Ipswich town squad size

Bristol City said:
A bit too heavy?

How can he have been a" bit too heavy on his sustainable approach” when we saw escalating losses, despite making huge profits on the sale of the likes of Flint, Reid, Bryan and Kelly, primarily because he amassed a bloated squad, compromising too many average players consuming a huge wage bill. To compound the problem he allowed 10 players’ contracts to finish this summer, so that all left without the club being able to recoup a penny in transfer fees, one of whom was our then record signing at £5m.

Obviously Ipswich fans paid no attention to the last 2 years when they say that he improved us “in the long term”. Going back to the earlier part of his time here, when we sold Flint and replaced him with Webster and when, despite selling Reid and Bryan, we sustained our position at the top end of the table I think many felt that he was doing a good job and looked past the corporate speak (bolux). However, it gradually became clear that many of MA’s pigeons were coming home to roost during the latter part of LJ’s time and especially with the appointment of Holden as his replacement.

Finally, what’s this about “ his sustainability approach”. I can only assume that MA is now taking credit for introducing what was always SL’s strategy!
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Are you having a conversation in the Ipswich forum on this one about Bristol City?

Not complaining mind.

I wouldn't get upset about folk seeing what they want to either.
 


Coeus said:
He is someone with a reputation for potential, similar to the likes of harper and cirkin. Bournemouth and celtic had a look at him but was never likely to worry their first team this season. Id have taken a chance on him, as I would the keeper hadlky to be fair.
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He’s 4 years older than Cirkin and 2 years older than Harper though.

I know we’ve taken on a 23 year old with potential in Broadhead but we’ve taken him on loan and have the more than capable Stewart if it doesn’t work out. And nobody on this thread has claimed Broadhead would walk into most Championship sides.
 
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Mickdundee said:
Related to his sponsorship deal I believe

Edit - yes it is:
Earlier today, it was confirmed that shirt sponsor and Blues fan Ed Sheeran will be given the number 17 jersey as a further thank you for his support.

www.itfc.co.uk

SQUAD NUMBERS CONFIRMED

Sweet 17 for Sheeran, Pigott awarded number nine jersey
www.itfc.co.uk www.itfc.co.uk
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He might actually have to play in an injury crisis. :D

"Don't worry Ed, it's just the Mags in the cup. Even you should get a goal."
 
Mickdundee said:
He’s 4 years older than Cirkin and 2 years older than Harper though.

I know we’ve taken on a 23 year old with potential in Broadhead but we’ve taken him on loan and have the more than capable Stewart if it doesn’t work out. And nobody on this thread has claimed Broadhead would walk into most Championship sides.
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Yea I wasn't attempting to contradict you. I'm not sold on broadhead to be honest.

The suggestion on walking into championship sides is daft at best.
 
Coeus said:
Yea I wasn't attempting to contradict you. I'm not sold on broadhead to be honest.

The suggestion on walking into championship sides is daft at best.
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His touch and finish v Blackpool for the goal that was disallowed was very good did you see that one? his movement for the shot at Burton was very quick, looks promising to me, albeit tiny sample size

I know we both hope he comes good
 
mediaclee said:
His touch and finish v Blackpool for the goal that was disallowed was very good did you see that one? his movement for the shot at Burton was very quick, looks promising to me, albeit tiny sample size

I know we both hope he comes good
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I did, was tidy.

Just would have liked that loan spot to be a starter instead of what I'm assuming based on very little, "a project."

Of course I hope he comes good and wouldn't be near the first time I was badly wrong about a player.
 
one footed wonder said:
Ipswich will be there or thereabouts….it’s a long season.

The concern for them has to be how long it takes cook to find the right combinations.
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I think the concern for them has to be what happens next, whether they go up or not. It's all so short term from a strategy perspective. It's why despite them having, in my opinion, a stronger squad than us on paper (ours arguably has more potential) I wouldn't swap with them in a month of Sundays.
 
I’ve been going home and away for the last 10 years and he’s one of the best players we’ve had in that whole time.

I know based on his previous stats etc it’s a bold claim but I honestly believe by the end of the season, half of the championship will be in for him. I’ll also say right now on record that he will be in the League 1 team of the season. 100%.
 
IpswichFanInPeace said:
I’ve been going home and away for the last 10 years and he’s one of the best players we’ve had in that whole time.

I know based on his previous stats etc it’s a bold claim but I honestly believe by the end of the season, half of the championship will be in for him. I’ll also say right now on record that he will be in the League 1 team of the season. 100%.
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This is coming from a club that said 25m Adam Webster wasn’t worth the 2.5m we paid 😉

For any Sunlan fans still interested in Ipswich’s squad, a better articulated view of Ashton, courtesy of @DaveFevs

“Hi, tried to post last night, but unable to do so. Bristol City fan in peace. Quite like your club, always seemed to do things properly.

Firstly most Bristol City fans have no feeling of entitlement to the Premier League, far from it. Our history, bar two short spells in the top flight has yo-yo'd between the second and third tier.

Onto Mark Ashton. I'm one of the more vocal posters on our forum OTIB (one team in bristol) and Twitter (@fevsfootball), so thought I'd take up the offer for a "sensible" (you can decide after this post) City fan to give their reasons.

