Twenty’s Plenty

The Football Supporters’ Federation is campaigning to ask football clubs at all levels of the game to agree to a price cap on away match tickets of £20 (£15 for concessions).

We think that this is a great idea. We wrote something about the high ticket prices – especially for away fans – at Portman Road in March: http://wp.me/p2KvgD-4j

You can sign the petition here and find out more about it here.

With Milts involved, fans might just ‘Be Part Of It’ again

Once again, we’re privileged to be able to present a blog by top writer and ITFC fan, Dave Gooderham

One of the first things I learned in football journalism school was to expect criticism.

‘Clueless’, ‘gutter journalism’, ‘talking b******s’ were some of the many barbs directed at me – and that was just from Paul Jewell!

At the start, I had to placate my wife not to jump to my defence. Feisty one, she is. But it soon dawned on me that any backlash simply underlined why I love football.

Every supporter of every club has an opinion and everyone is entitled to that opinion. It would be a boring game if we all agreed that Lee Martin lacked an end product or Michael Chopra should do his talking on the pitch. Ah, bad examples, but you get my point.

So when I ended my brief writing hiatus by penning an opinion piece on this very website, it was inevitable that some criticism would come my way.

Tyrone Mings’ incredibly gracious gesture – in giving a hard-up Town fan some free tickets – had inspired me to share my thoughts.

But, I wondered, was Mings an exception rather than a rule?

I was too negative, some said, as I questioned whether role models still existed in football. I had allowed the fact that I had fallen a little out of love with football to cloud my judgement, it had been suggested.

Things have started to change. Problems remain at Portman Road, a number of them, but I have started to become more interested in Frank Nouble’s hamstring and the reasons behind signing a thirty-something keeper who last played for Aberdeen in January. A relegation scrap certainly refocuses the mind.

The club’s connection with the ordinary fan remains a big concern – something I hope a new Marketing Manager will help address.

But there remains hope and it comes in the shape of a six-minute, 28-second promo video:

http://www.itfc2013.co.uk/

 Asking fans to part with hundreds of pounds to watch football that has been mediocre at best in recent seasons can be a hard sell.

 There are those who will pay the money regardless – the real football fanatics.

 There are others, and I count myself in this number, that just want to see that their club is listening, that it is trying to be part of the community once again.

  The season-ticket promo video won’t win any Oscars – sorry Milts – but for a fleeting six minutes or so, I remembered why I will always be a Town fan.

 Cheesy at times? Of course. But then it should be. But the cast-list was ideal, with Carlos Edwards and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas likeable fellows off-the-pitch, however ‘relaxed’ they seem on it. Throw in a fans’ favourite, Luke Hyam, and one that is catching him up by the day, Tyrone Mings, despite the 20-year-old still not kicking a competitive ball in anger.

 Saluting the simply incredible support of George Stannard was a nice touch…

 … and then there is Simon Milton. The local boy made good who resonates with the everyday supporter. It is clear how much he loves his Ipswich Town.

 The club have realised that Milts plays a key role in relating to supporters – something Mr Evans and his two side-kicks probably never want to aspire to. In all, a massive congratulations to everyone involved. Last year’s ‘Tractor Boy’ promo was slick, but getting back to basics was, in my opinion, an excellent piece of PR but also a good bit of fun aimed at really connecting with supporters. I haven’t been able to say that about Ipswich Town many times in recent years.

 Of course, take a look at the ITFC strand on Twitter and you will find people criticising it. One said it was one of the worst things he had seen in a long time.

 There will always be opinions – and criticism – in football.

Marcus, Marcus give us a wave, Marcus, give us a wave

Grant Bage is still, it seems, waiting for his man.

  People who regularly visit this website or follow  Turnstile Blues on Twitter [@Turnstile_Blue in case you don't - Ed.] may know that, six weeks ago and on behalf of our collective, I wrote an open letter to Marcus Evans [ In Name Only ] For new readers, Marcus is Ipswich Town’s ‘mystery millionaire owner’. My mates mocked but deep down and secretly, I hoped for a reply: did the owners of the Club care as much about the fans, as the fans care about the Club?

Much has happened since then of course: the chief executive’s post filled by a pair of Chelsea-supporting Tractor Boys, court appearances pencilled in for two of Town’s top players, season tickets held at current prices for anybody who donates all their organs via a ten year debenture to the Club; and by the way, some great results and gritty performances from a squad brimming with loan players. All of which undeservedly still finds Ipswich Town only four points away from ‘local’ derbies next season with Stevenage, Leyton Orient and Colchester United (if they stay up).

Are such events one-off coincidences, or symptoms of a deeper and more dangerous decline? I honestly still feel uncertain but sketched below is an update since that open letter was sent, followed by musings not only about ‘Marcus’, but about modern football.

