| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans 06:24 - May 20 with 14926 views | skankerman |
I very rarely post, I have never lived in Ipswich or in fact Suffolk, I have been passionate about the blues for over 40 years, my dad would stand me in the Churchman's end in the late 70's early 80's, fondly remembering us beating Man U 6-0 , as I got older and mobile spent many years in the North stand and followed the team away, always proud to say I support Ipswich.
It saddens me that we are on a downward spiral, it saddens me that for the first time in 40 years the passion is going, it saddens me that my 6 year old son wants to go to Portman Rd and unlike my dad I am reluctant to do so, because a half empty stadium poor entertainment will result in his bubble being burst.
I know I am not alone in this, as a leader of people in my profession I find it equally poor that the lack of communication and direction from our owner is poor management, I also get hacked off with many areas of the media that seem scared of asking direct questions as to what the hell is going on with our club, we are being taken for mugs, how can you run a public business where the public are your number 1 customer and treat them as muppets.
Our club resembles an untouched garden just enough weeding done so it doesn't overgrow, just enough investment so it doesn't become an eye sore.
I would rather Mr Evans publically came out himself and not hiding from others and was honest with us, how can you run a club where the manager is so divided, the results and entertainment so poor and not give any leadership direction and as a leader make the required changes we all know need to happen.
Mr Evans you may have against your name 750million , but for that money you haven't got any of the memories and passion of ITFC under Sir Bobby and more recently George Burley, you had a great opportunity to equally become a legend in the eyes of the fans by packing Portman Road out and getting the club promoted, but you have failed.
All leaders of worthy come out fighting in times of trouble, your lack of leadership stands out a mile |  | | |  |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 12:21 - May 20 with 3971 views | patrickswell |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 12:01 - May 20 by Bluebell |
"The staff expressed their concerns when the ticket pricing was discussed".
Why should he discuss it with 'the staff' though. He pays them to work for him not to tell him what he should be doing. He also pays Milne and McCarthy. Perhaps they are the ones who should be telling him he has made big mistakes. They probably think it is better keep schtum and carry on.
Great OP and a lot of very good points made. |
Presumably Evans considered Milne's findings, which may very well have come about from researching the measures taken by Huddersfield, Bradford and others that get lauded on here for their ticketing strategies, as well as the feedback Milne received from fans before deciding, "Nah, let's put prices up and phase out our 60-64 year old concession. I mean those National League South reserves aren't going to pay for themselves..."
The lack of a rallying cry is fine by me. Milne issued one at the end of 2015-16, and nothing was delivered. I will look to see whether the Five Point Plan is worth the paper it's written on. Ward and Webster last summer offer some hope, and players we were linked with, and failed to land, through the season offered some useful pointers. I fear for the Academy lads, as Mick will use the negative atmosphere as a reason not to bring them through or off the bench. Either way, only actions - genuine progressive positive ones in terms of recruitment and playing style will do now. Until that I time, I have nothing but contempt for Evans and sympathetic disappointment in McCarthy. |  | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:47 - May 20 with 3919 views | christiand |
Loved the commitment shown by the Sheffield Wednesday owner after their play off defeat, his statement must have lifted the club's fans after the loss during the week. I wish ME would come out and make a positive statement one way or the other at least we would know where we all stand. If I was a Wednesday fan, I'd already be fired up for the start of next season especially with the back up of the owner's words. Ours on the other hand continues to allow the club just to drift, like an empty vessel on the ocean, with no direction. It's a real sorry state of affairs. I put a poll on here about being embarassed about being an Ipswich fan - I really am at the moment. We have a stadium that requires a lot of tlc, a manager that has no idea how to change and adapt to modern football - but thinks he's doing a terrific job, a style of play that is f*cking boring to watch and very limited, a fan base that is rapidly diminishing and an owner that really couldn't give a sh*t one way or another. We all agree the club needs a 'HUGE' kick up the ar*e, but I think we'll do exactly what we always do in recent times.....make very few changes, in the hope that miracles do happen and suddenly we turn things around by luck than judgement. I was hoping that meetings between the leaders and managers of the club would've already happened about what needs to be done, however as you say skankerman the silence is defeaning as they have all f*ked off on holiday.....pitiful! | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:47 - May 20 with 3917 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 09:28 - May 20 by ThePitBoss |
Having spoken to someone who works at PR, Evans is not leading them either. The communication is one way... Its his way or the highway.
The staff expressed their concerns when the ticket pricing was discussed. Evans didn't care what they thought, and didn't even show his face to discuss with them.
