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Leeds and Charlton Chasing Blues
at 12:09:35

To DALEYITFC
First of all, Ipswich and Norwich are the same size- Not true, and Norwich is and always was a far more attractive a city than Ipswich and has much more to offer any potential recruit. Ipswich is a wasteland by comparison.

Evans and Clegg knowing how to run a business? The Evans group stats speak for themselves, the BOC on Clegg speaks for itself and I have to disagree with you that running a football club as a conventional 'business' is not possible and the skills required are much more football specific. Business is business, ITFC is a business and what it sells is a "brand" of football. The success of that brand and the revenue generated is dependant on popularity and results versus the cost of developing that brand. Letting emotion get in the way of business will only serve to ruin it.

Keane? Successful? Hardly - He is phenominally successful at raising the profile of ITFC to attact potential players and compensates for the lack of kudos that ITFC represents to possible recruits. Whilst I partially agree you with regarding Keane's tempremant etc his role should be far more about getting payers in ,motivation, and laying down a playing strategy, the coaching and implementation of the strategy should be carried out by the coaching staff and this is where I see where we are missing a key member.

I disagree with your last comment. Our location is an issue. The A12 is a nightmare as is the A14 and there is little in the way of investment in the local area to make a difference to potential players. On a like-for-like basis I bet most would go elsewhere.

I bow to your superior knowledge on Keane but I work in a global business and our products involve a 100% emotional purchase. We run at a profit. Business is business

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Leeds and Charlton Chasing Blues
at 10:19:29

This is the first post I have ever written but having spent the last year or so reading such extremes of opinion I thought that I would dip my toe in the water and let you good people burn it off!

I am an armachair ITFC supporter and have been for 35 years and only attend a few games per year. As such I like to think I view ITFC with an impartial perspective. This post is in support of fatuncle's comment.

Forget club history the harsh reality is that unless we are in the premier league ITFC will always be a difficult club to attract the vast majority of players to because Ipswich, compared to many town is a backwater. Like any business ( and ITFC is afterall a business) that tries to attract quality staff it is what the business AND area can offer the staff and family that counts. Norwich (and I hate to say it) is a much bigger and more attractive with many more amenities for family in and out of town, Leeds is a wonderful large city on the edge of some of the most beautiful countryside etc etc, the list goes on. Ipswich is small, not that attractive, too far from London to count, and with the exception of the stretch of coast between Southwold and Aldeburgh ddoesn't have that much to offer compared to other towns. Now I may be being a little harsh but if I am right the only way any business can overcome shortcomings of geography and attract decent staff is either by paying more than the going rate (we have seen many examples of this at ITFC) or by having well respected, dynamic, charismatic & successful leadership that can attract deecent staff for the long-term. I do mean long-term because any club regardless of lits imitaions can have the odd season.

Let us look at ITFC- In Marcus Evans and Simon Clegg we have 2 successful business men who have a passion for sport but are first and foremost businessmen. Exactly the calibre of leadership any business needs. They don't need to know much about football because that is the job of the next tier down.

In Roy Keane we have a dynamic, charasmatic and incredibly successful manager (don't laugh he is the most high profile of the lower league and most Premiership managers), he should be eaxctly the sort of individual that can be the deciding factor to attract many players who would not consider ITFC for the reasons I have stated- but is he? In my opinion his role should be just that to attract and motivate, what he ad ITFC need more than anything is a fabulous coach along side to take these individuals and turn them into a potential championship winning side. In Evans, Clegg, and Keane we have 3 peices of the jigsaw to attract and develop talent but the missing peice is still development.

Football is short-term and as such we cannot really expect too much loyalty fron any player but I leave you with his. Before you all tell be to go away and stick to my armchair if you were Chopra and ITFC, Leeds, & Norwich came in for you offering the same wages and same terms, where would you go? I would suggest pre Evans & Co ITFC would be last on the list but with Evans, Clegg, & Keane any player worth their salt would look how ITFC is set up for a long-term aim...

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