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Marcus Evans and Mr John
Written by HarryfromBath on Tuesday, 2nd Sep 2014 16:59

Watching the shenanigans of yesterday’s transfer deadline day unfold, my mind turned to Mr John and I wondered what he would have made of the carnival.

On reflection, he might not have been the best person to have in the room making deals so late in the evening, but I can easily picture his bemusement at the madness of it all.

While Sir Bobby was creating a Golden Age for the club, John Cobbold was weaving an attitude and outlook into our fabric. Strip away the frivolity and high spirits and there was a man who cared deeply for the club and who tried to build for the long term, even if the Golden Age dissipated after he and Sir Bobby departed.

Susan Gardner, in her excellent history of the club, highlighted a romance many of us have built around the idea that “it has been during the times when those Ipswich Town traditions and values were at their strongest that the club achieved its greatest glories.”

The world we play our football in is far removed from the seventies, characterised, as Susan puts it, by a “greater ruthlessness and commercialisation”, and yet it is possible to see Marcus Evans approach increasingly echoing that of Mr John as his experience at the helm of the club has grown.

Once John knew that Bobby was right for the manager’s job, as he put it, “It was clear from our initial discussion that Bobby was a man of integrity, someone we could trust as long as we backed him to the hilt and kept faith with him”, this being “the least a manager should expect from his chairman and board of directors”.

When I read Marcus Evans’ piece in the Fulham matchday programme, I was struck by how this was echoed by the trust he has rightly placed in Mick McCarthy and in how he is planning patiently for the long-term, even allowing for the fact that other clubs are prepared to “roll the dice” despite FFP rules.

As Evans put it, “The biggest positive for me over the close season was Mick and Terry signing new three-year deals. We can't get anywhere in this league without continuity and a long-term plan. These new contracts have and will result in our current core squad extending their contracts and new players being attracted to a stable and successful environment.”

John Cobbold rightly believed that the two most important people in the club were the chairman and the manager, and “not necessarily in that order”. He believed that directors should not interfere with the playing side of things: “Imagine me, who has never kicked a ball in his life, telling Alf Ramsey, Bobby Robson or any of the great managers we have had how the game should be played.”

Yesterday’s transfer deadline day events exemplified Evans' trust in Mick. Having found a manager he can trust, it is clear to see how they are working in tandem on building the squad. While most attention was focused on David McGoldrick’s transfer, Mick’s comments about Tyrone Mings were more revealing.

“We have discussed the possibility, rather the certainty, should I say, of giving Tyrone a new contract and that will be the case. That is the reward for getting in the team and doing well. Neither Marcus nor I wanted him to go. We want him here for the long term. I want to keep my best players. I want to keep the young, exciting players and Ty is one of them.”

Like many fans, I had my doubts over Marcus Evans after the appointments of Keane and Jewell. Simon Clegg was an experienced sports administrator but something of a neophyte when it came to the cut and thrust world of football negotiating. It could even be argued that bringing Mick and Terry on board may have been a stroke of fortune rather than down to good judgement.

What cannot be argued is that our approach as a club under Evans has been transformed since Mick’s arrival. The way we held our nerve yesterday exemplified this clear thinking.

We could afford to let Aaron Cresswell go because the time and the price were right for him and we had long-term replacements. McGoldrick could not be comparably be replaced to our advantage and Mings is a long-term prospect we can develop to both his and our mutual benefit.

Interestingly, Cobbold was clear on the subject of supporters' views, wishing that they echoed his own humble approach: “There are several million people in the country…who think they could make really good managers. A large section of every club’s support thinks that they know better but they are all wrong.”

As supporters, many of us are in the same camp as Mr John. Our opinion is constructed from our best understanding of the game without having participated professionally. Having said this, I struggle to recall so many of our supporters quite so confused in their thinking as I encountered yesterday evening.

As two posters put it last night, “There was even some div…accusing [Evans and McCarthy] of lack of ambition because we didn't take the money, I'm still trying to work that one out”, “They get slated…when someone is sold and slated when someone isn't sold.”

