Town boss Paul Jewell said he was hugely disappointed after what he described as his side’s “embarrassing” 5-1 home defeat to Norwich in the East Anglian derby at Portman Road.

Jewell said: “I’m hugely disappointed, it’s a local derby, it’s a full house and you want to try and put on a decent show for your supporters but unfortunately it’s an embarrassing scoreline really, there’s no doubt about it.

“I think possession-wise we probably had more than them, we probably had more attempts on goal than them, but they’re clinical in the box.

“Their strikers are good players and they gave us a hard time. It’s obvious that in both boxes they were exceptional and we were average to say the least.”

The Blues boss says his team’s lack of a predatory frontman was again all too evident: “It hasn’t just been notable tonight, I’ve been talking about it for some while.

“We’ve got the fourth best away record in the league and the 18th worst at home someone’s just told me.

“For some reason we just keep getting done on the counter-attack at home. Teams get behind the ball and hit us on the break and we can’t deal with it. It’s one of the areas we need to improve for next year.

“It’s not a one-off tonight. We let in three against Watford, Middlesbrough and Reading, so I know where we need to improve.

“There are a lot of good things that have happened since I’ve been here. Tonight wasn’t an eye opener for me, it’s a huge disappointment, but I know where we need to get better.”

Despite having a lot of the ball, Jewell felt his team made too few chances: “That’s typical of us at home. We don’t create a huge amount for the possession we have.

“Norwich broke and were incisive, were quick, they passed the ball, the two strikers hold the ball up and they’ve got a threat in behind.

“We haven’t got that at the moment. We need somebody we know is going to get us a goal but having said that we don’t create an awful lot.”

The Town manager was disappointed that even when the Blues managed to get something resembling a foothold in the game, they conceded another goal almost immediately: “We got back in it at 3-1 with a worldy from Jimmy and we’re thinking it’s going to be a rousing 10 minutes, then within two minutes from our corner — yet again and how many times have we said that this season? — the game’s over.”

Norwich boss Paul Lambert dismissed suggestions that it had been easy for his side: “There’s no game I’ve ever been involved in in my life that’s been easy. I think every game is hard and you have to earn the right to win football matches.

“I thought my team right from the off were extraordinary in the football that they played. It was incredible right from the off.

“We were up against a team which has been on fire lately and with a crowd as vibrant as anywhere we’ve been, so to come here and do what we’ve done was a big, big test of character and I thought the performance was excellent.”

Photo: Action Images

mickeyjb added 23:08 - Apr 21 Same old same old
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avatar added 23:09 - Apr 21 It's about time we forgot the play offs and now see that we don't have the team for promotion and it was so obvious out there what positions need to be filled with new people. And hopefully all the talk of wickham being a 15m man at 18 is a dream. Potential yes but not at this stage. Mr jewell and mr Evans have a big summer ahead
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AB_ITFC added 23:12 - Apr 21 Tonight hurt more than almost any game at PR I've been to. honestly thought we had a chance, and to be 2-0 down and playing better football was tough to take. This happens though. Would have been nice to mess their season up but not to be. Will have to become part time Cardiff supporters for the rest of the season! Seriously think next season is something to get excited about, so lets look forward to us crossing paths with our neighbours from the north next season!!!

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Drew added 23:15 - Apr 21 Dreadfull, just dreadfull. Keeper was at fault for at least 2 of the goals, Bullard and maybe Edwards are the only two that should be praised for putting in a half decent performance, O'Dea was rubbish, Norris and Leadbitter were nowhere to be seen, and Scotland is the worst striker I have seen since Sam Parkin!
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Campag_Velocet added 23:16 - Apr 21 "The Blues boss says his team's lack of a predatory frontman was again all too evident." Not having a striker on the bench, because they've all been loaned out doesn't help either.
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Mark added 23:16 - Apr 21 A bitterly disappointing night. Jewell has worked miracles with the team, but tonight things caught up with them. The lack of a quality striker stands out big time when watching Jason Scotland, another awful Keane signing, and we had no fire-power to get us back into the match after the sloppy start. Lee-Barrett continued where he left off against Middlesbrough unfortunately, O'Dea isn't good enough, and Edwards is good going forward but not so good defensively, so an attack-minded confident Norwich side carved out chances and took them. Lots of work needed in the summer, but we have the right management team to do it. Best of luck to Cardiff against QPR Sunday.

