The Office (UK): Ipswich Town edition

[CyderInACan]

Mark Ashton is the most deluded bloke in the world. Not Ipswich. Not football. Not even any sport. 

HE IS LITERALLY THE MOST DELUDED MAN IN THE WORLD 

[Unan]

18 minutes ago, boatman said:

https://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/517142/brizzle-city-fans-what-exactly-is-their-beef-with-ashton-(n-t)/#5
 

Anybody fancy bring that friendly city fan?

Haha laughable, to the Ipswich fans reading  this.. post this on your forum 

 

FOUR successful signings out of SIXTY EIGHT

 

 

 

 

 

credir @Davefevs

Edited September 1, 2021 by Marcus Aurelius

[BanburyRed]

13 hours ago, Davefevs said:

….and this For me is where you have your thinking all wrong, the horse and cart the wrong way round.

If Cook is the problem, get rid of him, don’t lavish him with players.

Or get players that Cook wants.  As CEO you should be providing the checks that each signing meets the managers requirements?

To me this is CEO failure and manager failure.

Never in a million years can 19/20 players be a good window.  Recruitment is not about volume….it’s about quality over quantity.  It’s about a plan.

Source: ITFC Analytics - I’ve added red shading to the new players.

I still can’t get my head around that. Why would you sign Barry, Edwards then go and get Celina?

This had the hallmarks of us signing Szmodics because we couldn’t get Palmer, then Palmer becomes available, so you get him as well.

Do you honestly believe several of those players signed earlier this summer as first team regulars, and thought Ashton would be signing another in their position later in the window?  Most of your signings will have signed expecting to play each week.  Did Fraser sign expecting Chaplin to steal his minutes?  What was the plan for Evans, Carroll and Harper if Morsy was genuinely the plan?

The players themselves are in the main good players at this level, some very good, but it is gonna stink when you get a busted dressing room / training ground.

Did you need to loan Dobra out?

I guess time will tell, but I’d be horrified if we made that many signings.  A cynic might suggest you let players go so the CEO could have his ego massaged by the thrill of lots of signings.

 

 

Won't achieve anything with Charlie Chaplin in CM alongside one of the Nolan sisters....

[Davefevs]

I’ve registered.  In for a penny, in for a pound -just waiting to be activated 

Edited September 1, 2021 by Davefevs

[Davefevs]

21 hours ago, Southend Blue said:

That's it, seems 19 is our limit although why not round it off to a nice 20 ?    Just fell one short of a perfect number.

I know Mark Ashton is largely rebuked or the devil incarnate over there but really, has played a pivotal part in getting these additions in.   Some of our fans while not euphoric are really enthralled by the business done and Ashton is receiving praise from rooftops.    

I think it's the manager that's holding us back.   We could bring in 1, 10, 100 new players if it were possible but when you've got someone who picks the squad, deploys formations and training routines etc who seems at times just about incompetent and more Conference League than the Third Division it does make you worry.

It's all about the 'give it time' philosophy.    You know, something you could have said 15 years ago when the real fall started except near to nothing was or has been done in the time inbetween.

The time ahead is critical.     No wins or beaten by a number of arse-hat teams from Morecambe to Newport and not far off the League One relegation spots.   We won't go down, I'm sure of it, it can't happen - won't happen - but it's a tall order to bring in 20 new additions and make a complete new team in such a short space of time.

Think it just puts more pressure on us than ever before.  Pundits and commentators will be perplexed if we don't make the play-offs at very least.     Think we've done too much changes in too short a time.    Not only the players, but Cook and the Yank ownership takeover with it.  There is a big risk this could implode but have to believe this will work out for the better.  

 

If you let TWTD know I’ve registered and they activate me, I’ll add my thoughts tomorrow.  No bed wetting, just a fair few facts mixed with opinions and viewpoints from people who know how he operates.  No jealousy, just a bit of anger over how he operated and the poor position he left my club in.

[Selred]

23 minutes ago, Marcus Aurelius said:

Haha laughable, to the Ipswich fans reading  this.. post this on your forum 

 

FOUR successful signings out of SIXTY EIGHT

 

 

 

 

 

credir @Davefevs

That's not right. How can you say Tammy wasn't successful for example? 

