Preview: Ipswich V Southend

After the drama at Roots Hall last Saturday, (Why Linesman? Discuss), the action moves to Suffolk for a relatively local game with Ipswich Town. Having got just a point the next three games, two at home v Burnley and Leeds, will decide the size of the task that faces us to stay in this division. (Leeds is now a complete sell out.)

There can be no doubting the effort that the team showed in the last third of the game v Leicester and certainly MacCormack must return for the full 90 minutes, Maher is all the better when he's there. (As well as being the main reason Captain Kev's form was good enough to get him into the Championship team for February.) However it must also not disguise the poor display for most of the first half and a lot of the second, even after Freddie equalised. The defensive errors we believed had gone have crept back in, (is Sodje fully fit?), with Barrett's injury at this time unfortunate. Hammell had a good run out for the reserves and will more than likely return. Up front, with Foran out suspended, Bradbury will probably keep his place, though Harrold scored a brace in the same reserve match v Stevenage, but we must play more to his strengths with balls played to the feet so he can bring Freddy into the match, Freddy being far too reliant on Captain Kev as his sole supplier at the moment. (Though the news that we were interested in the pacey Millwall man Marvin Williams who went to Torquay, where he had worked with their Director of Football Colin Lee at the New Den, shows that Tilly has concerns about Bradbury's lack of said pace.) JCR has also seemed to have a lost a bit of his spark recently so a return to form there will be very welcome.

We face an Ipswich side who have won their last two games to move away from the relegation zone they were sliding into at great pace after losing five on the trot before doing us a favour by beating QPR and Hull consecutively. (Though scoring five at Hull, the onloan forgotten man Francis Jeffers doing the damage, was rubbing it in a bit when we are your next opponents!) As Ipswich boss Jim Magilton said after the game; "Franny was outstanding and a real threat. He will always score goals at this level. I was absolutely delighted with his performance. He was the outstanding individual for us and has real quality. He gets one chance in this game and takes it - and that's the difference. We felt he could give us something." Well, not against us thanks very much. The Ipswich team v Hull; Price, Wright, De Vos, Bruce, Harding, Peters (Haynes 72), Garvan, Legwinski, Roberts, Jeffers (Walters 63), Lee (Richards 79).
Subs Not Used: Supple, O'Callaghan. It's Lee though who top scores though with 13 goals, one of which was against us in the disaster at Roots Hall.

Said disaster was on October 21, during our 'dodgy' period, with a collective defensive madness just after half time leading to a 1-3 defeat, Francis gaining the consolation. Other than that we've actually held our own against the Blues of Suffolk. Of 30 matches we have lost 11 but drawn 10 and won 9. Our biggest defeat was back in September 1947 when we lost 0-4 at Portman Road but gained a decent revenge at Roots Hall on April 29 1952 with a 5-0 result, Wakefield(2), Thompson, Sibley and Grant scoring. A game nearer in recent memory was on April 20 1996 when Marsh hit an injury time screamer to win the game 2-1 in front of a 8,363 crowd with many of that number having left the ground. The first time ever we played them was in Division 3 South on the 27th of August 1938 away, sadly a 2-4 defeat, Bushby(2) getting our goals. While the last time at Portman Road was a 1-1 draw on November 9 1996 with Andy Rammell grabing a suspiciously offside 30 yard equaliser.

THE GROUND: The overall look of the ground has greatly improved, with the redevelopment of both ends in recent years. Both these ends, the Greene King (South) Stand and the North Stand, are similar in appearance and size, and dwarf the smaller older stands, located on each side of the ground. Unusually, both ends have a larger upper tier which overhangs slightly the smaller lower tier. Both have windshields to either side of the upper tier and they are completed, with some spectacular floodlights perched on their roofs. Both sides are much older stands and now look quite tired in comparison. On one side, the fair sized Britannia Stand is a three tiered covered stand, with a row of executive boxes running across its middle. Opposite is the smaller Cobbold Stand. Again it is two tiered and has a row of executive boxes. However it is only partly covered, with the small lower tier of seating being open to the elements. Outside are two statues of two former Ipswich and England managers. One is of World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsay and is located on the corner between the Cobbold and North Stand, while Sir Bobby Robson's statue is placed behind the Cobbold stand in Portman Road.

