Welcome to our final match of the season. It's not been a year that we will remember with great pride but certainly part of the building process that will enable us to make a serious push for promotion back to the Premier League in the near future.

Today, as part of our contribution to the Football League's Help or Heroes initiative, we are delighted to welcome nearly 1000 soldiers from the Colchester based 16 Air Assault Brigade who will deploy to Afghanistan over the coming months.

Also here today are representatives of our own local regiment, the Royal Anglians, who have recently returned from a particularly difficult and challenging tour in Afghanistan. I am sure that everyone at Portman Road will want to recognise the incredible service and sacrifice all our servicemen and women around the globe are making on our behalf.

Attending his first game at Portman Road, we are delighted to welcome the new Chairman of the Football League, Greg Clarke.
Greg has succeeded Brian Mawhinney at a challenging time as the Football League tries to finalise arrangements with the Premier League over future parachute and solidarity payments.

I would also like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank our loyal fan base. We know that we have tested your patience both at home and away this season and it has never been found wanting. It is however worth noting that we have only lost one game at Portman Road since we played Newcastle on the 26th September last year so there are signs that we are heading in the right direction after such a disappointing start.

Thank you to all those of you who have committed to supporting us next season through the purchase of a 2010/2011 season tickets.
In such challenging economic times, we know you have many choices as to how to spend your money and we will never take your support and commitment for granted.

Enjoy your summer break and we look forward to welcoming you back in August when we hope to fulfil the dreams and aspirations that we all have for Ipswich Town.