In the second part of a series reflecting on what has been a memorable season, Mullet and HarryfromBath, with the help of some opposition supporters, reflect on a month in which our campaign really got into its stride.

If August had yielded a mixed bag of results, a lot of worry about the future of David McGoldrick and a potential move to Leicester, and a surprising amount of negativity from some quarters, it also quietly announced the arrival of Kevin Bru and Teddy Bishop.

Ipswich had faced two teams everyone thought were going up. They'd only been beaten by one and produced a brilliant improvisation to draw away from home to the other.

September started halfway through, with Town playing host in quick succession to Millwall and Brighton on the 13th and 16th respectively.

The South Londoners were up first on the Saturday and following the international break Mick decided not to add to the squad but allowed Frank Nouble to join Coventry. The youngish gamble was no longer required having worked very hard, but never really earning the trust of fans and manager alike.

Town showed little in the way of rustiness with a lead taken right before half-time. David McGoldrick snuck a ricocheted effort in right before half-time, with Daryl Murphy securing the points halfway through the second spell. Showing a knack for the second ball as Christoph Berra failed to score from a corner only for the Irishman to stab home the save high into the net.

“The 'Ipswich Curse' of the last few seasons has struck again. I think Holloway needs to get all the strikers in our squad together sit them down and have a good long chat”, “We have a non-league group of forwards. I would be surprised if they score 10 between them”, “We have two-bob pricks up front who couldn't hit a barn door.”

The Lions' inquest was primarily aimed at a toothless attack, but there was an echo of Fulham fans' post-match analysis from the previous month when discussing our clinical finishing. “We threw that game away today. For the first 40-plus minutes we controlled that game. Then a lack of concentration and mistakes let them take control.”

“Our strikers have failed in eight games. We'll be found out now because we're playing decent opposition. Ipswich hardly had to try. They had chances and two goals”, “Millwall lack pace and energy in depth, vision behind the front man and a decent centre forward to play the way Holloway wants.”

Brighton suffered similar fate with a similar styled Town and the same line-up. The popular combination of Tyrone Mings and Jonny Parr as the full-backs saw Tommy Smith join local boy Luke Hyam on the bench for a second time.

It would take two late goals, a well-worked move that saw Parr finish from close range on 79 and Murphy again weigh-in with a goal just two minutes off the final whistle, to give Town another two-goal victory. Six from six in a super start to September.

Most Seagulls felt that their team was well in the game until we opened the scoring. “I thought we played well apart from 15 minutes in the first half. We were unlucky with the goal and then had to chase the equaliser”, “We were better for much of that game”, “Anyone who thinks Ipswich were two goals better than us needs their head seeing to.”

“It was a tight game against a good side. We probably edged it up until the goal but they got the breakthrough. I felt we would get at least a comfortable draw but then a defensive cock-up blew it for us.” A minority of Albion fans saw things differently: “We are in a relegation battle this year”, “We were terrible tonight. I have to say I am a bit worried.”

Thanks to the meddling of Sky an unwelcome trip to Wigan was delayed until the Monday night. With it came changes. Hyam found himself in the starting line-up and Conor Sammon joined him as the midfield and strike force became three apiece and looked pretty sweet.

Again Mick shuffled his pack as Town faced the last of the newly-relegated and much-fancied sides barely weeks into the season.

Wigan showed their recent Premier League class with pace and power but Town neutralised them with aggression and well timed fouls. Bookings of note for Berra and Mings did much to dampen the home side's forward momentum and incense the home fans. Young Tyrone showed his many talents extended to the art of the wind-up, drawing much noise from the locals.

It would be returning Ipswich lad Hyam who would open the scoring. He emerged from the carnage of a battling Town move involving players from all three parts of the park, arms aloft in celebration, sweeping home thanks to guile and gusto from his colleagues.

Compounding Latic misery was former Wigan goal-getter Sammon. The man who had raised eyebrows when Mick signed him would eventually walk the ball into the net for a second-half, second Blues goal. Town showed great fluidity and used the two banks of three ahead of the robust defence.

A third debut from the returning Darren Ambrose in yellow boots and brief flashes of play not that much easier on the eye gave Town fans lots to talk about - even a smashing effort from Martyn Waghorn wasn't enough to get the manhandled Latics back in touch.

It was three wins from three and nine points that sent Town flying up the table. We were on a 12-place dash to just one spot off the play-offs.

“Sadly, although I am usually the eternal optimist, I have to agree that I am struggling here”, “After last night I have come to the conclusion that Latics are bad enough to go down”, “A complete embarrassment of a non-performance - again. This is really, really bad. We have no structure in the team. Chaotic.”

For the third game in a row, opposition fans were left fretting over their prospects for the season. “It's effing woeful. I was a huge fan of Uwe Rosler, but I am now beginning to wonder”, “I never enjoyed how we played under Owen Coyle, but the people defending Rosler have little ground to stand on.”

Latics contrasted their lethargic play with Town's urgency and industry. “Ipswich have snapped at Latics' heels all night, especially in our own half. Their defenders were able to let the bounce a couple of times before clearing it with no Latics player putting any pressure on him.”

Some Latics were less pessimistic. “I do think we will improve as the season goes on and talk of relegation is pure nonsense. However, I have a quiet resignation about our promotion prospects and will be delighted if we reach the play-offs”, “At least good old Sammon scored. Miss that beast of a man!”

