Not wishing to be overly hypothetical, I wonder where Ipswich Town Football Club be right now had Marcus Evans decided to stick with Jim Magilton for another year or so? Ask yourself the same question? I certainly feel the club could have been in no worse position than it is in today.

That is not an attack on the management of Paul Jewell – he has taken on a very difficult job, and as far as I am concerned he has not failed at it yet.

The reason I ask that question is simple. There is a growing tide of negativity towards Jewell, with many calling for his head. To me it just seems like déjà vu; first Magilton was hounded out by the fans, and then Roy Keane.

In truth, I have no sympathy for the Keane era, if I had to point a finger I still would say the club is where it is now because of his glaring errors in the man management and contractual departments.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the need for Jewell to bring in young players rather than the washed up old-timers that he had previously signed. While I stick by that view, it seems quite apparent that the signings of Jimmy Bullard, Ibrahima Sonko and Lee Bowyer were all attempts to plug the many holes Keane had left in the Ipswich ship.

They could all still prove to be successes here, but it is comforting to see Jewell now looking at players who can honestly be considered the future of this club.

We still find ourselves at the point where Jewell is fighting desperately to save this club from imploding, and falling into the dreaded League One. Indeed, the second half of this season is sure to be a rough ride.

It was upon reading comments from former skipper Jason De Vos in the East Anglian Daily Times today that I realised the truth of the matter: Jewell needs to be given time, and lots of it. Not just to the end of the season, not just until Christmas even. May 2013 is the time when we can really begin to judge him.

Good teams take a long time to build, and although it is something that Ipswich fans have heard over and over again, Sir Bobby Robson was given no fewer than FOUR mediocre seasons before he ever achieved anything of note – a fourth placed finish in the First Division. Look what he went on to achieve.

Jewell is a very good manager, and if I am being brutally honest, we are lucky to have him – even if we do not realise it yet. You look at what he achieved at Wigan and Bradford with significantly fewer resources than he has here. It was remarkable.

He needs time to tweak and experiment before he finally gets the formula right for Ipswich Town. That will surely come.

As fans it is time for us to get behind the team and show our support. Players will be far more passionate about playing for this club if they know we have their back. I stand by my belief that Jewell must stay, because in the long-term it will pay off.

Garv added 17:28 - Jan 27 Agree.
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Sindre94 added 18:01 - Jan 27 Totally agree mate, you are spot on IMO.. So many people are impulsive and demand instant success, it's not like that when Keane f***ed up so much of the club, Jewell has alot to repair. And as you say, we are lucky to have him here, I really think he will come good... We wont go up this season, and we wont go down, but perhaps thats good? Gives the players time to adapt into the Town, gel with eachother and form a good team? I hope and believe so. ThatMuhrenCross: I'm glad you wrote this excellent piece, well done.

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I_Eat_Canaries added 18:06 - Jan 27 Agree 100%! top notch writing! If the players understand that the fans won't turn on them and the club it will lift them astronomically! COYB
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Sindre94 added 18:07 - Jan 27 *Waiting for the Jewell moaners*....
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itfcinwales added 18:50 - Jan 27 Spot on....ive trying to think of ways to put this in words myself we wont get anywhere if we only give the manager a year in charge...Keane ruined our club and the negativity he bought to it is still evident around the club Jewell has only really had one Full transfer window...and yes hes made a few mistakes but everyone does...give the man time and some well needed support

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itfcjoe added 18:51 - Jan 27 I'm sorry but the first bit makes sense then the PJ defence ruins this. Jewell has been in charge a year and hasn't worked out how to set up a team to be solid, it's basic stuff. I was worried when he was appointed that he was yesterday's man and he's proving it, it is right to give a manager time but he has to be the right man, and Jewell (other than a bit of rhetoric) has done nothing to show he is

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Hungry_Badger added 20:09 - Jan 27 I feel that Jewell hasnt helped himself with those who want him out. He said when he first came in he was going to build for the future- which i think all of us town fans agreed with at the time. Keane had came in and blasted millions up the wall in a season to try and get promoted at the first attempt and it didnt work. So what all of us fans wanted was a bit of stability and when Jewell first came in, he was saying all of the right things. So when it came to the summer i think most fans thought he was going to bring in younger players alongside a bit of experience. However he went completly against his word and just brought old codgers, and then kept on saying "this is how i got promoted with Bradford and Wigan". Thats why before Christmas i was very close to becoming one of these 'Jewell outters'. But having seen the players he has bid for really does make me think that he is trying to reverse his mistakes that he made in the Summer and like they say "You learn from your mistakes". So i hope this time Evans lets Jewell see out his contract- even if we get relagated- because i now generally believe its taken Jewell a year to start actually going by what he said right at the start.

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CaptainSwing added 21:10 - Jan 27 I honestly believe that changing managers every year because of a rich owner will get us nowhere. Just hope QPR prove me right by coming down... Let's get behind the team on Tuesday - there are no quick fixes.
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Whymarktonomarks added 22:44 - Jan 27 Correct , Mr. Magilton should still be at the helm . If he was ,we would be where Naaarwich are now ,probably with Rhodes and Wickam leading the attack . Correct ,Mr. Keane has put this club backwards for many Seasons ,and to correct his ludicrous reign ,was ,and still is ,a huge long term task . But Mr. Jewell new the job ahead was a tuff one and although the 'quick fix' of bringing in 'Dads Army' was probably influenced by his Governor's , he has certainly not covered himself in glory . To continue with Jewell ,is probably more to do with Evans and Clegg reluctantly admitting that they got it wrong again . Correct ,constant sacking of the Team Manager is not the answer ,and if this new trend of supporting PJ is to continue then Ipswich fans will have to become the most patient in the Land . ( Thats if we aren't all ready.) I still believe that we have the wrong Staff in charge ,when in my opinion there were ,and still are ,many better candidates for the Job . Lee Clark and Darren Ferguson to name just two . This is probably the most critical and difficult decision in the History of ITFC , and it's Destiny possibly hinges on this . Who' going to be our Saviour Mr. Evans ? Do you stick or twist ?

