| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." 10:50 - May 1 with 3590 views | blaggers |
I'm sure many of us remember when realistically we were treading water in the Championship, with us trying to get enthusiastic over the latest free signing that the club would announce - then as it became clear that we were going down, the debate ensued about relegation giving us time to rebuild. I would suggest that in the long run going down to L1 has been actually a positive thing for the club. New owners, infrastructure, a vision, a plan, and more importantly a chance for the fan base to prove that we care about the club and its direction. Apathy has been replaced by passion, I've not seen this much of a connection between the club and the community in my 25 years of going to the games.
I remember McCarthy saying that the results would determine the crowd numbers, at a time when we were pulling crowds of 15k, but it's not been about that, has it - it's that we can now identify with and relate to the guys on the pitch, to see a club that gives back to the community it serves, and in return the team gets a level of support that inspires them.
So what do you think, with hindsight and all that - was going down to L1 right thing for the club? |  |
| |  |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:53 - May 1 with 2890 views | MJallday |
I think we should all be looking forward , not back
That said, league 1 was the catalyst for evans to f**k off and gc20 to come in, so in that respect , yes it was worth it in the end
My sincere hope is that now “phase 1” is over , gc20 provide the mechanism to get into
The promised lands… |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:54 - May 1 with 2882 views | Fixed_It |
It was the catalyst for much needed change and a re-set. Ultimately a good thing, but maybe took a bit longer than any of us would have liked. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:55 - May 1 with 2862 views | wkj |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:53 - May 1 by MJallday |
I think we should all be looking forward , not back
That said, league 1 was the catalyst for evans to f**k off and gc20 to come in, so in that respect , yes it was worth it in the end
My sincere hope is that now “phase 1” is over , gc20 provide the mechanism to get into
The promised lands… |
I do agree that we should be looking forward, but your second paragraph is very much 'in the now'. Had we stayed up, god knows how long Evans would have stayed here for. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:00 - May 1 with 2823 views | wkj |
In some ways Mick was right - We do have a lot of fair weather fans at Ipswich. I don't say as an insult, but an acknowledgment that a big chunk of our supporters come from far a field and the likelihood of a win might sway them to stump up the cash.
However, I don't doubt that playing exciting football and getting a mixed bag of results would be enough for a fair number of fans to show up either. | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:03 - May 1 with 2801 views | Steve_M |
It’s only been a good thing because of the Gamechanger takeover; without that we would have continued drifting downwards given Evans’s lack of care and interest. It’s a question of whether the takeover would have happened without relegation which is largely unknowable given Evans’ dissembling and avoidance of scrutiny.
Relegation very nearly was the worst thing for this club, until the last week we might still not have got promoted this season, it’s been a hard division to get out of, especially this year. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:04 - May 1 with 2796 views | MJallday |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:55 - May 1 by wkj |
I do agree that we should be looking forward, but your second paragraph is very much 'in the now'. Had we stayed up, god knows how long Evans would have stayed here for. |
I agree, we were languishing aimlessly, I couldn’t see any future under him
After years of underinvestment in the team, stadium, staff and indeed community relations
I think he was relying on blind luck tbh and yes it’s scary, he could still be in control
For me he lost it in “that January” when we didn’t invest | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:07 - May 1 with 2753 views | Guthrum |
No, because we've had to endure several years of unnecessary difficulties and humiliation over something which shouldn't have been necessary when we were in and around the Championship play-offs only a couple of seasons before.
It's turned out well because we happened to be picked up by Gamechanger, but it could easily have gone another way and we'd now be talking about relegation to the fourth tier instead of promotion to the second.
It's a bit like saying that carelessly running across the road and being hit by a bus was a good thing because a long stay in hospital allowed you to reappraise your life and move in a different direction. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:08 - May 1 with 2741 views | Hipsterectomy |
I do wonder what would have happened if we had scraped some more wins in 19/20 and finished in the top 2 when covid ended the season, so go up automatically.
