Blue

I heard tonight that you also gave Ameobi a medical this week, but you also decided it was a failure, and are not considering taking it any further at this stage.  I guess if we do, it''s a gamble, but not as big a gamble as for you, due to the difference in funds available for an alternative should it go t*ts up -which no doubt it will do!

As I understand it, when they analised the reuslts of the medical scans today with the staff at Newcastle it showed that the last hamstring injury he had had not completely healed (presumably some ''abnormality'' showed up that was then checked with previous scans), which apparantly is worrying due to the time frame.  This in turn suggests that - surprise surprise - there could be more of an underlying problem with his hamstring.  Now who would have thought that of Ameobi???  Makes anyone signing him even more of a risk now!

I think there''s more to run on this one yet.  I doubt either of us will get him - he will go to WBA, Hull or Stoke IMHO.  The current very public transfer status is probably his last ditch attempt to get these guys to make their move before it''s too late, and only if they fail to grab the bait will he lower himself to play in the CCC (at wages too high by comparision to other CCC players which could well upset team spirit).  Then it will come down to his attitude of playing at a level he considers beneath him... All in all, not an ideal situation and I''d be quite happy if everyone told him to go s***w himself and sit in the Newcastle reverves!

[quote user="Tim Dawson"] Listen mate you can`t expect to go on your bitterest rivals messageboard and not expect some stick, you accuse some on here of being over aggressive and rude but often your comments are made with intent to annoy or wind up people. Now im not against rival fans coming on here as different points of view are often interesting or informative e.g. ( Cam the Colchester fan ), i also post on singin the blues sometimes, the banter with some of the lads is good, but i am always careful on rivals boards not to offend, the problem with this board it tends to be very clicky unless your name is Wiz or Jas you are unlikely to get much of a response. But some of your comments are laughable, for example filthy rich neighbours, 12 million is a drop in a very large ocean today, Marcus Evans doesnt attend matches, is he really that interested? And this time last year Ipswich were scraping the barrel for new signings, the only reason you werent in the shit was because of your excellent youth system. I for one have no objection if you post on here, but do so respectfully and you will get respect back, i also think given our budget Glenn hasnt done too badly, a good target man and a right winger and i think we are top six material if not it could be another tough year. Thanks for listening [/quote] I have to agree.  I read a couple of the exchanges with LondonITFC this morning and cringed.  I post my thoughts but hopefully in an objective way. I''m here to have some banter and pick up other views, not (hopefully) to wind up.  The common ground here is that we (i) all love our respective club and will defend it (ii) all love football in general. Thats why we read and post on other sites - to join in the wider football debate and have some fun with the banter flying backwards and forwards (what''s happended to CityAngel on the TB site?) However to set the record straight on a couple of comments on this string, Marcus Evans has attended games both home and away, and also represented ITFC at Bobby Robsons golf tournement in Portugal the other week to rasie money for his cancer charity, so he is involved.  Re sponsorship, I did post on this last week so won''t bother boring you all again! Regarding Shola, if it wasn''t for the fact that we both need a target man and are going after the same targets (probably ''coz theres so few available), I don''t think any of us would be interested in him - after all whoever he signs for probably won''t get their monies worth as he will no doubt be injured (hence medicals before anything else!).    

So true.  Makes you wonder why we bother!  Can you imagine what these guys must think about professional footballers and all their money and general antics? Here''s to 2012.  Can''t wait.  Must get to see at least a couple of events as it''s a once in a lifetime chance.

Agreed. A target man is there for holding up the ball and bringing others into play, rather than a short fast stricker who runs onto through balls... That though is the difference bwtween a ''proper'' target man (who can use his brain and feet) than just a big lumbering lump stuck up front to get his head on things lower down the league - at this level you need to carry out both roles. What is interesting is the number of clubs after a target man - Norwich, Ipswich, Palace, Burnley, Preston, to name a few.  All have been saying one is needed since last season and as yet nobody has actually singed one, which even with some clubs having a bit of money to spend suggests that there are not a huge amount of players available that can do this! 

Whether we get him, you get him or he decides to sit tight on a big contract and go for free next summer when he can demand a higher siging on fee, nobody knows, but apart from the fact that both clubs are looking for a target man and both clubs have been linked with him, which makes the "will he won''t he" a hot topics, I personally think the jury is out as to whether or not he is worth the money given that based on past history he only manages 1/2 a season. As for the list of positives and negatives, we can add in Charlie Woods and Bobby Robson to your Roeder and Clarke! You can spin these things any way you want...

These message boards only light up when things are going wrong and I visit here as there are more things being posted than on ours and it is interesting for me to read other peoples views and have a bit of sparing, but for Christs sake, it''s only August, give Roeder a chance - if you like we can do a swap and you can have JM - then you''ll see how well he is probably doing!  The season never used to even start until September (well ok, end of August) so give the guy a break.  If it''s still the same comeNovember then I''ll sit back and enjoy, but I doub''t it will be as bad as you are making out and I''ll be amazed if Ipswich are doing as well as you seem to be thinking they will be! 