Being a reasonably polite sort of guy, I e-mailed a link to the original open letter via the public contact for the Marcus Evans Group, as supplied on its website. Their reply is reproduced exactly below, in its full and robotic glory:

On 10 Feb 2013, at 19:46, gleave parsons <gleavep@marcusevansuk.com> wrote

   Dear Mr Bage

   Thank you for contact marcus evans

  ——————————————————–

  Our representative will get in touch with you shortly

Marcus’s representative did not ‘get in touch shortly’ so five days later and on Valentine’s Day I sent a reminder.  OK, my e-mail wasn’t exactly romantic, but it was heartfelt:

Date: 14 February 2013 21:30:39 GMT

To: gleave parsons <gleavep@marcusevansuk.com>

Subject: Re: marcus evans group enquiry

Hello there, whoever you are.

It is disappointing to have waited five days and not heard anything back yet, so I thought I should get in touch again. The reason I e-mailed in the first place was because Marcus Evans will be interested in an invitation from myself and a group of friends, to talk about Ipswich Town Football Club. Actually we have written that invitation at some length, around 2,000 words, and posted it on a public website. You can read it here http://www.turnstile-blues.co.uk/

If you want to leave a comment there is a section at the end and there are two comments already. But to be honest the invitation is more a personal one to Marcus Evans – to the man who owns the group which owns the football club that we all love. Marcus has put a lot of money and effort into his ownership over the last five years: it would be great to hear more from him directly, about his plans and dreams for the next five years.

We have sent the same invitation to the press office at Portman Road and unfortunately they have not replied yet either. It would be pleasant, and polite, if somebody could get back to us. We will be publishing the invitation in a magazine quite soon, bought by lots of Ipswich fans and therefore customers of The Marcus Evans Group.  We were also hoping that in this magazine, Marcus might reply in person. People would be very interested in what he has to say.

We look forward to hearing from you.

I will leave you to guess, over forty days later, whether there has been a reply. Yet oddly and promisingly, the programme notes for Ipswich’s next home game offered the unusual prospect of some thoughts ‘from the owner’.

Although these notes have been hilariously analysed on this website [Not From the Owner] to me at the least they read like they have been genuinely written by ‘Marcus’. In a style I imagine to be authentic amongst international multi-millionaires, paragraph after paragraph on the first page mused mostly about: money, business and financial fair play. Given that ITFC owes the Marcus Evans Group nearly £70 million, it may of course be a good thing that Marcus likes talking mostly about money. But deep amongst the financial foliage at last on page two there peeped out a reference to us: the Club’s customers, its lifeblood, loyal fans, the diehards … or are we just cash cows, and mugs? Marcus wrote:

   ‘I am … fully committed to … ensuring that we keep an open line of communication with our fans.’

I could not help but think, perhaps churlishly ‘well then it would be nice if you answered the letter we sent’. That is not just because 2,000 words take a long time to write. It is also that in good faith, the next issue of our fanzine (By Mutual Consent on sale at Portman Road before the match on 30th March – see here for details ) reserved two blank pages.  These were to set out the reply that we honestly expected from Marcus, or the Marcus Evans Group, or the new managing directors, or the press office or just from anybody at Ipswich Town football club who might have been listening, to the polite and sensible questions we thought we had asked.

I say ‘polite’ because many of us stand in the North Stand, and have done so for years. We could have just chanted, Marcus, in the brusque fashion of us football fans:

‘Who are ya, who are ya, who are ya..?’

We didn’t and instead we thought, we argued, we researched, we wrote, we published and now because we care passionately about the lifelong security and prosperity of Ipswich Town I (at least) am begging. Answer our queries and listen to our fears. Please understand why there is a larger movement coming together to question the way in which Modern Football works. People are joining the Football Supporters Federation [ http://www.fsf.org.uk/ ] Supporters Direct  [ http://www.supporters-direct.org/  ] and the Ipswich Town Independent Supporters Trust [  http://ipswichtownfirst.wordpress.com/ ]. They are campaigning for owners to charge lower and fairer prices for tickets [ http://wp.me/p2KvgD-4j ], for clubs to consider letting supporters stand, for fans to have a voice on the Board and shares in their club. Perhaps Marcus, you could actively and personally continue strong Ipswich traditions of encouraging fair play, good citizenship and a social conscience from the players you employ? With rewarding players fairly but sustainably, both to win games with style but also to lose them, with grace? You are the owner Marcus and for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, fans are married to the future of a Club that happens to be in your current care and under your leadership.  So please, prioritise the Academy. Encourage stewards to come down hard on violent, racist, homophobic or any other nasty and threatening behaviour. Equally tell them to stop nicking our beach balls, they are only a bit of fun.  Above all smile sweetly at Saint Delia, whilst making us better than Norwich.

OR if that sounds too radical Marcus, make just a small change right now. Ask somebody senior from the Club to recognise honest concerns and genuine questions, and to answer them. It really won’t hurt. Just take a deep breath of that bracing Orwell air, look left at the North Stand, stare deep into our eyes and imagine us singing:

‘Marcus, Marcus give us a wave, Marcus, give us a wave;

Marcus, Marcus, give us a wave: Marcus, give us a wave…’

Meet the new one-off fanzine same as the old one-off fanzine: By Mutual Consent

A new one-off ITFC fanzine, By Mutual Consent – from the people who brought you Turnstile Blues, the ORIGINAL one-off fanzine – will be on sale outside Portman Road before the home game versus Leeds United on Saturday, 30th March 2013. Price on the day is a super, soaraway bargain: only £1.

