Town owner Marcus Evans has written a column for Saturday’s match programme, which the club has given TWTD permission to reproduce in full.

The Season Ahead

As we all look forward with excitement to this season, the team at Portman Road and at the training ground have been hard at work since the final whistle against Leeds in preparation for a year where quite rightly our goal is for a return to the Championship.

It’s been a difficult summer at the club with a re-organisation taking place to meet the financial repercussions of relegation; however these challenges have been met with professionalism right throughout the club.

I am pleased to say that the reorganisation is complete and we are now set to go with the structure required to support the team’s promotion push.

Last year’s relegation, as I am sure all fans realise, has had economic consequences for the club and the effects add considerable strain to our finances and bring to the fore decisions relating to balancing short-term and long-term investment decisions.

At the top of my list of long-term priorities has been, despite the considerable drop in revenues which is close on £9 million, a determination to maintain and in fact grow the club’s investment in the academy.

This runs to multi-millions every year and not just for one year. So I have looked to ensure that these funds remain available year on year going forwards and are not risked by overspend on other long-term contract commitments.

Cash Made Available to Improve Fans’ Matchday Experience at Portman Road

I also put cash aside for some much-needed investment at Portman Road to improve your matchday experience. There has been a substantial outlay on a new CCTV security system to increase supporter safety; plans are in place to improve the speed of service across all bars in the concourse area; we are looking at upgrading the PA system; the North Stand roof will be the first to get a clean up with the other stands to follow and even the ticket office has had a makeover!

Other improvements around the stadium are at the planning stage. These range from simple painting and decorating to much more substantial and long-term projects - and significant financial outlay.

The training ground also required a number of planned infrastructure improvements to meet the requirements of an elite Academy and first-team environment.

The Money Game

The cost of running a football club isn’t exactly a sexy subject for most fans. However it’s a fact of life for those of us in that position and who are looking to run a club on a secure and sustainable basis.

I have to make sure that we can meet our commitments not just this year but for the next two, three and four years with many contracts having long-term implications.

The hard facts are that a trickle of cash from the Premier League and the club’s normal revenues aren’t enough, on their own, to enable us to compete in this league let alone the Championship. Hence the need for my additional investment each year.

There is annually a big hole in our finances (and most non-Premier League clubs) which has to be plugged by me in order to support the wage policy and provide transfer funds. This year has been more difficult than when we were in the Championship with my annual support going mainly - despite player wage reductions due to relegation - to support the club’s core financial requirements.

One of the questions I am asked all the time is where does all the money go from our transfer sales? The short answer is back into the club and you would be surprised at how far a large amount of money DOESN’T go in the football world.

So when balancing the club’s budgets, I have many issues to consider. I have an amount of money I put into the club each year and I have been consistent with that support every season.

This results in a budget being available through the club’s own income plus my annual support which has to be spread across a number of areas including wages; stadium and training ground infrastructure; improved contracts to existing players; academy costs and transfer fees to name some of the bigger areas. There are plenty more.

In most seasons I have been able to organise the club’s finances so that with the benefit of my annual support we have been able to invest, to a certain extent, in the transfer market.

Income from transfer sales and sell-ons in that time have helped to boost the overall budget which has mainly gone into the squad by way of additional wages or transfer fees. When you sell a player though, or get a sell-on fee, that rarely comes in one hit. It is spread over two, three, sometimes four years.

This year, with relegation costing the club up to £9 million, any income from player sales/sell-ons has been swallowed up by the financial gap caused by the drop into League One.

That said we do have funds available for a further two or three new players the manager and I would like to secure before the end of the window, to bring that bit extra to the squad and I hope that those we are targeting can be secured on terms that work for Ipswich.

I also want to ensure that, going forwards, we have funds to strengthen in January if we see gaps or injuries appear in the first half of the season.

Every fan, including me, can see how money could be spent but I have the task of matching desire with reality and whatever the pressures I will never do anything to risk the club’s financial security.

As always, I can assure every supporter not a penny is coming out of the club into my pocket. It never has. It goes back into the club’s budget and yes, as I have already said, that does include funds for transfers and additional wages when we find the right players at prices we can live with.

