1962 1978 1981

It's a sense of relief it's over who's going to be champions. The majority of our fans and yours too doubtless must have been beating themselves up and restless over who was going to take first place over the last few weeks and months and now it's been resolved a lot of us can breathe again safe in the knowledge it's an issue resolved. We're disappointed to miss out, after promotion from League One last season - runners up too - winning the second league would have been a marvellous achievement for the club name and added further recognition and plaudits for Ipswich Town Football Club but it wasn't to be. We've dropped a good number of points the last few weeks and missed a whole lot of opportunities (in which we could have been champions) but the season is contested over nine months, not one quarter or handful of games. Leicester since August proved the strongest and most competitive and in the end took what many would argue is rightfully theirs. It's a shame for us of course but we remain in a very good position in which to follow your club out of this league and a return to the highest division. Only nerves and complacency can prevent our aim but we have to be confident with the two fixtures remaining.

3 minutes from a win that would have helped enormously towards a return to the premier league after 22 years but in truth we haven't been at our best since losing the Norwich game a few weeks back. Have not won since that day and too many drawn games and missed opportunities against teams like Watford, Middlesbrough and now tonight have gone some way in that we may just miss out on automatic promotion altogether. We've punched above our weight at times this season but it's been outstanding so far with so many goal options and other than tonight, a usually reliable goalkeeper in Hladky. We've had players out through injury or suspension but can't really use as an excuse as it applies to just about all squads in any league. Tonight was disappointing but all it needs now is avoid defeat against Coventry and to beat Huddersfield over 90 minutes in front of 30,000 people with a home advantage on the final day. Think somehow, that's not too bad odds. If they had offered that back in August everyone at Portman Road would have jumped at the chance. It's goals conceded that's the biggest problem for some, scoring is easy most of the time, there's no problem in that area, but keeping them out may just prove too costly by the end of season. I don't care much for winning the league or for finishing 1st. You can have that and probably will, over the course of the season Leicester will have proved to be worthy champions despite that blip you endured recently whereas we haven't won as many games and there remains some doubt and inconsistency involving our own abilities. 2nd would be marvellous for us, totally unheard of back last summer and beyond our best expectations. Runners-up would be more than adequate, I think over the course of the season we would have deserved by the viewpoint of many to occupy one of the automatic places by end of final fixture.

Thank you to those who wished to see us back in the Premier League. It was 2002 since any Town team or manager played a game at the highest level and for the most part it's been horrendous. Only fans of our own club who've been with it for the entire time can truly understand how despairing it became and for a long time between 2005 - 2020 we just went season after season doing nothing but falling further behind while a truly clueless owner very nearly sent the club name into oblivion. I think after nearly two decades of despair, embarrassment and little to no hope of achieving anything, the fans deserve something back. We've had to watch Norwich get promotions and play in the premier league while for the entire team were left behind watching the show go by. It's been truly soul destroying. Even rival fans that don't necessarily like us have to show a certain empathy when or if aware of the extent of decay within the club name before the new takeover took place. Maybe we'll still miss out but after the result tonight at QPR it had to give everyone at Portman Road a morale boost. Wanted to sign up to this forum a few weeks ago such was the ongoing battle for promotion but put it off. Now you've made it and it's in our own hands to join too (games in the premier league next season) just went ahead and signed up. We have to be confident after tonight of finally making it back to the highest level.