It is tempting to dismiss last night’s criticism of our stance as impatient rambling, but I struggle to see what alternative we can contemplate. Patient team building under a manager with a proven track record has to be the right way forward. We cannot return to the seventies, but the seventies can still greatly inform our approach and thinking.

I am probably one of Mr John’s many millions who are wrong, but I believe that we have an owner and a manager working together who have the confidence, good judgement and patience to strengthen and club and take us in the right direction. Yesterday’s events supported this view greatly.




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WindsorBlue added 18:03 - Sep 2
Agreed. Positive Thinking and long-term future planning is what this club needs. If you have ever seen the documentary "QPR : The four year plan", you will see what a shambles people like Flavio are! They might have the money, but can rip the soul from the club very quickly.
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TractorBeezer added 18:24 - Sep 2
Well put Harry.
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Nuggets added 18:25 - Sep 2
This is an interesting and well-written blog, but I disagree on a few points, particularly with the overly-enthusiastic praise of Marcus Evans.

You write some very kind and accurate words about the late, great John Cobbold, but to make a comparison between our most charismatic, passionate and successful owner and Marcus Evans, who, if anything, has dragged our club further in debt and overseen a recent period of frugality and stagnation, isn't just disingenuous and tenuous, but incredibly hyperbolic.

To imply that Evans is echoing Cobbold's trademark trust in his judgement of managers, based on comments in a matchday programme, is also wildly inaccurate and a little contrived, in my opinion. Cobbold did not fire Jackie Milburn, the man resigned of his own volition. Cobbold kept the faith in Bill McGarry for four years while we played second tier football. We did eventually gain promotion but McGarry left for the Wolves job, note, he was not fired. In came Sir Bobby Robson, who was in the hotseat for 13 years until he left for the England job. Again, despite a very slow and uncertain start to his managerial career, he was not fired.

Evans, by comparison, fired Jim Magilton, Roy Keane and Paul Jewell (the latter two his appointments) and gave them roughly two years each before dispensing of their services. Yes, Cobbold was at times a financially cautious owner, but he backed Robson when the manager requested it, although Robson only signed fourteen players from other clubs in his Ipswich career. Evans had bankrolled Magilton, Keane and, to a lesser extent, Jewell, with Keane gaining the most of the financial entitlements. But over the last two years, the funds have dried up and Evans is now either reluctant, or completely unwilling to back McCarthy in the transfer window. We've spent £100,000 in transfer fees over the past two years, and that was all on Andy Wordsworth in January 2013. We have made substantial profit selling players, particularly Connor Wickham and Aaron Cresswell, money that has not been reinvested back into the squad. FFP has been brought up as the reason, and while it brings its constraints, it certainly does not warrant this frugality that other Championship clubs do not adhere to. Yes, Evans seems to back McCarthy by giving him the all-clear to turn down bids for our players with hours left of the transfer window to go, but the owner isn't backing his man with cold, hard cash.

The decision during the deadline day to rebuff bids for Tyrone Mings and David McGoldrick was, in my mind, a correct one. It is a welcome reversal that the club shows intention on keeping hold of our players rather than selling them to anybody waving a chequebook, as you rightly allude to. However, I don't think this is exclusively indicative of a hunky-dory, positive Evans and McCarthy's relationship. I think a large factor comes from the fact we have a small squad and the tabled bids came at a time that would leave us with mere hours to replace and, assuming the money is spent, reinvest the fees back into the squad.
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Nuggets added 18:29 - Sep 2
Kudos for mentioning Susan Gardiner's (not Gardner's) book, Ipswich Town: A History. A must-read for any Town fan.
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Reecex28 added 18:40 - Sep 2
Excellent blog and I only have a couple of comments to make. MM will keep us in the Championship by playing a pragmatic long ball game. This is what he does and there is an argument he has to employ the best system for the players her has / can afford. Not convinced that can take us back to the Premiership. I fall into the trap of being one of the many millions that believe they know better than the manager. However, I will never understand his blind spot with the well meaning but not up to it Frank Nouble. That type of judgement really worries me.
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cbower added 18:45 - Sep 2
A very well written blog Harry. Every fan is impatient and wants immediate success but much that Evans has done since the disaster of Keane and the debacle of Jewell has pointed towards stability and incremental progress being the modus oparendi of the club. A return to the 70s Ipswich will, as you say, never happen. Those Were The Days. However, trust between manager and chairman and a solid relationship based on mutual respect is a great platform. Kudos to Marcus Evans for not taking the cash on offer and to you for an astute analysis.
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HarryfromBath added 19:03 - Sep 2
Nuggets - thank you for putting together such a considered response.