Away fans are placed in one corner in the upper tier of the Cobbold Stand at one side of the pitch. Up to 1,700 away supporters can be accommodated (or according to some - crammed in). An additional 400 seats are also made available in the Family Section of the Cobbold Stand, where further concessions are available. Although the views from this area are not too bad, the leg room is a little cramped and as with the rest of the stand the facilities are beginning to show their age. On the plus side, away fans can really make some noise from this stand, contributing to a real great atmosphere though be warned of some over zealous stewarding.

THE PUB: The main away supporters pub is the Station Hotel, which, guess what, is located just outside the railway station and has been a traditional meeting place for away fans. It certainly was the last time we played there 11 years ago where we enjoyed a 2-0 England win v Georgia on the TV before our kick off, a decent pint of Directors if I remember correctly. Other pubs in the area such as the Victoria, the Hare & Hounds and the Swan, are very much home pubs and are best avoided by Shrimpers.

THE CAR: Follow the A14 around Ipswich, until you see the turning for Ipswich (A137). Stay on this road and you will eventually see the ground on your left. Bill Leggate adds 'there is extremely limited on-street car parking around the ground. There are however three car parks in Portman Road with a total of about 800 spaces. Two are pay and display and one is pay on admission. Early arrival is recommended to ensure a space close to the ground. There are several town centre car parks within 10 minutes walk all of which are well sign posted, plus there there is a multi storey car park located next to the railway station.

THE TRAIN: The ground is only a quarter of a mile away from Ipswich train station. You will see the ground as you come into the station. Ipswich is served by trains that you can catch by changing at Shenfield or, for us exiles, start at London Liverpool Street.

THE HISTORY: Popularly known as the Blues for the colour of their jerseys, or Town for short. The horse in the club's crest is a Suffolk Punch. A recent nickname for Town is "The Tractor Boys", developed when the club enjoyed brief success in the Premiership during the 2000-01 season against more fashionable clubs. The nickname was often sung back at opposing fans with irony at their mocking of Ipswich's agricultural roots. Ipswich Town's history - particularly under manager Bobby Robson in the 1970s and early 80's - arguably places them as one of the most successful clubs in the country relative to the small size of the town from which they hailed: for a decade the club from a small backwater in East Anglia competed with the very best in the country and Europe. However, the club's glory years seem some way away from the current position of financial hardship after administration in 2002-03 and failure to secure promotion and with the club forced to sell its best players, the future looks uncertain.

Ipswich have had several spells in the Premiership, the most recent being between 2000 and 2002, whilst under George Burley. Under Burley's successor, Joe Royle, Ipswich twice reached the promotion playoffs, only to lose both times in the semi-finals to West Ham United. After finishing the 2005/06 season in 15th place in the championship, Royle resigned as manager on 11 May 2006 and former club and Northern Ireland captain Jim Magilton was appointed as manager on 5 June 2006 with former academy director Bryan Klug assisting as first team coach. The club is currently going through a major rebuilding process and is at is weakest point for many years, not least because of serious financial problems off the pitch.

The club's main local rival is Norwich City. When the two teams meet it is known as the 'East Anglian Derby', or, informally, as the 'Old Farm Derby', a comic reference to the name given to football matches between Celtic and Rangers in Scotland. Although in recent years, the two clubs have been more evenly matched, with each spending periods in the top tier of the English league whilst the other remained in the division below, it is Ipswich Town who have enjoyed the more successful and glamorous history: providing two England managers (Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson) and winning the Football League (1961-62), FA Cup (1977-78) and UEFA Cup (1980-81) in addition to coming runners up twice to the Football League champions, in 1980-81 and 81-82 respectively.

Indeed, Ipswich have launched the careers of two England managers. Alf Ramsey guided Ipswich to the first division title in their first season as a top division team (1961-62). In 1966 England won the World Cup under his management. Bobby Robson took Ipswich to an F.A Cup win in 1978 and UEFA Cup victory three years later, as well as achieving second place in the league on two occasions. He then went on to manage England in the 1986 and 1990 World Cups, taking England to a Semi Final spot in the latter. In some respect, it is thought that Ipswich has supplied England with two of the most successful managers in its long footballing history.

Ipswich's last spell in the top division ended in relegation after two seasons, but the first season of this short-lived spell at the top yielded a fifth place finish in the Premiership and qualification for the UEFA Cup. As an added bonus, manager George Burley was voted Manager of the Year by his counterparts for his achievement with newly promoted Ipswich, and, upon their relegation, Ipswich were awarded a place in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup via the 'Fair Play Award'.

