Jump to content
IGNORED

The Office (UK): Ipswich Town edition


LondonBristolian

Recommended Posts

17 hours ago, Phileas Fogg said:

I think that's probably right. It seemed a bit of an open secret that Ashton was part of that American takeover. Whilst we were able to speculate (hopeful that it was true) on this forum.. I have no doubt it had been in the works for a while before it got to the press. 

But I don't think it was an open secret when Pearson joined. My post regarding Ashton/Ipswich was made after Pearson had joined. 

The timeline of events subsequently, and admittedly taking a fair bit of rumour and hearsay into account, suggests that the Lansdowns had no idea Ashton was planning a getaway until my post, and then when it was picked up by The Athletic four days later. 

That would explain the alleged legal threats against OTIB, and that allegedly far from being allowed to carry on as normal in post, Ashton was placed on gardening leave almost immediately. 

I've subsequently posted that Ashton had been courting the Americans as far back as City's pre-season tour in Florida in 2019, a full 18 months before the story was eventually outed. 

It's business and these kind of informal talks and deals happen, but the Lansdowns must still feel played and massively let down by Ashton. 

  • Like 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, petehinton said:

https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/ashton-on-itfc-and-financial-fair-play-8304716
 

sorry if it’s already been posted, but highly recommend this 45 min chat. Absolute gold from start to finish. So much total gash/lies and referring to himself in the third person 

I don't know if I can bring myself to listen…shame there isn't a voice over like they used to have on Eurotrash…

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Kid in the Riot said:

But I don't think it was an open secret when Pearson joined. My post regarding Ashton/Ipswich was made after Pearson had joined. 

The timeline of events subsequently, and admittedly taking a fair bit of rumour and hearsay into account, suggests that the Lansdowns had no idea Ashton was planning a getaway until my post, and then when it was picked up by The Athletic four days later. 

That would explain the alleged legal threats against OTIB, and that allegedly far from being allowed to carry on as normal in post, Ashton was placed on gardening leave almost immediately. 

I've subsequently posted that Ashton had been courting the Americans as far back as City's pre-season tour in Florida in 2019, a full 18 months before the story was eventually outed. 

It's business and these kind of informal talks and deals happen, but the Lansdowns must still feel played and massively let down by Ashton. 

I’d heard that he was on gardening leave too….does that mean he had to do the odd bit of media work in the intervening period to cover up that fact?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve Lansdown must have felt pretty pissed off if Ashton hadn't been up front with him.

City fans had been quite vitriolic about the Smarmy One for a long time prior to the Holden debacle forcing SL to come out and defend his man publicly on several occasions both in print and interviews. 

To then be proven to have backed the wrong horse would have been a smidge embarrassing for a man well regarded in business circles.

I'd love to know the full story regarding Ashton and OTIB (and by extension the supporters club?) But understand and respect that it's unlikely to be written about.

I would guess though that Ashton's initial involvement in the US was probably focused on investment opportunities in Bristol Sport and maybe, when this didn't come to fruition, Ashton saw opportunities elsewhere.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Davefevs said:

As an outside looking in at Ipswich it feels like Cook’s heart isn’t in it.  That’s poor on his part, but it feels like Cotts when Ashton came back into the club….where in Cotts case he just made himself more and more likely to get sacked, the altercation with a fan being the final straw.  I loved Cotts, but was disappointed that he didn’t try to play the game a bit and stay onside in the hope of buying some time and sorting things out.  Got to say the dynamic between Cotts and Tomlin would’ve been good to watch, might’ve ended in tears too, but would’ve been interesting.

Back to Cook, he’s not been vocal about transfers, is that because he’s accepted his fate, or is it Ashton hogging the limelight?

I don’t think Cook will be here by the next international break.

Talking about players like tomlin playing under cotts do you think that is why jet wasn’t wanted by us in the championship because of work rate ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Midlands Robin said:

Steve Lansdown must have felt pretty pissed off if Ashton hadn't been up front with him.

City fans had been quite vitriolic about the Smarmy One for a long time prior to the Holden debacle forcing SL to come out and defend his man publicly on several occasions both in print and interviews. 