I believe that Evans trust in Mick goes deeper than the programme comments and that they are working as a team. The bond of trust which Sir Bobby and John Cobbold had was deep and possibly cannot be replicated in today's game, but I believe that Mick and Evans have grown to respect each other as they have worked together.

I totally agree with your comments about the early days of Evans time here, and I take your point about relative spending. I was wowed as a boy by the money we spent on Paul Mariner, but I understand that financial pressures were a contributing factor in the UEFA Cup team being broken up.

My optimism is based more on recent events and I am confident that the Cresswell money will be ploughed back into the club. I am hopeful that Mick will spring into action now that the loan window is due to open, and we will see his 'try before you buy' approach swing into play.

I guess that we will gently have to disagree over the debt question, as I believe that this is less of a threat given Evans other financial interests, but I understand peoples concerns here.

Although I may be naively guilty of trying to relive the past, I sincerely believe that Evans is taking a long-term view and that elements of our former thinking can be see in our current approach. I fully accept that this was not the case three years ago.
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HarryfromBath added 19:12 - Sep 2
Windsor Blue - I completely agree. QPR are the most obvious example, but there are numerous other capricious owners with a short-term view floating around in the division.

Reecex - Nouble is an interesting case study, and I will be fascinated to see how he fares at Coventry. I think that there will always be more misses than hits when you are working with such a low budget. I don't know if the Cresswell money constitutes a sufficient war chest, but I can see us pushing on if Mick can buy a couple of players. He is a natural team builder.
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Nuggets added 19:26 - Sep 2
Thanks for your reply Harry.

Yeah, I do think Evans realises that in Mick McCarthy he has a more experienced and talented manager than he was used to working with. I just wish Evans would back McCarthy with the money that will make promotion a more realistic ambition. McCarthy can spend cash wisely; it's how he took up Wolves. At the start of the window, I thought the relationship between manager and owner may have been slightly strained. I remember seeing McCarthy's press conferences and how he seemed grudgingly understanding of the budgetary constraints and the non-existent transfer funds. Evans, and by extension, McCarthy, claim FFP hinders spending, as many cautious owners no doubt will. Yet while I'm aware FFP will undoubtedly change (or should change) how clubs operate, I don't think that is the sole precursor for Evans' recent frugality. He seems fairly lackadaisical to the club over the past couple of years, backed by his declining attendances and dramatically reduced spending.

Unlike some others on this site, I'm supportive of McCarthy and I totally foresee that by sacking McCarthy, as some fans claim Evans should do, and implementing the subsequent wide-ranging changes, will affect the club dearly in both a financial and immediate on-field sense. Hence why I, like any other rightful supporter, should hope Evans and McCarthy forge a decent and successful working relationship and hopefully events over the past couple of days should strengthen their working relationship and inspire some forward-thinking and ambition on the board's part.

I've been critical of Evans in the past and, in my opinion, he's done more harm than good to the club. But he's our owner and it looks like he's here to stay. Hopefully he can back McCarthy, forge that relationship we have been discussing and push us on to the next level after 13 long years in this division.
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warktheline added 20:47 - Sep 2
@ Harryfrombath, top blog and thanks for reinforcing my stance on manager and owner. Last nights 'no sell' really should, for many fans, clarify the uncertainty surrounding the owners intentions. As always when a positive happens at our club, the response is very muted, check response to Mick's article in reference to owner not selling.
I for one am extremely relieved following last nights 'nothing doing' and believe, as Mick stated mid through last season, that the team will evolve, and start to play a more entertaining brand of football. This is of course, the biggest issue, amongst fans.
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cwb91 added 20:57 - Sep 2
Harry - excellent read, and I agree with many of your points.