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BrandonsBlues added 23:17 - Apr 21 Okay some players should never play for us again. Scotland, O'dea, Kennedy, Norris because they will not be playing next season, so lets get some fringe players back in, Hyam, peters, and youth to see what they have for the last three games. Also change the formation with either hyam playing in the holding roll PJ says he is looking for, or 4.4.2 for the last three games. nothing to lose so lets experiment and see what the fringe players have got to offer the team, because preseason will be of no benefit. We are safe, and PJ can now see what else he has got. Please PJ start preparing for next season now.

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bluelady added 23:17 - Apr 21 Pj I'm a big fan and have hopes for next season, but come on fat boy slim up wrong on his own with no width is not going to win games is it!!!! O connor, Jamie peters, civelli all could have done a job, actually I think prisken would have done a job too had he been here.... negative sideward passing and football was keane tactics, not sure why we slipped back to that tonight, much work to be done and for goodness sake give some others a chance to shine....

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Garv added 23:19 - Apr 21 That hurt. Norwich are a class above theres no doubt about it, havnt seen a better team this season. I honestly think against most other teams in this league a good contest would have been had but they were simply too good. Bullard is a star! Other players who also deserve recognition tonight I think include Edwards, Drury, and Carson. A sad night, just want this season to be over.

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Town22 added 23:22 - Apr 21 What happened to Norros tonight? He's meant to be our captain. He hardly did anything tonight. Bullard put them all to shame again. We have very little class in our team now. Wickham looked like a boy tonight. ALB needs to put his hands up for most of the goals. Fulop should have played
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SuperReuser added 23:23 - Apr 21 If Wickham is a £15 million pound striker... why does he not play as a STRIKER! instead we have Scotland as a lone striker with 5 midfielders.... and even if they do their job and feed it to him, he cant do a thing! Also Arran Lee-Barrett is not up to the standard! Norwich had an 11 man team, we had a one man team
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TractorMan added 23:23 - Apr 21 What i've been saying for a long time - ALB showed why he is No.3 at the club. Now he has earnt his contract please put Fulop back. 5 shots on target - 5 goals. Fulop back rightfully on Monday please.
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northernblues added 23:26 - Apr 21 embarrassing? a fookin disgrace more like
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PimsNumber1 added 23:27 - Apr 21 dury and edwards did well, bullard scored a great goal but did little else. Delaney played fairly well against jackson who most on here thought was a league 1 striker only ( like holt) and the rest were poor !
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Brockleyblue added 23:31 - Apr 21 How bad do things have to be before PJ will consider playing Jaime Peters?! I wasn't able to attend but listened on the radio and Steve Claridge kept saying (rightly I'd imagine) that there was no width or pace to Ipswich's midfield, which Jaime would have provided. Also, re. strikers, I think Jewell has been excellent since coming here but to not have a single forward on the bench is plain daft. Scotland should have been sent out on loan instead of Priskin and Murray should have stayed at the club instead of going to Torquay to enable him to get some run-outs as a sub. I thought Muray and Wickham looked a great pairing together when they played for half an hour against Millwall at Portman Road. The paucity of out attack was highlighted that at home in a derby against a team we were trying to avenge the 4-1 loss we proved incapable of making their keeper make a single proper save in the first half. Don't believe PJ's contention that Ipswich had more shots than Norwich, As for needing a holding midfielder surely PJ should include Hyam on the bench at least. He may lack experience (but there is only one way to get that) and he is the only member of the squad for whom that is his natural position. It's bad enough that the Budgies tonight secured their biggest ever win against us. Even worse is the fact that they now look to be going up, given the way they are playing and their easy run-in. That win at home 24 months ago when Dos Santos and Peters ran rings around them now seems a lifetime ago.