Look for our sellers at locations around the ground including by Sir Alf and Sir Bobby.

The ‘zine will also be on sale by mail order and available from A. Ross, 58 Lonsdale Road, Ipswich, IP4 4HD. Please send a cheque for £2, payable to A. Ross.

Copies will also be available via eBay. Please look out for further information on Twitter @ByMutualConsent or this website: http://www.turnstile-blues.co.uk

A downloadable PDF of By Mutual Consent will be available from www.turnstile-blues.co.uk on the evening of Wednesday, 3rd April 2013. Once again, the download will be free, but we are asking people who access the ‘zine this way to make a donation to this charity: http://www.aishopeacademy.org/youth-football-academy-africa/soweto

A link will be set up via this website so that you can make a donation before downloading and don’t forget to follow @ByMutualConsent and @Turnstile_Blue on Twitter.

Letting daylight in upon magic

Alf Ramsey was a famously private and undemonstrative man. Rich Woodward wonders if we know a little too much about our heroes.

I’ve had relatively few brushes with professional footballers in my life. The first was Town goalkeeper Craig Forrest at primary school. The Blue’s towering stopper came to give out prizes at an end of term assembly. After doling out trophies and certificates, Forrest stayed to sign autographs for practically every child in the school. When my turn came, I politely thanked him for signing my scrap of paper, to which he replied “you’re welcome” in a rich Canadian baritone. My first autograph; my first Town hero!

In the intervening years the only real exposure to what sporting professionals were like was through local and national media. An interview in a magazine or paper; a sporting documentary or appearance on TV. That was as close as I got. That was as close as most of us got. An invisible bubble of separation and control, perpetuating the mystique and aura around the game. It afforded the pros some privacy, and reverence.

That’s not to say that all was well on Planet Football. Footballers got into trouble with the police and this would make the press eventually. But an arrest would typically be the first you heard of it, and the player in question would be face the consequences, with the support of the club, behind closed doors.

Fast forward to 2013. The age of social media, camera phones, desperate tabloids – stories regarding the actions and behaviours of celebrities, politicians, professional sports folk have never been so ubiquitous. Us ‘muggles’ are now behind the scenes with our heroes; we’re in on the pranks and banter; we get opinions straight from the horse’s mouth. We have access like never before – even the illusion of direct contact is there through messaging or Tweeting even if there is seldom ever a reply back.

But along with the good of breaking down barriers, this medium has too often exposed the bad. For the past year its been sadly too frequent an occurrence to see evidence of ‘A. Footballer’ going too far on a night out; ‘A. Footballer’ insulting supporters online; ‘A. Footballer’ getting arrested for public disorder. These stories often have their catalyst outside of football’s ‘bubble’ of protection, or at least grow from there. The general population have the power now, and through social media they can proliferate the story, with or without agenda.

That those in the public eye are under such scrutiny should be a challenge and a concern to football. But as always it seems to be a topic ‘the game’ is too slow to realise or perhaps not seeking responsibility for fixing. The fact that footballers are closing Twitter accounts or are being hauled in front of the media, or worse a crowded courtroom, for non-footballing reasons should be ringing alarm bells.

In a new world of public accountability and scrutiny – whether for MPs expenses or the media when it comes to hacking phones – why should football operate any differently? If supporters truly are ‘customers’ to football clubs, surely they have a right as a ‘stakeholder’ to query what its employees are up to, even if it is on social media? Regardless of whether this comes across as sanctimonious, society has largely moved beyond ambivalence to what those in privileged positions get up to. Football needs to respect that fact, preferably before another scandal unfolds.

Football clubs instigating internal investigations with no obvious culmination to those on the outside, or dealing with things privately to protect the players involved, is understandable. But it might be argued to be brushing serious human or personal (or personnel) issues under the carpet, serving no purpose aside from allowing business as usual. Important life lessons and realities are not dispensed and nothing changes. Football moves on, society evolves and the same patterns repeat.

If football was to stare down it’s failings and attempt to challenge and rectify them, I think society would be more likely to embrace the game which is quickly losing the love of the masses. Governing bodies and professional clubs should ask themselves whether standing by as their millionaire employees perpetuate negative and potentially damaging traits is negligent, regardless of who brings it to their attention. Should football open up to its flaws, it might find that an environment is fostered where the critical issues of depression, homophobia, sexism and racism are not only better acknowledged, but actually addressed by its professionals and the supporters that so revere them. Who knows, footballers could actually be role models – rather than names in tomorrow’s headlines or court proceedings.

Tyrone deserves his tributes but is he the exception rather than the rule?

Search for ITFC in Google News today and you’ll see both good and bad news:

 We’re very pleased to be able to post Dave Gooderham‘s reflections on recent off-field events at ITFC.

