Hello folks!

[RoyallyFcuked]

Don't want to look like I'm jumping on the bandwagon here, especially as you're now in 2nd place, but since McCarthy has been at Ipswich I've felt there's a good chance you could do something. Having an experienced manager who knows the league and what it takes to get promotion is very important. I was saying earlier in the season you look a decent bet for the play offs, but now who knows maybe even automatic? On paper you're team doesn't look strong enough, but we know here as well as anyone that doesn't actually matter that much. In 2011/12 we won the league with nowhere near the best team, beating the likes of Southampton and West Ham. It's all about putting a run together and getting some momentum, and you're already looking like you're well on the way.

The Hunt brothers and Tabby are 3 very hard working players. Sometimes all 3 may fall into the "headless chicken" catergory if were brutally honest but what they lack in ability they just about make up for in effort, especially in this league.

Been a while since we saw Stephen Hunt here now, but I remember we signed him the season we stormed in league in 05/06 (the 0-3 at PR season;)) and he made most of his appearances from the bench but showed flashes of brilliance. For the next 2 seasons in the PL he was a more regular starter and from then on fans opinions were split because of his inconsistency. Still though, with his added experience now he should be a pretty handy player to have at this level.

Jay Tabb always gives 100% and was never afraid to get stuck in and break up play. He was never really a first team starter here, and perhaps a little unfairly after seeing him step into centre midfield in the Premier League and often performing considerably better than one or two of our established players at the time (who admittedly, were dreadful).

Was glad to see that Noel Hunt goal on his debut for you tbh. Things havent seemed to have worked for him at Leeds (cant say I'm surprised) but I think he could be valuable at a club like Ipswich. He was good in his first season for us, and was unlucky not to score more, but then he got injured at a bad time early in his second season and didnt do as well (on a personal level in terms of goals) again. However he was a vital part of our team that won the title in 2012 after forming a good partnership with Jason Roberts. Not a prolific partnership, but an effective one. I think with the right strike partner he could do well for you, he probably wont score that many himself, but his partner could notch a fair few goals.

Pretty sure James Harper is playing in the Conference South for Basingstoke Town (I'm sure Mick could tempt him with an offer!) not quite sure how and why he has fallen so far tbh, crazy really, when you think his old midfield partner Sidwell is still playing in the top flight for Stoke.

That reminds me actually, we've got a couple of ex players that we released in the summer that are still on the hunt for new deals (last I heard anyway) namely Kaspars Gorkss and Mikele Leigertwood. Two players who were regulars and did a very good job at this level when we won the title in 2012. Based on their performaces in the PL, you may well want to get rid once you get there, but you've still got to get there first! Get them in Mick!

Good luck for the rest of the season (except in our return fixture of course) I would much rather see you make a return to the top flight than the likes of Derby, Middlesbrough, Blackburn etc. (and Norwich!)

[paddy20]

I think another ex Reading player could do a job for you, namely Jimmy Kebe who is not getting a game at Palace. Not sure what your wage structure is though as he will be on premiership wages

[RoyallyFcuked]

I think another ex Reading player could do a job for you, namely Jimmy Kebe who is not getting a game at Palace. Not sure what your wage structure is though as he will be on premiership wages

Yeah, he's not even in their 25 man squad. Think they paid about a million for him as well didnt they? Good bit of business from us, Kebe was pretty much a panic buy by Holloway before he stood down. Mariappa has done alright there though.

[handbags_harris]

Thats another one you owe us!! (Noel Hunts goal yesterday)

Oh man, I went to Charlton yesterday, we were poor for 90 minutes, then our new hero Noel popped up and put one in! Second!! If that isn't a triumph of FFP and cheapness/good organization and management, then gawd knows what is.

By the by, is James Harper still playing anyone know? That season when you won the league by February, with the likes of Sidwell, Harper, Long, Doyle etc , you came down to us and did us 3-0 at PR. Best away performance I've ever seen. Comprehensive. No messing, no 'unlucky' deflections, no kidding, that was the harshest lesson I've seen at PR for years. I've always liked Harper in midfield.

