Ipswich Town: James Wall column on plastic fans and top players so far

As I was scrolling through my last column a few days after it hit the virtual shelves, I stumbled upon a lone comment.

With curiosity piqued (since my columns usually attract about as many comments as the obituaries section) I clicked on it, only to find a delightful gem:

“Inane drivel as usual from this plastic fan - anyone who pays for this nonsense is a fool.”

Ah, nothing like a little feedback to make my heart sing! I suppose someone is paying attention to my writing—or at least my ability to provoke passionate responses.

Thankfully, a few brave souls jumped to my defence, proving that I’m not just shouting into the void—there’s an echo at least.

This comment got me pondering the whole 'plastic fan' debate. With the Premier League attracting more and more overseas fans (and with some even jumping on the Ipswich bandwagon), I get it. Some local fans see us overseas supporters as about as hard-core as a vegan at a barbecue.

Town fan Harry Smith watches the Blues with friends at the Fado Pub in Philadelphia (Image: Harry Smith)But trust me, the fervor of us foreign-based fans can be surprisingly intense.

I know this firsthand after joining the North American Supporters Club (NASC). Our WhatsApp group is the liveliest on my iPhone – providing more animated match commentary than the BBC and EADT’s own Stuart Watson combined (with added colourful language)!  It easily surpasses the other Town WhatsApp group I’m part of, comprising almost exclusively current Suffolk and Essex residents. 

So, to all the Town fans who’ve stayed in Suffolk and environs: take pride! There are Ipswich supporters who grew up in Suffolk proudly waving the flag all over the globe. Blue and white flows through our veins just as it does in yours.

An Ipswich Town scarf hangs alongside others in the Banshee Irish Pub in Buffalo - Town fan Steve Green sent this to me! (Image: Steve Green) Onto the Premier League season, as we near the end of September.

Look, I don’t think anyone could disagree that we’re going to be fighting at the bottom end of the division all season. Those eternally optimistic fans who predicted a top 10 finish have got to be eating their words even at this early stage. 

And in this fan’s opinion, it’s going to be tough to finish above the bottom three.

Before I attract even worse commentary than my last column, hear me out.  As I look at the teams likely to be around us this season (all three promoted sides plus Wolves, Everton and Palace, by the looks of it) I think we’ve got as good a chance of finishing 16th or 17th as any of them.

Kieran McKenna is one of the best young managers in the game (Image: Ross Halls) Here’s why:

1: We’re now three games unbeaten, with two of those games being on the road and two against teams currently in the top 10.  We’ve only lost against the teams now first and second in the league and we gave one of them (Liverpool) a good run for their money in the first 60 or so minutes. 

2: We’ve still got that 'never say die' attitude that characterised our season last year.  The one game I managed to watch in person live last season, the home game against Leicester, Sam Morsy fired a last-minute equaliser from the edge of the box that took a big defection.  It happened again this weekend vs. Southampton. This team never gives up.

3: Kieran Mckenna has added 12 new players to his squad this year, meaning they’re still gelling and learning to play under the manager’s unique system.  As the manager himself has said several times, these players are only going to improve as they go.

4: Portman Road is a fortress.  I was a young kid during the Bobby Robson years and my first game was the Barcelona match in which Johan Cruyff was marked out of the game by Roger Osbourne.  I remember those (mostly standing) 1970’s crowds and the noise they generated.  But I’ve never heard noise like I did at the Leicester game last year.

5: We have the best young manager in the game, with a support staff that’s equally competent. I’d put my money on KM more than I would on any of the other managers currently in the bottom six. 

6: Stability. No matter what unfolds this season, we can count on our owners to stay calm, avoid knee-jerk reactions, and not behave like teenagers caught in a compromising situation on a Friday night when results don’t go our way. We also know our owners have been very careful with the budget and we have no risk of points being deducted, unlike the current league leaders!

Next, who has been my pick of the new players so far this season?  A few of them have caught my eye with their performances thus far...

Jacob Greaves, centre,has been superb for Town so far (Image: Steve Waller) 1: Number one for me has been Jacob Greaves. He has looked every inch the Premier league player and while it’s tough for a centre half to stand out in every game, he’s been solid and assured in all of them.  I see Greaves as a future England player given a few years.

2: Liam Delap is so fun to watch, with his power and pace.  The fact that Southampton put two players on him for much of last Saturday’s match indicates that other teams are wary of his prowess, especially in transition where he seems to be able to create chances out of nothing. 

3: Kalvin Phillips hasn’t yet got the blood racing, but the “Yorkshire Pirlo” will surely be back to his best under Mckenna and his team. If he can get back to being half the player he was for England under Gareth Southgate, we’ll survive this season.

4: Aro Muric looks like a solid signing, after that shaky debut at City. His performance against Brighton earned him a European Team of the Week slot and I see him keeping us in quite a few games with his condor-like wingspan.

Next up Aston Villa at home. Who knows, perhaps we can get a first win of the season on the board? After all, Villa were a Championship team only five years ago…and now look at them.

Come on you Blues!