| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure 06:40 - Aug 8 with 1368 views | IPS_wich |
My two cents worth...feel free to ignore...
I do wonder whether most of the critics of Evans are (let's be generous) under-25 years of age. I can understand their perspective if all they've really known is Town under Evans and a slow inexorable decline in the standard of the football and of Portman Rd. But...
...let's be clear about one thing - Evans is and always will be Town's saviour. We were going under, staff and contracts were going unpaid and the FA/Football League were looking to make an example of a struggling club. You may be cynical about his motivations, but the fact remains he (or the company he is a 100% shareholder of) is the ONLY thing that has kept us from folding in the last 12 years. We have lost money every year since he bought the debt and saved us from EXTINCTION.
I'm pretty certain he would sell us at the drop of the hat if there was anyone clinically insane enough to put in a offer - but from a business perspective we are a completely toxic investment (as are many other clubs).
So he has decided not to throw more money at his bad investment - other than the money which is keeping us solvent. Perhaps we should be more grateful he hasn't pulled the plug and that his other businesses are infinitely more successful than ITFC is.
So, whilst I think he is our saviour, I can't but lament the fact he is not a better football club owner. His ownership is a sad litany of poor decisions, including:
- appointing Simon Clegg as MD, someone with zero industry knowledge and a series of outside interests that distracted him
- taking advice from Harry Redknapp on who to appoint as manager; Redknapp might be a good coach, but his approach to managing a club (as opposed to a team) harks back to the brown envelope days of the 60s/70s
- not realising until it was too late how important the club's relationship with its fans is; otherwise he would never have let Mick's relationship with the fans descend into carnage unchecked
- sanctioning Hurst's wholesale sale of a proven but functional squad to be replaced by a bunch of unprovens
That said, anyone criticising him for the appointment of Keane, Jewell or Hurst is playing a game of hindsight roulette - in all three cases there was limited dissent to the appointments - much less so than the two appointments he would appear to have got right (Mick and PL).
So Marcus Evans, (almost) billionaire, saviour of our club, but poor decision maker... |  | | |  |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 07:44 - Aug 8 with 1233 views | itfcbam |
Tbh, I would say your pretty much bang on. Very balanced, not the why doesn't he spend more brigade. I am mid 40's and all my memory we haven't ever been a profitable club. We have always in the past had to sell to balance the books, even under Burley. When we last got promoted and spent 2.5 on Stewart that was from the 6 we got for Dyer.
The Ipswich way was always develop young players whose value when moving on would balance the books and give a little money to bring in decent pros to go with them. We have lost that path since we lost Magilton. Under Lambert we are moving back that way so there is hope. | | | |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 07:47 - Aug 8 with 1220 views | Superblue95 |
“I do wonder whether most of the critics of Evans are (let's be generous) under-25 years of age”
Evans has a lot of critics from varying ages. Don’t let that fact stop you from making a dig at young people for no reason though |  |
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| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 07:50 - Aug 8 with 1213 views | Guthrum |
Agree other than part of your last point: There was plenty of disquiet at the time of his appointment as to whether Keane would prove a good fit for the club. That was then smothered a bit by our thumping of Cardiff in the final game at Ninian Park and the win over Coventry, which led to a feeling of optimism over the summer - soon dissipated once the season began.
People were also dubious about Jewell, but he was such a relief after Keane that the fans gave him a free pass. There was nothing beforehand to indicate Hurst would be a problem.
There might have been more dissent towards McCarthy and Lambert had we not been in such dire straits at the times they were hired. |  |
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| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 08:03 - Aug 8 with 1160 views | BackToRussia |
So, why has he turned away interest from buyers? |  |
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| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 08:13 - Aug 8 with 1122 views | homer_123 |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 07:50 - Aug 8 by Guthrum |
Agree other than part of your last point: There was plenty of disquiet at the time of his appointment as to whether Keane would prove a good fit for the club. That was then smothered a bit by our thumping of Cardiff in the final game at Ninian Park and the win over Coventry, which led to a feeling of optimism over the summer - soon dissipated once the season began.
People were also dubious about Jewell, but he was such a relief after Keane that the fans gave him a free pass. There was nothing beforehand to indicate Hurst would be a problem.
There might have been more dissent towards McCarthy and Lambert had we not been in such dire straits at the times they were hired. |
Had Lambert been appointed directly after MM then I am certain things would have been much more vocal and negative. |  |
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| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 10:27 - Aug 8 with 1027 views | Pilgrimblue |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 08:13 - Aug 8 by homer_123 |
Had Lambert been appointed directly after MM then I am certain things would have been much more vocal and negative. |
Sorry but don't get that! Surely appointing PL as soon as MM had gone would have given fans a lift and may have avoided relegation. He would have had the experience and time to settle the squad.
Still that's all water under the bridge so just hoping that we get some decent loans in before window shuts. |  | | |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 10:58 - Aug 8 with 991 views | longtimefan |
| (Hopefully) A balanced view on Evans' tenure on 10:27 - Aug 8 by Pilgrimblue |
Sorry but don't get that! Surely appointing PL as soon as MM had gone would have given fans a lift and may have avoided relegation. He would have had the experience and time to settle the squad.
Still that's all water under the bridge so just hoping that we get some decent loans in before window shuts. |
You must be joking. At the time MM went, PL would have been viewed as another journeyman. Apparently we all wanted an up and coming young manager who did things differently! Well he certainly did  | | | |
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