Ipswich Town Supporters Club issues statement over 'seeming stagnation of club' under Marcus Evans and calls for TWTD journalist Phil Ham to have press privileges re-instated

The Ipswich Town Supporters Club has issued a statement setting out its frustrations on a number of issues, including what they view as the “seeming stagnation” under Marcus Evans’s ownership, a lack of communication and the banning of TWTD's editor and reporter Phil Ham from press conferences.

It was confirmed at the weekend that the latter has not been able to attend, thought to be under instruction from manager Paul Lambert, following a post of the Town team appearing on the fan website's forum on the morning of the Lincoln City match on October 24, which was subsequently removed.

The club has not responded to the situation, which Ham himself eventually confirmed himself following Saturday's 2-0 home defeat to Charlton Athletic.

The Ipswich Town Supporters Club's statement read: “We the Official Supporters Club of ITFC continue to have regular, balanced and reasoned discussions with the club on all football matters. We are encouraging the club to be more communicative with all supporters on a regular basis. Communication needs to improve.

“In our view now is not the time for further disruption, we need to see our club overcome the pandemic and get back to some semblance of normality. We are all frustrated by the recent performances and injuries and we all want our club to be in a better place.

“However, the seeming stagnation of our club must not be allowed to continue. Whilst grateful for the continued financial support from our owner Marcus Evans to enable security during this crisis, our record under his tenure is not one to be proud of.

“We all want to be promoted this season and we hope that the team can soon return to winning ways and that those with injuries recover soon.

“We as a group continue to meet via Zoom on a monthly basis and any input from any supporter is welcome at all times.

“This weekend we became aware of the situation regarding Phil Ham. Over the last 25 years TWTD has been one of the best, if not the best run fan websites/forums in the entire Football League. We politely suggest to Ipswich Town Football Club that his press privileges are reinstated forthwith.

“It has been a difficult nine months for everyone. Please continue to stay safe and well. I hope we can all enjoy in the limited way we are allowed to the forthcoming festive season and that our club return to winning ways as soon as possible.”

It comes after independent supporters' group Blue Action last week called for the sacking of manager Paul Lambert by hanging a banner on the entrance to the club which read 'Lambo - cheers for the beers but it's time at the bar' - with Lambo amended to 'Shambo'.

It referenced how Lambert had bought pre-match pints for supporters in the FanZone at a number of matches in his first season at the club in a bid to build bridges with the fanbase.

* Meanwhile, the club have released details on how things will work on match days with the return of up to 2,000 supporters allowed post-lockdown which can be found here.

* The Blues, currently 5th in Sky Bet League One, are away to Oxford City tonight (7pm) with details of how to watch the live stream here.

* The Supporters Club’s website can be found here.

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