Town boss Paul Jewell confirmed that the Blues’ attempt to sign two Portsmouth players — Joel Ward and Stephen Henderson — broke down after the duo failed to agree personal terms, as reported by TWTD earlier, the clubs having agreed a joint fee. The pair were part of a triple bid Town had been working on for almost a fortnight along with central defender Jason Pearce.

Jewell, who says nothing else is currently ongoing as the 11pm deadline approaches, admitted that the final day of the transfer window hadn’t gone to plan: “It’s been a bit of a nightmare really. I thought we had at least two deals done and they’ve all fallen through at about five o’clock, which is a right nightmare. We’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of energy on it but it’s not to be.”

Town can still sign the Pompey pair - who Jewell didn't name - on the basis of loans leading to permanent deals in a week’s time and the Blues boss isn’t ruling out further overtures to the Hampshire club: “You never say never. We would have liked the players but at the moment it’s fallen through. I’m not going to point the finger at anyone, they’ve the right to say no.

“We’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of energy and it hasn’t been got over the line, so we move on or things might be revisited.”

Town and other Championship sides had offers for Pearce turned down by Pompey earlier today.

Jewell is no fan of the transfer window, especially so when it ends on a day when there’s a fixture: “It’s so nonsensical, the transfer window. I said to Marcus this afternoon when we were talking about things breaking down, we want to move the club a certain way and I think throwing money after things you’re not 100% sure about can be dangerous.

“We might have to take a bit of flak for it and a little bit of stick but we want to try and do the right thing for the long-term of the club.

“That doesn’t mean we’re paying people peanuts but at times we’ve all been guilty of paying over the odds for too many players, and I think football is counting the cost of that.”

Town also missed out on Falkirk defender Murray Wallace, who has joined Huddersfield, which Jewell says was partly due to the Blues trying to renegotiate the £300,000 up-front fee: “We watched him on Sunday and we’d agreed a fee and I think he might be a good player, one for the future, but there’s a little bit more to that than meets the eye. We’re disappointed to be missing out on that in a way, but these things happen.

“We had a bit of a rethink on the deal, we tried to give them less money up front and more on appearances, but they didn’t want to do that, which you can understand. I think the lad was impressed with us, but there you go.”

The Town manager confirmed that he had also looked at shorter term signings to tide the Blues over to the summer window, including Stoke’s Danny Higginbotham: “I spoke to Danny yesterday but he doesn’t want to come on loan, he wants to move permanently. Things might change when the window closes and people haven’t got a club, I don’t know.

“Because you’re up against time and everything it’s ridiculous, especially when you’re trying to prepare for the game today.”

Higginbotham has subsequently joined Nottingham Forest on loan with earlier reports suggesting he didn't want to move too far away from his family home in the north.

Elsewhere, former Blues loanee Keith Andrews has joined West Brom on a free transfer from Blackburn.

Photo: Action Images

Pabs added 23:06 - Jan 31 Seriously Clegg you couldn't negotiate your way out of a paper bag. Sometimes you actually have to pay what a player is worth
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Len_Brennan added 23:08 - Jan 31 I feel deflated after a night where I should be thrilled by an unbelievably fantasitc result against the league leaders. Sounds like PJ is deflated too. He can't be held responsible for the failure to bring in players; clearly the decisions lie solely with the owner on this one and it's down to the money on offer. Paul Jewell has identified a number of players over the last year that we all would have been happy to get in, but it has broken down over wages. The failure to sign a right back & centre half is shocking when we are so close to the bottom of the table and regularly shipping 3 or more goals. I'm also disappointed that quality Championship strikers like Sharp & Maynard have moved for such low money in the end. I know they went to the top two sides in the league, but could money have talked if thrown down earlier?

