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Clegg Backs Keane at AGM
Clegg Backs Keane at AGM
Wednesday, 8th Dec 2010 03:14

Chief executive Simon Clegg says he and owner Marcus Evans are still backing manager Roy Keane, despite the current run of five successive league defeats. The former British Olympic Association chief, speaking after Tuesday’s PLC AGM in the Sir Bobby Robson Suite, believes that the Blues can still make the play-offs this season.

Clegg said: “The owner and I are absolutely joined at the hip regarding Roy. If we weren’t supporting Roy he wouldn’t be here now.

“There’s no timescale on it at all, other than the fact that Roy’s contract is up at the end of the season.

“We all know that Roy is a very driven individual, a very focused individual not used to accepting failure and if there’s anyone who can turn it around, Roy Keane can.”

Clegg dismissed media claims that Saturday’s visit to Preston could be Keane’s final game in charge at Portman Road: “I have spent quite a lot of time reading stuff which is nothing more than pure speculation and it causes me much hilarity and amusement.”

The Town chief conceded that form has to improve soon and that patience will eventually run out: “We recognise that we’re on a bad run at the moment and that things have got to change and we’ve got to turn things around.

“If we lose the next 20 games without taking a point, if you take that eventuality, of course the manager won’t be here.

“But there really is no mark in the sand when the owner and I have agreed that we are going to address this issue one way or another. It’s just not there.”

Clegg says he is the main route of communication between Evans and Keane, although the two also talk when the need arises: “There is direct contact, but in the main I’m working with Roy on a day-in, day-out basic and I’m working with the owner on a regular basis.

“Marcus and Roy speak when they need to speak. We’re very lucky here that we’ve got an owner who is quite hands-off, but that doesn’t mean he’s not interested, he’s intimately involved with the way this club is run and is a very driven individual, but he doesn’t get himself involved in the minutiae.”

Clegg and Evans remain patient, which the chief executive says is very much in line with Town’s heritage: “This club has had a rich tradition of giving people a good opportunity to turn things around.

“Look at what we went through last season. Perhaps lesser owners and lesser chief executives would have looked to have moved the manager on.”

Despite the current malaise, Clegg is still confident that Keane can take Town into the top six by May: “Absolutely, we’re only eight points off the play-offs and we’re not even halfway through the season yet.

“The table’s very, very tight. After performances like the Carling Cup victory against West Bromwich Albion last week and to a lesser extent against Swansea on Saturday, there is no reason why we can’t aspire to the play-off zone this season.”

The meeting itself, which was attended by around 150 shareholders, was a less fractious affair than it perhaps had promised to be given the current position in the league and the antipathy towards the manager from significant sections of the support.

David Sheepshanks chaired and was flanked by fellow PLC board members Philip Hope-Cobbold, Martin Pitcher, Simon Clegg, John Kerr, Roger Finbow and Richard Moore as well as Roy Keane and Town’s company secretary and financial controller Mark Andrews.

PLC chairman Sheepshanks opened the meeting with a speech outlining how the evening would proceed and highlighting the work of the ITFC Charitable Trust, of which he is also chair and which recently took on its new name.

Simon Clegg took to the stand to speak about the club’s current position, which he said hurt everyone at the club, from the top down: “Players, coaching staff, the manager, employees at Portman Road, as well as the owner and myself.

“We are all deeply committed to the club and deeply committed to turning it around and doing it quickly.”

He emphasised that the season has not yet reached halfway and that the team needs to consistently show the good form of last week’s victory over West Brom.

Like Sheepshanks, Clegg praised the Charitable Trust’s work in the community and said the Blues will be helping to support the Iceni Project, who are amongst the victims of recent Government cuts. The club will raise funds and offer professional advice to help secure its future.

Clegg, who says he has enjoyed visiting Supporters’ Club branches around the country but not as yet the globe, revealed that the players will be delivering presents they have bought themselves to children in hospital and hospices in the weeks before Christmas.

The academy was praised with all seven second-year scholars winning professional contracts in the summer.

Clegg moved on to finances and Marcus Evans’s continued support of the Blues: “I promised last year that I would endeavour to run the club on financial grounds and we need to recognise that we would not be able to do so without the support of our owner Marcus Evans.

“Marcus remains absolutely committed to the club and over the last 18 months I have not experienced one iota of wavering from the aspiration of taking this football club back into the Premiership at the earliest opportunity.

“Be clear, we could not continue to operate in the way that we do without the day-in, day-out financial support of the owner.”

