Milton on Ipswich Town (H), There is a circus in the town..

It is just a start.

If Bates answers to a higher power then they delivered him a gift yesterday in the form of Ipswich Town who ascended to ER themselves in disarray and on the brink of their own precipice. If ever there is a club who Bates can point and grunt at to show how ridiculous spending on shop window end of season sales can destroy a club and decades of achievement then it is Ipswich Town. They are one of those clubs i feel absolute neutrality about. The respect and nostalgic good will born from my embryonic football years evaporated by the recruitment of Roy Keane and their gloating at our own demise

A good drink in the unusually sparse Vic and Comm beforehand with twatnav, the councillor and a trimmed down MG sporting the latest in B league gangster look with what appears to me to be crombie if they in fact crombies still exist. It’ll be a feather cut and tasselled loafers with segs in next, you mark my words.

The queue for the special bus was staggeringly thin immediately suggesting either a massively disenchanted home support or we had missed the protest. Ipswich chose to make us attack the Kop first presumably to quell a second half surge. They needn’t have bothered; those days are seemingly a long and hazy time ago. Town started briskly clearly eager to take advantage of any disarray in our own camp. Thankfully despite our lack of fluency, flair and creativity we still have players who care and have a pride in their game. It was this that culled the early pressure, a diving header cleared as the bates out chants grew. Snods made a determined drive on the right wing but the corner was dealt with. Another decent right wing move ended with an offfside as the chanting continued, not with vigour and anger but certainly not met with any opposition as was the case in previous weeks.

Snods put in a showboating sliding challenge for a lost cause before McCormack chose to ignore Clayton and shot much to Claytons annoyance. Delph made a trade mark lunge at an opponent seconds after the Kaiser Chief lad next to me wondered how long it would be before we saw one. We exchanged laughs.

Town then launched an attack ending with a free header easily saved which set up our own break. McCormack looking for support as Forseil puffing his cheeks yards behind couldn’t make the ground. Some fortuitous Town defending cleared their lines. Snods then produced a great ball to the right wing only to realise he should have been there to collect it as well. All our meagre good work was coming through Snodgrass and McCormack to a lesser extent. Delph was not making the impact we were hoping for and Ipswich’s early desire soon evaporated to make the game already a grim affair.

Odea smartly blocked an attack before putting Lonergen under slight pressure with the back pass. Clayton found McCormack with a good ball but we had no real incision around their box. Delph was brought down after a good run but it was the visitors who came closes forcing Lonergen into an immense save.

Clayton very nearly released Ross Mc but it was Town who made the first dent on the scoreboard. A short corner allowed them to progress to the corner of the box before an innocuous shot somehow evaded Lonergen. It was a good second and a half before the travelling fans realised such was their own astonishment.

Snods was first to retaliate, his cross a little too far and the up to now invisible Townsend picked it up on the opposite wing. The ref then gave Snods a talking to after a Clayton lunge. Pugh made an exaggerated dive presumably to get himself noticed for things other than his wayward positioning at times as our game dissolved into insipid routine ordinariness. The half time whistle could not come soon enough.

Finally a fan with more brains than hope won a hundred pounds in the shoot out competition. He was from Leicester showing us Tykes a thing or two about taking the money, no mean achievement at all.

Lonergan received a good reception as he made his way to the kop for the start of the second half that started with us trying a right wing probing move. Lonergan was out smartly following an odea sliced clearance before the big town centre forward eased past three defenders and another suicide Snodgrass lunge.

We’re Leeds United, we’ve all had enough rang out from the kop attracting many of the hitherto ambivalent fans that ended with a sliced cross from Ross McCormack who at least was still trying with pride and purpose, i like that lad. Two subs warmed up as change was imminent. With a half hour remaining White and Becchio came on replacing Forssell and Townsend who seemed to be struggling at left back. White picked up a loose ball as well as the pace and sent a cross over. Another cross from the right saw our friend McCarthy fumble but the ball was cleared. A moment of panic spread as we seemed at sixes and sevens following an Ipswich break. We cleared but back they came. Thompson was booked preventing a surge with a desperate tackle but town wasted the free kick.

Then a break for the mighty Whites, id almost taken my eye off the ball as a back pass caught keeper McCarthy off guard. He handled outside the box and the red card was inevitable. Snods cured the ball just over but a little wave of optimism spread. Appeals for hand ball went ignored but Snods was on hand to place in the loose ball for the equaliser.

We pressed the advantage a near post corner was glanced goal bound but the deputy keeper saved. A cross field move stretched the wilting Ipswich rear guard before a harmless punt caused uncertainty in the Ipswich defence leaving Ross McC a tap in for a 2-1 lead. It was the type of Mix up we ourselves have shown over the recent years and is a sure sign of a team in a state.

The visitors had no riposte as we kept the initiative. 2-1 was satisfying enough but Becchio scored perhaps the only decent goal of the game in the final minutes tucking in from an angle to put us within touching distance of the play offs. Incredible i know but between the top two and the bottom two this league is stretched tighter than Joan Rivers face or t**tnavs wallet. My view is we are another eight points from safety but talk now is of play offs, madness

So a walk into town then to meet MrsD and another pint in the Vic. Really good to see our old friend Mol looking and sounding in fab shape despite the crutches and as usual a funny story accompanied the explanations. Much funnier than the play Big Society was that we went to see afterwards but then again real life is often much funnier than fiction. Football used to be fun, remember?