with mediocre journeymen rather than give the kids a chance. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:58 - Feb 11 with 3162 views | TheTrueBlue1878 |
You've answered my response word for word
"We should be looking to clubs like Brentford, clubs like Sheffield United. That build an identity, a style of play, an ethos and have some hope for the future. We seem pretty hopeless on all fronts."
Championship football, philosophy and identity similar to the mentioned clubs, a recruitment policy of finding lower league gems, and continue to develop fantastic academy talent. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:02 - Feb 11 with 3141 views | crossyitfc |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:56 - Feb 11 by chicoazul |
I don't particularly care anymore and I recommend everyone else do the same, as the club we all grew up with and loved is dead. Go to games with your mates or family if you want and enjoy the day, and try not to worry about the annoying bit in the middle of the drinking and carousing. |
Easier said than done. I think we all wish we didn't care as much as we do, but at the same time I wouldn't want it any other way. |  | | |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:03 - Feb 11 with 3137 views | WarkTheWarkITFC |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:58 - Feb 11 by TheTrueBlue1878 |
You've answered my response word for word
"We should be looking to clubs like Brentford, clubs like Sheffield United. That build an identity, a style of play, an ethos and have some hope for the future. We seem pretty hopeless on all fronts."
Championship football, philosophy and identity similar to the mentioned clubs, a recruitment policy of finding lower league gems, and continue to develop fantastic academy talent. |
I just want us to be something.
Peterborough. Accrington. Brentford. Sheffield United. Just pick what we have to be and commit to it.
We seem to be a mish mash of all sorts of things. As someone else said 18th of 23 clubs for youngest age so we aren't playing kids. The football is dire so we aren't committed to this attractive style Evans wanted. We have abandoned lower league gems after having a manager that couldn't identify players if his life depended on it.
We are a boring side, with no physicality, no guile and no cutting edge, making do with loans and journeymen players just watching on as the rot sets in.
Part of craving being successful is believing you can then push on and not be back in this position for a while, if not ever.
That has to happen through planning and not luck. If we fluke a promotion we will just be back here again. There is no actually plan in place aside from hoping for the best. | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:06 - Feb 11 with 3102 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Wasn't it Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch who defined being a fan as being a permanent sense of rage and frustration?
Depends how you define success. As someone who saw every game just about in the Robson era I can barely recall league games and final league positions... but I can recall cup runs and exits all too well.
There was plenty of moaning at Robson's teams - and Ted Phillips was a target for moaners even when en-route to 20 goals and a champions medal.
Some people are never, ever satisfied
Not too long ago Bolton were fielding a reserve team in the UEFA Cup - or whatever it is called now. Curbishley was hounded out at Charlton for taking them 'as far as he could'
I actually looked forward to relegation and some new teams and grounds - though the interest didn't last too long.... but even now you could argue Town are punching above their weight given their new straightened circumstances.
The big thing for me is the repulsive owner and what Town now stand for ... the polar opposite of what the club once were. But these things never last - as Portsmouth and Luton are now showing it is possible to recover from bad owners.
For now I'm happy to see other, better run clubs do well for their short time in the sun.... for every Sheff U and Norwich - there is a Charlton, Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan etc ...success is always fleeting | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:06 - Feb 11 with 3115 views | WarkTheWarkITFC |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:57 - Feb 11 by Herbivore |
Bit too long for me that. On integrating youth though, we've not really done that at all and that's been one of many frustrations this season. We're 18th in the league for minutes given to under 23s. If ever there was a season to be able to build for the future it was this one but instead we've persisted with mediocre journeymen rather than give the kids a chance. |
That's annoyed me too.
How much worse could the likes of Clements, McGavin, El Mizouni, Dobra etc do if we had a couple of them in the side along with the rest of what we currently have.
Every other team is playing these players and theirs are likely to be a lot less gifted than ours. Yet we are reluctant to give them a chance.
Other clubs have to and their players thrive. We are going with the same players who - if promoted - couldn't cut it a division above when they were two years younger.
Instead of players who can improve and the sky's the limit, we are persisting with Chambers and Skuse and players on the way down. | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:07 - Feb 11 with 3098 views | TheTrueBlue1878 |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:03 - Feb 11 by WarkTheWarkITFC |
I just want us to be something.
Peterborough. Accrington. Brentford. Sheffield United. Just pick what we have to be and commit to it.
We seem to be a mish mash of all sorts of things. As someone else said 18th of 23 clubs for youngest age so we aren't playing kids. The football is dire so we aren't committed to this attractive style Evans wanted. We have abandoned lower league gems after having a manager that couldn't identify players if his life depended on it.
We are a boring side, with no physicality, no guile and no cutting edge, making do with loans and journeymen players just watching on as the rot sets in.
Part of craving being successful is believing you can then push on and not be back in this position for a while, if not ever.
