Town owner Marcus Evans has issued another statement in which he reacts to last week's news that the Premier League and EFL have agreed a rescue package, discusses his hopes for the future of football's finances and apologises for appearing to blame fans for the Blues' 2018/19 relegation.

"The EFL rescue package announced last week is welcome news, especially as the Premier League clubs had no legal obligation to hand out a penny to the lower leagues.

The grants are a vital short-term lifeline for clubs who have little support from TV revenues. However, without a much more ambitious and long-term settlement across the leagues, football will remain deeply divided with supporters of many clubs having little or no prospect of seeing Premier League or even Championship football at their grounds.

The real travesty of the lack of a distribution mechanism for funds across the leagues is that, without it, there is a lost opportunity to create a more compelling competition by giving all clubs a fighting chance to progress with a sustainable financial model.

A new approach could remove the ‘roll of the dice’ investments I have seen many times over the last 13 years at clubs that has often ended in disaster.

The greater the number of upwardly mobile clubs we have, the more the interest in football will be maintained in local communities. We are already seeing all clubs, except for the very biggest, finding it more and more difficult to attract younger fans which can’t be good for the health of the game.

There are many recent examples of the need for sustainability, the latest being Wigan, FA Cup winners only seven years ago and now possibly en route to League Two or worse if a buyer can’t be found.

A redistribution of income across the leagues coupled with workable financial fair play will allow clubs to plan and avoid the casino environment that has, in my opinion, grown out of control over the last 10 years.

Every club is affected and to the contrary of the perception of Ipswich as a club working to a tight budget, we have been spending on average 90% of revenues in wages and amortised transfer fees over the last five seasons and run at a loss for all but one of the last 13 years, whilst there are many others spending far beyond their natural means.

Project Big Picture was clumsy in its introduction and certainly had ‘big club’ control connotations that weren’t healthy but at its heart there was something in the proposal that could work.

Recent history has shown that at least 10-12 of the current clubs in the Premier League will be in a lower league at some time in the next five to 10 years and all of them, once in that situation, will probably have wished for a different financial model to enable them to regroup without the fear that if they don’t bounce back immediately they may never get back into the top league. That applies equally between Championship and League One and League One and Two.

I have spoken in great depth with Rick Parry [chairman] and David Baldwin [CEO] of the EFL and know they are looking at many ways to achieve these goals. They are also listening to clubs, many of whose owners share my views.

For the good of the game, some of the solidarity - albeit sometimes achieved painfully - that has been borne out of recent troubled times may just be the silver lining of this most difficult of periods in the game’s history.

In my view too much emphasis over the last few years, for a club to succeed, has been based on huge cash injections from new owners. I appreciate fans, including many at our club, would welcome benefactor after benefactor prepared to spend big to take their club to the highest levels.

These individuals aren’t ‘two a penny’, and even when they do come along - just as many have failed as have succeeded.

I have always said that I would step aside for an owner who would be prepared to spend more money on Ipswich so long as they are fully committed financially over a period of time to take the club up the league tables.

I fully understand fans’ frustrations that my strategy has hit a big bump in the road over the last couple of years and why this leads to calls for new deep-pocketed ownership to improve the club’s on-field performance but in my heart, I don’t see one-off big investors as the long-term best solution for football.

A new financial deal that sees more of a level playing field would enable clubs to be owned by those intrinsically linked to their local communities, allowing football and the community to stand as one.

The English game, unlike in any other country, has the wealth to do this through new methods of financial distribution, coupled with workable wage controls for sustainability. These financial distributions could then link to ticket affordability to help increase younger fans’ attendance.

Some commitment from clubs to help each other is what is needed to find a long-term workable solution to address many of the game’s problems. Clubs are in it together and have to work in harmony for the benefit of the game as a whole.

That got me thinking about harmony at our club. Every fan, player, coach, manager, owner all want the same thing - success. When that doesn’t happen, it inevitably leads to tensions.

I for one have probably not helped the recent frustrations by my ‘be careful what you wish for comment’ with regards to calls by some for a change in management. It was not meant to offend nor defer blame for past mistakes and if anyone took offence, I apologise.

