| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way 11:42 - Mar 4 with 9401 views | SomethingBlue |
It's a delicate situation now, perhaps an existential one. People need to stay engaged, focused and angry — which I know isn't easy to do given the endless stream of kicks in the teeth. But articulated vocally and consistently — which hasn't ever happened yet — it will have an effect in time.
The best case scenario at this point is that Evans hands over to an owner who — even if not especially wealthy — is smart, engaged, understands how a club can maximise its every aspect in the 21st century, and gets the right football brains & voices in around him. I wonder what the Koeman/Bergkamp/Larsson/Kuyt consortium that's been looking around League One is up to at the moment ...
That is not definitely going to happen overnight, though, and the short-term ambition needs to be that ITFC's structure drags itself into the modern age. We will probably take £4-5m in transfers fees this summer and, honestly, if we see a small fraction of it reinvested in a dynamic chief executive (maybe just *a* chief executive for that matter ... !) and a couple of technical roles to take the heat off O'Neill it'll be money far better spent than on any players. We are not fit for purpose; we just lurch, and will continue to do so until the club has a structure both resilient and agile enough to maintain a vision & identity whoever the manager is and whatever is happening on the pitch.
All the fanbase can do is keep driving that message. Everyone probably feels helpless now but it's important to keep the noise up. Certain aspects will look after themselves. Lambert is a good guy, trust me on that, but it hasn't worked and he ought to be gone within the next seven days so that we can get things in place for next year. There is a bit room for optimism: KVY and Lankester have been out so long that nobody will take a punt on them at this stage; I'm not certain Championship clubs are quite convinced enough about Jackson while Norwood should be good for a better goal return if this absence sorts his issues out at last. We will lose players but still have a decent talent base to build on and at least make the play-offs in 2020-21 under the right management.
Overall, the next few games need to be used to hammer in the point, via any platform possible, that nothing about the way ITFC operates is good enough. It shouldn't be personal towards Evans the human being; his intentions are good, but he's just not been good enough in a way that goes way beyond how much cash he does or doesn't have. See it as an opportunity; inside the stadium it's only surfaced in dribs and drabs over the years, mainly because people understandably *want* to believe and there have been bones of various juiciness thrown. There is a way out of this but it will take time, energy and effort. It won't be easy but the alternative is unthinkable.
[Post edited 4 Mar 2020 11:44]
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:46 - Mar 4 with 6052 views | itfcjoe |
The greatest hope is that O'Neill understands this and is able to put pressure on ME to do so. LON is trusted by Evans more than anyone else has been at ITFC and clearly knows about the club, the community and the game in general.
Lambert needs to go ASAP as it will lift the cloud and give some breathing space |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:51 - Mar 4 with 6030 views | Sharkey |
A consortium with Larsson in it would be interesting! - I think he was Lambert's best man, or vice versa. |  | | |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:52 - Mar 4 with 6021 views | SomethingBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:46 - Mar 4 by itfcjoe |
The greatest hope is that O'Neill understands this and is able to put pressure on ME to do so. LON is trusted by Evans more than anyone else has been at ITFC and clearly knows about the club, the community and the game in general.
Lambert needs to go ASAP as it will lift the cloud and give some breathing space |
Yes, O'Neill will be crucial to the inquest we have to have now. It needs to be honest and excoriating; the owner has to listen but he also has to be presented with the bare facts as they are.
Lambert must go but I don't think that should relax anyone to be honest — a million miles from it. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:53 - Mar 4 with 6011 views | JakeITFC |
I left before the end last night because booing isn’t really my thing - I would just love an opportunity to talk to these people because it seems like they are missing glaringly obvious things.
The club is never going to go anywhere whilst we have such a nothing infrastructure in place. |  | | |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:59 - Mar 4 with 5959 views | BrixtonBlue |
Excellent post. I'd love Evans to get wind of this somehow. Maybe you could get together with Watson for a piece in the EADT? From what I've seen of the EADT they rarely talk about the structure of the club so might be something of interest that they could turn into a story (the fans would certainly be interested).
It also provides hope where at the moment there seems to be none. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:02 - Mar 4 with 5943 views | SomethingBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:53 - Mar 4 by JakeITFC |
I left before the end last night because booing isn’t really my thing - I would just love an opportunity to talk to these people because it seems like they are missing glaringly obvious things.
