Karl Fuller says Ipswich Town fans have been the best in the Premier League this season (Image: Ross Halls)
The final road trip of the season will not last long in the memory bank. Then, we will no doubt be reminded of the one thing that was always going to happen. Yes, I am talking about a certain Mr Vardy!
I rarely travel to away games on the official supporter’s coaches. I prefer going by rail. But needs must for Sunday. The advantage of travelling this way is that it is cheap, you are dropped off near to the ground and collected from the same point.
In our case, it was also convenient that we wee able to jump straight into a social club near the King Power Stadium.
This type of venue is sadly lacking from Portman Road, and I hope will be considered in future.
We were able to mix with Leicester fans, spoke to a family of them that came all the way from Somerset, and it was just a pleasant pre-match experience.
Ipswich Town players huddle before the defeat at Leicester (Image: Ross Halls) It is funny how the minds of opposition supporters can polarise. We expected the inevitable, yet the Leicester fans I spoke to feared a defeat, but just hoped that Jamie Vardy would score his 200th goal for the club.
Whilst I always want us to win every game, I just want us to finish third from bottom to claim a moral victory on the other two clubs that were promoted with us.
Taking up my place with friends Paul and Alfie Love, Chris, and Wendy Hayes, and some guy I always call ‘Tel’ but is named Matt, I truly did not know what to expect from Town.
Ultimately, it really was a disappointing afternoon. The inevitable did happen. Of course it would.
Vardy choosing to share his moment with us was a compliment. Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that given where he has come from, he achieved some remarkable figures on the pitch with Leicester. I have respect for his achievements.
Of course Jamie Vardy scored! (Image: PA Sport) As for ourselves, we created some chances but in truth, I always felt that we would never score. In fact, as the game wore on, I felt numb to our overall performance.
I really felt that we would have gone for it in this game. Leicester did not create much, but they did what mattered and did their job.
Two points from four games against the Foxes and Southampton adds a hard substance to our relegation story. It is crazy however to also think that we got twice as many points against Chelsea!
Jack Taylor said after the game that the players did not deserve the ‘clap off’ at the end from the fans.
This brings me nicely onto the support that fans have afforded the team throughout this season. For the first couple of months, it was always going to be top notch.
After so many years out of the Premier League, the feel-good factor of a double promotion was sure to continue. But as the season has progressed, defeat after defeat could quite easily have extinguished the enthusiasm of enough fans to see a drop in atmospheres.
I say it with no hint of bias that Ipswich fans have been the best in the league this season. Many fans of the clubs we have visited have echoed that sentiment too.
When you travel to away games, not only do you appreciate how good our fans are away from home, but you get a sense of realism as to why it is so good at home in the main. I will give some context to that.
Kieran McKenna applauds Town's fans after the latest defeat (Image: Ross Halls) My early season visits to Brighton and West Ham (as well as what I saw on screen at places such as Manchester City and Brentford) saw some very subdued home crowds. West Ham was by far the worst.
After visiting these places, the games that then followed at Portman Road were electric. Yes, we have had the odd blip on home soil but give me the atmosphere of our place over anywhere else.
And other than the fans of Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Everton, the noise of visiting fans to us has not been a patch on what we have produced away from home.
We really can be proud of our efforts off the pitch this season. One last chance to create bit more noise on Sunday it is then!