Clegg said: "Marcus has still got huge confidence in the manager and that he can turn this around. "We're all devastated,â he continued. âThis is a really poor run of games we're on at the moment. "Let's not forget we had a good run only about five weeks ago. I am convinced we've got the right players to turn this around. "And if anyone can do it, Paul Jewell can. I've still got a lot of confidence in Paul Jewell. I think he's a top manager. "It's not a comfortable time at the moment. And all I can do is assure all our loyal fans that every effort is being made to turn this around quickly." That's alright then, that's me convinced!!! Premier League | |Norwich | Championship | | |Town |Forest |Coventry |Doncaster |League One!
"We're all devastated,” he continued. “This is a really poor run of games we're on at the moment. Well that's an understatement to say the least.....the worst run for approx 16yrs...! "Marcus has still got huge confidence in the manager and that he can turn this around." He is in a very small and rapidly dwindleing minority..! Clegg & Jewell out.
Blind leading the blind How can Jewell be a top manager when he has failed to bring in the right players and continues to stick with a formation which exposes our weaknesses. The players have clearly lost faith in him and his tactics and are refusing to put the effort in on the pitch. I've said before Jewell brought in experienced players to make a quick fix to buy himself some time to scout younger players but it's clear that experienced players are not what is needed in this league, it's essential you have hunger and desire to put in everything in every match and we have too many players who lack this, specifically in midfield. Jewell would do ok with a good player for each position and I think he has what it takes to bring the right players in given time but should we take the risk of giving him time as it will surely only result in more hammerings? And could another manager even do any better with the players we have? Is it worth sacking Jewell now before he hopefully brings in some younger players in Jan or do we cut our losses and hope a new manager can attract the right players with less time scouting?
Sven I'm starting to think on here there is no point me writing because you say everything I am thinking. I'm just puzzled at the situation we find ourselves in. I only became really really concerned by our situation after last nights defeat, the others I can accept but with the talent and experience we have on the pitch a result should never happen in the manner it did. I agree I feel if given time, Jewell will bring in the right players and be a good manager for us but the trouble is currently in the short term can he stop the slump and keep us in this league this year?? He couldn't stop Derby's decline. I feel sorry for Jewell, yes he has brought in the players and can be blamed for poor tactics but it just concerned me the lack of desire and effort yesterday. Surely you've got to have some pride in your performances!!! I think that unless we see a dramatic improvement in performance on saturday, it may well be goodbye PJ.
ptc, can i just ask, who are the talented players you speak of? i went through your team from last night and couldn't find any. i think you've all been hood-winkned by the 'names' on show, how much they WERE worth once upon a time and not looked at their true ability on the pitch. those who WERE talented players are now way past it and ready for the knackers yard. every city fan who comes on here has said the same thing over and over again: you are in PRECISELY the same situation as us in 2009. its staggering how similar it is. check out city's team on paper that season - it looked pretty good to be honest - big earners, premier league loans, experienced players - but when you saw it 'perform', and i use the word quite loosely, they were so crap it beggared belief. no effort, no commitment. not sure if this has been the case with you guys but you know you are in big trouble when after a defeat away from home the players would just trot off down the tunnel without even acknowledging the large numbers of away fans - we were still taking more than a 2000 every away game - and that to me is inexcusable - in fact, it was the thing which annoyed me the most. if that's started happening then you know you have a bad bunch of players at your club. in a way its easy to feel sorry for jewell as he seems a decent bloke who talks a good game but he has built your current 'team' and it would take an almighty turnaround not only on the pitch, but also off the pitch, in fans minds, for him to succeed at your club now. its got to the stage where its very unlikely he can save himself in my opinion. i still think you'll be ok, thanks largely to how inept coventry and doncaster are and the pompey situation, but you are certainly in a battle.
No they have talented players.... they have Josh Carson... and David Stockdale... well, I guess he's not their players... oh, ok they're ****!