To then be proven to have backed the wrong horse would have been a smidge embarrassing for a man well regarded in business circles.

I'd love to know the full story regarding Ashton and OTIB (and by extension the supporters club?) But understand and respect that it's unlikely to be written about.

I would guess though that Ashton's initial involvement in the US was probably focused on investment opportunities in Bristol Sport and maybe, when this didn't come to fruition, Ashton saw opportunities elsewhere.

The idea that Ashton was somehow working on a deal with Americans/Ipswich while being employed by Bristol City and no one knew anything is absurd, particularly when taking into account the context of SL stating he was actively looking for investment. 
 

I had no idea that a communication had been made to OITB over the mans departure. In my experience if that kind of thing happens in this kind of arena someone is a bit closer to the truth than others may like. If anyone knows anything I would be delighted to hear/read it. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

The idea that Ashton was somehow working on a deal with Americans/Ipswich while being employed by Bristol City and no one knew anything is absurd, particularly when taking into account the context of SL stating he was actively looking for investment. 
 

I had no idea that a communication had been made to OITB over the mans departure. In my experience if that kind of thing happens in this kind of arena someone is a bit closer to the truth than others may like. If anyone knows anything I would be delighted to hear/read it. 

 

It’s not that absurd, How did he get a job with them then if he wasn’t working on a deal? I’ve never told an employer I’m actively seeking employment elsewhere either 

Edited by Rob k
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

43 minutes ago, Midlands Robin said:

Steve Lansdown must have felt pretty pissed off if Ashton hadn't been up front with him.

City fans had been quite vitriolic about the Smarmy One for a long time prior to the Holden debacle forcing SL to come out and defend his man publicly on several occasions both in print and interviews. 

To then be proven to have backed the wrong horse would have been a smidge embarrassing for a man well regarded in business circles.

I'd love to know the full story regarding Ashton and OTIB (and by extension the supporters club?) But understand and respect that it's unlikely to be written about.

I would guess though that Ashton's initial involvement in the US was probably focused on investment opportunities in Bristol Sport and maybe, when this didn't come to fruition, Ashton saw opportunities elsewhere.

Imagine the finders fee for being part of the group that introduced Gamechanger to Ipswich. Whether that trip to the US was for SL (City or Bristol Sport) I don’t know.  I do recall a mate of mine saying Ashton wasn’t taking City to Florida for the club’s benefit.  Gonna ask him to try and recall what he knew.  It’s quite possible Covid slowed that down.

19 minutes ago, Rob k said:

It’s not that absurd, How did he get a job with them then if he wasn’t working on a deal? I’ve never told an employer I’m actively seeking employment elsewhere either 

⬆️⬆️⬆️ Let’s see if a certain someone can remember what he said at the time.

36 minutes ago, Wiltshire robin said:

Talking about players like tomlin playing under cotts do you think that is why jet wasn’t wanted by us in the championship because of work rate ?

JET was allegedly on £20k per week at Ipswich, hence why QPR could afford him and we couldn’t.  I don’t know whether Cotts thought he could do it at Champ level….too big a risk on those wages.  Whilst under contract at Ipswich we were paying half (I think).

Edited by Davefevs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

Imagine the finders fee for being part of the group that introduced Gamechanger to Ipswich. Whether that trip to the US was for SL (City or Bristol Sport) I don’t know.  I do recall a mate of mine saying Ashton wasn’t taking City to Florida for the club’s benefit.  Gonna ask him to try and recall what he knew.

⬆️⬆️⬆️ Let’s see if a certain someone can remember what he said at the time.

JET was allegedly on £20k per week at Ipswich, hence why QPR could afford him and we couldn’t.  I don’t know whether Cotts thought he could do it at Champ level….too big a risk on those wages.  Whilst under contract at Ipswich we were paying half (I think).

