Could be a whole lot worse -- at least we're not Ipswich!!

[Gilliver's Travels]

Anyone worried about Tony Bloom's apparently low public profile -- at least, to date -- should spare a thought for the fans of Ipswich Town.

The man now apparently running that club is not its chairman. Marcus Evans prefers instead to call himself the club's 'owner', having a few months back invested £30 million in the club. Evans claims to be a lifelong Ipswich fan, but absolutely refuses to do interviews of any kind, and avoids all contact with the public, the media and, especially, the fans.

This 'lifelong fan' refuses to allow any personal photograph at all to be published, anywhere. The man who runs Ipswich Town claims to go to all its home games, but has never ever been positively identified, nor photographed.

In such strange circumstances, the manner in which Ipswich Town's 'owner' might ever get called to account, should things go badly, has never been made clear. But presumably Marcus Evans can always just take his £30 million wedge back again, and just walk away. After all, his money is not tied up in a stadium, because they already had one of those before he arrived.


So, people, things could be a whole lot worse for us. If you're possibly feeling a tad worried about our future, just think yourself lucky you're not an Ipswich fan.

 

[Brian Fantana]

That sounds weird.

 

[7:18]

very strange, at least we know what THE LIZARD looks like...

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Isn't Marcus Evans a company? Like FW Woolworth or John Lewis?

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

Isn't Marcus Evans a company? Like FW Woolworth or John Lewis?

Indeed, as is DH Evans - who may been his uncle. Or possibly his grandfather.

Marcus Evans heads a huge eponymous conglomerate, including training and events operations - all registered in Bermuda. But he chooses to keep his head down in public, and remain personally unidentifiable. You try finding an interview with the man, or a single photograph. Ipswich fans can't.

Unlike Tony Bloom, Evans doesn't appear to be in Ipswich Town for the long haul, either. According to one newspaper, "It is understood he wants to recoup his money within five years, by which time he hopes Ipswich will be an established Premier League club again."

 

[Easy 10]

Sounds absolutely fine to me. Is it really that hard to appreciate that some people who have made their fortune wish to invest in the football club they support, without attracting a media circus and all the hullabaloo that goes with that ? Its no different to lottery winners wishing to maintain anonymity from the public eye. It doesn't necessarily mean they are shifty, or have something to hide. Some people just prefer their privacy, and are not interested in gurning in the redtops with their orange tans spouting gobshite opinions every other week, unlike some.

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

Sounds absolutely fine to me. Is it really that hard to appreciate that some people who have made their fortune wish to invest in the football club they support, without attracting a media circus and all the hullabaloo that goes with that ? Its no different to lottery winners wishing to maintain anonymity from the public eye. It doesn't necessarily mean they are shifty, or have something to hide. Some people just prefer their privacy, and are not interested in gurning in the redtops with their orange tans spouting gobshite opinions every other week, unlike some.

It is TOTALLY different, unless those lottery winners of yours are similarly running a major enterprise of passionate concern to THOUSANDS of local people!

Are you saying that, if Dick had ALWAYS refused to appear in public, or give media interviews, or explain his actions or his ambitions for the club - or allow ANYONE at all to photograph him, or even simply identify him at games, that would be just fine and dandy in the Easy household?

I mean, really?

 

[Easy 10]

It is TOTALLY different, unless those lottery winners of yours are similarly running a major enterprise of passionate concern to THOUSANDS of local people!

Are you saying that, if Dick had ALWAYS refused to appear in public, or give media interviews, or explain his actions or his ambitions for the club - or allow ANYONE at all to photograph him, or even simply identify him at games, that would be just fine and dandy in the Easy household?

I mean, really?

If he'd pumped £30m into the Easy household, then frankly, err....

....yes.

 

[Muzzman]

If he'd pumped £30m into the Easy household, then frankly, err....

....yes.

You could get that BBQ at least.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

£30M ? Pah. Loose change.

 

[Acker79]

It is TOTALLY different, unless those lottery winners of yours are similarly running a major enterprise of passionate concern to THOUSANDS of local people!

Are you saying that, if Dick had ALWAYS refused to appear in public, or give media interviews, or explain his actions or his ambitions for the club - or allow ANYONE at all to photograph him, or even simply identify him at games, that would be just fine and dandy in the Easy household?

I mean, really?

I would only be concerned if Dick did that if he was screwing up, running the club into the ground. If I were rich and invested in Brighton I wouldn't want to be known. I'd want to be able to attend games as a regular fan and not a) have hard up/cheeky chappy fans asking me for money because I'm rich and they think it's funny, b) I wouldn't want to every fan who disagreed with the selection of a particular player expressing their grievances to me c) wouldn't want fans berating me for not investing more in the club d) unleashing their frustrations at a poor performance on me.

Being a fan I wouldn't want to sit away from everyone in the directors box to avoid this, either, I'd want to continue experiencing the albion in the way I always have.

 

[Danny-Boy]

Indeed, as is DH Evans - who may been his uncle. Or possibly his grandfather.

Marcus Evans heads a huge eponymous conglomerate, including training and events operations - all registered in Bermuda. But he chooses to keep his head down in public, and remain personally unidentifiable. You try finding an interview with the man, or a single photograph. Ipswich fans can't.

Unlike Tony Bloom, Evans doesn't appear to be in Ipswich Town for the long haul, either. According to one newspaper, "It is understood he wants to recoup his money within five years, by which time he hopes Ipswich will be an established Premier League club again."

That sounds just like what Simon Jordan said when he took over Palace around 2000....

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

PORTMAN ROAD, THE STADIUM AND ADJOINING TRAINING PITCH, MAKES A NICE PEICE OF REAL ESTATE.

