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Owner Evans Issues Statement
Thursday, 3rd Dec 2020 19:19

Owner Marcus Evans has released a statement giving his view on some of the issues which have impacted the club since the start of the pandemic and the season up to now as Town prepare to welcome fans back to Portman Road in just over a week’s time.

I am looking forward to welcoming our supporters back to Portman Road against Portsmouth next weekend.

It’s nine months since we last enjoyed each other’s company against Coventry back in March. What a different world we are in compared to that spring day when none of us had any real idea as to what was coming just around the corner.

I know that all of us have much bigger issues currently to worry about than football, however I truly hope that a return to the debates (fractious or not) as well as the pleasure and pain of watching our team will bring some much needed distractions from the economic and health issues that surround us.

The team at ITFC from groundstaff to cleaners as well as players to coaches have been incredibly supportive in keeping the club afloat during these very hard times and like yourselves we have had to dig deep to get through what has often seemed like a never ending series of obstacles.

From the farce of the EFL/PL rescue package that has finally materialised to the stop/start of the fans’ return, the odds have been stacked firmly against clubs without the TV income safety net but now with supporters back, although initially in very small numbers and a vaccine around the corner, we can start to look forwards with some hope and optimism.

I am truly humbled by the support of our fanbase over this period with many supporting the club, and I know many others who would have done so if economically possible, with season ticket purchases despite the Government stadia restrictions. I thank all of you for this assistance which has been absolutely vital for the club’s finances.

We will be looking to get as many of you as possible into matches as quickly as we are safely able to do so.

I am also pleased to report that our ITFC Community Trust infrastructure continues to grow (even during Covid) in and around the local area. This is helping us build our relationships with businesses and charities as well as schools and we are currently working with more schools than ever.

On the football side it’s been very difficult to really get a feel for matches on iFollow and I look forward to fans getting back into Portman Road to see for themselves what I believe are the green shoots of a style that will reap its rewards in the years ahead.

After a strong start to the season we have stumbled a little over the last few weeks but that needs to be put into the context that we currently have an entire team of players who are potential starters on the injury list.

It’s not a coincidence that our early run was achieved with few injuries and as always seems to be the case; our sick list grew as we entered a run against what are expected to be some of the best teams in the league.

That said there is always a silver lining and on the plus side it has provided earlier than expected first-team game time for the next promising group of academy products whose performances have strengthened my resolve to ring fence the funds needed to keep our excellent academy running during these hard times.

A good percentage of the first-team squad are homegrown, which is great, but we also need external recruitment and the double whammy of Covid and the very late salary cap introduction made this harder than normal but we still brought in the additions we felt were needed.We also could have easily sold players during the transfer window but decided against it.

I am sure that the combination of the promising young homegrown players that we have - and of course they are still learning the game - combined with the players we have added to the squad plus the desire to hold on to our best players will over the course of the season - as injuries subside - put us in a strong position.

To get out of this league a lot of hard work will continue to have to be done with those younger players, as well as first-team regulars, by drilling our playing styles and patterns of play into everyone at the club as we look to improve both individually and collectively.

We are a big club in the division but that means nothing now with financial fair play rules basically putting everyone on the same footing. We will progress through skilful team management; academy development; financial stability and soon the much needed return of fans as our 12th man.

The manager, coaching staff, captain and players are all doing everything that I have asked of them in building a foundation for the future and as long as I see progress being made I will not be swayed into making the mistakes neatly summed up by the term ‘be careful what you wish for’ which caused our demise a couple of years ago.

I have a detailed view of all of the facts as to what is best for the club, both financially and team development-wise and I will use that unique and privileged access to make the decisions which I believe to be in the best long-term interests of Ipswich Town.

Everything I have seen close at hand, behind the scenes and on matchdays this season gives me confidence that, despite what is always a bumpy path, we are on the right track.

We have a tough but I hope enjoyable season ahead of us but it’s just not the same without you being here for the ups and downs and I look forward to seeing some of you - 2,000 at least - back at Portman Road next weekend. "


Photo: Matchday Images



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SpruceMoose added 19:23 - Dec 3
Absolute horsesh!t Marcus.

Did you even believe any of that while you were dictating it to your Executive Assistant?
17

Plums added 19:23 - Dec 3
It might be an idea to disable comments on this!

“Everything I have seen close at hand, behind the scenes and on matchdays this season gives me confidence that, despite what is always a bumpy path, we are on the right track.”

