http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town/still_a_long_way_to_go_warns_jewell_1_971392 I thought it wouldn't take long for the Ipswich Spin Machine to start working in overdrive. This interview that PJ gives underlines the fact that we haven't got a hope of promotion this year. He says there is still a long way to go before we can be considered good enough for the play offs. My thoughts are basically why the hell aren't we doing the business and spending money on 5 or 6 quality players that we need? Its not bloody rocket science is it! May be I'm being cynical but this interview smacks of letting the fans down gently. Lowering the horizons for this season and basically saying that we are building for the future bollix! As a season ticket holder and away supporter I am getting heartily fed up with the same old excuses year in, year out. How about some Jam today rather than always tomorrow and imminent!
Spot on JWM, like you say the same dross for the past 3-4yrs now.! I think we all feel we got a decent deal from the sale of Connor, so lets start spending some of that money & not insult other clubs by offering peanuts for half decent players. I also stuggle to see why we are still being linked with this or that forward, we have 4 already, CBs we have 3, 1 is injured, 1 is not very good & the other still has an awful lot to learn, rocket science it is not..!
Svendust If you are referring to Keane he said "Any idiot can finish mid table!" the trouble is ever since Royle left we have been managed by idiots!
Spot on JWM, letting us down gently already. What a bloody shame. Being realistic is all fine and dandy but it could have been boosted by something that suggested we were going to give it a right good go whatever. You mentioned about fans settling for mediocrity before JWM - does this seem like the manager has too?
Rushmere old friend I think you are right. The owner and manager seem to be settling for mediocrity again this season. As far as I can see the £15 Million that we have recouped from Walters & Wickham have gone straight back into Evans' back pocket. Why the hell do we keep falling for this crap every year? The club has no ambition whatsoever!
JWM I think you are being quite cynical. Yes we certainly need at least 5 more quality signings to be a real force in this division but I think Jewell is just stating where we are at and I agree with him. Currently how we stand I don't think we have a team to really challenge for the playoffs but at the same time, I think we can be pretty pleased so far with the transfer dealings. At least this year we don't appear to be chasing a few players who we appear to want to pay any price for, we seem to be more pragmatic(or Jewell does anyway). I think we have to take stock of the past few seasons since Evans has been at the club, how we just chucked money at average players and also the absolute mess we were left in by the manager. We are basically trying to build from scratch. This will be a long builing period from Jewell.
I disagree strongly JWM and I think PJ is bang on. We aren't without a hope but we are miles off looking at auto. There was so much wrong not with the players but with the vibe and morale and way things were under Keane that it's not just a case of putting players in the side. Signing good players is NOT easy. Ipswich have some pulling power but if I was a top player there are at least half a dozen better bets in the Championship. If we were to sign Stockdale my whole outlook would be different because he would win us games. At the moment with either Fulop or ALB we could leak three goals against any side that's willing to take pot shots. We don't have the quality in midfield, we need another striker and we are incredibly short at the back - but this is not Paul Jewell's fault - the squad and the contracts were in such a mess when he took over that it's going to take him probably three transfer windows before a team capable of challenging takes shape. The only beef I have with Jewell is overlooking Hyam, O'Connor and Peters - but he has obviously learnt over the years that experience is more important than potential. Yes keep the expectations down and then if something happens this season we will be much the happier, but he's just realistic, we don't want to pay over the odds and spunk it away - that's not the way to get long term success.
Also I don't think the transfer fees have any impact on who Jewell can bring in. ME is entitled to run a business and make money out of the club - he will make a lot more money in the top flight than the Championship and I'm sure he knows that.
Yorkie Since 2007 when Evans came in we have been fed on a diet of constant bullshite! Thats why season ticket sales have dropped off a cliff from 19,000 6 years ago to 13 or 14,000 this year. Lots of people that bought into the "promotion" hype have not bothered to renew this year because they feel they have been conned! Who can blame them when we are kept being told that there is light at the end of the tunnel and all that cliched rubbish! I am a supporter of PJ and I understand the contraints but there has been little ambition shown so far this summer. There is no lack of money so why aren't they spending it?
