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Jewell: Unique Set of Circumstances at Pompey
Jewell: Unique Set of Circumstances at Pompey
Thursday, 2nd Feb 2012 20:05

Boss Paul Jewell says Town were up against a unique set of circumstances when they were trying to land their trio of Portsmouth targets, Jason Pearce, Joel Ward (pictured) and Stephen Henderson. While Pompey turned down the Blues’ bid for Pearce, Town’s moves for Ward and Henderson broke down over personal terms with Town unwilling to agree to their "excessive" wage demands.

A still frustrated Jewell said: “We were up against the clock really and it was a bit of a saga, to be honest.

“I think they were unique circumstances because it had been going on for three weeks and we were getting different phone calls saying ‘You’re not allowed to speak to the chief executive, you have to speak to the [parent company's] administrator’.

“Then the administrator would come on and say ‘You’ve got to speak to him’, then an agent will come on and say ‘I’m brokering the deal’. It was really messy.

“I knew by four o’clock on deadline day that it wasn’t going to happen because I hadn’t even met the players, I hadn’t even spoken to the players. It was a complete nightmare really.”

He says Town were given the impression that the players would be willing to move while the lengthy fee negotiations continued, but their personal demands — which we understand to have been around triple their Portsmouth terms - exceeded what the Blues were willing to pay: “We were led to believe — not me but people who spoke to their agents — were led to believe that a deal could be done.

“But we can’t do a deal with the players until we’ve agreed a fee. When the fee was agreed eventually, the players’ terms or agents’ demands we felt were excessive, so I said no.”

While not closing the door on revisiting the situation after Football League clubs can take players on loan next week — presumably with a view to permanent deals in the summer — Jewell won’t be moved on wages: “We won’t look at it unless the demands change, that’s for sure.”

In the meantime, the Portsmouth players are still to be paid their wages for January with Pompey not yet receiving the required validation order from the court which would unfreeze their bank account, frozen after a winding up order was issued last month.

The Liverpudlian firmly dismissed suggestions that he had no Plan B — Stoke’s Danny Higginbotham who has since joined Nottingham Forest on loan was amongst a number of other enquiries — and says more players will become available now that the window has closed: “There are others that we have spoken to over the last month, but what happens is — and I don’t blame them — Premier League managers try and sell their players rather than loan them.

“When they know they can’t sell them because the window’s closed, that’s when they become available for loan. That’s exactly how it happens.”

An example of that was Stoke’s Danny Collins joining the Blues on loan soon after the closure of the summer window. Asked whether a similar situation might take place with another Premier League loanee this time around, Jewell was keeping his cards close to his chest: “Could do.”


Photo: Action Images



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SWGF added 20:12 - Feb 2
Jewell seems surprised at the difficulty of dealing with Portsmouth. Not sure why?
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confoosed_dot_com added 20:19 - Feb 2
Can't blame Jewell here. Sounds like a complete mess. And if players are going to be that greedy when they face the very real prospect of not having their salaries paid then the are quite frankly not welcome.
Oh and @SWGF did you see the result on Tuesday? OK it's been a terrible season but perhaps a little bit of cheer is in order right now?
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MooseJuice added 20:29 - Feb 2
Sod 'em!

Greedy little toe-rags.
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berkstractorboy added 20:30 - Feb 2
Well PJ, if other PL manager are trying to sell players rather than loan them, how about thinking of buying them if they fit what you want?

If you knew it was going to be so difficult, I do wonder why by the last week you weren't in for other targets. Of course you may have been, but the media have a good habit of linking onto clubs interested in players and there was little from Ipswich other than the pompey 3. Go get Danny C back here and promise him so quality alongside him.
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dalianwasexciting added 20:32 - Feb 2
This seems a genuine response, having watched Phil Brown on SSN during deadline day explaining just how complex any kind of transfer is, and that is without all the complications associated with the Pompey administration saga. I really do believe that these would have been just more mercenaries given the sounds of the personal demands, and after all many on here (me included) have castigated certain Town players who seem to fall in a similar category.
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RetroBlue added 20:37 - Feb 2
Greedy players, greedy agents. Same old story and this is what's killing the game in this Country, bloody GREED !

Well I wouldn't want these Pompey players here now if they begged, greedy arseoles. I hope they don't get paid by Pompey, and the Club goes into administration- that's what the players ans their agents deserve. Unfortunately not their loyal fans though!
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icetruckiller added 20:53 - Feb 2
3x what they're earning currently. Greedy sh!tes. Would have thought getting paid on time would have been suffice.
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Umros added 20:54 - Feb 2
Genuine yes, but why are we faffing about on the last day of the transfer window?, deals should have been done a long time before not at the 11th hour. Good luck to the Portsmouth players, enjoy...............trying to get paid.

