Town MD Ian Milne says news on the future of manager Mick McCarthy and the release of season ticket prices for the 2018/19 campaign will “come together” in the next couple of weeks.

McCarthy is out of contract in the summer but with owner Marcus Evans having an option to extend his time at the Portman Road helm by a further two years.

Speaking just over a fortnight ago, McCarthy, who has been in charge at Town since November 2012, anticipated speaking with Evans regarding the way forward “over the next three or four weeks”.

Asked when the announcement of next term’s season ticket prices might come on Saturday’s Life’s a Pitch on BBC Radio Suffolk, managing director Milne said: “It will come out in the next couple of weeks, hopefully some good news on that.”

Season ticket numbers dropped by 15 per cent to under 11,000 last summer and with attendances having continued to drop throughout the season - the 13,205 crowd for the Cardiff game at the end of last month was the lowest for a home league game for nearly 20 years - another fall in numbers is expected.

Milne admits the club needs to woo fans back: “I think one thing is the season ticket side, but also I think there’s also probably a change, a letter of intent from the club on what we’re doing in the future and what have you, without going into too much detail.

“I hope off the field we do get out our new intent with what we’re trying to do with the music [the IP1 Live event announced earlier in the week] and other things as well. But I appreciate that’s a separate thing from the football.

“We listen, the owner’s listening, we’re listening. We had a fans’ forum a couple of weeks ago and they were talking about exactly the same things as you’re talking about. They come up with some great ideas, some we can take on. I think they will be pleased with what we’re going to do about season tickets.”

Many fans are likely to make their decision whether to renew their season tickets on the management situation.

Quizzed on whether there will be any news on that front prior to the season ticket announcement, Milne responded: “I think the timing is quite important. I appreciate that it’s not just the season ticket prices, it’s gauging for next season. We’re totally into that one and, yes, the two things will come together.

“You’ve got to bear with us on timing on all of that. We understand where the fans are coming from, we totally get it and we will come out with the announcement at the appropriate time so they can make the right decision.”

You can hear Milne on Life’s a Pitch here from 1hr 21mins 40secs, while Blues legend Shefki Kuqi was on the show from 1hr 38mins 12secs and winger Mustapha Carayol from 1hr 12mins 47secs.

Photo: TWTD

blueoxford added 12:13 - Mar 11 There is no point changing manager and pushing for attacking and entertaining football unless there is a considerable investment in cash from Marcus Evans. If we just opt for a more attacking manager with the current resources, we run the very real of relegation
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Northstandveteran added 12:18 - Mar 11 Owain, It really wouldn't surprise me if he is.....
3

trncbluearmy added 12:23 - Mar 11 Get rid of Dino Season tickets £250, except boxes,any part of of ground Ramp up the catering Get young ambitious manager with good connections, prefrably with a Town background Sort out the pitch and stadium Up the player and transfer budgets to be in top 12 But above all give ITFC fans something to be proud of again
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Jewels added 12:25 - Mar 11 If he stays im not renewing and a lot of season ticket holders around me feel the same. We are fed up of watching such negative defensive football. I know he hasn't any money to play with but he can at least set the team to play in a more attacking style.
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Mark added 12:26 - Mar 11 After the wins at Preston and Sheff Wed I was prepared to give MM credit, but yesterday's poor performance and team selection with three defensive midfielders ahead of a back five at home made me revert to thinking MM just can't stay. We hardly ever score at home, and the fans are bored so walking away. I have no illusions about promotion, but do want supporters to feel entertained and enjoy going to Portman Road. At the end of the day we need to sell tickets to raise income, so what good are away results that keep us mid-table when people no longer want to attend the home matches?

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prebbs007 added 12:27 - Mar 11 Milne ...... what is the point of you ? Change the music ? Is that your big “bring the fans back” plan. You're an idiot and there is absolutely no point of you being employed at our club. We've now missed out on Gary Monk by waiting and keeping this rude stubborn out of touch dinosaur too long. He was the young ambitious manager with the right footballing mentality for our club but we've faffed about and he's gone to a club who will probably be in league 1. Change is needed. It's unrealistic for us to except Evans to go so you Muck supporting fans who blame ME for everything need to get you're head out of you're ar5e and accept that. Milne is a pointless appointment and needs to go. Dinosaur is a failure and needs to go. His contempt for us fans is disgusting and his football has turned away over 6k season ticket holders in 4 years. My personal choice for replacement is gone but there will be many excellent candidates. That is the only way to turn this round Marcus. Then you need to back your new man with the funds to give him a chance. COYB

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barrystedmunds added 12:30 - Mar 11 The only possible “good news “ on ST prices will the announcement that Monotonous Mick is doing one!
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BroskiBeen added 12:31 - Mar 11 Mick will be here next season I can't see Evans getting rid of him, after he told us all to f*** off after the Norwich goal it's unthinkable but I know he will still be here and the season ticket numbers will go down because of it, his relationship with the fan base is awful now , Evans himself is part to blame he doesn't invest in the playing side of things as heavily as he needs to and never speaks out so tbh we never know if he knows what's going on, prices should go down because they are stupidly high atm for mediocrity

