Whilst I can understand the anger behind the whole Borogate situation, spare a thought for a man like chief executive Simon Clegg, someone who’s main role at the club is to save money for town, keep Town away from ending up like Pompey or Rangers.

Whilst we may not like player contracts running down, players picking other teams ahead of us etc, you have to think that the club are doing their best to do the right thing when it comes to money.

Yes, we probably have paid a big wage to the likes of Jimmy Bullard and Lee Bowyer, but when they came in, there were only a few people who didn’t approve of their signings. Unfortunately it hasn’t turned out how we thought, but that’s football.

Contracts can be the make or break of a football club, look at Spurs – they’ve had a maximum wage cap at their club for years, only now are they breaking it to keep the likes of Luka Modric, who let’s face it, runs the midfield. Spurs could easily go the way of Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, not by spending millions on fees, but on wages, but for the good of the club they don’t.

This is why I think fans need to lay off Clegg. Yes we wanted Shaun Derry, yes we wanted Charlie Austin, but at what cost? We’ll never know how much they wanted, but you can’t have a go at Clegg because he wants to keep the books as black as is possible.

This Boro situation makes Clegg look awful, but what choice does he have? Don’t any of these fans know the true cost of hosting a football match, it’s not just players' wages they have to pay, it’s fees to St John's Ambulance, Referees etc. You can’t ask a club to let everyone in for free for a rearranged fixture – who will cover the cost?

Yes, Clegg needs to work on his PR, the way he calls us customers, he’ll learn, after all this is his first job in football, give him a break.

For me he’s doing a fine job, we’re not being mugged by incoming players nor our own players when it comes to contracts. If the player wants to play for Town, he’ll sign – Luke Hyam for example, those that just look after themselves and want more than they deserve will leave – David Norris.

Let’s get behind Clegg and relish the fact he’s being so tight with the books, I don’t want Town going the way of Pompey just so we can sign a Derry or keep a Norris. There will always be alternatives out there.

Let’s get behind the team, and fill the place come Saturday and again in Boro’s return game, let's just enjoy the team we have out on the pitch, and I hope fans can imagine for one second that they don’t know the ins and outs of running a club's finances, and let Clegg get on with his job.

Whatever he’s done, he’s done for the best of the club's finances, congratulate him, don’t mock him for doing what David Sheepshanks couldn’t.

mwhitfc added 11:06 - Feb 15 I think you're right, we may hate him, but he may well be doing it for the best interests of our beloved football club!
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Guthrum added 11:34 - Feb 15 This could be quite important once the Financial Fair Play rules come into force. I'd rather we were a club already set up and prepared for that situation than one having to put the brakes on suddenly over the next couple of seasons. Could give us an advantage while others are facing upheaval.
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naa added 11:42 - Feb 15 Yes, very sensible blog. I get amused at how naive many fans are who think because our owner is a millionaire we'll just break the bank for everyone. Someone needs to remind them that our owner isn't paying for any of this, the club owes him the money. We need to be sensible financially, especially with the new Fair Play rules coming in. And yes, I actually think that the deal being offered for the Boro game is fair. Clegg clearly made a mess of it but no-one can really complain. It wasn't the club's fault the game started or finished early and it does cost a lot of money to host a game. Do the fans not remember that the club is losing loads of money each season already, we are not well off!

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hogster1970 added 12:05 - Feb 15 well i think you are defo right on the players side, but his pr is awfull, with the fair play rules coming in we need as many through the gates as possible, for the up and coming season, some good displays and results will help no end, but on the mids match replay, would have been better to bite the bullet offer free entry for all tickets issued and done say £15 per adult and £5 per child for other people who dont have a ticket, they people will flood in the gate, would show that the club do care about supporters and with the extra revenue from the extra fans on the day would go towards the match costs, and hope fully may gain some season ticket holders to boot, it is a viceous circle, just look at m narwich supporters they still had 24000 in div one, so that says it all realey

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FrimleyBlue added 12:09 - Feb 15 You can't take the risk of fans 'Flooding in' how do you know they will. In business especialyl money it's about what if's. And you certainly at this level of business have to assume that you wouldn't get fans 'flooding in' imagine the financial consequence of having a poorish attendance. Also the more attendnace - the higher the cost to host the game. More police, Stewards etc etc, so theres that aspect.

