| How much is Evans to blame? 12:52 - Oct 29 with 5365 views | FrimleyBlue |
Genuine question.
After watching the wembley video and seeing sheepy... There's lot of people that hated sheepy and still do. I love the guy I will add and think he was Mr Ipswich and still is.
So with that in mind. How many would take Sheepshanks back now.. or are you behind Evans.. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 16:36 - Oct 29 with 2554 views | Keaneish |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:12 - Oct 29 by Guthrum |
To an extent, that is also true. The financial train is running much faster out of control now than it was in 2007 - at least until Covid came along. |
I partly agree with this. No doubt it’s become a much more expensive landscape but Evans is the richest owner in League One and is in the upper echelons in the Championship. He’s just decided to minimise his investment to mitigate risk and ‘loss’.
Let’s not forget the ME group has seen upward profits in the last “X” amount of years and Evans wealth has grown, yet we’ve declined. As an 87.5% shareholder he’s here to improve ours and his fortunes. Neither of those have turned around. He’s been here long enough to make positive change despite the mess he purchased, yet, he hasn’t. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 17:43 - Oct 29 with 2528 views | BlueandTruesince82 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 15:31 - Oct 29 by tractorboy1978 |
I'd say building a soulless stadium on the outskirts of Ipswich is the last thing we need. The club has always been at the heart of the Town. |
I get that and im not saying it has to be out of town but f
FPR looks tired and isn't great anymore much as I love it.
Take MK dons, everyone says what a great stadium it is ask any town fan thats been. (and it is). It's in town, plus the is so much more room to park and that money goes to the club not the council, plus there are shops, restaurents etc...not saying it has to just like that but... Equally long term there are cost benefits chepaer to run etc.
All stadiums are souless when built, it's up to us to fill them with soul.....
it won't happen now because we can't afford it and I'm not even sure who actually owns the land PR is on (is it Evans or the council?) Or our training ground for that matter so its all moot but if you ask the average Col U fan if theyed rather go back to layer Rd I'm not sure too many would |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 17:48 - Oct 29 with 2526 views | hype313 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 17:43 - Oct 29 by BlueandTruesince82 |
I get that and im not saying it has to be out of town but f
FPR looks tired and isn't great anymore much as I love it.
Take MK dons, everyone says what a great stadium it is ask any town fan thats been. (and it is). It's in town, plus the is so much more room to park and that money goes to the club not the council, plus there are shops, restaurents etc...not saying it has to just like that but... Equally long term there are cost benefits chepaer to run etc.
All stadiums are souless when built, it's up to us to fill them with soul.....
it won't happen now because we can't afford it and I'm not even sure who actually owns the land PR is on (is it Evans or the council?) Or our training ground for that matter so its all moot but if you ask the average Col U fan if theyed rather go back to layer Rd I'm not sure too many would |
Evans owns the Stadium the council own the land |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 17:51 - Oct 29 with 2528 views | Steve_M |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:12 - Oct 29 by BlueandTruesince82 |
It's so much more complicated than the question.
On Sheepshanks, he was a good man who always tried to right by the club and ran it well for many years.
However he saddled the club with a big chunk of debt by building two ugly stands when we were PL that ulitmatley have never been full. Really what we should have done is build a new stadium a la Col U thats easy to access because getting into or out of Ipswich for a game is a mare unless you can walk.
That said those stands were built with view of increasing attendance and revenue for the long term.
Equally when we qualified Europe instead of enjoying the ride we thought we were back in the 70s and spent money on players who were not sustainable (notably Finidi and Sereni) and generally over extended ourselves when we should have banked the windfall.
The result was administration and an inability to compete financially and both Sheepshanks and Burnley should be held accounatble for that.... But both did what they thought was right and were trying to better the club so I don't hold it against them
Evans.
