Owner Marcus Evans has outlined his reasons for giving boss Paul Lambert a new long-term deal in an an article written for Saturday’s match programme with a footballing philosophy at the heart of it.

Lambert, 50, signed a new four-year extension to his contract on New Year’s Day, taking his deal to the summer of 2025.

“I believe we will have a really exciting footballing team over the next five years,” Evans writes. “I mention the term ‘footballing team’ as I indicated 18 months ago that to get to where we all eventually want to be, we need to be a footballing team.

“In my first years as an owner, I believed a more physical, direct approach was the way to move forward. Football has changed though. Clubs in the Championship and definitely in the Premier League are playing a much more technical game now.

“I feel there is also a duty to the supporters that we play in an entertaining manner. I want to enjoy watching the team play. I’m sure the fans do.

“I have spoken to Paul and Lee O’Neill, our general manager football operations, in great length about this over the last year. They know it’s the way I want us to play and we all agree this is the right way forward for the club. It’s a philosophy that we have right through from the first-team down to the academy levels.

“The stakes are highest at first-team level of course and there will always be a plan B, plan C on how to win a football match but the foundations of how Ipswich Town will play - while I’m owner - will be around the technical approach - and that desire to play a brand of football that entertains supporters.

“I think we have played that way for much of the time Paul has been here. Perhaps we have dropped off a bit over the last month or so and this league is more physical in style than the Championship but having been party to the different approaches I can see that a more technical playing style is more complex than developing a direct approach. It needs more time for everyone in the squad to feed off each other.

“Time becomes an even more important requirement when there is a deep squad with many challenging for first-team places and therefore less games when the same group play together.

“Much has been said of our rotation policy and I want to address this point. A key part of our strategy is to develop 22 players all challenging for every position on the pitch — no comfort zones.

“Yes, this means the squad takes longer to evolve into a cohesive unit where everyone just slots into place but that doesn’t mean it isn’t the right long term plan.

“When it all clicks, a more technical approach with a deep squad will take us to higher places as opposed to a direct style which will only take us so far.

“If we give it time and support the process through the inevitable ups and downs and understand why we are working towards perfecting a style which is difficult to attain - and the fans are behind the approach, which is vital — I firmly believe we will have a club which gets to where we want to be in the long term.

“Some will ask why I entered into a long-term contract with the management team when we are experiencing a difficult run and I hope the above explains my reasoning as I believe Paul and his team have all of the attributes needed to take us forward.

“We have a fantastic manager and group of coaches who are passionate about the club, its fans and the prospects ahead. They, like anyone, need the security of knowing they will be given the time to effect a plan which is both complex and always evolving.

“If I had wanted for the next phase of the club to follow a plan for a more direct footballing approach, there would have been many other options but for the reasons I have stated above I am following a strategy which is aimed at the long term.

“It has a higher degree of difficulty and we started afresh not long ago but if we are to be anything other than an also-ran in the new football world, we have to take the time to evolve in the way I have described.

“It’s quicker and easier to build a basic engine than a complex one but in the long term the complex one, if perfected, will achieve higher degrees of success.”

The article in full will address further investment in the academy, what’s described as a makeover for Portman Road, transfer speculation and “the four factors in building this season’s squad”.

Photo: TWTD

dirtydingusmagee added 09:40 - Jan 10 the five year rotatation of plans, .....we are going round and round all right ,its a downward spiral. Evans is happy he's wangled another manager to work on a shoestring like McCarthy. Enjoy the slide folks ,whoops i meant ride.
8

JewellintheTown added 09:42 - Jan 10 I'd be happy with a properly working basic engine at the moment, then learn lessons from that and build a more advanced one after we're back in the Championship. Evans/ Lambert/ the players can't seem to Build a Bear at the moment.
3

Westy added 09:47 - Jan 10 I think this is a metaphor for not spending any money on the team.
12

cat added 09:49 - Jan 10 We asked for a more entertaining brand of football and a better match day experience and few could argue it has improved. Juries still out on Lambert though, after our ongoing blip he needs to get his first eleven and squad rotation on the money.
3

ringwoodblue added 09:49 - Jan 10 Of course every club, like every business, needs a long-term strategy but they also have to take care of the here and now and what ITFC desperately need right now is to get back to winning football matches and I'm not confident that Lambo and the coaching staff have a plan for how they are going to make this happen. If we get stuck in this division, season ticket sales and TV income will continue to shrink and this will have a significant impact on our ability to follow the latest 5 year strategy. Sorry but success in football is inextricably linked to the level of financial investment these days and that's why we're going to struggle.