A Healthy Mix of Players at Different Stages in Their Career

On the pitch our plan remains the same - to play attractive, winning football supported by a stable management team with a healthy squad mix of some young players, some highly experienced and some still developing but with a large number of appearances under their belt.

I feel, with the players we have added in the summer, as well as agreeing longer-term contracts with existing players - Freddie Sears being the latest - we now have an exciting mix of talent ready for the challenges ahead.

Most of the players coming back from injury will be ready to go in weeks, not months, which will further strengthen our options.

Last season was a difficult time for some of the 2018 additions to flourish but having had a year to settle in, this is the year they can really get going.

For the first team, this summer has been as much about keeping our best as bringing in new additions. We have worked hard to keep all of our key players and while every player has a price at which monies can be reinvested for the benefit of the squad overall, I have wanted to do everything I can to avoid making the same mistake as last year by letting key players go when I could not replace them.

In terms of strengthening, as well as bringing in James [Norwood] and Tomas [Holy] on permanent deals, we have added Luke Garbutt from Everton. He is in the last year of his contract and could be looking for a new club next year. So there is a long-term plan behind some of our loans.

That long-term plan also includes having the cover to allow some of our younger players to go out on loan and get valuable experience playing first-team football elsewhere. We have seen the benefits of that with Luke Woolfenden for instance, who played over 30 games for Swindon last season. He has returned to us far better for the experience and ready to compete for a place in our first-team.

Will Norris has also joined us on loan from Wolves, which has freed up Bart to go out on loan to the Championship. He remains an Ipswich player though and will return to Portman Road at the end of the season.

I am pleased that we have signed new contracts with Freddie and Myles Kenlock. Again, that is all about the long-term.

Looking at the squad from front to back. James Norwood is an exciting addition, Jordan Roberts has played up there, Kayden has looked good in pre-season and we are all excited to see what he can do with a run of games in front of him. Of course, we have Freddie to come back in and we are still on the look out for another additional striker.

The Midfield is Awash With Talent

In the middle of the park we have so many options, giving the manager an enviable task of picking who to start. We have a great mix of experience and developing players in that area and it’s great to see Alan [Judge] in the squad, despite approaches from elsewhere.

I fully understand why a move to QPR would have appealed to Alan for personal and professional reasons but I must point out that he has always been totally professional in the way that he dealt with a difficult, personal situation and I know that he will be giving everything to the team this season as always.

I am looking forward to seeing Luke [Woolfenden], after his year on loan, challenging Toto [Nsiala] and Chambo [Luke Chambers]. We have also added James Wilson on a short term contract to add competition in the middle of defence.

In goal we have a huge prospect in Tomas challenged by the highly-thought of Will so there is real competition in that department.

Judge the Manager on the Cards He Has Been Dealt

And one final point I want to make is that I hope everyone will judge the manager on the cards he has been dealt by me and not just on our expectations.

I know that expectations quite rightly are high and that due to Premier League parachute payments and big spenders in the Championship, we have gone from a team with a budget in the bottom 10 of the Championship to a team with a budget in the top 10 of League One.

However, please reflect on the fact that I have asked Paul, along with his coaching staff to accept the challenge of developing a team, not just for this year - which absent any player sales will be without the benefit of any significant transfer budget - but for the years ahead as well.

He will be giving our younger players a chance and they will need time and support along the way. This league has some big teams and experienced squads to pit against our developing talent. We are not the only club aiming for a top two position.

That said, be assured that everyone is working at full throttle to get the most out of the group and have a season we can be proud of.

Let’s have a great season and if your support is even half as good as last year (but let’s crank it up a notch) then you will be more than doing your part to push us over the line.