Next up were former Town players' club Rotherham United. Championship new boys and under the charge of the much-hated Evans (Steve) faced a changed Town. Kevin Bru came back into the starting line up since Derby in a different part of the midfield. The same attacking three were supported by Bru, Hyam and Ando in a central three. Midfield stalwarts Cole Skuse and Jay Tabb both succumbed to absence but they were barely missed.

In just six minutes Murphy and then McGoldrick struck to give Town yet another two-goal win without reply. Former Town glovesman Loach got nothing on a spectacular second goal from Didzy's long range effort, following Murphy's instinctive take in the second phase of play leading to the first goal. Town were in fine fettle and the game wasn't even in double digits.

Despite Town failing to score a third from several chances in the first half, the second would see the visitors pressurise us through Alex Revell. The large frontman made little headway despite being given more than one chance to find an opening.

Elliott Hewitt and Balint Bajner both appeared as Town looked to tighten up and play out the game, all but over for 80 minutes or so. Four games in and Town were 100 per cent despite injuries robbing us of being at full complement.

“I'm gutted we've lost but having just watched the game I'm not sure about some of the comments. Ipswich have not hammered us. In fact we had a lot of the ball second half. It just seemed there was no bite. We all knew it was a long old slog.”

Millers accepted that the game was lost in the opening exchanges. While some felt that their team gave a good account of themselves especially after the break, the majority thought that we saw the game out comfortably. “Credit Ipswich too, they're a good side and will beat most at Portman Road. McGoldrick is a class act.”

“When you go 2-0 down in five minutes at Portman Road, you think it's going to be a long day. We came back into it and I think second half was an absolute one-way domination of a football match.”

“Domination is total command. We did not do that. We are in full control doing lovely sideways passes up until the final third. Then it is complete panic, knee-jerk football that has no composure to create the 'right' chances.”

The 4-3-3 stayed as Mick again completely changed the midfield thanks to the availability of Skuse, Bishop and Hyam. The young Town academy products had raised quite a lot of admiration for themselves and Mick, in a month which saw win upon win and the sense that we had much stronger squad than the one that started the season. This belief was compounded by the addition of returning loanee Joniesta.

The little Welsh wonder started on the bench but had been a treasure in the absence of McGoldrick last year, almost giving hope of a play-off campaign until the last few games.

His welcome return got off to a dream start. Town looked uncharacteristic and caught cold as the Owls took the lead in a Tuesday night fight in Sheffield.

In truth Town's heroic month looked to have finished early as the striped shirts of Wednesday ran rampant and were making a case for being a lot more than one goal up.

Just short of an hour gone and Williams replaced Bishop. Four minutes later he was stabbing home like a smiling assassin. He didn't look that fit or that sharp but he slipped his stuttering way between defenders, like a butter knife through ribs and killed off the chances of defeat.

A draw was a decent result but the first non-win of the month still felt like a small victory of sorts. Thirteen points was far from unlucky as Town found themselves two points clear at the top of the form table. Bizarrely it also meant Town dropped in the proper table from fourth to fifth.

It was of little consequence. The feeling Town were not just on the up but under the radar of most clubs and pundits was strong. Blues fans could look at the car crash of August in the rear-view mirror. Whilst some were talking of pulling away, we were flying and not a parachute payment in sight.

“We would have won had the ref blown for the blatant handball when they scored.” Two disallowed goals for the hosts, coupled with a perceived handball by Jonny Williams in the build up to our equaliser left many Owls feeling aggrieved with the officiating by the “three stooges in the middle”.

“We would have won if not absolutely cheated by the ref with their goal. Tactically Gray's strategy of defending, pressing and basically playing for clean sheets is the reason we are so far up the table”, “It will be interesting to see the replays of our two disallowed goals and their goal.”

It was interesting to note how our rise up the table coincided with opposition fans beginning to use descriptions which would increasingly get used to hearing as the season would progress…

“Ipswich are a typical Mick McCarthy side - hard-working, stubborn, direct and difficult to beat”, “That was a decent result against an in form team especially missing our best three outfield players”, “They stopped us playing our natural game and we struggled to find a rhythm.”

If August had been embryonic and experimental then September had been revelatory. New faces, new belief, new formations and ways of going at teams.

Whether Mick had just managed to get the blend of the squad right once the window had closed, or the fixture computer had been less brutal; the change from struggling to the best team in the league that month was promising to say the least.

It would be the small matter of four games in October that would see if those promises like the dominant form could be kept.

2014/15 Championship Date Range: 1-AUG-2014 to 30-SEP-2014

Photo: Action Images

Leithblue added 21:51 - May 25 enjoyed reading that. Fingers crossed for October!
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TractorBeezer added 23:56 - May 25 These are great....good insights supported by video clips and not to lengthy. Once again,thanks very much Harry and Mullett for making it interesting and allowing us to savour our best season for a long while!
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Miles added 02:07 - May 26 How influential was didsy in these games. Involved in most of our goals even if he wasn't scoring. A fully fit on form front 3 of Murphy sears and didsy could be sensational next season. Good times ahead. Excellent work Harry and Mullet!
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Surco72 added 10:54 - May 26 I would say it not just highlighted Didsy and Bishops need to be in the team but the fact Parr was playing in the back four . Games played last season with Parr at full back P 15 W9 D5 L1 When we reverted back after Christmas we started conceding and losing games
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carlisleaway added 17:33 - May 26 Roll on October
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