Sorry to disappoint you. |
Not only that nobody really wants to tell the fans how many season tickets were sold ! |  |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:52 - May 20 with 3912 views | christiand |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:47 - May 20 by Benters |
Not only that nobody really wants to tell the fans how many season tickets were sold ! |
They're obviously either very poor at counting, completely inept or just embarrassed to release the official figure. Personally, think it's the last one. You know for a fact if the season ticket figure was significantly higher we'd all know about it! | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:59 - May 20 with 3903 views | tractorboy1978 |
Any business owner that loses 25% (ish) of his customers in two years is doing something wrong, whichever way you cut it. Did he expect to lose 2,500 season ticket holders this summer post the price announcements? Milne certainly should have with him being very much amongst the disgruntlement during the back end of the season. | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:11 - May 20 with 3884 views | ThePitBoss |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:47 - May 20 by Benters |
Not only that nobody really wants to tell the fans how many season tickets were sold ! |
The silence is deafening, again.
What a fcuking state we're in. |  | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:54 - May 20 with 3848 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:52 - May 20 by christiand |
They're obviously either very poor at counting, completely inept or just embarrassed to release the official figure. Personally, think it's the last one. You know for a fact if the season ticket figure was significantly higher we'd all know about it! |
Yep of course they would ! Like the opening thread says its the silence that does your nut in . | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 15:27 - May 20 with 3821 views | Lightningboy |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:53 - May 20 by witchdoctor |
I think that when he arrived he chose , for whatever reason to be anonymous as such...well that's all well and good when things are going swimmingly....surely now he must realise the time has come for him to step out of the shadows and tackle the issues head on publicly and show a bit of leadership..or Is he the invisible man in every sector of his business empire? |
Maybe he shuns the limelight out of sheer embarrassment - let's face it,the 4 managerial decisions he's made since he took over have been horrendous. |  | | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 15:55 - May 20 with 3793 views | PJH |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 15:27 - May 20 by Lightningboy |
Maybe he shuns the limelight out of sheer embarrassment - let's face it,the 4 managerial decisions he's made since he took over have been horrendous. |
If you mean managerial appointments he has made 3 hasn't he?
edit-if you include the decision to sack Jimbo then,in hindsight, that was horrendous to add to his two horrendous appointments. [Post edited 20 May 2017 15:59]
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 16:11 - May 20 with 3776 views | witchdoctor |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 15:55 - May 20 by PJH |
If you mean managerial appointments he has made 3 hasn't he?
edit-if you include the decision to sack Jimbo then,in hindsight, that was horrendous to add to his two horrendous appointments. [Post edited 20 May 2017 15:59]
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nope....as it turns out 3 is correct..👠|  | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 16:59 - May 20 with 3744 views | patrickswell |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 16:11 - May 20 by witchdoctor |
nope....as it turns out 3 is correct..👠|
And to clarify, his first 2 appointments were horrendous, the third did really well for 2 and a half years, but has dropped off over the last 18 months. | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 17:02 - May 20 with 3731 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:11 - May 20 by ThePitBoss |
The silence is deafening, again.
What a fcuking state we're in. |
Indeed state | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 06:35 - May 21 with 3634 views | Benters |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 07:45 - May 21 with 3608 views | TLA |
Really good post this.
I agree that any honest statement would be better than silence. ME could say that this level of football has become too expensive for the club and that he's looking for a buyer. He could maybe add that if he can't find one, we may find our level lower down the leagues. Honesty would be better than a meaningless 5 point plan.
I just can't work out what's in it for him. He's got us just about breaking even for a few years but his chance of getting the money he's owed back diminishes by the day! |  | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:00 - May 21 with 3592 views | No9 |
The fact is Mr Evans bought a football club his advisers thought would go up if he appointed RK as manager - the bookies were also convinced.
It failed now he owns a club which is languishing in the second tier of English football (& has done so for sometime ) with a prospect of lower level football before higher things are achieved.
Remember Ipswich is a small town within an area of low / very low wages. Even if promotion was attained, irrespective of cost , the probability of retaining that status is low so the potential losses look to be very high.
It is not nice but, it is modern football & ironically it was the outgoing Chairman who defeated proposed changes that may have made life easier for clubs like Ipswich.
I feel, for English football to be revived to be something or worth it will need to crash soon.
It is a sad endictment of our country that like all other assets of worth our football clubs continue to fall into the hands of foreign owners and they seem to be the ones who want it to work.
We are nothing owners would rather have TV money than fans | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:09 - May 21 with 3582 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 07:45 - May 21 by TLA |
Really good post this.
I agree that any honest statement would be better than silence. ME could say that this level of football has become too expensive for the club and that he's looking for a buyer. He could maybe add that if he can't find one, we may find our level lower down the leagues. Honesty would be better than a meaningless 5 point plan.
