NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2 IPSWICH 0

No width narrows Town’s options as patience begins to creak

Never mind Autumn chestnuts, it’s the wheel-nuts that are coming off Town’s campaign.

Those halcyon games away to the likes of Boro and Palace, with Alf’s finest playing quick passes to feet in neat and tidy triangles are beginning to disappear from memory faster than Town nose-diving into mid-table obscurity.

Alf and the faithful have been knocking round the Championship for some time and at least know the facts of life in the second tier of English football.

The Premiership, or Wayne’s World is home to pipe dreams - where players, agents and CEOs live in financial cloud cuckoo land. Drop down a division and some sense of reality at least tries to kick in.

To survive and prosper you need 3 ingredients. One solid rearguard. One 20 odd goals-a-season merchant. And consistency.

A month ago Ipswich Town had shape, balance and a tight back-side. With Jason Scotland signed on for a tour of duty all seemed rosy in the gardens of IP1.

One international break and three defeats later and with consistency out the window - Alf and the fickle natives are decidedly twitchy.

Around 1900 Blues fans paid around 28 quid to watch and squirm as Town, after a fairly bright start fell apart. By the end – tactics and shape lay strewn over the City Ground.

In fairness Town were beaten by two goals straight out of the top drawer. The first followed a slide-rule pass that opened up the visitors like a can of pilchards.

The second followed a minute of madness from Leadbitter. Having wasted an effort on goal, he then raced back to give away a needless free-kick from which the impressive Lewis McGugan, dispatched from 35 yards.

Town had their moments and held their own in the first half. Despite Forest taking their chances, Town were very much in the game. Jack Colback saw his shot come off the bar and a second effort was blocked on the line.

But come the second half, Alf’s finest lost the plot, the script and left the travelling faithful scratching their heads in bemusement.

Cork-man’s comments that us Town fans know little about football was not the smartest bit of PR. Having shown patience beyond the call of duty last season, Alf and rest might not have the medals, but we know a lame duck when we see one.

Wickham replaced the injured Scotland to play alone up-front. The two wide-boys, Edwards and Townsend were dispatched to other duties. Edwards to right back and Townsend to the bench.

In one move Town narrowed their options and left the usually loyal away following to demand that ‘Keane sort it out’.

You could hear the patience crack in the away end. Town fans fell out with themselves, the stewards and anything that came to hand. By the end of the game Alf slouched off past a line of ejected Town fans. They didn’t miss much.

One lad mounted a one man pitch invasion only to be foiled at the first advertising hoarding. Goodness knows what he would have done if he had made it. Confronting Roy Keane would not be the most sensible option.

Maybe he wanted to give young guns Wickham and Murray a hand?

Fortunately for Alf his mate and ex-Nottingham student was able to show him a few old drinking haunts so his day out was not entirely wasted.

That leaves Town to concentrate on the Carling Cup? Well the midweek game at home to Northampton is a big one now.

Funny but wasn’t it a visit from The Cobblers that spelt the end for Keane’s reign on Wearside?