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Lambert: There Was No Respect for the Place
Friday, 9th Aug 2019 12:21

Blues boss Paul Lambert says the appearance of the stadium and training ground are vital, hence the redecoration and cleaning which has been ongoing over the summer at his instigation.

Playford Road has seen a lick of fresh blue paint in recent weeks, while work at Portman Road will follow, including a clean of the roof of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, the state of which has come in for criticism from fans for the last couple of seasons.

Lambert confirmed that the work was at his behest: “Yes, there was nothing here, there was nothing here, there was no infrastructure here.

“In my opinion there was no respect for the place, there was no colour, there was no blue, you couldn’t see any blue, where I was I couldn’t see any badges, it was all wrong.

“And there was an acceptance of that. I thought this is wrong, what’s happening here, so I had a chat with Marcus and said, ‘Listen, you have to grab the club’ and, to be fair, little bits are getting done and things are happening around the club now which should have been done long before I was here.

“I thought the standard was no good, the standard was poor and now it starts to get better. There’s a long, long road to recovery, but this is a start and the standard and acceptance was way, way off the mark, it should never have happened.

“Because of the standard I’m used to, this was unacceptable for me, so that’s why we said we have to do something, change something.”

He stressed the importance of the appearance of the stadium and training ground: “They’re vital because the fans have to come and sit in a stadium. Their experience of a game has to be, not turning up to a place that’s not great or a training ground that’s not great.

“The respect level, it wasn’t there. And that’s why I think it was all wrong, it needed to be laid out - this is not right what’s happened to this club because it’s too big a club. And now it is getting better, slowly.”


Photo: TWTD



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runningout added 14:12 - Aug 9
surely this must be a regular occurrence from now. Should of been anyhow. It's called pride. We used to be over run with the stuff. There is still a lot wrong with our great club, and it can be turned around
4

Kropotkin123 added 14:16 - Aug 9
10 MDUs can dispense 2,500 pints in 15mins... basically cash machines for the club...
0

senduntd added 14:22 - Aug 9
Loved the comment from Colin V. Common sense with a bit of humour.
1

terryf added 14:49 - Aug 9
Good to see that Paul Lambert has noticed how tardy the place was looking and has been for many seasons.

Kind of makes you think did previous Managers pick up on it but couldn't really give a toss about the fans.

I'm sure most Stands need some serious TLC. The Sir Alf roof for instance has been leaking water when it rained and vegetation growing for many seasons. Also the hand driers need replacing with ones fit for purpose. The current ones cut out after about 5 seconds.

OK many of us remember the hot bovril days and smelly toilets but come on it's 2019 not the 1960s. Going to the Match should be a memorable experience both on and off the pitch.

The Club afterall should be making sure that the younger generation want to return.
3

herfie added 14:57 - Aug 9
In truth a damning indictment from PL regarding what he sees as the neglect heaped on our club over the years. Funny how it takes the equivalent of an ‘Emperor's New Clothes' moment for ME etc to recognise what we've known and seen for yonks. A club in slow decline, in desperate need of some TLC. In the land of the blind, the man with one eye reigns supreme! Well done PL - keep the pressure and honesty coming at max volume.
7

Barty added 14:58 - Aug 9
What next - praise for cutting the grass
1

peteswindon added 15:09 - Aug 9
Blinking love this man
1

KernewekBlue added 15:21 - Aug 9
I am heartened that we now have a manager in place who wants to bring some much needed pride back to the club.

It is also pleasant to note that so many contributors here are backing our manager, realising he has the supporter's and the club's welfare, in all areas, at the top of his list. It wasn't long ago that many people were underwhelmed or appalled by the appointment of an "ex-budgie" as the new manager but, even they can now surely see he is a complete breath of fresh air... something we all craved, after years of apathetic dross.

Now, all we need to complete the puzzle is an owner who REALLY cares as much as Lambert does!
7

Westy added 15:22 - Aug 9
I have been making this point to the Club for a long time. Glad that things appear to be happening.
1

DoseOfReality added 15:23 - Aug 9
Well done PL shows your class once again, he must have wondered what he walked into.