Superman for once I really do have to disagree with you on this one. City fans like to come on here because they feel there are similarities(which there are) but we are different clubs and just because something worked at Norwich doesn't mean it will work here. Sometimes I think some of the Norwich supporters are not looking at our situation fully because they just think it is identical to the one which they once found themselves in and are therefore just making assumptions. That is not a dig because there are similarities, but also the situations are different. I would say there are similarities between you and us 10 years ago but that doesn't mean that I think the way you are going is europe and then relegation!! There are similarities to us and you but we have a far more talented squad atm than you had and tbh its probably our most talented squad for a few years but yes we lack pace, youth and determination. We certainly have the talent/quality just not perhaps the desire to win, which is the most concerning thing. The talent and quality are not the problem here. May I list: Stockdale(England goalkeeper) Cresswell (potentially one of the best LB's in the country) Bowyer (has class but desire anymore??) JET (Certainly has the quality but not consistency) Chopra (On his day best striker in the division but has personal problems) Bullard (Again one of the best players in the division but on a terrible run of form) Andrews Carson Collins And the rest apart from maybe Delaney certainly are of Championship standard but like I said its not the quality or talent of the players which is the problem!!!
ptc, you are looking at it too closely. looking at your players from a distance, as biased as i may be, i still know all about these players. stockdale - he may be in the england squad but don't kid yourself. he is dodgy on crosses, doesn't command his area and shouldn't be anywhere near the england squad cresswell - fair enough, decent prospect but nowhere near being one of the best in the country. as with all young players he'll have a trough in form to contend with too bowyer - has never had class! good grafter, box to box player but work rate was his key to success. he's too old to that now and he has nothing to fall back on in his game jet - one of the laziest footballers in britain. similar to my best mate who is a fantastically gifted footballer when it comes to ball juggling but he's crap at 11-a-side chopra - a tricky one as he is a decent championship striker but he is no better than that and requires decent service to score goals. averages about 10 goals a season over his career bullard - a complete gob****e who fancies himself as a class midfielder but has never truly done anything in his career. vastly over paid and vastly over rated andrews - average midfielder. does a job but hardly going to pull up any trees carson - similar to cresswell collins - top end of championship defender on his day sorry but there isn't much talent there. check out the burnley team last night. how many of their players would you replace yours with? i'd suggest almost all of them. where were burnley in the table before last night? 18th. last season i got ribbed by many of your fans by suggesting that norwich's players were better than ipswich's before the derby game at carrow road. quite frankly, i think your team last season was better than it is now. at least players like norris and mcauley could be relied on to give a performance, even if it wasn't always 'top notch' as my old man says! as i say, the reason so many city fans say there are massive similarities is because there REALLY ARE!! its like seeing history repeating...
Just out of interest, I looked up our team for the last match of November in our relegation year. It was: Marshall, Otsemobor, Drury, Kennedy, Croft, Clingan, Doherty, Hoolahan, Bell, Pattison, Lita. Subs: Russell, Sibierski, Fotheringham, Lupoli, Nelson(GK) It's fair to say that, with a couple of obvious exceptions, we wouldn't want any of those to ever darken Carrow Road again. But, there was more than enough in that side (on paper) to be comfortably clear of relegation. For me, the biggest difference between City then and Town now is the ability to act. We dumped Roeder far too late, and (through board incompetance) stuffed up the replacement. On top of that, there was no way we'd be able to spend our way out of trouble. For Town, should Jewell go, there's enough to tempt a manager into the job, and should be funds to salvage the season. I don't think Town will be in the bottom three come may, there's already too much in that squad. But then, I once said the same about us...
