No mick it's not mended & never will be.
Even yesterday you pick the wrong team..After waxing lyrical over josh emmanuel performances v villa & brighton he's been sat on his backside on the bench replaced by a journeyman who was at fault for Leeds goal last week & time & again yesterday was ripped a new one..Spence at the age of 26 will never get no better, whereas emmanuel at the age of 19 seems to get better with every game & 90 mins yesterday would of been crucial in his development with regards to next season
Which brings me onto skuse..yes he was steady doing what he always does but Diagouraga can do that as well, offer more offensively & carry a presence in the middle of the park
#mickout
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OldClactonBlue- it's quite clear that many on here do not think we are in a rut, funny how a good month glosses over the wider issues.

jabberjackson: agreed we always had to be selective with our funds but I stated we then had comparatively more resources, comparative to what other clubs could then spend.

We paid six figure sums for both Dutch signings & Mariner £220k in the mid 70's, when the british transfer record was less than half a million. Given that the record is now £89m, what we paid for a number of players mid 70's equates to approx £40m each today, so to say we are operating with comparatively less resources than we did then, puts it very mildly.

Norwich £50m to our £1.5 is the proof of the pudding

My God!...how easily pleased are some of our supporters!! arguable that we got the performance and we got a draw not a win, so in summary you haven't won me back Mick. We sit 15th in the table, talk about raising the bar not very high.

God help us all if we're satisfied and praising Mick for this...let's not forget Norwich have lost both to Rotherham and Burton this year, I wonder how they're feeling then (probably words can't describe it).

The wider issues, the fact we have a chairman who ploughs £6 million a year into the club before a ball is even kicked to keep us afloat, or a manager who works on a shoestring budget with loans to keep us in one of the World's most competitive leagues or the wider issue that as a small Town in Suffolk we continue to probably compete in a much higher standard than many large city teams such as Sheffield, Coventry to name but two.

Hang in there kids with your lack of football and clearly business knowledge you're special.

now mick is saying Bart is the best in the championship which us fans knew last season anyway,even though mick kept playing Gerks which had us all scratching our heads , maybe us fans do know a bit after all hey!

From a personal point of view a few decent results cannot make up for the utter garbage served up under MMs reign. If he thinks the recent improvement has changed people's opinion he is deluded

I like many other supporters am not a fan of MM,but the thing that concerns me most is just who would want to come here.
The owner is well known for not "splashing the cash" so who would be capable of having the clout to bring in good players with very little cash.
There are not many Managers out of work who are capable,and I'm sure The owner would not pay up a working managers contract.
MM is still under contract for another 12 months with an option of a further two seasons,so at the moment the ball is in MM's court,until then we will just have to sit with baited breath.!

Why do people keep harping on about, and comparing, money spent on Players - many Clubs are successful without loads of money to spend ( just take the blinkers off, and they are there to be seen ).

This is where good management comes in - money doesn't always buy success - and cheque book charlie managers are not always (by a long chalk) - successful. Again take the blinkers off ... !!!

Let's not keep hearing this excuse - tactics and management skills are far, far more important - unless you're in the Premiership. And it doesn't always pay off there - as we all should be able to see.

The 'Mick Out' crowd often include similar comments about Evans. It is very important to consider both parties individually.

Mick has managed ITFC for four years. Over that time we have continuously been in the bottom 3 teams, in terms of budget spent. Yet we have finished 9th, 6th & 7th up until this year. That is an over-achievement. Mick sticks to his job, which is to score as many points as you can in a season with the players you have. Unfortunately that means the football is not always easy on the eye, but he sticks to his task. Whenever he has a full squad, or some kind of strength in depth - like now - he has played more attractive football.

Evans has failed to support him, or the club in general, throughout his tenure. This is the real issue here.

And if Mick is forced out of the club, either through lack of support from Evans or from fans, then Evans will feel he can carry on in this manner. Just keep changing manager and fans will blame them. If we care about the future of this club, short term and long term, we need to be pointing our fingers Evans way.

In my opinion 'Mick out' is just muddying the waters and entitling Evans to continue with his lack of support for the club. With the lack of funding we are not going to replace Mick with a manager of Mick's stature, it is not an attractive job so Evans will have to take a punt. This could so easily lead to a hasty relegation and rapid decline from which we may never recover.