At the end of this year, I will have supported Ipswich Town for 20 years. Man and boy, good knees and bad.

I have my dear old Dad to thank for taking me regularly to Portman Road, first to see the likes of a young Ryan Giggs and Ian Wright and then, as I started going solo, to become more interested in Eddie Youds, Bontcho Guenchev et al.

In the subsequent 20 years, my Dad’s interest football has drifted, Giggs has gone on and on while my love of football, as a whole, has remained.

I am desperately trying to keep hold of that love, for my own sake and that of my two young boys, but it has grown increasingly hard in recent times.

Not for the first time, the last few days at Portman Road has encapsulated everything that is good and bad around the game.

I don’t need to go into details – and in some cases, i.e. the court variety, I can’t.

But having two players facing criminal charges within days of each other is terrible PR for any organisation.

For a team-mate, step forward Michael Chopra, to then get involved with a Facebook rant is ill-advised at best.

A few people on Twitter suggested it showed the right kind of team spirit – defending your mates, that sort of thing.

I should stress that both Paul Taylor and Guirane N’Daw are currently not guilty of anything.

But Michael, sometimes saying nothing is the best, nay the only, course of action.

But all is not lost at IP1.

Step forward Tyrone Mings. Someone I had never heard of at the start of the season. Someone who I thought would be able to play in the FA Cup Third Round for Ipswich because I didn’t even know he had played for Yate Town before signing for Chippenham Town.

But everyone now knows Mings’ name because of a simple, and all-too-rare, act of generosity. A fan casually says on Twitter he can’t afford a tickets for the match against Bolton at the weekend so Mings offers him a complimentary ones.

He is new to the professional game but the left-sided 20 year old’s gesture had an old-fashioned edge to it, a nod to when first-team footballers and loyal fans were one.

A week or so ago, I was asked by the esteemed editor of Turnstile Blues whether I would like to write something about ITFC.

I admitted at the time, I was a little devoid of inspiration.

But after a hiatus of just 61 days since leaving the good ship EADT/Ipswich Star, recent events at Portman Road have now compelled me to write about role models.

On Saturday, I asked a nine-year-old Town fan who his favourite player was – and he was lost for words. He seemingly didn’t have one.

There are some very good people currently in the first-team, but there are not enough players who connect with supporters for the right reasons.

This is nothing exceptional with Ipswich. It is a sad trait running throughout football. Has the game become so big and the distance between players and fans so huge that the majority of footballers are no longer role models? That their lives spent with too much free-time in stupendous luxury means they simply can’t connect with the ordinary fan on the street? Possibly.

When I told my Town-supporting mate why I was picking up my pen again, he said many footballers don’t know how to act as role models because of a lack of education – that they spend too much of their formative years on a training pitch rather than a classroom. Good point.

Supporters also have a role to play in this as well. We all see, in virtually every match, some act of vulgarity arising from the terraces and directed at a man simply doing his job. Yes many footballers get paid a good living, but that still doesn’t mean he should be subjected to a torrent of abuse on a weekly basis.

Then there are those fans who will excuse bad behaviour off-the-pitch as long as their man in blue is doing the business on it.

Some might think I’m being too harsh. Town players will congregate outside the reception, post-match, to sign autographs and pose for pictures. But that one act doesn’t make them role models.

Whether they like it or not, how they behave in their down-time in all manner of ways, is what really sets them apart.

Should they even see themselves as role models? I still maintain yes, if only because of the vast number of young fans who look up to them and want to be just like them.

So where does that leave us? Are role models in football becoming an increasing rarity in the modern game? Am I being too fanciful to even hope they still exist in great numbers?

I fear that it might be the case and that I can see why my Dad partly turned his back on the game he helped me fall in love with.

But there remains hope.  Right now, I would be delighted if my son one day says he wants a Town shirt with number 15 on it.

Tyrone Mings, you should be very proud.

How to win friends and influence people… or not

I’ve thought of writing about ticket prices at Portman Road for a while. I’m particularly concerned about the cost for visiting fans, but I’d almost decided against it until today when I saw yet another complaint about our ticket prices, this time from a Bolton Wanderers’ fan on Twitter:

When I first started supporting Town, I was surprised and a little bit pleased at the reaction of friends who supported other clubs. We had a reputation for being a decent club with a history of playing good, entertaining football and hospitality – I don’t mean the Mr. John type of boardroom largesse, but the generally warm and welcoming atmosphere at PR. I can remember Pat Murphy on 5Live waxing lyrical about ITFC’s return to the Premiership in 2000: “a town with good football, good people and good beer,” he’d said, having possibly enjoyed a couple of pints of Broadside first. We were a kind of anti-Millwall: “Everybody likes us and we’re feeling quite nonchalant about it.”

The Trotters’ fan’s tweet was by no means the first that I’ve seen complaining about ticket prices. It’s becoming quite common. And, let’s face it, we’ve hardly been offering much in return for their money. However much I enjoyed myself at the game on Saturday – and I really did enjoy it – it’s a long time since we’ve been the most attractive team to watch. I used to sit next to the away supporters’ area in the Cobbold and it’s not exactly the most luxurious environment either.

