Gaze for long into an Abyss and it gazes also into you? Pssh, we’re way beyond mere visual contact, we’ve just taken a running jump into the Abyss, we live there now, the club’s mail is forwarded to the Abyss.

A page or two after his quote about Abyss gazing, Nietzsche wrote ‘The thought of suicide is a great source of comfort’. I’m sure some supporters considered it Friedrich, but there is no comfort in watching a football team commit suicide, because that’s what happened at the KC in a game we really needed to win, we witnessed euthanasia against Ipswich, defender assisted suicide.

And yet it started so brightly, with City dominating the first 20 minutes of play and taking the lead, before utterly imploding and capitulating to a team that are, well, pretty crap really. Prior to this game Ipswich hadn’t scored away this millennium (or summat) and had jizzed away loads of money on signing Jon Walters. Jon Walters!

Despite that and Phil Brown’s comments after the defeat at Coventry that he was ‘looking forward to Tuesday, to the match against Ipswich’, the Tiger Nation were not, and there was a sense of dread when the team sheet was announced, Michael Turner dropped in favour of Danny Coles and Dean Marney in for David Livermore, though the return of Andy Dawson was fair enough. The full XI: Myhill; Dawson, Delaney, Coles, Ricketts; Elliott, Parlour, Ashbee (capt.), Marney; Forster and Windass.

Ipswich kicked off the game playing towards the South Stand, but City soon took control of the game. Not total control, but we were the better side and Ipswich seemed happy enough to let us be. Forster squared the ball for Dean Marney who clubbed a shot over the bar before a quickly taken free kick from near the left touchline was centred for Delaney who, off balance, fired wide right.

There was a scare when Danny Coles unwittingly headed weakly back to Myhill who had Francis Jeffers racing at him but our netman bravely gathered the ball at the feet of the man once touted by Thierry Henry as ‘a fox in the box’, ahem. Back to City pressure then, and the busy Nicky Forster on the left wing laid off for Ray Parlour who took a majestic first touch before hitting an always rising shot that whizzed above the crossbar, but not by much

So far so good, City looked up for this and Ipswich were as docile as the fans not cheering them on in the North Stand, it seemed only a matter of time before we’d take the lead, and so it proved. Sam Ricketts hit a ball towards Elliott that can be termed as both ‘raking’ and ‘searching’, our devout Ulsterman connected with it superbly, his improbable and brilliant looping header struck the bar but the rebound fell kindly for Deano who gleefully drilled the ball into the netting. 22 minutes in, 1-0 City, and you suspected City were on for a comfortable win here.

Such suspicions were though, dismissed almost instantly, City fans were still contentedly discussing the merits of our goal when the feebly nicknamed ’Tractor Boys’ equalised with their first attack of note. A long ball was hit into the box that should have been simply headed away, but Danny Coles abjectly failed to deal with it, letting the ball drop over his head, allowing a surprised Jeffers to make up for his poor first touch with a second and poke the ball beyond Myhill. 1-1. K’inell City.

Ricketts was taken out on the right wing by Roberts who saw yellow for the indiscretion, but the free kick was wasted, Marney put too much on it and it bypassed everyone, Elliott tried in vain to keep it in play on the byline. Dean Windass, head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch, flicked the ball on with his head for Forster, who couldn’t turn sufficiently to get a clean strike in and his weak shot caused no bother for keeper Lewis Price. Ray Parlour thought he’d gotten away with a cunning foul to disrupt Ipswich’s attacking momentum but he was given a telling off by the pistachio green shirted ref a few minutes after the event.

The game was getting scrappy now and City’s grip on the game was becoming ever weaker, but we had chances to retake the lead. Forster, on the right this time, centred for Windass who put his fat neck into the header, but couldn’t quite get the pace on the ball needed to beat the keeper. Marney hit a half volley over the bar before City incredulously gifted Ipswich a lead they barely warranted by defending like mongs. Coles fell over as he turned with the ball at his feet and Delaney dithered, allowing a blueshirt to square the ball for Peters who curled a shot that deflected off Sam Rickett’s and into the net. 41 minutes gone, 2-1 Ipswich. Un. Be. Liev. Able.