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JustSpivvyChops added 12:41 - Feb 15 I have no problem with Clegg's involvement in the administrative side of the club, increasing corporate attendance, negotiations with the council over ground rental costs, supplier negotiations, keeping the general costs of the club down etc etc, but both he and ME's perception of market transfer values and wages of players, are totally out of touch with the division we are in. As you said yourself, they are both new to football, so this isn't a surprise, but it is having an obvious and negative impact on the manager's ability to move ITFC, in the direction we all strive for. A player's market value and wages are dictated by what other clubs in the division are prepared to pay for his services, not by our own transfer policy and wage structure. However, i'm not bitterly disappointed with the fact that they don't understand market forces, as it means the club is forced to scout lower divisions, for talented players that would jump at the chance to wear the shirt, which ironically, is what we should be doing more of anyway. The manager of the football club, should be provided with an annual budget, within the confines of which, he conducts his transfer business, with no interference from above. Just about every other business in existence works to this accepted method and football should be no different. In extreme circumstances, the door is open to discuss extra funds with the CEO and owner. JEWELL IN

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Rosetintedblue added 13:38 - Feb 15 I had a quick internet search last night to see what other clubs say they will do in the instance of a game being abandoned. Several (Blackburn, Newcastle for definite) have a stated policy of a full refund/entry if the game is cancelled before kick off but have a 50% offer for ticket sfor a rearranged game after an abandonment. Not sure if ITFC have that anywhere but the Boro rematch is in line with what other clubs policies are. Economic realism has to come in to it eventually.

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brogansnose added 13:42 - Feb 15 take the last three away games; Leeds, fans demonstrating calling for Bates to go and until they scored the managers head. Alright Bates is not going to be on everyones Christmas card list but at least he has established them in the Championship. Coventry, pitiful amount of fans in a souless stadium that they don't own and looking at div 3. Portsmouth, second time in administration, points deduction and not looking good from any angle. Ipswich, supportive owner, pays the bills, funds the club but doesn't go crazy with the money. Who would you want to be ? Think on you numpty's with the Clegg Out blanket last night.

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SomershamBlue added 15:24 - Feb 15 Easy to criticise someone when you are not in full possession of the facts - which nobody on this site is - and results on the field are not going our way. Better results will reduce the comment about management ability.
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sotd78 added 15:25 - Feb 15 The cl;uib bust a gut to get the game on v Boro - for what reason? To showcase a game at a lower cost? To make a bigger fanbase see a team that turned a corner? To fulfill an agreement with TV - money in the overseas showing? For all or none of those reasons. So why oh why the own goal with the PR disaster. I don't wantITFC to go bust, to splash the cash. But I do want my club to know who is most important - the fans.

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RegencyBlue added 18:59 - Feb 15 There is only one reason and one reason only that Clegg is employed by Evans in my opinion and that is his contacts with the Olympics. Evans has been described by various media organisations as the Worlds biggest ticket tout and his need for Olympics tickets is obvious. I have never heard any other plausible explanation for Clegg being parachuted into run ITFC and his lack of experience in football matters is costing us dear. He is a walking PR disaster area and we would be better off without him!