With very few exceptions, there are only 2 types of football club owners: 1. publicity stunt / ego trip: "look at me I have my own toy club to do with what I like" 2. I''ll make money out of this and expand my business opportunities at the same time Not too sure I particularly like either, but it seems the why everything is going - football is no longer a sport and however much we want it to go back to the ''good old days'' of 20-30 year ago .  However no2 is probably better than no1 as to make money out of the investment it has to be a long term arrangement else it''s money down the drain (which business men generally don''t write off, only plcs do), whereas a toy club can become a bore and a very short term plaything... My guess is that whatever the terms of the deal that Delia turned down, most Norwich fans would take an investment of £20m+ than your current situation, and join the rest of us who have already ''sold out'' hoping that things work out positively a few years down the road...  

The Ipswich team is not that good (trust me I see them every week), and yours is likely to be better than it is showing now - a couple of goals and confidence will be back.  Don''t be so negative!  Going out of the beer cup is no big deal away from home, they would have treated it as a cup final!

No i wouldn''t put him in the same light, I was using them to show that you don''t need to be in the limelight if you wish not to be, as some people do, and you have to respect it - whether you like it or not. I can name a few owners who are - Glaziers, bloke from Man City (not even going to try to write his name) both spring to mind, and probably others can add to the list should they want to, but that''s not the point. Am I suspicious of this?  No, not really, nd I know many woh aren''t either. BTW i am also (for what it is worth now) a share holder, so I did have alot of info come my way which I studied carefully and also had my brother in law who is a tax accountant review for me, so i can''t do much more than my own due diligence. Is this long term or will it turn sour?  Who knows?  but the same can be said for any club with an ''owner'' - all i can say is that i''m pleased if we got into bed with anyone at least they are British! 

Marcus Evans as an individual does not want to court publicity and wants to keep himself and his family out of the limelight, which makes a change from many ''famous'' people who openly look for publicity.  I guess it''s the same way as we all see footballers and their WAGs splashed across the papers with the exception of a few high profile absentees - e.g. Scholes, Giggs - which goes to show that you don''t have to have publiciy if you don''t want to! As for people knowing who he is, he has been at the club a number of times and also took part in Bobby Robsons golf tournament in Portugal the other week - and was in the same team as Jim Magilton (not too sure who I feel sorry for there). TI think there is a deal that no local journalists will publish photos of him, and of course the nationals have no interest in him anyway at this time so it works for now.  If / when we get in the premiership, or alternatively things go t*ts up, then no doubt it will change! Re sponsorship, I understand that people at the club desperately wanted a third party sponsor to show their independance from the new owner by  doing their own thing, whereas he decided that sponsoring the club gave him an opportunity to release more money into the club without it coming out of his own pockets (i.e. through the operating company and potentially at a tax loss) and get something out of it in return - which makes perfect sense to anyone in business - so at the end of the day he just matched the best alternative offer (which no doubt was his intention all the way along). Finally being a hard nosed business man he is making big operational savings at the club (not surprising given that pretty much anyone who is in business knows no football club is run properly as it would if a plc out there to make a profit). Point being - I can''t see him putting up with JM for too long as he is going to want the best people in each position and I''ll be surprised if this guy turns out to be that!    

Thanks to all for your posts.  I clicked on this subject wondering what I''d see.  Things like this put everything into perspective... We Ipswich supporters are trying to get the North Stand named after him (he has to give his permission - and the owner of course has to sign off any naming rights!!!!), and also start an annual ITFC Vs Newcastle match to raise money for his cancer charity.  

Glad I wasn''t the only one who immediately thought of the next line when seeing the subject title!   Doesn''t make me feel so old now.  Thanks!  

Should anyone be interested (which you are probably not - can''t quite see why this post was made), the re on Saturday was c**p.  Dodgy handball - ball to hand - but great if it was given in a league match!  However Lisbie did not foul for the wining goal, in fact he stumbled through 2 challenges and showed a bit of determination to carry on, which makes a change from Lee falling over at every opportunity! Anyway, just thought I''d let you know. A win is a win, but it means nothing in pre-season.... PS. still nice a busy on here - our website is dead! (OK so that sets up some wisecracks no doubt)  

Yep - there''s a few of us about!   Thanks for the welcome.  whilst I enjoy beating the ''scum'' twice a season (that was the kiss of death - 6 points to NC this seson now) we are all in the same football community supporting our chosen team through thick (occassionally) and thin (mostly). All the comments flying back and forth are part of the fun!!!

I thought having viewed for ages I''d sign up so I can occasionally post.  There''s far more going on here than on the ITFC forums but I have to say I think you are all overly pessimistic!  Definitely glass half empty rather than half full.  You have an experienced manager who won''t make many mistakes either in the transfer market or with tactics so he will no doubt get the best out of everything he has which is all you need in this division to be fairly successful - e.g. Plymouth. (unlike ours who really hasn''t a clue but then Bobby Robson struggled for a few years too so you never know, he may come good...). Anyway just thought I''d let you know on this topic that the reason we are at home first game is because Colchester specially requested an away fixture as Cuckoo farm is not ready, and, as requested by the police Ipswich and Colchester are never(?) both at home the same weekend we knew a few weeks back the first game would be at home (that buggered up the holiday plans but it is always a 50/50 chance).  Rumour has it that CU could end up playing a game or 2 at Portman road unless the contractors pull their fingers out.  Last i saw it there was tons to do and it also has to have a couple of test events to get the safety cert....