At a time when it’s tough financially for most football supporters, it seems wrong somehow to be acquiring a reputation for ripping people off. The growing area of empty blue seats in the away section means that people are staying away and the atmosphere at Portman Road will, in my humble opinion, be the worse for it.

SG

Not from the Owner

by Gavin Barber

Say what you like about Marcus Evans (actually, don’t: he can afford better lawyers than you can), but you could never accuse him of being schmaltzy, ingratiating, or trying to suck up to ITFC fans. His much-heralded “FROM THE OWNER” column, trailed in the EADT on Friday, announced in banner headlines on the cover of last Saturday’s programme, and subsequently reproduced in full on TWTD, began with less of a rallying cry than a reality check:

“Ipswich is one of the clubs in the Championship that based upon historic figures, have been spending in excess of the soon to be introduced FFP rules.”

Well, there you have it people. Why bother trying to get the fans’ little faces puffed up with pride when you’re only going to slap them with the cold fish of fear? None of us want platitudes, but given the rarity with which Evans addresses the masses, it might have been nice to start on a slightly more unifying note. Instead, an opening so stark that it can only have been deliberately constructed as such, brought to mind Gareth Southgate’s famous appraisal of Sven-Goran Eriksson’s 2002 World Cup quarter-final team talk: “We needed Churchill but we got Iain Duncan Smith”.

In paragraphs which may yet form the basis of a chapter in a future management textbook on Managing Stakeholder Expectations, Marcus goes to significant effort to contextualise the club’s financial position, yet strangely fails to mention the ever-growing debt that is presented in each year’s accounts. A prudent approach is all very well: most supporters wouldn’t want the club to indulge in the sort of profligate spending that has seen the dramatic downfall of others (though it does beg the intriguing question of what would have happened if Marcus had been successful in his reported attempts to install Harry Redknapp in the manager’s office). But any true appraisal of the sustainability of the club’s situation would surely have to acknowledge the increasing amount of red on the balance sheet.

In seeking to mitigate the gloom, Marcus asserts that “We have an Academy stronger than many. … Our Academy advantage over others will remain”. It’s nice to see the Academy recognised as a plus point. Unfortunately, the act of saying that ours is better than most other clubs’ doesn’t make it true, even if it’s “the big M” (© Nigel Pickover) who’s saying it. There’s nothing to indicate that our Academy is any better resourced than those of our Championship rivals – and it’s interesting to note how many young coaches and players are opting for what’s on offer down the A12 at Colchester. The once-famed “conveyor belt” of talent into the Town first team has stuttered and halted, to the point where Mick McCarthy recently observed that there were no young players “knocking down the door” of the first team.

Having given us all a further stern talking-to on the subject of money, Marcus moves on, 20 paragraphs into a 23-paragraph article, to acknowledge the existence of supporters in a tone that sounds more like bemusement than appreciation. Having made reference – with a notable lack of any tribute – to the recent departure of Simon Clegg, Marcus reassures us, with regard to “receiving and taking account of [fans’] views”, he’ll be “assessing any void that has appeared through Simon’s departure”. Now this, if analysed too closely, could constitute some kind of philosophical paradox. Can the absence of a vacuum leave a void? Clegg’s approach to supporter engagement has been discussed extensively on these pages, in the first issue of Turnstile Blues, and elsewhere. Cursory at best, patronising at worst, Clegg was never in danger of receiving one of those worthy “supporter liaison” gongs that get handed out by Mark “Clem” Clemmit at the Football League Awards. (Perhaps avoiding that was always his aim). So if Marcus is as motivated by cost-cutting as he says he is, then any “void” in communication with fans left by Clegg’s absence could easily be filled by, say, a gargoyle, or one of those cross-looking proboscis monkeys.

Of more merit would be a commitment to refresh the club’s approach to supporter engagement, rather than viewing it – as Evans’ article appears to suggest that he does – as a box to be ticked. It’s been well over a week since Grant Bage wrote on these pages an eloquent, passionate, measured piece, describing the real “void” that exists at Ipswich Town – the owner’s lack of visibility – and politely invited a response from Evans. At the time of writing, despite the piece having been sent to both ITFC and MEG, we’ve yet to receive one. Once again, when it comes to meaningful engagement with fans, Evans’s silence speaks volumes.

The fun didn’t end on Saturday though, and on Tuesday night it was the turn of Town’s new Managing Director double-act Ian Milne and Jonathan Symonds – already being described by absolutely no-one as “the Ant and Dec of football administration” – to crank the bon mots machine up to 11 and make their own appearance in the programme. After first describing their Tolkeinesque five-year quest to discover the aim and purpose of a professional football club (SPOILER ALERT: it’s about winning football matches and having fun – who knew?), M&S continue in the owner’s relentlessly pragmatic tone, proudly trumpeting their work “developing and launching various projects and ideas to promote a new culture centred on efficiency”. Woot! Yeah baby. Efficiency! Let’s hear the North Stand sing. “Give me an E, give me an F…”

That noise you can hear – it’s not the business-like hum of an efficiency-centred culture. It’s Bobby Robson, turning in his grave.