Handled Magiltons sacking badly and that still doesn't sit well with me and as owner and steward in the years since has to take a lot of the blame for where we are but equally if you look at his decisions most are underatdnable and though we may not like to admit it many of us may have done the same
IE
Keane.... took Sunderland from bottom of the champ to PL in 6 months, a legend of the game with contacts and access that should have allowed us to sign some of the finest young talent in the game (Sadly Keane defined talent as Lee Martin, enough said)... why would you not apooint someone like that...? now I never liked Keane as an appointment but many on here did and understandably.... I thought the grumbling comming out of Sunderlands dressing room was a warning but equally heresay... Keane had money too for the time think of the wages on Priskin, Fullop etc... personally I don't think we ever revovered from Keane and I blame him for our plight more than anyone else.... others will disagree.
Jewell... had success with a limited budget, lauded for his time at Wigan, promotions on his CV, why wouldn't you appoint someone like that... yes his record at Derby sucked but he inherited that team and they were doomed before he took over. He ticked many boxes.
Mick.... was what we needed. The biggest criticism here is he was allowed to stay too long and had too much power... like Fergie at Man U just not as good. Should have sacked Mick earlier, should have twisted when we were able but the rumour was always that Mick didnt want the money or see the need (Mick subsequently deluded himself into thinking the job was to keep us up not get us up)... had Mick had the money Hurst did things may have been different but the football still awful.
Hurst... 96% fans thought him a good appontmet despite many now claiming otherwise (like the number of people who claim they were at live aid vs the no that actually were at live aid) he was young, had sucesss whereever he had been, took an unfancied Shrews side to the brink of promotion and showed he could work on a comparatively smaller budget... he was up and comming, one to watch and fitted the bill of what the fans wanted, why wouldn't you employ someone like that?
No one could predict he'd get drunk with power and shatter the dressing room.
Lambo TBC but experienced and at this level should get us up remains to be seen if he does
Now that's not to excuse Evans.... the signs were there with Keane if you looked, he could have invested more at times and should have sacked Mick far sooner.
But he keeps the club afloat, it doesn't make a profit. The tax dodge stuff is a nonsense. In the middle of a pandemic he is vital and I think he has been unlucky. He has made what were on paper sensible appointments that haven't worked out ( we have to confess though that the club and Evans are the common denominator)... I think he has been unlucky with some appointments and often its better to be lucky than good.
So both share a portion of it for different reasons for me but ultimately I think Keane ripped the heart and soul from the club (telling KD to off etc) [Post edited 29 Oct 2020 14:32]
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The stadium point is nonsense, PR located five minutes from the station and ten from the Town centre is pretty much perfect. Crappy out of town stadia that need a bus or car to get to them are not the way forwards.
And Jewell had success on a limited budget? That wasn't true at either Bradford or Wigan, both achievements were notable but they had a sizeable budget each time and in the latter case that was after ITV Digital when no-one else had money. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 19:00 - Oct 29 with 2506 views | BlueBlueBluex2 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:20 - Oct 29 by Swansea_Blue |
100% without question. People should have worked this out by now after 13 years of progressive decline. He’s been awful for our football team, there’s no way to sugar coat it. Yes, it may have cost him a fortune covering the annual debts, but that is also largely self inflicted through a string of disastrous and wasteful decisions. |
So bankrupting the club was not as bad as taking us to the third division? |  | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 19:35 - Oct 29 with 2496 views | bournemouthblue |
Sheepy made a massive balls up with the stand redevelopments
By and enlarge he was a successful chairman though you have to say |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 20:11 - Oct 29 with 2461 views | Kropotkin123 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:12 - Oct 29 by BlueandTruesince82 |
It's so much more complicated than the question.
On Sheepshanks, he was a good man who always tried to right by the club and ran it well for many years.
However he saddled the club with a big chunk of debt by building two ugly stands when we were PL that ulitmatley have never been full. Really what we should have done is build a new stadium a la Col U thats easy to access because getting into or out of Ipswich for a game is a mare unless you can walk.
That said those stands were built with view of increasing attendance and revenue for the long term.
Equally when we qualified Europe instead of enjoying the ride we thought we were back in the 70s and spent money on players who were not sustainable (notably Finidi and Sereni) and generally over extended ourselves when we should have banked the windfall.
The result was administration and an inability to compete financially and both Sheepshanks and Burnley should be held accounatble for that.... But both did what they thought was right and were trying to better the club so I don't hold it against them
Evans.
