A season scattered with optimism, pessimism, inconsistency and a great ability to throw games away has compounded the first half of our season.

The last decade has provided us with constant inconsistency - which is perfectly justified through our results this season, a run of six games unbeaten against very respectable opposition, followed by seven straight defeats against mediocre opposition at best.

Then a monumental second half display in front of the sky cameras against Barnsley, contributing to the first of our two successive victories (oh the perils of being a Town supporter).

Paul Jewell’s appointment to the hot seat had me rejoicing; his hugely successful spells with Bradford and Wigan hadn’t gone unnoticed in my eyes, a manager with experience of getting sides into the Premier League on two separate occasions. What more could we ask for?

A comfortable yet not significant escape from relegation followed, that in abundance with a confidence stricken squad (forget the Arsenal heroics). Jewell promised change, and change we definitely got! Thirteen new additions at that!

There will be many of you who have taken a big dislike to Jewell, I for one don’t doubt his commitment for one minute, he’s put his life and soul into this job. However, football is a results business, packing the side with lots of Premier League experience seemed like the right solution; a set of players who have been there and done that.

Considering the last 10 seasons have presented us with an unspectacular mid-table finish (mostly), I believe the likes of Bullard and Chopra were coups for the club, which made me extremely impressed with Jewell’s negotiation skills, and the general vision for the club.

So what are the problems? A seemingly replicated team of previous seasons that have a psychologically fragile state of mind, thinking about the games against Nottingham Forest, Reading and Watford - it’s quite simple, nerves are getting the better of us. Our mishaps have become predictable, which makes me think this team needs a new lease of life, a new attitude towards their football.

Why is it that we can steamroll a Barnsley side oozing with confidence (in just 45 second half minutes!) and find ourselves 3-0 down against a Doncaster side who can’t find a win from anywhere? It’s absolutely farcical! Something logistical has to change, and whether Jewell is the right man to provide this remains in question.

Looking at the bigger picture can reap the benefits. Look at the great man Sir Bobby. A failed European campaign with England, but a generally successful era followed. Many of you will disagree with me, but I believe Mr Roy Keane could have brought great things to Ipswich provided he was given the time. I’m adamant he will embark on a hugely successful management career in the future. It is without question a worrying time, our inconsistencies are bound to provide us with a mid-table finish in my personal opinion. It’s very dangerous for me to say “We’re too big a club to play in the third tier of English football”, but I will stand by it, relegation hadn’t crossed my mind during this seven-game losing streak.

However, with a hefty number of contracts expiring at the end of the season, and the likes of Danny Collins and Keith Andrews returning to their parent clubs, I can’t help but plant a pessimistic view on proceedings. A change in the mentality of this football club has to change, the exuberance of youth and that 'no fear' attitude is absolutely essential to long term success.

Roy Keane did throw away the likes of Jordan Rhodes (suicidal) and keeping hold of our best young assets is paramount in building an exciting future for such a great football club. Just cast your mind back a decade ago, beating Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup! How times have changed. To conclude, I’d like you to think about this seriously, don’t go with all instincts. I’ve always said looking at the bigger picture should be a primary responsibility for us supporters. Were we in a better position when Chelsea annihilated our more youthful side 7-0 at Stamford Bridge, or right now, after this ordinary 1-0 victory against Derby?

For the life of me, I don’t have a casting vote towards any side, and that’s where the logistics of our problems lie. This club doesn’t have a clear direction at the moment, we have a set of short-term contract players in their early thirties.

So why Evans, Clegg and Jewell are contemplating the annual £2 million to upgrade the Academy to Category One is beyond me. It shouldn’t be a case of contemplation; a clear and comprehensive 'yes' seems like the logical thing to do.

tractorboy2434 added 16:16 - Dec 18 Another mid table finish at best and more boring, predictable, dire football.
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Cobbold_Youth added 17:51 - Dec 18 Davekl12 - last 3 lines absolutely spot on. Rest of the blog very good too but that last para hits the nail right on the head. In the wake of the statements about the academy by Clegg and PJ I've been mulling over my own blog on the subject. You can see right through what they're saying - they're preparing us for catagory B because Clegg is a money man not a football man. If this club and owner have any ambition it must be cat A. PJ will want Cat A and so will all the staff. Fans all want Cat A. What we need is some 'Brighton Spirit'! Let's campaign and petition and lobby until we convince the owner that Cat A is right. Evans may own the club but it is truely ours; hell, we don't even know what he looks like. There must be a supporter who is in a profession like accounting who can look at the figures involved and show that it is possible rather than us having to take Clegg's word for it. Can someone who is IT savy organise an on line petition, or petitions at the ground? Do enough supporters know what the issues are who maybe don't read Phil's amazing website? Lets not settle for 2nd best and do something about it. Brighton won their fight - have we got an Attila? Should this be on the forum? Cobbold Youth (I'm 43 you know)

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llewej_tuo added 18:32 - Dec 18 jewells record is miserable, cant believe he's still backed by evans, 6 points from 27 and people are saying he's still he man .... JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT JEWELL OUT
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davekl12 added 19:01 - Dec 18 I completely agree, this club has always had a very strong youth set up in place, I mean, winning the FA youth cup in 05 was a prime example. This £2,000,000 sum must be absolute kittens for Evans, in 2004 he made an unsuccessful £700+ Million offer for the Daily Mirror!
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RegencyBlue added 19:50 - Dec 18 This Acadamy choice is the final straw for me. If Evans and co want any more season ticket money out of me they better chose Catagory A status before they send their normal begging letter at season ticket renewal time! With the scum and West Ham having already taken the decision to go for Catagory A status we either do the same and show some ambition to compete in our own area or settle for second rate status. Unfortunately I fear Calamity Clegg has already made his decision!

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Jewell_do added 22:51 - Dec 18 I'm confused as to why they all need to sit down and talk about it? As someone has said Clegg is money orientated not results orientated. So surely he should be shoved a piece of paper infront of him with the actual transfer fees this club has had since 1990s selling on Dozzell, Dyer, Wright etc. The sum is probably well over £30m in 20 years (Dyer, Wright, Bramble and Wickham alone brought in £26m) The fact the club are yet to announce anything tells me everything in terms of ITFC dying a slow death under Evans and Clegg.

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are_these_the_days added 07:50 - Dec 19 I was prepared to take this blog seriously until I read that Roy Keane could have done well given time. This is the guy who wasted millions on disastrous purchases, selling Jordan Rhodes, made awful tactical errors and ensured that it will take many seasons to recover from his spell as our mismanager.
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Marshalls_Mullet added 11:15 - Dec 19 Whilst I agree to an extent that Bullard and Chopra were coups for us, you have to remember their circumstances; Bullard - Sacked by his previous club for gross misconduct. Chopra - A chronic gambling addict with hughe debts and loan sharks on his back. I think it was a mix of no one else wanting them and us offering big wages.
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Premiertown added 15:56 - Dec 19 Roy Keane will never work again as a Manager. Nor will Jewell if he fails here. Reckon Rhodes will be a Man U player soon. What a shambles.
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Saltashblues99 added 15:56 - Dec 20 I think that if this poor defending and scoring carries on then we might go down a league.Dont think that jewel will be a manager for our club any more.
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llewej_tuo added 15:40 - Dec 30 testing
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llewej_tuo added 15:42 - Dec 30 jewell do It was a massive rebuilding job 12 months ago and for me we have improved 100% from the K**ne days wow, nice comment, 19th in the league and thats 100% progress ?
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