Joyce Wade, 1933-2012

 Grant Bage pays tribute to a Town supporter and purveyor of “friendship, chocolate bars and chat.”

‘Football’ is a restless beast and football’s blogs, tweets and print media are twitching with unease; not just amongst Town fans, but amongst all fans. That unease centres on some simple questions.  Exactly why do we love football, follow a club and spend vast amounts of money and time in the process? Does coming to Portman Road every other Saturday really mean anything, anymore, in a 21^st century consumed by consumerism?

In my heart the fan’s romance beats strong. Yet there is a decent argument to be made that wage levels are obscene, ticket prices are crazy, players are cynical, the sport is over-exposed and a lust for money has degraded what used to be spontaneous and comparatively egalitarian entertainment into a televised and repetitive ‘product’.

OK yeah … but despite such blatant shortcomings, football retains a mysterious hold over my middle-aged mind. And I have finally worked out, after the recent dull seasons of Town toiling at home, that my fidelity is inexplicable when linked simply to events on the pitch.  If we relied only on what ‘professionals’ serve up as ‘entertainment’ would most of us bother to watch – let alone PAY?

I doubt it. The worse the actual football has grown, particularly at Portman Road during the last few years, the clearer it becomes that football as a fan is so much more than 90 minutes of sport: football is really about ritual, community and friendship. That is why this blog bears tribute to a woman who never played football and very rarely went;  but whom for me, over the years, grew to signify so much about what football really ‘means’, at the bottom of my blue and white heart.

Joyce Wade died on 14 November, 2012. For the last 53 years she had been a (more or less) unbroken presence to her many and varied neighbours in Elliott Street, Ipswich. That was because, like scores of others fifty years ago, Joyce lived above and ran a local corner shop.  She and her prospective husband Roy opened their few square yards of floorboards, shelves, tins and jars in July 1959.  Sandwiched between London Road and Portman Road, the lattice of Victorian terraces from which Joyce drew customers was in the early 1960s a hive of active pubs, clubs, shops, garages, small factories and businesses.  This was an age when the supermarket, out of town shopping and credit cards were still distant or unimagined. This was ‘The Town’ not of football fame but the town of the community behind the club, the town of Ipswich which pre-dated ‘the club’ and the kind of neighbourhood typical of the thousands of urban and rural communities across the UK, from which football had grown in the first place.

Whilst Joyce and her husband Roy were founding their shop in Elliott Street, a few hundred yards away at Portman Road Alf Ramsey was building a legend. Joyce and Roy were married on 15 July 1961. Six months earlier football’s ‘maximum wage’ had been abolished, leading to the amazing phenomenon of the ‘£100 per week footballer’.  Market logic would suggest this favoured rich clubs with large crowds and big money. Yet in April 1961 Ipswich were promoted as Champions, from the Second to the First Division. Sheffield United were runners up, a little club called Liverpool were third and a tiny club named Norwich were fourth. Twelve months later, in April 1962, Ipswich Town achieved the unimaginable. We, the lads from Suffolk, the minnows, the newcomers, the country cousins, won the First Division (today’s Premiership) at our first attempt: tipping the glamorous Spurs and another outstanding provincial club (Burnley) to a hard-fought title.

And this is where we go back to that corner shop in Elliott Street. Joyce spent most of those 53 years, from 1959 to 2012, watching the people walking past her shop and talking to those who came in. One of those people was me, cutting down Elliott Street on match-day Saturdays with my own father in the 1970s and 1980s; and visiting Joyce’s shop each match-day with my own son in the 1990s and 2000s. We would buy a lucky chocolate bar or a bottle of drink of course, but most of all we would chat. Joyce loved to chat and the stories flowed: about her son Julian, about her home town of Dundee, about the war, about opera singing, about being born with her twin sister on Christmas Eve, about the sadness of her older sister’s deaths, about being the daughter of a Methodist lay preacher, about her school days and friends, about her memories of loves and hates and pretty much everything else in between.

And of course there were football-related stories in which she delighted: like the one about a cheeky kid from round the corner running errands for his mum. Knock-kneed and bandy legged, as Joyce remembered him aged nine “Kieron couldn’t even walk straight let alone run straight – I don’t know how he EVER managed to play football.” For younger readers the ‘Kieron’ of Joyce’s story was of course Kieron Dyer, who by the age of 17 was one of the most talented youngsters our famous Academy had ever produced, and who brought the club £6 million when he was sold to Newcastle in July 1999. Then there was the story of Jason, another young lad who frequented Wades’ Stores. Jason Dozzell grew up in Elliott Street, played over 300 times for Ipswich and was sold for £1.9 million to Tottenham Hotspur in August 1993. His mother stayed in the street and remained a valued customer and friend until Joyce’s recent death.