Oh I see 

yeh would of been a risk and tbf he didn’t set the world on fire at qpr

shame as he had some crazy talent

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

Imagine the finders fee for being part of the group that introduced Gamechanger to Ipswich. Whether that trip to the US was for SL (City or Bristol Sport) I don’t know.  I do recall a mate of mine saying Ashton wasn’t taking City to Florida for the club’s benefit.  Gonna ask him to try and recall what he knew.

⬆️⬆️⬆️ Let’s see if a certain someone can remember what he said at the time.

JET was allegedly on £20k per week at Ipswich, hence why QPR could afford him and we couldn’t.  I don’t know whether Cotts thought he could do it at Champ level….too big a risk on those wages.  Whilst under contract at Ipswich we were paying half (I think).

He was absolutely adamant at the time that this trip was all about Ashton and he’s been proven to have been bang on. He’s told me to me wary since day 1 of Him arriving at the club.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Rob k said:

It’s not that absurd, How did he get a job with them then if he wasn’t working on a deal? I’ve never told an employer I’m actively seeking employment elsewhere either 

He was working on a deal that’s the point. SL was/is looking for partners buyers. Ashton was working on that, but he found buyers that couldn’t afford/want Bristol City/Bristol Sport-but could afford a club with some history and a decent catchment area like Ipswich. The rest is history. 
 

When you are interested in investment and acquisition you make as many friends and contacts as possible and this is clearly ongoing at our club. Source Steve Lansdown! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, REDOXO said:

He was working on a deal that’s the point. SL was/is looking for partners buyers. Ashton was working on that, but he found buyers that couldn’t afford/want Bristol City/Bristol Sport-but could afford a club with some history and a decent catchment area like Ipswich. The rest is history. 
 

When you are interested in investment and acquisition you make as many friends and contacts as possible and this is clearly ongoing at our club. Source Steve Lansdown! 

So the follow-on question is - was Ashton undermining Lansdown / City from that point on, or at least not putting 100% into it?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Davefevs said:

So the follow-on question is - was Ashton undermining Lansdown / City from that point on, or at least not putting 100% into it?

You would have to ask Ashton and SL that. My tuppence is that probably not. If a deal was being struck for Ipswich that the owner and board of Bristol City were not aware of in some capacity then it’s highly likely action would have been taken long before it became public. The idea that an industry can keep a secret from others in the industry is almost laughable 
 

The board and the Lansdown family have  now have connections. M&A is often about signaling. And the signals from the owner are pretty clear. It is now about kissing frogs until one turns into a Prince to use an awful industry metaphor. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, REDOXO said:

The idea that Ashton was somehow working on a deal with Americans/Ipswich while being employed by Bristol City and no one knew anything is absurd,

I'm not so sure. We'd need to work out a timeline of events but the big questions such as who said what and when I doubt we'll ever fully know.

I can guarantee though that when I'm not in work at my desk, my boss would have no idea what I'm doing. It's not all that absurd to believe Ashton was devoting some time prior to the announcement of his departure working on non City related projects.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

52 minutes ago, Midlands Robin said:

I'm not so sure. We'd need to work out a timeline of events but the big questions such as who said what and when I doubt we'll ever fully know.

I can guarantee though that when I'm not in work at my desk, my boss would have no idea what I'm doing. It's not all that absurd to believe Ashton was devoting some time prior to the announcement of his departure working on non City related projects.

Yes But I didn't say that he was not devoting some time working on non City projects, in fact I made it clear he was. Its a matter of knowledge!!!

The issue is did SL and the board not know what he was doing. The breach of confidentiality, not to mention the breach of trust to an employer paying him 500k would have been enough for any suiter not to have gone through with the deal with him as it would have been clear that the person they were doing business with was not to be trusted. When you are paying out that kind of money having trust in the person/s you are doing business with is key! The idea that all this went trough while Ashton THE CEO of a rival business was not being open with his employer/Ipswich/The Buyer is fantasy born out of the dislike for the man, that many of us, including me, have for the individual!

UK Fiduciary duty rules are in the link

https://www.diligent.com/en-gb/blog/main-fiduciary-duties-uk-company-directors/

Furthermore under IRS and regulations in the USA deals of this kind are scrutinized by the IRS and in the case of big deals the FBI, this is to minimize money laundering issues in sport which are rife. furthermore The FA and The EFL dont wake up one morning to be told...Oh by the way Ipswich have new owners....! 