Nuggets -

I don't agree that comparing these Marcus Evans and John Cobbold is hyperbole - I think there are many similarities with their approach. Marcus has always allowed the manager to do his job, and supported him wherever possible. Both Roy Keane and Paul Jewell were always telling the media that Marcus had been on the phone offering support after a difficult loss.

He also allowed the managers free reign. Roy Keane infamously had an office constructed at the training ground, and were allowed to implement whatever regimes they felt most comfortable in, despite their outcomes. Under Marcus Evans, the manager has always been the most important person at the club.

Roy Keane and Paul Jewell were removed when the situation became untenable. Sacking a manager is part and parcel of the pressurised world football has become, and something that Marcus Evans clearly resents. He has put a lot of investment, both financially and emotionally in ensuring they succeed. The removal of Jim Magilton, with the benefit of hindsight was a mistake, and one I don't doubt that Marcus regrets making.

On the issue of Financial Fair Play, we have a simple choice - to follow it or to the break the rules. We have chosen (rightly or wrongly) to follow it, and hope other teams are tripped up when the sanctions come into force. We have to accept that be taking conformist approach, there will be limited or no funds for players. That is borne out of the financial model under which the club operates. For example, in the current financial situation, with no incoming or outgoing transfers we are making a significant loss each year. The simple reality is that by following the FFP, we need to reduce our expenditure, ie through wages and fees. Running parallel to this, we also need to sell players to follow the model. This has been emphasised by recent sales and the effect that those sales has had on our finances. For example, in the year we sold Connor Wickham, for a large fee, we basically broke even. Since this, big money players have been moved on and cheaper players have taken their place. We are unlikely to be able to sell a Connor Wickham every year, so we need to raise revenue from smaller sales (probably raising £2-3million per season). This is without spending any money on fees for players. That will probably allow us to follow FFP (still losing money, but significantly smaller sums). That is the reality of following FFP within a league of disproportional resources and income.

So Marcus can't therefore, as you suggest, back Mick with proper transfer funds - they are just not there.

You'll also know that youth spending is not calculated within FFP and this is where the bulk of Marcus's continued investment seems to be directed. Obtaining and sustaining a Category 1 Academy will require millions each year (even with the hefty grant that comes with that status).

So I don't agree that Marcus is putting less money in (only visibly less resources in). It's clear that he won't make any money from Ipswich (even if we get promoted within the next 5 years). He's clearly become so engrossed by ITFC (to our benefit, I think) since the removal of Simon Clegg. This is demonstrated by his negotiating at the weekend re McGoldrick, and to a lesser extent Mings. I don't see the evidence to suggest that he has become "lackadaisical" recently.

I'm not trying to suggest that ME hasn't made mistakes - its clear to all that he has. It's also clear that he has a passion for the club, enduring huge losses year on year to run it. Just look at what is out there, and then look at Marcus Evans. He's the best we could hope for, frankly.

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portmanteau added 21:53 - Sep 2
so all these other clubs buying players have got it wrong and our frugal approach is the way to go? dont think so. seems our ambitions have been reduced to just wanting to avoid relegation.
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bigolconnor added 21:58 - Sep 2
Can everyone stop saying frugal. And who is Andy Wordsworth?
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Nuggets added 22:08 - Sep 2
Fair points raised cwb91, but I'd have to disagree.

Personally, I find a comparison to John Cobbold, a man who has done a lot for this football club and oversaw many years of success, to be contrived. Yes, we can point to a few similarities, such as Marcus Evans provides support to his managers, but most chairmen across the world do this to some degree. I agree that Evans was rash in sacking Jim Magilton, a mistake with hindsight, but his trigger-happy approach to hiring and firing managers flies in the face of the club's tradition. Either that, or he has a poor judgement when it comes to appointing managers, a charge that cannot really be levelled at Cobbold.