2

baxter7 added 12:31 - Mar 11 Sorry Oxford blue we have the players there to play attacking football but the dinosaur sets his team's up to stifle the opposition and where the idea come from if we play attacking football we would get relegated is really nonsense
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irishtim added 12:34 - Mar 11 Have a feeling Mick will be here next season. But not as Manager. Mick has done good for the club. Think we will go within and Evans sort the pitch.
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Ipswichbusiness added 12:39 - Mar 11 If you take the number of fans "lost" in terms of attendances over the last few years and multiply by 30 (what someone might spend in terms of ticket price, refreshment, etc) then MM is costing the club about £4,000,000 a year in terms of income. That would be largely profit as the variable costs are relatively low.
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MicksZzzTactics added 12:42 - Mar 11 @blueboy Regarding your post of 11.20 here on this page: Aye I agree in SOME ways I sincerely feel sorry for "Funeral Director" Milne too (hmmm sort of like I did with the venerable & always 200% truthful Sean Spicer inthe early days at 'The Donald's' madder than mad White House , and of course likewise since then Spicer's successor = the even more "argumentative spotless" Sarah Huckabee Sanders!!! :-) :-) :-) :-) LOL) ........However I also have to to stress that while Milne's job in PART seems truly ungrateful at times with both such an inherently ultra indifferent but also extremely media-shy or outright a.w.o.l. owner, well it MIGHT have helped -- both parties concerned! -- had Mr. Evans "bothered" to employ someone as Managing Director with a real itfc passion and/or most importantly *genuine* long & deep UNDERSTANDING of the game of *modern* professional football ...as well as the EXTREME importance of treating the very core of a professional club's existence i.e.a club's paying (or potentially wanna-be paying) customers FAIR & WELL and with at least a minimum of RESPECT & DIGNITY (which obviously for long now has not in a any way been conveyed by the obnoxious foulmouthed employer in the managerial set a.k.a. Dino "I Will Be The Master Of My Own Destiny" McCarthy!!!

4

blackcat added 12:45 - Mar 11 If you want the fans to even think about returning, show some commitment, get rid if MM and invest properly in taking the team forwards
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Westy added 12:45 - Mar 11 At the same time they need to announce match day ticket prices.
2

BlueFin added 12:50 - Mar 11 Hire Kuqi! Or maybe not. He done a horrible job here in Finland. Absolute disaster as a manager, legend as a player!
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clint_eastwood added 12:51 - Mar 11 Get Burley back as an interim manager for a year, just like Chelsea did with Benitez.
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1RWR added 12:54 - Mar 11 I've said it before & I'll say it again........80% of the squad is good enough to play decent, attractive & dare I say, attacking football. I've lost count of the times MM has said "we stopped them playing" or "we stifled them". That's his plan, nothing more nothing less. Milne is ME's mouthpiece, get rid of him & ME will have someone else, so treat Milne as purely ME's puppet. Sounds like it could be good news for 60+ season ticket holders? It would be interesting to know who 'advises' ME on footballing matters, who would point him in the direction of a new manager because even Evans, surely by god, cannot let MM have another 2 years of dwindling support? 15k there yesterday.....my arse!!! 11k tops. Mowbray could be tempted? That would bring the fans back 100%! It all depends on who advises ME....wish I knew! As for yesterday's game......I can't be bothered, I was there, it was dreadful, that's my summary!

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Andy32Cracknell added 13:02 - Mar 11 McCarthy has to go, it is a simple as that. What about Poyet as manager and Taricco and Holland as first team coaches? Or Mowbray and Venus combination as they are at Blackburn? Or even Karl Robinson at Charlton, done well and produced good footballing teams with small budgets. Nathan Jones at Luton? There are plenty of young managers out there, just need to take a calculated risk in my opinion.

7

NSL added 13:12 - Mar 11 Don't tell me, price freeze with 50% off a season ticket next year if we get promoted?
2

warktheline added 13:16 - Mar 11 Show some vision and enthusiasm Evans! McCarthy has to go! Guaranteed two extra through the turnstiles next season if so, myself and my youngest son, whom I'll drag screaming and shouting until conversion is complete !
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prebsa added 13:19 - Mar 11 Very very simple. Shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. Let Mick go = increase in ticket sales Reduce Prices by atleast 25% = increase in ticket sales Increase in ticket sales = better atmosphere Better atmosphere = possible better players feeing and performance So on and so on. Everyone know what is right it's just if they are big enough to make the right decisions!
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superdicksy added 13:20 - Mar 11 McCarthy not stupid He knows if he had been at any other club apart from here he would Have been sacked long time ago Also has the players backing because They know that would not get into a league 1 side Let alone a championship side Also on the money side of things Teams in the lower leagues don't have the budget to spend no To spend big we need a young manager someone like tisdale Exeter hurstShrewsbury Who know the lower leagues

1

therein61 added 13:31 - Mar 11 Not the Mick has our full support statement that mr arrogant(i'm great me!!) probably expected I really hope it's squeaky bum time for him as he's made mine squeak for years with his dire football
4

cat added 13:40 - Mar 11 It's pointless lowering ST and match day ticket prices if McCarthy stays. All that will lead to is less tickets sold at a lower rate, equating to more lost revenue, don't make good business sense in my book. Overall quite a positive sounding interview from Milne at last. If they get things right on the pitch, everything else should look after itself.
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tractorboybig added 13:40 - Mar 11 Mick has new 4 year contract season tickets back to 1980 prices and under 25 s £1 a game. That should fill the stadium!!
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