On the plus side, we picked up our first point of the season, we kept a clean sheet which is always welcome, and we’re no longer bottom of the league – the task of holding up the rest of the division now falling upon the shoulders of Sunderland, some feat considering they were a Premiership outfit last season. But in the empty half of the glass, we threw two points to an uninventive side we were expected to beat, fellow strugglers who had little apparent threat.

Although a scrappy first half, we were the liveliest in front of goal and carved out some good chances. More often than not the final ball in was provided by Nicky Forster who put in a determined performance. Jaime Peters too gave his all too, and covered a lot of ground down the right proving useful bar one or two slips.

A good chance fell to Alan Lee early on but it came to him high and too quickly for him to compose himself and his snap header went just over. Peters missed too as he fell under challenge after he and Forster created the opening.

Two more new recruits added to the fold this week albeit a temporary one, both getting a start in the midfield and both getting shooting opportunities. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to recognise who’s who. Wearing no. 20, Mark Noble was keen enough without being spectacular and in the second half was obviously trying his best to rally his new team-mates. The same could be said of our new no. 21, Simon Walton.

The chances that fell to Hull were largely down to our own sloppiness at the back, with more than one short ball back to the returning Lewis Price in goal or mistimed pass providing a glimpse on goal for their forwards. Thankfully they have a Parkin in their ranks too. Jason De Vos was not his sharpest self today, and even Gavin Williams got in on the act, causing an uneasy moment for the home crowd with a careless back pass – Lewis Price having to be quick off the mark to beat the striker to the ball. Price had little to trouble him today, a few shots mainly straight at him, but was not doing well at cementing his place back in the starting line-up by sending a few kicks on a wayward path.

It was good to see Danny Haynes get a run out, he came on and was up to pace very quickly. It’d be nice to see him get a longer spell in a game soon, or dare I say it, a start. Even Fabian Wilnis came on late on, I’m not sure what he has to do to get back into the side as I thought he had a good game versus Palace, and was good again today but for the short time he was on. Unfortunately it looked as though he was introduced for an injured Gavin Williams who had been holding his back for a while before hand.

Next week sees us visit in-form Peterborough United, the Posh unbeaten in their division and sure to give us a stern test. If we keep our heads we might get some goals and some confidence in our strikers. One very bright thing about that match whatever the outcome, is that it’s the opening night of the Peterborough Beer Fest! That should take the edge off the game. If you’ve never been then give it a try – it’s the largest outside London, 350 real ales as well as bottled European lagers, ciders and perrys. Opens at 5.30, closes 11pm. Not that I’ve been before or anything…

Dreadful. Not much to say about this game except that we were weak all over the park. Leicester are in an awful state (according to plenty of Leicester fans I know) and we made them look good, which is highly embarrassing.

The afternoon and season started full of positivity with Jim newly installed as manager and a few fresh faces in Town, both on and off the pitch. Magic got a roaring reception as he walked onto the Portman Road pitch and took to the bench for the first time as boss.

The upbeat atmosphere continued as the game got underway, Town were threatening and lively, and looked hungry, chasing down every ball and not allowing Palace to settle into their rhythm.

Nicky Forster started up front, fit again alongside Dean Bowditch, motivated again and the partnership seemed to work. Forster was creating a lot of problems for Palace, while Bowditch made a nuisance of himself although he could read Forster’s runs better and support him in a more forward position at times.

In the midfield new boy Alex Bruce (apparently son of Mr. and Mrs. Bruce) was fitting in well and never looked as though he’d only met his team-mates a day or so earlier. He wasn’t afraid to get stuck in, one criticism though, he did look a bit too much like Gavin Williams in appearance from a distance which is confusing. I’m sure they can work on that.

It was good to see Williams on the park again, his fitness didn’t seem in question until withdrawn in the second half, and like the rest of the team put in a solid performance – in the first half at least. The same problem that seemed to plague us last season reared its head again, all smiles at the break but disaster in the second half.

I couldn’t fault anyone in the first half – total commitment and maximum effort from all, perhaps Richard Naylor could’ve scored one of those two headers, but that’s probably unfair. Then after the restart Palace kicked up a gear, and we relaxed. Not too much, but just enough to let them get on top.

A quarter of an hour or so in James Scowcroft, visiting Town on his debut for yet another club, clashed heads with a Town defender and fell to the floor. Maybe with the defence distracted, Palace quite rightly played on and McAnuff raced into area and shot across Shane Supple into the far inside netting. He’d caused us little trouble in the first half, but was now quite frankly ripping us open at times.

Jim wasted little time trying his arm at substitutions, and brought on Matt Richards for Gavin Williams who was now apparently tiring. He had an excellent time in the middle of the park and a fit Williams might be even better.

It seemed to stun Town, and just three minutes later we were losing the game, and it had to be none other than Scowcroft who took advantage of some less than decisive defending as Town failed to scramble an effort away. As Palace appealed that the first effort crossed the line, play continued anyway and moments later Scowcroft somehow bundled the ball home over his head. A ghastly moment met by a shocked silence from the home fans.