While Mick may have 'free reign' to an extent, he's been cut off in the transfer market. I refuse to believe we have no money to spend. Remember when the board told us the cash from the Aaron Cresswell sale would be available to reinvest in signings? We've not seen a penny of that so far. We've dramatically cut our wage bill, we haven't spent hardly anything on a player for a little under two years, and we recently signed a sponsorship deal with Adidas and not to mention the ridiculous overpricing of match day tickets. Surely this amounts to a little spending power in the transfer market? I wouldn't be so annoyed if all the PR and talk about promotion coming from Portman Road would be toned down.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating splashing out millions of pounds on players like we saw with the largesse of the Roy Keane years. But I would expect, for a club that wants to progress and build on last season's achievements, some money for the odd £250k-£500k deal to become available.

Youth spending is exempt, that didn't stop the club asking for donations from supporters and local businesses, but we failed to achieve Category One status. I know some people blame the FA; some blame the Premier League, some blame the board, but the bottom line is that our focus on youth spending and development was undermined by something the club failed to do. The buck, surely, stops at Marcus Evans on that count.
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bigolconnor added 22:24 - Sep 2
How can we (effectively the blind) think presume to know that money hasn't been made available for transfers. And if you think about it. If you can't buy Tyrone Mings with £2.5 million or McGoldrick for £7+ million then what quality of player (team player) do you think we could get for 500k.

Bozo.
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Nuggets added 22:41 - Sep 2
Yes, we, the supporters, do not know the full state of our accounts. But in the wake of recent sales, sponsorship deals, ticketing prices etc, surely we can expect some level of investment in the club?

We can assume no money has been made available for transfers because Mick McCarthy has repeatedly said over the summer that he has no transfer budget.

You're deluded if you think you cannot get good players for around £500,000. Our rivals have been adding to their squads through similarly priced deals involving some very promising talent and established Championship-class players. Not that these players would necessarily fit into our team, but we could have had the likes of Luke Freeman, Andre Gray, David Stockdale, James Husband, Conor Coady, Billy Sharp or James Tavernier, all good footballers, who cost in the region of £500,000.
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bigolconnor added 23:56 - Sep 2
But surely players like stockdale and sharp who have definitely been on our radar are way out of the range of our wage structure. Probably on £20,000 plus. If we can add some quality loans and maybe a couple of free transfers I think we stand a good chance especially as we have held onto our main goal threat.

It doesn't really matter what other teams have spent their millions on. I'm positive that we have tge best management team.
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TCisMYcatsNAME added 23:59 - Sep 2
Really enjoyed this blog mainly because of its positive nature! The best way forward for a club in Ipswich's current financial position is a philosophy which promotes patience from all those involved with the club especially the supporters.
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Stato added 06:20 - Sep 3
Good blog Harry and some well argued contributions from others especially Nuggets. The fact that there is little so far that I agree with is neither here no there as just good to read some decent debate from intelligent adult supporters.

I agree with Nuggets that there is little to compare Cobbold and Evans. In my recent blog I made reference to John Cobbold with my inference being the current regime is poor by comparison. Cobbold was not a private man which Evans certainly is and he didn't have anything like Evans' business success. In footballing terms the link remains equally tenuous with Cobbold being a genuine fan who virtually lived at Portman Road where as Evans once visited Portman Road. I would imagine the Cobbold family would find the comparison quite insulting. The jury is still out for me on Evans. I understand and respect his lack of public profile but should he wish to build trust with a wider group of supporters then he might have to compromise a bit more that approach. The recent program notes help but get rid of the straw dolls and communicate to us more directly more often please. What I give Evans 100% praise for is turning down the bids for both McGoldrick and Mings. Like Harry I was amazed to read some of the anti Evans stuff on that subject and also agree with the sentiments that he can't win either way. I think it was clever to rebuff the bids and I won't criticise him if the gamble doesn't pay off. It was a brave decision but the right one. I also won't criticise if he sells both for more money in January because every player does have a price. My own philosophy on building teams is that you need to retain your best people for as long as you can and high staff turnover models rarely work but especially in football teams. Goal scorers are a very rare breed so those in particular should be retained and valued correctly. If Evans continues to show that sort of acumen in building the club then we may well start to see a turnaround in our fortunes but if he is that clever he won't be giving Mick McCarthy another contract.
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MrDiddle added 10:46 - Sep 3
Great blog again Mr. FromBath!

