At last week’s draw with Bristol City, my mates and I went away quite surprised and disappointed at the reaction of some of the fans around us to the performance of Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.

It was clear to us that this guy divides opinions, and I think many of the comments and posts on this website suggest the same. After a discussion in the ground and later the pub (during which we were probably all on his side, but trying to understand the wider view) I decided to put this together, and maybe canvass some wider opinions.

The one thing that we all agreed on right away was that JET, to use his famous nickname, gives us something else. Among our current squad, only maybe Lee Martin has the capacity to trick and beat a man and open up some space for the rest of the team. JET is tricky, and JET can dribble. He can also shoot from distance. What is there to dislike?

Well, fortunately his perceived faults are also quite easy to spot. He could probably do a bit more off the ball, when Ipswich are out of possession. For a big lad, he’s not as good as Murphy in the air (probably because he was trained at Arsenal).

However, for me, by far and away the biggest obstacle for JET at the moment, is that our fans seem to be demanding too much of him and are perhaps too impatient of him, when he does not do the business. Even his nickname adds to this. Mick had it right I think, to suggest that Emmanuel-Thomas will only become ‘JET’ once he’s bagged a few goals.

This kid obviously has a great deal of confidence, often mistaken for arrogance, by other types of players or supporters who are not blessed with his same levels of skill and adventure on the pitch (for the record, I too am a bumbling centre-half in Sunday league).

As I didn’t go to Charlton (and because he had such a minor part) the game against Bristol City shows about where we’re at with JET right now. Given roughly 20 minutes, he’s found about four or five opportunities to get on the ball and have a go. He concentrates on the basics, trying to win the long balls and keeping possession. A couple of dribbles in and around the box seem to go down alright, but without breaking the deadlock.

At one point he does mazy run across the 18-yard line, can’t break through, so lays it off wide to Cresswell: upon which, some teenage lads behind me yell something like ‘Oh b***** hell, JET-do something!’ (at this point I think ‘have you ever actually played football, lads?’)

Anyway, here is my argument. Under Mick, we play sensible, no-fuss football. The emphasis is on clearing our lines, and doing the simple stuff. Under these circumstances, we have three types of striker in four players. Murphy is our ball-winner, our target man, whose job it is to keep possession long enough bring others into play. Michael Chopra and DJ Campbell are our two box predators. While DJ maybe has more pace, both are essentially charged with making the right runs off Murphy, and with hitting the target at all costs.

Then we have JET. He is our classic ‘number 10’, playing ‘in the hole’, as what the Italians call a fantasista (think Roberto Baggio, Totti, or Alessandro Del Piero. Closer to home, Dennis Bergkamp is the classic example). This type of player is needed the better the football you play, to make runs, cause a nuisance between the opposition defence and midfield, and create something from deep.

Under Mick, we pass the ball to the frontmen quite quickly. Because of this, there are fewer chances to pick up the ball between attack and midfield, so this kind of player isn’t always needed. JET is therefore often asked to be more like Murphy, and to use his big frame to hold up the ball: something he is not bad at, but which certainly hasn’t come to him naturally.

Now, I didn’t write this whole blog because I am a mad fan of JET and believe that he is the answer to our prayers. Actually, I don’t think anybody at all can argue with anything that McCarthy has done in his short stint in charge so far, even if it means JET not playing or being asked to alter his game. We have gone from playing with absolute rock bottom confidence and even outright fear, to now actually expecting to win games, and coming away upset if we don’t (again, Bristol City was a good example).

Actually, what I wanted to do was use the situation with JET to ask for a bit more patience from our fans. I think it is healthy to expect a bit more from our team than Championship survival, but I also do think that our players need our support. They too have suffered under Roy Keane and Paul Jewell, and I think it is about time that we showed them how happy we are with things in the last couple of months (obviously ignoring those huge defeats early on!).

JET is a key part of this; so too, Chopra, and Andy Drury and Stephen Henderson: all of those other lads who sometimes don’t always cut it and dominate every week. But with a barrage of abuse and heckling of our own guys the moment things get tough, we are not helping. Have some patience, guys, please. We could be doing far worse (and for about three years we were).

COYB!

carsey added 14:03 - Dec 28 Like most people on here (I suspect) I am not and never have been involved in professional football so can only say what I see and it is this - JET appears to have skills on the ball the average player does not have, the problem is he seems incapable of producing those skills consistently. He is a luxury player in a team fighting for it's Championship survival so needs to work hard and chase lost causes, put pressure on the opposition and earn his money. He does not do this so the fans gets fed up with him. Will he stay and succeed? I have no idea but he will need to work a dam sight harder if he is to win the fans over. JET or Walters - no question Walters every time.

