I'm 36 and 12 and a bit stone . And I'm ready to sign

Can we just stick with the players we've got for a few months and try and build a team.

@Seasider, I was referencing your comment "When PJ took over he was mid table as far as I was concerned". We weren't mid table, on paper or otherwise, we were 19th, playing badly every week and headed straight for the third tier. PJ fixed that in very short order and has by and large continued the progress this year. My specs aren't rose tinted, I'm just trying to bring a little balance to the debate. We have not been universally awful under Jewell as some would suggest and there has been clear measurable progress.

Of course the nature of the defeats we have suffered concerns me. But at the same time we have seen some defensive displays as solid as anything I've seen in my time as a town fan, when we've had our first choice personnel.

At the start of the season most fans seemed to be saying they would happy as long as there were signs of progress this season and flirtation with the playoffs would be a nice bonus. For me that's exactly what we've had, but a decent run seems to have raised people's expectations and led to a lot of ridiculous knee-jerk stuff following the last few games. If we're still watching the diamond formation get thumped in 3 games time then I might agree something is badly wrong. But as things stand, people are jumping the gun somewhat.

Mabe not Maysixth, but it would get you an audition for Oliver Twist!

Look who wants to leave Spurs!! would be an amazing deal! even if just a loan then buy him when we get to PL!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3925168/Giovani-dos-Santos-h

Seasider ..09/10 season this stage For 17 Against 28 - 11 GD , 10/11 F 19 Ag 22 -3 , not rose tinted specs facts , take the one off Peterboro game where we had two sent off and this season our goal difference would be level. With our first choice back four we look very solid this season since Sonko's arrival .
And we are not leaking more goals or getting beaten any heavier than under Keanes control 4-0 at home Newcastle on TV , 3-0 at home by QPR ,3-1 defeats at home to Palace,Barnsley ,Peterboro,Swansea, 4-1 away at Norwich ?
I dont mind people having concern for the situation but lets be realistic and not over react and forget the past two seasons , we were bottom in 2009 !!

'With Cresswell, PJ has shown he is happy to include youngsters in the team if they are "............ cheap. He said it himself.'


'At the start of the season most fans seemed to be saying they would happy as long as there were signs of progress this season and flirtation with the playoffs would be a nice bonus'

Given our league position over the past few seasons how would 'flirtation with the playoffs' not be part of it. A couple of wins or so in the early days will always see a team near the top. That's not a 'flirtation with the playoffs' any more than starting a 400 yd race and claiming you had a brief flirtation with a medal position after 20 yards.

Whatever improvement might be claimed is pretty hollow given that 18 of the squad will be out of contract ojn or well before next June. What are you going to say to their replacements. " The previous lot managed an improvement so although they are no longer here can you build on that imptrovement ".

it is all very well claiming that when all the 'team' is foit we can win games but the point is, even ignore the injury prone stae of many of them, every team has players out through injury, loss of form or suspension. Every team will need back up for those times and back up to allow different formations styles of play against different teams. Cobbled together from what we have borrowed we currently can, if they are all fit, put out a reasonable team. And that is it. If for any reason a couple are out/not available etc we crumble and Jewell looks clueless to do anything about it.

Other clubs of comparetive size or smaller have squads that look up to challenging for promotion never mind a flirtation with the playoff places. marcus Evans has been here coming up to 4 years and we have gone back alarmingly. Little in the way of youngsters coming through, both the gates and ST's and well done as much as the debt is well up. The squad is mainly patched up of five loanees, enough players to field a complete team of 30 somethings and another handful who are just seeing out their contract.

Jewell has been here 10 months and has only now decided that we need two full time scouts tp target 'youth and pace' (better thahn hios previous policy of signing Hale and Pace, I suppose). What has caused him to divert from his previous policy of targetting the elderly ? Is this an admittance of failure. Failure in both his policy towards the old and infirm and failure to target younger, promising players as virtually every other club does.

A lost four years, I'm afraid.

im no clown or idiot Soupa but anyone selecting a midfield with ages of 100+ win know that pace and energy will be sadly lacking. Any successful team in this dividsion has a blend not an aveerage age of 31. We've been undone by teams who have played on our weaknesses so PJ is at fault for tactics and selection.
As its been said above our scouting has been poor as many of the players at Southampton/Norwich/Charlton etc were easily in our reach. If we dont use our youth then there's no point in having them and if they're not good enough then we need to spread our search further afield

SouperJim - hit the nail on the head!! Couldn't have said it any better :)

Spot on Souper!

