Mike Bacon, in his latest rant for the EADT, asks what has owner Marcus Evans learned in his 14-years of club ownership? Here are the answers. He has learned that he should not employ another Chief Executive of Ipswich Town who knows nothing about football. Simon Clegg poorly advised him about Jim Magilton in April 2009, and shortly afterwards the Northern Irishman was gone.
This was a disastrous call and was instigated by Clegg because he found the Northern Irishman to be rather uncouth. They were light-years apart in terms of social upbringing and about understanding the mechanics of how football worked in practice. Clegg was part of Manchester’s failed bids for the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, and he only knew athletics. Football was not his thing. At that time, Ipswich found themselves in a respectable 8th place in the Championship table – having just beaten Norwich 3-2. The Blues have not tasted victory over the fiercest rivals since.
On our books in those days were Jon Stead, Pablo Counago, Tommy Miller and Richard Wright. We played entertaining football and had a number of quality players in our ranks. Magic was one of our own and was treated abysmally by both Clegg and Marcus Evans, who called Jim as he lay at the side of his sick mother to convey the news of his dismissal. Magilton took Evans’ call in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where his mother Maureen was in intensive care. The news of his sacking soon flashed up on Sky Sports News on one of the ward’s televisions, and a patient next to his mum was watching things unfold and said, “You’ve had someday haven’t you!” Magilton burst out laughing, as he came to terms with the irony of it all. It was either laugh or cry.
Evans has learned that he knows very little about football. A series of poor judgements resulted in the appointments of Roy Keane, Paul Jewell and Mick McCarthy, and the advice of people who do know the game, and really ought to have known better. Admittedly, McCarthy was arguable the best of a bad bunch, but the hiring of Paul Hurst was Evans decision entirely. He became the shortest-serving manager in the club’s history when he left after less than six months in the job. Evans accepts he made a big error of judgement here.
Our owner has indeed learned lessons Mr Bacon, and one of them is that the only way to develop a football club is with continuity and not impetuousness. John Cobbold learned this lesson a very long time ago when fans wanted Sir Bobby Robson to go and he resisted the temptation to listen to the masses. No manager in our history has incurred so many injuries as manager Paul Lambert has. Even Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola would not be able to cope with a squad that is so severely decimated through injuries. At one stage this season, we had a total of 13 players missing! Evans understands that the blame for this cannot be attributed to the manager alone.
Lambert has had a stroke of horrendous hard luck and you cannot assemble a successful winning formula when you cannot put round pegs in round holes. His hands have effectively been tied. Some deplorable refereeing decisions have not helped his cause either – or those late goals that have turned three points into one. Yes, Lambert has made mistakes and so too has Evans but what do they say, if you don’t make mistakes you don’t make anything. Evans knows that the squad is still playing for the manager and as long as this continues, Evans will support his man.
I am proud of our owner, who is not afraid to follow his instincts in the face of a clamour for blood. Pontious Pilate could be seen as much weaker than Marcus Evans in this respect. Evans knows he has made mistakes and that is why he gave Paul Lambert a five-year contract extension to the bewilderment of many. He was building our road to the future and Rome was not built in a day. We will have setbacks along the way but if we journey together we can overcome them.
Remember Mr Bacon; you can’t live a positive life with a negative mind and the same applies to all those harbingers of doom and gloom. As an American politician once said, ” Criticism is like rain, it should be gentle enough to nourish without destroying its very roots.”
I get your point but I do believe he has now had long enough.
I think he is building something here Jim but Rome was not built in a day.
Proud of our owner.
You are a clown of the highest order.
I could not give a Donald Duck what you think mate. We are a broad church of opinions, and the only clown I can see here is the one who is frightened of using his real name!
I’m not your mate, you self opinionated clown.