Town boss Paul Jewell admitted that he could have taken off any of his midfielders when he replaced Colin Healy after 28 minutes of Saturday’s defeat to Doncaster with the Blues already 2-0 down. Healy, 31, was making his first league start of the season having impressed in the reserves last Tuesday.

Jewell says he very nearly made two substitutions as he looked to change his system: “It was a horrible decision to make. Colin’s waited for his chance and didn’t want to humiliate Colin like that, but I felt that we had to do something.

“I could easily have brought any of the midfield players off. If I’d have had six subs I might have made six subs.

“I don’t apologise for it, but it’s not nice because he’s a terrific professional and he’s a good player. It wasn’t happening for him but it wasn’t happening for anyone in the first half.

“I made the decision that we had to change it, I very nearly made two but I didn’t want to leave us short.”

He says he wasn’t angered by Healy walking straight to the tunnel after his withdrawal: “Don’t give that too much credence. I work with Colin every day and he’s a terrific professional. He was hugely disappointed. No one likes to be brought off in the first half.

“I’ve no problem with that, he didn’t show petulance towards me. He’ll be disappointed and I was disappointed to do it.”

Jewell says he dropped Trinidadian pair Jason Scotland and Carlos Edwards as they’d not looked at their best lately: “Jason’s had a few problems, he’s been feeling sluggish and tired. I had a chat with him on Friday and he just hasn’t been feeling himself.

“As for Carlos, I decided to give Reece a start. I think Carlos has been a bit flat of late and those are the decisions every manager has to make, some of those you get right, some you get wrong.

“They are disappointed and I want them to be disappointed and I want the rest of the players who aren’t playing to be disappointed. I don’t want people who aren’t playing to be happy. You have to accept it, you can only play 11. It’s like getting substituted, nobody likes it, but that’s the way it is.”

Jimmy Bullard was replaced at half-time after another under par performance and Jewell says the 33-year-old’s interrupted summer preparations could be having an effect: “I’m a big believer in pre-seasons. We’ve got a few that have missed pre-seasons, a few of our players that came in late — Ibrahima Sonko, Lee Bowyer, Jimmy, JET.

“There are a few that are playing catch-up a little. But everyone knows we’ve got a lot of work to do here. It’s not going to be easy. It’s not going to happen overnight.

“I’m sitting here taking a lot of pain at the minute, but I’ll bounce back, I’m a big boy and I’ll go again.”

Better news for Jewell was the performance of Josh Carson after he came off the bench: “I think Josh made a difference, he showed that desire and that energy that had been missing from us in the first half.

“He burst on to the scene last year and did exceptionally well. He came back in pre-season in not as good a condition as he could have been.

“But we’ve worked him hard, and he’s worked hard and I said last week that he was very close to getting in the squad and he’s staked a claim now.”

Photo: Action Images

itfc1981 added 09:10 - Nov 7 Nearly an excuse for every player there, good effort.
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itfc1981 added 09:13 - Nov 7 Lets give the team time, maybe when they are all 35 next season things would have clicked. Different manager, same result.
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Wallingford_Boy added 09:18 - Nov 7 Its Novemeber now porno, you really need a new excuse the pre-season one sounds a bit silly now!
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JayITFC added 09:24 - Nov 7 Gutted for Healy on Saturday should have been Jimmy off and Jewell knows it. Also the pre-season excuse doesn't wash. Pros like Bullard, Bowyer, etc. knew they were likely to be moving clubs. Even if a player is banished (as in Jimmy's case) it's his responsibility to keep himself in decent shape. Go for a run around the local park FFS. As for JET's levels of fitness and commitment it's a joke that a player from Arsenal's world class youth setup can turn up in such a sorry state.

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hogster1970 added 09:28 - Nov 7 well just because carlos looked a bit flat doesnt mean drop him, i didnt think reece was that good, but to be fair he has only played about 3 games in 3 months, well we have all said it before just beacase carson didnt look top form when come back for pre season, him on 50% full throttle is better than any midfielder we have on full chat going forward. he has been are missing link for ages, yes are defence is poor, but like royal you score more than the oppostion you win games, we manged to shore the bck up but at the same time the midfield went down hilll with poor selection. the hardest thing in a team is to get the engine room firing on all cylinders and providing the forwards with some quality balls to work with not scraps. and that is were we have failed, its a double edge sword, your midfield fight and spray the ball about and keep spread out to get into space that will relieve the back four, you dont do that you will concede goals know matter how good the back four is and if you dont make the chances for the strikers then you are in the poo, aka the last 4 games. i still believe we was lucky with the run a bit, as it would never last with out pace. so come on PJ play carson and or martin/edwards up the pitch and you willsee us play more attacking footy, when sonko gets back we should be bteer at the back, ivor hasnt had enough games so hopefully we will keep collins