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Edmunds5 added 14:34 - Dec 28 JET and Walters are two entirely different players so its odd to compare the two. Walters fitted well because we played the type of football that suits Walters so he was always chasing and holding the ball up and getting stuck in and could finish. JET looks a prospect when we play on the floor because he can utilise his strengths. Besides when Walters was about 22 when he joined us from Chester and look at his rise, so still time for JET to impress.

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BackToRussia added 16:41 - Dec 28 Good blog. JET is very talented. He is still very young, and has not had much time playing regular football in a proper team. He needs to translate his talent into results, but that is down to coaching, himself, AND the fans being patient.
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C_HealyIsAPleasure added 21:52 - Dec 28 Bumbling centre-back? Thought you were playing ALB impersonating a goalie these days ha? ; ) As for JET, maverick innit
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SouperJim added 13:33 - Dec 29 Loads of talent, very little clue how to use it. Whats the point in owning a Ferrari if you haven't got the key? Makes that 1984 Talbot Horizon seem so much more useful. My frustration with JET was at it's peak again Bristol City as he replaced the only player on the pitch who was going to win the game for us (Daryl Murphy). At a time when what we really needed was someone who could grab the game by the scruff of the neck and put in the graft and energy needed, we got the absolute opposite of that. Not JET's fault perhaps, but it didn't make his performance any easier to watch. How long do we wait for JET to get his act together? As others have said, time is a luxury we can't presently afford.

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Bangor31 added 08:33 - Jan 5 Just on the beating other players, JET definitely can, martin to an extent, but Scotland is surprisingly good at it round and in the box. I do feel he is under-rated at this club all be it I wouldn't want him to be a starter.
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ITFC_Fan added 03:31 - Jan 9 A good blog with down to earth points. To me, there are no doubts that JET is capable of "magic" ON the ball. Whether it be dribbling in tight situations, difficult short and long range passing or picking out a decent shot from nowhere, he is capable of it all. In my opinion, this makes him a real assist for ITFC to own a smooth creative style player able to provide something different. His consistency is mentioned a lot however I don't see this as the main issue. If he could produce the "Magic" on a day to day basis (Which is expecting far too much of a player at Championship level), realistically he would be playing in the premier league because there aren't many players even in the top leagues that can consistently produce "magic" all the time in every game. We should not expect him to win headers or perform other jobs of the target man role because it does not suite his natural abilities and will be a lost passenger during the match. Just because he is tall and fairly strong should not automatically mean he is a target man. JET's main problem is that his movement off the ball is appalling. He hardly ever seems to leave a small square of the field when someone else is in possession, either when the team is attacking or defending. Many times Town have been on the counter on the opposite flank to JET but he just stands on the wing, makes no effort to get into the box or be able to receive the ball in a useful area to aid the attack. I would like to see some desire to either receive the ball or get it back. Ipswich can't afford to have a passenger on the field. The majority of town players don't have the stamina to carry some one for a whole match or possess the ability to consistently read the game well enough to cut out or create moves with out all the lads putting a shift in. I could very well be the Teenage Lad mentioned in the article getting frustrated at JET during the Bristol City match. He may have made an impressive run but then what did he do after. He stood there on the left flank, didn't look for a one two, didn't move into space to receive the ball or draw a defender to create space. Then when the attack broke down and Cresswell had to go back to defend, he stayed there in his little square providing no pressure on the opposition allowing them space to play comfortably. Also means that when town get the ball, only way he is going to get it is through long ball which the team is not good at and/or JET is not good at winning it in the air or bring it down to run/distribute. I just hope it is not too late for JET to pick up the required off the ball abilities he needs to full fill his potential. I do have full faith in Mccarthy to make JET work harder however it remains to be seen where JET will fit in in the preferred 4-4-2 system given the time required for the player to adapt.

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chripswich added 09:55 - Jan 11 we've all seen people in our own lives/jobs etc who have all the ability in the world but simply cannot be arsed...think the world owes them a favour. Wenger is no mug and went from - stating that Thomas had the ability to be whatever he wanted to be and the next big thing at Arsenal - to off loading him for a million quid.. unless he has an attitude transplant he wont be anything other than a guy that dissapears firstly into the lower leagues - and then, altogether.. it riles me really as i would give anything to have that kind of ability and be able to pull on the shirt every saturday.. Thomas just wastes the undoubted skill and talent that all of us (mere mortals) would give anything to possess..

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