Some Ipswich thoughts
Well how was it for you? Was it as good as last year or was it an anticlimax.
Personally, I didn't expect us to beat Ipswich this year and cared less about the result than I did about the Charlton games. Why? Partly, because unlike Charlton who displayed an arrogance it was difficult to dislike the tractor boys
Partly, because last year we were misty eyed interlopers, paupers who had somehow managed to get tickets to an exclusive club and were grateful for the opportunity to sample its rarefied atmosphere but wanting to make the most of that opportunity. However, since Charlton last year the club has grown in stature immensely. It is no longer a novelty to see the club's name in the national press or the TV. Lineker knows us. There was not a tremendous scramble for tickets. This was not a special occasion just another match against league opposition, one of many.
There is no Ipswich "memories" section of the website like the Charlton one although the team's performance and achievement is of equal ranking, perhaps better given the extraordinary performance against Exeter. We have become a household name through our exploits in the cup and in the conference where it seems that we are heir apparent to league status to the exclusion of other teams equally as worthy in footballing terms. In the intervening period the ground has been transformed and to a great extent so has the support and supporter's expectations. We have become a professional club in all but fact. Professional in outlook, professional in the way we present ourselves professional on the pitch and professional off the pitch. Professional to the point where we have squad rotation for LDV games! It has come to the point where we the supporters expect the team to be leaguebeaters perhaps worldbeaters.
Partly because, even with the additions to the squad this season, we do not seem as strong as the previous year especially at the back. Matthews and Cole have been sorely missed and the confidence that a strong back line gave the team is still missing. The defence has looked fragile at times and three at the back accentuates this. In midfield we still need a creative player someone who can hold the ball and make telling passes, simple passes and to bring others into play. Hill, McGavin and especially Brennan should be able to fill this role. Up front Stein and Charlery have exemplary scoring records but at times another option needs to be there in reserve.
Having said this it was still a marvellous occasion on Saturday. The uneasy feeling before the game that we would be slaughtered, the gradual realisation that it was going to be a more equal contest that we could have possibly expected, that we could be the better side. The feeling of the ground erupting when the first goal went in. The feeling of anticipation before this when Ipswich were under major, major pressure. The shot that just cleared the bar - again we were all on our feet (from our angle in the main stand it looked as if we had scored). The hard inevitability of the Ipswich equaliser and their crucial second just before half time which we failed to equalise. The gradual turning of the screw and the unwarranted injustice of the third and fourth goals. In the end Ipswich showed their class in the unhurried and professional way they took their chances they too should be congratulated.
We should now look to the future, not by treating the Trophy with the disdain that some have countenanced - this is the premier non-league cup competition but taking the opposition and the opportunity offered seriously and building on our achievements to finish in the best position that we can in the conference. We should always remember who we are and where we have come from instead of whom we aspire to be.