I think this article sums the situation up pretty well tbh, very surprising coming from the Archant: http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-..._room_joker_s_rapid_fall_from_grace_1_1477611
Its ok but it doesnt say anything other than blah blah blah. Whether he is lazy/ injury prone/ joker or whatever, he was 1 of 11 players on the field in any one of those matches and was made the fall guy (ala Garvan under RK) . In several he played with Bowyer and Andrews (ie 3 or 4 central midfielders - something we also tried regular under RK and cocked up) which meant we had no balance. We also played him as the defensive player, which was stupid. He may have the vision to play as a playmaker sitting in front of the back four but he has neither the pace or tackling ability for the position. Take away the defensive duty and tell him to play and I bet he would have done alot better than he actually did. Its also ****ing hypocritical of the club to make JB out to be the bad guy whilst going on record as giving Chopra money to get over his addiction. This is a player who has been on thousands of pounds a week for the last 6 or 7 years yet still needs our help to sort him out. Last season Bullard may not have lived up to expectation yet Chopra also suffered from poor form for large periods and he was played in the right position. If they want to get rid of Bullard then fine, it hasnt worked out, but unless they would like to confirm any unreported rumours about his 'off the field' actitvities then I think its rather crappy coming out with this kind of article.
But if you read the last paragraph I think that is what it basically says. Not entirely sure you are just letting steam off at things but the article didn't really suggest many of the things you've mentioned infact it brought up much of what you say. I really don't think he suited the position at the base of the diamond, it didn't brought out his weaknesses and didn't use his strengths but even so, to me he just didn't look fit. I remember when he was on loan, i always knew he was a good player but I was suprised how fast he was and how fit he looked, he was always running around the pitch making things happen. When he started last season he just didn't look fit, he looked leggy!! Perhaps it was just a succession of things, he wasn't match fit when he first came here, he was in a team that was loosing in a position that didn't suit him, he then had off the field issues and illness and just never recovered form. Perhaps as the last paragraph says: "The truth is, both parties will be bitterly disappointed with how things have turned out. So rather than search for a scapegoat, it might just be best on this occasion to simply accept that this simply wasn’t the match made in heaven everyone hoped it would be. Good luck Jimmy, but it’s time for a new era at Ipswich Town."
Its wasnt really letting off steam butboth the article and my first post are similar in the fact that nothing is really said! if it was the case of Lancy and condencing your posts it would simple say 'player out of position with possibly fitness issues doesnt do very well' - its hardly worthy of a newspaper write up The fact that we are treating two such similar cases (Bullard/Chopra) so differently doesn't annoy me but it cant help with squad harmony, can it? Has Bullard been involved in an non football related incident, it would possibly make sense considering his past, but if so why has the paper not reported it. If it is purely down to football/ training issues then paying off the contract off a talented footballer without transfer listing him first also seems weird, especially if we are tightening up our budget so much. We wont spend £500k to get a player in but we will pay similar amounts to get a player out?
No it doesn't really say anything, I just think it sums up his time at the club pretty well. I just probably think Jewell is looking to the future and thinking he can't afford for Bullard to have another off year next year, so he wants to get him off the wage bill. It seems we are willing to pay players off to get them off the wage bill and stick to a rigid wage structure and not really care about paying them off. I think perhaps we have a couple of player in mind that we want to get in soon maybe but whilst Bullard is here, we can't do that. Obviously I'm just guessing, but it seems the only logical explanation.
As far as the Ipswich rag is concerned, today it includes a story about a man getting a new puppy and another chap talking about his painful accident of three years ago. Clearly a shortage of real news and the JB story filled a couple of pages in the sports section. Simple stories can easily be, and are, manipulated and sensationalised by the papers. "Typo Found in Not606 Thread" ====> "Britain's Education System in Crisis" "Ipswich Man has Limp" ====> "The Real Threat of Erectile Dysfunction in Suffolk" "Woman Loses Cat" ====> "Spate of Missing Cat Reports as Second Cat Goes Missing From Same Area in Just Three Years - Heartless Catnapper and Fur Collector Sought" "Woman's Cat Found Safe Under Bed" ====> "Heartless Catnapper has Crisis of Conscience Following Paper's Successful Campaign" âMan Loses Wife of Sixty Yearsâ ====> âCommunity Comes Together to Find Missing Womanâ âManâs Wife Found Safe Under Bedâ ====> âDementia. Is Help Available?â âOld Man Has Strokeâ ====> âOld Woman Terrorised in Ipswich Town Centreâ âNewspapers Make Up Stories says Reportâ ====> âJimmy Bullardâs Off Field Antics, Lack of Playing Ability, Lack of Fitness. Catnapping Escapades, Aversion to Soft Fruit, Buggering of Small Woodland Creatures and All Round Nastiness, Leaves the Ipswich Town Bad Boy Out in The Coldâ Papers are not worth the paper they are written on (?)
I quite agree. Most papers now are appauling!! In a strange way though I don't have a hatred toward the Sun because I think most people know it's just like a magazine with loads of celeb gossip, it's papers like the Daily Mail that do my nut in!! There are a few decent papers but not many people read them or they're not readily available in shops!!!
I thought this was better, a fan's view, rather than that of a Darkside rag... http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=21187