I have to agree with itfcptc. We need to remember that ME has given both Magilton and Keane a healthy transfer kitty and they've both pissed it up against a wall (as it were) so he is well within his rights pocket some of the cash he's thrown away and to hold a little back and make the manager do some work. Which I believe PJ is doing, and doing well. Both Keano and Jim panic bought simply because money was there, this time round ME has learnt from those mistakes and is making the Manager work harder to find the class players. I still believe when it comes to the crunch PJ can turn to ME and say 'Back me' and he will but I think its nice to see (although frustrating at times) a manager being careful with the money he has available and surveying his options before signing any tom dick or harry.
OK Guys lets have a poll on "Do you think we will reach the platy-offs this year" or "Is this squad any better than last years"
I have to agree with itfcptc, Lancs and KOPR...We haven't finished in the play-offs for 6 years now, and our highest place finish within that time is 8th! So we can't really call ourselves play-off contenders anymore, because we aren't...Also I know we have money, however ME has thrown alot of money the past 3 years, probably around £30 million, and it has been wasted, so he's probably contemplating whether to put alot of money in this time round knowing it could go to waste. I think we've done very well in the transfer market so far, we've bough quality and experience with Chops and Bowyer and youth and exuberance with Cresswell, but looking for more in Emanuel-Thomas (if reports are true). But like PJ has said we are way off play-offs, but I do believe with time we will be contenders again.
The squad isn't better than last years because McAuley - the key man in defence - has gone, Wickham has been sold and we are also without Norris. None of that is Paul Jewell's fault. I'm starting to get quite angry with the nonsense in this article. ME was very ambitious to appoint Roy Keane and we all thought we would go straight up - Magilton and Keane squandered a fortune so you can't talk about anyone pulling the wool over our eyes. Methinks JWM has been smoking some bad **** and it's made him paranoid.
Yorkie Mate I've been a full paid up season ticket holder for over 20 years and I am sick and tired of the lack of ambition from this football club! This statement is just softening us up for next season just mark my words!
What does that have to do with anything?! It was blase ambition that landed us in administration was it not?
Ok, if we are honest we probably don't expect to be in contention for promotion this coming season (much as we would like to be and not considering any future signings). That said, it would be kind of nice to hear PJ tinge the reality with a little hope, ie yes, we are going to find it tough, we have to rebuild but we are really up for this and might surprise a few people - or similar.
We need to improve just to avoid the drop next season forget about the play offs! This league is a hell of a lot tougher than last year and if we don't start getting in some decent players we will be struggling to avoid the drop. I was at the Cambridge game and we woeful! No excuses as it was our strongest line up and first choice defenders and Cambridge ripped us apart at times. If they had a decent striker we would have lost by 5 or 6 and I am not joking! Some of you may be happy to just survive another season and finish mid table yet again for the 6th year in a row but quite frankly I am sick to death of the lack of ambition. We will never get out of this league if we don't speculate to accumulate like other clubs like leicester are doing. Its no good buying 1 decent striker when we will concede more than we score. Just take off the blue tinted glasses for a minute! If you are happy for mid table mediocrity again then fair enough but I actually spend 1000s of pounds each year watching the Town home and away and I am just getting fed up withy all this bullshit!
I'm with Hampy and the others on this one. PJ, although not saying much positive, is hinting that we could do well but don't get your hopes up. I think we could surprise a few people this year and he knows this but he's just playing it down. I hear what you are saying JWM about always being told the same bullshit recently but unfortunately we have not been well managed recently either so the constant stuff about needing to rebuild etc keeps coming up. We seem to have someone now who knows what he is doing and if we can keep him for the next few years I am confident he will build a stronng team. No successful team is built overnight and the constant changing of managers has never helped any team in the long run. Just keep holding in there mate, we don't want to run PJ out of town and have to start all over yet again.
