Carling Cup at Shrewsbury
After Ironbridge I headed towards Shrewsbury and after a glass of rose wine in the Mytton and Mermaid Hotel at Atcham, I arrived in the town about six forty-five. I should say that the hotel looked magnificent, but at the time I was there, they didn’t have any snacks at all, as they close the kitchens from about four until six-thirty. They didn’t have any decent cider either! Only Strongbow and Magners! I thought that you got good cider in that part of the country.
Do these people want business?
I mean everybody was pleasant and welcoming, but us coeliacs are a prickly lot and we need to graze consistently. That reminds me, I need some more cake. Gluten-free ginger slices from Waitrose.
Now I had made one mistake in that I’d assumed that Shrewsbury still played at the wonderfully named Gay Meadow, which used to be by the River Severn. Legend has it that there was a man in a coracle ready to retrieve any balls that went that way. Will certain US web sites translate the word Gay in this post to something else, just like they do for the American sprinter, Tyson Gay?
As I approached the town centre, there was a reassuring sign with a P and a football on it. After half a mile, I found another sign pointing the way I’d come with P and “Gay Meadow” on it. As there was no sign of any football supporters, I even checked my match ticket to make sure, I’d got the right day. In the end because I needed fuel for the Lotus, I broke a habit of several years and went into Asda to get some. (I always buy products if I can from British companies first, when I have a choice and it doesn’t cost me more!)
Even the guy there was unsure, but eventually I found myself in an area with signs saying “No Football Parking” and people in recognisable Ipswich shirts walking along the road. The area bore no relation to the first sign I’d seen, so I guess it must be some dark plot to get people lost in Shrewsbury. What fate would have awaited me?
Shrewsbury Town's ProStar Stadium
This shows the new ground, the ProStar Stadium, as you approach it over the railway. I then followed others over a fence and down an embankment to cut the corner off getting to the ground. Why don’t architects work out how people will walk and cycle into a site and then create entrances accordingly? In this case, they could have put steps down to make it safer. But then people might fall down the steps in a large crowd and the club would get sued!
Inside the Ground
This shows the inside of the ground, which at present has a capacity of just under 10,000, with everybody in seats. It is typical of some of the modern grounds that we are starting to see in English football. It would also appear that when clubs make this investment wisely, they seem to move up a division. Look at Doncaster and Blackpool for a start. Perhaps, it’s just that you get more bums on seats and a better cashflow, which means better players. And also if I was a footballer, I’d prefer to play in a modern stadium with good facilities and a good pitch.
Shrewsbury's Mascot
Ipswich had brought a sizable crowd and the picture shows the mascot throwing sweets to them. I actually got one, but was it gluten-free? I didn’t chance the glucose in it and gave it away.
Ipswich always have a large support away and I suspect this is because it has a very large diaspora. You always meet locals at away matches, who used to go to Portman Road, when they lived in Suffolk and still follow Town at a distance. Perhaps the funniest thing was when I was in Moscow, I met a genuine Scouser, who had always supported Town. He’d obviously grown up in the 1970s and 80s and did it just to be difficult!
The match was entertaining and at full time and after extra time it was three-all. But then Ipswich won easily on penalties. I’m not sure how the Shrewsbury fans liked being taunted with the chant, “You’re just a small town in Wales!”
After the Shoot-Out
Phew!
Coventry 2 – Ipswich 1
Rather a disappointment! But we’re only three points behind the leaders.
Ricoh Arena
The Ricoh Arena is a good modern stadium and I’ve never found that I’ve had difficulty parking at the stadium. Although £10 might be thought a bit steep, but at least you can also get away quickly. It took just ninety minutes from starting the car to do the hundred miles to home.
Tribute to Bobby Robson
This shows the inside of the stadium, whilst the tribute to Bobby Robson was taking place. Note I was almost at the back of the stand at one end and everything was in view. But then so it is at Wembley, Leicester, Southampton and Derby. We really have got stadium building right in the last few years.
But the football wasn’t that good. Or at least for Ipswich.
First Real Football of the Season
Off to real tennis at Cambridge and then to Coventry to see Ipswich play. The Ricoh stadium at Coventry is one of the new grounds and as they go it’s not too bad. Parking is good if I remember it.
At least we’re only three points off the top of the table as of this morning.
I suppose we only have to lose by less than six goals to do better than Norwich!
Norwich 1 – Colchester 7
As an Ipswich Town supporter, I don’t wish Norwich City too much good fortune. Who in Suffolk does?
But for Norwich to go lose by seven goals to one on the first day of the season shows there must be some problems at the club. Unless of course they had seen that Ipswich were playing tomorrow and thought they were as well. So half their players didn’t turn up!
I just looked on the Internet and they beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in a warm up match. That wasn’t too bad or are Palace even worse!