Handled Magiltons sacking badly and that still doesn't sit well with me and as owner and steward in the years since has to take a lot of the blame for where we are but equally if you look at his decisions most are underatdnable and though we may not like to admit it many of us may have done the same
IE
Keane.... took Sunderland from bottom of the champ to PL in 6 months, a legend of the game with contacts and access that should have allowed us to sign some of the finest young talent in the game (Sadly Keane defined talent as Lee Martin, enough said)... why would you not apooint someone like that...? now I never liked Keane as an appointment but many on here did and understandably.... I thought the grumbling comming out of Sunderlands dressing room was a warning but equally heresay... Keane had money too for the time think of the wages on Priskin, Fullop etc... personally I don't think we ever revovered from Keane and I blame him for our plight more than anyone else.... others will disagree.
Jewell... had success with a limited budget, lauded for his time at Wigan, promotions on his CV, why wouldn't you appoint someone like that... yes his record at Derby sucked but he inherited that team and they were doomed before he took over. He ticked many boxes.
Mick.... was what we needed. The biggest criticism here is he was allowed to stay too long and had too much power... like Fergie at Man U just not as good. Should have sacked Mick earlier, should have twisted when we were able but the rumour was always that Mick didnt want the money or see the need (Mick subsequently deluded himself into thinking the job was to keep us up not get us up)... had Mick had the money Hurst did things may have been different but the football still awful.
Hurst... 96% fans thought him a good appontmet despite many now claiming otherwise (like the number of people who claim they were at live aid vs the no that actually were at live aid) he was young, had sucesss whereever he had been, took an unfancied Shrews side to the brink of promotion and showed he could work on a comparatively smaller budget... he was up and comming, one to watch and fitted the bill of what the fans wanted, why wouldn't you employ someone like that?
No one could predict he'd get drunk with power and shatter the dressing room.
Lambo TBC but experienced and at this level should get us up remains to be seen if he does
Now that's not to excuse Evans.... the signs were there with Keane if you looked, he could have invested more at times and should have sacked Mick far sooner.
But he keeps the club afloat, it doesn't make a profit. The tax dodge stuff is a nonsense. In the middle of a pandemic he is vital and I think he has been unlucky. He has made what were on paper sensible appointments that haven't worked out ( we have to confess though that the club and Evans are the common denominator)... I think he has been unlucky with some appointments and often its better to be lucky than good.
So both share a portion of it for different reasons for me but ultimately I think Keane ripped the heart and soul from the club (telling KD to off etc) [Post edited 29 Oct 2020 14:32]
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A lot of good reasoned analysis.
I think DS can only take so much for the financial overextension. We budgeted for 17th and should have comfortably achieved that.
Relegation then hit us harder than anticipated because the TV deal fell through which compounded our financial issues.
Dale Roberts had a two year battle with cancer. My memory isn't the best but that would have impacted us from at least 2001. We know he was a great counter balance to GB's style and we know his impact on re-establishing ourselves would have been a real blow. In turn this inability to get back up had compounding financial issues.
As for Evans, the guy has put in a lot of money (Even though I'm uncomfortable with the way it is done). I think his main issue is the opposite to DS. He had all the money, but no clue on the footballing side. We still suffer from that to this day. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 20:59 - Oct 29 with 2451 views | Moisha |
I’ve read every comment, and all points have been covered with reasoned arguments, but the biggest failing for me which hasn’t been mentioned, and this is by no means a slight on him, as the football and enjoyment was probably the best in the last 20 years... but Joe Royle really should have got us promoted in 2005, not via the playoffs either, but as champions.
Those two home defeats in a week to Watford and QPR really cost us and wiped out our lead at the top, even then we had a chance with a win at Leeds later on.
The Kuqi injury was unlucky as well, and he should have been replaced with a Rob Hulse type, not Scowie.
If we’d have gone up that season then maybe none of the Evans era may have happened....
What if!!
