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Cook Talks to Blue Action Following Banner Protest Against Owner
Friday, 2nd Apr 2021 15:01

Town independent supporters group Blue Action draped a banner outside Portman Road ahead of this afternoon’s game against Bristol Rovers and were approached by manager Paul Cook who engaged them in conversation.

The banner was unfurled opposite the ground’s main entrance in Constantine Road at around 12.30pm ahead of this afternoon’s clash against the second-bottom Pirates.

We understand manager Cook came out of Portman Road to talk to those involved and held a cordial 10-minute chat with the group before returning inside the ground.

Blue Action subsequently released a statement expressing their concerns that the proposed takeover of the club has stalled and calling on owner Marcus Evans to sell the club unless he is willing to oversee “a systematic transformation of the club from the top down”.

Blue Action protests have become more and more frequent over recent months with banners calling for ex-manager Paul Lambert to depart having previously been attached to the gates at Playford Road and the perimeter fence at Portman Road.

Another protest at the training ground led to training being suspended for 10 minutes due to smoke from a flare drifting across a pitch with Blue Action subsequently issuing a statement in which they said national reports regarding the incident were exaggerated.

News of a takeover of the Blues by a consortium backed by US money emerged at the end of February with TWTD revealing just over a fortnight ago that the deal had stalled.

Blue Action was formed at the start of the 2018/19 season with improving the Portman Road atmosphere in mind via banners, stickers and the introduction of new songs, and more recently have produced a fanzine.


Photo: Blue Action



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ghostofescobar added 15:06 - Apr 2
Here, here.
3

uefacup81 added 15:18 - Apr 2
Frankly, Bluearmy_81, that's a load of libellous b0ll0cks (although I know you're just the messenger).

Met a PL first-team coach yesterday on a job, who knows one of the gents involved in the consortium from time spent coaching abroad.

The takeover is 100% on in its original format; the delay is that the final price will be dependent on ITFC's divisional status next season.
8

Bluearmy_81 added 15:18 - Apr 2
Thank God we have Evans... 😂🤢😂🤢🤦‍♂️🤮
2

Chris_ITFC added 15:21 - Apr 2
If you believe the above, you'll believe anything.
0

Carberry added 15:22 - Apr 2
That's a very well written & constructed statement, these people have something about them.
8

kaibe added 15:29 - Apr 2
Evans get out of our club! Had enough of this rubbish, season after season. Finally do what is best for the club and leave!
4

borge added 15:34 - Apr 2
The second part may be true Bluearmy_81 but the first bit is total rollocks. It doesn't make any sense. Why would a football related consortium seek to only purchase land? We know they are behind the searches.
1

Kulturarv added 15:45 - Apr 2
I give 100% support to Blue Action's statement and banner protest. Well done!
5

Bluearmy_81 added 15:46 - Apr 2
Highgate, try reading it again. Nothing to do with Cook. There are Evans out groups on facebook, passionate fans demanding better. Guess some fans have got more fight and spirit in them than others...
5

Edmundo added 15:51 - Apr 2
A sensible and well written statement. We deserve better.
Thank you Blue Action.
7

BeattiesBackPocket added 15:53 - Apr 2
Well written statement from blue action and this is why I find it hard that some people still believe the propaganda that comes from evans and believe we're better with him 🤷‍♂️
4

Suffolkboy added 15:56 - Apr 2
We do witness some misdirected passion and thoughtless activity which effectively contributes to an increasingly sad image of ITFC .
Sure this is our lovely football Club ,which many will have been following and supporting for many a decade - or more !- but the challenges lie on the pitch and amongst a characterless , irresolute , often unintelligent bunch of individuals who don't or can't combine as a team and are either short on ability or don't or won't utilise it and their energies and talents for a full 90 minutes with the aim of securing victories and points .
They show a lack of motivation , a frequent lack of technique and a disturbing lack of spunk and self belief .
Now an owner can only do so much ; the Managers are entrusted with the playing performance and showings , though will from time to time need support and a shoulder to lean upon ! Managers want and need to be given some rope , and we've managed to come up with a mixture who've not been the goods , or who have not been given additional support from time to time !That they have underperformed , been awful at their job , been rotten communicators , been bad man managers or coaches seems wilfully swept under the carpet in the desire to focus on the ‘constant' Marcus Evans .
Football HAS changed massively since we at ITFC were fortunate enough to be a part of unexpected runaway success ; the sporting element has given way to money , show business ,and self indulgence on a massive scale by billionaires around the world with their own aims etc .
ITFC thus falls into a different league of interest and performance ,whilst our expectations and loyalties are tested to extreme ,perhaps by unrealistic immediate objectives : it is very definitely ‘slowly slowly catchee monkey ‘ .
Do let's show some tolerance and patience , and a continuing level of optimism !
A warm crowd ,motivated in their total moral support at Portman Road will mean so much to everyone ,to our staff at ITFC ,AND to the Manager and Players .
COYB
-5

istanblue added 16:08 - Apr 2
Absolutely crucial to keep the pressure on Evans. He needs to understand just how unpopular he is now. Gone are the days where a new manager or a token statement will appease the fanbase and keep them off his back. Supporters have finally run out of patience with Evans' endless use of excuses, evasions, neglect and human shields/puppets. #EvansOutNow
5

