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Review of the season: so near yet so far for the Blues
IPSWICH Town will reflect on their season as one of ifs, buts, ups and downs.
They can be proud of some notable achievements - yet at the same time have plenty to dwell on and remedy when the next campaign gets under way.
To their credit, Town stayed in the play-off hunt until the very end of Sunday's matches.
But their quest was marred by inconsistency and their final position - eighth - certainly provides an accurate reflection of an eventful campaign.
Without doubt, Town's away form was the major reason they missed out on the top six.
Only three wins on the road all season was a measly return and there were so many occasions when high hopes and expectation was washed away by abject, lethargic performances.
Six games spring readily to mind for all the wrong reasons and they were the matches at Cardiff, Charlton, Leicester, Coventry, Barnsley and Colchester United.
Town's away-day blues were made all the more frustrating by their contrasting success on home soil, particularly before Christmas.
They set the scene with a 4-1 thumping of Sheffield Wednesday and fans rejoiced in other special wins against the likes of Coventry, Colchester, Wolves and especially Bristol City, when hat-trick hero Jon Walters inspired a sparkling 6-0 demolition.
Town's home form dipped in the second half of the season - they dropped points against the likes of Barnsley, Plymouth and Queens Park Rangers - but overall they only lost once against promotion hopefuls Watford.
If only they had been able to replicate that swashbuckling, entertaining brand of football away from Portman Road.
There were hopes the trend had been bucked when Town notched their first win on the road at Sheffield Wednesday in early February.
The victory was met with wild celebration and there was talk of a psychological barrier having been demolished. That notion was fuelled by another brilliant win ten days later at resurgent Crystal Palace.
But more wobbles in the closing weeks and months again proved costly, with the only other win coming at Scunthorpe.
In terms of personnel, there were heroes and, conversely, others who failed to deliver.
Walters, rightly, enjoyed a clean sweep of the player-of-the-year awards and tasted great success in his first full season.
With his boundless energy and determination, he was effective in midfield and up front and finished top scorer with 13 goals.
Others had pleasing seasons.
Retiring skipper Jason De Vos can be proud of his contribution, Alex Bruce is constantly improving, Owen Garvan played all but a handful of games and so did returning hero Pablo Counago (12 goals).
Danny Haynes continued his emergence, chipping in with seven goals, while there were also dependable efforts from the likes of David Wright and, to some extent, Alan Lee.
Others were less successful.
Tommy Miller finished strongly but was less effective earlier on while it was a forgettable campaign for the likes of Gavin Williams, Gary Roberts and Dan Harding, while injury thwarted £2 million new signing David Norris, who joined in January.
Town boss Jim Magilton and his players can now go away, reflect and relax, before the rebuilding job begins in earnest this summer.
De Vos, Fabian Wilnis and Sylvain Legwinski have now left the club while other transfer activity - in terms of players leaving and arriving - is sure to follow as Town gun for more consistency, and ultimately more success, in 2008/09.
8:44am Tuesday 6th May 2008
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