I agree that the first few years of ME's tenure were an absolute disaster, but what I do disagree with is anyone who think the guy lacks commitment or that hes taking the club for a ride. For starters the guy actually watches most home games, and quite a few away games!

Its quite obvious that for all the many problems early on, ME has learnt from those mistakes and is now taking the task of getting the club back to where it belongs very seriously.

For years the club has been hemorraging money left right and centre and the debt to the ME group shows that. Simon Clegg and MM's predecessors were a huge contributor to this and it was clear when Paul Jewell was in the latter part of his tenure that big changes needed to be made.

Clegg, Jewell and most of the players from that era are now gone and have been replaced by Ian Milne, someone who has vast experience of dealing with company finances within the ME group, and Mick McCarthy who we all know has a lot experience of managing in both the championship and premiership. These guys both know what they are doing, and over the course of the last 12 months we have all witnessed the change in fortunes of the club on and off the field.

I have read a lot of the comments made by posters on TWTD and really think there is a huge amount of naievety amongst supporters when it comes to whether ME does/doesn't make funds available to the manager. I really doubt that MM would have joined the club in the first place if there wasnt any budget made available for players. I also doubt he would have signed a further 3 year contract for the same reasons. It's much more likely that MM agrees a budget with ME and Ian Milne for the forthcoming season, which then MM chooses to spend how he sees fit - and over the past 18 months MM has chosen to bring in mostly bosmans and use that budget to pay the wages of those players that come in. This makes the club a much more attractive proposition to potential new players, hence why we have got some of the players we have (IMO much better quality).

As a result we now have a club that is working towards being run in a much more sustainable way and is building for what will be a bright future. I will be very interested to see what the finances of the club are looking like when the next accounts are made public. Don't be surprised if for the first time in many years the club is well within the new FFP restraints, or even actually turning a profit and bringing the debt to the ME group down.

As for the latest transfer window, Cresswell was ready to go and it was the right decision for player and club to do the deal. The money from that deal means ME should not have to plough further millions into the club over the coming season, increasing the already eyewatering debt. It also meant that when bids came in for McGoldrick and Mings, ME didnt have to cash in on either, just to continue to finance the running costs of the club.

We all know now that money does not buy success. Success in any business (Including football) takes time and patience. The football might not always be pretty but slowly and surely it has and will get better. We've got a good bunch of people running ITFC and should be grateful that we finally have someone with the business knowledge, financial clout and most importantly a genuine interest in the club to bring the club back to where we all want it to be.


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linhdi added 11:17 - Sep 3
Excellent blog, HfB, and some decent debate as a result. I guess I can hardly believe that we have turned down £10m of transfer fee income - that is the first time for many, many years (if ever) that we have been able to be masters of our own destiny in that way. It also completely destroys the notion that some have put about that Evans is destroying the club, that the debt will bring us down, and that we're all doomed.
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jas1972 added 12:09 - Sep 3
An excellent blog and good debate, which is a pleasure to read even though I disagree with some of it, which is probably as it should be. While I won't go into the ins and outs of the club's ins and outs, as they have been covered well already from all sides, I would offer the thought relating to the question of "backing the manager with cash" - where would we be if the pre-Marcus regime had made cash available to Joe Royle when he needed it?
Just one comment though, relating to the question of "favourites", such as Frank Nouble. All our managers have been guilty to some degree or other of such treatment, which has divided opinion at the time. Jermaine Wright under George Burley; Tommy Miller in the Jim Magilton era; Graham Harbey under John Duncan (although hardly anyone thought he was any good); Mich D'Avray. It didn't really happen under Robson, largely because he had settled sides and because only having one named substitute available for a lot of his time limited the ability to indulge favourites. Anyone remember Pat Sharkey though?
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olimar added 12:55 - Sep 3
Great blog, Harry and it has provoked some excellent debate, so all credit for that!