6

Bluearmy_81 added 09:52 - Jan 10 I don't know what it is with the fans on here but you're just weird backing Evans regardless as we lurch from one embaressment to another. Take a look at the twitter comments for some fans that don't just gullibly buy into any old s hit he trots out...
2

Facefacts added 09:54 - Jan 10 My gut feel as to the justification for the contract extension for Paul Lambert is that he threatened to quit after the Boxing Day booing he received. Or, he did quit, and they pleaded with him to change his mind. Thinking about how he reacted to that criticism and the way he is, he probably said, if I get booed again, I'm off. He's done it before. Ok, I accept that contract extension might have been aired by that time, but the timing of this current statement from the owner in tomorrow's match day programme is an attempt to stop Paul being booed again, should we fail to win, or should Accrington 'look the better side' or even 'play us off the park'. Marcus Evans has made up this statement to justify giving Paul Lambert the surprising contract extension, and is saying that the long term plan is to look like Barcelona against Accrington, play them off the park. We have to win tomorrow, at all costs. It's very unusual for the owner to make a statement like this. The crowd is turning and the players need to get a win. Wycombe away was OK, barring the calamity of Wycombe's goal, but you have to perform for your home supporters, your season ticket holders. Tomorrow's game may be make or break. I don't think Paul Lambert has the answers, but the players have to somehow deliver, to keep the crowd on board with this 'project'. Just grab a win from somewhere, even if we create very few chances and have very few shots on target. In a way, the expectations for ITFC are generally still very high, regardless of how far we have fallen down the leagues. There is still an element of the 'penny dropping' in people's minds that we are now third tier, and we do not look anything like we can boss this league. Paul's PR drive has promised much, brought back many supporters and we will need them all on board to get behind the team tomorrow. We have to stop destroying ourselves with booing. The negativity is spreading and I just hope we can get the win tomorrow, before it gets even worse.

4

rollercoastertown added 09:59 - Jan 10 Quotes from the last couple of seasons ....... "Sometimes you have to go down to go up" "We would be better of in league one so that we can rebuild" "I would rather see us play football the Ipswich way rather than boring 1-0 and 0-0''s" We did not get to that state overnight..... it took 18 seasons. If anybody though 18 seasons of deterioration was going to be overturned from may to August then they are deluded. If anyone thought we would immediately turn this club around just because we were in a lower division and fly back up the leagues for a double promotion in the style of Southampton or the scum, then you are completely deluded. Our model for a return was alway going to be closer to the Sheffield United model. A total rebuild, from the foundations upwards. Not just a cover up with a lick of paint. Yes, the scum and Southampton did bounce back quickly and remain there. Up they were never in the bad way we were when we came down, the foundations were already there, they were only relegated through poor team management after one bad season. Neither of them had languished in obscurity like we have. Stability, is our best defence now, give a manager time, give a coaching team time, dare I say it..... give an owner time. Like so many, I am sick of waiting, it feels like this club has been 'stabilising ' forever.... my boys have never seen top flight football at Portman road, the great nights under the lights they have seen are almost non existent. It is time to change it all now, but unfortunately it may well take this club and this manager much of the five years to catch up with the other clubs those 18 years ahead of us...... Let's get behind the team, you never know. The fan said might just be able to accelerate the recovery!

5

dukey44 added 10:04 - Jan 10 Simple answer is ROTATION ISN'T Working as they players you have put in place aren't good enough to make it work.... Utter tosh I understand he keeps putting his money in blah blah but we going down the table at the moment.. So get the manager to put that correct before you cone out with all your tosh Mr Evans.. Cheers..
2

minesapint added 10:12 - Jan 10 If he wanted a footballing team why didn't he appoint George Burley to replace Hurst? With George you know you are going to get a team that passes the ball and keeps possession.
3

Bluekwakaboy added 10:19 - Jan 10 Well excuse me but with all you experts on here I cannot understand why we need a manager such as Paul Lambert at all. There are so many wise comments on here, so many intelligent suggestions I am sure a new manager is in our midst. So many have obviously been involved in football at the highest level at least as a player or even in management - perfect. However the reality is that so many of the self opionated on here have never kicked a ball or if they have probably in a Sunday morning pub team, have no experience of management and in truth not the slightest idea of what they are talking about. So in conclusion if you have nothing constructive to say shut the **** up !

3

Blue_Again added 10:23 - Jan 10 Is Evans basing his approach on Russian revolutionary communism? 5 years plans, poor infrastructure, Running out of money, fans starved of any kind of enjoyment. Maybe start running it like a capitalist company like he's own where investment is made which leads to profit in the long term. Any investment he's made has been under poorly picked managers who couldnt run a lemonade stand on a hot summers day. How can a man be so successful in one business yet so feckless in another?