I just can't work out what's in it for him. He's got us just about breaking even for a few years but his chance of getting the money he's owed back diminishes by the day! |
Sadly we had just the chance we had all been waiting for in Jan 2015,we should have gone for it,sadly we didnt and from that month (yes i know we finished 6th) we have been slipping away .
Add a couple of poor transfer windows in to the mix,and it almost cost us big time last season,if we dont change our transfer policy it could really bite us on the bottom in a couple of seasons.
Still those people who are happy clap,and those that are not so happy dont (some 3000 in two seasons) plus the walk ups have voted with their feet.
Sad times . | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:11 - May 21 with 3581 views | TLA |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:00 - May 21 by No9 |
The fact is Mr Evans bought a football club his advisers thought would go up if he appointed RK as manager - the bookies were also convinced.
It failed now he owns a club which is languishing in the second tier of English football (& has done so for sometime ) with a prospect of lower level football before higher things are achieved.
Remember Ipswich is a small town within an area of low / very low wages. Even if promotion was attained, irrespective of cost , the probability of retaining that status is low so the potential losses look to be very high.
It is not nice but, it is modern football & ironically it was the outgoing Chairman who defeated proposed changes that may have made life easier for clubs like Ipswich.
I feel, for English football to be revived to be something or worth it will need to crash soon.
It is a sad endictment of our country that like all other assets of worth our football clubs continue to fall into the hands of foreign owners and they seem to be the ones who want it to work.
We are nothing owners would rather have TV money than fans |
I agree that a crash in the game as a whole is needed.
Football is just getting ridiculous and it's definitely less enjoyable by the season. | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:16 - May 21 with 3576 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:11 - May 21 by TLA |
I agree that a crash in the game as a whole is needed.
Football is just getting ridiculous and it's definitely less enjoyable by the season. |
The Brighton fans seemed to enjoy it last season ! | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:24 - May 21 with 3557 views | TLA |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:09 - May 21 by Benters |
Sadly we had just the chance we had all been waiting for in Jan 2015,we should have gone for it,sadly we didnt and from that month (yes i know we finished 6th) we have been slipping away .
Add a couple of poor transfer windows in to the mix,and it almost cost us big time last season,if we dont change our transfer policy it could really bite us on the bottom in a couple of seasons.
Still those people who are happy clap,and those that are not so happy dont (some 3000 in two seasons) plus the walk ups have voted with their feet.
Sad times . |
I've been hopeful of some kind of change Benters but I'm not any more. I can't see anything other than a struggle in the bottom 6 next year.
I guess I'd be counted as a happy clapper - I have renewed but it's mainly because it's something my wife and I do together and I like the people I stand with (who I only see at football).
We have had, and blown, some opportunities and I think the level we'll find without a big change might mean finally getting out of this division! | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:33 - May 21 with 3541 views | Benters |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:24 - May 21 by TLA |
I've been hopeful of some kind of change Benters but I'm not any more. I can't see anything other than a struggle in the bottom 6 next year.
I guess I'd be counted as a happy clapper - I have renewed but it's mainly because it's something my wife and I do together and I like the people I stand with (who I only see at football).
We have had, and blown, some opportunities and I think the level we'll find without a big change might mean finally getting out of this division! |
Indeed. | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 11:08 - May 21 with 3495 views | christiand |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 08:24 - May 21 by TLA |
I've been hopeful of some kind of change Benters but I'm not any more. I can't see anything other than a struggle in the bottom 6 next year.
I guess I'd be counted as a happy clapper - I have renewed but it's mainly because it's something my wife and I do together and I like the people I stand with (who I only see at football).
We have had, and blown, some opportunities and I think the level we'll find without a big change might mean finally getting out of this division! |
Points sensibly made TLA and ones that I can't disagree with. I would've hoped that ME would have said something about the club's future intent by now. The fact that Milne made reference to big changes needed too, I personally thought (or hoping) here we go, something has got to give. The fact is, still nothing has been followed up or even done. Most of us are now excited about the final figure of the disappointing ST sales - I'm sure Phil said they were looking to confirm the figure a coupe of weeks back, but still nothing!
I'm really not holding my breath over the summer the one thing ME does exceedingly well is to underwhelm, so if anything exciting does happen during the close season then that's a bonus. What I can't understand is this man has his name all over our club promoting himself and is more than happy for it to go to ruin?! Why advertise yourself on a failing product? | |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 11:57 - May 21 with 3470 views | TLA |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 11:08 - May 21 by christiand |
Points sensibly made TLA and ones that I can't disagree with. I would've hoped that ME would have said something about the club's future intent by now. The fact that Milne made reference to big changes needed too, I personally thought (or hoping) here we go, something has got to give. The fact is, still nothing has been followed up or even done. Most of us are now excited about the final figure of the disappointing ST sales - I'm sure Phil said they were looking to confirm the figure a coupe of weeks back, but still nothing!
