Halfway to the Emirates
This road is halfway between my house and the Emirates.
Ramsey Walk, Islington
Perhaps Ipswich fans, should all go and pay homage on Tuesday.
Manchester is a Top Place to Go
Who says this crap? It’s apparently in the New York Times list at number 20 of 41 places to go in 2011 ahead of Miami and Zanzibar.
Manchester is a poor city and is very much second class compared to Liverpool, Glasgow, Newcastle, Leeds and of course London. You could argue it does have two good football teams, but London has three. It’s got no iconic buildings and it is not a World Heritage Site like Liverpool. I suppose you could argue, that Manchester has a couple of good hotels and is well connected by train to Liverpool and Leeds for days out. It also has a real tennis club.
A Reply for Kazakh Jock
Kazakh Jock of the Bacon Sandwich episode has asked me a question about Ipswich Town.
What is going on as you get absolutely thumped one week and then come round and beat the second best team in the country !!!! and all within a week.
The words about monkeys and backs come to mind. But also on Wednesday, Ipswich got the tactics right, even if Fabregas throught Ipswich were playing rugby.
Priskin’s goal was the result of one of numerous balls lofted over Arsenal’s vulnerable backline, a tactic of which Fábregas was dismissive. “I don’t know if it is long ball or it is a rugby kick but it worked for them,” he said. “In England a lot of teams play like that and it works for them, they create chances like that and it is their football. I can only remember two opportunities for them but it was from a long, long ball because, playing football, they could not really get behind us or [get] attacking.
“We just have to put the ball on the floor and try to play football – that is what we do. I still think we played well. We were good enough but just did not put the ball in the back of the net. The result is a bit disappointing because I think we were the much better team. Credit to them because they played well but Arsenal made the football. The other team refused to play football. They were lucky to score in a long ball. But it was one of those nights and now we have to make it at the Emirates in two weeks’ time.”
Or should I quote Corporal Jones about not liking it up ’em? Or rather Arsenal’s rather suspect defence didn’t!
As I was at both matches, I can also say that one big difference between the two matches was the performance of the diminutive Jaime Peters, who is even shorter than me. Against Chelski his pace was employed up front and he was probably bullied out of the match, by players almost twice his size. But against Arsenal, he was at right-back and his quick tackling, interceptions and fast breaks completely subdued Arsenal’s left flank. Andrey Arshavin was made to look a very ordinary player.
Wearing the Hat with Pride
Today, as I’ve walked around Islington and ridden the buses hither and thither, I’ve been wearing my Ipswich Town hat in the heart of Arsenal territory.
Have I got any comments? Yes! Were they rude or offensive? No! Well not to Ipswich or myself, but there were a few jokes from Spurs supporters at Arsenal’s expense. Even the few Arsenal supporters who said something, were usually questioning the commitment of their team or some of their players.
In fact, the one feeling I got was one of tolerance. Something we could all learn from in many areas.
The Acceptable Face of Football
I didn’t particularly enjoy the football at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, mainly because of the score, but also because of the complete lack of atmosphere in the ground.
Last night at Portman Road, there were 4,500 Arsenal fans amongst those at the ground and the place was jumping, as it hasn’t done all season.
To make matters better, Ipswich won by the only goal, so perhaps the troubles of this season are on their way out.
In some ways one of the highlights of the night, was the atmosphere on the crowded train home. I was in a First Class carriage and evrybody else looked as if they supported Arsenal. I was wearing my Ipswich hat and all I got was congratulations and the odd back-slap.
In the end I walked home from Dalston Kingsland, through what is Arsenal territory without any comments at all.
How far from the stereotype is all this?
The Problems of Evening Football at Ipswich
Evening football shouldn’t be a problem, but yesterday meant that I had to travel from Stratford in the rush hour and that means that a cheap day return wasn’t available unless I left before 4:30. In the end I got the 4:09 after taking the North London Line from Dalston Kingsland. The trouble was this got me to Ipswich at about five thirty for a match that starts at a quarter to eight.
Ipswich isn’t too good for eating gluten-free, the only place being Pizza Express and they were full, so in the end I resorted to plan B of eating a packed supper in the rain in the stands. I should say though, that I could have booked myself a gluten-free meal in the restaurant at Portman Road, but I didn’t want to pay the extra to sit away from my friends.
The salad I took was interesting in that it was a Four Bean and Buckwheat Salad from Waitrose.
Waitrose Four Bean and Buckwheat Salad
I ate it with some salami and an EatNakd bar. It was delicious and I don’t seem to have suffered any reaction. But then it didn’t list any allergens on the package. Why can’t they label it with None? Thanks go to the guy in Waitrose in the Barbican for checking the rather small print on the label.
I did make one mistake in that I forgot to take any cutlery, but thanks to Marks and Spencer in Ipswich for letting me have one of their free forks, without making a purchase.
We see a lot of bad service, so when I get good service it should be recognised.
A Disappointing Result at the Morgue
I went in hope to Chelski for the FA Cup match with Ipswich. I returned very disappointed, as it seemed that the Town players virtually gave up after thirty minutes.
Inside Stamford Bridge
Chelski may have an impressive stadium, but I wasn’t very impressed with the pitch and it certainly wasn’t up to the standard at Portman Road.
Considering that there were 41,000 people inside it was also very quiet.
I last went to Stamford Bridge in probably about 1963 to see Spurs play. In those days, you stood in an enormous terrace alongside the pitch, with the so-called Shed sticking up like a thumb to your left on the other side. There was also a lot more aggro about and Spurs and Chelsea still have a certain amount of bitterness between them.
One thing that hasn’t changed is the difficulty of getting to the ground. I took the train to Fulham Broadway to get there and coming home, I did what we did in the 1960s and walked to South Kensington. From there in the 1960s, I would have taken the Piccadilly Line to Oakwood. Yesterday, I just took it to Piccadilly Circus and got a bus from there all of the way to the stop by my house.
Thoughts on Liverpool Football Club
I spent a enjoyable day in Liverpool on Thursday. As I was wearing my Ipswich woolly hat, I did get the odd comment. I might have returned some quip about the state of Liverpool Football Club, but to a man and woman, they always replied that they were Evertonians.
So is Liverpool Football Club less important than its main rival in the Second City?
It’s Grim Up The North-East
Sunderland lost two-one at home to lowly Notts County, Middlesbrough lost by the same score to Burton Albion and then in the late match Newcastle lost three-one at Stevenage. When I last looked at the map, Stevenage was in that hotbed of football, Hertfordshire.
Only a few footballers appear to have been born in the county and but they do include Dave Kitson, Kevin Phillips, Vinnie Jones, Jack Wilshere, Ian Walker, Iain Dowie, Rodney Marsh, Dean Ashton, John Radford and Ashley Young. The last incidentally was in the same class at school in Stevenage as Lewis Hamilton and his brother, Lewis, was also on the bench today for Burton Albion.
So there might be some mild celebrations just to the north of the M25. But don’t insult the county by calling them soft Southerners or something similar or they’ll get Vinnie Jones to show you the errors of your ways.
Are Leeds Softening Up Arsenal for Ipswich?
I need to go to Waitrose this afternoon and as I want a bigger branch, it will probably be the Jones Brothers one on Holloway Road. But that lies just next door to the Emirates where Arsenal are having a torrid time against the team that most football supporters don’t like; Leeds.
So I’ll wait until the match finishes.
Let’s hope Leeds maintain their lead for the last five minutes, as Ipswich would probably like to play Arsenal, when they are not happy bunnies!
So if I wait, I can at least wear my Ipswich hat!
The Anonymous Widower 