| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' 07:11 - Nov 27 with 2379 views | jasondozzell |
God bless Ashton. He's exactly what we needed after years of being rudderless. Someone who knows the industry, drives change, and gets things done. I want to make it clear that he has been extremely good for us.
And god bless the American ownership. I've always said that Evans' greatest achievement (from a list of one) was the due diligence he did. Unfortunately you have to sell your soul now to be competitive and it was the club's last chance but at least we're owned by a fire fighters' pension fund and not some shady crook.
All the same, and as exciting as all the development and investment is, did anyone else feel a slight twinge of unease when watching the Portman Road video yesterday? Perhaps I'm being a fuddy duddy but the first thing that stopped me a bit was the boardroom being moved and Ashton sweeping a hand across the identikit corporate decor affair that it's being replaced with. Didn't the old boardroom have old wood panelling? Think I remember that from photos of players signing in there. Lots of history presumably. I'm probably being over sentimental but something sad about that room being swept away for the usual Instagram friendly minimalist boardroom chic. The changing room area is the same - it needed to be redone and looks good but it's very American somehow.
And then you've got 'stadium bowl', 'fan experience' and 'revenues'. The latter I get is really important but there's times when you realise that this is in many ways an American sports model being mapped onto a football team and not the other way round.
That being said, I understand the arguments that we need to modernise and that we need to maximise revenue. And Ashton to his credit is always very respectful of the club's history and I liked it when he said that the new Cobbold stand has to be bitten but also sympathetic to the history of the club and the ground.
It's just a slight twinge of discomfort that we're being corporatised if I can use that word.
I'm aware that this could be seen as very churlish. We were crying out for investment and direction and it has come in bucketloads. I think Ashton and the owners have done a fantastic job. I'm just slightly uneasy with the idea of us all in our replica jerseys, chowing down on Tingly Ted's (whatever that is), having a 'fan experience' at a tailgate akin to a franchise model in the states.
I'm definitely guilty of being a football romantic and ticket stubs, Bovril and crowds of flat caps are obviously not the future of football anymore. But all the same...
On the other side, we're incredibly lucky to be so well run and backed and I do think the owners have tried hard to do many things the 'Ipswich way'. Not least the appointment of KM. So I should probably shut up.
Interested to hear the thoughts of others.
|  | | |  |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:13 - Nov 27 with 334 views | jasondozzell |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 12:56 - Nov 27 by Joey_Joe_Joe_Junior |
Stop having a pop at things feeling American. It’s Thanksgiving for a lot of us for a start!
Why is fan experience a bad phrase? I’ve been to most NFL grounds and a lot of baseball stadiums, if you want a place to enjoy with friends and family then all of this stuff is positive. Portman road is beautiful but outdated and there’s a lot of work that has to be done.
You know could make the environment feel very English? The fans and the atmosphere! [Post edited 27 Nov 12:57]
|
Very fair points! PR desperately needed the overhaul.
I love our yank overlords honest!
Happy Thanksgiving! | | | |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:23 - Nov 27 with 309 views | jasondozzell |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:12 - Nov 27 by Churchman |
I’m not sure I’d get on with MA with his style. I’ve had to stifle the laughter in the past when I’ve sat in a room with somebody doing the bullsht bingo speak.. People like that are not easy to work with, but you never know what they are truly like until you do.
Blue sky thinking, bottom up planning, quick wins, low hanging fruit, peeling the onion, bite size chunks, boil the ocean, deliverables……..- aaaaaargh! |
😅😅
He's really going in for 'drive the culture' at the moment. Seems to have stopped the oxygen.
'be under no illusion'
'we will be relentless'
He doesnt name check Andy Rolls as much as he used to but Tom Ball is now up there.
Mark, if you're reading, we do love you. | | | |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 17:41 - Nov 27 with 249 views | Churchman |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:23 - Nov 27 by jasondozzell |
😅😅
He's really going in for 'drive the culture' at the moment. Seems to have stopped the oxygen.
'be under no illusion'
'we will be relentless'
He doesnt name check Andy Rolls as much as he used to but Tom Ball is now up there.
Mark, if you're reading, we do love you. |
World class facilities, elite, fully stitched, building the aeroplane in flight.
Not sure the aeroplane build in flight is a great idea. Didn’t always work too well with ships either. When HMS Prince of Wales went up against Bismarck with HMS Hood in 1941, it still had workmen on board finishing it and the main guns quickly malfunctioned. Not what you want with a dirty great German battleship shooting at you. Still, she managed to bollx up Bismarck forward fuel tanks which ultimately led to its demise.
Yes, back to Mark, he seems to have run out of oxygen. Despite my teasing, he’s doing a great job over all. |  | | |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 19:09 - Nov 27 with 216 views | FBI |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 10:57 - Nov 27 by Churchman |
I can’t support any praise for Evans. I believe he’d have sold the club to Satan if the man with the pitchfork and pot had come up with a better offer. But yes, we’ve been very lucky with the ownership group and with Ashton. I get the annoyance with the Brentishness, corporate bullsht bingo speak and he’s made plenty of mistakes.
However, those who don’t make mistakes are people that don’t do anything. He’s very much a ‘driver’ and has a clear vision on the club, infrastructure, area and just about everything else. He’s been good for us, especially when you compare him to nobodies like Milne and Clegg.