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JimmyJazz added 09:28 - Nov 7 When Jimmy arrived last season he hadn't played for ages beforehand, so where's the difference to this season? As for Reece Warbara, sure that Man City haven't been asking why he hasn't started for us yet and forced your hand?
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bluelady added 09:29 - Nov 7 Carlos has been one of our best players this season in the wingback role, so to say he has looked sluggish is ridiculous. With all that was going on he put in some excellent performances and always shows desire. At the very least i would have put him in at right mid. Have to say i thought Reece did ok but for a Man City player hoping to one day get into the team i dont think so! positionally in defence he was at times as awol as Edwards can be and although ok at going forward was certainly not outstanding in any way shape or form. Felt sorry for Prisken looked really up for it to begin with but our awful midfield meant he didnt get the service.......... as for Jimmy B, he came to us last year having played very very little football and really set th world on fire, this season he has no reason not to be fit, there are plenty of ways of keeping yourself fit if you are that intersted in being a top player. For some reason the heads have dropped, dont know what has happened but moral is clearly low. PJ you have a job on your hands no more excuses lets see your speak on the pitch not just waffle excuses after the game.

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ChickenMcGreal added 09:30 - Nov 7 Should have taken Leadbitter off. Done nothing for five games at least now and is the worst Captain we have ever had yet Healey gets all of 24 minutes!
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icetruckiller added 09:47 - Nov 7 Christ, an excuse for almost every player. How the fcuk can professional footballers be tired, especially with no cup games recently and international breaks. Too many oldies, we need young, lower league, hungry players like Cresswell, not over the hill ex Premiership players.
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are_these_the_days added 09:54 - Nov 7 Real questions about Jewell now. Carlos one of our best consistent players this season & no sign of flatness. Leadbitter consistently our worst player & yet seems to be PJs blue-eyed boy. The youth policy is develop them, sell them & replace with older players. Well it's obvviously not working
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brittaniaman added 09:54 - Nov 7 It is a great pity you did not get it right before the game started ????? you know certain players are not up to it. Now is the time for PLAN B Jewellio, so please do not follow the path of our ex dark lord. We came back poor after the last international break !!!!! So after this international break make sure we come back with all boots blazing !!!! because I think the crowd will diminish even more and Marcus will not be very pleased, ?????

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OldClactonBlue added 10:02 - Nov 7 He could have subbed anyone! but he was always going to make Healy the scapegoat. Leadbitter has had maybe three effective games in two years (whilst we were in the middle of a winning run), but he never takes him off. Very poor management, as was sticking with the found out diamond system. Carson proved why he should be in the team, within two minutes he had done more to affect the game than Leadbitter (and some others) have done in a number of games. If you believe that I am being hard on Leadbitter please tell me what he brings to the team.

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textbackup added 10:17 - Nov 7 wabrararara was f**king s**t!! worse player on pitch sat, closely followed by bullard.... why the idiots were singing his name when we were 3-0 at southampton ill never know! such a waste of time bringing him back, could have got a young up and coming lad from lower leagues
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cornishblu added 10:18 - Nov 7 ....just seen the goals on the internet......just so dissappointing.....I have to question JB's lacks of detemination to get to Diouf when he scored the third....seems a bit reluctant to get stuck in....is he worried about his knee....or worried that he might look foolish if the tackle doesnt come off.....am not knocking him as I just love the impact that he has on my son and fellow travelling friends.....just want to see a bit more of last year's performances so that he convinces us that he really did want to join us....through thick and thin.....two weeks to sort this out and then 3 games against inconsistent opposition....good results against them and we can start cheering up again!!!

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debenturedave added 10:40 - Nov 7 Free coach to Forest please after suffering the last three defeats.....or sign up Billy Sharp now to give our season a kick start !!!
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Pessimistic added 11:05 - Nov 7 Billy Sharp is a great striker but he won't be coming to Portman Road any time soon, no matter how mch we all want it to happen.
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blueherts added 11:08 - Nov 7 Sharp is good but not the answer , until we get some bite in the middle of the park we is doomed - oh and find a CB as well
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omuircheartaigh added 11:16 - Nov 7 If Nice but Dim beleived in pre season, why didn't he have a proper fitness coach in place when he should have? We are where we are because too many players have too many off the field issues and because our manager is clueless. This isn't progress. Consider the way we leak goals and the age profile of the players brought in. This is not building for the future. Marcus Evans and Simon Clegg may continue to back Clegg and that is entirely their perogative. But there are genuine supporters who think this is ugly beyond belief.

