BlueHope76

Oh I get it, this is a football forum and like all others there are reasonable people, idiots and everything inbetween. I fully appreciate that many on here don't want to discuss the fortunes of ITFC, however judging by the number of threads started on the subject, I would suggest there are a fair few who do. I am also more than happy to discuss the fortunes of NCFC, not just ITFC, and have done previously. Regarding the 'schoolboy' jibes, its frankly absurd to describe what you may see on TWTD as "crass abuse" while trying to paint this forum as all love and light where ITFC are concerned. As you point out yourself its a strong rivalry, there is no overall moral high ground, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other, surely. There are also at least two NCFC fans that are long term accepted residents on the TWTD board and several others who pop up from time to time, one or two of whom invest quite a lot of time pretending to be Ipswich fans, which is particularly sad, and rather pointless. There were two recent threads on here regarding the new ITFC investment and I gave my views on that. I'm not sure what more I can add to that debate really as I am no financial expert. Time will tell if it is a good or bad thing, you seem to be leaning towards the latter but there is little evidence to support that. All I can say is the ownership group have so far delivered on all of their promises and they seem to be invested in the football club itself, not just purely as a vehicle to make money. I'm not sure there are any ownership models that are massively appealing in the modern game but I certainly don't see any signs currently that we are about to turn into the next basket case ie. Reading, Sheffield Wednesday, or Blackpool. I have no doubt that at some point they will look to sell and cash in on their 'investment' but if we are in the Premier league at that point then it will be fine by me. Regarding Mckenna, there is that work again, 'lucky'. Is it lucky if you do your research and pick a talented young coach that aligns with your vision of the clubs future who then goes on to start delivering it? I'd say we have to give Mark Ashton a bit of credit there, of course there is always an element of luck with any appointment and no guarantees it will work out but this is not some lucky punt. When Mckenna leaves it will be a sad day but I also know we will be in one hell of better place than we were when he arrived and thats' all you can ask for from any manager really.

All largely true and I didn't like our approach to the home Derby myself but there you go. The tables are turning though and regardless of what happens this season we are now on the up and far more competitive with yourselves again As for coping with success, I'll let you know if/when we actually have any.

What a charmer you are. I'm here for reasoned debate because we are now in the same division, we are playing each other and there is an interest. When we were in league one and you the prem, there didn't seem much to talk about really other than you mocking us for being in division 3 ( understandably ) and us mocking you for getting hammered in the prem. It was all a bit boring frankly.

Wrong, our average attendance for the 5 years prior to this season ( excluding covid ) is just over 20'000. It has obviously gone up this season and last due to winning lots of matches, hardly a great surprise or a 'joke'. What do you think your attendances would be if you suffered a period similar to the 15 years of dross we had under Evans? Do you think they would drop off quite considerably and then shoot back up if you became successful again? I think we both know the answer to that one.

Lol 🙂 they clearly didn't watch our second half yesterday, must have forgotten to administer the drugs at half time!

Because its as tight as a gnat's chuff at the top and it would only take a small drop off in form to let the others back in. If we have another repeat of our December form ( ie. lots of draws ) then we will probably be consigned to the play-offs. The narrative from some on here will then be that we've bottled it, but I will never accept that as whatever happens now our team has had an extraordinary season and for me we are still punching well above our weight.

We will see, its certainly going to be interesting to say the least. I am just genuinely happy to part of the conversation again near the top of this division, until Mckenna came in that seemed like a very long way off indeed.

I genuinely don't get why you would think this. Maybe i'm a pessimist but I still have us down as finishing 3rd or 4th. We looked jaded yesterday, were lucky to win and now face Southampton and yourselves before some other very tricky fixtures. I was very confident for the upcoming derby a couple of months back, not so much now. Anything could still happen, I wouldn't even write off Southampton for top two if they beat us.

Totally agree, I certainly take nothing for granted in regards to this season. As good as we have been it could still end up going horribly wrong and yes we could ( god forbid ) lose to you in the play-offs again. Either way It's going to be an exciting end to the season for both our teams though.

