AS the new football season starts, fans across the country will be approach the campaign with hope in their hearts and confidence that their team can improve on last season.

AS the new football season starts, fans across the country will be approach the campaign with hope in their hearts and confidence that their team can improve on last season.

That is certainly the mood at Portman Road where fans are keen to see signs that Jim Magilton's side really is in a position to move up the league after two very disappointing seasons.

Town fans are not used to seeing their team finish 14th and 15th in the championship - or the second division as older fans still call it - and will be hoping that Jim's revolution starts to bear fruit this year.

The frustrating transfer sagas of Francis Jeffers and Richard Wright must quickly be forgotten - although that might not be easy if the former Blackburn striker caps his debut for Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow with a goal.

The lack of big-money purchases and the fact that two of the major new signings are former players hoping to recapture their best years at the club has caused concern to some fans.

But last week's friendly with Greek giants Panathanaikos was certainly promising and left Town fans with the distinct hope that Spanish striker Pablo Counago was returning to the club with the right attitude and a determination to score a hatful of goals.

And the fact that Alan Lee has now committed his future to the club is also very good news.

The manager has set a realistic target of a top ten finish for a club which is still recovering from the trauma of missing out on promotion so narrowly in 2005.

But there will be many fans who will be aiming much higher than that.

A good start to the season is vital and a large crowd at Portman Road tomorrow will be hoping that the team can get off to the best possible start.

So get down to Portman Road and roar the Tractor Boys on to the perfect start to the season.

SOME people with a warped sense of humour might find it funny to keep releasing Onyx the bull on to the streets of the Whitton estate in Ipswich.

But the fact is that this is a very stupid and potentially dangerous thing to do - the bull could easily injure someone, cause damage to property, or even be hurt itself if it gets caught up in traffic.

Farm animals are not pets and should not be released away from their normal environment. Everyone will be hoping that whoever finds this kind of activity funny will soon tire of the joke and let Onyx and farmer Keith Wright live in peace.

PIONEERS who sailed from Suffolk to set up the first north American colony in Virginia 400 years ago really were taking their lives in their hands.

And people today can get an idea of the kind of conditions they had to cope with by visiting the replica of the Discovery which is currently moored in the Wet Dock at Ipswich.

The vessel is very small, and crossing the Atlantic in such a boat must have been a real ordeal for the brave men who really were sailing into the unknown back in 1607.