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arablue added 23:09 - Jan 31 Might be different with the Pompey trio when the club goes under...
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bigolconnor added 23:09 - Jan 31 I think clegg might be trying to do things the right way. Screw these fickle little money grabbing toasters. Stay at Portsmouth I couldn't give a toss. It sounds like like we won the game in midfield today and that ALB was a star again. We play best with our bare bones. Let's keep it that way and cross our fingers. COYB
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rosseden added 23:12 - Jan 31 ''Danny Higginbotham doesn't want to go out on loan he wants a permanent deal...so he's gone out on loan...to Notts Forest!!!'' worth noting he can live at home, travel to Notts in 40 mins or so from stoke and thats more than likely why he went there on loan, assume if he came further away he'd have ot move his family, and that would mean permanent deal......
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Jay_Sea added 23:13 - Jan 31 Nothing to do with agreeing personal terms! THEY DIDNT WANT TO JOIN YOUR CLUB!! Get over it!!! Play up Pompey!!
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Keaneish added 23:14 - Jan 31 Farren01 - let me explain something to you which many Pompey fans seem to be missing at the moment. Ward and Henderson have just fooked your club. You needed to find 1.1million after the fulham purchase by 11pm otherwise you have a 2:1 shot of going bust on the 20th February. If your owners (whoever they may be these days) want to play Russian roulette with your club then so be it but se the wood for the trees before you post on here! You're staring a massive points deduction, relegation and liquidation in the face because of Ward and Henderson (and years of continued financial mismanagement) so have a think about that! And if anyone is still having a pop at Clegg, I'm glad we've stuck to our principles as it was only a handful of years ago we were handing out massive wages to players which got us in the mess we were in before Evans bailed us out! No way Evans is deluded enough to make that mistake!! If Ward and Henderson Had over inflated wage demands whilst facing the growing uncertainty of actually getting paid anytime soon...up to them but shooting Pompey in the foot like that when they had the option to bail them out doesn't make them martyrs Farren01 - it makes them foolish!

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Behind_Enemy_Lines added 23:17 - Jan 31 we were never going to sign these players anyway, its just to appease us fans. they make it look in our eyes that they are keen on signing players but to focus on these in the last two weeks of the window is a joke, to change the terms of the scottish lad after it looked a done deal the fee was only 300k to start with. Fact we have no money and the portsmouth pair of defenders were the lowest paid at fratton park and we cant offer them enough to ply their trade at PR. the Marcus evans group saved the club but it also destroyed it and now he is not backing PJ or prepared to put any sum of money to improve this squad. its all smoke and mirrors. our dealings in the transfer market are a complete joke and its about time everyone opens their eyes and sees this, just too many signings missed out on its no coincidence that just about every deal hits a snag. and the the ones that get completed are either frees, loans or the big signing which was 50k. this transfer window was judgement day in the eyes of many supporters to show us a statement of intent of what evans, clegg and jewell are trying to shovel our way in terms of the future of this club and yet the lessons are still not being learnt and we will be busy in the loan window again. Great win tonight but one swallow does not make a summer and this has only served to paper over the cracks which appear throughout our once prestigous club !!!!

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itfc1981 added 23:18 - Jan 31 Jay Sea, Enjoy playing non league football wont you! Winding up up up!
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Dissboyitfc added 23:18 - Jan 31 jay_sea they may be begging to join us .. when yours goes to the wall... coyb
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Jay_Sea added 23:23 - Jan 31 Don't worry if we go bust they'll have plenty of suitors! After all, they'd rather go without being paid then play for you lot!
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WickedBlue added 23:27 - Jan 31 Love how everyone starts condemning Clegg when none of you idiots have a clue as the the facts. DO you know what was offered to them Do you know what they wanted? But still you jump to conclusions and end up sounding like complete plonkers. As for you Pompey fans think your living in cuckoo land if you think as your club goes into administration and get relegated to League 1 they won't jump ship in the summer.

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rosseden added 23:29 - Jan 31 Jaysea, are you a budgie in disguise..... surely no real football fan would be so blasé about their club going out of business for good? Which, if you look at the experts views, is what is very likely to happen to Portsmouth in about 3 weeks? If ITFC where in that position again I wouldnt care who went or where to, the club is ALWAYS more important that some fickle player/players, who dont really care about anything other than his overly big wage packet....... despite what they might say to appease the fans at any given time, players nowadays are all just mercenaries! Im just so please mercenary norris joined you lot..... bit of luck he cant pay his mortage now......

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Warkys_Tash added 23:42 - Jan 31 None of the Pompey 3 ever wanted to come here, so no doubt they put in high wage demands and would have come if they struck lucky, I don't blame the board, infact well doen to them for not being held ransom. We only want players who really want to be here - not just for silly salaries. Jimmy take note and give us a perfomance until the end of the season!!
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clarkey85 added 23:46 - Jan 31 See ya pompey down where u belong sh1t ground sh1 t fans lol not for long tho RIP
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Warkys_Tash added 23:52 - Jan 31 @Behind_Enemy_Lines: However, I totally see your points and you may be on to something here. However, I think Delaney is on a reported 10k a week - more than a decent wage in the Championship - especially for a very average player. Bullard on 18k and Chopra is not on peanuts..so I am not sure we are poor payers all the time. I got a feeling these lads from Pompey must have tried their luck as they didn't fancy the move. Not sure what happened in the Murray Wallace deal??