If someone has implied that Ashton breached his fiduciary duty no wonder threats/cease and desist notices have been issued ALLEGEDLY!

Edited by REDOXO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tricky one isn’t it.

The facts are inconsistent in terms of validating a position. 
 

SL mentioning Ashton by name in opening the HPC, Nige saying some complimentary words about his then CEO -gives weight to parting on good terms vs no public departing message on the official Club site (to my knowledge), on/off the pitch leaving the Club in a perilous position- including losing £££ millions on players he signed, no slot-in replacement CEO, those issues makes you think he departed rapidly and under a cloud. 

 

Maybe someone could ask Nige at the forum what he really thought of Ashton. While his words probably wouldn’t give things away, his body language might. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Tricky one isn’t it.

The facts are inconsistent in terms of validating a position. 
 

SL mentioning Ashton by name in opening the HPC, Nige saying some complimentary words about his then CEO -gives weight to parting on good terms vs no public departing message on the official Club site (to my knowledge), on/off the pitch leaving the Club in a perilous position- including losing £££ millions on players he signed, no slot-in replacement CEO, those issues makes you think he departed rapidly and under a cloud. 

 

Maybe someone could ask Nige at the forum what he really thought of Ashton. While his words probably wouldn’t give things away, his body language might. 

Largely platitudes for public consumption I think so as to avoid washing dirty linen in public.

I posted earlier in the thread that it may also be a question of SL's ego. Let's face it he was hoodwinked by Ashton and let him run amok but no way is he going to admit that. Least of all is he going to admit that the fans were right and he was wrong.

So SL is the one to put the questions to not NP but nobody is going to have the guts to ask him and he wouldn't answer them honestly anyway.

Though his comment about Gould not being one to recommend players gave us a glimpse of what he thinks of Ashton in hindsight.

Edited by chinapig
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, chinapig said:

Largely platitudes for public consumption I think so as to avoid washing dirty linen in public.

I posted earlier in the thread that it may also be a question of SL's ego. Let's face it he was hoodwinked by Ashton and let him run amok but no way is he going to admit that. Least of all is he going to admit that the fans were right and he was wrong.

So SL is the one to put the questions to not NP but nobody is going to have the guts to ask him and he wouldn't answer them honestly anyway.

Though his comment about Gould not being one to recommend players gave us a glimpse of what he thinks of Ashton in hindsight.

Yeah but…. If someone had made me look a mug ,cost me £millons and left the Club on the precipice of relegation, I certainly wouldn’t mention him by name at a media event in a positive way.

If it was just a matter of trying to save face, I’d just erase him from the history of the Club. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

If someone has implied that Ashton breached his fiduciary duty no wonder threats/cease and desist notices have been issued ALLEGEDLY

So ultimately we've several options.

1) The breach of rules option which we'll discount as it could involve legal ramifications.

2) Ashton was not involved in any of the big work but was aware of the goings on, perhaps acted as a point of contact and was offered the role at Ipswich prior to SL being aware.

3) Ashton informed SL that he was working with investors to buy into Ipswich town on behalf of a former colleague and SL was happy for him to do so as long as it didn't effect his City work, ultimately Ashton decided to put his notice in and leave at the end of the season. 

4) Ashton woke up one morning to find a group of investors involving a long time friend and work mate of his had purchased Ipswich and quite out of the blue they called him up and offered him the CEO job.

Personally, I'd say the least likely of all of those would be option 3. I just can't see SL being happy with his CEO working for someone else when he should be concentrating 100 percent on Bristol City. 

From what I recall when the initial threads appeared on OTIB, there was no suggestion that any impropriety had taken place. The poster simply pointed out that a company with a link to one of Ashton's friends had popped up in relation to football investment. 

There was nothing more concrete than that. It was that scrap of info that sent the hot line at OTIB towers off.

