Look, Sheepshanks is to blame for our present malaise! Going on a huge spending spree by building 2 new stands after only our first season back in the premiership. Splurging even more cash on overpriced foreign imports and then sacking Burley when it all went wrong! Leading the club into a disgraceful period of administration and forcing local businesses into accepting 5p in the pound as a result. Local businesses losing in some cases £1000s of pounds due to his financial incompetence whilst at the same time him drawing a huge salary from the club. Sacking Joe after he had led us twice into the playoffs with next to no money and then appointing the cheap option in Magilton! Selling us down the river eventually to a faceless businessman who is only interested in a profit. Sheepshanks sacked the third best manager in our history after only 7 or 8 games into a season and we now have the extraordinary spectacle of a totally clueless manager getting at least 10 more games than he deserves. Thank you Sheepshanks you have played a blinder!
When looking at those sorts of stats bear in mind that Lyall's poor results were a) in the Premier League and b) when Mick McGiven was picking the team.
I totally agree, just goes to show its not what you know, its who you know. How on earth did he land his present job? If I performed like him I would be on jobseekers.
I have to say I really do like Sheepshanks despite some pretty poor decisions on the clubs part but I generally think he was a little unlucky. If he could invest like ME has I would welcome him back to the club with open arms. He always seemed to appoint the right manager at the right time. He was a great figure head and despite his upbringing he never came accross as aloof unlike the current CEO. We needed to expand at least one of the stands, in hindsight maybe we should've held fire on the North Stand. The players like Serini & Finidi we brought in for alot of money but it wasn't ridiculous amounts, given Burleys previous history I can't see why he wouldn't of had confidence in him spending that money. For me we were unlucky to get relegated when we did, we were relegated at the worst possible time, if things would have played out the same now, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have had the same problem due to the parachute payments!! Unfortunately that wasn't the case and he was faced with some very tough decisions, clearly which ever he took he would not be popular, what he did to local businesses was digusting but something had to be done to save the club, if that wouldn't of happened i'm fairly sure ITFC would be in a much worse position than we are now. He never hid from these decisions either. Again it's another case of the grass not always being greener on the otherside. The past 10 years, Sheepshanks was the biggest problem at the club, get rid of him and all will be rosy he went, then the problem at the club was Jim, get rid of him and we will be a PL club, he went, now the problem is PJ and Clegg .... I'm predicting a similar pattern here!! Lancs I agree that's why stats shouldn't be the only thing that you look at. The situation that the club is/was in has to be taken in to account amoungst many other things. In my lifetime Keane is easily the worst manager we've had!!
Perhaps under the deal that Sheepy struck with Evans it now forbids him to make any comments on Ipswich Town. He certainly landed on his feet with a nice little earner at the FA after he screwed this club!