WIth hindsight I will admit I did get a bit carried away. Still think a fair few of ours would improve you but equally you have a few that would make us better as well. Anyway, I will let this thread be now, seeing as it is from December!

Is that it? That's my crime is it? listing some ITFC players that I think would walk into your side. You dragged up a months old thread for that, how strange. For the record I think that was fairly accurate at the time, now that your team has finally started performing to their potential and you have the likes of Sargent back, maybe not so many would get in. It's still an interesting topic for debate though, not sure why it seems to have upset you much, but hey ho.

Did I say some bad words Nigel?

It did come out of the blue yes, I have no problem admitting that. Whether it will turn out to be good, bad or indifferent in the long run I really have no idea but plans for a new training ground and stadium re-development are progressing which are long overdue and can only be a good thing i'd have thought. You and I can be concerned about our clubs as much as we like but ultimately we have no control whatsoever over the ownership situation so personally it is not something that keeps me awake at night. What will be, will be.

I'd say he is a top Championship player when fully fit and firing, maybe even lower end prem, but he clearly has some issues which are holding him back. I hope for his sake he is able to overcome his demons.

Not saying it isn't a fact, i'm just not sure what point you are trying to make. Everybody in the EFL makes a loss don't they? I've not checked NCFC's accounts but I can't imagine you have made a profit very often in recent years and that's with some pretty significant player sales as well. I also make you incorrect about us being in trouble if not promoted this season. There is a medium to long term plan in place and we have just received significant new investment to put towards the infrastructure of the club. We have not gambled on promotion this season so are not about to go pop if it doesn't happen.

Thanks, however I think you may be in the minority there! 🙂

Football club outside the Premier League in making loss shocker...... I mean seriously, there is nothing to see here really is there? I know you guys want to see us fail and I get that but pretty much all EFL clubs and even a fair few in the prem are making losses aren't they? Its just the current landscape of Football in this country at the moment unfortunately.

I'm a blue and would have to agree with you here. We have made great strides on the pitch but in terms of the infrastructure of the club we are still several years behind you. Of course we can't fix this overnight after years of neglect under Evans and the club seem to be moving as quickly as they can to address the issues. Whether this new this 'investment' is good, bad or neutral remains to be seen but so far the ownership have done exactly what they said they were going to do.

Think you'll find the first insult was from Branston n0bhead, I was just merely responding while correcting the bs he was spreading, although probably a waste of time as it appears rife on this site. Not sure many have beaten Wednesday 6-0 but then again we did get 6 lucky goals again so I don't suppose it counts. I've been on here when we have lost and not been on here when we have won, makes no difference to me. We got done at Cardiff on late set plays, fair play to them, it happens, move on to the next one.

No you haven't....... n0bhead.

Nobody at ITFC said that. Danny Cowley said it and the media decided to run with it, but hey, don't let facts get in the way.

Because I'm interested in the NCFC perspective as well as our own. Quite simple.

Fair do's. I keep forgetting some people take the rivalry ( and football in general ) far too seriously. I guess I did too when I was younger but have mellowed much with age. I will await the outcome of tonights games with much interest, it is starting to feel like destiny to me that we meet in the play-offs, wont that be fun!

Cool Story Bro.

A very sensible post. I don't actually come on here to wind people up, believe it or not. At the start of the season I was genuinely interested in reasonable debate and managed it with a few posters but then got bored with the 5-10 other posters that would chip in with "f-off Binner etc". every time. More recently I have just countered some on the utter nonsence that is posted on here. Every time we win it is apparently lucky and every time we draw or lose we are "bottle jobs" or "mentally weak". It should be clear to anybody with a half a brain that this Ipswich team is about as far removed from those descriptions as you can possibly get, and yet such is the quality at the top of the divsion we may still miss out. What ever happens now I know our team with never give up and will never be bottlers. I agree with everything you have said above and if we do go up it will be a season of struggle, lots of defeats and a few hammerings. But as you say if we dont make it there is a very good chance the Mckenna will be poached. Whatever happens I think it is going to be an exciting end to the season for both our clubs and the Derby is looking like it will be huge. Bring it on, I say.