1

TimmyH added 10:27 - Jan 10 That's the latest one is it?...'we need to be a footballing team' as mentioned his ideas seem to change with each manager at the helm (it certainly wasn't with MM in charge). Personally don't think Evans has got a clue.
5

Lightningboy added 10:47 - Jan 10 Great - just a shame you didn't (or haven't yet) appointed George Burley as Director of football.
3

OldClactonBlue added 10:59 - Jan 10 I don't have a problem with what he is saying. I'm just desperate to see some evidence that this is happening. Personally I would stop going immediately if we got someone like Akinfenwa in and didn't try to play any proper football. However what I'm seeing a lot of the time at the moment is that style of football, executed badly. The rotation system I'm afraid has meant that players who are not good enough get regular game time at the expense of good performances from the team as a whole. we haven't got 22 guys who are good enough to interchange seamlessly, and nor are we likely to have whilst we exist at this level of the game.

5

rugbytomc added 11:01 - Jan 10 Completely agree with BrianPlug - why are we hearing this from the owner and not from the manager? I've speculated in the past that this is what he might be trying to do - but why can't he come out and say it and reassure us he has a plan and knows what he's doing and is working towards it - and isn't just another clueless panicking Hurst? That being said - he's had half a season, how much longer does he need? If there is no urgency to go up this season then fine keep at it - but I would suggest for many reasons, there is.

1

SamWhiteUK added 11:02 - Jan 10 That's all well and good, trying to develop a plan. But if the players aren't good enough, they aren't good enough. If we go up this year, I'm not sure we will have established much of a "system" in that time, given the lack of cohesion we've seen so far. And teams in the Championship aren't going to sit back and let us perfect it. How about we start with getting a strong side that can win games with cohesion and looking like they know what they are doing together? Just ONE side, rather than rotating everyone all the bloody time

5

runningout added 11:02 - Jan 10 Does sniff of something that went off a long time ago. Hope I'm wrong and whatever the cunning plan is, it works
0

DifferentGravy added 11:19 - Jan 10 'A cohesive unit of 22 players where everyone just slots into place'.....utter nonsense. In theory it all sounds tickety boo. But it is never going to happen. Players go in an out of form, get injured, are transferred etc. You will continuously have players who are not up to speed(returning from injury), unfamiliar(new signings/youth) and unable to 'slot into place'. I do agree that cup competitions give squad players the opportunity to play, gain confidence and stake a claim, as do substitute appearances. Unless Town field a strong side on a consistent basis then we are always going to struggle to be in the mix. Confidence and consistency are the main factors in a small squad being successful. To cut through the rubbish that Evans is spouting, he would like all 22 to get similar game time so that everyone remains content. Nobody will want a transfer and he wont have to dip into his pockets. Once again it relies on the misguided belief that all the players are of a similar ability and can be swapped seamlessly........rubbish.

2

dirtydingusmagee added 11:36 - Jan 10 Lightningboy, Lambert wouldnt /couldnt work with Burley, he is same as McCarthy, stubborn, his way is the only way.Burley would see things differently.
3

TractorRoyNo1 added 11:42 - Jan 10 That's why he is a successful businessman and many on here are stacking shelves in Tesco.
-3

Razor added 12:08 - Jan 10 Can I just remind everybody that we are actually in DIVISION THREE. How come our beloved owner is suddenly a football expert and who exactly is Lee O"Neil apart from the son of a failed Town footballer. We want no more 5 year plans we want results and a failure to win tomorrow could make it very interesting off the pitch!!
5

casanovacrow added 12:09 - Jan 10 I see very little evidence of any kind of approach on a consistent basis. Until that changes and Lambert decides on what he's doing I hope Evans doesn't start blarting money on players for undefined roles. We have too many players who cant fit in a system together as it is.
0

SW1_Blue added 12:29 - Jan 10 This is going to be tough going given our current players can't even pass five yards to each other.
3

Bluekwakaboy added 12:31 - Jan 10 Well excuse me but with all these expert comments and opinions do ITFC really need a manager such as Paul Lambert ? I am sure that amongst these wise commentators there is someone who would do the job at a fraction of the cost. But then again have any of these any football experience, have they kicked a ball other than for a Sunday pub team, have they ever actually managed a team ? Judging by the quality of these comments I for one would doubt that very much. My only suggestion is that you get behind PL and support ITFC into the Championship so we can play Norwich next season. Far better than ridiculous one line comments from one brain cell commentators.

-1

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls