Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton (bottom right) has explained why Ipswich Town didn't sign more players with Premier League experience like Dara O'Shea (left) and Kalvin Phillips (top right) last summer. _(Image: Ross Halls/PA)_
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Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton says there’s a reason why the club didn’t sign more players with Premier League experience last summer.
Following back-to-back promotions, the Blues signed 12 players for a combined £100m+ in preparation for top flight football.
Only three of them – Kalvin Phillips, Dara O’Shea and Ben Johnson - had a significant number of Premier League appearances to their name though, with seven having spent the previous season in the Championship.
A common criticism following the club’s 19th place finish is that the club should have brought in more who knew the division. To that, the Blues chief responds: “I'd love for someone to sit here and show me how then.
“I've done this job for 30 plus years and I think we're very well versed in knowing how to get deals done...
“Okay, let’s look at why we would do that (sign Premier League experience). We looked at our team at certain points in the season and we looked at the amount of Premier League minutes that we had compared with even the likes of the Crystal Palace. The gulf was huge.
Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton says he would only sign players if they agreed to a relegation wage reduction clause. _(Image: PA)_
“The reality is though, when you are recruiting Premier League experience, it comes at a cost.
“And it's not necessarily the cost of the season that you're in the Premier League. These contracts run for three, four, five years. You look at the likes of Chelsea and they sign players on six, seven, eight-plus year contracts.
“If we sign an experienced player on a big salary that we can handle in the Premier League – a challenge, but we can handle it – then they, along with every member of staff, every player in this football club, would have to agree to a (wage) reduction down into the Championship, down into League One. Our cost base has to flow in line with our revenues.
“But when you want to sign that experienced player, nine times out of 10, they will not take the reduction. And I can understand that because they're an experienced Premier League player. But that would put this football club at huge risk, because that liability sticks.
“I could not look my owners, and more importantly my fans, in the face and say that I took the risk of permanently damaging your football club by doing that.
“We cannot risk this football club. It’s too special. Not under my tenure. This football club has gone into administration in the past. I’m not taking it there.