One of the main pillars of owner Marcus Evans five-point plan is continuity. Only through stability do we have any hope of progressing in the long term. Maintaining a stable management and coaching team is an essential part of his mission statement from four years ago, and this is the reason why manager Paul Lambert was given a five-year contract extension.
We have heard today that Ipswich Town’s fitness coach Jim Henry has gone back to Scotland, and the club has cited ‘personal reasons’ for his sudden departure. He will continue to work with the club in a consultancy role but will no longer assume a hands-on approach. It appears that a series of bust-ups with the manager recently had influenced his decision to depart. This is the first real sign of instability in the coaching ranks, and I am surmising that it must have something to do with our gigantic injury list. Never have I known anything quite like this before.
It is about time Marcus Evans came out with a statement of some sort about the manager. I know that support from your employer can quite often have the opposite effect, but I don’t believe Evans is like that. He has been consistent on that front at least. If he is still satisfied with him, then it would be an enormous vote of confidence to Lambert if he said as much. Silence never did anyone any good, and nor does banning Phil Ham from the media press conferences! What was the club thinking of?
He used to get under the skin of Mick McCarthy at times too, but surely this is what a good journalist should do. He is the brains behind the TWTD website, which is very popular among Town supporters. I find that far too many local journalists pussyfoot their way through interviews, and avoid any real interrogation. Ham is not like that, and he asks questions supporters really want to know the answers to, and that’s what makes him a little different from the rest.
If Marcus Evans still believes in maintaining continuity, then Lambert should be here for the long haul. Things may not have gone to plan so far, but the season is still young, and I would not be judgmental until we have some of our key players back in the frame. Even Premier Clubs suffer badly when they lose some of their most influential players, and until Downes, Bishop, Norwood, Nolan, Edwards, Vincent-Young and Skuse return, we should reserve our judgement.
I am ‘old school’ in the sense that I still think is no need to press the panic button yet. I remember; as I am sure former players like Mick Mills do, the days when Sir Bobby Robson’s job was seriously under threat. He rode the storm, and we all know how patience proved to be a massive virtue in the end. The game may have moved on but maintaining some degree of continuity is still the way forward.