Not not biased at all Superman!!(not a hint of sarcasm there either). Perhaps the dig at stockdale is because you think that bloke who looks like Dean Ashton, Ruddy should be ahead of him? Cresswell, he's not anywhere near being the best in the country but I think you will find I put potentially at the front of the sentence. As for the rest I think you are being harsh on and the quality in our team is far greater than most other championship sides. The only reason I would replace alot of the players in our team with the ones at Burnley are because they are young and up and coming, apart from, Rodriguez and Treacy, I think the quality in our team is far greater, which is why I'm saying that clearly good players don't make a good team. I'm not saying we are good but we have a set of players who as individuals could well get into most championship teams but as a team, and as a balanced team we are currently cr**!!! There is considerable enough talent there to at least be competing in this league but this is not the problem. I was one of the fans disagreeing with you regarding the quality of your players compared to ours last season and I still stand by my argument, I also think that you will find I was also one of the only ITFC fans saying that Norwich would finish above us last season even before it had started and that they would do well and I was also one of the only ITFC fans saying that you would stay up this season because I really do think Lambert is a class act. As a team you were far better than us last year and you had something which I think was key and which we are really lacking now, a balance to the side!! I still believe with perhaps the exception of Hoolahan and Holt in general we had the better players as individuals last year. Our team this season is far better on paper that the one last season, apart from McAuley, who is in my eyes an monumental loss for us. I would go as far to say as we would be near the top of the league if he had stayed here this season, thats not me saying I think he is a great player but he was very important to us and most of all would have given us some continuety at the back(which has been a major downfall this season) and at the club in general. I also think he would have been reinstated as captain, he was actually starting to show some leadership qualities which he lacked when he first came to the club because I feel he was starting to feel comfortable and confident here under Jewell, rather than Keane who's harsh persona probably was not good for his confidence!! As for Norris, he was a player I really did not like and is not a player who would have taken us forward but now we need players like him with a bit of fight in them, I'm even beggining to question if we should have got rid of Healy, who has limited ability but never let the team down and at least was a good professional.
just look at that bench! on paper, a bench containing the likes of sibierski, lupoli and russell should have been pushing for top six, maybe even better! fact is, these players aren't as good on the pitch as they were on paper. agree that ipswich will stay up because they at least have the capability to throw some money at it - not that its done them much good so far
Exile good post, although I respect Supermans posts(you speak more sence than most ITFC fans and even when disagreeing can have a good debate) and other NCFC fans genuinely posting on here in good faith, its good to have someone not completely regard us in the same situation as yourselves once were.
ptc, i was totally honest about the standard of your players. ruddy is not really international material either but he's a bit better than stockdale at the moment. just shows how low on quality keepers england are at the moment - neither should really be considered in my opinion. cresswell as i said is a good prospect but he's nothing more than a prospect. he's not a great defender though he's good going forward and strikes a mean cross from what i've seen, but if he ever plays in the premier league it will be with a struggling team - the top dogs will never take him, and thats why he isn't one of the best prospects in the country. i think you are slightly deluded if you STILL think those players are talented. of course poor tactics and poor management can lead to poor performances but these players your club have acquired are not as good as you seem to think they are and most of them never have been that talented! and christ, they are SOOOO OLD! your average age is over 30!! and its amazing you still think your players were better than ours last season!! truly amazing!!
and ok, i know i am biased but in all seriousness, checking out the other squads in the championship, i'd say: southampton, west ham, cardiff, middlesbrough, leeds, leicester, blackpool, hull, birmingham, burnley and nottingham forest have comfortably got better starting XI's than ipswich. ok, that leaves a few others who perhaps haven't got the 'names' you have but are possibly better anyway but at best you've got the 12th best team in the league, even on paper.
I have to agree with Superman. Our team is no where near being one of the strongest in the league. Time to give some of our 'big names' a rest and see what some of our younger reserves can do.
PTC is right, we need some balance. The players we have are more than good enough at this level but they need team mates who compliment them. At the minute Jewell keeps playing the diamond with four midfielders all of whom are slow and old. They do have quality and I'm not just talking names on paper. Bullard proved last year he can run games in this league, Bowyer played a full prem season last year and Andrews is a vital part of the Ireland team who have just qualified for Euro 2012. But what they need is to play with younger players who can compliment them and some wingers to provide the missing width and creativity. In my opinion it would be better to play with lesser quality players but ones that do compliment rather than a bunch of players all of a similar mould, ie stick Hyam in there and play some wingers. That would mean dropping two or three out of the 'big name' midfielders we have but it's essential for a balanced side.