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rosseden added 00:03 - Feb 1 based on the fact the actual murray deal was 300k rising to 700k, i guess we had a rethink after watching him last week..... same quality players will be on frees in the summer so no big deal if he couldnt come now anyway......
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shaunminx added 00:07 - Feb 1 Pay up pompy!!! Oh you can't because you've got feck all!!!!
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MickMillsTash added 00:09 - Feb 1 You never know what happened behind the scenes but it seems mad that we did not have personal terms already agreed. My opinion is that we have targetted the wrong players over the last month. We seem to be willing to pay less at the moment in wages- which I guess we have to given the fair play league and burden of Bullard. Our league position and form are also worrying so Players likley to come to Ipswich will be from the lower leagues and not teams above us. Maybe a good run towards the end of the season and we can attract some better /more established players with the lure of the Premier league - tonight showed that there is potential - I just hope that the other potential to self implode is something that we have put behind us

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megamoth added 00:22 - Feb 1 I don't blame the Pompey lads for holding firm. We all love ITFC but that doesnt mean they should. Why would they want to make a risky perm move to a team that could get relegated? Next week the loan market (our favourite!) opens and they will likely go to some place like Leeds who have somehing to play for. Did Collins move btw? Now we know he's not so keen as we thought on staying close to home, howsabout a cheeky loan to the end of the season? Anyhoo, great result today. And this without Bowyer and Bullard. Only 14 points off the playoffs...;-)

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arablue added 01:54 - Feb 1 Keaneish is right - the duo's decision may have sealed Pompey's fate..while both may go and ply their trade somewhere, the same could not be said about Portsmouth the football club. Getting relegated is not the worst outcome for Pompey; failure to come up with enough money could get the club into liquidation and the club would cease to exist... So to the few bragging Pompey fans letting shouts of passion and joy in having kept their players, here at TWTD of all the places, do enjoy this moment while you can...you may not have one to channel your passion to in a few weeks, and perhaps then you may come to the realisation that creditors value pounds and not passion...

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ruffcider added 06:22 - Feb 1 Talk about saving face, how many times does Jewel have to hear they dont want to leave/move to Ipswich, Jewell is trying to paper over the cracks, from the moment it came out they said they didnt want it and Jewell is trying to claim they are greedy. They are ALL likely to be on the lower wages we give out, and they arent getting paid at the moment, if they wanted to join your team (or the other teams who were scavaging around them), do you think they wouldnt or do you think it is loyalty? They all talk about the thrill of playing in front of our fans, and now we also have an inspired manager with a vision of how to play the game. Perhaps they would rather ride the waves with the captain and wait for a new owner than bail out because of a storm. 2 things, the wages these fellas are on is low, they werent the ones draining the clubs resources, and if the worst happens no one will be blaming them, weve had rotten owners/CEO/managers for years, a few good cheap players staying loyal will be revered. It tastes very nice that you lot couldnt force our loyal players out. PS: Some of us think no one will save us, its nice to know we were all going down together. The HMRC will get their money later......when those players are finally sold, and lucky for them loadsa teams will be after a bargain and they can go where they like.

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edkru61 added 06:28 - Feb 1 Has anyone thought that this could have been down to another person? That person being David Norris. He wanted out of here big time and who knows what he cold have told the lads. Shouldn't management at PR known this could be a factor. Regardless, it still falls at the feet of Cleggy!
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ruffcider added 06:37 - Feb 1 If our clubs fold and the players are sold off i hope none goto Ipswich due to the amount of carp Jewell has been spouting. Advice for future player recruitment to save time........leave off after the 3 time a player says he doesnt want to join your team and tyr and prise out other players from other teams, otherwise you come out of it, proving to the fans players dont want to come. In this instant the players had to come out and do it themselves, via social media sites, and that cant be good for the club

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BrandonsBlues added 06:54 - Feb 1 Tell me why we continued to pursue 3 players of which two made it quite clear they had no intention of leaving from very early on in proceedings, but we had to go all they way to deadline to agree a fee, before surprise surprise not being able to agree personal terms. If this does not show the ineptitude of this club, nothing else does better. Why did we not try to get players in that might wanted to have come here, rather then this pointless exercise because that was all it was.

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