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----- Forwarded Message -----
From: amydownes84@hotmail.com
Sent: 23/03/2013 22:34:27
Subject:RE(3)
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Respectfully, Amy.
'Guts and determination and we will get the wins we need'
Ipswich defender Tommy Smith after their defeat to Nottingham. Town travelled to the City Ground on Tuesday to face an in form Forest. Sitting 8th in the Championship, the home team had won their last three matches and before the game their fans were confident they were about to make it four.
"At the end of the day, they are not doing any favours to the club, to the rest of the fans and to the players." Rafa Benitez's rant on Tuesday night was a rare moment of honesty and an interesting insight into the world of modern football. His criticism of the Chelsea management for defining him as an 'interim' manager confirmed what most of us had been thinking: this highly successful man could not be happy with being brought in just to tide the team over until the end of the season.
At 16:54 on Saturday afternoon I received a phone call, it was one I'd recently come to dread - but this time it was different.
That call was just after full time at St Andrew's and came from a very good friend of mine: Jordan, a Town fan for 15 years, who had made the trip up to Birmingham to watch his team play for the first time under their new manager Mick McCarthy.
They say good things come in threes and this weekend Ipswich Town travel to the KC stadium for the third time in 2012. In January, I made my first trip to what is now one of my favourite away grounds; thanks to the modern stadium, easy access from the train station and a great pub for away fans right next to the ground.
I must say, I'm starting to really feel for Paul Jewell and anyone else put up for interview at Ipswich.
They're in a position where, no matter what they say, they're going to annoy someone. For example, even I complained when in the build up to Charlton at home Carlos Edwards slipped into the terribly cliched expression of Portman Road needing to become a 'fortress'.
Some very intellegent comparisons have been made today between Ipswich and their opponents tonight: Brighton Hove Albion.
Over the years I've heard of Brighton's fight up the leagues, their struggle to rebuild after being forced out of their stadium and the loyal fan base that pulled together for the sake of their club.
Barnsley fans are a funny lot. Wherever you go in the town you will see people's who love that club. A bit like Ipswich, I'd like to think.
It's a funny place for an Ipswich fan to live too. Friday nights routinely consist of me asking the pub which game they would like to discuss: Wembley 2000 or Oakwell 2011.
The Riverside is a totally new experience for me and I'm looking forward to adding that to my list of visited grounds.
But I hate to admit that's the only part of today I expect to be exciting. It just feels to me like we are in limbo, and that's a feeling I am getting all too familiar is.
I've spent the international break trying to right a blog to explain how I feel about our dealings in the transfer window, or lack of them.
This weekend marks almost a year since my life as an Ipswich Town fan changed
forever.
The travelling faithful have an amazing weekend ahead of them as the Blues face Blackpool, no
matter what happens on the pitch.
You see, when my sister and I went to Leicester away on the final day of the 2010/2011 season we
made a pact for which games we would definitely be at during the next season.
Town's first 3 points of the season are an absolute relief.
When the fixture list came out in June there was a real consideration that we may not pick up any
points for the first 3 games of the season.
I hoped for a draw against Blackburn, but did not expect it, and I fully envisaged us coming home
from Watford empty handed: how could we dare to think about anything else against the 'bogey team'!
- Ipswich Town head to Watford tonight, a team they haven't beaten for eight years...
As if you haven't heard that enough today, right?! I've spoken to a Hornets fan about
whether that record makes him more confident. But first, what can Town fans expect from their trip
to West London today?
After a divisive season last year and an equally frustrating summer, it was nice to see the
Ipswich Town faithful united once more.
For a few hours at least.
We do have a talent for debating and arguing over manager, owner and players outside of match day,
but once we cross the threshold of Portman Road all that is left behind and we have one goal - back
the boys.
My earliest memory of Blackburn Rovers goes back to 1995.
I was in my last year at primary school and a classmate of mine was a huge fan. We used to tease
each other about results and argued over who's team was better, of course he eventually won that
argument: Rovers became Champions of England while town were relegated to the second tier.