Over the years Joyce and I became firm, match day friends: and over the last few years it has been genuine friendships like that, costing no more than time and care, which have been a stronger reason to spend match-days in Ipswich than much of the expensive nonsense on and off the Portman Road pitch.  For despite the fact that Joyce claimed not to know much about football it felt to me that she knew masses about Ipswich, about living in the changing Town we love, and about serving her community.

Rest in Peace, Joyce Wade.  Thank you for the friendship, the chocolate bars and the chat; and most all for helping me to remember that football is about so much more than a slightly daft game, with way too much money.

JOYCE WADE Born 24 December 1933, died 12 November 2012

Ipswich Town in decline: but why?

Stuart Hellingsworth asks the ITFC Chief Executive a few pertinent questions.

 Back in the days when it was difficult to get a ticket to see Ipswich Town Football Club, (the days when town were flying high, the fans loud and the players proud) some fans would accuse others of being glory hunters: “Where were you when we were losing to Stockport?”  Times when fans were there to experience the lows were used almost as a badge of true loyalty against any Johnny-Come-Lately, as a mark of how far we’d come as we beat Liverpool, Tottenham and won plaudits on Match of the Day.

The abomination of the 3-0 defeat to a second from bottom Sheffield Wednesday was that new low.  It was the match that showed just how far we had plummeted.  We may yet suffer relegation and be a fixture in League One or lower, but that match will always be referred to as “that match”.  The match where it was spelt out that Ipswich Town fans had had enough.  The fact that our manager, Paul Jewell, had departed days earlier was not enough to prevent the vitriol that was dished out to the players and Simon Clegg.

Often, the sacking of an unpopular manager brings fresh hopes, renewed vigour and an air of positivity.  Players will put in a much improved performance to show the departed manager that he was wrong about them as they audition for prospective managers.  Not this time.  The players put in a performance that they could be proud of: if it was pre-season.  Tackling appeared to be banned for fear of injury or perhaps in a ploy to make Sheffield Wednesday look like Brazil circa 1982 (I did check, but neither Sócrates or Éder played for Wednesday).

That lack of commitment was matched by low confidence from some and little cohesion amongst the team, something that is inevitable within an unsettled side – a side that is changed more often than something that is changed a lot.  And don’t start me on the ludicrous tactic of using a lone striker who is just 5ft 8.  The crowd turned on the players.  “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” rang out from many (and not just the North Stand) as fans’ frustrations spilled over.  Aaron Cresswell was booed after a number of free kicks that were well below par for last season’s Player of the Year, a notable lack of confidence to blame.

So not your usual post-managerial sacking performance and positive atmosphere.

But where did it go wrong?

Many will point to Paul Jewell and certainly he has to shoulder much of the blame.  Some still refer to Roy Keane as the man who started the rot. Jim Magilton is also a candidate in the blame game from some quarters.  None of these were victims to chants during the match, mainly because they had all paid the price for poor performance.  Instead, only one staff member was highlighted: Simon Clegg.  “Clegg out” and “We Want Clegg Out” were sang at Town’s CEO who has been in place since April 2009.

Was this a fair chant?

Simon Clegg was appointed Chief Executive in April 2009.  Amongst his first duties was to fire Jim Magilton.  It seems the rationale for this was that town had failed to make the play-offs.  Yes, he sacked a manager for failing to make the play-offs. Indeed Jim tweeted on Saturday 3 November 2012: “I was sacked for not getting in playoffs…”  And many agreed with this sacking.  Agreed because we were building a club to challenge, a squad to get promoted; we wanted promotion.

That promotion has not happened but an escape route appears to be via the trap door to League One.  So how did we end up here?  From 9^th in the table, when Jim was sacked in April 2009 to our current position of rock bottom in November 2012.  (I should add that our debt has also doubled in this time.)

Players and managers have come and gone – too many players and too many loans.  We can all find a list of quotes about how we plan to build for long term; how we won’t repeat the problems of letting contracts run down.  But these never happen.  Players are purchased for the short term, contracts are run down and loan players arrive.  With such short termism, no wonder players appear less motivated.  Someone who has signed for town or even developed via our legendary academy and has performed well is then dropped in favour of a loan player needing match fitness.

You could blame the manager for this.  He is (usually) the one who identifies the players he wants.  Some arrive: Bowyer, Bullard, Scotland, Creswell etc, but some don’t. Austin and Derry being two notable players for whom we agreed a transfer fee, arrived and were impressed with our facilities only for the deal to fall apart due to negotiations breaking down.  Then there is the group who arrived for a lot of money but departed for nothing: McAuley, Norris and Leadbitter being the standout names here.  Their contracts were allowed to run down and for them to be allowed to leave for free.  These were players that other teams wanted.  When asked if McAuley and Norris should have been offered a contract the previous summer to their release, Simon Clegg replied “I don’t think that at all. Hindsight’s a great thing. We are where we’re at.” (Taken from TWTD, Wednesday, 11th May 2011 13:49 )  So we bought expensively and ‘sold’ cheaply; no wonder the debt has doubled.

