An old school friend from across the county border in Essex who lives in Orkney these days became an Ipswich supporter when he lived and worked there so I have always followed what is happening to them with interest.
Under Sir Alf Ramsey Ipswich Town won the Football League title in 1961-2. Ramsey then left the club to become England manager in 1963 and there was a period of decline and then revival under Bobby Robson.
For two years running, Ipswich were the second-best team in
England, finishing runners-up to Aston Villa in 1980-81 and again to Liverpool
12 months later. The title eluded them but their UEFA Cup triumph, coupled with
a FA Cup win in 1978, gilded a glorious Robson reign that ended when he got the
England job in 1982.
Ipswich were the community club who punched above their
weight, producing England internationals and mixing it with the best sides at
home and on the continent. And now,
asks The Athletic?
Departing owner Marcus Evans came from a rural Suffolk
background. Undoubtedly wealthy, he has
remained an enigma and his emotional commitment both to Ipswich and football
has always been uncertain. ‘Admiration’
is one word he used about Ipswich. His story suggests once again that you need more than money to succeed in running a football club - it's a very distinctive type of business.
Supporters had reason to believe they had it made with Evans
at the helm but 13 years on, it has become an increasingly stale and unhappy
union. An adventure that was supposed to include promotion back to the Premier
League has taken Ipswich to depths few could have imagined. All around, there
has been acrimony, unrest and incessant calls for change.
Despite admitting to running Ipswich in the red during all
but one of the last 13 years and overseeing total operating losses of £91.3
million in the last 10 seasons, good intentions and loyalty have returned
nothing. Ipswich have kept on falling, to a level where the owner has finally
felt compelled to throw in his cards and prepare to admit defeat.
The £96 million owed to Evans is to be written off in a
grand show of goodwill but his has otherwise been a tenure none will remember
with fondness.
The gap between the club and their fans, one source argues,
has never been greater. A sense of community has been eroded.
“It feels like it needs a root and branch reform of the
club,” says Max Helm of the Blue Action Supporters Group. “The frustration is
that Ipswich were never like this. We were probably the blueprint for a small
to medium sized club to compete. A lot of others shot envious glances at us and
the way we did things. It was a tight-knit community club. All that’s been
trashed, absolutely decimated.”
My take would be that the football world has become more
difficult for ‘stand alone’ clubs like Ipswich that are uncontested in a
defined geographical area, but are not located in a major conurbation. In a globalised football world, it is
difficult for a town like Ipswich to secure the kind of global profile that
boosts commercial earnings.
That is not to say that they can’t do better, particularly
with the departure of unpopular manager Paul Lambert. They can reasonably aspire to being in the
Championship which is now a de facto Premier League 2. But, unfortunately, the ‘terms of trade’ in
football have become more adverse for teams like Ipswich.
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