| Ashton and the Owners 08:20 - Jun 29 with 8720 views | Churchman |
I was interested to read Mark Steed’s comments in the EADT. If Ashton is just a snake oil salesmen many people claim him to be, he’s not going to last long. I’ve a feeling the Americans are somewhat demanding to work for and are all over what’s happening with the club.
“I've told Mark (Ashton) that I’ll be impressed when we stop losing money and start winning games! Frankly, that’s how it works!" he declared, with Ashton sat to his right.
“We’ve got other opportunities to fund away from Ipswich, so when Mark comes to us he’s got to make a case.
“I have lots of emails from people who want to spend my money and very few want to come and talk about what they’ve done with the money we’ve already given them.
“To be up front about it, we have a saying in Arizona which says ‘don’t p1ss on my boot and tell me it’s raining’. We work with a lot of CEOs and they all have various ways of trying to hide things. We know all the tricks.
“Sometimes people see me and think ‘he should have more decorum, he’s a man of repute, he should behave himself’. I just don’t operate that way |  | | |  |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:17 - Jun 29 with 1057 views | Vic |
I also liked that he took time to explain and expand on the 'Running towards adversity' line. In a recent thread we ummed and ahh'd about this and wondered how much of Ashton's Brentesk persona was behind it. The answer is clearly 'not a lot' it's coming right for the top, with a very good reason behind it. |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:20 - Jun 29 with 1044 views | unbelievablue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:17 - Jun 29 by Vic |
I also liked that he took time to explain and expand on the 'Running towards adversity' line. In a recent thread we ummed and ahh'd about this and wondered how much of Ashton's Brentesk persona was behind it. The answer is clearly 'not a lot' it's coming right for the top, with a very good reason behind it. |
I'm reading a book at the moment about the power of habit. It's pretty good. One section is dedicated to how crises give us an appreciation of the need to tackle difficult issues (e.g. adversity) head on. You simply can't skirt around stuff in the hope that you'll succeed. I like the line. |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:26 - Jun 29 with 1015 views | BiGDonnie |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:11 - Jun 29 by Bobbychase |
They will be here five years' minimum whatever happens. Pension pots look at slow growth over time as well as quick returns. They only make a serious return if we are in the Prem, and they are not going to do things like buy the buildings and land behind the SBR and shell out for stadium improvements just to let some other ownership group reap the rewards in a couple of years. No way. |
Don't let common sense get in the way of frimleymakins negativity. |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:28 - Jun 29 with 1007 views | Stu_Magoo |
Can someone please take Frimley's batteries out? Ta. x |  | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:30 - Jun 29 with 981 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:26 - Jun 29 by BiGDonnie |
Don't let common sense get in the way of frimleymakins negativity. |
No negativity here BigD. We all want the same thing :) |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:42 - Jun 29 with 988 views | RegencyBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 12:44 - Jun 29 by xrayspecs |
I understand that while ME was in discussions with GC for some time, he only decided to sell Town after Cook was appointed. Up until the final day or so, he was still minded to keep the club. |
Must admit I’ve always assumed Evans was forced into appointing a new manager because Lambert was showing signs of telling the supporters exactly what the problems at Town under Evans were and was sacked to shut him up!
If what you are saying is true it rather shows the lack of forward planning at the club under Evans continued to the bitter end. |  | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 13:56 - Jun 29 with 961 views | ElderGrizzly |
| Ashton and the Owners on 12:47 - Jun 29 by FrimleyBlue |
There are 3 promotion places. With what KM has. There is no reason why we shouldn't finish as one of those 3, hopefully we don't need the extra games to finish in that third slot and can challenge with SW for those top 2 places instead.
IF SW are seen as the best team due to their signings. Is that an admission that you feel we haven't recruited well?, if so then someone will have to be accountable for that if it doesn't result in success. |
Sounds like Sheff Wed are in Sh*t or Bust territory
|  | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 21:13 - Jun 29 with 862 views | galacticoblue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 11:04 - Jun 29 by Dyland |
They could have got rid of Cook immediately, but I think they timed it well all things considered and ignoring hindsight.