Peterborough developed a cunning strategy for players who do not wish to sign an extension: they sell them.  They sell them before their contract runs out.  Other clubs have a strategy whereby they look to agree a deal long in advance.  To 99% of clubs and fans, this would appear to be sound business sense.  At Ipswich, Lee Martin’s contract talks stalled because… because… Well you tell me.

Such contract talks are often the domain of the chief executive.  I believe that it may have been referred to in despatches that Marcus Evans and Clegg take a lead on these.  Even were it to be the responsibility solely of the manager, can it be that both Jewell and Keane allowed it to happen in more than one season?  Or is it an Ipswich Town Football Club problem?  Either way, I urge Clegg and Evans to ensure that they do not allow this to repeat itself yet again.

Attendance is another failing of Ipswich Town.  The table below shows how our attendances have dwindled from 25,651 in season 04/05 to 19,641 last season.  A loss of 6,000 spectators on average per game over six years.  That’s quite a loss both in terms of support and income.

Season	Average ITFC  attendance	Rank in division (attendance)
04/05	25,651	5th
05/06	24,252	3rd
06/07	22,444	7th
07/08	21,932	7th
08/09	20,873	8th
09/10	20,840	8th
10/11	19,641	9th
11/12	18,266	12th
12/13 (as of 4.11.12)	16,953	11th

Stats courtesy of http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10794,00.html

Given, there has been a recession and with people having far less to spend than six years ago, attendances will drop.  But then this should be mirrored across the Championship.  However, as the rankings show, we did have the 3^rd highest average attendance in 05/06 yet last season were down to 9^th.  (The early part of this season being even worse.)  Why have we fallen down the attendance table?  These are areas that the club should investigate.  The fall in attendance is quite shocking and does not bode well for the club.  6,000 people x tickets + other goods (tea, beer, programme, cuddly toy for kid) = a big drop in income.

Can town not do anything to address this?  Upon his arrival at the club in April 2009, Mr Clegg announced: “That catchment area is quite solid and we can draw 28,000 people, as we did for the home derby.  One thing I want to do is to make sure the stadium is full week-in, week-out” (as published in TWTD http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/14498/clegg-premier-league-the-number-one-goal )

So what happened there?

We know that many clubs offer discounts.  A cheap beer offer was available for the Sheffield Wednesday game.  Sometimes we reduce the costs of matchday tickets, but what do other clubs do?

• Middlesborough are offering tickets for their next home game at just £12.
• Crystal Palace did not appear to have any special deal available, but I did note that their cheapest adult ticket is £20 for certain games (not special offers that are only available if season ticket holders buy them).  Previously, through Groupon, it was possible to buy two tickets for £20 for a certain match.
• Derby have also offered a similar deal via Groupon.
• Leicester, it would appear, have some tickets available for £15.
• Birmingham, against our good selves, did the “Kids for a quid” offer.
• Sheffield Wednesday last season offered two tickets for £20 for a game.
• Barnsley are offering members of the armed forces tickets for their game against Huddersfield for £10.
• Wolves allowed season ticket holders to bring a friend for free for one of their games.
• Charlton are offering tickets for £10 for one of their matches.
• Bristol City also offered tickets for £10 for a certain game last season.  They also did an offer for season ticket holders of bringing a friend for free.
• Sunderland’s game with WBA has an offer through Orange of £12.50 a ticket.
• West Ham did Kids for a Quid.
• West Brom via Groupon did an offer of two tickets for £25.

These are good offers that beat ours.  Why can we not be more considerate about this?  The club needs to be more proactive in attracting fans.  Yes, these are difficult times, but that’s where quality club management and business sense comes in.

And why are fans attending less?  Well, we can all offer up a few reasons, but does the club know why?  Whenever I have changed mobile phone provider or moved bank, I get asked for feedback as to why.  This does not happen with Ipswich Town when season ticket holders do not renew.  Why not?  The customer feedback is vital in developing a business.

And there we return to the facts that we have gone from 9^th in the table to bottom whilst our debt doubles.

I have no doubt that the job that Simon Clegg does is extremely difficult.  I could not do that role.  Indeed, I do applaud him for the way that he has handled Michael Chopra’s problems.  He has done the right thing in my book and been most supportive.

However, if you are going to sack managers for not making the play-offs, then you need to be something special yourself and producing in other areas.  Namely:

1. Not allowing expensive players to leave for nothing time and time again.
2. Not allowing our attendances to drop considerably.

Some of these may indeed be difficult to manage, but they are roles that the chief executive is paid handsomely for.  For such an amount, the contracts of players needs to be far better managed.  Our debts should not be as high and programmes need to be developed to entice fans back.

So when considering the original question of was it fair for town fans to chant “Clegg out,” perhaps the above should be taken into account.

Simon, if you’re reading this, show us that it was wrong to chant Clegg out.  Get those attendances back up, sort the players’ contracts out and perhaps this will help with the debt that has been built up under your watch.