Clegg says the club’s costs are increasing and he has reduced non-footballing operating costs, which has seen the shop’s warehouse return to Portman Road and a number of “non-essential redundancies”, while keeping season ticket prices at the same level they have been for four years.

The club has reopened a shop in a new location in the Buttermarket, which Clegg says has done well so far, as did last summer’s P!nk gig. Further concerts are likely in the future.

Clegg, who has become a shareholder in the PLC, was pleased that the club has reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup, but says the main aim remains unchanged: “The day job for this club is about securing Premiership football, which is where our focus is and needs to be.”

Martin Pitcher, the club’s financial director and a member of the PLC board representing owner Marcus Evans, gave a brief outline of Town’s financial position, the Blues having made a £14 million loss in the financial year to June 2010.


The PLC’s financial activities are basically limited to dealing with the loan notes issued after Town came out of administration in 2003 and Pitcher quickly moved on to the overall club’s financial picture, shareholders having been sent a sheet illustrating the highlights of this year’s accounts.

Pitcher says Town’s financial situation should come as no shock: “The key point is there is a loss. The loss isn’t surprising, many Championship clubs make a loss.

“In terms of what goes in and out of the bank account, which is more important than the notional accounting charges, it’s in the order of £5 million to £6 million a year, the difference between the cash income — tickets, money from the league, any commercial income — less the cash costs of running the club — salaries, any payments to any suppliers, police charges etc.

“That £5 million to £6 million is what Marcus funds per year and in addition he will fund any capital expenditure on player purchases.”

Pitcher says that gap is unlikely to be reduced given the current straitened times and with attendances decreasing across the Football League. He says he battles to try and keep the loss at the current level.

After Pitcher invited questions on the accounts for the question and answer session which was to follow (none were forthcoming), Sheepshanks took the first question from the floor, which asked whether the squad was good enough to climb the league.

Keane said the ambition was to go beyond retaining their current position and didn’t want to make excuses for the Blues’ current plight. He explained why he thought his side had fallen away after their decent start: “I’ve been concerned since pre-season that our squad is very, very small and we needed to be lucky with injuries, which we certainly haven’t been.

“Look at the team that played at the weekend and from the Middlesbrough game on the first day of the season. Steady, who scored, we sold, Jon Walters is gone, Mark Kennedy, Luke Hyam, Márton Fülöp, David Norris, Gareth McAuley — the rest of the team has been ravaged by injuries.

“My concern all along was that if we got injuries we would be far too dependent on our younger players.”

Keane, who hopes more of his senior players will be back in the weeks to come, says this is evident when looking at the division’s top performers this season: “I think our average age against Barnsley a few weeks ago was 22, compared to QPR’s on the same day, which was 27. That’s five years in every position.”

At full strength the Town boss says his side can compete at the top level in the Championship, but he says his team has lacked consistency and admitted that he’s made errors.

Like Clegg he says the Carling Cup run is a nice bonus but that the league is the most important thing and that he believes his side can still have a good season.

Keane was asked about the three players the club were close to signing over the summer where deals fell down at the last minute. Shaun Derry, now with QPR, was one of them and had actually been at Portman Road prior to his free transfer move from Crystal Palace breaking down.

The Blues boss chose to field the question and said he felt he needed to add experienced players in the summer but that close to the end of pre-season the club made the decision to have a smaller squad, taking what he admitted was a gamble, although one he said he was “OK with”.

The injury situation, particularly involving senior players, has since highlighted that gamble with the Blues having had little luck. Keane says his targets weren’t hugely expensive but that he can understand Town’s position.

Simon Clegg next responded to a query regarding the conjecture surrounding Connor Wickham, outlining the club’s position: “There are no offers on the table for Connor, there is a lot of speculation, a lot of hot air out there. Roy and myself are clear that we’d like to retain him, as indeed is the owner.

“But you may get to the point in the future where the offer for the player is considerably in excess of the value that we place on him as a club and financially it would be wrong not to take that.

“If you find yourself in that situation, you would expect that money to be reinvested to replace that particular player as that would be a huge loss for the team and that hole would need to be filled.”

The number of loan players currently at the club was put to Keane, who admitted that the system has its positives and negatives, but that the Blues find it hard to get senior players to move to Ipswich on loan and have needed the cover they have provided given the injury situation.

Geography is one factor hampering the Blues with more established players preferring to move to clubs closer to their parent clubs and their homes.

