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It’s All Wrong, From Top to Bottom!
Written by BackTheBlues on Wednesday, 1st Feb 2017 12:44

I’m going to start this piece with a statement and end it with the same one: This current Ipswich Town team, staff and owner have robbed me of my enjoyment of going to watch my club on a Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night.

It’s all wrong, from top to bottom!

Marcus Evans

Needs to put some money into the club or sell up – we’ve all been saying it for a while now, but now it is time to do something.

We were promised the sale of Daryl Murphy would generate funds in January. We were then told we’ve had multi-million pound bids rejected for players such as Jordan Hugill.

After the transfer window deadline day signings, I honestly believe Mick McCarthy has agreed with Evans to walk at the end of the season and do just enough to keep us in the division. Why else would you not back your manager in the transfer market?

Teams like Sheffield Wednesday are spending £10 million on Jordan Rhodes and we’re spending £10,000 on Kieffer Moore!

I don’t care about Financial Fair Play, nobody is being fined or deducted points, so let’s spend the money. If Hugill is a £1.5 million striker, but they want £4 million, pay it! It’s the market place!

Taking a gamble on a relatively good striker is better than not taking a gamble at all.

However, I do honestly hope Evans and Mick have agreed for Mick to leave, because whilst Evans is largely to blame for the last 10 years of stagnation – it is because of Mick we are where we are now!

Mick McCarthy

I will always be grateful to the man for saving Ipswich four years ago – certain to go down, he came in, steadied the ship and got the basics right on the ‘shoestring budget’.

Then we had the ‘almost year’. Top six, punching above our weight and giving Narwich a match over two legs – I still think had Christophe Berra not been sent off we may have had a chance to win.

But then came the decline, and this decline isn’t stopping! But what has happened this season is unforgivable.

Selling Murphy. Good business had we replaced him – but we didn’t! So why sell our target centre forward?

Even then though, with Murphy in our team, we had declined from 2016. But this season the football astonishingly got worse, the results got worse.

And it is down to Mick – My old man nailed it last night after the Derby game – Mick is an “analogue manager, in a digital age” – his tactics are obsolete.

Like Leicester last year, once teams have figured Ipswich out, they don’t lose to them again. So we tried to adapt, tried to change by playing more football. This has left us weaker at the back, more open and giving the ball away in bad areas – we haven’t got the players to play this way – and these are Mick’s players.

We change from four at the back to three at the back. Only the best teams in the world can play three at the back – and their three do not consist of Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra and Paul Digby!

Josh Emmanuel - what has the kid got to do to play every week? He’s 19! He won’t be “too tired” – Jordan Spence is appalling!
Jonas Knudsen is the worst full-back I’ve ever seen at professional level, he’s even worse at wing-back!

We’re the only team not pressing the ball in the current climate and we’re also the only team who matches up their opponents on a weekly basis home or away.

Lincoln was bad, but Derby was the last straw for me. Embarrassing and that’s where these come in:

The Players

Disgrace! They are an absolute disgrace. If I performed my job like they have done recently I would not be getting paid nor would I have a job any more.

I deserve a refund for last night. Never in 20-plus years have I booed Ipswich – but last night I went to the edge of the pitch by the tunnel at half-time and told them players exactly what I thought of them.

Maybe it’s not productive, but they need to know how we feel.
They embarrass the club I hold so dear, the team that I support.
And there is only one way that it’s going to change, I won’t be going again for the rest of the season.

We’ve been told by the media “Negativity will talk Ipswich into a relegation battle". No it won’t. But staying silent will not make any progress.

I’ve never left football more disappointed with Ipswich than I did last night, there was no fight, no passion.

Not one player, apart from Bart and Tom Lawrence would get into any other Championship team.

Berra needs to retire. Knudsen needs to give up. Chambers (as much as I used to love the bloke) needs to go to Forest, he is a coward of a captain, shirking tackles and giving up. Pitman – useless. Sears – appalling. Ward – no end product. McGoldrick – waste of space and talent. The list is endless.

So I’ll finish with what I started with: This current Ipswich Town team, staff and owner, have robbed me of my enjoyment of going to watch my club on a Saturday afternoon or Tuesday night.

I shall not return this season. It is a waste of my hard-earned money, my time and it takes away my love for the game.




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powinswitch added 12:59 - Feb 1
I also went to the same spot at half time. I think you asked me 'are we going down then' just before we did. If not then somebody else did.

I cannot agree with everything you've written, but I share the passion. I don't think, for example all your comments about the players are correct. I actually believe that Sears and Ward as two examples only, have had the flair coached out of them. The blame lies firmly with McCarthy for me - his tactics, strategy and philosophy are appalling. Evans is an accessory and in my opinion needs a football man with ITFC at heart to advise him. I would suggest George Burley or Terry Butcher. They should give him a steer on the next manager to be appointed. Can we please ensure that is somebody who plays attacking football, and who is not a big name in the game (ie Keane, Jewell or McCarthy).
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BackTheBlues added 13:44 - Feb 1
Yes that was I... it saddens me to think it has got to that point!