The club was rudderless and it probably wouldn't have made much difference anyway.
I get a very strong impression they 100% know what needs to be done and are going about it as well as any owners could. Football is a funny business though and so so nuanced. There is no perfect formula, but the foundations are there now and the yanks will absolutely not tolerate town finishing outside top six this season. Yeh I know, no sh1t Sherlock :) |
I think they should have pulled to trigger earlier - losing to Cheltenham did it for me. …. ….Cheltenham!!!
I couldn’t happy clap him for his ovation pre games from then on. |  | | |
Login to get fewer ads
| Ashton and the Owners on 22:46 - Jun 29 with 785 views | 66notout |
| Ashton and the Owners on 12:26 - Jun 29 by Radlett_blue |
This shows the lunacy of Evans choosing Town's new manager just before he sold the club. |
I don’t suppose that would have had anything to do with the fact that Evans and Cook were old pals and had a lot of mutual friends, in particular an Irish-based agent who was linked to them both in a business sense. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 02:54 - Jun 30 with 714 views | Kropotkin123 |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:44 - Jun 29 by unbelievablue |
The season ticket and shirt sales are immediate wins for Ashton and co. against (presumably) pre-determined targets. |
Perhaps, but it was a deal with Ed Sheeran that was struck prior to this ownership that is a significant catalyst. I think what the shirts sales really do for them is highlight that the club were a good pick in terms of the fan base and market opportunities. They should be confident that the more they do and the more success they have, the more they will be able to elevate revenue and turn a profit in the long run. |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 06:58 - Jun 30 with 671 views | Veggie |
For all this tough talk, essentially anyone who buys a football club as an investment is stupid. Very few football clubs ever make money. If he was such a great investment guru, he wouldn’t have looked twice at buying a football club. Especially one in League 1 for £40m. There may one day be a time when we reach the higher Championship / lower Prem and the time is right to sell, but I can’t see a way they’ll make a profit, given the money they would have spent / lost along the way.
It also sounds as though they are starting to realise that the club could be a bottomless pit. It’s worrying if they are already thinking about cutting funding. At least Evans covered our losses each year. [Post edited 30 Jun 2022 7:19]
|  | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:16 - Jun 30 with 648 views | SheffordBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 06:58 - Jun 30 by Veggie |
For all this tough talk, essentially anyone who buys a football club as an investment is stupid. Very few football clubs ever make money. If he was such a great investment guru, he wouldn’t have looked twice at buying a football club. Especially one in League 1 for £40m. There may one day be a time when we reach the higher Championship / lower Prem and the time is right to sell, but I can’t see a way they’ll make a profit, given the money they would have spent / lost along the way.
It also sounds as though they are starting to realise that the club could be a bottomless pit. It’s worrying if they are already thinking about cutting funding. At least Evans covered our losses each year. [Post edited 30 Jun 2022 7:19]
|
Their investment isn't really based on producing regular profit from the asset. The investment is based on them believing that they'll be able to sell the club for more than the total of what they paid for it and the losses they incur during ownership. They'v said a couple of times that they think that football clubs in the UK are generally undervalued.
They paid something like £40m for the club. If they spend £20m per year for 5 years but then sell the club for £180m they'll still have made £40m profit.
There might only be a small chance of achieving that but that's why it will be in their high risk portfolio. With $16 Bn to invest they have a wide spread of really safe, low margin returns through to high risk investments like spending money on us. | |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:23 - Jun 30 with 639 views | Veggie |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:16 - Jun 30 by SheffordBlue |
Their investment isn't really based on producing regular profit from the asset. The investment is based on them believing that they'll be able to sell the club for more than the total of what they paid for it and the losses they incur during ownership. They'v said a couple of times that they think that football clubs in the UK are generally undervalued.
They paid something like £40m for the club. If they spend £20m per year for 5 years but then sell the club for £180m they'll still have made £40m profit.