We didn’t crumple completely though, and with so much time left on the clock I was convinced that we were still in with a chance as we kept up the passing and attempted to apply the pressure, now though Palace were giving some themselves. We’d made them look very much the away side in the first half by limiting them to a handful of shots, but now they looked every bit the side fancied for promotion.

Alan Lee came on with 25 to go for Deano, and he looked fit and eager and gave the side a lift. His best chance though was a penalty shout that wasn’t awarded, and Lee seemed to go to ground one time too many although it was hard to say one way or the other whether he was diving.

Jaime Peters, lively but not actually that much of a threat to Palace, came off with 8 minutes to go making way for Danny Haynes. He had little chance to make an impact in the short space of time.

I think many felt surprisingly upbeat at the final whistle – a defeat maybe, but Town acquitted themselves well especially in the first half when they should’ve created a greater cushion to sit back on in the second half. We’ve all seen this defence before, the odd different face maybe but the same mistakes if just for short spells.

The new guys certainly looked promising, Alex Bruce fitted in so well in the midfield and looked like he played with passion. Dan Harding had a couple of shaky moments but nothing untoward, and looked to be up for the fight too. In fact both the debutants earned bookings for stern challenges.

Our new captain lead by example, De Vos being generally solid as we’ve come to expect alongside Naylor who will I’m sure be reliving those two missed headers (you always remember the bad things, don’t you?). Other stalwarts of the side like Darren Currie and Fabian Wilnis looked fresh and dependable. Currie was his usual tricky if not pacey self, and Fabian cool under pressure. So situation normal to some extent, but in a good way.

Onwards to Wolverhampton in a positive frame of mind. They got their usual draw this weekend, down at Plymouth and courtesy of an own goal at that. If we play like we did in the first half today, we stand a chance of coming away with an unusual 3 points from Molineux, and it’ll be 2 down 40 odd to go…

5th June, 10:20am.

The much anticipated announcement of the new Ipswich Town manager saw the return of former hero and captain, Jim Magilton. He will be half of a managerial partnership with Bryan Klug, who has made the academy what it is today.

Jim will manage the Tractor Boys, with Bryan assisting him in his new role, having gained valuable knowledge of team management through his excellent work with the academy.

Magilton bid an emotional farewell to Town after the final home game of the season against Derby, heading the lap of honour with his sons at his side and a tear in his eye. Little did he know that he'd be back so soon after his seven year stint as a player at Portman Road!

While Bryan Klug steps up to first team coach, his post as Academy Director will be filled by his former assistant in the role, Tony Humes.

In the end, Town had to fend off the attentions of Newcastle United for the services of Klug, the Premiership club wanting him to take over their vacant academy role. Well done Bryan for making the right choice.

And WELCOME BACK JIM!

Town midfielder Jaime Peters has been splashing the paint around in the name of Kidney Research. He has been asked, as a Canadian celebrity figure, to provide a painting of himself to be auctioned off in aid of the Canadian charity. Click Here

The signed portrait is being auctioned on ebay right now, so if you fancy a look wander over and place a bid. Its all for charidee mate.

I had a alightly iffy feeling about this one, 2 teams on a good run of form should make for an interesting match, but Town with several injuries plus a suspension left me thinking perhaps that the enforced changes would throw us off. In fact, when I looked at the line-up, there were no shocks in there and no faces we'd not seen in the last few games anyway.

Jim stuck with Lewis Price in goal despite a few suggesting his gaff against Birmingham might cost him his place. Simon Walton was missing, Sylvain Legwinski too which meant that Darren Currie started along with Matt Richards. Sito again made the starting line-up and put in another improving performance.

10 minutes in and Sunderland had put us under enough pressure to indicate that I might have been right. We were taking time to settle and the visitors had obviously come with the intent of getting us rattled from the off. But after 15 minutes or so something seemed to change - Sunderland suddenly developed a nasty streak and 2 or 3 bad challenges went in which got the crowd going and Town reacted too. The Ref didn't do anything to stamp his authority on the game, and in the first half flashed a few yellows Sunderlands way when they could easily have found themselves two players down with another man in charge. They certainly looked like Keane's side, especially the elbowing incident that Sito found himself on the wrong end of.

For all their physical strength though, we had managed to keep them pretty comfortably at bay, and shot on target were rare. It took an own goal to break the deadlock, and what a scorcher it was from Jason Dev Vos. Totally against the run of play, but thankfully we held our nerve and were level within minutes from a deftly placed Darren Currie free kick that bounced in front of the keeper before finding the inside of the far post.

The second half was nothing of a spectacle and ambled on until we went ahead 20 minutes in. Alan Lee suddenly gave the game another spark of life by scoring a superb header. As he chased a high ball heading wide left of the goal, the goalie cam out to meet him but he looped a huge header right back over to the far post. It took just another couple of minutes for him to put the game beyond doubt, when he raced onto a ball the Sunderland defence failed to clear outside the box. The keeper had no option but to come out towards Lee, who knocked it wide of him and skipped around him leaving him free to pass the ball at an angle into the empty net.