Oh well |  | | |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 21:16 - Oct 29 with 2445 views | Swansea_Blue |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 19:00 - Oct 29 by BlueBlueBluex2 |
So bankrupting the club was not as bad as taking us to the third division? |
Eh? The question was how much is Evans to blame for where we are now. He calls all the shots, so he bears the responsibility imo. Of course the timing of him buying us helped at a difficult time financially, I don’t dispute that. We’ve also benefited from his ability to ensure cash flow and cover the annual shortfalls too. But so do many other clubs from their respective owners. None of that changes the fact that he’s his tenure has been disastrous. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 23:36 - Oct 29 with 2404 views | Nthsuffolkblue |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 19:35 - Oct 29 by bournemouthblue |
Sheepy made a massive balls up with the stand redevelopments
By and enlarge he was a successful chairman though you have to say |
His biggest mistake was to think that we were at the top table for good as long we invested in the team. It was what we all wanted. To spend the sort of sums we did on a team that had just finished 5th should not have gone the way it did. But there is the lesson to be learned. Money does not guarantee success and we needed to be a bit more prudent and trust the players who had got us where we were a little more.
You can't argue with a chairman who took us there in the first place, though. |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 08:22 - Oct 30 with 2368 views | Kropotkin123 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 23:36 - Oct 29 by Nthsuffolkblue |
His biggest mistake was to think that we were at the top table for good as long we invested in the team. It was what we all wanted. To spend the sort of sums we did on a team that had just finished 5th should not have gone the way it did. But there is the lesson to be learned. Money does not guarantee success and we needed to be a bit more prudent and trust the players who had got us where we were a little more.
You can't argue with a chairman who took us there in the first place, though. |
We didn't really go out and replace the whole team though...
- Wright left us and we got a replacement in goal
- We brought in more Le Pen to improve our defence and he got a horrible injury after thirty minutes
- We bought Finidi to improve the squad.
- Bent came later in a bid to stay up and it nearly worked.
- Sixto was a great loan addition.
So I think the trust in the players isn't really a thing. We bought and sold each year.
I think we can agree that the personalities didn't fit and the outlay was too much. | |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 08:34 - Oct 30 with 2363 views | hype313 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 08:22 - Oct 30 by Kropotkin123 |
We didn't really go out and replace the whole team though...
- Wright left us and we got a replacement in goal
- We brought in more Le Pen to improve our defence and he got a horrible injury after thirty minutes
- We bought Finidi to improve the squad.
- Bent came later in a bid to stay up and it nearly worked.
- Sixto was a great loan addition.
So I think the trust in the players isn't really a thing. We bought and sold each year.
I think we can agree that the personalities didn't fit and the outlay was too much. |
Sixto was such a fabulous player, such a shame we didn't get to see him for longer. Someone that shouldn't really had been playing for a side like ours. | |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 08:56 - Oct 30 with 2359 views | BlueandTruesince82 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 08:34 - Oct 30 by hype313 |
Sixto was such a fabulous player, such a shame we didn't get to see him for longer. Someone that shouldn't really had been playing for a side like ours. |
Yeah if we'd stayed up and kept him he'd have utter cult status amongst Town fans. Really good player. | |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 09:53 - Oct 30 with 2348 views | jonbull88 |
I think sheepshanks did what was best for Ipswich at the time. Regarding the stands, at the time wasn’t it stated they weren’t up to premier league standard, coupled with us getting fines? They needed updating, imagine them now if we hadn’t updated them, we’d never afford to do it now. As for moving out of town, we’d have to spend a few million just for land, then 10x as much building the ground, it is a non starter seeing as we don’t own the land in Ipswich atm.
Regarding the team, it’s a flip of a coin really. If they don’t invest in the team and go down we’d moan they didn’t invest properly (see last few years under evans). The issue really is we brought in too many foreign players, who didn’t really fit in to the team spirit of it all. We tried and ultimately failed unfortunately.
The collapse of itv digital didn’t help, I genuinely believe had that not happened at the time, we could have gone straight back up, no guarantee obviously, but think we’d have stood a better chance. | | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:03 - Oct 30 with 2341 views | trncbluearmy |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 09:53 - Oct 30 by jonbull88 |
I think sheepshanks did what was best for Ipswich at the time. Regarding the stands, at the time wasn’t it stated they weren’t up to premier league standard, coupled with us getting fines? They needed updating, imagine them now if we hadn’t updated them, we’d never afford to do it now. As for moving out of town, we’d have to spend a few million just for land, then 10x as much building the ground, it is a non starter seeing as we don’t own the land in Ipswich atm.