@Davefevswhat actually is the colour coding?

 

[Davefevs]

1 minute ago, Selred said:

That's not right. How can you say Tammy wasn't successful for example? 

@Davefevswhat actually is the colour coding?

 

Players we bought….not loaned.

[petehinton]

The man said he has people writing letters to him

[David Brent]

1 hour ago, boatman said:

https://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/517142/brizzle-city-fans-what-exactly-is-their-beef-with-ashton-(n-t)/#5
 

Anybody fancy bring that friendly city fan?

I used to quite like Ipswich

[Henry]

1 minute ago, David Brent said:

I used to quite like Ipswich

I’d keep that quiet. They won’t like their new CEO speaking like that.

[The Constant Rabbit]

16 minutes ago, petehinton said:

The man said he has people writing letters to him

"Hey Mark, wanna make a quick seventy five grand if you sign my guy?"

[Slack]

18 minutes ago, petehinton said:

The man said he has people writing letters to him

Funny how he can even put a spin on getting his p45 from us

[Ronnie Sinclair]

23 minutes ago, petehinton said:

The man said he has people writing letters to him

So did Jim'll Fix It.....

[RedRock]

Oh dear. They really don’t know what’s going to hit them do they.

Ipswich fans moaning about their previous owners not being able to maintain the floodlights …..tell you, it would have been a blessing if the friggin floodlights went out in most of our games under Ashton’s command.

His only achievement after 4 years tenure was to have made me fall out of love with the ‘beautiful game’…. something no previous regime had achieved in 50 years - even when we were bottom of the entire league. 

No, Ipswich you’re more than welcome to Ashton and his people. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. 

[2015]

After a rigorous process I come to realise this guy is a total narcissist. Poor Ipswich do not realise what this guy will do to the club.

Paul Cook is going to need all the luck he can get. 

I despise Mark Ashton

[WolfOfWestStreet]

Mark, look, we'd like to offer you a very generous redundancy package.

Are you offering it to me, or telling me I have to take it.

We're telling you you have to take it. 

[Fuber]

If Ipswich fans want a simple metric as to why we despise Marky-boy, it's the following.

- We were 23rd in this division, when he took reigns as CEO. He was in an advisory position previous to that when Keith Dawe was Chairman, bless that man, who planned and initialised the stadium and training ground plans that Ashton ultimately took credit for.

- At the point MA left we were 20th - however:

- Never connected with fans; no updates or news from the club with regards to general communications when things were not going well.

- Sacked well liked media staff members among others under NDAs (same as he did at Watford).

- Net transfer spending and wages were up £35m and 50% per annum respectively, leaving us in a lack FFP shit-pile having been solvent he previous 3-4 year period with outgoings.

- Signing players with no regard to tactics or playstyle, scattergun recruitment, leading to a bloated squad, and horrific club culture across most levels.

- Inept staffing (fitness), plus managerial appointment(s). Holden, good coach, should never have been named manager after an 8 week search.

Ultimately, in terms of every remit where he had targets to hit as a CEO, and with the level of backing he had. He failed - badly. None too gracefully either, and made a few tongue in cheek comments also, as well as outright lies on multiple occasions.

I find the Tractor Boys forum thread discussing us also ironic, in whereby they claim we have no idea what it was like for them under Clegg.

No shit lads. Pot Kettle Black, etc. Think we have this vendetta against him for fun?

By and large seem confused whereby they seem to think we're the only club ran afoul of by MA. His time at Watford is well documented by the same issues, I.e. disagreeing with managers, not connecting with fans, NDAs to longstanding clubs staff to appoint his own 'people'.

https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/sport/3995357.oliver-phillips-reflects-on-the-departure-of-mark-ashton-from-watford/

Literally one of the first returns on Google. Not exactly 'hidden'.

All we're saying, is take the man never at face value, with a massive pinch of salt, and don't get carried away.

@Davefevs @Mr Popodopolous Out of interest, Not 100% clued up on the L1 FFP requirements, but where did Ipswich position in regards to the latter for the last couple of season, and what impact would the change in ownership have?

"I suspect it is something we will discover for ourselves in the future. In short, Ashton works with sustaining the books, so our best players may be sold quite regularly to finance the future of the club. I presume with Bristol, he may have been a bit too heavy on his sustainable approach.