Photo: Action Images

rabbit added 19:08 - Aug 7 Total respect midas, your last para spot on. Enjoy the season.
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Dissboyitfc added 19:10 - Aug 7 Bluearmy81... you say what he says and what he does are different, i disagree totally! when has he promised something and then gone back on his word? some examples please! Last season we got our first ever interview with evans, he outlined a plan to get in a young manager and try something new, most of us were up for this, i was one of those! Of course that went spectacularly wrong. He has never made promises with no intention of keeping them as i can remember, but please enlighten me if you can remember any. I was on a packed tube train in London, this man starts shouting his beliefs about what he feels his wrong with the world, I am pretty sure he didnt convert anybody to his way of thinking in fact, was probably quite the opposite! Its great we have differing opinions. He said he was determined to keep hold of Judge and Dozell, so far he has. Please tell me where he says one thing and does the opposite. Look i am no fan of Evans, but we could have worse! owning a football club is a strange one, i think if you are a football fan first and a business man second, you could get trouble, the sheepshank years spring to mind. Evans has made lots of mistakes and is a major reason why we are where we are, no hiding from the fact. But he is not pocketing any money from sales, as some would think! Need to get behind the team, i would love a super rich person to take over the club and Evans would sell if such a buyer came along. But i dont think Evans selling up to just anyone is the right way forward or we could End up like Bolton Bury Or Coventry.

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midastouch added 19:15 - Aug 7 @ Jack_hughes2, a good point. If we don't go up at the first time of asking we risk having a lot of our younger talent prised away from us (just as you say) and prices for players in League One don't tend to be so high as for players in the Championship. Also, if we just miss out on Promotion then it will be even worse as teams that played well and just missed out often have all their players in the shop window that much more and then the vultures circle. I think we need to go as far as we dare this season to try and do it at the first time of asking as the longer we leave it the harder it will likely become.

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SickParrot added 19:47 - Aug 7 I get that relegation has cost us 9 million in revenue but whose fault is that? ME appointed the wrong manager (Hurst), sanctioned the sale of our best players and approved the purchase of average (at best) and over priced replacements. In these circumstances it would be appropriate for him to cough up a few million extra this year (but keeping within the relevant spending limits) to try to rectify the mess he has made.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 20:03 - Aug 7 Washbrook- I'm intrigued , you and a couple of others refer to " spin" . Could you tell me please what in that statement is spin ?
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 20:07 - Aug 7 My overall impression of Evans' text is that it stems from the mind of a businessman rather than an avid supporter. It's a sales pitch that attempts to rationally argue Evans' current standpoint with regard to the club, and thus it naturally seeks to put this standpoint in the best possible light. That is not to say, however, that the arguments are all worthless. Businessmen also want to succeed. And indeed, if we can take Evans at his word, there do seem to be several positive aspects, in particular "a determination to maintain and in fact grow the club's investment in the academy." Other bright points are a stated aim to return to the Championship, improvements already carried out to the training ground, and an apparent desire for PL to stay on board for the long term (amen to that!). In many ways, Evans has addressed fairly and squarely several of the questions that supporters have been posing for the last few weeks. On the negative side, however, is the feeling that the businessman's budget actually isn't going to stretch that far. Mistakes have been made in the past and fingers have been burnt. Improvements and "long-term projects" are at the "planning stage." Many supporters will wonder what exactly these are and when, if ever, these will materialise. Will the two or three new players really come in and to what extent will they add to the quality of the squad? On the whole, I think that Evans' manifesto is certainly more positive than negative, but because of past experience, I'm not getting carried away until I see how things pan out. I think we are all hoping (Evans included) that PL can perform a minor miracle and make us competitive again, despite having to work within pretty stringent financial restraints. At least Evans has come out and explained the situation as he sees it. While he doesn't seem at the moment to want to wash his hands of the club (or he doesn't have that option) then we, the supporters, need to do all we can to encourage and motivate the team on the pitch. So I'm expecting a win on Saturday. COYB!

