Turnstile Blues
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • CURRENT ISSUE
  • BACK ISSUES
  • GALLERIES
  • LETTERS


Tweets by @Turnstile_Blue

Want more? Subscribe to Turnstile Blues for £6 for three issues, including postage.


Select starting issue:


Ipswich Town in decline: but why?

Stuart Hellingsworth, Tuesday 6 November 2012


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

Sir Bobby Robson

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 9th 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 the Football League

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 3rd highest average attendance in 05/06 yet last season were down to 9th.  (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)

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 9th 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.

Want more? Subscribe to Turnstile Blues for £6 for three issues, including postage.


Select starting issue:


This was posted under the following categories: Ipswich Town, Simon Clegg, Marcus Evans, Finance


Comments


Anon
06/11/2012 at 19:04

Totally agree on No. 1.

But 2- What is Cleggs brief? Ideally, we would maintain our attendances and also our income at the same time. But, we have a team that is bottom of the league and so in those circumstances just keeping income up might be good. And as was highlighted recently, we seem to have some high season ticket prices?



Grant Bage
17/11/2012 at 15:19

Spot on article and it nails issues that Marcus E will (I hope) have at the front of his folder labelled ‘Chief Executive’s Annual Appraisal’. Attendances, contracts, fans’ feelings, prices, income etc are all measurables … And by any measure on all of them, Clegg ain’t doing too well!



Stuart Hellingsworth
25/11/2012 at 21:14

Thanks for the replies

Its a concern that the club have lost their way but lacks ideas as to how to get this back. Without doubt, on the pitch performances have much to do with it. But how have we slipped from play-off contenders to relegation contenders? And why are we not being more imaginative to come up with deals to bring in fans? Why do so many deals break down?

In short, is it a coincidence that are fortunes have crashed on and off the pitch since Marcus Evans arrived?



Comments are no longer accepted on this post


The World Just Looks The Same

Gavin Barber, Wednesday 2 December 2020

Lee Way

Grant Bage, Sunday 1 March 2020

Decade Reaction

Richard Woodall, Thursday 23 January 2020

A renewal of trust?

Stephen Skeet, Wednesday 7 August 2019

Acting Up?

Grant Bage, Monday 15 April 2019

Call To Action

Emma Corlett and Gavin Barber, Monday 15 April 2019

This is a low

Gavin Barber, Friday 8 February 2019

Fear and Loathing in West London

Gavin Barber, Friday 28 December 2018

Is That A Lai?

Darren Baker, Friday 23 November 2018

How long can a club drift without sinking?

Steve Moore, Thursday 25 October 2018

Feel Every Beat

Gavin Barber, Sunday 16 September 2018

Gerry Harrison on Wembley '78

Gavin Barber, Friday 4 May 2018

M.E. TV

Gavin Barber, Thursday 26 April 2018

This is how it feels

Various, Wednesday 14 March 2018

Doubling Down

Gavin Barber, Thursday 11 January 2018

Ted Talk

Peter Barber, Wednesday 10 January 2018

Oh you've got green eyes, oh you've got blue eyes

Alasdair Ross, Sunday 7 January 2018

New Turnstile Blues out on Saturday

Gavin Barber, Thursday 30 November 2017

April Foolery

Grant Bage, Sunday 2 April 2017

IP1: FIASCO

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 23 March 2017

Generation Lost

Matt Makin, Wednesday 22 March 2017

Take a look at the law man, beating up the wrong guy

Gavin Barber, Sunday 19 March 2017

This was one day I had looked forward to all my adult life...

