It’s a fact. Manager Paul Lambert and his assistant Stuart Taylor have gone. Rumour has it Evans has decided on his successor but is it true? And what about Marcus Evans selling up? Is it pie in the sky, or is there some substance to it? Let us sort out the facts from the fiction.
I must admit, reading the official news brief from Ipswich Town’s Media Manager Steve Pearce that Lambert was on his way out came as a bit of a shock. After four games undefeated and two wins against top-six sides, I thought that the tide had probably turned. How wrong I was! We all know that football management is determined by getting good results, but they all came a little too late to save Lambert’s bacon. I think Covid and the massive injury list he incurred made his job doubly difficult, but when you fall out with the local press, the players and the owner, then your days are clearly numbered. I defended him when many others clearly didn’t but, at least now, we can all sing from the same hymn sheet again.
There is much talk in the local rags about scoucer Paul Cook being the new incumbent at Portman Road. He has known owner Marcus Evans for some time, and he probably fits the bill. He certainly has the right Christian name! Bizarrely, since he bought the club in 2007, Marcus Evans has hired three Paul’s. Paul Jewell, Paul Hurst and Paul Lambert. It is a lucky name though, as they all failed! I don’t suppose you can condemn a man for having the wrong Christian name but our history tells us that we only ever had another Paul in charge, and that was ever so briefly and his name was Paul Goddard. He was the go-between after Lyall and before Burley, and he sat in the managerial hot seat for all of three weeks as interim coach.
I think there has to be some truth in the rumour that Cook is interested. How interested remains to be seen but the club’s General Manager Lee O’Neill is adamant that Evans will take his time over any appointment and there are lots of interested parties. Talking of interested parties, I have just read an article in The Guardian that Ipswich Town’s takeover is nearing completion! According to this report, a U.S.based consortium will pay Evans 30 million pounds once regulatory processes are completed in the coming weeks. Now, I tend to believe this newspaper much more than the popular tabloids so there is probably a lot of truth to it. They also suggest that Paul Cook will be the new gaffer, so assuming there are not any late hitches, I think this is probably true.
Evans is expected to retain a 5% stake in the club and will write off around £100m of debt by way of financial carrot dangling. So, for all of you who wanted both Lambert and Evans out, it looks like your dreams have been realised! Be careful what you wish for though because dreams can often turn into nightmares and we don’t want any more of those, do we!