Chambers, Skuse, Sears, Nolan in the Championship again? Evans doing his best to invest as little as possible but keep us functioning? [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:08]
|  |
| Walter Smith's Barmy Army |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:13 - May 1 with 2694 views | TalkingBlues |
I was one of those who thought that relegation might be a good thing for us in the medium/long term, but I had pictured our rebuild and rise to occur under quite different circumstances to those that have transpired and honestly, this version has been a lot quicker and prettier than that which I envisioned, we've been extremely fortunate to have been the destination of choice for Gamechanger. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:14 - May 1 with 2698 views | Steve_M |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:08 - May 1 by Hipsterectomy |
I do wonder what would have happened if we had scraped some more wins in 19/20 and finished in the top 2 when covid ended the season, so go up automatically.
Chambers, Skuse, Sears, Nolan in the Championship again? Evans doing his best to invest as little as possible but keep us functioning? [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:08]
|
Looking at Wigan is perhaps indicative, ignoring the ownership shenanigans, their ceiling is now bottom third Championship. And whilst we’re a bigger club than them, they were in the Premier League far more recently.
There was plenty of enjoyment in the early part of that season, had Lambert kept things simple we may well have done enough to have been top two when the season finished. | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:17 - May 1 with 2684 views | wkj |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:07 - May 1 by Guthrum |
No, because we've had to endure several years of unnecessary difficulties and humiliation over something which shouldn't have been necessary when we were in and around the Championship play-offs only a couple of seasons before.
It's turned out well because we happened to be picked up by Gamechanger, but it could easily have gone another way and we'd now be talking about relegation to the fourth tier instead of promotion to the second.
It's a bit like saying that carelessly running across the road and being hit by a bus was a good thing because a long stay in hospital allowed you to reappraise your life and move in a different direction. |
It is a potent analogy indeed, but as with any analogy there is another that counters it. Being under Evans was like having a long term illness with no known cure, in this case the cure came from an undesirable holistic option as the mainstream medicine wasn't working.
And that is how I have seen our journey in League One, holistic and healing despite hurting like hell. [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:18]
| |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:31 - May 1 with 2655 views | LankHenners |
You never know what's going to happen when a butterfly flaps its wings. As Steve says above the good thing that's happened is the takeover but impossible to say whether they or anyone else might have come along if we were instead bobbing about in the lower half of the Championship when Evans eventually realised he had neither the money or knowledge to keep hold of the club.
As in life you get ups and downs and never know when one might interrupt the other and in what form - I don't think getting relegated was part of a good thing that has culminated in this weekend, more that it was a very bad thing and through a bit of luck we ended up walking into a good situation whilst wallowing about. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:38 - May 1 with 2625 views | ParisBlue |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:08 - May 1 by Hipsterectomy |
I do wonder what would have happened if we had scraped some more wins in 19/20 and finished in the top 2 when covid ended the season, so go up automatically.
Chambers, Skuse, Sears, Nolan in the Championship again? Evans doing his best to invest as little as possible but keep us functioning? [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:08]
|
Top in jan, then 7 defeats and 4 points from 9 games before covid shutdown.
In hindsight, giving Lambert that contract (still 2 years left btw) instead of firing him and getting a competent manager (Warnock?) to get us up that year may have been genius... |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:42 - May 1 with 2607 views | Guthrum |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:17 - May 1 by wkj |
It is a potent analogy indeed, but as with any analogy there is another that counters it. Being under Evans was like having a long term illness with no known cure, in this case the cure came from an undesirable holistic option as the mainstream medicine wasn't working.
And that is how I have seen our journey in League One, holistic and healing despite hurting like hell. [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:18]
|
Indeed. Altho I think outside factors played a large part in our demise over the 15 years before relegation (particularly galloping inflation and financial imbalance in the sport), there was, for me, also a very self-inflicted side to our fall. Not just barely sufficient funding, but also lack of imagination and drive.
Invisible Evans simply did not provide the dynamism and forcefulness of a Mark Ashton. The Chief Execs/Managing Directors were little more than administrative supervisors, with no real power to effect change. Managerial choices were often very conservative (Jewell, McCarthy, Lambert, Cook). Even when bringing in new, younger talent (Keane, Hurst), the candidates turned out not to have the tools for the job.