To be clear I have not been swayed in the past when making important decisions for Ipswich Town, some have been good, some poor but I am 100 per cent responsible for all of them.

The message I was trying to deliver last week is that my assessment of our current progress, based upon the facts and finer details of the uniquely difficult circumstances we are operating in this season, coupled with our results so far, gives me confidence that we have the right players and management to take the club forward. Some will not agree but that’s football - it’s all about opinions.

Supporters will point to the frustrations of not having much to celebrate over many years, not just recently. I’m fully aware that it’s approaching 19 years since we were last in the Premier League and that I have been in charge for 13 of those years.

I can only say the goalposts have moved so many times in terms of finances over much of that time that we, like many clubs, find ourselves in a much tougher place to succeed than say 10 years ago.

In the Championship this year alone there are seven clubs with over £40 million each of parachute money. This makes a huge difference and a gap which we will only bridge through the continuing patient redevelopment of every aspect of the club and hopefully a fairer, more sensible system for revenue sharing across the game for its own good at all levels.

This leads me back to where I started and finding a new financial deal across football. Let’s hope progress is made in the next 12 months and that the ideas mooted in recent weeks don’t get forgotten and swept under the carpet via a series of committee discussions and wishy-washy half measure proposals.

I assure you I will, along with other like-minded owners, be doing all I can to encourage progress for the good of the whole game.

Photo: Matchday Images

dirtydingusmagee added 19:47 - Dec 10 Flipper to the rescue lol Evans has come up short on two occasions when the team was in a good position to make a push for promotion, a tweak to the team and a little ambition in transfer market could have got us up.But as usual let the chance go .kept hands in pocket and we blew the chance, now we are in Lge1 and if we dont get out this season then we will be well and truly fcuk'd .

6

istanblue added 19:55 - Dec 10 ''...in my heart, I don't see one-off big investors as the long-term best solution for football'' What you mean like you were when you bought the club in 2007, Marcus? Evans is a rank hypocrite, he invested big for about 4 years and then got cold. Evans is the personification of a one-off big investor - unfortunately for ITFC it didn't work. Now he's all on about 'sustainability' and 'redistribution of cash' because he's happy to remain in League One. All the happy-clappers saying 'where would we be without him etc' need to wake up and realise that Evans is killing the club, not just on the pitch but off it as well. As for the 'apology', it is so obviously a non-apology apology that he felt forced to make due to the heat and potential financial losses that came after it. Get out of our club you utterly clueless charlatan. #EvansOut #FOMO

6

WhoisJimmyJuan added 19:58 - Dec 10 He lost interest in 2012 after Magilton, Keane and Jewell blew his millions. Now we are a heavy cross he carries. I do believe he has the club's best interests at heart and he does not lack brains by any means. What he lacks is judgement in football.
0

smellmycheese added 20:09 - Dec 10 Doesn't really work. The damage is done. Nobody's forgetting that comment for as long as you're the owner.
2

Paramedic added 20:16 - Dec 10 Man enough to apologise. That's a positive.
2

Pencilpete added 20:36 - Dec 10 I am not Marcus Evans biggest fan but in some peoples eyes the man cant do right for doing wrong .... last week when he made the comment he was wrong and should apologise... so he does and hes still wrong. I dont pretend hes got everything right because he certainly hasn't and definitely has alot to answer for with regards to the mess our club is currently in but when he came in he did spend alot of money on the squad and he didn't get anything out of it, Big Mick almost delivered promotion on a shoestring which has showed him that it can be done this way and that is the road he is going down, that is his prerogative..... I will also say that Wollfenden, Downes, Dozzell, Dobra, Ndaba, Lankester ETC are all products of the academy that Mr Evan's has invested in substantially - that has always been the Ipswich Town way so is giving our managers time to get things right - again if he was not respecting the traditions of the club that would be yet another reason to criticise him - wouldn't it ?

4

monkeymagic added 20:54 - Dec 10 Waiting for a better/fairrer share of TV revenue is not a strategy, if it happens all other clubs will equally benefit, meaning it gives Town no advantage. (unless you think Mr Evans will invest/spend more shrewdly than other owners) As for the apology, it smacks of a desperate effort to appease rather than being heartfelt. The original comment was either remarkably naive or he didn't care. Not good either way. I don't subscribe to the at least he keeps us afloat line. He bought the club out of vanity or a desire to make a good return, probably both. His purchase was not an act of altruism, and his tenure has been pretty much an unmitigated disaster. Is it best to drift about in league one hoping for no further decline or to start again. Neither is very appealing.