Sorry to paint such a gloomy picture but I am afraid this is the reality.

Wooly- if your last post about wider issues was aimed in my direction you need to get your facts right, I have no problem with ME and his lack of investment, quite the opposite (check my history) in fact. As for the line about no business knowledge then again your very much way off the mark!!. My wider issues are hoofball, negative tactics, favourites, no progress for 18 months and a severe lack of entertainment. MM had funds available in January which were not spent for whatever reason. As I have stated many times, I am only bothered about what goes on the pitch. If your post was for aimed at someone else then apologises are in order, but I very much doubt that.

We must have some of the soppiest, easy to please fans in the whole country.

And where will that get us.... ? Answer: More of the same. Unfortunately.

I'm neither a MM out or in person simply because I cannot see anyone doing any better without funds. What I do see is a manager who gets some decent cheap or loan players in and this has galvanised the whole squad. MM is a northerner who speaks his mind in an honest but perhaps abrasive way. Some like him and some don't but the majority of those attending games are still warm to him. I will judge him on whether the improvement continues. If it does not and Evans is reluctant to part with the cash for next season,then there is valid reason to vote with our feet.

Blueboy - Because it is such a relevant point, perhaps...

Obviously once in a while teams and managers gel and can achieve great things without funds, look at Leicester last year. However, a continued lack of investment in any business generally leads to a decline in performance.

In the last 5 years Evans has spent £1.7m on players and sold players for £14.75m, a £13m profit. In the same time Aston Villa, who we beat, have spent nearly £200m on players with a loss of £116m.

Whether you love or hate Mick you have to accept that this is a valid consideration, and if you really care about where your club is going you can not just turn a blind eye.

Surco 72: For a team with limited resources, signing a player like Douglas for free seemed sensible enough to me, given he had been a key player in Brentford's run to the play offs the season before. He was also their player of the year 12 months prior to that. Dont forget Bishop was flying a couple of years ago . Adding an experienced cover player seemed reasonable to me. BTW, teams who play 4231, often use two holding players. Admittedly it hasn't worked out great, but how easy would it be for any of us to do our job with people screaming insults at us.

Knudsen was a hero yesterday, if Douglas goal had not been wrongly chalked off in the home derby a lot to people might be saying differently. For a player who cant run, he seems to have a reasonable scoring record, and seems to get shots away most games.

As for Chambers at RB, stating that you, me or any fan knows more than a professional manager with 25 years experience, does not stack up. Webster, Berra was a good CB combination and we had one of the best defensive records in the league. I dont recall too many fans asking for the 352 formation (though I did so myself actually).

Our problem was up front, through loss of our talismen Murphy & McGoldrick, as well as poor form/injury of others such as Bishop, Sears and Pitman. Many fans over the years thought they knew more about the game than Allardyce, Puiis and Warnock as well. Any manager can have one or two good seasons. We are lucky enough to have someone who has done it year in, year out. We would be foolish to lose him.

Yes, Mick has been on a bit of a charm offensive during the past month,compared to previously,wonder if someone has had a word that the season ticket renewals are due shortly?

Yes,most supporters were expecting a dodgy February following Town being outplayed by Fulham, Derby and mighty Lincoln City in the previous weeks;so 4 draws and a win were welcome;but the club were 15th before we lost to Fulham on Boxing day,the same position as now.

Yes,Mick has certainly been starved of money.Believe it or not on a par with the 2nd half of the 1980's and less than at any time since, apart from when Joe had a transfer embargo to contend with due to administration.Which is a ridiculous situation.

Personally I think that the ten years of Marcus Evans ownership have not turned out as well as most expected,and has been downhill since he sacked 'Magic' after Town had just beaten Norwich 3-2 in April 2009 when Town were 9th.

.One poster recently wondered whether Marcus Evans has run out of sufficient money to service a successful Football Club?Has happened before,after all ITFC are now down to to14th in wages table,and 16th in funding generally.

Lightningboy mentioned that Ed Sheeran is an Ipswich supporter,according to Sky;even though he was with Norwich supporters.Perhaps he could help out by buying some of the debt, from the invisible man thereby reducing his 87 1/2 % share of the club; and increasing the 12 1/2 % currently held by Ipswich supporters.Even better buy him out;bet that would help the season ticket sales.Just saying.Could make a start by performing at Portman Rd this summer,as is Elton,former owner of Watford.