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tractored added 21:20 - Feb 15 Of all the rubbish that gets posted on this board I can't remember anything as bad as this blog. If Spurs spend to much on contracts they will be in trouble like Man. Utd, Chelsea and Man City! Man utd have an operating profit of over 100m a year, their 350m debt is against a company value of around 1.5bn. Chelsea and Man City are bank rolled by their uber rich owners in the same way we are albeit on a much smaller scale. We are totally dependent on ME, whatever Clegg does is irrelevant. " He wants to keep the books as black as is possible." Last July we were 66.9m in debt having sold Walters Wickham and Rhodes. By this July the debt will be approaching £80m. Not a lot of black there then. His complete lack of understanding of the culture of football fans and his total inability to relate to them is acknowledged. The author does not want us to go the way of Portsmouth, well no one does, but neither Clegg or the fans have any say in this, like Portsmouth and Rangers we are dependent on the owner who in the formers case turned out to be very dodgy after initially seeing to be just what was required.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 04:42 - Feb 16 King chopra i agree with most of what you say. i think too many people on here like to blame PJ and SC for anything ranging from global warming to greece's economic state. I think the Boro affair has been hugely over reacted to by a lot of supporters, yes it was a very unfortunate set of circumstances , but thats life and but how often does it get to -13 in Suffolk?? and i think the prices are reasonable for the replay. With regard to the stories on here about Clegg letting Charlie Austin go to Burnley. Do we actually know thats true?? or is it just a rumour, and to be honest if he didnt want to join us then i didnt really want him here and i definately agree we should have a strict wage ceiling. I think he could certainly do with a few lessons in personal PR as he is hard to take too, but to be honest the position he is in is always going to come under fire from supporters. Lets be honest, none of us really know what goes on at PR and how much sway he has with ME and PJ so maybe some people should think before they come on and make accusations based on rumour.

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michaeldownunder added 07:12 - Feb 16 Re Norwich and 24,000 odd fans (odd being a true word) Many of them bought long term season tickets 5/10 years, at a very low price, when they dropped into div one. Even then they were hours away from going broke. Bigger crowds at a cheaper ticket price does not mean the club has more cash in the bank. Higher costs for Police,stewards etc. For most clubs it's only TV money , adverts around the ground and a wealthy owner that keep them going. Even Manchester United with 75,000 fans every other week, the money coming thru the turnstyles, pays a very small % of their costs. Over here in Australia one side would only let 5000 fans in per game any more fans and it cost them too much to stage the game, the owner said they would be better in financal terms if they played to an empty ground each week I know that is daft, but it shows how crazy football finance is

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Wickets added 07:55 - Feb 16 Sorry but your missing the point, it isnt what he always does but the way he does it,in the borogate fiasco it was not what he has now offered but the PR nighmare way he went about it.He does not understand his own job, he doesn't seem to grasp how he comes over, to us ordinary men in the street.
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bluekeen added 12:36 - Feb 16 We are right to have agood structure of wages but what we donot have is a good average length of contract... we should be offering people like hyam 3-4 year contracts... that is what secures a players value. new signings should be 4 - 5 year contracts. (age permitting) it then stops this constant cycle of 20 odd players needing new terms the "old heads(macauley/norris) demanding kings ransoms every 18months like they were aloud to, as ledddudbitter is now attempting, also settles the squad and truely demonstrates a backing for the manager. and his signings

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eaii added 15:06 - Feb 16 Well said Tractored, and the monetryism of everything including our football club I am afraid ends up with leeches like clegg on board. Same old bollox about books in the black and costs etc so why is he sucking the amount of money out of this club earning wages that he is that are far too high and he is probably on a vulger bonus aswell? Next we will have a public speech as bad as that tw,t David Cameron on how good old etonions and mummies boys are for Scotland! Independence for Scotland, Down with the Capitalists and Clegg Out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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austractor added 05:57 - Feb 19 I am behind clegg and the way he goes about things, including the boro issue. he is a realist, which is very rare in football but its the way of the future. Drury and Hyam to me are proof enough that you dont have to pay ridiculous money to get good players. We have more wages on our bench than alot of teams have on the field and thats not something I like, and something I hope is stamped out of the club for good in the next year or so. of all the players we have "missed out" on, with any one of them in our squad we would still have had much the same season I think.

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Morgan added 12:25 - Feb 19 How refreshing to hear from some Ipswich fans who engage their brains before opening their mouths. I had about given up hope.
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itfc1981 added 12:11 - Feb 22 You cant say letting players contracts run down is a good because the board are thinking of the club. Then say are well they tried and failed with 20k contracts on players the next season. giving credence to a poor policy then dismissing a disastrous policy. Crazy! Worst Blog in TWTS's history.
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madmouse1959 added 23:58 - Oct 26 Clegg only comes out of the woodwork when its "Find a new manager" time. Other than that he does naff all to inspire an Ipswich football fan.
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