2011, a year for the scrap-book? Or a year to swiftly forget? Fingers crossed 2012 offers brighter times…

Alf’s finest started their Boxing Day encounter like they were pulling Christmas crackers.

An initial bang; a shower of gifts; a poor joke and unsustained entertainment. Unable to put the game beyond Leicester’s reach after a bright start, Town were under the cosh for long periods in the second-half and can count themselves fortunate to come away with a point.

Leicester should have been down to ten men in under a minute when last man Paul Konchesky gave away a penalty. Chopra missed it, but all credit to the boys for not dropping their heads and getting themselves ahead moments later.

Leicester’s equaliser came with a big slice of luck, but at least the boys in blue didn’t capitulate this time.

As the game continued in an all too familiar pattern, Alf’s mind flashbacked to the year as a whole.

A year of late giveaways, thrashings, capitulations, losing runs, a fantastic, two-leg semi-final, a new manager and an epic TV comeback.

In between Alf’s finest have served up some dull and uninspiring football harking back to the dark days of John Duncan. At least then, Ipswich could have been considered seriously cash strapped.

In fact Town were so broke during the tenure of Joe Royle that they couldn’t even afford to switch the floodlights on until the ball was barely visible from the stands. In those days Town still carried threat, were promotion challengers and each season threw up a new starlet destined for better things.

Entering 2012 with an ageing squad, Town’s hopes are pinned on the performances of loanees. This does not inspire confidence for the future and many season ticket holders have already taken to giving some home games a miss and most of the away fixtures.

The reliance on loanees over time has meant that young home-grown talent for which Ipswich Academy is famed have been given little opportunity to establish themselves as first-team players. The top two leagues are littered with youngsters that we should have hung on to and they are making a good reputation for themselves.

Whilst Town’s strikers have struggled to register in front of goal the likes of Jordan Rhodes, Liam Trotter and Connor Wickham are scoring goals for fun.

For several seasons Ipswich had been crying out for a proven goal-scorer so there was early season euphoria at the signing of a ‘fox in the box’ striker.

Few Town fans could have imagined that he would come with more baggage than a royal tour and it truly has affected his form.

Fortunately for Town, Jason Scotland has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks as the forward who can hang on to the ball, bring others into play and weigh in with a goal or two. Having abandoned the diamond for the time being, Town are settling into the trusted 4-4-2 system with some belated success.

Paul Jewell has described the past year as a roller-coaster. Well not quite as from Alf’s point of view there have been a lot more downs than ups and hardly any thrills, but I see his point.

To rub salt into an already gaping wound, the honour of flying the flag for East Anglia has been firmly passed across the Waveney border to our high-flying Norfolk neighbours.

The next two transfer windows are vital to Town’s fortunes.

Jewell will have his work cut out to bring in players of the quality that he requires and Alf feels that he will never get what he wants while Ipswich Town leave their transfer negotiations to the chief executive.