The half ended a bit desperately for City, Elliott shanked a shot wide before Deano lashed a volley over to his own anger and disbelief. Hard to criticise him though, he was a bright spark amongst the low wattage, only he and Forster had played well, the defence was appalling, Coles and Delaney in particular, and in the middle Parlour wasn’t pulling strings, Marney was his usual high cost mediocre self and Ashbee just ran around pointing to no discernable effect and giving the ball away when he had it at his feet. The Tigers had started with enterprise and belief but ended the first half devoid of any ideas and confidence, and even having witnessed defeats at Barnsley and Coventry, those sombrely supping beer on the concourses could hardly believe we were trailing to a side with as little guile as Ipswich.

There was though, some belief that we could turn it round and claim the 3 desperately needed points on offer. That belief was misplaced. Danny Coles, Ipswich’s man of the match, failed to read and cut out a fairly easy to read and cut out through ball and was easily brushed aside by Lee who made it 3-1 to Ipswich on 49 minutes, and it was all over, even with 40 minutes remaining, it was over.

To their credit, Windass and Forster steadfastly refused to accept this and fought for a lost cause, but they couldn’t do it alone. Frankly I could quote wholesale from Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ and it wouldn’t be any more harrowing than an in depth report on our performance in the 2^nd half. Either way, I’d be referring to cockroaches, Gregor Samsa and Danny Fucking Coles. Generally it’s unfair to lambast a single player when most of the team is sub par, but coming a few days after he was given a years contract extension, it’s hard not to gnash your teeth when a single player is responsible for three opposition goals in a more or less must win game.

Ray Parlour was replaced by Welsh just after the hour mark and before the ‘bullet headed Scouser’ (© DMT) could touch the ball, we were 4-1 down. Coles won his first header of the evening, putting a cross from an Ipswich free kick square across goal for Canadian de Vos to stab in from close range. Disgraceful.

A few minutes later Bo Myhill saved us from further humiliation with a superb save, the shot on goal coming from the first attack that Ipswich has crafted for themselves, all of their other chances were gifted to them by our unfeasibly poor rearguard. Phil Brown made a double substitution, Darryl Duffy’s introduction allowed Stuart Elliott to take his Ventolin and Danny Coles suffered his final indignity when replaced by the man who should have started, Michael Turner. Coles’ withdrawal was greeted by a loud cheer, then by some boos, possibly directed at those who cheered, but it spoke volumes about Coles performance.

Too little (Duffy) too late (Turner) really, and when Marney sliced a shot hopelessly wide who could disagree when the Ipswich fans sang ’that’s why you’re going down’, one of the few things they sang all night despite watching their side win by a large margin. Maybe they know full well just how bad their side is and how much this win flattered them, but really what does that say about us? Those who remained in the stands to watch City continued to make noise, but there was a sense of resignation and gallows humour about it.

The baton of defensive ineptitude was passed to Delaney when Coles went off and the usually dependable Irishman was made to look stupid when sub Hayles ghosted past him to rifle in the Suffolk side’s fifth on 81 minutes. Windass and Forster had an ally in John Welsh who showed commendable graft and he won a penalty when taken down as he entered the box on the right side. Windass predictably stroked it home to reduce the deficit, but it was of little comfort. 5-2 Ipswich.

When the attendance of 18056 was announced there was at best just over half that in the ground, many had seen enough long ago, they missed Delaney being made a fool of again, this time by ex-Tiger and sub Jon Walters who fired wide. The ref prolonged our agony for an extra 4 minutes beyond the usual 45, nonetheless City tumbled back into the relegation zone, we were above QPR on goal difference but this display put paid to that advantage.

Phil Brown has pledged to appear in the City magazine naked as part of the Coca-Cola win a player inanity, any more performances and results like this one and the scene may resemble the flogging sequence in The Passion Of The Christ. With Preston and Sunderland up next, it’s not looking good for the man on a short term contract. His team selections raised eyebrows tonight, but it was the players on the pitch who made hearts sink. City had been teetering on the edge of the Abyss before this game but now we’re gazing at it from the inside. It is suitably abysmal. (LM)