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shouldistayorcounago added 20:41 - Aug 7 Steve_ITFC_Sweden Probably the most accurate comment I've seen on this all day. Being critical of the owner is not mutually exclusive with being behind the boys. COYB
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Wolfowitz added 20:51 - Aug 7 Common sense - three new faces should be more than enough to challenge
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dirtydingusmagee added 21:00 - Aug 7 well he seems to have appeased most on here, so there wont be anymore moaning when we struggle ,and possibly slide further into oblivion.. One thing he can be thankful for is that Town fans are easy to please .
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Northstandveteran added 21:05 - Aug 7 What?! He's going to remove the bush on top of the Sir Alf stand?! But I always point to it when with my teenagers and joke, " I wonder who goes up and waters that?" Oh how they laugh.......😒
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WashbrookBlue added 21:20 - Aug 7 Dozzellsbobnlehat. Spin : a carefully crafted presentation of a preferred position based on a selective use of facts that supports such a position and an avoidance of those that do not. It's a core CEO / business owner competence. You should be more discerning.
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ITFCsince73 added 21:30 - Aug 7 Can't believe the plans are in place to improve the catering experience before the game and at half time. This should have been a 1st on the list. The club have lost fortunes over the last 5 years, on not supplying hot and cold food. And hot and cold drinks, along with snacks. Of a reasonable standard, served in good time. Running out of items before half time. Other clubs put on a good show with there catering, as there's obviously money to be made. Evans needs to start putting the customer 1st and the match day experience at the top of any list. Fair play to Chambo for getting a few bits done around the ground over the summer. No good at heights, so refused to do any weeding on stand roofs unfortunately.

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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 21:42 - Aug 7 Washbrook- I didn't ask for a definition . You should be a politician.
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WashbrookBlue added 21:47 - Aug 7 Dozzells - ok, you asked me what in that statement is spin. My answer, all of it!! It's our owners carefully crafted, selectively presented version of the reality he wants us to buy into. You do if you like, I don't.
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kfisher added 21:50 - Aug 7 OMG Ffs its Not Rocket Science ME , Deal lambert a WINNING HAND.
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Suffolk_n_Good added 21:57 - Aug 7 Heard it all before, he can spout whatever words he wants, he can invest what level he chooses (it's his money & his club) but the facts don't lie,10 years of Evans' ownership & we are light years away from the Premier League, I'm amazed that so many on here seem to accept the situation so lightly.
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Morgan added 22:05 - Aug 7 The more ME listens to the supporter base the more challenge he seems to get but that's what relegation will do. Look at the last few supporter surveys and, although slowly, I genuinely believe the club has begun to address some of the frequently made points, matchday experience, slow queues at bars, shabby stadium, getting the next generation in, never hearing from the owner, community centred club etc..I know those things don't win football matches but it strikes me that the supporters are increasingly listened to and many of those areas are improving. Even MMs departure was probably led by supporter opinion of the vocal regardless on your polarised opinion on it either way. Investment in the playing squad seems to be the big frustration maybe the sole one but I don't really have an informed opinion on it. I can't imagine the complex workings of a football club so but I'm fearful of ending up in a situation like Bolton or Bury and the impact that could have. Yes it would be great to spend a few million and try and buy promotion but what if it didn't. The bigger marker of final standings in this league seems to be average wage bill and we are sitting at the top of the pyramid for a change. This makes me a happy clapper to some but I'm really excited about this season and how a good season could be a turning point for everyone involved. Let's hope everyone pulls together and Saturday sees the return of some optimism for the deserving supporters.

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runningout added 22:08 - Aug 7 any paint jobs at club, I'll do cheaper better and with passion if you like....
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Blue041273 added 22:22 - Aug 7 Too many people are banging on about the ‘three extra signings'. The caveat was that any such signings should suit the club! And why not! We don't want signings for the sake of it. As others have outlined we want value for money and if, for any reason, these signings do not materialise it should not be another stick to beat ME with. If you accept that we have to act within budget the pool of opportunity is somewhat limited. Those who think that ME will agree player terms substantially outside budget are effectively howling at the moon. The probability is that there are precious few options available. People scoff at the strategy of developing the Academy. But at least these boys will learn the point of playing for a wonderful club! Transfers in might get it too! Players on loan might just see it as a meal ticket until they move on. But ultimately we want our team to be successful. And we need all the help we can get! It is clearly up to PL to create a team with a winning ethos which will make us successful. Any success after 15 years of underachievement would be a proper reward for the legions of faithful supporters who have been the shining stars in the darkest period of our history.

