Many Town fans are salivating at the thought of Jim Magilton getting his hands on some Marcus Evans Investment Group millions and signing the players that will cement Towns promotion push. Im not so sure its going to happen and put it to you that this gleefully-anticipated effect of Jims supposed £12million war chest is somewhat optimistic on a number of levels.
Firstly - and be honest now, if Magilton is to strengthen the team - where will he start? Most fans think Town need at least one central defender, a gritty midfielder, maybe a full back, perhaps another striker - and a goalkeeper are needed. In other words virtually a full team. Most of which is perfectly true for the sad reason that, if we are honest - Town are a mid-table outfit at best, closer to a relegation than promotion at present.
Secondly, if Magilton is going to potentially destabilise the current team by buying a number of new players - who will they be and where will they come from? Possibly from some rather surprising places. I may be wrong - but Town's two best two recent signings have come from Cardiff reserves via Rotheram and Chester City. I doubt that is where most Town fans are basing their wish lists on.
This suggests that the current Town team is at best a work in progress with no quick fix anywhere in sight. A medium-term rebuilding operation is needed to counteract five years of precipitous decline - and any thoughts of promotion are somewhat unrealistic and actually some way down the line.
Thirdly - is it even remotely realistic to be thinking of Town as a Premier League team? It's not just recent history that suggests not. A Football League spokesman was quoted last week as saying it is unrealistic for teams like Coventry City and Cardiff City to be thinking in terms of the Premier League. Very true - both are currently hovering on the brink of administration and meltdown. But this is a situation that you, I and Ipswich Town are very familiar with. The truth is, Town are much closer to Coventry and Cardiff than we'd care to admit.
Both clubs are remarkably similar. Coventry City were in the top division for the best part of 30 years, played in Europe and won the FA Cup once. Then they got a talkative, salaried chairman who talked the talk, they developed their ground -and threw it all away. Cardiff City have also won the FA Cup once in their history and play in blue shirts. They too have an iffy investor and an incompetent, discredited, publicity-seeking chairman. Interestingly they have gone nowhere fast with a bit of money behind them.
Even both club's debts are remarkably similar to Town's. And if you think Town are now magically debt-free, think again - the full debt has been bought on the cheap as a cross-charging opportunity. The full value of the debt remains on the books.
It gets worse - both Cardiff and Coventry are cities, close to airports to attract today's global mercenary players and in theory have large potential fan bases. Both are in fact better situated than Town on a number of levels to profit from football's new 'wealth'. More worrying is if you have a casual glance further down the league ladder are the chaotic state of Swindon Town and Luton Town. These clubs too are hovering on the edge of oblivion - and the word 'Town' points to a key similarities with Ipswich.
You think not? Both have done well in the recent past and both have managed to win a domestic cup. In fact Luton went to Wembley twice as often as Town in cup finals. Yet the writing is now on the wall for both these small town clubs.
Disgruntled Town fans might do well to reflect when Swindon and Luton collapse in the new year, that there, but for the grace of... erm - maybe Joe Royle, possibly go Ipswich Town.
So - is it possible for a club as small as Ipswich Town to survive for any length of time in today's Premier League? History suggest not. The last 20 years have seen us promoted for five years - and relegated for fifteen. Under Sheepshanks' visionary leadership we have been a Premiership team for two years and also rans for 12 years. Which to my mind tells us something. Like that bloke at the Football League said, clubs like Town don't really belong in the top league any more.
Somewhat more pertinently, given the catastrophe that occurred last time - can we survive the after effects of promotion? IF we manage to get promoted in the foreseeable future, there won't be much money sloshing around for the simple reason that Marcus Evens wants his money back with interest thank you very much. And more worryingly still, Sheepshanks is still around. If you think people like Sheepshanks are capable from learning from their mistakes take another look at Cardiff. One of the millstones currently dragging Cardiff to oblivion is Robbie Fowler's wage bill. Spot the common thread there?
But I digress and get rather ahead of myself. At present, things look reasonably rosy at Portman Road. The investment opportunity Town's debt provides a cash-rich (on paper anyway), low asset vehicle like the Marcus Evans Group means that we can compete once again on more or less equal terms with other clubs in this league. But that's the rub - if this fire sale goes through we'll actually be no better off than several other clubs in this division. And we have been on this level playing field before and destroyed ourselves.
Before he went mad and bought all manner of rubbish when presented with some money and the 'glamour' of the Premier League status, George Burley seemed the epitome of a common sense, well-grounded manager who understood the wherewithal of Ipswich Town.
Yes it was crass stupidity in the transfer market that turned things pear-shaped when all seemed set fair. But the catalyst for self-destruction was the sudden arrival of an unforeseen shed load of money. Somewhat worryingly, that's not a million miles from the January shopping opportunity
Jim Magilton seems in many ways to be an embryonic George Burley. The question is, can Jim Magilton recognise what is wanted to stabilise and grow the club now. Can he resist the same absurd signings that destroyed Town's team spirit and infrastructure under Burley?
Maybe - maybe not. Signings don't always strengthen teams, more often than not they destabilise the dressing room and make them worse. In many ways, the upcoming January transfer window is much more than a window of opportunity. It is make or break time - again.
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