Town have announced that chief executive Simon Clegg is to leave Portman Road after four years at the club. A press release from Town says that owner Marcus Evans and the rest of the club’s board will take a more active role in the running of the club.

Owner Marcus Evans said: “Following a review of the club’s management structure and the Financial Fair Play budgeting requirements, it became clear that we would need to operate differently going forward and Simon and I mutually agreed that it was time for him to seek new opportunities.

“I would like to place on record my huge appreciation for all of Simon’s hard work, loyalty and professionalism. Over the last four years he has done an outstanding job as the public face of the club.”

Clegg added: “As a result of the strategic review, it is clear that moving towards break-even will challenge all clubs, not just Ipswich Town.

“At the top of our agenda, and quite rightly, has been the priority to protect the playing budget. This, coupled with the owner’s intention to play a more hands-on role, has led me to the decision that now is the right time to seek a new challenge.

“Whilst we have been discussing this for some time, we agreed to leave any final decision until nearer the time when the rules are due to take effect, at the end of this season, and after the end of this last transfer window.

“I will be returning to my family in Surrey and over the coming months will be looking for my next professional challenge in international or domestic sport.”

The club statement announcing Clegg's departure says owner Evans will have a greater involvement in the running of the club: "As part of a strategy to meet the financial challenges of the Financial Fair Play rules, Marcus Evans, the club’s owner, and other members of the board will be taking a more hands-on approach to the day-to-day management of the club."

We understand that with no direct replacement for Clegg being lined-up, current board members Ian Milne, Jonathan Symonds and Martin Pitcher will now take on many of Clegg's duties - liaising with the departing chief executive - but with Evans himself set to be directly in charge at Portman Road in the longer term.

However, it is not yet known whether Evans will be more publicly visible despite the change of role.

Former British Olympic Association chief executive Clegg joined the Blues in April 2009, taking over from Derek Bowden, who yesterday joined Essex Cricket.

Photo: Action Images

itfc1981 added 14:50 - Feb 5 Happy Days!
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Juggsy added 14:51 - Feb 5 I'm guessing Mick had something to do with this or he would have gone at the end of the season to minimise any impact. Oh well, nwards and upwards. Thanks for all your hard work Cleggy, you were fighting an uphill battle to be accepted unfortunately.
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blues1 added 15:07 - Feb 5 glad to see there are at least some sensible comments on here. i am one of those who dont have an opinion on whether he was a good or bad ceo, but certainly wouldnt slag him off for everything that went wrong at the club. as others have said he was basically the public face of the owner. as for his failure to sign players? poppycock. he signed more players than any previous chairman or ceo. unfortunately for him, unlike years ago when players negotiated their own contracts and transfers rarely failed to go through, with agents dictating things, many dont now happen, and not just at this club. certainly sc made some daft statements at times(the turnstile one for instance). when hed probably have been better to say nothing but that doesnt make him a bad guy. and all ill say to those of you celebrating his departure as tho its the best thing to have happened, when nothing changes as to how things are being run, who you gonna use as ur scapegoat then?

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bluearmy78 added 15:12 - Feb 5 Well he may of been an Olympic chief executive but he couldn't cut it at football, in my opionion this is well overdue, should of gone 3 seasons ago!!
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Strikes added 15:28 - Feb 5 I wonder if subsequent events will prove that he wasn't the problem at the club, and like Richard III his reputation will be rehabilitated in years to come. We shall see. Better times ahead or same old same old?
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bigolconnor added 15:36 - Feb 5 I haven't read all the comments do don't know if I'm repeating anyone but, isn't clegg basically leaving to make his £200,000 (or whatever) a year salary available for players instead of staff?
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Lombokblue added 15:38 - Feb 5 Its been a fairly miserable 4 years I don't really know what Clegg does or did so I'm not sure what difference this will make. I know that Surrey is not a million miles away and uprooting your family is a big decision but its not just a football club its part of the town and it doesn't show much commitment.
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bluearmy78 added 16:06 - Feb 5 So what did Clegg actually bring to the club then, he's leaving with a handsome wedge in his bank account. We are no longer a traditional family run football club, it's a business!!
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mawwam added 16:20 - Feb 5 So when is he leaving? now or end of season?
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bigolconnor added 16:48 - Feb 5 Are we getting him back on loan?
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Southern_Blue added 16:53 - Feb 5 Who's our new scapegoat then? He was blamed for way too much at the club...
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blueherts added 17:09 - Feb 5 Got to agree with the increasing thread - some people on here do not know why we did/ not sign this or that player - I dont care - Charlie Austin is no guarantee of success nor McCormack - like Campbell - who is yet to find a club -= the only one being one in a mire - Blackburn- who will pay any money . No - if he is measured it should be on his/ME managerial choices over the past few years KEANE was the biggest disaster ever to hit our club - ask anybody who is or was at the club - An odious individual , useless manager and made some bad decisions So to me it is not the players he did or didnt agree terms with it was probably the Managerial decisions - who knows - maybe MM threw his toys out of the pram when we didnt sign DJ - didnt look like we missed him on Saturday though whatever it is we move on - We have a good management team for first time in a long while - lets celebrate that