There might only be a small chance of achieving that but that's why it will be in their high risk portfolio. With $16 Bn to invest they have a wide spread of really safe, low margin returns through to high risk investments like spending money on us. |
I agree with you in part, but the comment about being happy when we start making money is worrying. Football clubs don’t really make money, unless they happen to sell a player for big money (not likely with our squad) or they reach the Premier League (even then they have to be careful). I just hope McKenna doesn’t get disillusioned and move away. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:35 - Jun 30 with 623 views | SheffordBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:23 - Jun 30 by Veggie |
I agree with you in part, but the comment about being happy when we start making money is worrying. Football clubs don’t really make money, unless they happen to sell a player for big money (not likely with our squad) or they reach the Premier League (even then they have to be careful). I just hope McKenna doesn’t get disillusioned and move away. |
I firmly believe they've come into this with their eyes open and know what it will take to get us there. Probably the best proof of that will be when we see what funds Ashton and McKenna get when we go up to the Championship this season! | |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:45 - Jun 30 with 615 views | PioneerBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 09:25 - Jun 29 by dirtyboy |
I think the way Ashton operates works well with this ownership group.
Yes he's a good talker, but he does seem genuine too and genuine people tend to be able to elicit results when asking for things to be done.
The owners have allowed him to put all of the right people in the right positions too, so he's able to manage rather than picking up the pieces from people who are not doing their jobs.
We've seen incredible progress, communications are top drawer so fans aren't in the dark and feel part of the club.
We know they're making changes to the ground and training ground, but have been told outright that some of it can't happen until promotion, so there's no worrying about when and if things will happen, it's all very much black and white which removes so many uncertainties.
The manager is very open in interviews, most refreshing, says what he sees and there's rarely been any comments about "we should have done this or..." as McKenna has provided all the answers and said what went right and wrong immediately afterwards, integrity at its finest and the ownership must appreciate that as much as we do.
Ultimately results will still dictate the longevity of all of those involved, but there's so much progress in such a little time and still so much to do that we all know it's going to get better. |
All this ðŸ‘🻠| |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:50 - Jun 30 with 620 views | xrayspecs |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:23 - Jun 30 by Veggie |
I agree with you in part, but the comment about being happy when we start making money is worrying. Football clubs don’t really make money, unless they happen to sell a player for big money (not likely with our squad) or they reach the Premier League (even then they have to be careful). I just hope McKenna doesn’t get disillusioned and move away. |
You have misquoted MS. He said stop losing money.
If you listen to the ownership group and Ashton speak you can see what they are trying to achieve.
- Sell club in 5/10/15 years for more than they have invested
- Believe club is undervalued, Covid would have pushed down the prices of clubs
- Exploit ITFC catchment (only club in Suffolk) and supporter base (25k in L1 is just the start), underpinned by engaging the community
- Develop new revenue streams. We have bought the land behind Chruchmans and there are reports that we are going to build conference facilities where the practice pitch is currently based. MA has talked about an estate strategy.
- MA is known for player trading, which will be used to minimise losses etc. KM has a track record of developing players, which suits MA approach
GC will have an exit strategy, and losing money is not one of their options. They know if they stop funding, in the short term at least, then we will not progress. A lot of the investment in the playing squad was made last season, we will have no doubt added to the player wage bill with new deals ad signings although some of this will be mitigated by the players we let go.
I do believe that some fans are looking for problems that do not exist. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:07 - Jun 30 with 585 views | PioneerBlue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:50 - Jun 30 by xrayspecs |
You have misquoted MS. He said stop losing money.
If you listen to the ownership group and Ashton speak you can see what they are trying to achieve.
- Sell club in 5/10/15 years for more than they have invested
- Believe club is undervalued, Covid would have pushed down the prices of clubs
- Exploit ITFC catchment (only club in Suffolk) and supporter base (25k in L1 is just the start), underpinned by engaging the community
- Develop new revenue streams. We have bought the land behind Chruchmans and there are reports that we are going to build conference facilities where the practice pitch is currently based. MA has talked about an estate strategy.
