Blues boss Paul Lambert says he fears for the future of some clubs if they are forced to play games behind closed doors for a significant period.

While a September start for 2020/21 has been mooted, probably behind closed doors or perhaps in front of a limited number of fans, it has also been suggested that some League One and Two clubs might not be able to get back to action until it’s safe for crowds to return due to the financial implications.

“We are fortunate, we have a good owner in Marcus [Evans] and with the money he puts into the club,” Lambert told the club website.

“It could easily be a big problem if he wasn’t here and I do fear for other clubs.

“The game needs the fans. It’s not the same game without supporters in the stadium and the longer that goes on, the more clubs less fortunate than ourselves will find themselves in real trouble.

“If we go back and start playing again without supporters then we will get on with it like everyone else, but the most important thing is that it’s safe for the players and staff to return and then when fans do come back, they feel safe and secure coming back into stadiums.”

Photo: TWTD

Monkey_Blue added 12:22 - Jun 15 It annoys me when people criticise Evans for lack of investment. He's about £100m in the hole and it's only him the club owes money to. He has to pump in millions every year just to keep the club running and he knows he's unlikely to ever see a penny of it back.
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Gilesy added 12:27 - Jun 15 Absolutely! That's not a lack of ambition or an acceptance that we're anything other than a shower on the pitch, but he's spent countless millions he'll never get back. To anyone who says it's a tax dodge...it isn't. We'll be here in season 2021/22. I fear many won't.
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MickMillsTash added 12:33 - Jun 15 If our competition is struggling it should be easier to do get better results next year.
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SaigonTractor added 12:36 - Jun 15 Much as we moan about Evans and where the club is, at least we're still going to have a club to moan about after all this.
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flettonblue added 12:37 - Jun 15 It's not he has not invested, more that very very little of that has really paid off given how much he's put in. Club has (bar 1 or 2 seasons?) consistently slid down the table / league s now over (20 years?) Most of that when he's in charge, standards have dropped a long way on and off the pitch and most of that will be due to financial or strategic decisions he's ultimately made/ not made that have proven to be the wrong ones or wrong advice.

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Chrisd added 12:49 - Jun 15 Yes, ME has invested £100m +, but we are still a poorly lead and run club. For that amount you'd be expecting better outcomes and some sort of tangible reward. However, our owner has the incredible ability to get most things wrong and doesn't appear to learn from these mistakes. Sadly, over all his time as our owner it has seen us gradually sink to nearly our lowest ebb in the club's history, not really much to be grateful for. So it appears our plan is to hope a lot of teams go to the wall so we can move up through the leagues due to their demise. It makes you feel proud to be a Town fan, such lofty ambitions.

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TheTrueBlue1878 added 12:51 - Jun 15 We finished 11th in League 1, with one of the biggest budgets, biggest squads, and on paper best squads. I would say we are already in 'real trouble'
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Carberry added 12:55 - Jun 15 PR Paul needs to stick to coaching, recruiting and selecting a team that might get us promoted. He clearly has no shame and will talk about anything to endorse the fact he's managing a big club. Well, last time I looked, we aren't. And just to add my thanks to the owner, we appreciate everything you have done for us Marcus Evans - taking us on a steady decline to our lowest position in the football pyramid since the 1950s. At least we exist, that's so reassuring.

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BlueBadger added 13:03 - Jun 15 We finished 11th, in appalling form with the worst manager we've ever had being awarded a five year contract. I'd say we're up to our necks in it.
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Pencilpete added 13:05 - Jun 15 ME has bad some abysmal decisions in his time here and as mentioned has not learned from them, for example not bringing in a couple of extra players in January when we were top of the league in January was the same mistake as 2015 when we were top of the Championship. BUT having said that he has always backed his managers and their judgement nobody can blame ME for this seasons sh1t show or last ... we had the biggest squad and budget in the league, last season Paul Hurst had £6m to spend so ME is doing his bit in that respect, it's the players and the managers that have let the club down over the last 2 years not ME

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AYACCA added 13:11 - Jun 15 Football has to change. Simple as. Footballers should earn a modest wage, no more than a doctor. Clubs should be self sufficient and never in debt
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BlueandTruesince82 added 13:14 - Jun 15 Evans could invest more but I understand why doesnt and its not a criticim. PPG is nonsense and we have been done somewhat by thay nut Lambo needs a long hard look at the mistakes of this season and if we dont start next season like a greyhound out of the tracks he'll have a much bigger target in his back. Blunderland under Parky will be tough next year, add Posh ans Pompey to that and we have some real battles next year,it only gets harder.