I seemed to notice Macken more in this game - he was pretty lively and creative and had one or two chances. He was replaced by Billy Clarke later on who set about his usual terrorising of the oppositions defence. It was Clarke who finally forced the Referee into doing what he'd been resisting all game by sending a Sunderland player off. He bullied and jinxed his way past one defender and tapped the ball beyond the last man, and when he looked to be sprinting away with only the keeper to beat, Ross Wallace bulldozered into him and sent him sprawling giving the ref no option - although he did only get his second yellow and not a straight red. Shame really that Billy didn't have the chance to score and make the scoreline reflect just how we mopped the floor with the Black Cats today.

Like most, I thought a draw would seem a pretty good result up at the home of the favourites for promotion this year, but I can't help feeling a tad disappointed at not taking all 3 away from St.Andrews. We lead the game twice and dominated for periods, although of course we were under the cosh at times too. Add to that the fact that both goals were quite easily avoidable and the result of simple mistakes from Towm - a spill from Lewis Price and a silly free kick from Sito - and you could argue that the home side were fortunate to salvage and retain their unbeaten home record.

Five games ago though after a promising performance at Posh, not many would have predicted an unbeaten run of four games, taking 10 points to haul us up into the respectable end of the table. Nice to see certain "big clubs" freefalling in the opposite direction too - especially as I have friends who support them and had enjoyed bleating at Town`s expense early season when they actually believed they were too good for the division. Time will tell of course, but I'd take our position over quite a few others right now.

From a more traditionally Suffolkonian angle, you might simply say enjoy it while it lasts.

Pictures now online, click link below

Naylor`s
testimonial
gallery

George Burley returned to Portman Road for the second time in just over a week, all smiles last week as he left the ground, but probably not so after today having seen his side dominate half the match and surrender a lead they took in the second minute.

Town fielded one of the two new faces that further bolstered the squad this week, loan signing Jon Macken starting upfront partnering Alan Lee. Some might have wanted to see Billy Clarke from the off after his excellent display at QPR, but having hardly trained since that match he was deemed not to be fit enough. The other new boy Sylvain “Leggy” Legwinski took to the bench.

What a start to the game. I’d barely had a chance to echo the words of someone seated a few places behind me, that Southampton were getting acres of space right there in our box, out wide on the right too for that matter, when they stuck one in the net. Didn’t look too difficult either, Kenwyne Jones having trapped the ball, turned and taken a step, tied his shoelace before shooting from 6 yards without challenge. Shabby stuff at the back.

The visitors continued to dominate, and it looked in danger of becoming one of those embarrassing defeats. Burley must’ve been pretty smug at this stage and quite rightly so. It seemed an age before we even had an attempt on goal. Our passing and flowing play that got us three points at QPR in such style a fortnight ago had gone without trace.

Many thought the game was slipping completely from our grasp as Southampton stuck the ball beyond Lewis Price for a second time, but thankfully the linesman had raised his flag for an offside. Half time couldn’t come quick enough.

No changes after the break, at least in personnel, but the attitude of the players appeared to have altered – obviously Jim had given them a gentle ear-bashing in the dressing room and it seemed to have worked. We were keeping the ball down on the floor and passing up through the midfield, it looked far more composed and the crowd responded.

The first substitution was the withdrawal of Matt Richards who was getting some stick from the terraces after more than one or two misplaced passes, debutant Sylvain Legwinski given a warm welcome in his place. He had a tidy game and didn’t seem to make any gaffs, a solid enough start.

We were still not a real threat though, Jon Macken had not made much impact in the game so far, and Jim took him off and brought on Billy Clarke who got a great reception. He lifted the game and began chasing down every ball. He certainly gets the crowd going and it rubbed off onto his team mates too.

We had to wait a while for the equaliser and it took a penalty decision to hand us the opportunity, although we had created chances before Alan Lee was daftly felled in the area for a penalty. Lee did look to have been impeded, but was wide of the goal and chasing the ball to the back line at the time so the defender didn’t really need to worry that much. Simon Walton again stepped up to take the pen as he had done at QPR, “Oh no! Richards has gone off – who’ll take it?” was not heard echoing around the ground.

Just ten minutes or so later though, we took the lead through a great goal from the young sub Billy Clarke, who ran in at the far post to meet a long cross from Noble, and although the ball looked like it should be at least punched away by Davis, he actually flapped helplessly at it and the Town striker rose to nod home.

Southampton were like a wounded animal and upped their aggression, and sought an equaliser and as the game wore on Town reverted to soaking up the pressure and allowing wave after wave of attack to come at them.. It wasn’t pretty and I’m sure it’s not good for you to watch that sort of game. Four minutes of added time didn’t help matters, and neither did the shot that looked to have crossed the line as it hung mid-air in the goalmouth. The lino said no, and so did the boot of Richard Naylor who hoofed it away.

Three points at last came our way and jubilation followed. The players were applauded from the field, and they’ll surely take so much confidence from that. Tough one on Tuesday against an in-form Coventry. Clarke to start, I say.

