The full facts of what has unfolded in the last few days at Ipswich Town FC may never be known. In what I regard as the poor and superficial public apology made by Mark Ashton that pivoted on four key factors, he has failed in my view to take true ownership or action on any of them.

Firstly, he stated that the circumstances came about because they didn’t have a policy.

Secondly, he did not clearly state how and, more importantly, why the event happened and the thought process behind it.

Thirdly, he did not take substantive ownership and responsibility for the event.

Fourthly, he did not clearly explain how the club will prevent such an event occurring again.

At this point, there will be those who will be reaching for the keyboard to rain derision on this thought piece, but can I ask for you to bear with me as when it comes to organisations and businesses, for Ipswich Town FC is undoubtedly a business, there are ethical and moral considerations which must govern the entire operation, particularly, when it directly engages with and serves the community it is situated within.

I am of the view that politics in the United Kingdom is a uniquely personal matter. In terms of elections, it is the private act of one person in a single occupancy booth to cast an anonymous ballot for a person/party of their choice, contrary to recent unproven accusations as to how it is done.

The birth of the Internet age has led to a plethora of platforms through which political opinions can be presented. Key to this has become the cult of the personality. A cult that does not have a great deal of substance or depth in my view. Politics is not a 280-character post or a one-minute video. It is and has to be considerably more.

The visit of Mr Nigel Farage to Portman Road, apparently as a guest of one of the senior directors of the club and given the free rein to utilise the club’s facilities, image and reputation, as a means by which to ingratiate himself and his political party to the local and national electorate, is truly a gross error of managerial decision-making.

Ethically and morally, Ipswich Town services the community in and around Ipswich, as well as the wider county of Suffolk, which are formed from diverse, mutually respectful cultural and ethnic communities. The very heart of the town emanates from its maritime history and the connections that seafaring by its natural operation brings to the community in which it is based.

They say you can change your house/car/political party, but you can never change your football team. It is beholden on an organisation like a football club, at any level, to represent the entirety of the community in which it is based.

Ethically, when you operate a football club the size of Ipswich Town, you are responsible for managing your strengths, and supporting your weaknesses. This must manifest itself in respecting the diversity of opinions, which are both known and unknown to the club. Yes, unknown.

Not one person at Ipswich Town knows the political opinions or thoughts of all of those whom the club affects. The role of the club ranges from the score on the pitch to the reasonable adjustments required to allow all supporters who wish to do so to access the stadium.

To use the platform of an inclusive club with an excellent standing in the community, prior to this incident, as a tool for political performance, for that is all the visit was, demonstrates a level of gullibility and naivety amongst the senior leadership team entrusted with the power and responsibility of running the club that can only be attributed to the selfish lust for personal enhancement of an individual or individuals.

Ethically and morally, allowing and assisting in exploiting the privileged position of Ipswich Town within the community is, as has clearly been shown, divisive and reprehensible. The club has ambitions and the actions of the individuals responsible for the appearance, which had been planned in great detail, of Mr Farage and his abuse of the good name and nature of the club, will negatively affect not only a significant number of the fanbase but also the professional game’s view of the club.

Mr Farage is renowned for his obfuscation, misalignment of facts and the truth, and a proven record of failing to deliver substance to any of his claims. He does not use unity or harmony as tools of his trade; he uses the absolute opposite.

The video apology sent out by the club is not an apology as far as I am concerned. It is an attempt at damage limitation. The reality of an apology is to first acknowledge the error or wrongdoing, then own it and state what caused it. Thereafter to apologise and put in place substantive measures to endeavour to repair in the shortest time possible the damage done. In these circumstances, there is no simple recompense that can be paid or acted out.

A thorough review of leadership and decision-making is required at Town. It's unlikely to happen in the very busy month that we now face at a critical part of the season, but it must happen. Our season hangs in the next eight games and to have injected this dreadful disharmony now is without question an act of self-harm.

One final thought from the Stoics. “Your reaction to someone else’s action is the only thing you have control of, if they have more power or control over something you hold dear.”

Indeed, the keyboard warriors who have been saying that “…if you don’t like what has happened, stop going to Town or supporting the team”. An entirely facile and pathetic response. The Internet era has brought in these people who wouldn’t say it in the pub, let alone inside Portman Road. Why do you say? Because invariably, they do not attend and almost certainly have never been.

We aren’t invested in a club because it wins every game played, because it hasn’t. We are invested in a football club because it feeds the emotional and physical side of us that two pints of mild and a pickled egg can never touch.

Our support for the Town goes back well before Gamechanger came in. Many supporters go back to when Portman Road was nothing like we see today. In the football business world, Ipswich Town will almost certainly find itself scrutinised more closely. The club's reputation is unquestionably damaged and dented. Amongst the professionals, it has certainly blotted its copybook.

What’s my conclusion? There was considerably more at play in this 'event' than an error of judgment. There was gullibility, selfishness and an absence of ethics and morals. There was a failure to view the greater good as the necessary outcome in this situation. There was certainly no thought of being a team player.

It is not my place to say what happens next, but something must happen. The last thing we want in the football world is anyone leaving Portman Road after a meeting with our management to pause and count their fingers. Trust has been shattered.

Churchman added 10:20 - Apr 5 Thank you for this. It pretty much accords with how I see things. I doubt however the football club will be more scrutinised, not least because the person accountable for this mess will be gone in my view.
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Billericay12 added 13:40 - Apr 5 Judging by the lack of comments on this post most are not overly bothered by this including myself and that’s because it’s a football club and that is what the supporters care about. Football and politics don’t mix. Yes, maybe MA should have given a bit more thought to the implications of this but don’t let one error of judgement undermine everything he has done for our club. Forgot all this nonsense. Our thoughts and passion should be focused on tomorrow v Birmingham City. COYB

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