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sheepdags added 17:12 - Feb 5 A decent man but not a football man and therefore not a good appointment by Evans. Difficult to say how much power he had and therefore to what extent he was responsible for the disastrous transfer dealings of the Roy Kean era, letting Rhodes go for a fraction of his worth stands out among many, but even if these were RK's decisions, no football man as CEO would have sanctioned the bad deals that were made. Good luck to him but he was a square peg in a round hole and Mick McCarthy is a shrewd operator who can benefit from cutting out the middle man.

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CorLems added 17:33 - Feb 5 Obviously not a football man, let alone an ITFC man. Those of you defending him by suggesting that he didn't have the budget etc. Well yes he did, initially. It wasn't until later that ME tightened the purse strings after those expensive signings proved inadequate. Good riddance.
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JustSpivvyChops added 17:42 - Feb 5 Won't be missed, money saved................yadda yadda yadda CLEGG OUT.......oh
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h32 added 17:59 - Feb 5 bluelady - credit to you for 'speaking as you have found' with your experience of Simon Clegg - I do however think the Club will have a better top structure with these latest developments. As you rightly state, Clegg's lack of 'football knowledge' probably didn't help him - but he came here basically, I guess, as a Accountant - and he did his job. Not to everyone's liking for sure - but I for one , wish him well.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 18:23 - Feb 5 Lots of sensible comments on here and then lots of people who seem to have a great insight into the inner runnings of the club !!!. Maybe they all hold key roles at PR and can actually speak from experience.............or maybe not ! Will be interesting to see how things change now though, if indeed they do.
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AdScHi9678 added 19:20 - Feb 5 Wow.
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HARRY10 added 20:06 - Feb 5 I think it would bofde much better for the future were we to be bringing in a CEO with proven football skills, we are not. We are handing over his duties to two blokes who have overseen Cleggs supposed mistakes. "We have shot the monkey, but the organ grinder is still holding the handle" "Good, that should mean we will have a new tune ....... won't it" If Clegg was doing so much wrong then why did these two not stop him ? It is nothing but another cost cutting exercise ubderthe guise of FFP. The same execise that has left us with a squad stuffed with loanees and an acadamy that is no longer delivering up youngsters. If they can't get into the team now, when will they ever be god enough. The steady drift downwards continues.

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bluelady added 20:09 - Feb 5 Agreed H32 :-) lets hope we continue to agree on most things !
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dirtydingusmagee added 20:13 - Feb 5 ITFC has been in need of a ''shake up'' for a while now,not just a change of manager.Perhaps the ''man behind the mask'' may reveal himself and create better understanding of what is really going on with the club .
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blueherts added 20:54 - Feb 5 HARRY10 agree with you - If anyone has looked at ME business dealings you will know they are far from 'transparent' - the fact that he is close with Harry Redknapp - says all we need to know - Do we really think these two 'yes men' are going to improve anything ?Come to think of it though CEOs with 'Proven Football experience ? - I suggest the list may not be that long All I care about is MM and TC and I happy with them and the team they are building

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HARRY10 added 21:15 - Feb 5 why have the accounts still not been released ? one positive is MM/TC and I just hope they are given a more free rein to run the football side of things from acadamy upwards and the moment the club is a shambles with little real contact with the fans and no real sense of direction or purpose if this is a sign of a shift in direction, allowing football people to run the club then that is great news however the shadow of Evans and his debts and real intent for the club still hang heavy over Portman Road time alone will tell

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Talbs77 added 21:27 - Feb 5 Bye! Would be harsh to lay all the blame of the last 4 years of failure entirely on his shoulders however it would be naive to think his contribution ultimately lead to failure.
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petermorris added 21:34 - Feb 5 Hey, stringtheory - I really want to say 'I told you so'... but I won't.
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