I feel there were treatments out there - which may not have been limited to "spend lots of money" - but we didn't avail ourselves of them until the sickness was far progressed. Plus it was a cure which became available by chance, not design (and the club were humming and hawing about actually taking up until the last minute, if reports are true). | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:51 - May 1 with 2539 views | Chrisd |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 10:54 - May 1 by Fixed_It |
It was the catalyst for much needed change and a re-set. Ultimately a good thing, but maybe took a bit longer than any of us would have liked. |
This is exactly how I see it. There is no doubt that relegation has proved to be what we needed to reset. Look how we are now both on and off the pitch, we look a completely different club to the one ME owned. It just goes to highlight how we were stagnating under ME and all this crap of being careful what you wish for, I'm glad we all wished for competent owners that could see the importance of investment, infrastructure and a clear plan and vision. [Post edited 1 May 2023 12:03]
|  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 12:20 - May 1 with 2445 views | Bugs |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:17 - May 1 by wkj |
It is a potent analogy indeed, but as with any analogy there is another that counters it. Being under Evans was like having a long term illness with no known cure, in this case the cure came from an undesirable holistic option as the mainstream medicine wasn't working.
And that is how I have seen our journey in League One, holistic and healing despite hurting like hell. [Post edited 1 May 2023 11:18]
|
The Evans era seems to me like an example of why austerity doesn't work. |  | | |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 12:21 - May 1 with 2440 views | stickymockwell |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:51 - May 1 by Chrisd |
This is exactly how I see it. There is no doubt that relegation has proved to be what we needed to reset. Look how we are now both on and off the pitch, we look a completely different club to the one ME owned. It just goes to highlight how we were stagnating under ME and all this crap of being careful what you wish for, I'm glad we all wished for competent owners that could see the importance of investment, infrastructure and a clear plan and vision. [Post edited 1 May 2023 12:03]
|
I agree with a lot of the above but for me the real luck was getting Ashton and McKenna.
Both just happened to be available for different reasons and boy have we benefited from both of their visions.
I haven't seen a lot said about the style of football we played this season changing. Mckenna could clearly see the possession based football was only going to land us a play off spot. 70% possession and 30 shots from outside the area or having 8 players defending in front of us was producing too many draws in a league that contained 2 relentless teams at the top.
The stark contrast was when we changed to allow teams to attack more and then we could have fast breaks with exquisite through balls and balls over the top to blow teams away.
A lesser manager would stick to plan A ala MM and not have the foresight to change it up.
Massive kudos to the whole team to see what really needed doing. The exciting thing is that Mckenna will already know a way of playing I suspect in the Championship that will maximise our potential and it could be completely different to the wayy we've played since January.
Exciting times. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 12:40 - May 1 with 2377 views | Mullet |
No, this is predicated on lots of revisionism at best.
We should never have been relegated to this level, it's a massive stain on the club and has set us back years.
The whole premise was that we'd "piss the league" in a season wasn't it? Gamechanger have been phenomenally good for us, would someone else have come in for us? Impossible to know but there's always someone out there with more money Chelsea, Newcastle, Bournemouth et al show that. What that does to us then is again pure speculation.
I felt some sympathy for Evans when he came out trumpeting FFP. But at first he looked naieve. Then he looked cynical, then inept. He was always the problem, and it was strangling us down here. We finished 11th last season after all.
It's been great this year, especially this last three months, but we still had people moaning, wanting McKenna out etc even in the face of goodwill and things pointing in the right direction.
Now it's a case of never again. We need to make sure we get back to being a top six Champ team asap, then push for the top flight otherwise the GC regime doesn't get what it wants either. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 12:44 - May 1 with 2339 views | Darth_Koont |
No.
League One, as we’ve seen, is a bügger to get out of and the long-term future of the club was never more under threat. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 13:04 - May 1 with 2255 views | positivity |
interesting; it turned out the last 5-6 years have been good for the club as we got rid of evans, and a lot of the baggage around the club
we're undoubtedly in a better situation now, ownership/management/players etc than we were, but could we have done it without relegation? we'll never know
(totally unrelated, but why's mick got a vw badge on in the attached picture? beastie boys fan?)