Although we were expecting a tough challenge with the visit of West Brom, I don't think any Town fan who watched the game was anything other than disappointed with the way we folded today and allowed them to make us look weak.

It's laughable that in the prematch garb on the local radio that they were talking about Town "going for goals today" - with West Brom's weakness being their defence and that we'd be out to exploit that fully. It was very obviously our Achilles' heel, with a perfect display of wayward defending on show at times. Jason De Vos looked tired, Richard Naylor at times looked lost. Playing Alex Bruce at right back didn't work the first time, and I'd hope we wont be seeing him played out of position there again. Surely Sito and Fabian Wilnis should be given a shout in that position?

At the other end of the pitch, while we were lively for periods, we never really a great threat to the "weak" defence of the visitors. Billy Clarke did well to hassle them a bit and the goal was probably derserved at that point in the game. But the real inevitability of it all came home in the first ten minutes of the second half, with the two goals that killed the game for us. Four one down with half an hour to go, there was only one thing left to do, allow bloody Kevin Phillips to complete his hat-trick. I can't believe that two of his goals were headers - how tall is he?!

Our midfield on the day were nothing more than ordinary. Uninteresting and uninventive. Simon Walton was hardly noticable apart from a lot of arm waving and shouting - in fact there seemed to be much blaming going on throughout, hardly good for team moral. Sylvain Legwinski I couldn't point to for any specific faults, but with him and Walton together nothing was happening. At least Darren Currie's corners provided a goal threat - just at the wrong end.

Roll on Preston, they're due one, aren't they? Surely, please?

Situation normal... back to reality as Town resume normal procedings by conceding a late goal at Barnsley in much the same fashion as Burnley away a couple of weeks before.

A point thrown away and barely a decent shot for either team in the entire match bar one or two efforts. Ok, I admit it, I'm glad I didn't go to this one (although I normally like a visit to Barnsley). It's so frustrating to see us put in such a strong performance one week (in case you missed it we comfortably beat Norwich 6 days ago) then offer such a limp challenge the next.

Derby midweek will be a tough one given their good form.

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There are a few teams that I enjoy seeing us take points off more than others, you know the ones, and Leeds is in that group. Denis Wise seems to have done nothing to make Leeds a more palatable club, and in fact they seem to have lurched backwards towards their old self.

That's how they started, bullying and aggressive - nothing wrong with a bit of that but when it's all you've got on the pitch, it becomes clear as to why Leeds find themselves in the bottom three. I honestly expected to see some half decent football from the visitors, in the belief that given the apparent strength of their squad they must be in this predicament through misfortune and the want of "smaller" clubs to beat them. Once underway however, it was plain that they are at the moment the lowest of all the struggling Yorkshire clubs because they are simply not very good.

On the day, we were not exactly fantastic either and might've found a better side hard to contain. Leeds were at lest often resilient at the back but coming forward they had little to offer. What chances they had were fairly standard breaks or set pieces, and they lacked a creative spark.

Town looked composed on the whole but prone to the odd panic attack when pushed, and although we held the ball for long periods it took an age to get it forward from the middle. Better than hit-and-hope though, and if we have the ball - they can't score (unless its one of *those* corners).

The bright spot of this game was Gavin Williams' excellent strike up Churchman’s end before half time. Alan Lee cued it up and Williams leathered it in from the edge of the box.

The three points are very welcome after another lean stretch, and they take us above Norwich again. With a fair few games in a short space of time around the corner, hopefully we'll find ourselves in a much healthier position come 2007.

Town were fourth out of the hat and will travel to Premiership strugglers Watford in the 5th round of the FA Cup.

Not exactly the glamour tie to draw in the much needed revenue by perhaps a TV appearance or large crowd, but that's not what the competition should be about - Watford is a reasonable distance for Town fans and definitely a game we could win to progress. Ok, as ever with Town trips to Vicarage Road it will be chucking it down but on the bright side, we don't have to queue past the allotments anymore.

Town have a 100% record against The Hornets in the FA Cup, playing only twice and winning on both occassions.

At least it wasn't Chelsea away, a seemingly impossible-to-win tie for relative minnows Blackpool.

I can't believe this was the same Swansea that cheered our hearts by thumping Sheffield United so comprehensively in the last round. The visitors seemed a little subdued and not too keen to attack our defence despite the fact they must've know we had significant injuries back there.

That said, it took a penalty to get us off the mark and indeed ultimately win the game, although not in the slightest bit dubious as some suggested. Jaime Peters had run his socks off, challenging for balls all over the park, and just as he lurched in to surely power home a well deserved goal to cap his performance, he was tugged back in ugly fashion. A penalty was given and despatched cleanly by Alan Lee of course, but it was not as satisfying as seeing Peters score would've been at that point.

The balance of play was definitely in our favour and despite the legendary Lee Trundle being brought off the bench after we scored, we limited Swansea to a handful of chances. Why Trundle had started on the bench I don't know, he was lively once introduced and packed a good shot, although i'm not sure he got one on target.

