Much has been written and said since Marcus Evans bought ITFC, much of it about this being the end of an era for the club, but what is to say that this is a bad thing?

This is stating the obvious, but Ipswich's start to this season has been extremely poor and far below the standards that we were all expecting. However, in recent weeks both performances and results have been improving. Remember Town are now seven games unbeaten and this weekend's win over Cardiff has to be the most impressive result so far. The signs are that things are definitely on the up.

Off the pitch I see things in a lot better light than some fans have in recent months. Marcus Evans is obviously a very astute and clever businessman, he started his business empire in his garden shed and now, in his forties is a multi-millionaire. He clearly knows a good investment when he sees one.

Let's not forget the financial commitment that Evans has made to the club. He paid £12 million to purchase Ipswich, then spent even more to buy some of the club's debts and then went about backing first Magilton and then Keane in the transfer market with more millions. Marcus Evans is certainly in this for the long run, he wants to see Ipswich become a successful Premier League club again and will spend money to achieve that goal.

This 'new era' has also seen Simon Clegg arrive as chief executive and so far the signs are positive. Whenever he has been questioned about Keane's future he has shown unwavering support for the Irishman, whereas many chief execs would offer up line after line of non-committal rubbish.

Clegg has also shown himself to be very personable and open, appearing at numerous supporters' group meetings to talk directly to fans and lets not forget the superbly organised and fitting tribute to Sir Bobby Robson at the Newcastle game.

Finally we come to Roy Keane. I like many was very dubious and unsure when Keane was unveiled as the new manager at the back end of last season. I thought he wasn't the right character to be an Ipswich Town manager, to outspoken and brash and perhaps it has taken a while for the players to get accustomed to his way of working.

Of what there is no doubt is the potential that Keane has as a manager. To get Sunderland promoted in his first season as a boss was a great accomplishment. Many managers have to go through several clubs before they achieve anything of any merit. As Keane himself said last week, he is young and still has plenty to learn and he will surely have learnt a lot in his short time at Portman Road.

Evans and Clegg are two very intelligent men who know what it takes to be successful and they clearly have great faith that Keane is the man to take Ipswich forward and despite the way the season has gone I am growing in confidence that Keane is the right man. But, what is most important, is that we as fans have patience. Who knows, the triumvirate of Evans, Clegg and Keane might just be the magic formula for footballing success at ITFC.

taximan added 13:18 - Dec 1 but according to many idiots that frequent this site; evans needs to show his face clegg has no history in football keane will never get the players playing for him.
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chalkandcheese added 13:18 - Dec 1 evans only took on the debt he didnt pay it off, so if he was to decide to give up and go we would still be in serious debt problems, in fact worse then when he took over...ITFC pays marcus evans for the debt
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TractorRoyNo1 added 13:19 - Dec 1 Phil & gav, can you get rid of this blog, this is not the usual anti-town stuff we have come to expect on this site
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John_Warks_Willy added 13:53 - Dec 1 its the start of something very special
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naa added 14:11 - Dec 1 taximan: was there any need to call people idiots? I don't consider you're referring to me, as I've never claimed any of those things but nontheless, it was a totally unecessary comment. TractorRoyNo1: please, please, please stop referring to posts that are negative about our situation as anti-Town. Thy are not! They are anti-Keane, anti-Evans whatever. But not anti-Town. As to the blog. I guess we're all on the up after Sunday and I don't disagree about Clegg and Keane (to an extent) but the blog implies that Evans has pumped all this money into the club. That's not technically true. He has lent us all this money. We still owe is all (and more in fact, as we owe him the transfer kitty too) I don't believe that Evans is a fly-by-night type either, but please don't ignore the facts.

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taximan added 14:27 - Dec 1 yawn
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naa added 14:40 - Dec 1 You sir, are an idiot.
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MickMillsTash added 15:02 - Dec 1 1 win and we all go spraffing off about how wonderful everything is. We were not very good in the first half against Cardiff and although a lot better in the second half - Cardiff really lost their way. Marcus Evans seems good- anyone who invests / loans that much has to be regarded. Simon Clegg said that ''we have invested heavily in playing stock''- seems like a burke to me. I like Keane he seems to be getting a more solid team around him off and on the pitch and speaks his mind. Its a pity that the people who seem to spend a lot of their time writing on this message board are not as entertianing as Roy.

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bluejack added 15:43 - Dec 1 I would go see an ipswich match but i havent got a good book to read while there.....
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Lightningboy added 15:49 - Dec 1 1 win and suddenly everything's perfect..............?!
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byebyesheepshanks added 15:54 - Dec 1 Norwich Union sell debt of £30mil plus for a fraction of the loans valuie. The club sells the supporters shares for a fraction of their value. This is a tax wheeze, not a love affair with football because if promotion was achieved & the £40mil prem money received, the loan is repaid tax free at £30mil (even though only say £6mil was paid for it) If the club was sold - as loads used to be 3 yrs ago - then the loan gets paid out at £30mil tax free from the proceeds. The tax gamble goes a bit wonky if you don't get promoted or find a Russian buyer & the 2 clowns you put in charge spend a fortune & can't win an egg & spoon race.

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matt_the_blue added 16:21 - Dec 1 Lightningboy - No, undefeated in 7 and things are looking better.
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ITFCspud added 17:51 - Dec 1 wait until january boys and we'll soon see what happens :)
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north_stand77 added 22:27 - Dec 1 When Roy Keane was appointed, my opinion was that it would be either an absolute disaster for the Club or a brilliant decision, not much in betwwen. At the moment I am still thinking that, given time, Roy will bring us success.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 22:41 - Dec 1 I support the owner, the ceo, the manager, the staff and the players - which means i support the Town, if you don't then that's your problem. naa ??? please, please, please stop referring to posts that are negative about our situation as anti-Town. Thy are not! They are anti-Keane, anti-Evans whatever. But not anti-Town.
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MVBlue added 22:44 - Dec 1 whinge moan squabble. Soon TWTD will return to team selection and opposition discussions instead of Manager and Owner debating
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bjc added 09:06 - Dec 2 keanos a unstable lunatic dont know about the other 2.we can only look at the results under keano and they are sh...,as 4 what happens in the future, maybe keano will get us up but maybe magilton would of as well if he stayed? the evidence which is all we have to work on says keano is sh....2 wins out of 17 games speaks 4 itself really. just hope evans doesnt leave it to late another 4 losses/draws and get rid of him because any longer its gonna be hard 2 stay up

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bjc added 09:14 - Dec 2 keanos a unstable lunatic dont know about the other 2.we can only look at the results under keano and they are sh...,as 4 what happens in the future, maybe keano will get us up but maybe magilton would of as well if he stayed? the evidence which is all we have to work on says keano is sh....2 wins out of 17 games speaks 4 itself really. just hope evans doesnt leave it to late another 4 losses/draws and get rid of him because any longer its gonna be hard 2 stay up

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Tractorog added 09:52 - Dec 2 There are signs Roy may be able to turn the situation round. We are, however in the relegation zone after many millions have been spent. Personally I will reserve judgement until Christmas as the run of the next few games will be crucial. I don't think there is a lot of point in speculation - still less in insulting people that disagree with you. Having a strongly held belief either way is a bit premature. As for ME not converting the debt and leaving the club in a worse position when he sells... erm who do you think would buy it with all that debt? ME will have to convert it to sell the business so to say he is not committed just because his choice is to keep it as debt and not equity is frankly a bit paranoid.

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