Town therefore have instead moved for younger players, such as Jack Colback, who Keane reminded shareholders was an impressive performer last season. Overall, he feels the gamble on the likes of Colback, Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend is worth it given the high costs of some loanees elsewhere.

“There are massive loan fees involved, I’m not talking £50,000 or £100,000. I know clubs who are spending a loan fee of £1 million for a young player for a season. That’s pretty scary,“ he said.

Keane was thanked for his honesty and his lack of spin by one shareholder, then the Blues boss was asked about the current situation and lack of goals when compared to the likes of QPR and Cardiff, which he said was his main concern at present.

The former Manchester United skipper says Town currently aren’t in the market for players who would cost the sort of fee that someone like Michael Chopra would command, but even so feels that the top six shouldn’t be beyond his side, if they can bounce back to form sooner rather than later and cut out the silly mistakes.

Keane was asked about the Tamás Priskin-Jason Scotland pairing which one shareholder felt needed more game-time to develop, the Blues boss believing that similar partnerships need to develop all over the pitch, citing Grant Leadbitter and Jack Colback’s performance in central midfield at the weekend as an example.

While the Town manager said he agreed that players need minutes in matches to gel, he says changes need to be made during games to freshen things up and that players also benefit from time playing together in training. Regarding Priskin and Scotland specifically, Keane says he wants to see more from them.

Simon Clegg was asked about Town’s high ticket prices, the chief executive responding by saying that this is an aspect of running the club which takes up a lot of time.

Clegg says Town’s overheads have gone up: “We are being hit by a significant increase in rent from the council, for example. That has got to be absorbed somewhere.

“We can’t constantly be going back to the owner asking him to dig deeper and deeper and deeper into his pocket.

“Protecting the season ticket holders does mean that one of the other areas we need to look at is the price we charge people coming into Portman Road [on a match-by-match basis].”

Clegg says the drop in attendances is not being taken lightly: “I am very concerned about the reduction in numbers that we’re experiencing through the gates.

“This is consistent across the whole of the Championship. Numbers this season are 5% down to date on where they were last season and we have fared better than most with our numbers only 2% down.”

Matchday ticket prices are an area which Clegg says are being looked at and will continue to be monitored.

The lack of on-field entertainment was blamed for the drop in attendances by a fan, who said Keane had been given more money to spend than any previous manager with the result a struggling side.

Keane suggested the budget comment was probably incorrect, but admitted that when buying players there’s always an element of risk: “There’s always a gamble when you bring players into your club, whether it’s Lee Martin, someone we’re still waiting to see do well, Jason Scotland’s new to the club, Damien Delaney, Tamás Priskin, Grant Leadbitter, who I think should be playing in the Premiership, Carlos Edwards. I think they’re all good players but also you’re always looking for more.”

The Blues boss agreed with the crux of the argument regarding performances: “I’m sure if we were doing a lot better, playing better and scoring a more goals, which has been a problem since I’ve come into the club, supporters would come back in greater numbers.

“I think that happens at football clubs all over the planet; the better you’re doing the more supporters you get.”

Clegg added that it takes some players longer than others to bed in, citing Tamás Priskin as an example.

Another shareholder backed the previous questioner regarding performances and playing style suggesting that the pressure to get promoted quickly might be a factor.

Keane said that ultimately fans want to see their team winning, regardless of formation or tactics and that he has a background in attacking football, but that the injury situation hasn’t always helped matters this season.

He outlined his aims with regard to the team, which he feels needs the addition of more physically strong players: “Yes, we want to play better football, we want to be a bit more solid and we certainly need to score more goals. The big issue is that we don’t score enough goals.”

Keane says he currently has no plans to add an assistant manager to his staff - having spoken to one or two people over the summer - praising coaches Tony Loughlan and Ian ‘Charlie’ McParland, keeper-coach Jim Hollman, reserves coach Chris Kiwomya and fitness coach Antonio Gomez.

After what had been a relatively easy ride given the current situation, Keane was taken on more combatively as the evening moved into its closing stages: “You said you’d get us promoted in two seasons, so is this your last AGM?” asked one disgruntled shareholder.

“Possibly so, but it might be yours as well!,” responded the Town manager. “When I first met the owner he offered me a three-year contract,” he continued, “but me being me I said ‘I’ll do it in two’. I do set myself high standards.

“In hindsight it might take a little bit longer. I set the bar high and if people think I’ve set myself up for a fall, I’ve no problem with that. There’s a good chance this will be my last AGM. If we don’t get results I will lose my job.

“If I leave in a few months or if I leave next week I certainly won’t regret taking the Ipswich job. I’m very proud.”