Not the best of games, but we're through to round 5 for first time in (can you believe it?) 11 years?! Tune in Monday for who we get next...

Well we made it, one late goal was all it took from Matt Richards of all folks who put in a solid and committed performance on the night. Town perhaps edging the game on chances alone, but once again were less than comfortable against lower league opposition.

Another good performance came from Fabian Wilnis, in from the cold through a combination of injuries both to other players at the back and his own determination to claw his way back into the squad. He did a lot to prove his point too, very solid also.

We unfortunately lost Sylvain Legwinski through injury half way through the match, hopefully he'll not be missing for long.

Our next FA Cup test will be against lower leaguers again, this time Swansea who hammered Shef U at Brammall Lane last week. We'll need to pick up to avoid the same fate.

Although a tough place to visit at the best of times, this was still a disappointing result given that we were in the game right until the final whistle, and were in control for long spells.

Both teams fielded newcomers - Town with David Wright still blowing the ink dry on his new contract after joining from Wigan. He performed well without being outstanding, and on the face of it looks like a good signing.

It was the home side's new signings that perhaps generated most excitement on the day though as there were 3 new faces, Jonny Evans, Carlos Edwards and the much talked about Anthony Stokes. They were all pretty good, the latter crossing the ball in for what turned out to be the only goal of the game. Evans was very solid at the back for them too.

It was a blustery day for football and that definitely had an effect on the game. Town carved out a few decent chances but were always up against it after going a goal down early on in the match. We pushed Sunderland but as many have said, we lacked that final touch. Given that, it was a shame we never brought on our two liveliest strikers earlier on or even started with either Danny Haynes or Billy Clarke. Whilst Haynes was introduced with half an hour left, Clarke was given just a ten minute run-out.

Danny Haynes had a great chance to level things up soon after coming on but his shot was cleared. Town also were very close to finding the equaliser in the final minutes when Richard Naylor's effort went agonisingly wide.

Roy Keane may feel his side deserved all three points, but Jim Magilton will leave the Stadium of Light thinking he should be taking at least a point back to Portman Road.

We now have a brief diversion back into the FA Cup on Tuesday night, before the local derby game against Colchester this coming weekend.

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With Town's FA Cup third round opponents currently languishing in the bottom half of League 2, you'd have perhaps been forgiven for taking the same line as the players by thinking we would simply turn up and win. Well, thats what Jim reckoned about the players anyway, and you can't disagree with him after that performance.

It all started reasonably brightly, one or two Town chances saved or narrowly missed, but while Chester quickly improved Ipswich faded fast and both teams ended up playing out an almost eventless draw.

Chester had the best opportunity of the game when they had a man through one-on-one with Shane Supple, the recalled keeper being beaten but the shot going wide of goal. A big let off for us.

This wasn't the familiar "weakened side" scenario either - Supple was the only change for the starting line-up from that which beat the Brummies so easily a week earlier. It wasn't until the closing stages when Town really started to look anything like a team 2 divisions higher than Chester, when Jim brought on Danny Haynes late on who hassled and sprinted his way around the opponents half, and in the last few minutes we had a couple of chances and actually hit the bar from Alan Lee.

Chester will probably think they've missed their chance now they have to travel to Portman Road for a replay, but little do they know just how generous we can be, even at home.

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This was a great way to kick off the new year, and hopefully it will be a case of start as you mean to go on. Beating the league leaders must be the best confidence booster you could possibly get for the whole team.

Not just a sneaked victory as the scoreline may suggest either. This was a single goal thrashing, the final tally very much flattering the visiting Midlanders.

Town really hit the ground running, piling on the pressure from the very start. With Billy Clarke given a start alongside Alan Lee, the Ipswich forward line had a real eagerness about it which permeated throughout the whole side. Clarke tested the waters early on with a good shot which required a smart save, and this set the pattern for a blistering first half hour.

The movement in the midfield was excellent, and sequences of snappy passing often ended with decent efforts on goal. Gary Roberts was his usual lively self and picked up a ball wide outside the box after a neat Clarke ball to Matt Richards - also getting a rare start - was cut out. The newly signed winger steadied himself briefly before thumping in an almost perfectly guided curler towards the far top corner, the ball unfortunately hitting the bar.

And so it continued with Sylvain Legwinski going close a couple of times, once requiring a goal line clearance with Richard Naylor doing the same from the follow up, Roberts again tried his luck and Alan Lee brought the Brummie's goalkeeper into action, and Billy Clarke got in two or three efforts after good build up.

Birmingham had their own chances but barely got a shot on target throughout the first half, and although they rallied during the second half they didn't look like league-leading material. They had come to Portman Road with a very professional approach though, and were always quick to exploit any opportunities and a lapse in concentration from ex-Brummie Alex Bruce allowed an unimpressive Gary McSheffrey to cross after forcing Lewis Price to leave his goalmouth. Thankfully the resulting shot from Nicklas Bendtner was blocked by Jason de Vos.

