OK, legend maybe over-egging it somewhat, and farewell is not totally accurate, but outgoing Ipswich Town communications director Terry Baxter (in the middle of the motley crew above right) will appreciate the irony of the headline.

The green-fingered, media-mogul wannabe, popped into the Portman Road media centre before Town's pre-seaon loss to Wolves to bid farewell to his old mates in the Press pack and their hangers-on, before embarking on a not-so-new career.  

He will know that however good a job he has done over the past eight or so years at Ipswich Town as their spin doctor, legend is all too often over-used and he does not really fall into that category.

And as he is staying on at the club as communications chief to the ITFC Trust, which does a brilliant job at so many levels, it is not really farewell either.

So such a misleading headline will come as no surprise for a man that knows that an over-zealous sub and an egocentric editor will distort the most decent of reporter’s work, as he has often had to deal with the aftermath.    

Terry and I go back a long way in relative terms.

 I can recall interviewing him in the White Hart, when it was a decent hotel/bar, when he was the Ipswich Town commentator for Radio Suffolk before Brenner Woolley had the dubious honour of taking over, and him telling me about the honour and trepidation he felt about following some Aussie whose name I have forgotten.

We have been on a few foreign trips together with the Blues and I was even consulted about his appointment by Alesha Gooderham when she was looking for someone to pretty much replace her, not sure if she actually took any notice but he got the job anyhow.

And what a brilliant job he did too. I should know because during the eight years or so we worked together, or should that be sparred together, he readily admits I was probably the biggest pain in the neck to him. He often told me that dealing with me was the most difficult part of his job, although he always sugar-coated it by saying he also respected me as a journalist above everyone else he had to deal with – you decide if that was  a load of old bollocks or not.

Considering he was working primarily for David Sheepshanks, a tough taskmaster who was totally devoted to doing his best for the Blues, and then the ultra-secretive Marcus Evans whose motives are still very much in question, it seems difficult to imagine I was that much of a pain.

Certainly since I left the EADT things have been easier for him, what with a local editor in each pocket and no one prepared to go in where it hurts in pursuit of the truth or being first with decent non-groin strain stories, any more - perhaps that is why there has been no rush to appoint a replacement.

What I do know is Baxter is totally loyal to Ipswich Town and no matter what his personal views on certain matters were he always, without fail put the club first.

We worked on some very difficult stories regarding the club, at all times day and night, but Baxter was professional and dedicated throughout – and if that meant being economical with the truth or denying the outright obvious, he would do unflinchingly.

If he was not going back to radio then there is no doubt he could enter the diplomatic corps, or politics, and be successful.

But I can understand his reason for leaving. Baxter is old school Ipswich and the club is not what it was in many, many ways, and while things do need to change for so many reasons, it is such a shame that the old ways are being irretrievably lost.     

So, Ipswich Town’s loss is definitely Radio Suffolk’s gain but I can’t help wondering if he will ever say it as it really is.