Exiting chief executive Simon Clegg has confirmed that, as TWTD reported earlier, directors Jonathan Symonds and Ian Milne will become Town’s joint-managing directors with fellow board member Martin Pitcher working with them. Owner Marcus Evans will also take an increasingly hands-on role at the club he took control of at the end of 2007.

Clegg told TWTD: “The incoming team will be Jonathan Symonds, Ian Milne and Martin Pitcher with the first two as joint-managing directors.

“Martin will continue to perform a finance function and Marcus is going to play a much more hands-on role with the club, which I think is genuinely good for the club.

“It’s his investment, it’s his money that’s keeping us afloat, and it demonstrates once again that he wants to get closer to it.”

He says he expects Evans to spend more time at Portman Road than he has up to now but doesn’t know whether the Blues’ owner will become a more public figure, having previously been keen to avoid the limelight.

Clegg says the matter of who will take over from him as the ‘face’ of the club has not yet been resolved: “The issue as to who is going to be the face of the club, who is going to be the brunt of the fans’ frustration going forward, will be someone else’s problem, it won’t be mine and I think they are still working that through.”

There has been some speculation that former midfielder Simon Milton, who is currently the club’s academy sponsorship manager and player liaison officer, might take on a new role but Clegg says he isn’t aware of any plans along those lines: “That’s not within my remit and I’m not privy to that, they’ve not shared that with me. But I have to say, that’s not been a topic of huge discussion.”

The 53-year-old says he has been considering moving on from Town since the summer: “I started discussing it with Marcus at the end of last season. I’d been there three seasons and if we didn’t achieve promotion this season I’m not sure how much longer I could go.

“My family still live down in Farnham in Surrey and this is an incredibly busy job. A lot of fans think it’s all about sitting in the directors’ box watching football matches, having fat boy lunches in the directors’ box and a little bit of work in the office. This is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week business.

“And with the family still in Surrey and only getting home a maximum of one day a week, it’s taken its toll and I’ve not had as much enjoyment out of it as I hoped and expected to, predominantly because we’ve not been able to deliver on the pitch.”

We'll have more from Simon Clegg on his departure from Town tomorrow.

Photo: Action Images

dirtydingusmagee added 20:20 - Feb 5 This may or may not help when trying to sign players,but its one less ''cook'' in the kitchen.Something had to change .
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petermorris added 21:37 - Feb 5 Cleggy must be secretly happy - he can go back to his seat at Stanford Bridge.
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Elizabeth added 21:46 - Feb 5 Well , quite surprised to hear of this today! I never felt that he endeared himself to the Ipswich fans and the team has not enjoyed any success since his arrival. I really hope that his successors are right for the job and that Mick and Terry will be allowed to " manage '" the team as they have the tactical know how. Looking forward to the next game with anticipation of a good result. Your turn now Mick for a good result !!

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alfromcol added 21:49 - Feb 5 ME taking a more active role. Sounds like a 'Chelsea' in the making. We could have an even faster turnover of managers, even good ones!!!
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casanovacrow added 22:06 - Feb 5 Saves money for ffp rules. ME looses his human shield now though, hope things get better for the club or he's going to be the next fall guy and facts are we wont survive without his money
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WashbrookBlue added 22:32 - Feb 5 Can you believe this man?. Arrogantly self pitying to the last. Even his own unique brand of hypocritical, patronising weaselness can't conceal his bitterness at being pushed out by a man whose a**e he's been blowing up for the last 3 years thinking he was bullet proof. Marcus , you made a terrible terrible mistake kicking out Bowden for this incompetent , content free spin merchant and , dear God, it has cost you and us dear but today you at least recognised that and put it right. Alongside MM's appointment , lets hope your selection and assessment judgement has taken a turn for the better.......

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WashbrookBlue added 22:36 - Feb 5 Oh and milton would be an excellent choice if he's mad enough to accept. He has a genuine empathy with the supporters perspective and never - unlike you know who - has to bragg about how many meetings he's been to or blather on arrogantly about "the Ipswich way" .
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StowTractorBoy added 22:46 - Feb 5 We all thought from the very outset that we should have appointed a real football person as our chief executive and this has been a bone of contention for a large percentage of our supporters. Clegg really was on a loser from the start (not salary wise) and bore the brunt rightly or wrongly for many failed transfer dealings. He made himself very unpopular with his spin and the handling of the Middlesbrough ticket debacle was embarrassing. For all of that I found him to be a pleasant gentleman who had to take more flak than he deserved. Good luck Simon but this was not a marriage made in heaven.

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MickMillsTash added 22:57 - Feb 5 He always seemed to be saying how much he had learnt, the steep leaning curve etc. he always seemed to be out of his depth, he couldn't manage Keane, let Jewell amble along on half funny sound bites for too long leaving a complete mess and did not manage Evan aspirations. The club was a shambles before McCarthy arrived and Clegg was partly responsible. I saw him give a talk once and he really was pretty uninspiring, if that is how he appeared on a one off god knows what he is like when you work with him everyday We have to be thankful to him for not losing McCarthy though.

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warwickblue added 22:59 - Feb 5 Clegg - you may not have enjoyed the last few seasons very much but at least you didn't have to fork out hundreds of pounds to sit and suffer them like we did. I've no idea whether you did a good job or not but I don't want to hear you whining about it. Go with your head up and enjoy Surrey. Are there any football teams in Surrey?
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bluesman added 23:16 - Feb 5 When the dust has settled and we look back in a few years time the person we will remember as the villain of these tough years will be Keane, not Clegg. He destroyed the nucleus of a good side with promotion potential and there wasn't a lot Clegg could do about it except try to help Evans pick up the pieces after the bull had left the china shop
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R_LAMB3 added 01:49 - Feb 6 Now the three stooges have gone KEANE JEWELL AND CLEGG just maybe Town can now move on to bettet things. I will never forgive Keane and Clegg for selling Jordan Rhodes for peanuts and now we have the problem of stopping him scoring saturday and maybe Campbell to and maybe we better play six in defence this week or two goalkeepers.
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bluemikey100 added 05:01 - Feb 6 a new person to do the catering Marcus having a more Hands ON Roll at the club
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Marcus added 07:56 - Feb 6 @nix290 - you haven't got a clue. Look at Clegg's history. How can you say he knows nothing about spending time away from his family by serving with the army when he's an ex-paratrooper. Say many things about Clegg, many criticisms I'll agree with. But don't ever say he doesn't know what it means to serve for his country.
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richnblue added 08:01 - Feb 6 More good news keeps coming out of this football club that was steeped with history. Lets hope those days are not so far away now.... I see Aldershot Town are in trouble off the pitch, may be job there for you Simon and your work / family balance will come back to you. One thing when you leave Simon, take that ladder with you, it's clearly been leaning against the wrong wall in your time here...

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richnblue added 08:06 - Feb 6 More good news keeps coming out of this football club that was steeped with history. Lets hope those days are not so far away now.... I see Aldershot Town are in trouble off the pitch, may be job there for you Simon and your work / family balance will come back to you. One thing when you leave Simon, take that ladder with you, it's clearly been leaning against the wrong wall in your time here...

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stringtheory added 12:30 - Feb 6 You're waiting and waiting for a scapegoat and then three come along all at once! Who to choose....
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Blue041273 added 12:41 - Feb 6 This whole debate typifies the mentality on this site. Jesus, Phil must despair sometimes. Maintaining a site for so-called free speech must be truly draining with all the cretinous posts on here. Simon Clegg has left the building. Please just accept the fact and give SC room to move on as must we.
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