 | News
Comment | Town Announce New ÂŁ105m Investment From Bright Path Sports Partners
at 20:16:39
This has to be positive news for the future of the club and another moment when one has to shake one’s head at the extraordinary progress of every aspect of the club in such a short time. That said, there’s nothing wrong with pondering on the detail of this in a slightly sceptical way and not getting carried away with the hype. The model of investors is that they do so for a return. If the generally quoted figure of a £40 min purchase price is to be accepted, then selling 40% of that for £100m plus is a tidy return. No problem with that, that’s the risk reward equation of development capital injections. Some flop, some fly and you exit handsomely in either the short or long term. Fortunately - we hope - Gamechanger are long not short term partners and the handsome return that they have (deservedly) made from their initial investment will encourage them to back this incredible project all the way in the knowledge that there’s an even greater pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The most encouraging thing is that so far they have been true to every word in terms of investing off as well as on the field and keeping out of the way of Ashton’s day to day running of the club. This is a rare and valuable asset, let’s hope Bright Path aren’t so greedy that they contaminate that winning formula…… |
| News
Comment | McKenna: A Really Solid Performance in All Phases
at 19:07:29
The man is totally different gravy and has cut himself apart as a truly “special one” since the minute he walked through our door. Not that he would ever say such an ridiculously egotistical thing, he’d leave that to other self obsessed madmen and just carry on creating a culture and an environment that is exceptional to work in and brings the very best out of everyone. Make no mistake, the man is destined for the very top of the football management pyramid and we should celebrate every game and month that we have him taking us forward. The only shame is that he’s probably not going to be here long enough to have his own statue along the greats….. |
| News
Comment | Town Takeover Completed
at 17:44:43
Bert - I like your posts and you seem a fine chap but I don't think you're right. I believe we came out of administration in 03-04. When Evans took over ( and I as a shareholder voted for him btw) we were certainly debt strapped but remained competitive on the pitch.
My central point is that we owe no thanks at all to an owner who has presided over and is solely accountable for turning us into the most depressing and miserable club that we have ever, ever been. His time can only be regarded as abject failure on every level, not least the arrogant and high handed manner in which he has treated and communicated to a loyal fan base. He has absolutely NOT nobly gifted us a debt write off, it was just an inescapable commercial reality that no exit would be possible unless he did so.
The day should be about looking forward with hope .....but we should not allow this to make us all misty eyed about who is solely accountable for creating the awful, terrible mess that we are delighted to be rescued from (hopefully)! |
| News
Comment | Town Takeover Completed
at 13:51:35
A day of hope that we can perhaps dream to find light at the end of this darkest of tunnels.
But please, spare us any “thanks to Marcus” crap. Let's not reinvent history. He did not “save us”. We had not gone bust. We were a team competing in the top half of the championship. Limited by a debt burden for sure, but perfectly capable of punching at our weight and also providing half decent football to a solid and committed fan base.
And look at the state he has left us in. Probably the most miserable and depressing club in the EFL. Relegated to the lowest point in , what, 70 years plus, a playing squad so completely devoid of talent and character and a fan base broken by years of misery and arrogant treatment. Our new owners have a monumental challenge trying to get their next phoenix to rise because a pile of barely smouldering ashes is what we have become.
And let us not fall for this last bit of deceitful spin and believe that any debt waiver was some sort of philanthropic act. He has wanted rid of the worst business decision he has ever made for some time now. And who can blame him, a club he never had any emotional connection with has cost him an eye watering level of losses and is probably a millstone that is dragging the rest of his business even further down the COVID induced drain. The only reason that he is writing off debt is that he had no other choice if he wants to exit, which he surely does. The takeover is a risky enough,barkingly mad venture as it is, no prospective purchaser with any last shred of sanity would uplift a mountain of someone else's debt at the same time. The delay in sealing the deal will have been because both sides will have been trying to screw the other down to the last bit of detail in the most hard headed, commercially driven way. He had to forego some debt, he had no other way out.