- MA is known for player trading, which will be used to minimise losses etc. KM has a track record of developing players, which suits MA approach
GC will have an exit strategy, and losing money is not one of their options. They know if they stop funding, in the short term at least, then we will not progress. A lot of the investment in the playing squad was made last season, we will have no doubt added to the player wage bill with new deals ad signings although some of this will be mitigated by the players we let go.
I do believe that some fans are looking for problems that do not exist. |
And all this 😂 | |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:15 - Jun 30 with 573 views | Churchman |
| Ashton and the Owners on 07:50 - Jun 30 by xrayspecs |
You have misquoted MS. He said stop losing money.
If you listen to the ownership group and Ashton speak you can see what they are trying to achieve.
- Sell club in 5/10/15 years for more than they have invested
- Believe club is undervalued, Covid would have pushed down the prices of clubs
- Exploit ITFC catchment (only club in Suffolk) and supporter base (25k in L1 is just the start), underpinned by engaging the community
- Develop new revenue streams. We have bought the land behind Chruchmans and there are reports that we are going to build conference facilities where the practice pitch is currently based. MA has talked about an estate strategy.
- MA is known for player trading, which will be used to minimise losses etc. KM has a track record of developing players, which suits MA approach
GC will have an exit strategy, and losing money is not one of their options. They know if they stop funding, in the short term at least, then we will not progress. A lot of the investment in the playing squad was made last season, we will have no doubt added to the player wage bill with new deals ad signings although some of this will be mitigated by the players we let go.
I do believe that some fans are looking for problems that do not exist. |
I would add to this excellent post that the Americans spent a long time buying this football club and looked at others before it. This is not a thrown together thing and they will have known the costs, risks and opportunities before going anywhere near it. These people are not naïve and they’re clearly not fools.
I don’t know if they underestimated the mess Evans left. If they did that just means more opportunity to build something that’ll add to the club’s sell on value. As for the disastrous appointment of Cook, that has possibly cost them an extra season in this rubbish division but if they stick to their plans the outcome will hopefully still be the same - a club in the Premier League or close to it. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:16 - Jun 30 with 569 views | NBVJohn |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:25 - Jun 29 by Cheltenham_Blue |
“Sometimes people see me and think ‘he should have more decorum, he’s a man of repute, he should behave himself’. I just don’t operate that way"
I like him. |
If Mick McCarthy had a bigger vocabulary he would have said precisely this. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:20 - Jun 30 with 567 views | itfcjoe |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:45 - Jun 29 by Churchman |
Indeed some people do recite others comments, almost verbatim at times. This is why I was so interested in the comments by Steed and the others. Ashton may be a CEO with all the chat, but he’d better deliver or he will be gone.
I actually like Steed’s approach. You know where you stand with somebody like that, though I’d reprimand him over the Pale Rider beard. Too 1880s for me. |
These comments were at the fixtures breakfast I went to and was quite refreshing to hear, it was all delivered with a bit of a smile but you could see was deadly serious - and the first 'owner' who hasn't blown smoke up Ashton's backside.....
It should improve Ashton as a CEO, and he'll have to step up - I imagine his Bristol City experience was more akin to a Marcus Evans ownership with Stephen Lansdown just a mega rich Bristol backer who has more interest in the Bristol Bears but happy to see BC progressing on and off the pitch but not demanding like these guys are.
Hopefully he gets it right, he'll know more than anyone he has to - and will be no doubt greatly recompensed if he does |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:26 - Jun 30 with 553 views | The_Romford_Blue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 09:00 - Jun 29 by textbackup |
I’m just so glad we have a club now where people are held accountable for failure.
Previously nobody gave two shts, now we have players that have character about them and more than 5 brain cells so will own/try to resolve issues in game without needing a manager to hold their hands.
We have a very intelligent manager who (I firmly believe) leaves no stone unturned in his prep work.
A CEO driving everything below him aggressively and has set huge standards for people to follow…
Then to top it all off, a group of guys that will question everything below them to demand a return for their investments.
