The Blueness of Everything

Let''s just say we are close rivals. That''s why we hate each other so much! There has never been a time - unlike, say Man Utd and Man City - where 2 divisions have separated us. The rise is usually followed by an inevitable fall and we are back to square one again. I personally think our rivalry is more bitter than most others. Liverpool and Everton fans work together and become quite pally and the same can be said for the London, Sheffield, Bristol etc derbies. A few miles seperate us and distance lends disenchantment. But my main point is about the money we have come into - thanks to Marcus Evans. It would be stupid to say that all Town fans are besides themselves with glee that we have been taken over by an invisible benefactor. I would rather we were still owned by the "old school". What can''t be denied is that business investment - and Evans clearly isn''t stupid - IS the only way now of progressing into the Premiership. The "family-owned" club, sadly, has had its day. The truth is that Ipswich were in such a financial pickle that we were forced to ADVERTISE ourselves as in need of a benefactor. Sheepshanks reluctantly took the option of positively sounding out future investment - knowing that his own role would be little more than a figurehead. If Norwich don''t do the same, there is no way that they compete as a force in this division. But that''s only my opinion.

I don''t like to agree with any poster who chooses the name of "Ipswichrscum", but I happen to agree that McVeigh, at his peak, was an exceptional player who could do the unexpected and win a match on his own. Some players are far more consistent, but consistent players often haven''t got the ability to turn a match in that way. I think supporters of most clubs - including Ipswich - are often too harsh on ex-players. They remember their last season, not when they were at their peak. But why this sudden sympathy for Luton? I don''t remember any offers to loan us players a few seasons back when we became insolvent.

Fair enough, you lot having a smile. I''m sure we would do the same if it was reversed. That''s what rivalry is all about. But on a more serious level, if you beat Bury and get a Premiership side later in the Cup, you might find out just how biased these elite Premiership referees are. They look after their "own teams." It''s more than a coincidence that for two years running a Premiership referee has swung the game in favour of the team in the top league against us. This elite system seems to have created an "us and them" thing  with referees. God help any Championship player who fouls a Premiership star. A red card will always await him. You might find that out for yourselves.

Marcus Evans, the asset stripper, the cherry picker? Come on, lads, you can do better than that. If Evans was simply an asset stripper, he would have invested in one of the many clubs which own their grounds. Not one owned by the council. We have no cherries to be picked. Has Marcus Evans bought the debt cheaply in order "to hold us to ransom" for a big pay-back if and when we reach the Premiership? Think about that for a moment or two. This is a man with millions to invest and who has made his fortune on wise financial decisions. Is that how you would choose to expand your "empire" if you were in his shoes? Would you call that a sound financial proposition? Much as you will hate to hear it, Marcus Evans has given us £12 million to spend because he believes we are heading onwards and upwards. His heart has ruled his head. If a similar backer appeared at NCFC, you would bite his hand off for the money. Or perhaps the offer would never be made public?

Good post, RH, I couldn''t agree more with you about Glenn Roeder''s comments concerning the sick and filthy abuse he got from some morons at Layer Road, many of them apparently old enough to know better. Unless this is checked - and it''s easier to identify the culprits these days - many decent people will say ''enough is enough'' and turn their backs on the game. There is a huge chasm between banter and the kind of thing he encountered there. If I wished for one thing in football next year it would be to eradicate that sickness - both in message boards and football grounds. We''ve gone some way to eradicating the physical violence inside and outside of grounds since the 1970''s, but in some ways the moronic and pathetic hatreds have got worse.

As it''s the season of goodwill, I wish you all the best and I hope you stay up to have two more derbies with us next season. No, I don''t think we''ll make it this year! Let''s forget aggression and rivalry for a  few minutes.. I worked in Norwich for many years and often went along to Carrow Rudd. If I had to name an all-East Anglian team, the best players I saw for Norwich were Tommy Bryceland and Graham Paddon. They were immense. But the best individual performance from any NC player  I saw was, without doubt, Hugh Curran at Portman Road. He took us apart. I am also old enough to remember the wily and bald-headed Bill Punton on the left wing - vastly under-rated in my opinion. Wynn Davies was also something special. I know we like to hate each other, but I would also like to think there is an under-lying respect. Not from the 18-year-olds + that make up most of the message boards, but some of the old-timers who can smile about our rivalry. ITFC aren''t that wicked, you know. Happy Christmas.

As an ITFC supporter, I find this argument quite funny. What has suddenly happened to prudence? Ipswich were roundly castigated for going into administration because we "lived beyond our means." Now many of the same City supporters are castigating their board for not going down that same road and getting their club even deeper into debt. Just as with Ipswich, spending money is no guarantee of survival. In fact, it brought us to administration. What really did it for us was the ITV Digital fiasco which saw transfer fees suddenly collapse within the space of a few weeks. Matt Holland went for 250,000.  A few months earlier we had turned down 10 million! The same thing happened with Darren Bent, Ambrose, Herridersson etc. You never know what''s round the corner. The day we stopped being prudent - and started lashing out on Sereni, Finidi George and all that crap - was the start of our demise. I really thought you might have learned from this. Apparently not...

The Invisible Man''s money will be perfectly visible, however. Not that we really need it. Jim Magilton has built a side capable of reaching the play-offs with virtually a mixture of youth team players and free transfers. We haven''t paid any sizeable transfer money for years. It shows it can be done, so there is hope for you yet. There is no doubt our attendances have been disappointing and I genuinely marvel at how your attendances have stood up. The one mitigating circumstance for own attendances has been the poor away form - and of course an away performance always precedes a home game! To be well beaten at Charlton wasn''t the best advert for a home game against Leicester City. And so it goes on. When we finally win away, another couple of thousand "fickles" will probably come along. Also it has to be said - with no arrogance intended - that our ground holds a few thousand more than yours. If you do eventually increase your capacity, you will find that you have a lot less season-ticket holders but a lot more who will pick-and-choose their games. Sad but true.