Be ready for a roller-coaster!

[Nebdingo]

There was a collective sigh of relief at the Walkers on Saturday. Three goals and three points were as much as we could have hoped for and the league table no longer looks like a scene from a horror movie.

The general disquiet which had grown in only the first week of the season from many corners of the ground was silenced by a passionate and hard-working performance, albeit against one of the sides who are currently showing relegation form.

It made a much-needed change from the dire midweek defeat against Burnley when one wag suggested the Walkers was so-called because that was the pace at which our players covered the pitch!

A win against near-neighbours Coventry, who are just one-conceded-goal below us in the table, would be a perfect way to end the week.

But there I am letting my hopes and imagination run away with me. When will I learn?

The reality is that we are two or three players short of making a top-half show of the season.

Four changes to the previous team was most definitely a change for the better. It was gratifying to see that manager Robert Kelly saw the need for change and then came up with the goods. How many times have previous managers failed to do that, only creating more frustration among City followers?

Among the newcomers, Josh Low looked like a winger and Levi Porter was lively. Danny Tiatto put in a much-needed improved performance in the first half and Patrick Kisnorbo and Stephen Hughes, in a more central role, played like we always hoped they would.

Meanwhile, Matty Fryatt showed form of old and was unlucky that his goal effort was not allowed to stand.

We are also reported to be making overtures for another wide player and a goalkeeper - areas where all fans would like to see some improvement. All the right noises are being made and things are looking up.

However, not everything is rosy - unless you include the rose-tinted spectacles which come off and on during the season. Ipswich's goal was a sloppy one to give away and a better team could have punished us more. Also the fact that only just over 18,000 fans turned up for our first Saturday home game meant we notched up our lowest league gate at the Walkers. It will take a few more wins under our belt before we see a groundswell of support.

It may be a sign of things to come or a sign of the times as the small number of Ipswich fans at the game - albeit affected by a road accident - showed they are suffering from the same kind of blues as us.

The result meant that Sunday TV's The Championship was must-see viewing. Seeing Colchester's rickety old Layer Road ground on TV was also motivation enough to make me put that away game in my diary as a must-see and to add to the 54 away grounds at which I have watched City play.

The season is still new but it already feels like we have sat through a Hollywood epic - and we still have 43 games to go.

You could always choose to hide behind your sofa - but being a City fan means being prepared for a white-knuckle ride.

So hang on in there, hope for the best and pray that the train does not leave the tracks

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