Keane says managers in significantly better positions than him have been sacked: “Chris Hughton lost his job yesterday — a top, top manager and a really good bloke.

“I’m under no illusions. If I don’t get results I’ll be out of a job. But I’ll survive, just like the club will and the club is more important than any manager.”

The same questioner suggested that any significant offer for Connor Wickham ought to be taken, but Keane feels that the Blues striker is the type of player who doesn’t come around too often: “There aren’t many Connor Wickhams around. You’ve got to be careful not to get blasé about Connor and say we’ll take £7 million or £8 million for him.

“I have a certain figure in my head that we’d have to consider. I think Connor and his agent would have that as well.

“These big teams, they wouldn’t be buying him for what he’s doing now, they’re going to buy him for what he can do in four or five years’ time — his potential. Whether that’s Tottenham or Liverpool or whoever. United had to buy Rooney for £28 million when he was 18.

“Can Connor be as good as these boys? I think he has the potential, but that’s up to the club and I don’t think the club’s had any concrete offers yet, although there’s been the usual speculation.”

It was David Sheepshanks who answered the final question of the evening, on the Blues’ tendency to sell the best players who have come through the academy in years gone by.

Sheepshanks said: “The fact of the matter is that we’re always going to be a selling club. We’re not Manchester United, we’re not Liverpool, and when the price is right that’s what you have to do.

“Sir Bobby Robson was a past master at knowing when to sell a player and when to buy a new one. You can think of David Johnson being sold to Liverpool and lo and behold David Johnson goes and in comes Paul Mariner. Who’s going to argue with that?”

Sheepshanks added that the club is lucky to have the backing it has, but feels that the situation with Championship clubs is not healthy: “The amounts of money that it costs to run a Championship club today are obscene.

“They are simply unsustainable unless you have the real backing of someone like Marcus Evans. Occasionally you can be lucky like Blackpool, and Blackpool are backed by an extremely wealthy Latvian gentleman as well as the Oyston family.

“The vast majority of clubs in the Championship, I think it’s 22 clubs, are losing seven figures and most are losing £4 million, £5 million, £6 million and upwards every year, and it’s a real worry for the game.

“It’s an effect of the overall football tree, the knock-on effect of the Premier League and the type of wages which are paid, but also the temptation for clubs to want to join it, and it’s the same for us.”

Sheepshanks says that at the end of the day Championship clubs will never be able to keep hold of their young talent: “I would support Marcus Evans for the amounts of money he’s investing in the club and ultimately he will decide one part of the equation, which is how much he wants for the player.

“But there is the other side of the equation, which is the player pursuing his ambition. And ultimately when a player and his agent want that player to go to earning several million pounds a year compared to several hundred thousand pounds a year in the Championship, you cannot prevent it.

“I would support what Roy is doing here, he’s brought on a number of young players in the last few months, and it’s fantastic to see them in the team, and in terms of commitment in the youth academy, I’m sure we all support it totally.”

The evening’s official business followed, Sheepshanks — who was praised by former club chairman John Kerr for his role in securing Marcus Evans’s 2007 investment in the club - and Richard Moore were re-elected to the PLC board, while groundsman Alan Ferguson was applauded for his work in making sure the last two games went ahead despite the inclement weather.


Photo: Action Images



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PSGBlue added 11:58 - Dec 8
I cannot believe the posts saying we should now get behind the club just because Cleggs says Keane is here to stay. We all know the clubs going nowhere except for the possibilty of league 1. Now the time for Town fans to stand up for themselves and say enough is enough. Perhaps a protest at the end of the Leicester game for example.

On one occasion I remember PSG fans refusing to take their seats for the first 20 mins of one game in protest. Imagine doing that on live TV next game.

Lets not listen to Clegg, he's just ME puppet anywhere and probably doesn't agree with what he is told to say anyway. Time for action, Ipswich Town is going nowhere with Roy Keane. Keane Out!
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brian_a_mul added 12:01 - Dec 8
Great report TWTD, well done.

I must say we are very lucky to have Mr Evans backing this club. Without him and his sponsership the club may have ceased to exist as was so nearly the case a number of years ago. As reported, most Champ clubs are loosing huge sums (4,5mil per annum) which without major backing is unsustainable.
Also Keane turned down a 3 year contract (neively) in favor of 2 years, this shows his ambition and determination however unrealistic. He is honest and says it as he sees. Keane also admitted the club (Mr Evans) took a gamble by not signing more experienced players and turning to youth to supplement the squad. This is the reason why I believe Keane still has the backing of the owner.
Evans plan reduces outgoings and brings through players form Academy, which in itself is a nobel and shrewd. In the long term generating finances through home grown players is how our club (and most professional clubs) will survive.

