Blues managing director Ian Milne says Town have received great feedback from fans regarding the new home and away kits launched earlier this month, despite a potentially controversial switch to blue shorts from the traditional white.

“The feedback that we’ve got is great,” he said. “There are certain custom kits we can have from adidas.

“And in this case we were more interested in the chevron design, which I thought was fairly adventurous, slightly retro, and it’s gone down extremely well.

“I think people need to see it live because I don’t think it comes out well on the picture. There’s nothing wrong with the photography, it’s just it needs context.

“That design came with blue shorts and I think the balance is right. The difference in blues works quite well too.

“There aren’t many choices with a blue kit and it’s a struggle. Having gone for the collars, that was a great idea, what are we going to do next? It’s not as easy as people think.

“The white away kit has again gone down very well. Again, it’s got adidas all over it, it’s got the quality.”

Town recently announced that season ticket prices would be frozen at the early bird rate after seeing a drop in sales.

Milne says that with the club still to start their attempts to woo back non-renewing fans by contacting them personally, they already seeing some returning to the fold.

“That was something we felt we ought to do,” Milne added. “Particularly with regard to performances because we ended up seventh, we took that decision to allow people to think twice and come back.

“And there are nice early signs that they’re coming back. The percentage that we thought we were at we aren’t, we’re improving on it.

“I think we will get more back around the Euros, they will see some good signings coming through and hopefully they’ll scratch their heads and think ‘Maybe it wasn’t so bad, they did get seventh’.”"

Meanwhile, he says he hopes supporters have noticed an improvement in the concourse catering provided by Centerplate, who took on the role last August.

He admits that there were teething problems but has had more positive feedback recently: “At the last fans’ forum, which was at the last home game, they all congratulated us about Centerplate.

“I think we had teething problems going in with Centerplate and we were having weekly reviews with them at that stage, we knew we’d need to for the first three months.

“They knew where they went wrong and they’ve now dealt with those and, as I say, the fans’ forum came to us and said that it’s been good, much better.

“There were complaints but they reacted and they initially had the problem of, which I hoped they wouldn’t, of getting staff to work a half day for 23 days in the year. I appreciate that because we tried as well. But they really got that one right.”

Milne says the Blues continue to be open to Portman Road being sponsored, but no one has yet come forward.

“No ground sponsorship, there are various additional corporate sponsors that we will be having on board but no ground sponsorship. We’re still interested though,” he added.

“We’ve tried very hard to get more concerts on here as well, but we have to compete with things like the O2, Colchester United as well, and it’s a case of which bands are touring and I don’t think it’s been a fantastic year this year for bands touring. It’s supply and demand on that.”

Following yesterday’s Portman Cup match the club will be starting work to refurbish the pitch today.

“We’ll have a major renovation on the main pitch here,” he added. “We won’t go for a [full reconstruction], that’s a million, we’d rather spend that on the squad.

“It’s not a bad pitch really, compared to some. We’re doing a large scrape off and reseed, as we’ve done for the last couple of years.

“We missed out one year because of a concert and we did notice it. But it’s lasted very well and we consistently get good points for it from the Football League.”

Photos: ITFC

Photo: Action Images

VulpineBlue added 10:47 - May 22 If you insist on changing the strip every season then the kits will simply continue to become more and more cluttered or even surreal in design. Simplicity = good design (ask any engineer). Simplicity = Class. New strips lack class and as I've said before chevrons on shirts reek of Rugby League.
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Lightningboy added 11:26 - May 22 Personally I love the look of the new home shirt - may even put it in my top 3 of all time. Just swap the shorts with the white ones and we'll all be a lot happier.
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H1960 added 11:32 - May 22 Well said Daleyitfc couldent agree more, this new kit is bloody awful up there with that horrible punch kit from the mid 90s that looked like the bottom half had been left in a bucket of bleach!! Does anybody remember that vile brown Coventry away strip from the late 70's it compares!!!!!!!!!! mid
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H1960 added 11:33 - May 22 Well said Daleyitfc couldent agree more, this new kit is bloody awful up there with that horrible punch kit from the mid 90s that looked like the bottom half had been left in a bucket of bleach!! Does anybody remember that vile brown Coventry away strip from the late 70's it compares!!!!!!!!!! mid
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Slambo added 12:17 - May 22 The kit issue has very skillfully deflected attention from the real issues here: - the catering has improved. No it hasn't - the service is still absolutely appalling, particularly in the North Stand; - that Evans & Milne are strongly considering getting naming rights for Portman Road. I don't care about the style of our football, but the steady erosion of the club's soul would definitely have me reconsidering the renewal of my season ticket...

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HackneyBlue added 13:39 - May 22 how many more times Milne-who gives a 5hit that we finished 7th,its the football that was on offer that drove thousands away-change the football and then we will be back.
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PhilTWTD added 23:31 - May 22 Slambo This was a bit of an 'any other business' sort of story, all the additional stuff which wasn't newsworthy as the other stories put together. Thought the kits line was a decent starting point as I was surprised at the lack of comment on the shorts. Re stadium sponsorship, the club has been looking at it since the early 2000s. Had things not gone awry for TXU Energi Portman Road would have been the TXU Energi Stadium or something along those lines back then. Re catering, the reason I asked about it was the regular comments on here criticising it. I pointed out that the anecdotal evidence from the forum was contrary to the focus group and said we'd pass on the views from our questionnaire.

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Swansea_Blue added 09:37 - May 23 That's what happens when you ask Narwich fans for feedback I suspect. Some will like the home kit, I'm sure, but I can't imagine that there would be 'great' feedback if you asked a decent sized cross-section of ITFC fans. It's pants. Away kit is nice though. Catering is poor at most grounds, so there's nothing new in that; it seems to be worse in home ends than away ends. It must not be cost effective to put enough staff on to meet a large demand in such a short space of time.

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StewartMarcus added 12:40 - May 23 Cant say I like the new kit,,,but as the chevrons are pointing down it could be to remind the players to keep the ball down instead of hoofing it
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sotd78 added 15:18 - May 23 ITFC to the best of my knowledge (and I've been watching for over 50 years) traditionally play in blue shirts, white shorts and blue stockings. My personal preference has always been for white sleeves too; and perhaps hooped stockings. I've watched us muck around with faded out offerings, the infamous TXU blue, and several other abominations. If Mr Milne really believes the fans like the kits - well he'll find out in the shop I guess. I don't actually mind the blue kit; quite like the white shirt but I wish to the heavens that we play in traditional blue and white - blue tops; white shorts.

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sotd78 added 15:43 - May 23 Another nail in the coffin for tradition then. Blue shirts and WHITE shorts.
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petermorris added 21:01 - May 23 Home kit looks like a naff shell suit. Blue shorts are not Ipswich and its not a true Ipswich blue anyway - too light. And, how the hell is a chevron 'retro' to ITFC? We're not Bordeaux.. Away kit is insipid - more suitable for garden lawn tennis. Another howler from ME.
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Bert added 00:19 - May 24 Been waiting years for us to have blue shorts. Looks more professional and modern. In design terms it is right and that's probably what Milne was trying to say.
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