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/29/mick-mccarthy-leave-ipswich-man | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 14:17 - May 1 with 2086 views | blaggers |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 12:40 - May 1 by Mullet |
No, this is predicated on lots of revisionism at best.
We should never have been relegated to this level, it's a massive stain on the club and has set us back years.
The whole premise was that we'd "piss the league" in a season wasn't it? Gamechanger have been phenomenally good for us, would someone else have come in for us? Impossible to know but there's always someone out there with more money Chelsea, Newcastle, Bournemouth et al show that. What that does to us then is again pure speculation.
I felt some sympathy for Evans when he came out trumpeting FFP. But at first he looked naieve. Then he looked cynical, then inept. He was always the problem, and it was strangling us down here. We finished 11th last season after all.
It's been great this year, especially this last three months, but we still had people moaning, wanting McKenna out etc even in the face of goodwill and things pointing in the right direction.
Now it's a case of never again. We need to make sure we get back to being a top six Champ team asap, then push for the top flight otherwise the GC regime doesn't get what it wants either. |
I doubt we would have got GC20 if we'd been a close to a top 6 Champ team. Evans would have been quite happy for his managers to work miracles, pulling rabbits out of hats.
Our odds of going up next year are shorter than they've been for 10 years. | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 14:52 - May 1 with 1959 views | BlueandTruesince82 |
The question is would Evans have sold up had we not gone down?
Would Gamechanger have identified Town as tbe right club had we remained 2nd tier or decided there was better value elsewhere? We'll never know, we have to kick on next season now but with the players we have I think we're already a competitive proposition for the diving next year.
Regardless the relegation has resulted in a takeover, by what appears to be a group who know what they're doing, who are prepared to invest and want to take the club forward. From that point t of view its been a good thing.
We were dying, the attendances dwindling year upon year coupled with Evans only being prepared to put so much in would likely have resulted in relegation sooner rather than later anyway. The fact that it happened when it did, that we became a club able to invest when many others were forced to tighten their belts can be seen as somewhat fortunate but that is often the way in the rise and fall of football clubs, had we not been relegated just before ITV digital collapsed who knows what might have been?
Ultimately relegation may be the best thing to have happened to this club since Bobby Robson, time will tell but for now it feels that the stars were aligned foe it to happen when it did |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 15:17 - May 1 with 1886 views | chicoazul |
We were a knight dying in his suit of armour in league one. All the twits saying “it could be a good thing” got shouted down at the time and rightly so. Now we are back where we belong fighting to get to the Prem. |  |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 15:18 - May 1 with 1883 views | positivity |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 15:17 - May 1 by chicoazul |
We were a knight dying in his suit of armour in league one. All the twits saying “it could be a good thing” got shouted down at the time and rightly so. Now we are back where we belong fighting to get to the Prem. |
we were a knight dying in his suit of armour in the championship for the last few years too! | |
| |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 15:34 - May 1 with 1821 views | bluestandard |
| "Relegation might not be the worst thing..." on 11:07 - May 1 by Guthrum |
No, because we've had to endure several years of unnecessary difficulties and humiliation over something which shouldn't have been necessary when we were in and around the Championship play-offs only a couple of seasons before.
It's turned out well because we happened to be picked up by Gamechanger, but it could easily have gone another way and we'd now be talking about relegation to the fourth tier instead of promotion to the second.
It's a bit like saying that carelessly running across the road and being hit by a bus was a good thing because a long stay in hospital allowed you to reappraise your life and move in a different direction. |
No, I can’t see this logic. The club needed change from the top down. That’s obvious to everyone now more than ever. The only thing which was ever going to bring about that change unfortunately was a step backwards. You’re arguing that it might have been two steps backwards, but the fact remains that this was the only thing which could bring about the change the club has desperately needed for 20 years let’s not forget. I don’t agree that we experienced ‘unnecessary difficulties and humiliation’. In your analogy, we’d still be waiting to cross the road, with no hope of ever getting to the other side.
Also, I see a lot of people saying ‘move on’ etc. We can all move on now, especially those who can feel vindicated for their opposition to the Evans era, and if they want to express that now, where’s the harm? Next season that really will all be ancient history. | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