Regarding the team, it’s a flip of a coin really. If they don’t invest in the team and go down we’d moan they didn’t invest properly (see last few years under evans). The issue really is we brought in too many foreign players, who didn’t really fit in to the team spirit of it all. We tried and ultimately failed unfortunately.
The collapse of itv digital didn’t help, I genuinely believe had that not happened at the time, we could have gone straight back up, no guarantee obviously, but think we’d have stood a better chance. |
A wonderful dose of hindsight on here as usual
I know for an absolute fact it was the ITV digital deal that did for us, out of the blue none could foresee and Sheepy intended to pay every penny back but was stopped by the Inland Revenue
As for Evans I remember the EGM well, Sleggy and Knights lone voices arguing against the deal, they were right, Evans could not be bothered to turn up, the rest of us blinded by the money
Only one person to blame, Evans 100% |  | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:06 - Oct 30 with 2338 views | Keno |
Its a difficult one
the Cobbolds were unique, not footballing people but just got what the club meant to the fans and the town and either by luck, good judgement or divine providence appointed two very special managers
Sheepy was a fan who got what the the club is and, with the help of Burley, Roberts et al, slowly re-built it into something special (just how special can be seen on that video). But ultimately I think he was swept along with it, made mistakes and got unlucky with the IVT thing. Ultimately he was a fan with heart and soul in the team
Evan is a business man who bought Town cos he thought he could make money out of it and has never got that we werent 'just a football club'. I dont think he sees the thread than ran between the the cobbolds to sheepy. He doesn't get we dont do 'named managers', journey pro's who dont just want a pay day but want redemption, that we build from what we have and we take time to do
I know those things aren't very 2020 but that is 'our way' and that's what Evans doesn't get.
)and if you haven't watched the video or read Mr John do so) |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:16 - Oct 30 with 2332 views | tractorboy1978 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:06 - Oct 30 by Keno |
Its a difficult one
the Cobbolds were unique, not footballing people but just got what the club meant to the fans and the town and either by luck, good judgement or divine providence appointed two very special managers
Sheepy was a fan who got what the the club is and, with the help of Burley, Roberts et al, slowly re-built it into something special (just how special can be seen on that video). But ultimately I think he was swept along with it, made mistakes and got unlucky with the IVT thing. Ultimately he was a fan with heart and soul in the team
Evan is a business man who bought Town cos he thought he could make money out of it and has never got that we werent 'just a football club'. I dont think he sees the thread than ran between the the cobbolds to sheepy. He doesn't get we dont do 'named managers', journey pro's who dont just want a pay day but want redemption, that we build from what we have and we take time to do
I know those things aren't very 2020 but that is 'our way' and that's what Evans doesn't get.
)and if you haven't watched the video or read Mr John do so) |
The club lost what it stood for the day Evans came into the club. Magilton got the club and was trying to do things 'The Ipswich Way' until suddenly he had money and enormous pressure to quickly get promoted. The ethos and culture changed.
And the appointment of Keane sums it up really. A bloke who was the absolute antithesis of what the club stood for and was about. | | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:19 - Oct 30 with 2329 views | Keno |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:16 - Oct 30 by tractorboy1978 |
The club lost what it stood for the day Evans came into the club. Magilton got the club and was trying to do things 'The Ipswich Way' until suddenly he had money and enormous pressure to quickly get promoted. The ethos and culture changed.
And the appointment of Keane sums it up really. A bloke who was the absolute antithesis of what the club stood for and was about. |
exactly my point
thank you | |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 11:34 - Oct 30 with 2302 views | braveblue |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:00 - Oct 29 by Bluefish |
Without Evans we would have been in admin at least once.