Glad to see you did the Scum for us! It's caused a bit of trouble in Carrot Crunch north. Fans demonstrating, the Chief Exec getting into fisticuffs outside a restaurant and Scum fans going on and on about how sh*t Ruddy is and how they want Adams out.

Fantastic weekend. Thanks again!!!

Harper was sent on loan to Sheffield United in August 2009, kind of an exchange for Brian Howard, deal was made permanent in January but Harper only managed a season there I think before ending up at Hull where his only goal for them came against us. He was again released in 2012 and at one point was playing for Hungerford Town. A real fall from grace really but to be honest his success here was purely down to having exactly the right partner in midfield for him so it's no surprise he failed to nail a starting place at Barnet or Doncaster.

That 3-0, well we put in many performances like that throughout the season. Glad an opposition fan saw it for what it was, because you're absolutely right, the most complete away performance I have ever seen from a Reading team. The home match should have been about 6 as well.

[ITFC_Keane]

So many folk to reply to! Here goes:

Royally - None of us are getting too excited yet. The team has limitations, and I fear we'll suffer a few negatives before Xmas. That said, I'm genuinely happy we've reached November with something to play for. Normally, we're 14th by now with Bob Hope of a late, play-off-crashing unbeaten run.

Hunty Mark 2 is a great signing, Long as he stays fit, who knows?

Handbags - I can remember the 3-0 game vividly. It was a Tuesday night, freezing, and I'd been drinking all afternoon after taking time off work, with my mates. Walking to PR we were anticipating a really good game. I didn't actually think we played badly, but you were different class and were WALKING through us like we weren't there. A lot of Ipswich fans left after the second; we didn't. We were enjoying it (in a perverse, football-appreciating way like you do when your team is comprehensively outplayed by a far better one at home). Sidwell was absolute genius that night, in a way I'm disappointed to see he's never quite recaptured since. It was murder, but the murderer wore kid gloves and a silver tongue.

My most abiding memory was the bloke who sat directly behind my mate (we've been ST holders for years) and who normally reacted with fury and foul-mouthed bitterness when anyone beat us. When the third went in, he applauded it with us. The scorer (Long?) looked non-plussed at scoring and getting clapped by the home fans. The best accolade I can pay to that team.

I'd be sick if I'd had that and it'd gone. Like older blokes who were there when Ramsey and Robson were at Ipswich and talk about the likes of Crawford, Phillips, Muhren, Mariner and Thijssen. I was too late to see them. I was too young. So I had to make do with the second and third rate stuff, the Dozzells and Marcus Stewarts and Kiwomyas and Dyers. And though they were great and I worshipped them, they're the cotton to yesterday's silk. And I'll never get that back. It'll just be more wasted hope and second-rate performances and pipe dreams. Yours are fresher and you were there. Cherish it, 'cos it's getting harder and harder to replicate, what with all the money and corporate sh*t making everything successful in the Prem also meaningless and heartless.

[under the tin]

^^^
My goodness, Those names bring back memories. I remember Terry Cooper, Patrick Whymark et al playing for Ipswich back in the day. They were a class act then. Only saw them on the telly, mind, as we were then locking horns with footballing behemoths like Barrow, Chesterfield, and Grimsby.

The tone of your last paragraph resonates with many an old school football fan like me up and down the country.
My favourite club's rise up the leagues was an unforgettable journey, but to use a euphemism, it was like a climb up a steep hill, but when the summit was reached, the view was a bit of a disappointment.
The so called "promised land" of the top flight of English football is an utter circus, driven by money and television soundbites, populated by foreign badge kissing mercenaries. There is no soul there anymore.
Having experienced it, this fan is not bothered should we never visit it again.

EDIT
Old boy syndrome. A Whymark defo played up front for Ipswich, but the Christian name is prob wrong, as I seem to remember that Patrick Whymark was a television actor about that time .