Stephen Skeet, Friday 17 March 2017

IPSWICH TOWN 0 WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 0

Gavin Barber, Wednesday 8 March 2017

IPSWICH TOWN 1 BRENTFORD 1 Saturday 4 March 2017

Grant Bage, Tuesday 7 March 2017

IPSWICH TOWN 1 LEEDS UNITED 1 Saturday 18 February 2017

Gavin Barber, Monday 20 February 2017

Strange Magic

Susan, Thursday 9 February 2017

IPSWICH TOWN 2 READING 2

Grant Bage, Wednesday 8 February 2017

Ipswich Town 3 Blackburn Rovers 2

Grant Bage, Sunday 15 January 2017

Ipswich Town 2 Lincoln City 2

Grant Bage, Tuesday 10 January 2017

Ipswich Town 2 Bristol City 1

Grant Bage, Saturday 31 December 2016

Ipswich Town 0 Fulham 2

Grant Bage, Wednesday 28 December 2016

Ipswich Town 1 Cardiff City 1

Grant Bage, Tuesday 13 December 2016

50 Questions We'd Like To Ask Marcus Evans

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 4 December 2016

Ipswich Town 3 QPR 0

Grant Bage, Monday 28 November 2016

Ipswich Town 0 Nottingham Forest 2

Grant Bage, Monday 21 November 2016

Ipswich Town 2 Rotherham 2

Grant Bage, Thursday 3 November 2016

Now we know where Richard Wright's been hiding...

Alasdair Ross, Friday 28 October 2016

Boring stories of glory days

Susan, Tuesday 13 September 2016

Dalian Atkinson, 1968 - 2016

Gavin Barber, Wednesday 17 August 2016

Changes to the structure of the Football League

Susan, Sunday 22 May 2016

You Came, And Changed The Way I Feel

Emma Corlett, Friday 29 April 2016

One of our own: John Miller, 1950-2016

Susan Gardiner, Saturday 20 February 2016

IP1: A day in the life

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 18 October 2015

Teenage Kicks

Will Moore, Thursday 8 October 2015

The Turnstile Blues Alternative End of Season Awards 2015

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 14 June 2015

Just Another Saturday?

Grant Bage, Sunday 26 April 2015

Hillsborough Memorial Day 2015

Emma Corlett, Wednesday 15 April 2015

IP1: It’s not easy being green

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 15 March 2015

Transmission

Emma Corlett, Sunday 21 December 2014

Supporters Direct speaker in Ipswich

Turnstile Blues, Thursday 6 November 2014

The Turnstile Blues Guide to Avoiding Food Safety Issues at Portman Road

Turnstile Blues, Tuesday 28 October 2014

Turnstile Blues 6 now available online

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 19 October 2014

Who sent out an ITFC steward to try and move us on when selling Turnstile Blues today?

Turnstile Blues, Saturday 18 October 2014

Roy Keane: the only interview you need to read

Peregrine Cuttlefish, Sunday 12 October 2014

Walk a mile in my shoes

Stuart Hellingsworth, Friday 10 October 2014

Ched Evans: some thoughts on his possible return to professional football

Rob Freeman, Thursday 9 October 2014

Roy Keane Ha Ha Ha (or The Snapper)

Susan Gardiner, Tuesday 7 October 2014

Book review: The A-Z of Football Hates

Susan Gardiner, Monday 6 October 2014

Wrong place, right time: Blofield United Reserves vs Freethorpe, Non-league Day 2014