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Gilesy added 14:19 - Jun 15 Yes, of course we're "in trouble" in a football sense, but our crisis isn't an existential one.
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ITFCsince73 added 14:35 - Jun 15 ITFC are extremely lucky to have Evans, more so on the players part. Anyone, and that includes our players, and coaching staff, who haven't worked for 3 plus months. And still getting there full pay are extremely lucky. Lucky Evans can still keep doing it.
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shouldistayorcounago added 14:39 - Jun 15 There's a middle-ground to be had with the Evans debate. On the one hand he has financed the club and has run us well enough from a business stand-point that we are not yet in any financial jeopardy. On the other he's made poor decisions with regards to in-bound and out-bound recruitment, backed the wrong managers and seen us slide into footballing obscurity. Regardless, he's here to stay for the foreseeable so we don't have much choice but to get behind him - the situation is very different from when we left off in mid-March.

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ITFCsince73 added 14:45 - Jun 15 But as supporters, over the coming months, when we sell our best players. And replace them on the cheap. The excuse will be the losses from lockdown.
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OwainG1992 added 15:10 - Jun 15 In terms of this past season the blame can only Be put on Lambert not Evans.
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runningout added 15:28 - Jun 15 Our budget is irrelevant. It's how you spend it. Our mistakes have hurt us but it doesn't matter now.
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TractorRoyNo1 added 15:42 - Jun 15 Carberry - he us just auditioning for a full time pundit role in German or Scottish TV, he knows he's on borrowed time.
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Carberry added 15:56 - Jun 15 Shouldistay, ''run us well enough from a business stand-point ''. How can you possibly say that, we have one of the biggest debts in English football and we're incredibly unsuccessful, how is that running a good business?
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Gforce added 16:02 - Jun 15 We must be doing something seriously wrong when Wycombe can finish in third place, eight places above us, when they have no money, no reserve side and no academy. How would Mr Lambert explain that?
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shouldistayorcounago added 16:22 - Jun 15 Well Carberry, you've cut off the final part of the sentence that states 'that we are not yet in any financial jeopardy'. That is a fact, we are still viable at this moment in time, when there are many other clubs around us that aren't. I'm not a fan of Evan's, but we're not in any imminent danger of financial collapse, that's the point that was being made.

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osborne1nil added 17:11 - Jun 15 Without Marcus Evans financing the club, we would be in a dire position. Paul Lambert has certainly made some questionable decisions on the pitch, which have been highlighted by many and mentioned by himself that he would do things differently. The players are the ones that are on the pitch, pulling on the shirt. Some of these players need to look at themselves and how their form has been so mixed over the course of the season. One of the main problems came about when we stopped scoring goals. Norwoods form and perhaps fitness seemed part of this. I feel the player injuries was definitely a factor but the squad should have been big enough / strong enough to have still come through many of the games they lost by a goal. Hopefully we can hold onto the key players, bring through more from the youth and if there are 1 or 2 new players that are perhaps have to be released, that can bring into strengthen the squad so we will be in a position to restart stronger come Sept / Oct.

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Bluearmy_81 added 17:28 - Jun 15 Pencil Pete, Evans has always backed his managers?! Are you sh ittin me?! Hurst only had 6m to spend after 12m in sales!!! You lot are hilarious 🤣😂🤣😂
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stiffy501 added 18:00 - Jun 15 Can he continue financing the club ? I would think his business has taken a huge hit !!
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