So it is entirely inappropriate to say farewell to Marcus with any sense of thanks or gratitude whatsoever. We should remember him simply as being the man singularly accountable for the most miserable, depressing and failing period in the memory of any and every living fan. I pray that our new owners prove to be more competent and successful, the abyss we are left in is deep and the challenge to crawl our way up immense. |
| News
Comment | El Mizouni Appalled and Embarrassed By Booing Fans
at 16:46:50
This thread is a brilliant example of the type of online mob mentality that pervades all forms of political and social discourse and occurs when people dare to question or challenge fashionable perspectives. Suspect that #MeToo is hypocritical virtue signalling by a pampered elite and you are a misogynist. Question the need for BLM based activity in football when there has been a programme like KickItOut running for years and you are a racist. Demur to clap for the NHS on your doorstep and you're some sort of far right Trumpist. Question the efficacy of face masks or ask why 67 million people need to be vaccinated for a virus that is an acute danger to only a fraction of that number and you're some sort of holocaust denying anti vacc weirdo. Faced with this type of angry mob vilification, a huge number of people do exactly what Algarvefan advocates and quietly take a seat on whatever media fuelled bandwagon comes rolling along even though they are privately troubled by what they see happening. Its probably what people did in Berlin when they saw one section of society gradually closed down and persecuted for having the wrong religion. For any libertarian country it should be deeply disquieting that a trend which claims to be driven by tolerance and education becomes one which is profoundly intolerant and ignorant. |
| News
Comment | Evans on Relegation, New Arrivals and the Promotion Challenge
at 21:20:02
Dozzellsbobnlehat. Spin : a carefully crafted presentation of a preferred position based on a selective use of facts that supports such a position and an avoidance of those that do not. It's a core CEO / business owner competence. You should be more discerning. |
| News
Comment | Evans on Relegation, New Arrivals and the Promotion Challenge
at 18:23:52
Like a minority of others on here, I find it astonishing how accepting most are of yet another carefully crafted piece of spin from an owner who has presided over the most disastrous ten years in our history. Honest? Truthful? What evidence does anyone have for either of those statements. We have been presented with a carefully managed image of our financial situation that suits his position. I am always astonished at how he writes as if his approach has been a virtue and that, Lord knows, where would we be without him. Even in the post administration era where we could only afford Darren Currie , we remained a competitive championship club. Most understand the commercial realities of a failing business despite his patronising remarks but let's be clear about who is accountable for such failure. This man has no interest in football or vision for this club other than limiting the drain on cash to his wider business interests and finding some other nut job to pass it on to. I accept that we have no alternative but to hope that somehow the miserable tide under his sole ownership and disastrous judgement can be reversed but please, spare us all this gratitude crap and remember that this man and this man alone has made all the judgements and decisions that have put us in the lowest position for two generations. Like others on here, I wait with baited breath for him somehow giving the manager more than two fit strikers to work with and coming up with a centre half from a source other than league two out of contract cast offs. History will not be generous on this mans stewardship of the club and nor should we be, whatever happens this season. |
| News
Comment | McCarthy: No Sympathy With Fans Who Hounded Me Out
at 20:34:25
"I'm not one to be talking too much about it to be honest"
What a laugh. Not so much that you turned down the interview eh Mick? If you were Talksports producer, who would you want to give air time to today?? Terry Nutkins - he may not have rung up talksport but given the chance to be bitter and twisted whilst pretending to be magnanimous and respectful, he just couldn't turn it down could he? One of the enduring hallmarks of ego centred leaders in any walk of life is how they delude themselves about "small minorities" and revise history to somehow position themselves as the victim of it all. Another enduring feature is how failure makes what went before somehow more palatable but isn't it interesting that even in our most darkest hour, with League 1 staring us in the face after 62 years, no one, even swn98, is saying lets have him back or even we were wrong to ditch his greatness? And no one else seems to want him either. funny that Mick me old mucker, maybe they've got their own bunch of Mick hating hounders obscuring your greatness before you've even got there.... |
| News
Comment | Bialkowski: Talks on 'Agreed' Contract Continuing
at 19:15:47
Algarve fan...lucky you at moving abroad and not having to endure the most crap dire turgid football and the lowest league position and the lowest crowds in a generation but please spare us the lecture as you sip your Iberian cocktails of just who should and shouldn't pay money to endure this crap and what they should or shouldn't do. . Alternatively, come home , pay big money to watch and make your own more informed Judgement.... |
| News
Comment | Updated - Marcus Evans Interview
at 19:37:23
On the face of it a highly informative, open and self effacing assessment of where we are and where we need to go. I was pleasantly surprised by the willingness - albeit a little unpolished - of Steve Pearce to confront the difficult issues. A spin doctored pile of nothing this was not...thankfully.