Bluearmy_81 added 16:11 - Apr 2
Suffolk boy, you state
"but the challenges lie on the pitch and amongst a characterless , irresolute , often unintelligent bunch of individuals who don't or can't combine as a team and are either short on ability or don't or won't utilise it and their energies and talents for a full 90 minutes with the aim of securing victories and points.. "

Why do we have the poorest squad in 60 years? Who sold our better players and replaced them with lesser players, over and over again?!!
Your blue tinted glasses when it comes to Evans are mind blowing and nauseating in equal measure...
10

ghostofescobar added 16:15 - Apr 2
Suffolkboy, I admire your sentiment, but it is straight out of the Cobbolds era. I mean no offence, but it come across as very naive. Evans has destroyed/continues to destroy our club. Until he's gone, we will continue slowly fraying apart, slowly decaying like an old garden bench.
7

DaGremloid added 16:17 - Apr 2
istanblue
He is only unpopular with a handful of myopic muppets who can't see beyond their own dislike of someone and therefore will have angst in their pants until they get their own way. Like the same people who hounded MM out and look where we are now. I wasn't a huge MM fan either but I abhorred the way some 'fans' behaved. Look, I realise ME isn't perfect - who is - but how dumb are some people to think a new owner will improve anything. I may be wrong, but I also may be right.
-10

Bluearmy_81 added 16:35 - Apr 2
Da Grem
"Look, I realise ME isn't perfect - who is - but how dumb are some people to think a new owner will improve anything."
My word thats comedy gold, thanks 😂😂😂
5

Suffolkboy added 16:44 - Apr 2
Yep ! I grew up at ITFC in the Cobbold era , watched Crawford , Phillips and Leadbetter and Elsworthy and co , supported under Booby Robson and Burley - and plainly believe in some old fashioned values and standards ,which sadly are very much out of place now it seems !
COYB
-1

SouperJim added 16:50 - Apr 2
What a fantastic, well written statement. Every word of it is true.
5

ghostofescobar added 17:09 - Apr 2
Suffolkboy, I was there to for most of that. My first game was in 1976. The Evans era is not worthy of “warm” support. The fans tolerance and patience is what has allowed Evans to get away with grinding the club into the dust for so long. The longer we are “warm”, “tolerant” and “patient”, the further we fall. There is zero excuse for what Evans has done to us. There is zero reason to think the downward spiral won't continue under him. He must go. We must show him we can no longer accept his incompetence.
4

BlueandTruesince82 added 17:33 - Apr 2
We have been more than supportive though 13 years of decline, including cheering the club to the 3rd tier of English football. Enough is enough.

The logic of better the devil you know can equally be couched as accepting (worse than) mediocrity for fear of further failure, don't try to improve your lot. Well I'd rather try and fail than continue this slow stagnation, better to have loves lost.

3

FrankfurtBlue added 17:41 - Apr 2
Those who are still supportive of Evans, please ask yourselves why. How can you ignore the fact that he has taken the club from a position of challenging for promotion to the Premier League to a middling League One club? The worst position for this club since 1953! If he is not responsible for it, who is? He appoints the managers, nobody else has a say in that decision. He extends the contracts of managers he considers have done a good job. Did Lambert deserve a 5 years contract? Should Lambert have been sacked in the Summer? There are so many reasons to be disappointed with the last 13 years as a Town supporter, but not many to be positive unfortunately.
7

BeattiesBackPocket added 17:46 - Apr 2
Suffolkboy who is the common denominator in our 13 year decline? Not any manager they've come and gone same as players. Please tell me which part of the blue action statement is in fact wrong?? And please tell me where evans has been good for the club?? I'm curious where any improvement structure or the regurgitated five point plan is starting? I'm fully behind cook he has the biggest job going ever at our club of any manager with the amount of players leaving for nothing in the summer and the issue is letting players contracts run out has been happening since he took over with leadbitter Norris etc so again where is it everyone else's fault and who is tells common denominator?
7

blueboy1981 added 18:55 - Apr 2
Fact is that some people have NO idea about business, least of all running a Football Club.
The Evans let down has been thro' Managers failings (most agreed his appointments were right at the time) and as is current, let down by inadequate players in terms of quality.
If anyone thinks that having money to spend guarantees a Managers success, then carry on living in ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land' - just look at the success down the other end of the A140 at what can be achieved with much less that a massive Cheque Book, or a stupid owner who throws money around.
Hard to swallow - but true - all you ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land' residents, and protesters.
In this case - be careful what you wish for - it may not turn out the way you think, as indeed change of ownership has more than once proved elsewhere ... !!!
-1

smithy0981 added 18:55 - Apr 2
Some people make up so much boll*cks. The first comment you just completely made that up mate and the other comment about ‘I spoke to someone in the club who confirmed the takeover is 100% on' again is total cr*p. Non of you know anything! Let's just see what happens and let's hope Evans is gone
2


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