Jim had made his first change of the game with 20 minutes to go, bringing on rested Gavin Williams for Billy Clarke. I'd been impressed with how well we'd done in the midfield without him there. The other subs came on with around about ten minutes left with the fading Owen Garvan replaced by Simon Walton, putting in his last appearance for Town. Matt Richards left the field after a playing decent first half, making way for Danny Haynes who never really had a chance to get into the game.

Just when an unjust draw for Birmingham looked inevitable, the pressure Town were now building once more finally paid off in the last minute. Gary Roberts looped a cross over from wide left to Gavin Williams in acres of space on the right of the box. Williams didn't even need to steady the ball and hit it first time - volleying it into the net. A cracking goal to send the home crowd mad at last.

As always, we wanted the final whistle to go but an agonising 4 minutes of injury time was given. The ref even gave a stupid free kick right on the edge of the Town box - there was simply no infringement. Legwinski had the ball kicked at him from about a yard and the ref blew for handball. I didn't even think it hit his hand, let alone it being deliberate anyway. Birmingham wasted the kick though, and with it their last chance.

A well earned and comprehensive win will - fingers crossed - see us well around that corner Jim was talking about and into the new year with a bit of optimism.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

A great new book on Town legend Kevin Beattie is about to be published ...

Foreword by Sir Bobby Robson

"The frank, funny yet harrowingly poignant story of Kevin Beattie, the first PFA young footballer of the year and a man tipped by Sir Alf Ramsey to win over 100 caps for his country. A man who Sir Bobby Robson says is the best footballer that he has ever worked with. A man who was courted by Bill Shankly and Don Revie and who seemed destined for football greatness until injury wrecked his career.

As a result, he was so down on his luck that by by the age of 30 was picking up cigarette butts off the street and contemplating suicide saying: 'I would have tied a hose to my exhaust pipe but I even had my car re-possessed.' Where did it all go wrong ? How has he coped since ?"

Find out at Cult Figure Publishing. The only place where this book is available.

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Town slipped to their first home defeat against Leciester City for 19 years, in a very poor display which saw us concede two goals from corners, almost carbon copies of each other. To compound the misery, midfield hopeful Owen Garvan was dismissed for a ridiculous two footed challenge in the second half.

What a miserable afternoon. Leicester are meant to be easy to beat, aren't they? Well they certainly should have been, after showing no real class in this match I saw nothing to change my mind on that. At least they had some fight, something that pretty much all of our lot lacked this afternoon.

Their were exceptions, and most of them started the game with a bit of spark at least. But heads really dropped as the match wore on - and it did wear on - and we sunk deeper and made more and more mistakes. Jaime Peters looked like a man on a mission, and stood out as a player with commitment and class, once again racing down the right time after time. He could in fact have opened the scoring off a first time effort in the first half hour, but for a smart save from Foxes goalie Henderson.

Others had their moments, Dan Harding was pretty solid mopping up round the back, and continues to be one of the better and more consistent performers. Sylvain Legwinski seemed to be up for it at the start, but was perhaps one of the guilty party at the back for being asleep for at least the first goal which came from a poorly defended corner.

The Garvan challenge happened after about an hour when we were already well beaten even thought the game was still only at one nil. He'd already picked up a silly yellow in the first few minutes after the restart, and he could only have been surprised that the ref only gave a second yellow and not stright red, after his dangerous lunge at a Leicester player, both feet first and flying in horizontally. A proper potential leg-breaker, luckilly not. I'd like to have heard what Jim said about that one.

The second goal was as bad as the first, Town not having learned their lesson allowed the same player to steam through at a corner to head home amongst three static defenders.

This was a real low point in the season so far, we seemed to lack any sort of game plan and faded fast when up against it. I'll give them the first 25 minutes, we made chances but couldn't convert as usual, but not even the injury and suspension situation was excuse enough for this one.

A very rare away win and clean sheet saw an extremely welcome three point for Town, which will all but extinguish any lingering fears of relegation. Luton on the other hand, having lost their manager Mike Newell in midweek now find themselves in the bottom three and staring at the trap door. Notably we managed to break the hoo-doo of having to play a team with a new manager at the helm yet again, this time another caretaker-manager situation.

Luton were rarely in this one-sided battle, and most of the fans' focus seemed to be their anger towards the Luton board of directors for long spells in the game. Town were in command throughout, easily weathered a spell with only ten men when Jason De Vos had to leave the field for stitches, and took the lead ten minutes before half time.

The goal came from a Gary Roberts free kick out wide and not far into the Luton half. The ball soared over the box to Owen Garvan who, with his back to goal curled the ball goalwards back across the box. His disappointment at seeing his tricky effort come back off the bar would have been short lived as Alan Lee poached in to nod home the rebound. Town came close to scoring several times before and after the opener, and the only surprise at half time was that we were only a single goal in front.