That said, was I convinced by some of the mea culpa...probably not. He talks about the fact that the club is nothing without fans and that the club is so important to the “community” but in his actions (not his words) over the last 11 years , he has treated both with considerable disdain. We can talk about the flawed judgements of managerial appointments but his selection of that odious corporate slime ball Clegg and the empty suit Milne to deal with both fans and community has been disastrous and smacks of him not wanting to have anything to do with either. Let's face it, he has only done this after 11 years because he is desperate, season tickets and crowds at a generation low, income falling out of the bottom of the balance sheet, oh alright then, if I really must.....
But this said, we have no choice but to recognise his measured and considered approach to running an average club in the basket case madness that is football. No wonder he would sell given half the chance. He has no emotional commitment here only rational / financial commitment and that is nowhere near as powerful when the going gets tough. His claim that it would be “right for the club” for him to sell was probably the most disengenuous bit.
All in all, it s a positive . If The Master of the Art of Management could have talked to everyone like this instead of swearing at them and calling them ignorant for not loving his proper blokes, we would probably not be in this place. Never a man inclined for self reflection, I am pretty sure that will be lost on the Great Ego.
Time as we have all said to come together and unite. COYB. |
| News
Comment | Ipswich Town 0-4 Aston Villa - Match Report
at 20:55:23
Bluesandtrues...an eloquent defence and yes, context is as important as it is rare in todays football. No, we're not Sunderland and no, he's not Ashely, Tan or so many other complete madmen. But is that all we can say?? You look at Sunderland but not Millwall, Brentford, Sheff Utd Bristol, Preston, Huddersfield, Burnley, Brighton, Southampton...the list of clubs who have overtaken us or are doing better than us with less resources at the time they did so long and ever lengthening as we are locked into the slow death of stagnant mediocrity. Every single decision he has made has been shown to be a poor one. His managerial choices have been dreadful, two out of the three of them tearing the whole club asunder, whilst he has shown at best apathy and at worst complete disrespect to the history of the club, the loyalty of its supporters and the place it has in the community of Suffolk. Even now, at such a low ebb when we cry out for leadership, he is silent, promising endlessly to do a interview that we will all "have access to" but which never comes , leaving empty suits to console us that the "powers that be" have it all in hand. No, he's not a publicity seeking idiot but he's been an absolute failure as an owner, as judged by the type of kpi dashboard he lives by and he has not a jot of empathy or connection with that which he owns. In that sense, he is every bit the modern football owner. |
| News
Comment | Ipswich Town 0-4 Aston Villa - Match Report
at 20:19:11
Concentrating on pitch matters rather than juvenile point scoring, I can't agree with this "no malice but a red card " line. The ball is coming out of the air over his shoulder, his eyes are on the ball as it drops and of course his foot is raised. I have no doubt at all that the reaction of the player, Bruce and others 100% influenced the ref into a knee jerk decision that even the opposition don't actually agree with. Game changer. Up until then, we were very competitive bar Spence's weakness in getting bullied by Grabban following a routine ball down the channel that he should have dealt with all day long. For me, he can be one of the long line of players that need to be shown the door in the new era. Led of course by so called captain Skuse who I thought today was frankly a disgrace. The most senior pro and leader on the pitch and he was everything but, awful performance and just spent the whole time looking at his feet like everyone else. If he's meant to be a "proper bloke", a man you want leading you into adversity then I'm Ronaldo frankly. The young boys called Nydam and Folami showed more energy and zest for the fight than so called senior pros. So, Chambers, Skuse, Hyam, Knudesn, Sears, McGoldrick (who?), and quite possibly also Ward and Spence your time is up gentleman. By all means follow The Master of the Art of Management to Leeds or wherever else you can recommence the great player love in, but leave others new and old prepared to fight for the shirt, the club and the supporters rather than the ego of whoever happens to be the boss. Only then can we start to make progress. |
| News
Comment | Nash and Hogg to Assist Caretaker-Manager Klug, While Chambers Will Also Play Role
at 21:50:13