It is a different world compared to when Sheepy was here |
Without Evans would we be in the third division? His appointments and the money thrown away is shocking. He has been a disaster for this club. | | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:15 - Oct 30 with 2270 views | Churchman |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 10:16 - Oct 30 by tractorboy1978 |
The club lost what it stood for the day Evans came into the club. Magilton got the club and was trying to do things 'The Ipswich Way' until suddenly he had money and enormous pressure to quickly get promoted. The ethos and culture changed.
And the appointment of Keane sums it up really. A bloke who was the absolute antithesis of what the club stood for and was about. |
The club lost what it stood for the day it went into Admin and shafted most of the local businesses connected to it. I don’t buy the Sheepshanks was unlucky with ITV Digital going belly up line. He was the custodian of the club, accountable for what happened to it from a financial perspective and if he staked the whole club on ITV Digital money and staying in the PL then that was a catastrophic decision. He sanctioned spending on the likes of ancient Finidi and 2 second Le Pen, the money of which was never recovered.
The work on the ground was a necessity, but not all on the back of one good season. If he had not lost his head, I’m sure he would have seen that ground improvements over time on the back of Prem League establishment was the way forward, if they were not to build a new ground (as Sunderland did for next to nothing with the grants available at the time).
For me it’s not about him caring about the club. Of course he does. I actually met him at the start of the 2000/1 season and he came across as a caring and passionate man about all things ITFC. But he made bad decisions and set us on our way to where we are now. Evans? I agree with the majority on here. He couldn’t have been more wrong for ITFC and the existing Board of Directors including DS should have seen it. It was their responsibility to do so. [Post edited 30 Oct 2020 13:28]
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:18 - Oct 30 with 2267 views | NewcyBlue |
64.7% |  |
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| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:03 - Oct 30 with 2246 views | BloomBlue |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:15 - Oct 30 by Churchman |
The club lost what it stood for the day it went into Admin and shafted most of the local businesses connected to it. I don’t buy the Sheepshanks was unlucky with ITV Digital going belly up line. He was the custodian of the club, accountable for what happened to it from a financial perspective and if he staked the whole club on ITV Digital money and staying in the PL then that was a catastrophic decision. He sanctioned spending on the likes of ancient Finidi and 2 second Le Pen, the money of which was never recovered.
The work on the ground was a necessity, but not all on the back of one good season. If he had not lost his head, I’m sure he would have seen that ground improvements over time on the back of Prem League establishment was the way forward, if they were not to build a new ground (as Sunderland did for next to nothing with the grants available at the time).
For me it’s not about him caring about the club. Of course he does. I actually met him at the start of the 2000/1 season and he came across as a caring and passionate man about all things ITFC. But he made bad decisions and set us on our way to where we are now. Evans? I agree with the majority on here. He couldn’t have been more wrong for ITFC and the existing Board of Directors including DS should have seen it. It was their responsibility to do so. [Post edited 30 Oct 2020 13:28]
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I agree and what I don't buy about Sheepshanks was unlucky with ITV Digital going belly up line, is that if he had taken action in the season before relegation would have been avoided and the ITV digital deal was irrelevant.
Evans has made loads of mistake but some people give Burley/Sheepshanks a get of jail card because of the previous years. Great times yes, but shouldn't be allowed to gloss over the poor management both on and off the field which resulted in relegation, administration and the arrival of ME |  | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:14 - Oct 30 with 2242 views | tractorboy1978 |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 13:15 - Oct 30 by Churchman |
The club lost what it stood for the day it went into Admin and shafted most of the local businesses connected to it. I don’t buy the Sheepshanks was unlucky with ITV Digital going belly up line. He was the custodian of the club, accountable for what happened to it from a financial perspective and if he staked the whole club on ITV Digital money and staying in the PL then that was a catastrophic decision. He sanctioned spending on the likes of ancient Finidi and 2 second Le Pen, the money of which was never recovered.
The work on the ground was a necessity, but not all on the back of one good season. If he had not lost his head, I’m sure he would have seen that ground improvements over time on the back of Prem League establishment was the way forward, if they were not to build a new ground (as Sunderland did for next to nothing with the grants available at the time).