Sorry 4 caps

 

[Lady Whistledown]

So are we saying it's preferable to have the sort of chairman who can't keep his ass out of the press? Who likes, for example, ball juggling challenges in the centre circle a la Michael Knighton, or to talk of merging clubs a la Robert Maxwell? A Freddie Shepherd, perhaps, who slags off the supporters?

Frankly, so long as there's nothing shady about Marcus Evans- and nobody has ever suggested that he's anything less than legitimate- who cares if he likes to keep himself to himself. I'm sure Ipswich fans don't mind, so long as he keeps sticking the cash in.

 

[Wardy]

Perhaps he just wants to be able to continue going to games and enjoying his football without having to mind what his says. TBH if I was in a situation to invest £30 million in to the club I would want to keep my privacy as well.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Ipswich Town are brilliant club, quite small but with an excellent history, traditions, success and record of attractive football. I think they're a club to be admired, not looked down on because they don't have some a big-shot chairman behind them.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Must be alright , Ipswich have let Dan Harding go instead of offering him a new contract.

 

[NF9]

Out of pure intrigue, having had a quick research on google it seems he is a very interesting individual!

Can't even find a source that knows his DOB, and not a single photo, AND he tried to buy The Mirror. Clearly an evil genius.

Evil Indeed, I Heard he clones sheep & is currently mutating himself into a monkey.

 

[Storer68]

it appears to be a company rather than an individual.......

this from marcus evans - Producers of global summits, strategic business conferences, congresses and corporate marketing events.

marcus evans is an international business events and information company with five main principle areas of business activity

Business Events: providing valuable and niche focused industry insights to delegates worldwide and bringing B2B buyers and sellers together at over 2000 conferences, summits & congresses annually.
Business Training: training programmes in a variety of formats including Professional Training, Financial Training, Language Training and Industry Sector Training.
Corporate Hospitality: providing first class hospitality to Fortune 500 companies at the world’s leading sports and cultural events.
Business Information & Market Research: providing in depth analysis through subscription research products and publications
Sports & Entertainment: The group's involvement in Sports & Entertainment includes, in the sports world the ownership of Ipswich Town Football Club & in entertainment Ken McReddie Associates, a long established and leading theatrical agency representing artists in the fields of Film, TV & Theatre.
marcus evans employs more than 3500 people in over 36 countries around the globe delivering intelligence and business products across a full range of commercial sectors, including Capital Markets, Life Sciences, Defence, Healthcare, Information technology and Legal.

The knowledge of our producers and the experience of our operational teams allow us to effectively provide all of our clients with the information and insights which they need to sustain a valuable competitive advantage

The purchase of Ipswich Town Football club by the marcus evans Group is a natural extension of its activities considering the nature of it’s business portfolio, with a wide range of companies involved in creating events of all shapes and sizes.,This innovative approach of adding a highly recognised sports franchise to the companies brands signifies an exciting and ambitious expansion for the company.

Ipswich Town Football Club has a proud history as one of England’s greatest football clubs boasting an impressive record of achievements at the highest level. Before winning the World Cup with England in 1966, Sir Alf Ramsey really put Portman Road on the map when his 1962 team became champions in Town’s first season in the top flight. Further glory followed when Bobby Robson’s golden era was crowned by winning the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981. Currently in the Coca-Cola Championship league they just missed out on entering the Premiership play offs on the last day of the season but are in great shape with their brand of attractive attacking football to mount a successful campaign into the Premiership next season.

Ipswich Town Football Club’s organisation and winning team parallel the ambitions and achievements of marcus evans, and this long-term association will provide excellent opportunities for both the club and the Group.

The marcus evans Group has experienced great success over the last few years, consistently increasing it’s global reach year on year and ITFC have similar ambitions to establish itself as a globally recognised brand against the background of long term success in the English Premiership. The wide media coverage that will come with this success and which football attracts provides a new platform to present the company and the club to an international audience and further strengthen the marcus evans Group as a trusted global brand.

As we assist Ipswich Town to achieve their ambitions we will be looking to develop our partnership with the club so as to maximise the benefits associated with a respected Football Club, benefits normally reserved for the world’s leading consumer brands.

We will be creating programmes which will involve our employees, and produce opportunities to engage our customers by providing access to match tickets, attending exclusive team training sessions, meeting players and management, enjoying VIP hospitality at matches, and access to exclusive club information and receiving exclusive signed merchandise.

In addition Portman Road offers the highest quality conference facilities which we will also have access to for internal and external training events.

The values of ITFC demonstrate a clear synergy between the values of the Group and those upon which the club have been built: success, performance, ambition, competition, endeavour, achievement, excellence, reward, leadership, innovation, tenacity and teamwork. A further benefit for the Group will be to access the experience of a winning football management team and their knowledge of motivation and team building. (not quite sure any Ipswich fan would recognise this from watching dan harding!)
As an enterprise we will provide ITFC with the long term stability, investment and resources of a successful global company, as well as helping to provide the basis of a global scouting structure.

Through this partnership we aim to return Ipswich Town Football Club, already one of England's most respected and admired clubs, into the top level of English Football, engage our clients and employees with the excitement associated with the greatest sport on earth, and bring unprecedented awareness of the marcus evans brand as the world’s leading business information and hospitality company.

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

it appears to be a company rather than an individual.......

Marcus Evans is most certainly an individual. And, totally coincidentally, he has just deposed Ipswich's former chairman for 14 years, David Sheepshanks.

See the report here, complete with a picture of Sheepshanks - but definitely not Evans, who is now officially the new Ipswich chairman.

Makes you think, eh?