[handbags_harris]

Cherish it? I say a small prayer for, and lovingly caress, the memories every day of my life mate. I saw every minute of those 05/06 and 06/07 seasons. It was some of the most complete football I have ever seen from any side, we could do literally everything. We could play the passing game, we could grind out 1-0's, we could do direct, we could do backs to the wall, we could do kitchen sink, literally everything. That 05/06 season if a team scored against us it was almost as if our players looked around at each other and said "what the f**k do they think they're doing" and immediately respond with a goal ourselves. A tragedy that it all fell apart the way it did really, but that's the dirty, rotten, stinking cesspit that is beneath the bed of roses.

Doyle scored the third. Long hadn't made his debut at that stage...

[Sutekh]

EDIT
Old boy syndrome. A Whymark defo played up front for Ipswich, but the Christian name is prob wrong, as I seem to remember that Patrick Whymark was a television actor about that time .

Patrick was an actor (died in 1970)



You're thinking of Trevor Whymark

[RoyallyFcuked]

Cherish it? I say a small prayer for, and lovingly caress, the memories every day of my life mate. I saw every minute of those 05/06 and 06/07 seasons. It was some of the most complete football I have ever seen from any side, we could do literally everything. We could play the passing game, we could grind out 1-0's, we could do direct, we could do backs to the wall, we could do kitchen sink, literally everything. That 05/06 season if a team scored against us it was almost as if our players looked around at each other and said "what the f**k do they think they're doing" and immediately respond with a goal ourselves. A tragedy that it all fell apart the way it did really, but that's the dirty, rotten, stinking cesspit that is beneath the bed of roses.

Doyle scored the third. Long hadn't made his debut at that stage...

+1

Can't say I saw every minute of it sadly (you lucky sod) but I was at pretty much every home game during that time and a handful of aways. I don't think I realised/appreciated just how good it was at the time, even though I was loving it of course. But it was my first 2 seasons of watching live football with a season ticket and I was in my early teens at the time. You're right though, the team often did play great, efficient football and their was this air of real confidence and belief about the side that made it so we were never too worried, even when teams equalised or took the lead against us, you always sensed we had a reply (and we nearly always did).

I remember listening out for the result of that Ipswich game, we were in scintillating form at the time and I'd been to game on the weekend before that Tuesday. That was the first time we overtook Sheff Utd at the top of the table if I remember right?

What ITFC_Keane said about enjoying a game your team is comprehensively outplayed, I remember sort of feeling that in the 06/07 home game against Arsenal which we lost 4-0. Incidently, that was the only time I saw just get genuinely outclassed in those 2 amazing years.

Great times, the like of which we will probably never see again.

[AthleticoSpizz]

I think another ex Reading player could do a job for you, namely Jimmy Kebe who is not getting a game at Palace. Not sure what your wage structure is though as he will be on premiership wages

Yeah, he's not even in their 25 man squad. Think they paid about a million for him as well didnt they? Good bit of business from us, Kebe was pretty much a panic buy by Holloway before he stood down. Mariappa has done alright there though.

Not featured (even on the bench) in the last few games...injured or dropped?

[Upper West Ginger]

What ITFC_Keane said about enjoying a game your team is comprehensively outplayed, I remember sort of feeling that in the 06/07 home game against Arsenal which we lost 4-0. Incidently, that was the only time I saw just get genuinely outclassed in those 2 amazing years. Great times, the like of which we will probably never see again.

+1
Arsenal would have beaten any team put in front of them that day. It was a brilliant exhibition of football at its best. Despite the fact that Reading lost, I came out of the stadium with a smile on my face, knowing that I would probably never see football like that at the Mad Stad again.

[Ian Royal]

+1for treasuring those memories. I didn't get to as many as a lot of you. Although i managed both league defeats. But what an impression those seasons left.

And i agree that arsenal performance was breathtaking. As comprehensively better than us as we were of the likes of Millwall the season before.

[KC Royal]

+1 for the Arsenal game, thought of that too when ITFC_Keane talked about appreciating opposition away performances.