I think the essence of the blog itself is complemented very well by cwb91 and the assessment of FFP and its impact.

The key factor for ITFC at this point is that the maximum amount than an owner can invest this season is £2m less than it was for last season. So, assuming that we were right on the limits for last season, then we need to reduce our losses by a further 25%. Given that we are trying to build a squad with long term contracts, whilst trying to remain as competitive as we can to ensure those players actually want to sign them, there seems little chance we are going to lower our outgoings by that amount.

Which means we need to increase our revenues by £2m. Thats certainly not going to happen in commercial/ticketing, so it can only really come from player sales.

I have no doubt that there is a long-term strategy in place between manager and owner and, even going back to Simon Clegg, there was clearly a lot of thought put in to how we were going to adapt to FFP.

I suspect therefore that there is a planned strategy that relates to FFP and putting our house in order as early as possible in order to gain some sort of advantage. What that is though, I have no idea.

It would have made a lot of sense for us to cash in on DM for £7-£8m as it would have allowed us to use that money to reduce our losses as required over the next couple of years, without actually needing to reduce the wage bill from what is currently is. That in itself may well be a huge advantage against over clubs.


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Nuggets added 14:27 - Sep 3
Mr Diddle,

Primarily, I understand there is a need to adhere to FFP, and it is encouraging that Marcus Evans is attempting to control the debt better, but I think our performances, and consistency, on the pitch are suffering as a result of this narrow-mindedness. Nonetheless, my main issue with Evans, and the people who run the club, is that they find it acceptable to promise progress, investment and promotion, in the effort to get more bums on seats, but fail to back this up with any action.

We, the supporters, were promised this summer that the Aaron Cresswell cash would be reinvested in the playing squad. This appears to refute any notion that the sale was necessary to balance the books or keep the club running. At the start of the summer, that money was expendable. Once again, we have spent nothing in transfer fees this transfer window, the investment didn't happen and I refuse to believe that money was needed to be pumped into our wage bill, which has been drastically cut lately. If there was a reason behind the scenes why the money was not reinvested, as originally promised, then I believe we should have been notified about this.

We were also promised the club would attain a Category One ranking, after the petition. The club even appealed for donations from supporters and local businesses to achieve this objective, and some people chipped in under the belief we will remain competitive in signing youth players. We failed to achieve the ranking and I refuse to ascribe to the belief that the FA failed us out of spite. With Norwich and the London clubs all under Category One rankings, they are siphoning the best local talent and I hoped the club would have taken it seriously. But not, I thought they handled the whole incident fairly poorly, particularly as Evans, a man who wants us to develop youngsters for our first team, initially settled for a Category Two rating.

Yes Marcus Evans has made mistakes, and we are paying for them, and will be for the foreseeable future. I hope the club would just level with supporters and explain more about the financial situation and to stop making promises that they don't appear overly-fussed about keeping. Regardless, my original complaint was about the Marcus Evans and John Cobbold comparison, and it's rather surprising to find people willing to draw similarities between one man who defines our club and the other who has done nothing particularly positive to it.
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Pessimistic added 15:37 - Sep 3
This is a well constructed piece of writing and share those sentiments entirely.

I have supported town for close on fifty years and I too can see the similarities between Marcus Evans and Mr. John and although they are very much like chalk and cheese, the no nonsense way in which the pragmatic Mick McCarthy goes about his job is amplified by the support he gets from his chairman.

In an age where cynicism if rife in football circles, their business relationship is quite simply a breath of fresh air and long may it continue!
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