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omuircheartaigh added 11:18 - Nov 7 PS - I meant to say "back Jewell" as opposed to "back Clegg".
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jas0999 added 11:18 - Nov 7 The selection of Healy was a dreadful error by the manager. After signing 16 of his own players, there is a certain irony that we are now returning to Roy's buys. Long gone are the excuses from some: 'PJ inherited a poor squad' - yes possibly; but 10 MONTHS on and with 16 new additions in the Summer alone, PJ has had ample time. We can not keep blaming past managers - the blame firmly sits with PJ now. Really, he has targetted freebie has-beens who are injury prone, with only Chopra, Cresswell and JET the 'main signings' - and there are questions marks over them. PJ picks the team, bought the players, choses the tactics. The time has come for people to wake up and stop making excuses. It's simply not good enough and ten months on PJ should be doing better.

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RRanger added 11:48 - Nov 7 I was as disappointed as everybody else at PR on Saturday - the first half was infinitely worse even than the performance at Millwall a week ago but I do get very depressed at people's reactions/comments about PJ on this site. I know it is a place for fans (including armchair) to let off steam etc but the kneejerk reactions are frankly pathetic. Teams play well and teams play badly - they drift in and out of form.Occasionally a team hits such good form (Norwich last year,Southampton at the moment) that it builds its own momentum and the form continues all the way to promotion. I trust my manager and his team. They are on the training pitch every day and know a damn sight more about football than 99.99% of all the people who read/comment on TWTD. I disagree with lots of PJ's decisions but I don't know how players are doing in training,what niggles they have picked up,what is going on in their private/home lives that might be a distraction. Yes, we were a much better side in the second half when Martin and Carson were on the field,but we could hardly have been worse. And why has nobody mentioned the extraordinary bit of skill that JET displayed in creating our second,albeit too late,goal. A superb nutmeg and then with the outside of his right foot planting the ball on Chop's head. He is a luxury player and is never going to look as busy as ,say Carson or Martin ,but is well worth his money if he can do that half a dozen more times this season plus chip in with a few goals himself. Rant over.

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tomos91 added 11:52 - Nov 7 I could possibly laugh at all of you. If we win Jewell is loved to the high heavens. We lose a couple, and everything about his management is wrong. None of us watch them at training, none of us watch them day in day out and know what is happening with them. When we went on a nice little run it was good, we are still a relatively new team, with a lot of injury setbacks. Yes the squad is old, but donny had a majority of older players like us and beat us. Give PJ a break. When we lose 10 in a row and we havent changed then shoot him. Support the team. Support your club. LETS TURN THIS ROUND.

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nitroblue1970 added 12:10 - Nov 7 look, i know it was a tough defeat to take! Doncaster were bottom of the league for a good reason and losing at home to them is bad. ...Tactically it was all wrong, selections in my opinion were wrong, firstly Tamas....he is a striker who plays on the shoulders of defenders, turning them and attacking, running with the ball into the channels as it were. There is simply no point banging high balls up to him to compete for, he is not that type of player, if you want that "style" of play dont play Tamas up there idiot!...and why play him in the first place?...he hasnt had a sniff of first team football for so long and he's put in to start!.....The midfield struggled on saturday, its difficult to play an incisive pass and split defences when the ball is sailing high over your head again!..i expect that Bullard went off because of a crick in his neck...get the ball down, attack using full backs, defend as a team, shoot at goal!..its a simple game really!

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tractorgirls added 12:29 - Nov 7 "I had a chat with him on Friday and he just hasn't been feeling himself" - fuk me, if fw is paid to play and is better than what played as in Prosikin then he should play. STOP MAKING SO MANY EXCUSES
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Mark added 12:36 - Nov 7 I was really surprised to see Healy in the starting line up ahead of Carson, Emmanuel-Thomas and Martin, as with Bowyer out and given recent displays it seemed a good time to move away from the diamond. The 4-4-2 second half looked far better and I think we need to stick with that (although we did this at Peterborough and it blew up in our faces!). This has to be the second lowest moment of the Jewell regime, after Peterborough. There have been highs and lows so far, but let's remember he has only spent £3M on transfer fees (despite the £8.1M sale of Wickham) whereas Keane spent nearly £11M. Give him time and Paul will get it right. It might not happen overnight.

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