We're all disappointed by recent form and we'd all like to be promoted next May, but rebuilding the squad isn't a short term project! PJ has brought in some experience and quality, next is more youth and pace.

I think our squad is pretty good - PJ's problem seems to be leaving out 2 of the Diamond 4. If we're going to play with pace we'll need Martin and Carson (or JET) wide.
If so, which 2 survive in the centre?
I'd like to think Andrews and Bullard but maybe only 1 of them should play alongside Leadbitted in a defensive MF role?

Apart from this change, what else needs fixing...apart from Sonko's injury?

PJ is clearly one of the worst managers we have ever had. Roy was bad, but PJ is making him look like a legend. What a shame it has taken so long for PJ to realise we need youth and pace! So far it's been injury prone has-beens all the wrong side of 30. It's obvious to all that it was the wrong approach - yet PJ has only just twigged. No doubt we will hear the same hopeless excuses from the PJ lovers - they will focus on a few decent matches, and ignore the absolute rubbish in between. He should have been sacked after the 1-5 Norwich debacle - one up front in a Derby. Deary me. What ever he is still doing at this club is beyond me - attendances are falling dramatically. I predicted PJ would be a disaster and so far it's been the case. Worry trends along the same lines has his Derby reign. The fans there STILL blame PJ for their slide. He will do the same here.

P.s. good point by Pazelle - although not 3-0 down after 15 mins, we were beaten after 45 minutes and that was PJ's team. We beat Doncaster 6-0 AWAY with Roy's!! Albeit the lovers blamed anyone but PJ towards the end of last season. Can't have your cake and eat it PJ lovers. Time to wake up and see what is happening.

Jas0999- why on earth does anyone have to be a PJ lover or hater? I just want stability, I want Ipswich to be successful and I want all this negativity to cease. Quite frankly this obsession of yours with instant success is silly.

PJ took a team that was on the verge of relegation and has turned that into a team that is only a few points away from the play-offs. The older signings were never long term solutions hence why Sonko etc were only given one-year deals. I think PJ has made mistakes but how many managers hasn't?

PJ has been in charge for ten months but is that really a long time in football?

Spot on mattinlondon. As posted before, I really don't know why some continue to bother going and appear to bask in adversity and struggle when there is positivity.

Fans want the club and team to do well. I supported keane for over a year as he was our manager. Had action not been taken we would have been relegated.

I will support PJ as he is our manager and want him to succeed. Does not mean I am a lover. I don' t agree with everthing with he does.

Our troubles go much deeper with lack of promising youngsters coming through. Keane made a big mistake with Rhodes and wickham had to be sold for that money.
Eastman was never good enough and nor Clarke.

What jewell is right about today is that there is no patience in society, what it is you do.

I hope he gets it right for our club, its not about the manager.

Coyb

pace!!!!!! no sht sherlock

Oh did Keane make a special one game return for Doncaster away Jas?

@HARRY10 more of the same nonsense I'm afraid, you're just repeating the same arguements which don't stand up to any real scrutiny. I'm not talking about positive results at the start of the season and their effect on the live table, the table is meaningless until 46 games have been played. I reference the run of 6 games unbeaten and 14 points from a possible 18. Yes the good results have been sandwiched between two runs of 3 straight losses, I'm not trying to suggest everything is fantastic. Unlike you, I try to add a little balance to my arguement and look for the middle ground. There is no "Jewell lovers" camp as the resident news comments troll would put it, there are negative nellies who can't post anything remotely positive and then there's the rest of us who are unhappy with current form but are able to look at the bigger picture.

Jewell has said from day one that he wants good young players. This is not a new development, it is simply a continuation of that strategy. Nobody was happy with the team that Keane built, changes were needed. Jewell has made them in the only way he could over the time period he has had and if you compare Jewell's transfer business to Keane's, it is hard to criticise.

It takes time to build a squad. You cannot expect the manager to be able to sign 25 hidden gems in one fell swoop. Moan about eldery has-beens all you want, but those players have brought quality to our squad that simply didn't exist under the previous two managers. Criticism of the diversity in our squad has merit, criticism of how those players are being employed given the last few performances even more so. But simply to bang the "eldery has-beens" drum is over-simplifying the problem in the same way criticising all Keane's signings as Irish Sunderland rejects did. It just demonstrates that you lack real insight.