It was around the hour mark when Ipswich got the second goal to settle nerves a bit for the visiting fans. Fabian Wilnis did the hard work to get in a very good cross from a very advanced position, and it was Jon Walters who climbed to head the ball under challenge from the Luton goalie, and although he appeared to be fouled the ball cannoned back off his head to an unmarked Matt Richards, who rifled the ball home from six yards. Richards had come on in the first half for Sylvain Legwinski who had picked up an injury.

From this point the game was won, with a few more good chances coming our way and little in reply from Luton. This was a good performance all round, and of course three very important points. Alan Lee seemed to show more discipline today, perhaps with Jim's angry words still wringing in his ears from his sending off. It was great to see Matt Richards get a goal and put in a good game too, a real confidence booster.

Maybe we can relax a little in out remaining games and play similar football and hopefully get a few more results like this to finish the season on a higher note, and drag ourselves up into a slightly more respectable league position.

An away defeat at promotion challenging Preston, but all in all a better performance. Unfortunately another early goal proved to be our undoing, and although Town had their chances we never got the equaliser and made the long journey home with zero points.

Dan Harding managed to pick up his umpteenth yellow of the season and will now sit out two games for his troubles. This will probably give Fabian Wilnis a chance to slip back into the starting line up.

Town could not make it three wins on the trot, and after the excellent thumping of Hull midweek, the local derby with Southend finished with the visitors taking revenge for their home defeat earlier in the season. Southend proved a far more hungry team today, fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table.

It was end to end stuff from the off, and Southend set out their stall early on with their man of the season Freddie Eastwood wasting a good chance when he found himself away on the right, but the striker composed himself and shot wide. Eastwood looked a threat throughout but never took the chances that came to him.

A great chance for Ipswich went begging when unusually, loanee Francis Jeffers performed an airshot on a ball from Alan Lee. This would be one of Jeffers last kicks in the game, he started limping and left the field with what turned out to be a hamstring problem which will see the end of his spell at Portman Road. Danny Haynes replaced him on the day and looked up for it, chasing well and getting stuck in.

All seemed to be going well for Town, weathering the odd break forward but generally pushing Southend. Alan Lee broke into the box, beat and completely wrong footed the defender who tripped Lee as he shaped up to shoot. A clear penalty, everyone in the ground except the referee thought, much to the disgust of the home fans. This set the tone of the officials afternoon really, some abysmal decisions from all three of them.

And wouldn't you just know it, with the our lot still bemoaning their luck and remonstrating with the ref, Southend went up the other end of the pitch and scored. A pretty lame goal too for us defensively, a bouncer of a cross coming in from the left was watched by all including Lewis Price as it just sneaked in at the far post. Most of the Town back line protested for offside, presumably against Sodje who let the ball run through his legs on its way goalwards. It’s hard to say whether he was offside, although I did think so at the time. Notably Alan Lee's anger towards the ref earned him a yellow.

Ipswich continued to push, they appeared to kick it up a gear maybe spurred on by the injustice before. Danny Haynes looked to have won a penalty as he raced into the box on the right but, although the foul was given the ref insisted the offence was outside the area. Another dubious non-penalty decision. The free kick from Gary Roberts cannoned into the wall and a shot went wide.

Southend were still giving Town trouble on the break, and before half time doubled their lead although again it was in controversial circumstances. Dan Harding was adjudged to have brought down a player right on the byline outside the box, when from where I was sitting it looked as though he dived. Harding was harshly booked, but at least we had a chance to defend the set piece, or should have. The ball in found an unmarked Clarke at the back post who rifled home - no excuses for such poor marking.

The second half was always going to be hard given Southend's determination and hunger for points, on top of a two goal advantage. We pushed as before the break, but Southend stood fast and things became more and more frustrating. This was not helped by the fact that Shrimpers 'keeper Flahavan was having an absolute pearler of a game. He made some first class stops, the only shots beating him hit the post anyway. Apart from one that ended up in the net, but unfortunately Alan Lee clearly handled the ball in a high challenge with the goalie, a bit Maradonna-esque. The ref was having none of it though, and being in a card-happy vein of form showed Lee his second yellow and off he trudged. That was it from thereon in.

This was a poor performance on the whole, although we showed early spirit going forward, it was not matched by any class or commitment at the back. This was our undoing as a team in Southend's position is always going to defend a lead to the death. Those two wins earlier in the week now seem so much more important as we'd be staring the likes of Southend right in the face now with the table being tight. Preston away is a game we can realistically expect nothing from, although they managed to slip up in similar fashion this weekend, David Nugent getting crocked along the way, so you never know. Luton will be fighting as hard as Southend to get upstream from the whirlpool down into League One. Ulp.

With neither team having much success this season both went into the East Anglian Derby playing for pride, and with only a single point separating the two, many saw the game as the decider on who would finish highest. The days leading up to the big match had been littered with rumours of an injury crisis for Norwich, but on the day we saw a pretty much regular line up, whilst Town only had one or two injuries to moan about.