That has to happen through planning and not luck. If we fluke a promotion we will just be back here again. There is no actually plan in place aside from hoping for the best. |
We are a boring side, with no physicality, no guile and no cutting edge, making do with loans and journeymen players just watching on as the rot sets in. [i/]
This is are incredibly accurate words that really reflect why we have become such a dull football club. | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:07 - Feb 11 with 3104 views | Keaneish |
...because being unsuccessful is demotivating, uninspiring, unambitious and easy. This club should be doing all it can to try and emulate and surpass the golden days; being the best, is what football is about for me. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:09 - Feb 11 with 3087 views | chicoazul |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:02 - Feb 11 by crossyitfc |
Easier said than done. I think we all wish we didn't care as much as we do, but at the same time I wouldn't want it any other way. |
I wish I still felt that way brother but I think it is lost to me, and even if we were successful to some extent I wouldnt particularly care. | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:15 - Feb 11 with 3071 views | Radlett_blue |
Plenty of clubs with smaller or similar resources than Town are now established in the Premier League - Leicester have even won it & are probably going to manage another season in the Champions' League. Most of those did cheat on FFP somewhere along the way. Evans tried that strategy when he bought Town, but unfortunately backed a hopeless manager & then lost his nerve. However, even Norwich have become a yo-yo club between the top 2 tiers without risking silly money. It isn't easy & you need a fair bit of luck, but you also need to appoint decent managers & back them, while also having a "football strategy". This kept Swansea in the PL for years & they won a Cup. What Evans has always lacked is a football strategy - he has just given his good, bad & indifferent managers free rein, with generally poor results. Lambert was another "all change" & even he has thrown out what football strategy he initially seemed to bring. Given this regime, the best we can hope for is to become Championship strugglers, but event that looks a long way off with Lambert in charge. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:20 - Feb 11 with 3050 views | clive_baker |
There's a lot of focus on being in the Championship, but when all said and done it's a bit arbitrary whether we're in the 2nd or 3rd tier of football in this country to be fair.
Ultimately, I think supporters just want to be entertained, and we haven't been for a long time. League position & league status is just a by-product of winning matches, it's just maths. The table is the destination at the end of the season, but the bigger piece is what the journey consisted of along the way to some degree (although I would concede that playing poorly and winning does buy a certain level of engagement and satisfaction in itself). I want to see us being as competitive as possible in the level we find ourselves. I want to watch us win football matches, create chances, attack the opposition, and score goals. With an identity and sense of passion and purpose, bringing through young academy talent and giving those guys a break in the professional game. Ideally we would be doing that against the best sides in the country, that should be the longer term objective of course. League position is just a consequence of doing that regularly, winning matches and climbing higher up the pyramid. It's always felt a bit ar5e about face to look at it the other way around. We have to get the fundamentals and building blocks right to do that which we're way off demonstrating. We've won less than 1/2 of our matches this season, and a number of those we've sh1thoused against some really pony opposition. [Post edited 11 Feb 2020 15:24]
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:32 - Feb 11 with 3017 views | BLUEBEAT |
Guess what... it’s more fun watching your team win than watching your team lose. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:07 - Feb 11 with 2950 views | monty_radio |
Since the start of last season we have won precisely 1 in 4 of our games. In that period we have scored 77 goals in 76 games. If we failed to score today and Saturday our two season average would drop below a goal-a-game.
Before we can raise our sights to imagine where (with a little bit of TLC) the club's aspiration might reasonably be directed, we need to be a side that simply wins a little more than we lose, and sends us home with goals, and attacking intent to talk about. | |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:30 - Feb 11 with 2876 views | Edmundo |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:58 - Feb 11 by TheTrueBlue1878 |
You've answered my response word for word
"We should be looking to clubs like Brentford, clubs like Sheffield United. That build an identity, a style of play, an ethos and have some hope for the future. We seem pretty hopeless on all fronts."
Championship football, philosophy and identity similar to the mentioned clubs, a recruitment policy of finding lower league gems, and continue to develop fantastic academy talent. |
To be fair most of us thought, on first impression that Efwards, Jackson, Norwood, even Nsiala at first, were "lower league gems". We just have a shotgun policy on scouting.
Academy wise, we have Woolfy and Downes. Nydam should have been there, and Kenlock should have pushed on, but no one can make a promising player live up to expectations. It is up to them.
Yet again though, I'd agree, we have too many pros coasting. Chambers is really no natural leader, just Captain by default. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:33 - Feb 11 with 2864 views | vapour_trail |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 15:06 - Feb 11 by ElephantintheRoom |
Wasn't it Nick Hornby in Fever Pitch who defined being a fan as being a permanent sense of rage and frustration?
Depends how you define success. As someone who saw every game just about in the Robson era I can barely recall league games and final league positions... but I can recall cup runs and exits all too well.
There was plenty of moaning at Robson's teams - and Ted Phillips was a target for moaners even when en-route to 20 goals and a champions medal.
Some people are never, ever satisfied
Not too long ago Bolton were fielding a reserve team in the UEFA Cup - or whatever it is called now. Curbishley was hounded out at Charlton for taking them 'as far as he could'
I actually looked forward to relegation and some new teams and grounds - though the interest didn't last too long.... but even now you could argue Town are punching above their weight given their new straightened circumstances.
The big thing for me is the repulsive owner and what Town now stand for ... the polar opposite of what the club once were. But these things never last - as Portsmouth and Luton are now showing it is possible to recover from bad owners.
