With todays news that Kevin Beeston has stepped down from his position on the board, along with three further resignations on the plc board (including Beeston again), does this signify the end for fans with shareholdings in the club? It does not seem long before the dream of supporters "being a part" of the club reaches its end after just 6 short years.
When Marcus Evans took control of Ipswich Town Football Club, one issue which needed careful resolution was that of the supporters who had invested in club shares.
Whilst the financial implications of these shareholdings were negligible in the context of the takeover, it represented much of how the Football Club had wished to be viewed- As something deeply rooted in its surrounding community, with those very supporters who travelled from the far corners of that community owning a little piece of the club, no matter how small.
It was an ideology which provided the backbone towards making the 2003 share issue the success it desperately needed to be. Without enough supporters wishing to "Be a part of IT", the club may well have been in entirely different shape to that in which Marcus Evans found it.
Thus, Marcus Evans invested in Ipswich Town Football Club, whilst the existing shareholdings remained in Ipswich Town Football Club Plc. As a result of the weight of Evans investment,. these shareholdings only amounted to 12% of the total, but this was of little significance. The 3,000 or so supporters retained their piece of the football club that they had invested in (In fact, even financially, with the club on a much sounder footing than previously, its arguable that the diminished shareholdings may have improved in value).
Within a year of the takeover, the shape of the football club and its plc have changed further still. After the takeover, there was a 50/50 split on the football club board between existing Ipswich Town employees and Marcus Evans employees. However, following todays announcement that Beeston is to step down, along with David Sheepshanks taking on a non-executive role midway through 2008, Chief Executive Derek Bowden is the only salaried director left remaining from the old board.
Similarly, whilst the plc allowed those ordinary fans to retain their shares, those left behind to run it are left with little involvement in the greater picture. Representing such a minor share in the football club, the involvement of the plc in the football club overall is hugely diminished. Perhaps as a result, today has also seen three directors step down from their roles with the plc. In the cases of Beeston and Holly Bellingham, they represent Directors whos involvement in the football club, pre-Marcus Evans, was substantial.
As things stand, the shares remaining in the plc do so because Evans is fulfilling obligations he made when taking over the club. In the same way that the club issued shareholders with an overview of the clubs accounts, rather than the full report they were used to previously. There is no requirements to issue anything anymore, but it is done to maintain some sense of loyalty to those fans who bought "a part of IT".
It remains to be seen how long he feels the need to maintain those obligations. Given the reduced role of the plc, it surely is only a matter of time before a compulsory purchase is made of the remaining shares and the club falls under a single board of directorship, governed by Marcus Evans employees.
It seems the inevitable conclusion for fans who could proudly say "I own a bit of IT". Most of those will accept the conclusion too- after all, its quite evident that the club is far better off financially than it was before the takeover and far better prepared to reach the premiership and remain there. Which, in the end, is what we all want.
But, whilst accepting it, there will be some sadness at the ending of another era.
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