How Bad Is It?

Another desperately poor home performance, something which has become more and more commonplace as the season has dragged on. Many fans will be glad to see the end of one of the most disappointing seasons in recent years. But just how does it rate alongside previous poor campaigns?

When reaching the end of a season, with emotions still raw, its not difficult to feel that things have never been so bad.

But where does the current season sit when placed alongside some of the other stand-out woeful Ipswich Town seasons of the past 20 years?

89-90 9th Championship

Its worth starting right at the beginning of that 20 year period. The 89-90 season represented the nadir of John Duncans time in charge. Currently, with Town viewing a finish outside of the Top 10 as something approaching a disaster, the record books would suggest that this season was not quite as defining. But it marked the point at which, after 3 full seasons, it was very much apparent that Duncans methodologies were not going to win the club promotion. A baffling series of signings aided by a style of football that was at odds with anything seen in previous decades, resulted in the "Duncan Out" chants becoming a reality.

Disaster Factor- 8/10- only lessened by the fact that some of the players went on to form the basis of John Lyalls divisional champions two years later

93-94 & 94-95 19th and 22nd Premiership

Its hard to separate these two seasons. Whilst the latter would stand out on its own as being statistically the worst season in Towns history (and many of those statistics still stand as premiership records), its undeniable that the previous seasons near failure very much set the tone for the formality that the following season was to become.

Mick McGivern brought about a style of football that was as much a shock to the system as anything introduced by John Duncan. A team that played with little attacking endeavour and attempted to simply stifle all creativity out of the opposition was in no way gratefully received, particularly when results did not appear to support the philosophy. In many ways, avoiding relegation in 1994 was simply postponing the rebuilding of the club that only began in earnest once relegation followed so shamefully a year later.

Disaster Factor- 9/10- the fact that it occurred at the highest level of English football is the only saving grace. That and perhaps the fact that it brought about the wholesale rebuilding of the football club

01-02 18th Premiership

Hard to equate this season. The disappointments come in the base factor of relegation, but also in the feeling that, even in the premiership, it was an underachievement.

For a team that had overachieved so outstandingly the previous season to turn in a season so parametrically opposite was hard to comprehend. Yet, there were moments of real quality. A run of very good performances through the early part of 2002 served as a reminder of what the side was capable of. However, its inevitably counter-balanced by the memories of playing almost the entire first half of the season without a win and the unforgiveable collapse at Bolton late in the season. Ultimately, it proved to be the undoing of George Burleys succesful spell at Town but, more punishingly, the undoing of far, far more progress made by the club generally.

Disaster Factor- 8/10- it would probably be lower, but for the absolutely catastrophic impact on the club over the forthcoming years

05/06 15th Championship

Joe Royles very succesful firefighting job over the previous two years came to an abrupt end as the water very much ran out. The worst placed finish by a Town side in decades was characterised by a seeming lack of direction on the field. With sales at the end of the previous season leaving holes in the squad, these were filled by relatively unsuccesful mistakes. The team was flooded with young players trying desperately to swim against the tide. Performances rarely offered much in the way of inspiration, with the most notable spell being that leading up to christmas in which the side looked incapable of scoring goals and often being sent out with a single forward player. That the player in question was the struggling and relatively expensive Sam Parkin made matters worse.

Disaster Factor- 9/10- A season that left little in the way of inspiration, both during and from a future perspective. A view that the board agreed with, when Royles time was brought to an end

It remains to be seen where the current season fits. It is undoubtedly defined by underachievement, perhaps only rivalled by the 01/02 season. What is apparent however, is that in many of these previous seasons, they have very much represented a cloud with a silver lining, in that their negativity paved the way for a significant upturn in the clubs fortunes.

To that end, this season can perhaps only truly be judged over the course of time. Will it represent a turning point similar to 89/90, or a defining moment in a downwards progression as in 93/94?

Unfortunately, the one thing that appears to be consistent is that each upturn in fortunes has been sparked by a change of management