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apm_77 added 23:32 - Apr 21 I'd said coming in to the game that if we weren't at our best we'd get stuffed, and regretably I was proved right. The funny thing is I don't think Norwich even did all that much, they just picked up the scraps we kept feeding them with our inept defending and complete lack of threat in the final third. I'm not sure you can single anyone out as the root cause of it, we were dreadful and deserved to be thrashed. Two seasons have been completely wasted now and Jewell needs all the support the club and fans can give him to put things right.

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RetroBlue added 23:32 - Apr 21 PJ , for the love of God get rid of the bloody lot of 'em. Apart from Bullard, and the two youngsters NONE ot the Town players are worth a contract. It concerns me greatly that we have given contracts to the likes of ALB, Delaney, McA, etc when tbh we should be looking get rid. Norris may as well SOD off and take Leadbiiter with him for all the use they are in the middle ! Anyone would think norwich were bloody Brazil over these two fixtures (and no doubt that shower of s*** for so called "regional media" will milk it for months). But norwich are basically a strong , physical side that has confidence in abundance and a "team ethos" and thats about it IMO. Only 3 more games to put up with Keane's legacy - then FFS Jewell rip it up and start again !!

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ScottITFC14 added 23:34 - Apr 21 In my opinion McAuley, Bullard and Drury were the only players that deserve credit from that game. As a team we were just too deep and inevitably every time a cross came into the box there was only one striker against four defenders. Norris was invisble most of the game and Leadbitter seems to cover very little gorund. If we put more men forward rather than just sitting back we might actually have an end product rather than the attack breaking down and having to face a counter attack, which we can't seem to deal with.

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Suffolk_n_Good added 23:35 - Apr 21 Truly disgraceful, no passion, no commitment, no effort. Scotland would struggle to get in a non-league team!! Bullard was a class abvove, how the hell we are going to convince him to stay baffles me!! Drury played well when he came on. We need such a HUGE clear out in the summer...
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carsey added 23:43 - Apr 21 Why play Scotland? He knows he won't be here any longer than we have to keep him. What about Peters Hyam and O'Connor? At least they would want to be out there. I know PJ is stuck with Keane's left overs but please lets get back to using players who will at least put in some effort. Norris clearly isn't the future he doesn't want to be here so don't play him. O'Dea has already said he wants to go back to Celtic so send him now. And please play Wickham & Edwards in their proper position.

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broomfield123 added 23:43 - Apr 21 Can somebody explain to me why so many people think we have the best. Ccenter backs in the league. 5 away is bad enough. 5 at home in your biggest game of the season I'm obviously missing something here when you consider the way I've been slated for my views. Maybe I'm. Not that far away. We were made to look completely stupid . Norwich deserved every goal. You can't completely blame barrett. As the saying goes your only as good as your defence

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whoppit added 23:46 - Apr 21 You should be you muppet. Jewell out !!!
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martleshamitfc added 23:50 - Apr 21 I am sure PJ now has an idea who he wants to keep for next season after that! Certainly clear we need at least two new strikers, to keep Jimmy Bullard and get some width in the team.Tonight was very embarrassing, have watched Ipswich for over 40 years and games like these you need to learn from. Norwich outplayed us in every department, yet they were a league one team last year and have no real star players, good management, organisation and team spirit. And they will probably go up to the Premier league! ouch!! PJ can give Ipswich all of this next season, get rid of the dross and re-build. Tonight was bad, very bad but I am sure next season will be a whole lot better.

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corunnaviking1759 added 23:51 - Apr 21 Gutted! Just got back home to Aldershot after a 300 Mile round trip 5+ driving and spending £172 to watch that crap and I even took my two boys to suffer it vall with me!
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tractorblue99 added 23:51 - Apr 21 honestly all of theses comments are about how cr@p we were and how we looked like roy keane was back. Well look at it this way. We created loads more chances than them and we could have won it with a proper striker. And ALB w has been all right so far in goal but of course one or two bad performances its suddenly about how we should terminate there contracts and dump them in the reserves ( retroblue). Look at it this way we always knew that norwich were going to beat us one way or another no matter what we all said on twtd. This game just proved how much work we have to do to get up there. Remember we beat cardiff twice this season so it cant be that bad. So no more complaining please people. Look at the bright side holt didnt score and we did have the goal of the game. COYBS!!!!!!

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