A nickname which is popular for Town is 'The Tractor Boys'; a name linked of course to the town's agricultural history. The nickname originally applied to near neighbours Norwich City, and was first heard in the 1970s but soon fell into disuse. Although there is a certain amount of controversy surrounding this, the first generally-accepted use of the nickname appeared at a losing away game at Birmingham City late in the 1998/99 season, with the home fans chanting "no noise from the Tractor Boys", a name which stuck. Barracking by the so-called larger clubs during Town's entry into the Premiership lent the ironic chant: '1-0 to the Tractor Boys' increased potency and publicity, and the nickname was eagerly snapped up by the media. Another possible reason for reviving this old nickname coincided with Suffolk pub team, Earl Soham Victoria, winning the Carlsberg Pub Cup Final in 2000. The nickname was adopted by Victoria and was chanted by 2,000 followers at the Wembley final in which they were triumphant. A few of these supporters, also Ipswich fans, then began to chant this at Portman Road. Town manager Jim Magilton once commented in the local press that he disliked the nickname, saying that it conjured up, "images of carrot-crunching yokels";it appeared that he was unaware of why the most vociferous of Town fans were referring to themselves as such.

As that season progressed, and Town surprised everyone by remaining close to the very top of the table, Town merchandise began to include the nickname. Car stickers reading "...ploughing up the Premier League" were very popular amongst some fans. Other fans remain mildly embarrassed at the nickname and its connotations, because they consider the agricultural reference to be disparaging. The popularity of the chants/nickname, and the reason for its sudden spread, is probably due to the fact that it is otherwise inoffensive. This meant that whole families could join in the chant all around the ground, and put related stickers in their car windows. However, with the club's relegation from the Premiership in the 2001-02 season and subsequent decline, the "Tractor Boys" chant is rarely heard.

On 5 June, 2006 at a press conference, Jim Magilton was officially unveiled as the new manager and former Academy Director Bryan Klug, who coached and helped develop players such as Owen Garvan, Kieron Dyer, Darren Ambrose, Richard Wright, Darren Bent Titus Bramble and Billy Clarke was appointed to assist as first team coach.

At the start of the 2006-07 season, many predicted a poor league finish for the club, the likes of the News of the World stating that Ipswich Town would only manage 19th place in the Championship due to lack of transfer activity and the inexperience of the new manager.

Magilton started his management career with 3 straight defeats. This was followed by a first round defeat in the League Cup at the hands of Peterborough. His first win as a manager came in a 3-1 away win at QPR with a promising display before recording consecutive 2-1 victories over Southampton and Coventry City.

With a new man in charge there has been cautious optimism from the Town fans. Positive signs have included a fantastic team performance in the 3-1 victory against the old enemy Norwich who were out played by a young and mobile Ipswich Town team.

It is also during the Jim Magilton era when Sir Bobby Robson pledged his loyalty to the club by agreeing to become their president, an act which was met with great pleasure and gratitude form all Ipswich Town fans.

With sections of the club's support seeing the last decade as been the most turbulent in the club's history, with constant fluctuation in the club's fortunes many fans appear prepared to settle for a period of steady progress and good, passing football, not good enough to go up but not bad enough to go down.

· Ipswich have provided England's two most successful managers (Sir Bobby Robson and Sir Alf Ramsey).

· They are the only club to have ever won the English top flight division in their debut season (1961-62).

· They were the first English club to parade Dutchmen in their side, being the hugely successful Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijjsen.

· When in The Premiership tests proved that the Portman Road crowd was the loudest in the league.

· Portman Road was the first all seater stadium in the United Kingdom.

· Ipswich were the first British Football Club to have a website.

· Roger Osborne fainted when he scored Ipswich's winning goal in The FA Cup Final through a combination of heat and excitement.

· Ipswich can boast a better head to head record with local rivals Norwich City F.C.. Ipswich have won 43% of the matches, Norwich winning 36% and then drawing the remaining 21%.

· Whilst in the Premiership, during the 2000-2001 season, Ipswich were awarded both best pitch and best programme. Manager George Burley also received manager of the year.

· There are statues erected of three former Ipswich Managers. Two - Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson - are in Portman Road. The third statue is of Jackie Milburn in Newcastle City centre.

· Ipswich Town remain unbeaten at Portman Road when playing in Europe.

(Thanks to the usual suspects for help with the above.)