Town could be accused of being slow off the blocks and Norwich came at us from the start, and disaster struck within 5 minutes when the always troublesome Darren Huckerby got ahead of David Wright out wide and put in a cross which Dickson Etuhu comfortably headed home. It wasn't the start we wanted, but eventually Ipswich bucked up and worked their way into the match, not before the home side had created two or three good efforts though. We went into the dressing room at half time after a bright final spell which saw some action in the Norwich goalmouth, Jaime Peters and Gary Roberts having a go.

The second half started better than the first, no doubt a kick up the backside from Jim at half time but also the team seemed more composed after finding their feet. Gavin Williams and Owen Garvan both had early chances although nothing too troublesome for the canary keeper, but you felt that we were starting to take the game by the scruff of the neck and that perhaps one or two players sniffed a goal.

It took just over the hour mark for Ipswich to at last get their opener, and it came from the highly unlikely source of David Wright. Peters had given him a ball outside the box which Wright attempted to play into the centre, but a deflection saw the ball return into his path and he quickly punted it home for the equaliser. The travelling Tractor Boys were delirious, and as Wright celebrated in front of them the rest of the team piled in on top of him and he was carried into the crowd. It was perhaps a tad unfair that the ref saw fit to book him for this, given the situation and importance of the goal, but I doubt he's too bothered today.

The introduction of Alan Lee for Walters helped to maintain a bit of momentum, but we were always under threat from the Norwich frontline and came close to conceding when Robert Earnshaw sent one over, Etuhu came close again too. There was always the thought in the back of my mind that Danny Haynes was still yet to come on the pitch, and that maybe he could repeat his heroics and snatch the game for us. He did come on with a quarter of an hour to go but could not continue his excellent derby scoring record.

Shane Supple was between the sticks today and earned his pennies by stopping a late chance from Huckerby which, having been deflected wrong-footed him and forced him to scramble it away with his feet. Certainly a heart-stopping moment, but neither team was meant to win today and on balance draw was fair even if its not what people want from these games. A point was better for us than Norwich though, we remain above them with only two matches left, and have not been beaten by our Norfolk neighbours this season.

It's been a long time coming, but Town are now showing the sort of form we've know we are capable of all season. Perhaps the more fluid passing we have seen in recent games is due to the pressure being off, or maybe the new faces are more familiar with each other, certain players recovered from injury or a combination of all those. But its better and I hope it doesn't fizzle out between the end of this season and the start of next.

Derby came to Portman Road with everything to play for, the chance to go top or at least regain an automatic promotion spot. But where were the Premiership hopefuls? Not this lot surely? They were lively, but from the start only looked a threat on the break, and even that faded quickly despite scoring a wonder goal to take the lead. Derby wilted and all the football was being played by Town who created chance after chance, we did everything but score in the first half. Francis Jeffers could've had four or five alone but his efforts were all close-but-no-cigar, some of them desperately close. Owen Garvan had a couple of good efforts just wide and both Jon Walters and Gary Roberts had shots. No surprise that most were confident at half time that we'd get back into the game.

The most controversial moments were before the break though, and it was all of the refs making. After some very random decisions to the detriment of both team's, he had been in big danger of losing control of the game and maybe that was what he had in mind when he sent off Alex Bruce and Derby keeper Stephen Bywater when they did little more than square up to each other after a dead ball. Bywater did little to help himself or the situation when he chased after Bruce who was given his marching orders first. The goalie was shouting and pointing to the tunnel in what appeared to be a provocative "you and me, now, in the tunnel" type of way. Well, you get the picture, more handbags (which Bruce tried to turn his back on, initially at least) which lead to more players being involved, staff, and Rams boss Billy Davis being sent off too. Notably, recently reformed bad-boy Jim stood calm(ish) throughout. Our forced substitution saw Dan Harding replace unlucky Gary Roberts, all in all this lead to 7 minutes of added-time at the end of this half alone.

Back to the footie, thankfully we restarted well, without Owen Garvan who had picked up a knock, George O'Callaghan coming on in his place. We took another 20 odd minutes to get the all important equaliser and it came deservedly from Francis Jeffers who raced after an alert ball through by Fabian Wilnis and slotted it past the substitute keeper from the left hand side of the box.

We kept plugging away at Derby, who became increasingly dirty if that was possible, and 10 minutes after his goal Jeffers was replaced by Danny Haynes. Danny soopa-doopa-sub Haynes. As you'd expect he was his lively self and, almost inevitably, scored the very deserved winner. As he sprinted into the box from a wide-right position, he was felled by none other than former Town man Jay McEvely. The ref got the decision spot on for once. Haynes picked himself up (picked himself up, punched air, danced like a loon etc.) and slotted an effort just inside the post beyond the reach of the diving keeper.

Soon after, the official announced a stupid 5 minutes added-time, but we weathered it comfortably and took the points. The atmosphere had built and built throughout the afternoon, and it was a cracking performance both on the pitch and in the stands. I felt a slight bit sorry for the large contingent of Derby fans as we've been in this position ourselves at this stage in seasons gone by and know how let down they'll feel, but as the North sang to them: "Where were you when you were shit?". If they do go up, it looks like it'll have to be the playoffs now, and given their display I just can't see it. Besides which they'd be torn to pieces.