I'll have a glass of whatever Marcus is drinking.
21

Wickwar_Blue added 19:24 - Dec 3
Green shoots? He must have had a magnifying glass to spot those lately!
15

footers added 19:24 - Dec 3
Bookmarking this for when we fail to get promoted. That is all.
10

jas0999 added 19:27 - Dec 3
Terrible stuff. Clearly deluded. His pitiful decision to awarded PL for failure with a five year deal is proving very costly. Evans has run the club into the ground.
23

footers added 19:27 - Dec 3
Oh, and please give your iFollow money to charity instead :)

https://localgiving.org/fundraising/ITFC-Christmas/
9

Chrisd added 19:29 - Dec 3
Just confirms our owner is in complete denial, dismissive of what is really happening right in front of his own eyes. Let's hope we've got enough about us to stay up, good sides don't go on these ridiculously poor runs of form which we appear to do quite often under PL. Quite frankly, you need to go ME and take the clueless manager and his inept coaching staff with you.
8

getawig added 19:31 - Dec 3
Feeling dizzy after all that spin! Club is clueless from top to bottom😡
12

StringerBell added 19:36 - Dec 3
Just mindlessly clueless. The fact he has the brass neck to actually write ‘ we are on the right track' shows quite how deluded he is. Mind you, what do expect from a man who appoints a PE teacher as his Operations Director (or whatever he's titled) and a has been clot as Manager.
16

BlueBlood90 added 19:38 - Dec 3
Blah blah blah. What a load of rubbish!

It's unforgivable that Lambert wasn't sacked prior to lockdown and it's becoming more of a joke with each passing day/week.

They also must be watching different games to me with all this ‘style of play' nonsense because we play terrible football and never look like scoring a goal. Not sure how that can be different because we're watching on IFollow and not live.

If Evans really wants the fans to be a positive 12th man then we need a fresh start with a new manager that we can all get behind and support. Lambert lost that privilege a long, long time ago. I can see PR being a very toxic environment when fans come back if this is not addressed ASAP.
17

zebra added 19:38 - Dec 3
I've got company!! ME has joined me on Jupiter ....
2

KMANSers added 19:39 - Dec 3
He knows exactly what he's doing and will continue to slowly take the club further in decline.
Well done to all who supports this, I will not put a single penny into this club until he is gone.
That may never happen while we have a sleepy/ head in the sand or clouds fan base.
RIP ITFC
2

fergalsharkey added 19:39 - Dec 3
What a lovely man 😁
2

el_nino added 19:40 - Dec 3
He regrets not keeping hold of Mick then...
6

DropCliffsNotBombs added 19:41 - Dec 3
Well, I'm placated. We just haven't been able to understand how well we're playing watching on iFollow - thank goodness for that.

4 more years!
7

Paramedic added 19:42 - Dec 3
And so the downward spiral continues.
4

belgablue added 19:43 - Dec 3
The green shoots he's seeing must be the ones he's smoking. Delusional.
13

bluearmy4life added 19:44 - Dec 3
Norwich must be absolutely p!ssing themselves at what's happening to us!
16

SouperJim added 19:50 - Dec 3
Absolutely unreal, trying to proportion some of the blame for our current plight on the fans with "be careful what you wish for". He takes us all for mugs and thinks he can keep us in our place if we're divided. I am disgusted by what he's written here and if I was even remotely still on the fence before reading this, my mind is now made up.

Evans get out of our club before you do even further harm. And take that busted flush of a manager with you!
24

Nobbysnuts added 19:50 - Dec 3
I can only presume that Marcus had been drinking heavily prior to writing this statement 🍺🍾🥃 what a 🔔end....
7

DarkHorse added 19:50 - Dec 3
Evans out.
8

TimmyH added 19:51 - Dec 3
'It's not a coincidence that our early run was achieved with few injuries and as always seems to be the case; our sick list grew as we entered a run against what are expected to be some of the best teams in the league.' - You can also take this the other way we played the easier teams when we had few injuries!...Then what about last season Marcus?? no mentions there as this is the first time we've heard from you for over a year, deluded poor decision making owner.
15

tractorboybig added 19:51 - Dec 3
yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn
2

Suffolkboy added 19:51 - Dec 3
Wow ! Has passion gone rather astray here , as always ? Of course we need to have that enthusiasm , and to share our disappointments , BUT we must accept there are always different ways of managing business , managing people and managing expectations against challenges which materialise ; and seldom is the path to the top one of unadulterated smooth progress .
So ,again patience , common sense and calm objectivity are important and there has to be a sensible balanced attitude from the Top echelons ; we've got that but it's terribly difficult to set off against our team currently falling short of our ‘desperate ‘ expectations .
So COYB , the truest supporters remain and hope does spring eternal !
-10

monkeymagic added 19:52 - Dec 3
In other words, I blame you the fans for making me sack Mick against my better judgement and I won't be forced into making the same mistake again : inspired leadership and I'm sure we can all unite behind this stirring call to arms.
11


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