Blues boss Paul Jewell admitted that he is envious of the pace in the Crystal Palace team after the Eagles beat Town 1-0 at Portman Road on Saturday. Palace wide men Wilfried Zaha and Sean Scannell were a constant threat for Dougie Freedman’s side.

Jewell said: “It obviously is a concern for us and Crystal Palace caused us problems. We’d all like pacy players in the team but we haven’t got a lot of them at the moment. It’s a concern, but I was concerned five weeks ago [during the winning run].

“Crystal Palace came and got men behind the ball and we just didn’t move the ball quickly enough. We didn’t have a lot of movement, we didn’t have options. In the last few games we’ve had options on the ball.

“We got in-between people, but against Palace it was a bit like playing in straight lines and we don’t want to go back to that, that’s the easy way out. It was a bad day at the office.”

The Town boss says he hasn’t been thinking that the team was the finished article in recent weeks with work having continued to keep the loan players at the club and to bring new signings to Portman Road: “There are 33 games left, a ridiculous amount of games left.

“It is a league which is relentless and we haven’t been sat here thinking our team is perfect, we know we need improving and we’re trying to improve it all the time.

“We are in contact with the players we already have but we’re also looking for players not just for this season but beyond. We’re looking to improve the whole team, the whole squad.

“Whether we’d won or lost to Palace, my focus and my forward thinking wouldn’t have changed, we’re always trying to improve.”

Town’s full-backs Carlos Edwards and Aaron Cresswell were pinned back by the visitors’ wide threat on Saturday and Jewell believes plenty of other sides will have similar problems against the Eagles: “There won’t be too many players who play against Crystal Palace’s [wingers] who’ll get forward because they are as quick as anything in this league, and even above.

“Crystal Palace had won three out of their last five away games [before Saturday]. They went to Brighton and won 3-1 and you can see why because they’ve got pace in abundance and they’ve got a good team. I thought Southampton were good earlier in the season, but Palace look good as well.”

While the Blues manager says that while it’s a shame to see the six-match unbeaten run come to an end, he feels it was inevitable: “We’re Ipswich, we’re not Real Madrid and I don’t know when we last went on a run of five or six games unbeaten.

“We’ve enjoyed it but we’ve had a setback. I don’t know a team in the world that doesn’t have setbacks. We’ve had bigger setbacks this season and bounced back. Hopefully we’ll have a good week’s training and look forward to Millwall.”

Photo: Action Images

CraigEdwards added 13:59 - Oct 24 Playing that formation does not give you fast wingerS, learn to adapt a little with Edwards and Martin on the flanks.The last two games we have become very readable. A sign of a good manager is to be able to change things around and i dont think PJ has quite those quailtys at present.
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irishtim added 15:09 - Oct 24 yes paul we need pace but you buy the players & pick the teams so if you feel we havent got players with pace then bring them into the club. by the way shane o connor has plenty & carson & martin & jet so lets unleash them
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Ipswich24 added 16:02 - Oct 24 During the summer we were crying out for width and pace and we have done nothing about it. Yes PJ has brought in some very good players but i feel our midfield especially at home needs width and pace. Away from home we can keep the ball better with the diamond midfield and frustrate the home team. But at home the we are the team that needs to get at the away team and get behind them putting in crosses. Not once on saturday did we get around the back of palace and put crosses in.

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Tampa_Florida_Blue added 16:11 - Oct 24 Tomos91 .... I agree very much with what you say, but I have the feeling that PJ has full OK to buy players, I just think he is more shrewd than keano was and will not pay over the odds. If I was ME, I would certainly feel more comfortable letting PJ play bank manager with my money, than I would of with Keane.
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runaround added 16:15 - Oct 24 Jewell says we didn't have movement or options whilst on the ball like in previous games. Well in the previous games we had Chopra and Scotland playing who are constantly on the move and offering themselves and replaced them with JET and Duke who are static in comparison. Add to that the fact both Pompey and Palace have manmarked our most creative player (Bullard) and its obvious as to why there wasn't the movement. This allowed Palace to boss the game and utilise their best attribute which is pace. Had we kept the ball better then it, to a certain extent, nullifies the pace. Seems fairly straightforward to put right and with Millwall game being away, I feel(hope)this will give us more of a chance to play our game as they are unlikely to sit back. PJ just has to get formation right and get the lads up for it. C.O.Y.B!

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8ashblue added 16:51 - Oct 24 simple, over 30's cant play 3 games in 8 days. plus we've never had enough pace or height in the last two years so its no surprise palace found us out!! One of the issues of planing same team is that the cracks begin to show and in this instance we made it too easy. Better had PJ used Wabara at rb and released CE in wide right role or had carson on bench. i was never sure that JB and LB could play together in this division. Plus Andrews isnt that quick either. Hope PJ has answers otherwise we'll see more teams playing like Palace against us!

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nitroblue1970 added 16:51 - Oct 24 I remember Pj saying about having a winning mentality, even when the team plays badly they can grind out results (like Pompey)...well you changed a winning team and yes i know Sonko was injured but were Chopra and Scotland?????..these 2 would have sniffed out a goal from a poor display im sure of that, and for that reason only, they should be in the team every week (when fit) even if the teams not performing! if you dont score you dont win, ellington was ok on the ball, he held it up but no better than scotland would have but unlike sctland he isnt capable of creating his own half chances...he may improve as the season rolls on but in my opinion he is the second string striker for a reason!..JET is learning, a few flashes of brilliance but no consistency, may prove to be a luxury player like Reuser or Petta...needs to be fitter maybe Jason could take him to the carribean and get him fit!

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fourth added 17:45 - Oct 24 Young Jimmy Bullard seems to have lost his 5%. That stunning ability to supply quality ball. His place in the team is in question. Well that's good, so is everybody else's.* He'll be back
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brittaniaman added 19:52 - Oct 24 I still think he should have brought on Wabara and pushed Edwards up further to try and feed the strikers more !!!
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h32 added 21:49 - Oct 24 Keanish - you're right - it's almost as if ITFC have just invented the 'diamond' - as you rightly say it's no secret, and so easy to suss out by a reasonable Manager / Coach. On another point - I personally do not think Bowyer and Bullard will ever play successfully in the same team for obvious reasons - watch them closely !!
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