I watched the season review of 05/06 that Christmas (2006) and remember thinking i'd appreciate that season more in the future, and that's proved to be very much the case over the years since, mainly since Coppell left. For various reasons I've actually been looking back at that season over the last 5 months (and getting very nostalgic about both that season and 06/07) and I don't think I've ever appreciated it more than I do now. I only saw 6 and a bit games that season (although I did see the Palace home game, which had been put up on a fan site, about a year after) and half of them were probably some of the worst games of the season!

Southampton on Sky - a 2-0 win but by the time I started watching both goals had already been scored and not much happened for the rest of the match.
Watford 0-0
Luton on Sky our only away league defeat, possibly missed our opening goal too.

Not that I think we will, but in a way I hope we don't replicate that period again as, for a personal reason, there would be mixed emotions if it happened now.

As for the ex players at Ipswich, despite being sad to see Noel go I completely understood why he left and don't think he would have played that much had he stayed. Tabb's departure, whilst also sad, I couldn't understand, and actually assuming he'd signed a new deal he would have played probably more than he imagined over the last season and a bit with all the injury problems we've had in centre mid.

[Pepe the Horseman]

+1 for the Arsenal game, thought of that too when ITFC_Keane talked about appreciating opposition away performances.

I watched the season review of 05/06 that Christmas (2006) and remember thinking i'd appreciate that season more in the future, and that's proved to be very much the case over the years since, mainly since Coppell left. For various reasons I've actually been looking back at that season over the last 5 months (and getting very nostalgic about both that season and 06/07) and I don't think I've ever appreciated it more than I do now. I only saw 6 and a bit games that season (although I did see the Palace home game, which had been put up on a fan site, about a year after) and half of them were probably some of the worst games of the season!

Southampton on Sky - a 2-0 win but by the time I started watching both goals had already been scored and not much happened for the rest of the match.
Watford 0-0
Luton on Sky our only away league defeat, possibly missed our opening goal too.

Not that I think we will, but in a way I hope we don't replicate that period again as, for a personal reason, there would be mixed emotions if it happened now.

As for the ex players at Ipswich, despite being sad to see Noel go I completely understood why he left and don't think he would have played that much had he stayed. Tabb's departure, whilst also sad, I couldn't understand, and actually assuming he'd signed a new deal he would have played probably more than he imagined over the last season and a bit with all the injury problems we've had in centre mid.

ISTR that season review being absolutely murdered by the appalling commentary.

[KC Royal]

Yea, ISTR that Palace match in particular, Dellor doing the commentary over the highlights. Only realised how bad it was when I saw the match in full! (with the proper commentary from the time).
Will probably dig out that season review at some point, been a while since I saw it.

[eddiegrundy]

^^^
My goodness, Those names bring back memories. I remember Terry Cooper, Patrick Whymark et al playing for Ipswich back in the day.

Terry Cooper never played for Ipswich either. Paul Cooper played in goal for them though.

[Sutekh]

And don't forget that Bill Gates used to turn out for Ipswich before his Microsoft days

[eddiegrundy]

Yep, great days those winning the European Cup and the League Cup under manager Bryan Robson. That James Beattie used to be the best footballer in England according to Bryan. and we had Gary Mills as captain too. Of course Paul Grimsby scored all the goals up front while Terry Hatchet always got his head bandaged up as he got kicked in the head every game.

[handbags_harris]

Not that I think we will, but in a way I hope we don't replicate that period again as, for a personal reason, there would be mixed emotions if it happened now.

It wouldn't be the same at all. It'd be great, obviously, but it wouldn't have the same air of wide-eyed innocence about it, little old Reading tearing up a division we had very little history of playing in and gaining promotion to the bright lights. Sadly those bright lights weren't the lights of Broadway, they were the lights of Blackpool seafront in the middle of winter.

[maffff]

Both Hunts are great ambassadors to have around. Noel was very visible in the community and always genuinely seemed to want to be doing it, rather than the club making him. I remember after he left saying that the whole influence to do that came from Stephen...