Emma Corlett, Monday 8 September 2014

Non-league Day on 6th September 2014

Gavin Barber, Wednesday 3 September 2014

Family entertainment

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 21 August 2014

Postscript on Category 1

Gavin Barber, Sunday 27 July 2014

I can’t believe it’s not a Big Buttery Audit Vat

Gavin Barber, Friday 25 July 2014

Portman Road, July 2014

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 6 July 2014

Sir Alf Ramsey’s last resting place

Susan Gardiner, Wednesday 2 July 2014

There are more questions than answers

Turnstile Blues, Tuesday 1 July 2014

Watching football is not a crime

Susan Gardiner, Friday 27 June 2014

Masculine Pursuits in Ipswich: Our Victorian Correspondent Writes

Peregrine Cuttlefish, Sunday 1 June 2014

Let’s call the whole thing off

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 11 May 2014

Fans United Day

Gavin Barber, Saturday 10 May 2014

The Turnstile Blues Alternative End of Season Awards

Turnstile Blues, Monday 5 May 2014

Issue 5 on sale this Saturday, 3rd May

Turnstile Blues, Friday 2 May 2014

With A Little Help From My Friends

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 1 May 2014

A light that never goes out

Gavin Barber, Tuesday 29 April 2014

Feta accompli

Stephen Skeet, Tuesday 29 April 2014

Warren United

Gavin Barber, Tuesday 22 April 2014

IP1: A Matter of Crust

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 3 April 2014

IP1

Susan Gardiner, Friday 21 March 2014

Welcome to Rainbow Tractors

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 16 February 2014

Turnstile Blues 4 for sale

Susan Gardiner, Wednesday 29 January 2014

Adam Tanner: the one who got away

Emma Corlett, Friday 24 January 2014

Way Out West

Nick Ames, Friday 24 January 2014

Everything you always wanted to know about… ITFC Italian Branch

Susan Gardiner, Wednesday 4 December 2013

Michael Kemp RIP

Alasdair Ross, Sunday 10 November 2013

Celebrate good times, come on…

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 7 November 2013

Turnstile Blues on sale before Brighton match – and online now

Turnstile Blues, Sunday 15 September 2013

Turnstile Blues 3: Children of the Revolution

Gavin Barber, Thursday 12 September 2013

Turnstile Blues 3 is coming out on Saturday

Turnstile Blues, Monday 9 September 2013

Portman Road recognised as an Asset of Community Value

Susan Gardiner, Monday 2 September 2013

Pride and Prejudice: How Ipswich fans fought fascism, and how new prejudices arise

Stuart Hellingsworth, Tuesday 27 August 2013

The Clegg Letters

Gavin Barber, Friday 23 August 2013

This club is different because it’s ours

Mullet, Wednesday 21 August 2013

Disappointed (once more)…

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 15 August 2013

Hull City AFC

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 15 August 2013

Ipswich Town: A History

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 11 August 2013

Fair Play at the ITFC Academy?

Gavin Barber, Thursday 1 August 2013

Bobby Robson, 18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009

Turnstile Blues, Wednesday 31 July 2013

Kick It Out’s new app to help fans report discrimination

Turnstile Blues, Tuesday 30 July 2013

So farewell then, Rocky Michael Chopra

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 25 July 2013

“It’s Batistuta…” & other tales of hope in hopeless times

Gavin Barber, Tuesday 18 June 2013

Here comes the summer…

Gavin Barber, Friday 14 June 2013

ITFC Italia – their latest tournament

Simone Longo, Monday 3 June 2013

“Ipswich for the Cup, but first a word about the ladies…”

Susan Gardiner, Friday 10 May 2013

Sir Alf Ramsey, 22 January 1920 – 28 April 1999

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 28 April 2013

You can now buy printed copies of By Mutual Consent directly from us

Turnstile Blues, Wednesday 17 April 2013

Twenty's Plenty

Susan Gardiner, Wednesday 10 April 2013

Forza Town! The ITFC Italian Branch

Simone Longo, Monday 8 April 2013

Swiss Ramble on the latest ITFC accounts

Susan Gardiner, Friday 5 April 2013

By Mutual Consent

Turnstile Blues, Thursday 4 April 2013

My club, right or wrong?

Susan Gardiner, Sunday 31 March 2013

In which “Clem” gets very excited By Mutual Consent

Gavin Barber, Friday 29 March 2013

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

Dave Gooderham, Friday 29 March 2013

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

Grant Bage, Wednesday 27 March 2013

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

Turnstile Blues, Wednesday 27 March 2013

Letting daylight in upon magic

Rich Woodward, Thursday 21 March 2013

When Saturday Comes: “Michael Chopra shows how detached players can be”

Gavin Barber, Thursday 21 March 2013

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

Dave Gooderham, Monday 18 March 2013

How to win friends and influence people… or not

Susan Gardiner, Monday 4 March 2013

Not From The Owner

Gavin Barber, Friday 22 February 2013

In Name Only?

Grant Bage, Sunday 10 February 2013

Joyce Wade, 1933-2012

Grant Bage, Saturday 15 December 2012

Ipswich Town in decline: but why?

Stuart Hellingsworth, Tuesday 6 November 2012

A Family Affair?

Gavin Barber, Monday 29 October 2012

Decision Time

Gavin Barber, Sunday 28 October 2012

‘This is the face that you’ve got': my view of the Supporters’ Club AGM

Susan Gardiner, Thursday 25 October 2012

Copyright 2015 Turnstile Blues