The club is never going to go anywhere whilst we have such a nothing infrastructure in place. |
I wonder where the Supporters' Trust whose existing board members pushed back so doggedly against a refresh in 2017 are right now. Absolute fools, to put it lightly. Idiots. One website entry in the last five years. No meetings in three. We need voices and pressure and ideas and initiative and an organisation that can channel that is peopled by complacent relics.
A small thing in the bigger scheme but these things all add up to create something huge. I'm angry but we all have to be otherwise what do we have? | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:04 - Mar 4 with 5913 views | SomethingBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:59 - Mar 4 by BrixtonBlue |
Excellent post. I'd love Evans to get wind of this somehow. Maybe you could get together with Watson for a piece in the EADT? From what I've seen of the EADT they rarely talk about the structure of the club so might be something of interest that they could turn into a story (the fans would certainly be interested).
It also provides hope where at the moment there seems to be none. |
Thanks a lot. That's not for me to do but EADT would definitely do it well and I've no doubt Watson will be on the case. I'm sure people working for other outlets would get onto it when they could, too. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:05 - Mar 4 with 5893 views | BrixtonBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:02 - Mar 4 by SomethingBlue |
I wonder where the Supporters' Trust whose existing board members pushed back so doggedly against a refresh in 2017 are right now. Absolute fools, to put it lightly. Idiots. One website entry in the last five years. No meetings in three. We need voices and pressure and ideas and initiative and an organisation that can channel that is peopled by complacent relics.
A small thing in the bigger scheme but these things all add up to create something huge. I'm angry but we all have to be otherwise what do we have? |
Again, well said. I'd forgotten the supporters' trust existed! | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:07 - Mar 4 with 5885 views | Swansea_Blue |
Cracking post.
It's also add that although we need to let ME know that he needs to up the game, I'd be cautious about too much open criticism of the players. They need all the support they can get. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:09 - Mar 4 with 5852 views | LankHenners |
Yes, becoming increasingly obvious to more people that the club is stuck as long as it's structured like it is. Even simple things like making more of Dave Bowman rather than being pushed aside by managers who think they know better would bolster our abilities in recruitment.
Mick McCarthy came in and immediately realised he had to find a way to get the team to punch above its weight and become more than the sum of its parts. That approach has to be taken to the entire club - a few years ago now but Liebherr/Cortese at Southampton is a great example of a sizeable club down where it shouldn't be recognising what needed to happen and putting the right people in place to put a well crafted plan into action. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:16 - Mar 4 with 5830 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
The key to all this is a senior leadership figure at the top of the club;
Its not Evans - He is largely absent, lacks football knowledge and has a business empire to run.
Its not O'Neill - He is inexperienced and seems to have no track record to speak of. I'm sure he could work in a football administration team, but he is not the man to lead the club.
Its not Paul Lambert - The manager should be left to run the team.
So... we have NO senior leadership in place. EVERY manager seems to become beleaguered by having the whole weight of the club on their shoulders, and then lack the energy to concentrate on team matters.
We need a modern version of Sheepshanks, who was very good for the most part. [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 12:16]
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:17 - Mar 4 with 5813 views | SomethingBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:09 - Mar 4 by LankHenners |
Yes, becoming increasingly obvious to more people that the club is stuck as long as it's structured like it is. Even simple things like making more of Dave Bowman rather than being pushed aside by managers who think they know better would bolster our abilities in recruitment.
Mick McCarthy came in and immediately realised he had to find a way to get the team to punch above its weight and become more than the sum of its parts. That approach has to be taken to the entire club - a few years ago now but Liebherr/Cortese at Southampton is a great example of a sizeable club down where it shouldn't be recognising what needed to happen and putting the right people in place to put a well crafted plan into action. |
Yes, Saints a very good example. I'm not even expecting we are run by someone with that much cash. Just the vision, energy and brains to put together an efficient setup that can give itself fighting chance. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:19 - Mar 4 with 5795 views | Hullblue |
”We are not fit for purpose; we just lurch, and will continue to do so until the club has a structure both resilient and agile enough to maintain a vision & identity whoever the manager is and whatever is happening on the pitch.”