For now I'm happy to see other, better run clubs do well for their short time in the sun.... for every Sheff U and Norwich - there is a Charlton, Bolton, Blackburn, Wigan etc ...success is always fleeting |
Modern football right there. Teams get into the uefa club down to punching above their weight and immediately deprioritise it because it could threaten their PL status.
It’d be fun getting promoted (twice) to the PL, fun to avoid the drop once or twice, then pretty dull doing a Bournemouth or Palace or Stoke until the inevitable drop.
Hence charlton and curbs.
I go to non league now, have done for years and love it. I want the team I go and see to win but I don’t want them to do a Salford and go into the EFL, where I can’t move around, have a pint behind the goal, and where my kids can have a kick about. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:39 - Feb 11 with 2851 views | Metal_Hacker |
It's in my blood and has been since I was 7-8 years old . I'm now 51 and slowly but surely losing faith and interest
This for me is a pivotal season and will determine whether I let this get to me anymore .This season will determine whether I get down on Monday morning talking to work colleagues about MY team and being as always , embarrassed .This season will determine whether my Saturday nights are cheery happy ones because my team has not only won BUT won a game they weren't expected to , they pulled a rabbit out of a hat
For too long I've not felt this and this is why I want my team to be successful |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:43 - Feb 11 with 2838 views | Bent_double |
That's a pretty good question, to be honest.
I just want to be proud of the team I support, not be embarrassed when people ask which team I follow. I know, it shouldn't matter what others think, but footy fans generally used to think highly of us because of Ramsey/Robson and our achievements back in the day.
I want us to be the best team in this region, not go another 10 years without beating our biggest rivals, and never, ever to be beaten 7-1 by the likes of Peterborough, for crying out loud.
As for the PL, I take an interest in it, but I'm not that bothered about it, well, about us being in it, although if I'm honest that's probably only because in reality we are light years away from it, so it's kind of my coping mechanism!
I would take us being a yo-yo club for the time being, even between L1 and the Champ, but yes, surely the most important thing is that we develop a style of football and stick to it, and we develop good players in the Academy that go on to play for us for many years, not just sold off cheaply to the first bidder. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:43 - Feb 11 with 2838 views | textbackup |
I don’t want it for me, I want us to be up there in the prem so we can give the youngsters something to hold on to.
I’ve accepted the best I’ll ever see is the 5th place finish, I’m ok with that. But the likes of sitters romford etc deserve something. I want my nephew to see us play someone his friends all support and see us on MOTD
I’ll not walk away, Even tho I cancelled season ticket a few days before MM went, then done a U turn. But if I’m still here and it’s as bad as it’s ever been I can’t see anything making me completely leave the club. Too emotionally involved [Post edited 11 Feb 2020 16:53]
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 16:50 - Feb 11 with 2809 views | ipswich78 |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 14:56 - Feb 11 by chicoazul |
I don't particularly care anymore and I recommend everyone else do the same, as the club we all grew up with and loved is dead. Go to games with your mates or family if you want and enjoy the day, and try not to worry about the annoying bit in the middle of the drinking and carousing. |
Wow, that's pretty much my feelings towards the club now word for word. I used to have a season ticket for many years, going to a fair few away games and covered Europe in 2002/03. I used to get so passionate about the matches, if I couldn't go I would watch it on TV or find a stream where possible - failing that it would be the radio.
Now? I probably go to half a dozen games a season and really not bothered if I miss listening to the game on the radio. It's a combination of priorities in life changing and also the demise of what once was a close knit more family orientated club. But then football as a whole has changed. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 17:22 - Feb 11 with 2712 views | pablovian |
Supporting an organization that is dynamic, focused, resilient and successful is fun!
ITFC is being run amateurishly. The club is bloated, disorganized, ponderous, and dispirited. It needs a major reorganization to make it slimmer, more focused, and more sustainable.
I have some suggestions for a reorganization and will post them later this week. |  | | |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 17:45 - Feb 11 with 2677 views | Pecker |
Once we were all but down last season, I suggested that we should play the kids to get them ready for this season. I was shouted down as this would have killed their confidence. They would have been hitting the ground running this season and we would all have a side to be proud of. Instead we have ended up with what we have today. Sometimes you have to take short term pain for long term gain. Others have done it, so why not us. Lets see how this season plays out, but if we stay down here, we should definitely be looking at, as much as possible, a homegrown side. |  | | |
| Why do you want us to be successful? on 18:20 - Feb 11 with 2625 views | ThisIsMyUsername |
I haven't been to a match for about two years now due to general circumstances making it slightly less convenient for me to do so. (I could have made the effort quite easily though if I really wanted to). I'll always follow Town and still care as much as ever about how they do, but to be honest I really don't care for football at all anymore. Objectively speaking there are far more important things in life.
Doesn't really answer your question but just felt like sharing. |  |
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| Why do you want us to be successful? on 18:23 - Feb 11 with 2616 views | jeera |
People want to see their club compete with the best they possibly can.
I'd have thought ultimately that's overall aim.
Nothing like watching little ol' Ipswich turn over a big name. |  |
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