Ipswich Town fan AMY DOWNES has written an Open Letter to Marcus Evans. We welcome your posts
Dear Mr Evans,
I'm writing to you today because Ipswich Town's relegation from the Championship is starting to feel like a bad break-up and something needs to change.
After 17 years together, things have stagnated between us and the second tier of the Football League and we thought we'd reached our lowest point when we were shown the door to League One.
Little did we know, splitting up from them was going to be a long drawn out process which we were still suffering from 12 months later.
I make light of it now because sometimes that's all you can do when things feel desperate and beyond your control.
But the truth of it is, us Blues fans are hurting.
We've seen our club go from the glory days of Sir Alf and Sir Bobby, through that fantastic year of finishing fifth in the Premiership back in 2000.
And now, somehow, we are having to get our heads around the gut-wrenching inevitability that we'll be in League One again next year.
The thing is, Marcus, this really matters to us because we care so much about our team.
This football club is one of the most important things in our lives and we are worn out from watching it slip down the leagues, but not being able to do anything about it.
But the problem here isn't us is it?
As far as I'm concerned, it's you!
I do understand many of the decisions you've made, I'm grateful that you took us out of administration and have turned us into a 'sensibly' run business.
The appointment of Paul Hurst was, in hindsight, a disaster.
But, at the time, I applauded your willingness to give a less experienced man the chance.
By contrast, Mick McCarthy was - temporarily at least - a fantastic addition to the club and to a certain extent I understand your reasoning for not giving him more cash to spend on transfers.
The fact we reached the play-offs in 2015 was astounding and it would have been lovely to prove to the world that you can achieve promotion without spending money.
But we've tried that for so many seasons now and it isn't working. You need to start trying a different tact.
We all make mistakes and, at the end of the day, football isn't a business you had a great experience in when you bought the club.
But we all must learn from our errors and ensure they don't keep happening again and again.
So, I beg you, please be bold and start making some brave decisions.
Show Mr Lambert the door, I love that he has shown the club how to reconnect with the fans, but it looks like he has failed in the task of which he was required: to get us promoted. I still hope I'm wrong of course, but I fear I won't be proved so.
Find a way to provide his replacement with the funds needed to create a title winning side, we've been searching the bargain bucket for heroes for a long time now and it isn't working.
Bring in a Director of Football to advise on these decisions, someone who knows the footballing side of this business inside out and can stop us making these mistakes.
And most of all, please start listening to the fans.
Many of us are angry, yes, but it's because we're hurting.
We are the lifeblood of this club and we're going to stop coming to games, we're going to stop buying the merchandise and we're going to end up giving up on our boys.
Because, while we will always love our Ipswich Town, some of us are starting to question whether we're still 'in love' with it - or if it's best to just call the whole thing off.
Save the relationship while you can, Marcus!
Yours,
AMY DOWNES
A hopeful Tractor Girl
- We welcome guest posts from readers. To contribute please e-mail mike.bacon@archant.co.uk
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