I will have to agree with both Superman and Exile....on paper, our team is poor. Individually they were ONCE decent players, but time has now taken it's toll on most of them. Our "standard" XI is; Stockdale - Maybe in the England fold, but that is only becaue there is no one else. Sonko - Ok, but will always be injured Collins - Best player in our team, and he's not ours. Edwards - Too slow and predictable, way past his best (and that was cap) Cresswell - Good prospect, but still a long way to go. Bullard - Too old, too slow, no bottle. Leadbitter - Average League 1 player at best. Does nothing on the pitch. Bowyer - Too old, too slow, lost his fight and stamina, does not influence the middle anymore. Andrews - One of our few bright spots, a good championship player, but again, not ours. Chopra - Again, WAS a good championship player, but needs other players around him to supply him. Not a worker. Scotland - Fat, slow, no skill, no stamina, useless pile of s**t. Can hit the ball pretty hard (thats as good as it gets) Now, we need players in the team who are proud of wearing the Town shirt, players that will always give 100%. Im not a fan of the loan market..I feel they are generally players looking to make a few quid. We need to bring more youngsters in the team. I can now see why the likes of Troy Brown, O'connor et al wanted to leave, as they were never given the opportunity. Sacking Clegg will not solve any major issues we have. Sacking Jewell will only set us back even more, so, unfortunately, we can only ride the waves at the moment, hold on pretty dam tight, and hope that we can survive this year, and i then honestly think Jewell will see the light, and get rid of the deadwood we have, and start to assemble a better squad. He seems an intelligent guy (dont laugh), and he will know where he has cocked up, and i believe he will get this club moving again.
Stretchy do you honestly believe that Jewell is the right man! **** me isn't he part of the problem! We need a new broom at CEO and Manager to get this club going in the right direction. Giving Jewell more time to get things wrong is just unbelievable imo.
Warky I replied to your other post......still applies to you and your brooms! Originally Posted by johnnywarksmoustache Its time for a new broom and a new CEO and manager. This is the minimum that we should be demanding! Well that would be a dynamic trio Warky!! I guess a new brush would sweep up the dross and have as much tactical nous as PJ, bless him! I do actually feel for the man, as some have said, it does come down to the 11 professionals...yes, paid professionals who earn a darn sight more than my modest pension, to do the business on the park. For what its worth, I feel a last gasp reprieve for all, if we get a scrappy Home win Saturday against a Forest who are shipping even more than us, if thats possible! Question for all: So, guys, do I travel the 300 miles round trip, fork out £50 for fuel, £30 for ticket and a pint to give the team the benefit of my vocal chords?? Answers please...or a nice weekend at Clacton for same price!
South Coast my advice would be to keep your money in your pocket or if you really want to waste it just post me a cheque! In all seriousness we have both seen the highs and lows and all the in betweens but never have I lost hope like I have now! Just where are the positives? A refusal to involve our youth team players meaning that they will not be hanging around like O'Connor, Hyam, Lavery, Murray as prime examples. We as a club are crying out for change and all most of the fans want at the end of the day is a sense that progress is being made at least. Can any of us honestly say that progress is being made and that we approve of what is happening at Portman Road? Yes support the team so long as they wear the blue and white BUT it shouldn't be all one way traffic, these highly paid players OWE us a decent performance each week and if we lose to a better team then fair enough. What is clearly unacceptable is that the players simply aren't even trying and that makes my blood boil. To rub salt into the open wound is that the youngsters that are chomping at the bit to get a chance to show what they can do aren't getting a bloody look in! A team that plays with passion, pride and work rate goes a long way.