For me it’s not about him caring about the club. Of course he does. I actually met him at the start of the 2000/1 season and he came across as a caring and passionate man about all things ITFC. But he made bad decisions and set us on our way to where we are now. Evans? I agree with the majority on here. He couldn’t have been more wrong for ITFC and the existing Board of Directors including DS should have seen it. It was their responsibility to do so. [Post edited 30 Oct 2020 13:28]
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Who would have been right though? That's the question. He was a guy with local connections with £600-£700m behind him, who at least in part purported to be a fan of the club.
There were certainly others interested or supposedly interested that were 'less right' for the club. | | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 15:28 - Oct 30 with 2228 views | istanblue |
All of ITFC's current problems are ultimately down to Marcus Evans.
When Evans took over he didn't do it because he actually cared about the club, he did it in the hope that we would soon be promoted and he could rake in all that PL cash whilst getting his MEG brand a copious amount of publicity.
People will argue that he backed Keane and Jewell with enough funds to achieve promotion and they let him down - this is only partly true. The reason so much money was wasted on crap players (e.g. Lee Martin, Grant Leadbitter etc.) was because Evans has no idea about football and just left incompetent mangers to get on with it. Being an owner who knows nothing about football is fine but Evans made absolutely no attempt to build a footballing structure to run the club for him. Instead he hired Simon Clegg (also someone who had no idea about football) as CEO purely on the basis that Evans wanted preferential treatment to sell tickets for the then upcoming 2012 London Olympics.
I'd argue that Evans gave up on any serious ambition of promotion after sacking Jewell in 2012. If you look at the signings Mick made the season he took over they were almost entirely free transfers and loans. Evans then went into damage limitation mode i.e. the height of our ambitions was to retain Championship status. It was a win-win for both sides: Mick got to run things as he wanted with no boardroom interreference and having no real pressure on him, whilst Evans was able to employ a manager who would keep the club in the division on a shoestring budget. Inevitably, this bored the life out of the fans and the acceptance of mediocrity really set in under Mick.
When Mick left, Evans was confronted for the first time with a managerial departure that wasn't of his choosing. At this point Evans should have done everything he could to build a coherent footballing structure at the club, but alas, he still didn't learn his lesson. When he hired Hurst he naively thought that he would run the footballing side for him in the way Mick had done. Evidently, Hurst hadn't had anywhere near the competency or experience Mick had done at running a club's entire footballing operation and thus disaster was inevitable. Evans allowed Hurst to gut a decent Championship squad and signed off on all his lower league recruitment flops. In hindsight, relegation shouldn't have come as a surprise.
Lambert has underperformed most certainly and is lucky to still be in a job. Nevertheless, the main reason he is still here is because Evans gave him a ludicrous 5-year contract and the fee required to pay him off seems too much for Evans to sanction.
In summary all of our issue can be traced back to Marcus Evans: chronic underinvestment both on and off the pitch, acceptance of mediocrity, complacency, lack of real footballing structure at the club, daft contract decisions etc. He's been here ages now and I don't hold out any hope that he's learnt anything in that time. Evans Out. |  | | |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 15:46 - Oct 30 with 2217 views | trncbluearmy |
| How much is Evans to blame? on 14:03 - Oct 30 by BloomBlue |
I agree and what I don't buy about Sheepshanks was unlucky with ITV Digital going belly up line, is that if he had taken action in the season before relegation would have been avoided and the ITV digital deal was irrelevant.
Evans has made loads of mistake but some people give Burley/Sheepshanks a get of jail card because of the previous years. Great times yes, but shouldn't be allowed to gloss over the poor management both on and off the field which resulted in relegation, administration and the arrival of ME |
All hindsight though
the season we got relegated we went from struggling, then recovering and looking to qualify for Europe then getting hammered by lfc when we were on a roll how on earth was he suppose to manage that roller coaster of a season apart from backing GB which he did.
Ipswich never had a pot of money, we did not have independently wealthy directors, well of yes, but not enough to bail the club out, we had to sell and buy always a risk and you have to trust your manager.
The ITV digital was a killer, it was the reason we went into admin, was Sheepy suppose to know that was going to go tits up? | | | |
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