Also shows what a total waste of space ME is & always has been. Plus all the other so called senior management team members .. what do they do ..???
-1

Garv added 15:25 - Aug 9
This confirms the feeling I've had about the club for some time, that not that much care is put into the place. Obviously as a fan I can't say much about the training ground, but in terms of Portman Road, apart from opening up the fanzone which has been an obvious success, there's not much else going on. In terms of a match day experience, it's lacking.

It's good to see Lambert trying to get us to adhere to higher standards. It's sad that he had to tell the owner to do it.
4

Suffolkboy added 15:27 - Aug 9
Every single observation here has real merit : I'll not have been the only one critical of our nearly useless Chief Executives , so called , over the last few years .None imposed his presence and authority and one can only speculate on how much freedom / budget / remit they were afforded by ME .
Dereliction of duty and duties has been evident for too long : Mr Evans ‘digitum extractum ‘ , you can put together a full script ,and give us quite a good speech BUT now actions will speak louder than words .
Come on . Prove you can do it !Please for all our sakes !
COYB
4

Brockleyblue added 15:27 - Aug 9
Good lad for raising this and forcing ME to do something about it. Surprised this hasn't been brought up more often in the past. I remember taking my seat for a game about this time last season and saying to a friend that the flags on the stadium looked knackered, worn and dirty and that the PA system was almost laughably bad, you expect better at a non-league stadium these days. In certain parts of the upper tier of the Sir Bobby stand the PA is practically inaudible, which is simply unacceptable.
1

multiplescoregasms added 15:55 - Aug 9
PL is certainly someone who we need at thsi club if we are going to get anywhere. He is showing other people what it is like to care about ITFC. We are all behind you. COYB
3

SchancheITFC added 16:22 - Aug 9
Well done Paul Lambert for highlighting this. The place was starting to look like a derelict site.
4

Edmundo added 17:07 - Aug 9
If anyone remembers The Valley, Charlton, that's how our place look's if you replace faded seats with terrace and the grass is left uncut. To be fair Magilton had some of this kind of passion but it was clear that ME did not ratell the basics until too late. Pride is returning. It would be a tragedy for our Club if Lambert is unheeded or even worse, unseated.
2

RAW added 17:26 - Aug 9
Surey this is something O'Neill should be picking up on so PL can focus on the team and playing matters
2

Ryorry added 17:39 - Aug 9
Wow, that is absolutely fantastic by Paul Lambert, I am so grateful to him for all he is doing.

At the same time, it shows Marcus Evans up for what he hasn't been doing - ie caring - about both the club and its fans. You don't have to pump squillions in to do that, Mr Evans.
0

LWNR2013 added 17:56 - Aug 9
PL for mayor - the state of the stadium is reflected across the town Itself. Yes, I live in and am an Ipswich boy.
1

ThaiBlue added 19:37 - Aug 9
Surprised Mick the dick mcarthey never said about the dirty roof with all that hoof ball in the sky!
1

jonwillpott added 19:53 - Aug 9
It's about time we had a large screen monitor too (like most other grounds have now!!) instead of the pathetic tiny out of date electronic scoreboards we have that break down way too often!! I mean even Colchester have one and they are Division 2!! Come on Marcus bring our beloved club into the 21st century!!
0

rabbit added 10:25 - Aug 10
In essence the majority of comments on this article praise PL and quite rightly so to, however he is the Manager and I believe it is his remit to ensure that everything is generally in place to make the whole match day experience as good as possible.
My real point being that it is deplorable that previous managers cared so little and simply did what was essentially their brief by preparing the team.
Any form of management is doing more and ensuring that there is sound progression for the future, and whilst I'm not referring specifically to MM I don't know any side he left that ended up in a better position than when he took over which is a sad indictment to any managerial career.
Keep it up PL.
0


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