I can but dream lol !!!

Even with an open cheque book Mick McCarthy would have great difficulty attracting players of high value to our Club of today - he knows that many players would not relish being part of his style (if that's what we must call it) of play - or to have to play out of position, and have flair nullified by his tactics.

This is where today is different to the past - there was a time when IPSWICH TOWN FC were know throughout the game for playing the beautiful game the way it should be played - but not NOW.

Almost any player could have been tempted in the past to grace Portman Road - unfortunately many posters on here have not been around long enough ... !! - to have experienced such times.

Sorry Blueboy, I'm on one now.
In answer to your latest inane question - Definitely a lot further than those fans, such as yourself, that have cancelled season tickets, in protest.

Gcon ........ you need a Manager capable of capitalising on funds made available - given such MM would fall on his sword, and he knows it - he's no fool.

He will never be able to change - given whatever.

Gcon, very good first post, credit where credits due: Although my opinions differ from yours that's worth an up vote. I also downvoted you which was a mistake, apologises

Sorry Mick but a handful of draws, in games in which we were generally expected to lose, is not the glittering return to form that will get the thousands of absent supporters back through the turnstiles at Portman Road. The core of our squad is still very poor, and those that have a glimmer of talent are generally overlooked, under-used or played out of position. That a handful of recent loanees and journeymen can transform our playing style in a couple of weeks shows just how rigidly drilled our existing squad was in the negative, defensive tactics which have led to such dire performances this season. I don't believe that our recent upturn in fortunes is any more than a happy accident - or that McCarthy has changed his outlook at all. I can't believe that a couple of draws can convince so many people that everything is suddenly ok. Even with millions to spend, would you trust McCarthy to build and attractive, free-flowing, attack-minded team ready for 2017-18? Come on! I would still like to see a new manager in place before next season.

Evans - even with his limited knowledge of Football, will have reservations of MM spending. He will surely not be impressed with the typical MM (style) of play - but he has a Manager who will just about be able to hold mid Championship forever and a day.

He therefore has a dilemma - spend and risk wasting his money OR continue with achieving mid table Championship for his Club. Not must risk there in the latter in fairness to MM, all considered.

Key to all this is the Supporters - and gate receipts - as long as they keep at an acceptable level, he will continue as we are.

And who can really blame him - he's a businessman - everything has to be considered in it's actual state as is.

I am a season ticket holder of 30 plus years.
I haven't been to portman road for the last few games as I can't be arsed! In that time, by most accounts, we have improved.I watched yesterday's game and honestly saw no improvement at all! Pass the ball backwards and sideways. Never really scared Ruddy, albeit a good goal from Jonas, we looked like we were playing for a draw as soon as the line up was announced.So, Dino, you have done nothing to change my opinion and 1 win in 9 games and expecting to be overjoyed by drawing with teams in the top 6 just sus up your ambition and any fan that really thinks that is good enough share the same ambition. It ain't good enough as far as I am concerned and a decision on wether you will be in charge next season needs to be made before the begging letters to renew my ticket come through my letterbox! I am waiting for the bull Xxxx to start from Milne and Co about signing our current loan players permanently and then see them sign for rival clubs as soon as the application forms hit his desk. I won't renew if the Dino is still in charge. I know that won't particularly frighten Mr Evans but it would if thousands have the same stance. Sorry if anyone is offended or disagrees bur had to habe my say! Please announce your departure asap Mick

The result was a decent one. There can be no doubting that Mick has little financial backing from an owner who rakes in more on transfer fees than Mick has been allowed to spend. Considerably so in fact. He has done his best with limited resource.

But there is still a problem in my opinion. The tactics yesterday, although ultimately successful, are very very negative. It's painful to watch and I simply can't see many fans returning to Portman road, paying a premium price, if they saw that performance yesterday.

Great to hold a club who have more spending power. Great to not lose a derby game. But our tactics and performances under MM have generally been negative, boring, lacking entertainment and frankly difficult to watch. Yesterday was no exception.

MM will only play the same brand of negative football, anyone who disagrees please enlighten me???? Ask any of his former clubs fans, whether it be international or domestic and they will all tell you the same. Let's be honest here Mick ain't for changing so it's very much the case of put up or shut up.