5

cat added 22:27 - Dec 10 It's all bollox, the bloke only shows his face when the proverbial hits the fan. But I am grateful for the financial stability. Unfortunately the latter is being far outweighed now by a continuous decline.
4

madmouse1959 added 23:06 - Dec 10 Of course Evans is going to back track on his previous comments and the only reason for that is the thought of losing even more supporters. The entire statement is again mostly PR spin of how lucky we are to have him and maybe some hope for a sympathy vote. There has been far too many poor decisions and they still continue. When is the last time we even bothered to give it a go in a cup competition ? Other smaller clubs take part. The only time he takes any notice of the supporters is when the protests start. Marcus Evans has done nothing to engage with this town or the clubs supporters. This clubs lack of progress is down to many collective reasons but predominately it is Evans who is strangling this club. In spirit, in its product and in its poor relationship with the supporters. Evans is hoping for a pay day and if the truth is known that is the only reason he is clinging on to the ownership of this club.Who will be sold next ?

2

eddiespearitt03 added 23:19 - Dec 10 How about some good news on clearing out the dead wood from this club, even the "proper blokes" you gave an extended contract to. How about some news on how you are going to strengthen this squad with recruiting good players who deserve a contract. I would love to spend some time with Mr Evans and tell him exactly where he has gone wrong and still is. Clearly incompetent and mostly anonymous in 13 years so this latest repertoire does not deal with what is fundamentally wrong at this club. If we did go up there is a very big chance of coming straight back down. Wake up man.

1

BangaloreBlues added 00:30 - Dec 11 After all that, the Portsmouth game on Saturday will be THE defining moment of our season. Lose, and we are going nowhere because we can't beat the teams around us. Win, and the manager might get one last chance to prove himself. If it turns out to be the former then it will be the same story as last season, and that would only be described as 'stagnation'.... but on a general downward slide.

1

BangaloreBlues added 00:37 - Dec 11 By the way, I think it's obvious where the problem has been since ME took over, and that's appalling manager appointments. Keane and Hurst especially spring to mind. If we'd have had decent mangers we wouldn't be in this mess, plain and simple. Investment in good players is actually a waste of money if the manager is no good. Forking out more to bring in an excellent manger would be the best financial decision ever made by ME, and profit would then be made through success. It's actually a pretty simple business model.

1

BettyBlue added 00:39 - Dec 11 If you really wanted to rebuild the club built on youth and reorganize the club from the bottom to the top would you chose a aging tubby Neanderthal like Bertie?
0

BettyBlue added 00:42 - Dec 11 Put your house on Portsmouth. We haven't a hope in hell of beating them. What game or bit of football from Bertie would let you even consider we have a chance?
0

BangaloreBlues added 10:38 - Dec 11 A BIG factor is the personality of the manager, and how they can instil a positive vibe into the club and players. Klopp, for example, would make me want to play to the best of my abilities. Lambert just makes me want to fall asleep.
1

Bluroo added 10:03 - Dec 12 The problem I have with all of this is it's all undermined by Evans atrocious choice of managers over the years. If he'd gone for the likes of Rodgers, Howe and Pochettino (when Watford, Reading and Southampton did) instead of the clowns he's employed instead, we wouldn't be it this dire position regardless of how unfair the football world is. And worst of all he's too proud to admit he's wrong so we're stuck with Lambert for 4 more years.

0

Texastom added 20:08 - Dec 12 I would take us accepting Evans departure and take the consequences WHATEVER THEY ARE. Start again, form a Supporters Board Forum and start again. It's the only way, unless you want this every week - AND IT WILL GET WORSE TRUST ME
0

dude added 14:20 - Dec 13 More like a bump over the past 13 years. The football has gone from blah to blurghhh. 13 years of a downward spiral and league 1 is not our comfort zone. League 2 here we come. But thanks for being our savior.
0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls