Bounce Magazine March 2015

MARCH 2015 MARCH | ISSUE 2015 #29 | ISSUE | SPORT #29
SPORT
The going gets tough for
Town as March throws up
a real test of promotion
credentials
Will the real Ipswich Town
please stand up?
The festive period, a time
which is meant to separate
the men from the boys,
brought out the best in
the Super Blues, virtually
sweeping all before them to
get even the most cynical
supporters dreaming of the
Premier League.
Everyone knew the squad
was a little thin and the
fact it cost just £10,000 to
assemble was banded about with vigour.
But it mattered not as Daryl Murphy banged
in the goals and Christophe Berra (and others)
stopped them at the other end.
A blip was always likely and the January blues
well and truly came with one win in six.
Defeats against Derby and Southampton were
disappointing, but arguably more because of
the performance than the loss, but back came
Mick’s men.
Successive wins against Sheffield Wednesday
and Fulham were more handsome than the
slender 2-1 margins suggest. The promotion
train was back on the rails and everything was
good again.
Not quite. This column is written after the 1-0 home
defeat to Reading, but before Birmingham visit
Portman Road and Town visit Carrow Road.
Those two matches could go a long way to defining
the season with Ipswich teetering on a tilt at the
top two, the play-off places and even in danger of
missing out altogether.
A defeat against Derby can be explained away
a little, Steve McClaren’s men should be playing
Premier League football next season after all.
But a home game against Reading should be
winnable, especially at this time of the season for a
team truly competing for promotion.
On paper, the Royals looked strong. But they are 20
points and 13 places away from Ipswich
and the performance from the
home side was largely stale.
The Birmingham match is virtually
a must-win before Ipswich visit the
Championship’s in-form team, not to
mention arch rivals, Norwich, ahead
of a tough-looking March.
I have almost given up predicting
what is going to happen. I lurch
from high hopes to low turns on the
strength of every 90 minutes.
With the ink still drying on this column
comes the news that Leicester City’s
Anthony Knockaert could be about to join Town’s
promotion push on loan.
More heartening than the signings of Richard Chaplow
and Luke Varney, for many, but will it be enough? You
should have a good idea by the time you read this.
MARCH FIXTURES
Sunday 1st March – Norwich (A)
Wednesday 4th March – Leeds (A)
Saturday 7th March – Brentford (H)
Saturday 14th March – Middlesbrough (A)
Tuesday 17th March - Bolton (H)
Saturday 21st March – Watford (A)
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