Nail on the head. I think ME took some bad advice about always giving your manager all the power about a decade ago, and he just hasn’t revisited that opinion since. Promoting LON was a step in the right direction, but it seems to me like his role is too broad.
We have a ridiculous group of young players for the league we’re in, so like you say, there is still hope. But one/two more bad managerial appointments and we’ll waste their potential (and sell-on value). Then we really will be fooked.
Two technical appointments would probably be cheaper than one good player, and they’ll benefit us more in the medium-long term too. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:21 - Mar 4 with 5780 views | Steve_M |
SB, can you get Phil to stick this up as a blog? I know Gav has said previously they get much more attention than the message board. It's the clearest statement of a potential path out of where we are that I've seen and should be seen more widely.
I think the frustrating thing at the moment is that both O'Neill and Lambert know an awful lot of what is wrong with the club but it takes a long time from that to persuade Evans to invest more in the structure of the club - and it would be an investment, certainly a better one than the churn of managers and players over the past decade has produced.
It's a shame Evans didn't have up to date advice when he bought the club and might have been properly engaged and instead relied on people who knew how football worked in the 80s. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:23 - Mar 4 with 5746 views | Swansea_Blue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:21 - Mar 4 by Steve_M |
SB, can you get Phil to stick this up as a blog? I know Gav has said previously they get much more attention than the message board. It's the clearest statement of a potential path out of where we are that I've seen and should be seen more widely.
I think the frustrating thing at the moment is that both O'Neill and Lambert know an awful lot of what is wrong with the club but it takes a long time from that to persuade Evans to invest more in the structure of the club - and it would be an investment, certainly a better one than the churn of managers and players over the past decade has produced.
It's a shame Evans didn't have up to date advice when he bought the club and might have been properly engaged and instead relied on people who knew how football worked in the 80s. |
Well, done I was going to mention that this could go up as a blog in its current form or added to. But forgot to add it on the end of my post!
it really does get to the heart of the matter - current structures fail the club. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:25 - Mar 4 with 5736 views | SomethingBlue |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:21 - Mar 4 by Steve_M |
SB, can you get Phil to stick this up as a blog? I know Gav has said previously they get much more attention than the message board. It's the clearest statement of a potential path out of where we are that I've seen and should be seen more widely.
I think the frustrating thing at the moment is that both O'Neill and Lambert know an awful lot of what is wrong with the club but it takes a long time from that to persuade Evans to invest more in the structure of the club - and it would be an investment, certainly a better one than the churn of managers and players over the past decade has produced.
It's a shame Evans didn't have up to date advice when he bought the club and might have been properly engaged and instead relied on people who knew how football worked in the 80s. |
More than happy for him to — if you're reading, Phil!
I think Lambert actually has a pretty good idea of where we need to be and understands that managing Ipswich is (to quote Howard Wilkinson's take on playing against McGiven's side from the 90s) like pushing custard up a hill. He's obviously messed it up in the area he *actually* needs to be taking responsibility for, and has to leave.
The fact this has happened and that we are going to have to start again, yet again, should be the biggest wake-up call in a dozen years. As you and Joe suggest, let's hope O'Neill can put this across. But the fans have a chance to do this too in a way that hasn't happened before and the opportunity needs to be taken. [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 12:28]
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:30 - Mar 4 with 5653 views | LankHenners |
Also, to humour the Koeman etc. consortium point - imagine the pure and powerful Dutch energy from that, we'd be almost guaranteed a mass upturn in success. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:31 - Mar 4 with 5647 views | Bluedandy |
Well said .... for years the best way to survive the Evans Reign of Error was full blown Stockholm syndrome ... not anymore ... to do nothing ... to say nothing ... is an act of complicity in the slow death of Ipswich Town.
Last night I saw the future under Marcus Evans and it had League Two written all over it. | | | |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:35 - Mar 4 with 5580 views | monty_radio |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:07 - Mar 4 by Swansea_Blue |
Cracking post.
It's also add that although we need to let ME know that he needs to up the game, I'd be cautious about too much open criticism of the players. They need all the support they can get. |
That's a difficult trick to pull off. Most supporters do not live and breathe ITFC; they never post an opinion except at the bar; they just turn up to watch their team play. And when they do turn up, paying, what, for many, is still not a drop in the bucket, they expect to be sent home entertained and cheered.