Regardless of RK, I think we dont show enough appreciation for the help & support Marcus Evans has shown this club!

Thank you Mr Evans for saving this great club and thank you for your continued support!

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Blue92 added 12:22 - Dec 8
“If we lose the next 20 games without taking a point, if you take that eventuality, of course the manager won't be here.

Keane had better turn things around.. looks like clegg is prepared to let us slip to bottom of the table, 60 points from safety before they are prepared to sack him.
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vulcher added 12:24 - Dec 8
this is getting ridiculous, our form is that of a team being bottom of the championship, we have not improved from last year. yeah we didnt win for a long time but we certainly didnt lose 5 games in a row. we seem to get worse every game,and worse regardless on who keane signs. he had a squad and money when he joined us, so how come we r now in a situation of having half the first team full of young inexperienced loan players, and players that cant even perform in the reserves when asked to do so. if the club dont change things soon then i seriously think we will be in a relegation battle. i can also not think of one player that keane has bought in that is any better than players we had under magilton. some of his decision for me just seem ridiculous, for example:

dropping peters to the bench for the swansea game after clearly playing well v west brom

not including delaney in saturdays squad when having his experience on the bench cud have been useful to bring on

dropping townsend in games after he is clearly starting to find form

starting with 4 centre back in the same defence

dropping priskin after the fans booed him being taken off in the game before.

its as if he is constantly trying to show how stubborn he is, and trying to back up terrible decisions he made the week before (eg priskin being dropped).

also blatently failing to find a striker good enough to score goals in the championship, scotland isnt good enough, he is lazy and doesnt even look a threat, and fallon will clearly not be good.
keane has surely had enough time now, and the worrying thing is that it seems like the players r being distracted by our cup run
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BlueVelvet added 12:24 - Dec 8
ME is more interested in the bigger picture, and RK is a celebrity that currently he needs to keep his empire linked with football
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Lightningboy added 12:57 - Dec 8
Sounds like Keane & Clegg were given an easy ride last night.

Can't believe Clegg's apparent contempt for the fans..it seems to be a case of "we 3 know better than how ever many thousands of you lot,so there"..

Try facing the fans on the terraces Clegg..not the one's at the AGM..they'll tell you a few home truths.
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Keaneish added 13:18 - Dec 8
What was Keane's quip to the shareholders regarding '...this may be your last meeting as well...' meant to mean!?
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alfromcol added 13:36 - Dec 8
Keaneish RK's just stating a fact, none of us know what is round the corner. We are all dooooomed! Your 13.18 post might have been your last one!
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devontractorboy added 13:38 - Dec 8
Clegg says “If we lose the next 20 games without taking a point, if you take that eventuality, of course the manager won't be here.
Neither will we be.........we'll be in Division One!!
Wake Up Ipswich...the truth obviously is that they have paid well over the odds for Keane and can't afford to sack him!!

Great Report Phil-Thanks for the in depth reporting, it made interesting reading!!
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Blue_Jack added 13:42 - Dec 8
Is this some kind of joke ? i freaked when i read this. Are we really giving a blank cheque to a man who is losing games like its going out of fashion ?
under keane this broken spirited squad couldnt win a pillow fight in a girls school. This latest "endorsement" are words coming from people horribly out of touch with our current footballing reality. We need a new manager, with new ideas - and new players in jan - before its too late ....
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thechangingman added 13:48 - Dec 8
"Clegg backs Keane at Town..." and in other breaking news a group of Scottish people were found to be anti-English, Jose Mourinho is accused of being a tad self-centred and a bear was found to have s**t in the woods...
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Seasonticketsteve added 14:22 - Dec 8
Well said PSGBlue

I watched Sky Sports news this morning and they were interviewing the shareholders/fans that went to the AGM last night and every single one they interviewed were in favour of giving Keane more time and were in full support! WTF

Do we really have to get relegated before people realise how totally inept Keane is! He isnt going to turn anything round, if we dont get relegated, then we will hover above the relegation zones all season and waste yet another season in the Championship. Does Clegg/Evans not remember that after this season the parachute payments from the Premier League kick in for even longer for the relegated clubs coming down and it will be even harder to get out of this league! If we act now and are able to get in a capable manager that could inspire a late promotion charge then do it, we will not get promoted with Roy Keane at the helm, end of!