If one part of that starts to fail, it seems it simply won’t be tolerated.
Genuinely one of only a few periods that I’ve proud to be a Town fan |
And to think so many said I should just be grateful that Evans was around to fund us/slowly kill the club
These Americans in a year have shown more care about our great club than the previous did in 13 years z |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:31 - Jun 30 with 542 views | bobbyramsey |
| Ashton and the Owners on 06:58 - Jun 30 by Veggie |
For all this tough talk, essentially anyone who buys a football club as an investment is stupid. Very few football clubs ever make money. If he was such a great investment guru, he wouldn’t have looked twice at buying a football club. Especially one in League 1 for £40m. There may one day be a time when we reach the higher Championship / lower Prem and the time is right to sell, but I can’t see a way they’ll make a profit, given the money they would have spent / lost along the way.
It also sounds as though they are starting to realise that the club could be a bottomless pit. It’s worrying if they are already thinking about cutting funding. At least Evans covered our losses each year. [Post edited 30 Jun 2022 7:19]
|
Pension funds spend their whole time evaluating financial risk.
I expect they know what they are doing and that they know a bit more than us. I doubt they work it out on the back of a fag packet like we appear to be doing.
Leave it to the pro's [Post edited 30 Jun 2022 8:32]
|  | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:49 - Jun 30 with 527 views | xrayspecs |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:15 - Jun 30 by Churchman |
I would add to this excellent post that the Americans spent a long time buying this football club and looked at others before it. This is not a thrown together thing and they will have known the costs, risks and opportunities before going anywhere near it. These people are not naïve and they’re clearly not fools.
I don’t know if they underestimated the mess Evans left. If they did that just means more opportunity to build something that’ll add to the club’s sell on value. As for the disastrous appointment of Cook, that has possibly cost them an extra season in this rubbish division but if they stick to their plans the outcome will hopefully still be the same - a club in the Premier League or close to it. |
The objectives of the current owners appear to be the same as those of Evans, to make a profit by the time they move on. Where they may differ is to what extent Evans saw club ownership as an opportunity for his events business, and a means to build a network with those who made decisions about ticket distribution for supporting events.
The two big difference between the ownership groups, and a reason for us all to be hopeful, is that Evans thought he and his employees could run the club, despite not having previous football club experience. The pension fund have instead brought in experienced football people, including O'Leary, Ashton, and his support team.
The second difference is that Evans approach was to find ways to cut costs, whereas the new ownership are prepared to invest in the club, including coaching and support staff, the ground and community.
Let's all hope that this is the catalyst for a sustained upturn in our fortunes. | | | |
| Ashton and the Owners on 09:00 - Jun 30 with 497 views | Radlett_blue |
| Ashton and the Owners on 08:31 - Jun 30 by bobbyramsey |
Pension funds spend their whole time evaluating financial risk.
I expect they know what they are doing and that they know a bit more than us. I doubt they work it out on the back of a fag packet like we appear to be doing.
Leave it to the pro's [Post edited 30 Jun 2022 8:32]
|
If someone can explain to me how they "evaluate the risk" of spending a few years in the Championship & losing around £20m a season, I would be most interested. |  |
| |
| Ashton and the Owners on 09:23 - Jun 30 with 476 views | Dyland |
| Ashton and the Owners on 21:13 - Jun 29 by galacticoblue |
I think they should have pulled to trigger earlier - losing to Cheltenham did it for me. …. ….Cheltenham!!!
I couldn’t happy clap him for his ovation pre games from then on. |
Aye I don't disagree tbh, but I don't think things would have panned out too differently. Who knows.
Yes, that pre match thing... can't remember the game but one towards the end of his time here... he ran on to the pitch looking like a sack of spuds, in danger of rolling over and spilling everything... I'm not one to vindictively scoff at people's shapes but I couldn't suppress an involuntary gmpf. I liked him tbh and hope he does well. Wrong place wrong time for him here. |  |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