Regarding your reservations about the new Boardroom, I have not seen all the video but I did see that bit. I actually have no problem at all with it. It’s 2025 and the club is looking to progress in everything it does. If it’s a bit ‘American’ that’s ok providing it serves its purpose.
It does feel like an American sports model being mapped out. That’s fine with me too. My limited experience of it tells me that it’ll be a good thing for us overall. I’d love the club to build a museum to link past to present and the future. I’ve no idea how much stuff it has, but given ITFCs fascinating history, I think something telling the story would be of interest to a lot of people especially if it had an element of interactive in it for kids.
An example of what I mean is that recently a Short Scion aircraft was on display in Rochester Cathedral. Underneath it was all sorts of activities (such as building model floatplanes) for children, who were having a great time. Something for everyone, in other words.
I’m fine about corporatisation if it develops the football club and secures its future. It broke my heart to see it neglected and dying under Evans. Had he not sold it, we’d be in L2 now at best. The club and its supporters deserved better and now we have it.
Fan experience? I’ve seen how they do NFL in this country and baseball in America. It is a good thing, not least because it will never detract from the tribal nature of football in this country.
Am I nostalgic about the past? Very much as my many posts, especially ITFC history and my own experiences, show. But there was plenty about the past that wasn’t good and in the same way there will always be positives and negatives going forward.
And we do have to move forward, shiny Boardroom n all. I accept that part of my positivity on this stems from my working world where change was normal (project world) and you did get used to and embrace it. But change is not something natural to ‘umans in that feeling comfortable with what you know, habits etc is the default position for people.
I like Tingly Teds btw.
Just a view. |
"I’d love the club to build a museum to link past to present and the future. I’ve no idea how much stuff it has, but given ITFCs fascinating history, I think something telling the story would be of interest to a lot of people especially if it had an element of interactive in it for kids."
My dream job! Been running and launching museums, heritage centres and National Trust properties since the late 90s. But they're very much the opposite of the way MA works: weirdly quirkiy and chaotic so I think me and him would fall out pretty fast! |  |
| |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 21:43 - Nov 27 with 163 views | TresBonne |
Sorry, but I think this is such a non issue. Who cares that the boardroom will now be modern instead of wood?... |  | | |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 21:57 - Nov 27 with 143 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:08 - Nov 27 by jasondozzell |
No negativity, honest! It's all been brilliant and we couldn't have hoped for a better takeover. Investment, success on the pitch, engaging the community etc. I suppose I'm just expressing a slight reaction to the corporate nature of it all and how in the end Ashton is answering to corporate bosses in US more than to just the football club.
I'm definitely not complaining about Gamechanger!
I suppose what I'm driving at is that in the US that sports model is all about 'fan experience' etc. in a way that reminds you that ultimately they see it as selling a product. Whereas it isn't a product is it. I think that's the tension in football in the moment and where we are headed. It's why clubs are beginning to edge out season ticket holders... |
But it is a product. Maybe it always has been? We pay to go and be entertained. We buy merchandise that is connected - scarves, books, key rings, dvds (remember them) etc.
Is it ultimately any different to fans of a musical act? In the same way that product has events where they entertain, merchandise to take every penny possible, albums, etc
I’d suggest that anything you pay for provides a product of some sort. We may romantisise it, and deny it’s a product, but that just makes it easier to sell it to us, even when the ‘entertainment’ isn’t perfect  |  | | |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 22:18 - Nov 27 with 130 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 16:12 - Nov 27 by Churchman |
I’m not sure I’d get on with MA with his style. I’ve had to stifle the laughter in the past when I’ve sat in a room with somebody doing the bullsht bingo speak.. People like that are not easy to work with, but you never know what they are truly like until you do.
Blue sky thinking, bottom up planning, quick wins, low hanging fruit, peeling the onion, bite size chunks, boil the ocean, deliverables……..- aaaaaargh! |
I would like to know though if some of what we hear is how he actually speaks whilst at the club, being the best version of themselves, relentless etc etc
Just talk for interviews, or that's him personally.
Doesn't matter either way just intrigued really |  |
| |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 22:47 - Nov 27 with 117 views | Churchman |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 22:18 - Nov 27 by FrimleyBlue |
I would like to know though if some of what we hear is how he actually speaks whilst at the club, being the best version of themselves, relentless etc etc
Just talk for interviews, or that's him personally.
Doesn't matter either way just intrigued really |
Same here. I suspect the real MA is very different to how he comes across, though no less driven. | | | |
Login to get fewer ads
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 13:00 - Nov 28 with 39 views | jasondozzell |
| Put 'Mark Ashton is refreshingly laid back for a man with such responsibility' on 21:57 - Nov 27 by SuffolkPunchFC |
But it is a product. Maybe it always has been? We pay to go and be entertained. We buy merchandise that is connected - scarves, books, key rings, dvds (remember them) etc.
Is it ultimately any different to fans of a musical act? In the same way that product has events where they entertain, merchandise to take every penny possible, albums, etc
I’d suggest that anything you pay for provides a product of some sort. We may romantisise it, and deny it’s a product, but that just makes it easier to sell it to us, even when the ‘entertainment’ isn’t perfect |
Is it a product? I don't think so. Would you buy the same product when it was for years providing a depressing experience? We sat through dire dire games in the Evans era. I remember getting trains to games thinking 'why am I doing this?' when it was really starting to fall apart. Then logging on to watch follow in the COVID period to watch disaster after disaster. But you still go don't you. | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
