The first taste of cup fever this season and it is for the visit of Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup so we had a chat with the guys at popular fan site Ipswich Town Talk about their hopes for the new season.
Q. All fans have hopes and dreams ahead of a new season so what were yours?
Our hopes and dreams were relatively simple, an improvement on the disaster of last season. If you ask any Ipswich fan, the overwhelming majority would not expect us to finish in the top six. The target was to finish much higher than sixteenth, play more attractive football and start to bring more youth players into the first team squad. All of which have happened so far.
It is safe to say we are in dreamland. Five wins from five, top scorers in the Championship and playing attractive football for the first time in fifteen years. We do not want to get carried away but if this incredible form continues, maybe we can start to think that this might just be our year.
Q. Does Mick McCarthy remain the popular choice to lead Ipswich back to the Premier League?
He lost the majority of the fans last season and at times, it seemed it couldn’t be fixed. The start to this season has been phenomenal and has bought McCarthy more time. He has completely transformed the way we are playing and has given multiple youth players such as Flynn Downes and Tristan Nydam a chance. The first ‘Super Mick’ chants in two years were heard at Portman Road on Saturday, which suggests maybe he has won the majority of the doubters back.
Q. Have the owners backed the manager financially in the transfer market or is it a case of having to wheel and deal?
Q. Were the needs of the squad seen to in the summer transfer window or do you expect more moves to be made both in and out of the club?
Q. Perhaps you could share your opinion of Palace as a club both on and off the pitch.
I have always liked Palace as a club. Selhurst Park is a proper English football ground with a phenomenal atmosphere and I am very much looking forward to coming down for the game. Palace have some class talents in their ranks and I expect them to be pushing the top ten in the Premier League this season under Frank de Boer.
Q. Explain in no more than 140 characters how the last ten years have been for the football club.
One step forward, two steps back would probably be the most accurate statement. We have been so close yet so far from where we want to be and being knocked out of the playoffs in 2015 by our bitter rivals Norwich City was a tough one to take.
Q. Name one player from EACH side that you think the opposition should consider a real threat.
Christian Benteke is no doubt going to cause us problems. As I said previously, we have no fit central defenders so if he is playing to his full potential, it could be a tough night for our makeshift back four. In terms of Ipswich, the danger man is always going to be David McGoldrick. He may not possess a lot of pace but the ball sticks to him like glue and he can beat a player like a knife going through butter. He can unlock a defence with his intricate passing and silky footwork so Palace will have to keep him quiet on Tuesday night or he will cause serious problems.
Q. Your prediction?
Palace to win 2-1. Although we have won every game this season and Palace are yet to win, I still think the Premier League side’s class will be too much for a Championship side with eleven first team players on the sideline. I think we will give Palace a good game and should not disgrace ourselves but I am just not sure we can turn over a decent Premier League side away from home. May the best team on the night win!
Q. And finally, please tell us all about your fan site and any projects that you may currently be working on.
At Ipswich Town Talk we are aiming to be the number one multimedia outlet for Ipswich fans. We currently have a lot of things going on such as a podcast, videos, articles from our team of writers, our very own app (available on iTunes and Google Play) and full exclusive coverage of the Ipswich Town Ladies. We also have a fantastic relationship with the East Anglian Daily Times, who print various parts of our content in their paper every week. Be sure to check out some of the great work on the site and social media.