I'm really not holding my breath over the summer the one thing ME does exceedingly well is to underwhelm, so if anything exciting does happen during the close season then that's a bonus. What I can't understand is this man has his name all over our club promoting himself and is more than happy for it to go to ruin?! Why advertise yourself on a failing product? |
These are the questions that keep occurring to me.
I don't believe the tax relief and profile are benefitting ME anywhere near enough for that to be an argument for him continuing in his position. I try to convince myself that, now we've had a few years with no loss, it might be a launchpad for spending up to FFP limits. However, I think it's a project gone wrong that is now about minimising loss. Someone mentioned that the £90m the club owes ME forms part of his wealth so maybe selling up without getting that back reduces his status significantly.
Season ticket sales of nearly 10,000 are only bad because they're falling, and because of the cost of going to individual matches. I think in our 1992 promotion year, we only had about 3000 season tickets but it was cheap to go to a match.
I'd like to say that something has to change soon but I'm losing that belief! | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:05 - May 21 with 3446 views | Herbivore |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 07:45 - May 21 by TLA |
Really good post this.
I agree that any honest statement would be better than silence. ME could say that this level of football has become too expensive for the club and that he's looking for a buyer. He could maybe add that if he can't find one, we may find our level lower down the leagues. Honesty would be better than a meaningless 5 point plan.
I just can't work out what's in it for him. He's got us just about breaking even for a few years but his chance of getting the money he's owed back diminishes by the day! |
Coming out and saying that the game has got too rich for him and that he'll either sell or we'll slip down the leagues to find our level would be absolute suicide though. From the point of view of trying to sell he'd have no chance of getting a decent price if prospective buyers thought he was desperate to get rid of the club. Saying he won't finance us to be competitive and we might have to go down the leagues would alienate the fans further more, would upset the current players and coaching staff, and would put anyone with any ambition off joining us.
The five point plan has been dismissed by many but for now it's our most sensible way forward and I don't see what ME can really come out and say that will add to that. It might not be what people want to hear but there is a strategy in place, it's just whether or not it can be delivered and lead to better, more successful football. |  |
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| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:03 - May 21 with 3412 views | TLA |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 13:05 - May 21 by Herbivore |
Coming out and saying that the game has got too rich for him and that he'll either sell or we'll slip down the leagues to find our level would be absolute suicide though. From the point of view of trying to sell he'd have no chance of getting a decent price if prospective buyers thought he was desperate to get rid of the club. Saying he won't finance us to be competitive and we might have to go down the leagues would alienate the fans further more, would upset the current players and coaching staff, and would put anyone with any ambition off joining us.
The five point plan has been dismissed by many but for now it's our most sensible way forward and I don't see what ME can really come out and say that will add to that. It might not be what people want to hear but there is a strategy in place, it's just whether or not it can be delivered and lead to better, more successful football. |
You make some good points and I know complete honesty is idealism. You've made a point very well and it might challenge my negative outlook, in spite of being a largely positive fan without huge expectations!
However, some level of honesty would be good. To offer a discount should we sell more season tickets than last year, with the price structure and the performance last season is pretty patronising.
I think we all know that our place is slipping and something has to happen - it might be new investment; several young players developing quickly, or realising we're not wealthy enough for this league. | | | |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:10 - May 21 with 3410 views | Herbivore |
| Silence is Deafening Mr Evans on 14:03 - May 21 by TLA |
You make some good points and I know complete honesty is idealism. You've made a point very well and it might challenge my negative outlook, in spite of being a largely positive fan without huge expectations!
However, some level of honesty would be good. To offer a discount should we sell more season tickets than last year, with the price structure and the performance last season is pretty patronising.
I think we all know that our place is slipping and something has to happen - it might be new investment; several young players developing quickly, or realising we're not wealthy enough for this league. |
I don't disagree with any of that. The way the ticketing was handled was farcical, to put prices up for the vast majority of fans after a poor season was always going to destroy the little remaining good will amongst the fans and the 'reward' you mention is laughable really, even if it was achievable it's not much of an inducement to buy a season ticket.
I think fans are at a point where they want a sudden or drastic change. That may be a new manager, ideally a new owner, or a sudden boost in investment. I think the reality is that changes are going to be gradual. We'll see another couple of Ward/Webster type signings for not too much money, some quality on loan from the Prem and a few freebies who will hopefully be more Didz and Murphy than Coke and Best. It's not sexy or exciting but, if we can get Ward/Webster types again, it's a strategy that could yield success a few years down the line. Whether MM can deliver it and whether there's enough will amongst the fans to be patient and wait for success is a different story altogether. | |
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