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itfc1974 added 22:50 - Aug 7 There are many town fans that are also business managers/owners - Each of these roles can have hugely different motivations and goals. I've tried to look at this dilemma rationally taking a partizan owner perspective…. My hypothesis is that when ME purchased the club in 2009 for £12m (that included the pre-packed agreement to write down the £32m debt owed, albeit this debt would still be owed to him by ITFC) he believed he could flip the business in the event of a quick return to the premier league in 2010/11. Then someone would be willing to accept this level of debt to purchase ITFC with premier league income and make a minimum of £24m. A theoretical and tidy 200% return on investment in 1 season (less the early injection of cash for Roy Keane and his signings!). Also it is unclear from the ITFC accounts how much ME pays ITFC for shirt advertising, if at all. This has a market value (looking at market values I doubt ITFC's shirt deal is worth anywhere near £40m per year as per Spurs latest shirt deal). Potentially this could be an income stream not being realised by ITFC under ME ownership. Over and above the initial £12m investment, & 10 years later, I have no doubt ME has injected a significant amount of money into ITFC for it not progress from where he purchased the club. Clearly we are in the 3rd tier. I can't see any scenario that this benefits ME, note: For the people that say ITFC is a tax dodge for ME it is likely that Marcus Evans Worldwide Holding Co (ITFC's ultimate parent undertaking) could gain tax benefit on the loss incurred by Ipswich Town Football Club Company Ltd if it were subject to UK group relief rules (controlling in excess on 75% of the business; tick - ME controls 87.5%). In the UK this loss could be set off against the 19% corporation tax paid by the parent. However, our parent business is registered in the Isle of Man where the corporation tax is 0%. If you don't pay any corporation tax there is no benefit to be had. Mind you ME probably has a very highly paid tax advisor that can send a significant multi-million loss into the sausage machine resulting in tidy return popping out the other end. 2 - 0 on Saturday. COYB.

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PulhamBlue added 23:49 - Aug 7 I think I'll take 2 chickens...
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eddiespearitt03 added 00:00 - Aug 8 What he does not mention is that he retained the same very average / injury prone players who have proved over and over again their contribution is very limited. Some of the players we bought here, on loan or other wise, offered absolutely nothing. Marcus Evans can always rely on the financial restraints to excuse the lack of transfer activity but someone should point out the fact he has had many seasons to build a better squad and he hasn,t. The problem goes back 10 years +. Any good player worth anything has been sold and he has rewarded "bang average" players with another contract . That undermines PROGRESS.

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Sospiri added 05:35 - Aug 8 Lambert flushed Evans into talking. Its pretty unusual for a Manager to do this to an Owner, and even more so to get away with it without getting sacked. But if this is the level of risk Lambert is willing to take, then his frustration level must be very high - high enough to walk if he doesn't get the new faces he wants. This would be a real shame. I think Evans underestimated the amount of time and money he was going to need to put into the club to see success, and profit. I wonder if he is seriously regretting his decision to buy the club. I hope things work out for us all...

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Tractorboy1985 added 07:03 - Aug 8 Makes me laugh some fans saying ‘ I would love a super rich owner ‘ urrrrrm helllllllooooooo.... WAKEY WAKEY... he's worth 800 odd million if reports are to be believed... how much richer do you need to be?? And it's a load of rubbish anyway.. don't need a billionaire.. we need an owner with a structure.. who can build a team.. asking for 3-5 million a season for new players is not much to ask.. not chucking money at loans every year! Every manager has failed since thee Evans tenure started.... some were very successful before they came to ITFC.. coincidence??? No.. working for Evans is like a fireman working with no water! And when lambert does go there won't be a manager out there with any credibility who would want to come to PR! Thanks again Marcus for destroying ITFC! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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Umros added 07:16 - Aug 8 Another fine piece of corporate wording, well crafted. Been there done that though I'm afraid....last season wasn't it? ......and we all know the outcome of that.
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