Firstly a bit of history.

2012 - Ashton first came to City in 2012/13 as a consultant for his company Tactical Change Ltd. He got rid of the Head of Recruitment (Russ Richardson) who was Derek McInnes's man and implemented a recruitment database. He will tell you he delivered Cat 2 Academy status but he didn't.

When McInnes was sacked for poor results and terrible recruitment of older players on big contracts who went through the motions (players sourced using Ashton's database), Sean O'Driscoll was appointed and re-laid the foundations. Bringing a Head of Recruitment back in (Keith Burt) from Forest, binning the database and went back to traditional scouting methods.

O'Driscoll / Burt brought in Fielding, Pack, Flint, Derek Williams, and gave Joe Brian, Bobby Reid and Wes Burns game time.

Results were crap, but most fans feel he helped build the foundations for Steve Cotterill (who along with Burt) signed Ayling, Little, Wilbraham, Korey Smith, Kodjia, Wilbraham, Luke Freeman, Ryan Fredericks etc as we romped to the Lg1 title and began life in the Champ.

We struggled in 15/16 and with our owner Lansdown wondering whether to sack Cotts, Ashton was brought back in (again as consultant) early December 2015 to sack Cotts. Cotts knew the writing was on the wall because Burt (with O'Driscoll) had thrown Ashton's crappy database in the bin. Cotts was sacked then Ashton officially announced as Chief Operating Officer (COO), but getting his feet under the table. Lee Johnson appointed.

He quickly removed Keith Burt, then the scouting network (people like Mervyn Day over time). By the following summer he self-promoted himself as CEO, yet was far too involved in Recruitment. Our latest accounts show he earned £540k p.a. salary....four times that of other directors and out of kilter for a club whose football side had revenues of £16m.

He made good money selling players inherited from the previous recruitment teams but of the 69 players signed during his time here, very few were true successes (Webster and Brownhill the two main ones), quite a lot of 'meh' signings and a series of players that never played, many leaving on free transfers because the re-contracting strategy was piss-poor. It suits Ashton to have high churn, so he can curry favour with fans with each new signing. I blame Johnson and Ashton for this - they were a dangerous combo that resolved probs and boosted each other's egos by signing players, not by coaching on the training ground. Johnson famous for always wanting another "club in the bag" (his Dad's saying), Ashton enjoying the thrill of a new signing. Quite a lot of Wasseman players....ring a bell?

Basically over his time our costs grew stupidly and performances on the pitch dropped until Johnson sacked, and Covid has brought forward our struggling finances. Ashton went very quiet in his final year here. The club's pre-season tour to Florida in 2019 was him first sounding out US Investors (NSL investors looking at UK)....eventually culminating in Gamechanger Ltd. He took his eyes off the ball at City as he and O'Leary started working on the Ipswich deal.

He is a footballer wannabe, not good enough to make it as a keeper at West From...worked in their Community Programme for years but his CV would lead you to believe he was a Director there. He wasn't...he might've given himself that title.

It was at West Brom he got to know Mike O'Leary (your Chairman) and links to Eales at Oxford, etc.

It is well worth chedcking Companies House for the various businesses that Mark Anthony Ashton is or has been linked to:

Tactical Change
Grove Life
Alicydon (O'Leary)

either himself or with his wife (ex-wife?).

then look at LinkedIn and see the links to Luke Werhun (can never remember whether he's his nephew or brother-in-law), who has only ever worked in football for Ashton. No idea what qualifications he has to be Head of Operations at City and Club Secretary.

Then of course you'll find Andy Rolls and Andy Costin too. Rolls oversaw our shambolic injury record last season. I can't comment any more than that, but the cynic might look at his time at Arsenal and West Ham too.

Ashton has built himself a protective bubble. I'm sure he's a decent enough Football Administrator, but he does not know the football-playing side, the bit he is desperate to be associated with, hence why you have no recruitment dept....because it gives him control to use his contacts not scout players based on their ability / fit to the managers system. I see you're not even using data. I appreciate you let a lot of players go, but players signed earlier in the window must be wondering why another player has been signed in their position. Fraser and Barry etc must be worrying what they signed up to. Cook, I'm disappointed in, but he's the fall-guy....don't forget he talked himself out of the City job when interviewed last summer. I think he saw through Ashton at the interview.

There is no jealousy, I am so glad he has gone. I am angry that he pulled the wool over the eyes of our owner, I'm very disappointed Lee Johnson didn't have the balls to call him out over transfer business.

Go and ask Watford fans their view!

No smoke without fire.

Go and look at Bristol City's accounts, the rising costs, wages, amortisation. I'd love got see the money trail to agents.

No sensible City fan builds their view of Ashton by the way he talks or dresses, they have formed their opinion on how badly he ran our football club. Without the players he sold that were there before he arrived, his ability to recruit players is pretty poor, usually with overpaid fees and wages - he benefitted from an inflationary market....thats no longer viable.

Sorry, bit of a rant, but don't think we are jealous he's left us for you. I hope you see through him...it might take a couple of windows for you to realise he's out of his depth, and will constrain your club going forward.

Feel free to respond with any questions (or abuse!!!) 😂😂😂”
 

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