Move onward.
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Plums added 20:56 - Feb 2
When we turn Pompey over in a fortnight, perhaps they'll regret their greed. Would it be insensitive for the Town fans to wave payslips at them?
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TractorJed added 21:02 - Feb 2
Do we really need any more uninterested greedy fat payday seeking players at PR....I think not.
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BrandonsBlues added 21:06 - Feb 2
Obviously the players thought that we were so keen and desperate that they could get what they wanted. Maybe we should not have made our interest so early in proceedings. Bearing in mind Portsmouth only sold one player that has clearly done nothing for their debt, and there was not much more interest other then Pearce. I agree I hope Portsmouth fail, not for their fans and associated business' but to see what the players do with themselves after the mess.

I hope no one comes in for the players or fails to agree their wage demands, then see what happens.
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imalwayswrong added 21:09 - Feb 2
I think it shows town may be seen as a soft touch in transfers, although in this instance town declined to agree wage demands..... Was that the same with other transfers???

It amazes me town waited until Portsmouth in the poo, clubs know months before who or who not has money problems ....

Poor leadership of mr Evans purse by senior management ?
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Blue_Fred added 21:13 - Feb 2
maybe they genuinly didn't want to move as was reported and the best way they could think of to kill the deal is vastly inflated demands
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Hungry_Badger added 21:20 - Feb 2
Oh well, if they want to sit at Pompy on the wage of £0 then thats up to them, we dont want greedy over-paid players at this club- We have enough of them already!

Having watched our current team on tuesday does make me feel a bit more confident, because we have just shown that we can play well we just need to do it on a more consistant basis now.
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xrayspecs added 21:24 - Feb 2
Not sure why we are blaming the players. They are clearly happy at Portsmouth and do not see Town as a step up (just look at league position and what we have achieved in last ten seasons). So, if you triple my money, I will consider it, if not I am not fussed.

If Man U came calling, the wage demands would be less, since they would want to move. A better deal if they did well would no doubt follow.
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MickMillsTash added 21:36 - Feb 2
Given our league position you have to agree with Xray.
Hopefully we can uncover some gems in the lower leagues who will see Ipswich as a step up rather than identifying players that many are after or at a similar level. Get the deals done early in the summer.
Need a good run into the end of the season to show players (and fans) that we will be challenging for the Prem League in 2012/13
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blueblood66 added 21:47 - Feb 2
waste of time and energy. Trying to get players on the cheap backfires shocker.
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xrayspecs added 21:51 - Feb 2
Given the finances of clubs generally, we are going to see a massive reduction in wages (and expectations) outside the top flight.

Where Champ clubs would offer £1m pa, read a few £100k going forward. Players need to understand that the gravy train has now ended.
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big_gaz67 added 21:53 - Feb 2
3 x their Portsmouth wages - and 3 x 0 = ?

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The_Messiah added 21:54 - Feb 2
these guys never wanted to come here in the first place. Let them rot in admin hell. I would say PJ has some hard work to do trying to enrol a right back and centre half. I wouldn't bother at this stage with another keeper. Surely ALB is betta than whats around on offer anyway? Loving the look of the mid now. Young hungry and energetic. You've seen the light PJ.
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Nthsuffolkblue added 21:59 - Feb 2
Unfortunately players at this level can afford to live without being paid for a few months. They know they will get their money in the end and once the club is in the hands of the administrators the fees to buy them will go down dramatically and they expect this to go into their new salaries instead. Players (and their agents) seem to see ending of their contracts and administration as situations to benefit from and until it becomes commonplace for them to actually lose out financially from such situations they will continue to manipulate these circumstances on the advice of their agents.
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Bowls1e added 22:01 - Feb 2
Blue Fred is spot on.. Neither player wanted to move but knew once Pompey had accepted a fee, the only way to get out of it was to ask for extortionate wage demands that we wouldn't agree to.

Stuff em we don't want players like that at our club. Our targets should be players who see Town as a big step up & want to come here & prove themselves!
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Mark added 22:27 - Feb 2
The fact two of the players were from Portsmouth didn't help, and it could be argued the other way round that they were showing some loyalty to the club they play for and support. They didn't ever give the impression of wanting to come to Ipswich.

So, yes, it was a difficult deal but I think we could help ourselves by going for players who clearly WANT to come to Ipswich and that probably means League One and Two players, and overseas players. We keep talking about bringing in hungry youngsters, but why haven't we done so?

Also, trying to renegotiate a £300K fee with Falkirk was bizarre, any more info on that? To think of the money we splashed in Magilton and Keane's days, yet now we don't complete a £300K transfer!
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rogie_dog added 22:28 - Feb 2
Good riddance
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TractorBeezer added 22:43 - Feb 2
One has to wonder what advice the Portsmouth management (having agreed to terms to sell two at the last minute) gave to these lads. By greedily requesting too much these two may have hurt their club which presumably needs cash flow now.
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