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Lightningboy added 00:54 - Jan 28 As you can probably tell from my avatar,in my opinion the biggest mistake this club has made since sacking Burley is sacking Magilton. I don't have much faith in Jewell tbh..he's tried going down the "golden oldies" route - that hasn't worked SO all of a sudden he's going down the "ones for the future" route..what happens if that doesn't work? To me,Jewell is making the same problems as Keane & as Jim did in his final year - i.e. they haven't got a bloody clue what their best starting 11 is and do not stick to a team/formation for longer than 2 or 3 games in a row..a case of if we lose a game or so, drastic changes are made. You only have to look at a team like Swansea - they've set out to play the same way for the last 4 or 5 seasons and stick with it - buying in 3 or 4 players at a time along the way ( not 15 ) and making sure those players fit into their system. If only someone at TWTD could get that kind of point over to PJ,Clegg or ME.

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Fred added 07:39 - Jan 28 I do agree that Town are where they are now becuse of Keane but I am not convinced they would have done any better under Magilton than they did.
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Len_Brennan added 09:46 - Jan 28 Great blog, some excellent points made. Also some very good replies, particularly from Whymarktonomark who gets the balance of the good, the bad & the is he the right man just about spot on for me. This is a very difficult job now, but it was made so as mainly because of the disaster that Keane was, the decisions he made and the money he spent. The main reason PJ hasn't spent big on transfers has a lot to do with how much of the Owner's allocated investment was wasted on poorly chosen expensive flops under Keane, while talent & important staff member were hounded ouf of the club.

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Len_Brennan added 09:58 - Jan 28 Great blog, some excellent points made. Also some very good replies, particularly from Whymarktonomark who gets the balance of the good, the bad & the is he the right man just about spot on for me. This is a very difficult job now, but it was made so as mainly because of the disaster that Keane was, the decisions he made and the money he spent. The main reason PJ hasn't spent big on transfers has a lot to do with how much of the Owner's allocated investment was wasted on poorly chosen expensive flops under Keane, while talent & important staff member were hounded ouf of the club.

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Mungo added 10:40 - Jan 28 Some of the most sensible posting that I have seen on this site for some time.
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reusersfreekicks added 10:42 - Jan 28 I think Magilton's time was up - he had lost all sense of direction and made some terrible signings - i think thing would have only got worse under him - he is not exactly in great demand now. Whilst i do not agree with Evans' appointments the timing of the sackings has been about right - giving Managers a chance to turn things round. jewel is now getting his second chance and we will see if he and his coaching staff are up to the job or if Jewel is, as mentioned, yesterday's man.

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TractorRoyNo1 added 12:03 - Jan 28 i doubt if jimbo would have done any worse, i am sure jewell (surely the worst in our history) is only there to prove that someone was worse than keane for our once great club however, change can work, look where swansea, nodge, saints, huddersfield and most recently cardiff are now after taking on good young managers
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singtown added 12:43 - Jan 28 Agree Jim would have done better, keano was a waste of time & money. PJ is not doing a good job as the league table don't lie, though I agree holes were left behind by keano. PJ had enough time to sort out the defense but he didn't and these have degenerate into panic buys now
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tractorboy2434 added 16:26 - Jan 28 In the same league that we are now, the club is so poorly run and has problems running right through it that I don't feel Magilton would have achieved any more than the other 2 and that's not saying much, we need to do what Norwich did and have a complete spring clean from top downwards to turn this around, otherwise I feel we will just stumble from one problem to another, the CEO feels Jewell is doing a good job and the management team seem clueless so we are where we are

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dirtydingusmagee added 17:05 - Jan 28 hindsight ,but have to agree, its bloody dire now .
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Daleyitfc added 21:44 - Jan 28 The worst blog I've read on here, and that is saying something. Almost everything you say, and conclude, is wrong. Remarkable.
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Whymarktonomarks added 13:24 - Jan 29 Daleyitfc , stop sitting on the fence and speak your mind !!
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Stu_Magoo added 18:44 - Jan 29 Daley - What a rude pr*ck!! I can only imagine that you will soon write us something of the calibre of Pepys or Johnson?? No?? Remarkable.
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Stu_Magoo added 18:44 - Jan 29 Daley - What a rude pr*ck!! I can only imagine that you will soon write us something of the calibre of Pepys or Johnson?? No?? Remarkable.
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Cheshire_Blue added 12:27 - Jan 30 Well said.What a refreshing change to read something constructive and well thought through.I couldn't have put it better myself.Thankfully I suspect this reflects the views of 90% of the Portman Road support and not just the few who spout their rubbish on this site.
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HARRY10 added 12:30 - Jan 30 There is no money. Full stop. Recognise that and all the rest falls into place. The aged hasbeens in the summer, the shirt term loanees to patch up the holes. A transfer window policy based on picking over the carcass of a collpasing Pompey, bankrupt Hearts and non league Grimsby. The best hope would be to sell Carson, use the money to bring in loanees once the transfer window closes. Patching up, yes. But our absolute target must be Championship survival. Then clear out the deadwood and rebuild this summers. Jewell and his coaches will have six months or more to identify, and the cost of, new players. No more negotiating through the media. Announce the players when there are signed. And also get somebody in who can draw up a ticket pricing system that works ie gets fans coming back. At the moment the method of signing players and the way tickets are priced is extremely amateurish at best. And makes you wonder if the rest of the club is in such a mess.

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