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Mirroring the Last Rites of Keane's Reign
Written by SWGF on Thursday, 20th Sep 2012 10:06

Fans going through the motions, apathetic to defeats, treading water until Marcus Evans decides to pull the trigger and the whole cycle starts again from scratch.

In the current climate, why would ME fund any player investment if there's the possibility that the current manager will be replaced and his successor looks to dismantle what's been put in place at ME's expense YET AGAIN?

From my point of view, we're in another downward spiral. Yes, we may win on Saturday but it'll be followed by a few defeats, prolonging the inevitable. Do the majority of fans have trust and faith that Paul Jewell can turn this around? We've already put up with last season's record run of defeats. I'd suggest that in itself has done enough damage not to give him any more wriggle room and patience is understandably wearing thin.

The Portman Road crowd isn't the most vociferous when things are going well or badly. Sleepy Suffolk is about right, so we're never going to be screaming for the manager's head. The olés at Keane's expense (at home against Barnsley) were as anarchic as we get but were something that he never recovered from, but the current 'meh' atmosphere within the ground and the dwindling attendances are ringing alarm bells within the boardroom, I'm sure.

I'm also sure that ME doesn't want to be seen to be a hair-trigger owner, but he has already stood by Jewell when many would have got rid during the dark days of last season. Stability is required but that can only come about from appointing the right man in the first instance.

Jewell hadn't been in work for years, Soccer Saturday apart; his last success with Wigan was at a time that they were being bank-rolled when they were in a small minority. No clubs had their spending power in the Championship (or whatever it was called at the time). Nowadays, for whatever reason, ME is happy to be relatively prudent with the cash while our competitors are spendthrifts in comparison.

As has been said previously however, would you trust ME/Simon Clegg to appoint the 'right' man? Their track record isn't great so far. Gary Megson's on the market and if you believe the stories, was on the short-list last time out...

Would they trust a young manager to turn the malaise around or would they go for an experienced manager who's not necessarily going to be interested in long-term plans and projects - not that we, as paying customers, have ever been deemed important enough to communicate any planning or strategy to (if there has been one).

In my eyes, Jewell has had long enough. He hasn't shown me any indication of the progress that needs to be made - whether this is his fault or the fault of others not giving him the requisite backing, we may never know. Last season's bizarre moving of goalposts from long-term planning to short-term wins to long-term planning shows muddled thinking.

The highlighting of the club's "bright future" citing someone else's player as evidence (Luongo) along with two players who are in the last year of their contract, and the "lessons learned" from last season's reliance on loanees followed by 75% of last night's midfield being contracted to someone else, just doesn't add up. The actions don't match the words.

A (relatively) young manager who's looking to prove himself and would welcome the step up would be my preferred option but with a publicly communicated plan and strategy so fans can buy-in to the vision. We'd understand it was a long-term job, that he'd be backed internally and given time to carry it through. I think as fans, we're reasonable (and mostly grown-up) enough to go with it.




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DurhamTownFan added 10:23 - Sep 20
Totally agree with the main argument of this blog. Thanks! I agree that the fans need to buy in to the club again...especially at £30 a pop for a home game to watch more and mroe defeats!

Do you have any names in mind..? Heaven forbid Megson!! He'd just be another Jewell
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PaoloMaldini added 12:22 - Sep 20
Agree with all of this. Good blog.As for replacements; Tisdale, Robinson or Klug.
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prickettboy3 added 13:29 - Sep 20
I'd only want either Mick McCarthy or Paulo Di Canio for entertainment and good football. Otherwise we may as well stick with PJ, although I'm no longer sure he's the right man.
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MonterreyBlue added 15:42 - Sep 20
Completely agree, somewhere along the line we have lost our identity and i dont feel any affiliation towards the team or certain players like in the good old days of Holland, Johnson etc etc. who you knew loved the Club, the fans and would always give 110%.

I would like to see the Club going back to tradition, possibly Burley as Director of Football and Klug as Manager with Matt Holland as assistant with the idea of him taking over in the future. Also, a big, big focus on the Junior Academy and get the foundations and the future of the Club solid.

Honestly, i dont think that PJ and most certainly his team of coaches, have got anything at all to offer and time is up.

Just an opinion! Come on you blues....!!!
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Nthsuffolkblue added 17:34 - Sep 20
A well-written blog. The issue is much deeper than appointing a manager - it is a worrying lack of direction about the whole club since the appointment of Magilton. In all the time since then there has been no real progress and a succession of knee-jerk, short-term reactions. We need some clear direction to the club and actions that back the plan.
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Whymarktonomarks added 21:31 - Sep 20
Its that bad .
We need a new director of football , and a long term plan .
The arrogance and naivety of the owner since the appointment of Voldemort has been staggering .
To presume that promotion was a given , was so ignorant and foolish and in the least gave our opponents greater incentive to turn us over .
Quick fix with Mr Keane didn't work .
Quick fix with Mr Jewell , his mates and Dad's army didn't work.
Extremely long term plan ( 20 years ? ) with Jeweller's babe's , so far going up the Mersey .
Never has there been so many change's of direction and contradictions been displayed by a Football Club in such a short time .
Manager's have a Directive and Paul Jewel's has seemingly changed more times than Tigers golf swing .
If his current Directive had been the one he was issued with when he took over from Keane , I'm sure we would of been looking reasonably healthy .
Don't blame PJ for everything , the owner is still a novice at this Footy Lark , and until he gets a grip everything beneath him will struggle also .
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Facefacts added 13:46 - Sep 21
However frustrating 23rd in the league looks after six games, there's no point wasting your breath. I can't see any changes being made yet. What are you wishing for? Realistically, just sing your hearts out. 12th Man. FPR. Scrape a win. I saw somewhere ME is giving PJ until Oct/Nov to get the team in top 10. Which manager could come in and make this team successful? And would leave their current job to join? Would ME look for someone associated with previous success, George Burley? Probably not. It ain't easy to decide what to do. We're calling Paul Taylor a good player, OK, for that money he should be, but we were just trying to spend some money - we are not the team who can identify and buy a particular player for a particular role. So we now have Chopra, Scotland and Taylor to get into the same team, this will take time. After spending all that game time on this, Taylor is now long term injured, so PJ has to start again. If the management job was easy, we'd all be able to do it. COYB
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