However, over the long term, it seems to have improved them."

Oh sweet summer child, if only you knew the complete absolute clusterfudge our finances were now in compared to where they were 3 years ago...

Edited September 2, 2021 by Fuber

[The Journalist]

I mean, I guess you need to be careful not to tar everyone with the same brush, but the determination across the board that the problem is us and not him is bizarre. It’s actually frightening.

I’ve never heard a nice word said about Ashton from anyone within football who has dealt with him at any point. Ever.

His conduct at Watford is well documented - literally in black and white for public consumption - and, while he’s been given due credit for getting good value for outgoing players, as such there’s ALWAYS been a sense of caution around him. Long before the shit really hit the fan.

I’m genuinely staggered, then, that any Ipswich fan really thinks we have a vendetta all because he failed to deliver promotion to a division we apparently “believe” we belong in despite never having been there. That any disdain has no real merit. That, as I’ve even read, it is merely born out of a jealously he left us for a mid-table League One club.

As Nigel would say... “Are you an ostrich?”

And I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved!

Edited September 2, 2021 by The Journalist

[Major Isewater]

6 hours ago, petehinton said:

The man said he has people writing letters to him

Are those letters FFS FO?

[Selred]

8 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Players we bought….not loaned.

How do you define successful? I'd say Pato, Wright were successful for example. 

[daored]

I would like somebody in the media to ask the direct question to Lansdown snr or jnr was it a club decision to run the contracts down on all the players who left at the end of last season. Or was it their understanding that certain players were signing extended contracts. To my knowledge we’ve heard Ashton’s stance on it but not from the club itself , unless I’m wrong ? 

[frenchred]

15 minutes ago, daored said:

I would like somebody in the media to ask the direct question to Lansdown snr or jnr was it a club decision to run the contracts down on all the players who left at the end of last season. Or was it their understanding that certain players were signing extended contracts. To my knowledge we’ve heard Ashton’s stance on it but not from the club itself , unless I’m wrong ? 

Just let it go, worked out ok for us in the end, except famara going for nothing. 

Be happy where we are heading and let it go!

[Silvio Dante]

1 hour ago, Selred said:

How do you define successful? I'd say Pato, Wright were successful for example. 

Indeed. Successful is subjective in some cases. I have no love for Ashton but the hit rate is nowhere near as bad as that chart is suggesting.

It may be better worked with some “jury out” colouring but it’s also harsh to say Massengo, Williams (Ashley - on the basis of a free and did a solid job), Taylor (see price paid vs contribution), Weimann, Paterson etc aren’t successes based on overall club contribution. I’d also not say Ty is an unqualified success.

To look at “success” from another angle here, take Szmodics. Didn’t look good enough to me but we made a profit on him. Not a signing I’d make (and I think it was an Ashton signing to try and appreciate value), but do we argue it’s not a success when it’s made cash?

Theres plenty to hang Ashton on without going into something so subjective

[downendcity]

7 hours ago, Fuber said:

 

"I suspect it is something we will discover for ourselves in the future. In short, Ashton works with sustaining the books, so our best players may be sold quite regularly to finance the future of the club. I presume with Bristol, he may have been a bit too heavy on his sustainable approach.

However, over the long term, it seems to have improved them."

Oh sweet summer child, if only you knew the complete absolute clusterfudge our finances were now in compared to where they were 3 years ago...

A bit too heavy?

How can he have been a" bit too heavy on his sustainable approach” when we saw escalating losses, despite making huge profits on the sale of the likes of Flint, Reid, Bryan and Kelly, primarily because he amassed a bloated squad, compromising too many average players consuming a huge wage bill. To compound the problem he allowed 10 players’ contracts to finish this summer, so that all left without the club being able to recoup a penny in transfer fees, one of whom was our then record signing at £5m.

Obviously Ipswich fans paid no attention to the last 2 years when they say that he improved us “in the long term”. Going back to the earlier part of his time here, when we sold Flint and replaced him with Webster and when, despite selling Reid and Bryan, we sustained our position at the top end of the table I think many felt that he was doing a good job  and looked past the corporate speak (bolux). However, it gradually became clear that many of MA’s pigeons were coming home to roost during the latter part of LJ’s time and especially with the appointment of Holden as his replacement.