If not, any audible discontent will only exacerbate the disgruntlement, as happened under MM (though I am personally unable to expunge his own contribution to that).
The thoughts around the various consortia said to be on the lookout are mildly hopeful, as is the measured and impassioned input from Watson and Warren (even though some still appear to think that deckchairs are the order of the day from that quarter). [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 15:26]
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:37 - Mar 4 with 5563 views | Ryorry |
"His intentions are good" ?
My impression has always been that he bought us to try & raise the profile of his other businesses and that he cares very little about us as a club or community. Yes he's not a crook & does show his face at games, but I've never understood how he got to be a "successful business owner".
For someone who's in the hospitality & PR business, to keep your shop front in a generally dirty, shabby & uncared for state, the catering & service poor, and to ignore what your most loyal return customers in increasing numbers are saying about staying away from the place - is strange.
Other than that, I totally agree with your OP, well said. |  |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:39 - Mar 4 with 5523 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:37 - Mar 4 by Ryorry |
"His intentions are good" ?
My impression has always been that he bought us to try & raise the profile of his other businesses and that he cares very little about us as a club or community. Yes he's not a crook & does show his face at games, but I've never understood how he got to be a "successful business owner".
For someone who's in the hospitality & PR business, to keep your shop front in a generally dirty, shabby & uncared for state, the catering & service poor, and to ignore what your most loyal return customers in increasing numbers are saying about staying away from the place - is strange.
Other than that, I totally agree with your OP, well said. |
Not sure Portman Road is his front door.
Its more like the door to one of his sheds at the bottom of his garden, hidden behind a row of conifers. [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 12:42]
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:41 - Mar 4 with 5482 views | bobbyramsey |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:21 - Mar 4 by Steve_M |
SB, can you get Phil to stick this up as a blog? I know Gav has said previously they get much more attention than the message board. It's the clearest statement of a potential path out of where we are that I've seen and should be seen more widely.
I think the frustrating thing at the moment is that both O'Neill and Lambert know an awful lot of what is wrong with the club but it takes a long time from that to persuade Evans to invest more in the structure of the club - and it would be an investment, certainly a better one than the churn of managers and players over the past decade has produced.
It's a shame Evans didn't have up to date advice when he bought the club and might have been properly engaged and instead relied on people who knew how football worked in the 80s. |
I thought O'Neill had been tasked with being the link between "the club" and Evans? If so, he's not doing a very good job. Nothing appears to be being relayed, unless Evans just chooses to ignore him....? |  | | |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:42 - Mar 4 with 5481 views | monty_radio |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:37 - Mar 4 by Ryorry |
"His intentions are good" ?
My impression has always been that he bought us to try & raise the profile of his other businesses and that he cares very little about us as a club or community. Yes he's not a crook & does show his face at games, but I've never understood how he got to be a "successful business owner".
For someone who's in the hospitality & PR business, to keep your shop front in a generally dirty, shabby & uncared for state, the catering & service poor, and to ignore what your most loyal return customers in increasing numbers are saying about staying away from the place - is strange.
Other than that, I totally agree with your OP, well said. |
Perhaps, whatever it was for him in the first instance, it's become just a hobby, and the general dereliction rather like the builder who draws a line at working on his own house to which he simply returns to relax? | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:46 - Mar 4 with 5439 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:42 - Mar 4 by monty_radio |
Perhaps, whatever it was for him in the first instance, it's become just a hobby, and the general dereliction rather like the builder who draws a line at working on his own house to which he simply returns to relax? |
I think its become a carbuncle.
Certainly dont think he'd regard it as a hobby. | |
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| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 12:47 - Mar 4 with 5414 views | monytowbray |
| The way back from here will be long, but there is a way on 11:46 - Mar 4 by itfcjoe |
The greatest hope is that O'Neill understands this and is able to put pressure on ME to do so. LON is trusted by Evans more than anyone else has been at ITFC and clearly knows about the club, the community and the game in general.
Lambert needs to go ASAP as it will lift the cloud and give some breathing space |
If the last 12 years are anything to go by, ITFC will be just full of ME's Yes-men at the top. |  |
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