Either way, I'm sure enough rocks will eventually get kicked over to reveal more light on the subject.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, RedRock said:

Yeah but…. If someone had made me look a mug ,cost me £millons and left the Club on the precipice of relegation, I certainly wouldn’t mention him by name at a media event in a positive way.

If it was just a matter of trying to save face, I’d just erase him from the history of the Club. 

Perhaps, or if you are Steve you keep up the pretence until he's gone to save face. A bit like a manager leaving by alleged mutual consent when everybody knows he's been sacked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Midlands Robin said:

So ultimately we've several options.

1) The breach of rules option which we'll discount as it could involve legal ramifications.

2) Ashton was not involved in any of the big work but was aware of the goings on, perhaps acted as a point of contact and was offered the role at Ipswich prior to SL being aware.

3) Ashton informed SL that he was working with investors to buy into Ipswich town on behalf of a former colleague and SL was happy for him to do so as long as it didn't effect his City work, ultimately Ashton decided to put his notice in and leave at the end of the season. 

4) Ashton woke up one morning to find a group of investors involving a long time friend and work mate of his had purchased Ipswich and quite out of the blue they called him up and offered him the CEO job.

Personally, I'd say the least likely of all of those would be option 3. I just can't see SL being happy with his CEO working for someone else when he should be concentrating 100 percent on Bristol City. 

From what I recall when the initial threads appeared on OTIB, there was no suggestion that any impropriety had taken place. The poster simply pointed out that a company with a link to one of Ashton's friends had popped up in relation to football investment. 

There was nothing more concrete than that. It was that scrap of info that sent the hot line at OTIB towers off.

Either way, I'm sure enough rocks will eventually get kicked over to reveal more light on the subject.

I posted on here some time before anything got announced on any subject (M&A related) that the club at the time were not letting any information  out of the club and this felt like a quiet period before an announcement. (It’s in my posting history)  People at the time were concerned of the lack of info from the club! Subsequently  the Ipswich thing became common knowledge and SL went on a podcast stating his intent to look into investors/investment from outside. 
 

Your scenarios. Are thAt your scenarios. What has happened is relatively clear and has already put OUT there. No breach of rules has occurred to the best of anyone’s knowledge. The rule makers would include FA EFL IRS FBI HMIR UEFA FIFA et al.  Mark Ashton has not been charged with any kind of misconduct and has clearly complied with rules to the best of anyone’s knowledge as of today. He is not in any danger of being barred from holding future directorships to my knowledge and anything else that is stated/speculated on here or anywhere else to the contrary could get people into a world of pain!

Edit. I still don’t like him much, but have never met him so he could be a good bloke to have a beer with. Either way the man is not stupid enough to put his entire career in jeopardy particularly as he has been on the EFL board!

Edited by REDOXO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

UEFA FIFA

Two paragons of virtue right there.

?

It's still possible to be an asshole and not break the law. Just look at 99 percent of the MP's involved in the expenses scandal.

Yes, my scenarios were very general and I agree, anyone leveling the accusation of illegal activities needs to be extremely sure of what they're saying before claiming such. 

I'm also sure that posting of a link between person A, person B and an Investment company isn't enough to bring Perry Mason banging on your door. 

Whatever went on, the last 12 months turned out pretty badly for our football club but didn't seem to effect the career of our former CEO.

Edit - But our future is definitely looking better with NP and RG in post.

Edited by Midlands Robin
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To paraphrase  Blackadder, Mark Ashton is as a cunning as a fox that’s just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Oxford University.

If the opportunity arose to “facilitate” his friend's investment group’s takeover of ITFC and that offered him the potential for personal advancement ( both in status and financially) then I am pretty sure he would know how to go about it without alerting his current employers and without compromising his position at BCFC.

It might not just have been the opportunity for personal and financial rewards that appealed. It might just have been that he could see the wheels coming off at BCFC thanks to some of the decisions he had made, so the ITFC opportunity gave him an exit strategy so that he could jump before being pushed, if it came to that.

Long term I think most are agreed that the club will progress better without MA at the helm. The only shame is that we’ve had to suffer the last 2-3 years to come to that realisation.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...