I cant even see the light at the end of the tunnel at the moment but Clegg coming out with comments like this! FORK

Rant over!
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Skip73 added 14:35 - Dec 8
Thats us relegated then
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StowTractorBoy added 14:56 - Dec 8
Elmswell Blue I was there last night and so I presume were you. If that was the case why did you not ask questions of our leaders. As someone has stated on here earlier it is easy to hide behind the keyboard but then not have the guts to show your true colours. Sadly you are like many who talk a good game but when given the opportunity challenge the top men you bottle it. I know things are not bright but this continuous negativity drives me nuts.
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dude added 15:09 - Dec 8
CORK! COYB! FOBB!
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naa added 15:13 - Dec 8
Mind you, with all this talk of getting rid of the manager we should count ourselves lucky we're not Newcastle fans. I thought Hughton was over-acheiving this season so they get rid and get in Pardew! Eh?!

So although I think Keane needs to go, we should be careful what we wish for.
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katemoss added 15:16 - Dec 8
Clegg is just an expensive mouth piece for Marcus Evans. However, when Roy Keane finally does get the sack surely his position becomes untenabels. He will also have to walk or be pushed out of the back door. What did he do for he Olympics? Check hotel rooms for atheletes?
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slippery added 15:17 - Dec 8
regarding ticket prices surely it better to have 25000 plus in the ground at 15-20 quid than it is to have only 17000 at around £30ish you might take the same amount of money but at least we would have an atmosphere back at portman road.
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naa added 15:28 - Dec 8
slippery: while I agree that the prices are way too high and considering raising them further (which is what Clegg implied) seems crazy to me I don't think you'd get 25000 in the ground watching the dross being served up at the moment, however cheap the tickets were.

Reducing them to £20 might get 3000ish back, possibly, but no more.
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Vexorg added 15:53 - Dec 8
Well said Stow. If all the people on here that feel as negative about things as they seem to had shown up last night or, if not shareholders, then at the Supporters Club AGM, then maybe Clogg would be getting a different message.

Or, if all that is too much trouble, dust off the Magilton Out flags and have a proper demo at the next home game. TV cameras and all that ..
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bluelady added 16:11 - Dec 8
higher prices, poor football, its not going to encourage a big gate is it?? I am one of those that turns up week in week out and i never boo the team.. however i can understand why people are not paying good money to watch some of the so called football we have experienced this season. That said i think we can see now we have no choice, we either back the manager, get behind the team and sing our hearts out or the situation will go from bad to worse. Clegg acknowledges he has seen the fans oppinions, and it appears he finds it rather funny, what chance have we got - getting on the managers and players backs it appears will only impact on them and not those at the top who are clearly very stubborn and will only make decision off their own back.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 16:11 - Dec 8
indeed well said STB, as the phrase goes "put up or shut up", the people at the meeting last night were there becasue they put real money into the club when it was in real dire straits, obviously NO ONE at the meeting is happy with the current sitution, but those with a few grey hairs and a few brain cells can see the bigger picture



StowTractorBoy added 14:56 - Dec 8
Elmswell Blue I was there last night and so I presume were you
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naa added 16:26 - Dec 8
TractorRoy: "those with a few grey hairs and a few brain cells can see the bigger picture " I love the suggestion that anyone who thinks that Roy has done a poor job given the money and time he has had is a bit stupid.

What's the bigger picture exactly?

All I see is a team playing poor football and a manager who has no idea how to construct a team or get the best out of them, and who is getting the results to match.
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alfromcol added 16:45 - Dec 8
naa It wasn't poor football against WBA nor Swansea. The Swansea result was all down to 2 defensive mistakes and a poor refereeing decision. I agree that we have had lots of poor matches where he has played 1 up front and played hoof ball, but not the last 2 games.

Lets see what sort of football we get at Preston.
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naa added 16:55 - Dec 8
Hmm, the Swansea game was OK, not great, not by a long stretch. We played it on the floor a bit more and we actually had fullbacks on the pitch for once so we had a bit more attacking verve but it felt as though Roy played that line-up because he was forced to, not because he wanted to.

We also looked like a team who weren't used to playing pass and move, hence the distinct lack of movement on offer at times.

I'm also loathe to ignore 18 months of dismal football because of 2 games. The problem is, how long to we keep waiting to see if thingsa are improving. 5 (not 20 as Clegg bizarrely said) more games with little to no result from them and we will be in serious trouble, if we aren't already.
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