Finally, what’s this about  “ his sustainability approach”. I can only assume that MA is now taking credit for introducing what was always SL’s strategy!

 

[supercidered]

11 hours ago, Henry said:

I’m confused; is it one or two ingredients? Time or patience?

Cook isn’t going to last long, it pains Ashton to say his name.

What a smug oily bell sniff. No need to open the door for him, he will just slide underneath it. Couldn't even bring myself to watch the interview.

[ashton_fan]

On 31/08/2021 at 22:54, Robin101 said:

Signing 19 players is extraordinary. How can they afford that!?

Only 3 players cost them money, the rest were freebies and loans. I see Wes Burns was one of the new signings and they got rid of Cole Skuse and James Wilson. Some Ipswich fans are saying they have "the best squad in L1 history" and hope to get 100 points this season, they actually mention our title season and they hope to emulate that. Trouble is they've had no pre-season with most of the players so could take them until Christmas to work out their best eleven.

[Silvio Dante]

4 minutes ago, ashton_fan said:

Only 3 players cost them money, the rest were freebies and loans. I see Wes Burns was one of the new signings and they got rid of Cole Skuse and James Wilson. Some Ipswich fans are saying they have "the best squad in L1 history" and hope to get 100 points this season, they actually mention our title season and they hope to emulate that. Trouble is they've had no pre-season with most of the players so could take them until Christmas to work out their best eleven.

Not just Wilson and Skuse, but higher earners such as Chambers and Sears, together with making a couple of million on Downes and Dozzell. They’re probably fine FFP wise this year, it’s when there’s no family silver left to sell. 

[SE23Red]

48 minutes ago, Silvio Dante said:

Indeed. Successful is subjective in some cases. I have no love for Ashton but the hit rate is nowhere near as bad as that chart is suggesting.

It may be better worked with some “jury out” colouring but it’s also harsh to say Massengo, Williams (Ashley - on the basis of a free and did a solid job), Taylor (see price paid vs contribution), Weimann, Paterson etc aren’t successes based on overall club contribution. I’d also not say Ty is an unqualified success.

To look at “success” from another angle here, take Szmodics. Didn’t look good enough to me but we made a profit on him. Not a signing I’d make (and I think it was an Ashton signing to try and appreciate value), but do we argue it’s not a success when it’s made cash?

Theres plenty to hang Ashton on without going into something so subjective

Agreed. There are two different ways to analyse the chart. Row by row, trying to establish if a deal was good or bad misses the point IMO.

What is most telling to me is the length of it. Nobody will ever convince me we needed to do that much business during his tenure.

Especially considering when he joined us we had a close-knit squad of players with recent success, though at the level below. Now he has left we find ourselves rebuilding a squad identity he and LJ destroyed with the revolving door 'strategy'.

If he were as good as he thinks he is he'd have had the success without the volume.

Edited September 2, 2021 by SE23Red

[Red Exile]

10 hours ago, Davefevs said:

If you let TWTD know I’ve registered and they activate me, I’ll add my thoughts tomorrow.  No bed wetting, just a fair few facts mixed with opinions and viewpoints from people who know how he operates.  No jealousy, just a bit of anger over how he operated and the poor position he left my club in.

I'm not sure I'd bother if I were you! Having read a few of their threads this morning they are, in the main, poorly aware of the goings on at Bristol City (although, frankly, who can blame them?!) and in their blissful ignorance determined to enjoy a love-in....which is of course their prerogative.

We are - it seems - 'classic bitter fans' as frustrated as we would be if one of our better players had left. That's a strange logic but hey ho...personally I'm delighted to see the back of him. His departure was certainly my champagne moment. 

Edited September 2, 2021 by Red Exile

[daored]

53 minutes ago, frenchred said:

Just let it go, worked out ok for us in the end, except famara going for nothing. 

Be happy where we are heading and let it go!

I’m not sure how’s it’s worked out better for us to honest. Appreciate positive from a wage cull but with covid losses and £X amount of millions of players leaving the club for nothing has restricted us in the market in terms of who we can bring in with FFP restrictions.