Delia Smith seems to have created a wonderfully chaotic new pudding!
There’s Always Hope
I just had to post a link to this heartwarming tale.
A professional footballer, Robert Hughes, was left paralysed after an attack in Crete in June 2008. It was felt he was unlikely to walk again and he had no recollection of the last ten years. But now, he is playing football again and has just signed a contract with Welling United.
Well done to all concerned. And of course best wishes to Robert and his friends and family.
Roy Keane’s Ipswich
Roy Keane may or may not have a hard job to do as manager at Ipswich Town. They played bright football against Real Valladolid on Friday night, with Lee Martin, Pim Balkestein, Jon Stead and Connor Wickham looking particularly bright. I do sometimes wonder that Jim Magilton had two problems; it was a difficult transition from player to manager, as possibly he was too close to them and he didn’t have the contacts amongst other managers when it came to transfers.
Keane has none of those problems.
Certainly it seems his start has been easy.
But his biggest advantage is that just like Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson before him, he will succeed or fail on what happens on the pitch. The people of Suffolk will probably keep quiet about any off field problems, just as they have done in the past. The London media also always finds Ipswich far to far to come for a story.
Remembering Sir Bobby at Ipswich
Last night I went to Portman Road to see Ipswich play Real Valladolid. I’d always intended to go, but because of the death of Sir Bobby Robson, I went a little earlier. There’s also the advantage that if you get the timing right you can park for free in places near to the ground. I parked in Berners Street which goes up the old Ipswich Hospital in Anglesey Road. It’s a lovely old building and I wonder how many of the new hospitals we recently built will look so good when they are a hundred years old.
I also went past the pub and the offices where I spent time as I designed and wrote the software system that made my reputation and most of my money in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Queen's Head
Like many other pubs it is now closed. They changed the name to The Victoria, but that didn’t seem to help. I still remember Ron Topple’s pies, which we used to eat every day for lunch. All that gluten! Would my life have been better, if I’d been diagnosed as a coeliac early. Nobby and I spent a lot of time in the bar there discussing software and the finer things of life.
Pearl Assurance House
The offices were actually quite nice and I think I worked there for perhaps about three years before we moved most of the development to the other side of the town.
I was surprised how quiet the town was with just a few people drinking outside cafes in the sun. Even the pub I had a drink in was virtually empty. Sky was playing a news feed about Sir Bobby.
There was a crowd around Sir Bobby’s statue in Portman Road.
Crowds in Portman Road
Stuart White of the BBC was interviewing a very interesting lady, Pat Godbold. She was secretary not only to Sir Bobby R9obson and also to Sir Alf Ramsey. They always say that behind every great man is a great woman. But can any secretary lay claim to be behind two such legends? She actually served every manager from Sir Alf to George Burley.
Stuart White and Pat Godbold
She has an amazing tale to tell. This sad story in The Independent shows the true side of Sir Bobby’s character. It also shows how we can forget our heroes.
Sir Bobby’s statue was bedecked in scarves and flowers.
Sir Bobby's Statue
Tributes Under the Statue
I do have a video of Pat and Stuart White and I may put it up. But I suspect there’ll be a much better version on the BBC tonight.
The football was a bit of an anticlimax and I thought the crowd would have been larger. But Ipswich won 3-1, with a couple of good goals from Pim Balkestein and Connor Wickham. The third was one of the best own goals I’d seen in years.
Flags at Half Mast for Sir Bobby
Football Starts
I’ll be off to Portman Road to see Ipswich take on Real Valladolid tonight. It’s only a friendly, but it passes an evening.
Whether this season will be any better than the last few, I don’t know, but one has to live in hope.
Since my wife died, football has been very much a crutch, in that in trips to Portman Road, I’ve been very much amongst friends. And when I take the occasional foray to an away match, it’s an opportunity to lose myself in something trivial.
I’ll have to drive to Ipswich though. Guess what! The trains are on strike. But for evening matches they don’t put on a return train to Newmarket, as the last train stops at Bury St. Edmunds.
The Spoiler
I was searching for the story about all Manchester City players being given £168,000 watches, when I came across the article about it in the Spoiler. The watches are by Franck Muller and from what I’ve seen they are not to my taste.
They made the point, that as footballers like to outdo each other in cars, houses, watches and tattoos, then they wouldn’t be happy to all have the same ones.
The web site looks a nice place for football gossip. I might check it out in the future.
Phew! Murray just gets through!
It was tight last night and Andy Murray just made it in five sets. But it was very much a spectacle under the new roof at Wimbledon. It would appear that the concept works. It would have been rather poor if it hadn’t!
But the same can’t be said for the under-21 footballers. They managed to lose four-nil to the Germans. Surprising, considering that the second team drew 1-1 a week ago.