Wherever the Great Ego lands next with his mate by his side to do all that great work with strikers, he would do well to read this interview which is a masterclass of grace, dignity and humility, qualities that sadly will ever elude the Master of the art of Management. Did you ever hear him in 5 years talk about any other coaches than him, or the fact that he was about developing good coaches as well as players, about ever leaving anything behind that would benefit the long term development of the club? No, didn't think so. It was only ever about him and Terry, how great they were and how stupid we were not to know it. Yet another bad decision by the owner is to undermine the power of this change by not doing it when he should, but hey ho, thank god he has eventually, now that The Supreme One decided that driverless cars were not for his ÂŁ1m a year taste. Wherever this takes us, we can see some sunshine through the blinds once again. I'm being very careful, but it's still what I'm wishing for all day long. |
| News
Comment | McCarthy Leaves Town With Immediate Effect - Updated With Audio
at 00:00:14
Rather than be obsessed with the moronic behaviour of a handful (which I completely disagree with), the fans we should be talking about are the 10,000+ who simply could not bear not having a shot against Burton and Rotherham any longer and quietly walked away. Voting with your feet is what they call it. Or are they numbskulls too? Yes Bravo Dave, I agree, lets all unite around hope for better times ahead. |
| News
Comment | McCarthy Leaves Town With Immediate Effect - Updated With Audio
at 23:38:09
Am not going to get drawn into an argument. Manager's like MM are marmite, they can start fights in empty rooms and he - like Keane, his old nemesis - has certainly done that here. I'm not bitter at all, I'm a supporter of this club and am sad to see us in such a desperate place. I will be here before and after the time of any single manager. I have seen many over my time and only Keane comes close to the type of boorish I know better than anyone type arrogance of MM. Maybe you can live with that if you succeed, but when you fail - and I call endless fa cup failure, Lincoln humiliation, lowest league position for 50 years, lowest grounds in a generation, boring turgid football for 2-3 years failure on any objective level - don't expect people to think you are wonderful. He has failed. The new manager is lucky because he has rich talent at his disposal that has been suffocated behind proper blokes and favourites who can do more than stop people playing. How anyone can be sorry to say goodbye to the last 2years plus is simply beyond me. It has been the most miserable turgid boring crap and to be prisoner to an argument that to change would be "careful what you wish for" - well, I just don't get it. people don't expect miracles, they just want a bit of positivity. They got that for 45 against Millwall and again tonight, and look how they responded. We are truly better off without him. |
| News
Comment | McCarthy Leaves Town With Immediate Effect - Updated With Audio
at 23:20:49
Was at the press conference tonight for the final petulant display of a man who has shown his true colours in recent times. I have formed the view that he is actually a very bitter, egotistical man who lacks any grace , dignity or humility to handle things that don't go his way. He has shown complete disdain for ALL supporters , not just a tiny minority who use abusive behaviour , through telling us consistently over two years that we are ignorant for not realising how great his team is playing and how wonderful a manager he is. What really I think gets to him is the realisation that he has failed. He has had a long time here, has been given more resources than many other clubs now above us yet has not taken us forward and has actually stagnated. The script is that we are all mean to marvel at his brilliance but instead he has been forced out through failure. Tonight's last f*** off to everyone was breathtaking even by his own unique standards. Cotter - who lets face it would be nowhere near this team if it wasn't for injury - has an OUTSTANDING 45 minutes and then gets hauled off. Can you think in the circumstances of a more self centred bit of egotism than that. he was making a statement, make no mistake. He and his mate Terry have made so many judgements about players either kept or let go that have turned out to be the wrong ones and that means he has failed and should be held accountable. Marriotts fat, Moore's rubbish. Hmmm. Oh yes and Iorfa is great but Cotter's nowhere near a proper bloke. And lets not even talk Douglas. To take the credit for Cotter's wonderful breath-of-fresh-air performance tonight is the most wondrous bit of self delusion imaginable. The only credit he and his mate Terry should take for all that wonderful work he does with strikers is to ruin Freddy and give us fewer shots over a season than everyone bar Burton! I don't want to say anything abusive and I don't wish them ill, but they have failed and deserve no appreciation at all for their boorish arrogance and disrespect to people like you me and thousands of other fair minded , loyal, long standing supporters who believe that this club is even bigger than his planetary ego. I pray that we do better without him. |
| | WashbrookBlue
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 0 | | Comment Votes: | 328 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 328 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.