No maybe you're right... but I can't excuse Sears anymore - he has had more than enough chances infront of goal - You don't "Lose your killer instinct" as a striker no matter where you play!

As for Evans - maybe you're right, maybe that is what he needs... But there are more than enough Ipswich fans (amazingly) that think the Burley/ Sheepshanks era are to blame for our current demise!

I want a manager who is looking for their 2nd Job - Like Gary Monk - Like Paul Clement
Fresh ideas, modern coaching tactics and Hungry!
And to be backed by our illustrious owner!
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cat added 15:46 - Feb 1
Great blog BackTheBlues, I pretty much agree with all your point although I might be a little easier on ME and the players.
Marcus Evans has his faultes, there no doubt about that, although I quite like having an invisible chairman who does not interfere with the management or team affairs. The club is stable and sustainable so maybe a bit of credit due there.
Mick on the other hand is finished from my point of view and I have shared this view for well over a year now, maybe as far back as when he was offered a new contract. It's all about entertainment for me and I have had enough. My last outing was Leeds away last year and I promised myself I would not attend again until a new manager is appointed.
Players have to take responsibility for the inept performances but I do sympathises to a point as they are played out of position and are told to play a very outdated brand of football.
The way forward for me is get rid of MM asap, appoint a forward thinking footballing manager and work with what we have and then take stock in the summer. Relegation for me this season is definitely not an option, luckily for us there are some pish poor teams below us.

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Daleyitfc added 16:39 - Feb 1
Excellent blog. I agree wholeheartedly with most of it, especially about how frighteningly poor most of the squad are, but I disagree about playing 3 at the back instead of 4 being impossible at this level : that is not how that system is meant to work at all ; it is meant to be about having an EXTRA centre-half so that when you are defending you defend with 5 instead of 4, the wing-backs becoming full-backs ; and when you are attacking those same players become, in effect, wingers giving you 7 going forward instead of 6 ; thus it is like having 2 extra players on the pitch ; however, it relies on the wing/full backs being VERY good and VERY fit ; it won't work with a useless lump like Knudsen nor, I suspect, with either of the 2 options on the other side.
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Colin64 added 17:25 - Feb 1
I also agree with most of your points another good blog, we can play three at the back but not with those playing last night unfortunately our best defenders for playing this system are injured Smith, Webster, and Kenlock plus the ball playing midfielders / strikers Bishop, McGoldrick, Williams and now possibly Lawrence.
Its a pity we didn't go for someone like Theo Robinson ( now at Southend ) he made Best look like a Sunday league player. As for managers lets get to the end of season and hope ME is going to talk to someone like the Lincoln managers!

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Rowski added 00:07 - Feb 2
Good blog.

It's sad when fans say they won't go anymore but I completely understand. I used to buy 3 tickets most home games and travel up from Stevenage. MM style didn't take long until it put my missus off but me and my old man persevered for a while. The killer for me was around this time last year I think, and we lost at home to Rotherham. I just remember thinking if a promotion chasing manager and team can't motivate itself to beat Rotherham it's just not going to happen. I've not been back since, and with the way this are atm I won't return this season.
I'd agree MM is a problem and his time is certainly up barring a miracle. I always had respect for him despite my reservations about his style of play, he got the best out of some utter sh1te. I believe we all owe him respect for the first couple of seasons at Ipswich, and out of respect he deserved to put last seasons disappointment right by having one more crack at it this season. However he has now failed to do that and worst yet he has lost respect for the fans which is unforgivable really, he can't survive that. Instead he is just losing our respect and digging a hole for himself, and I might add that Marcus Evans is the one who has given him the old beat up rusty shovel to dig it.
This brings me onto who I thing the main culprit of our misery is, Marcus ruddy Evans. The man is a joke, an enigma, disrespectful, contradictory and senseless. Why did he eve buy Ipswich Town? What was the point? Premier League football. So why throw money at Keane and Jewell, but when we were top at Christmas, would not pull £20 million from his hole and say 'there you go Mick, buy whoever and finish the job'. It beggars belief and is unforgivable. Following that the man hides behind FFP still! He produces a 5 point plan that we seem to contradict with almost every action we take since it's unveiling. The man is a clown with no real ambition, he is 3 times richer than Gibson at Middlesbrough but look where they are and how much they spent in the championship. He has sent Mick to swim the channel with a pair of lead flippers. If he had backed MM properly I believe even he would have got us to the Prem, it's too late for Mick now though. Time for somebody else.
All I ask though is that ME appoints somebody that actually fits the bill and can work towards the 5 point plan, because it makes complete sense if we actually follow it. I think candidates such as Poyet, Micheal Appleton or even Mowbray would be great. Not too sure about a Gary Rowett though as he will just be Mick II.
If ME doesn't make a change soon though crowds will continue to crash and with it the worst will happen we will be relegated. Then ME hand will be forced to change so maybe it won't be a bad thing. Anyway that's my opinion, I should have stuck it in a blog lol.
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cat added 07:18 - Feb 2
Colin64 downmarket you by mistake, apologises
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