Jay Emmanuel-Thomas will be first in the queue should Lee Martin’s current ‘free’ role in the Ipswich side become available.

“It would be ideal for me,” admitted the 21-year-old, who occupied the position subsequently filled by Martin at Birmingham in January, “but right now Lee’s doing a very good job and everyone knows he has a lot more energy than I do.”

Meanwhile, the former Arsenal player is keen to add to his season’s tally of five goals in 29 appearances, 11 of which have been as a substitute.

Renowned for letting fly from distance, he added: “I don’t really work hard on my shooting. It tends to come naturally. From a very early age I’ve had a good shot on me.

“Normally, if I’m in the opposition half of the pitch and I see the ‘D’ on the edge of the area, and no one is challenging me, I will have a shot. I seem to get my efforts on target quite often.

“My right foot isn’t my strongest but I’ll have a swing if I have to. I don’t get many headers. I think I’ve only scored two in my whole time as a player — they were both when I was on loan at Cardiff, against Watford and Sheffield United — so I’d like to get more.”

As manager Paul Jewell consistently confessed, Emmanuel-Thomas was slow to get into his stride after moving to Portman Road last summer.

But the player said: “It wasn’t a culture shock for me. You learn more about football going to different clubs and it was just something I had to get used to.

“When I first came to Ipswich it wasn’t that I was unfit but the players already here were a lot fitter than I was due to their pre-season work. What I had done in pre-season at Arsenal was very different.

“Playing on a regular basis has benefited me a lot. In all honesty my fitness has come on in leaps and bounds because I’ve been in the team in recent weeks.”

Laid-back Emmanuel-Thomas enjoys his current lifestyle, adding: “Maybe it’s quiet around here compared to London but I like it. I chill out at home and often go out for something to eat. But I tend not to go out on a Wednesday — it seems Cardinal Park is full of people everywhere that night.”

Photos: Action Images

Photo: Action Images

hampstead_blue added 14:43 - Mar 2 "I don't get many headers" Not surprised considering he has legs like pipe cleaners! Get him tabbing in the close season. That will give him a real spring in his step. Could be a Town Legend if we manage to hold onto him.
0

Sindre94 added 14:56 - Mar 2 I love that guy, extraordinary talent but his motivation might ruin it for him ( I hope not though) Him and Martin seem to walk here and there on the field and they both have alot of freedom, so I dont think hes in a bad position at all, great talent with extreme strenght, pace and a very good shot. He can be a VERY good player for us in a few years time, as long as he gets it regulrary

0

arc added 14:57 - Mar 2 I love the contrast between this story and the last one–"I am working on my defensive game," and "I would love a free role." All in all, when they have a quiet moment, Jewell (or a senior player) should sit down with JET and discuss this interview: "I don't work on my shot, it comes naturally," "I have less energy than Lee Martin," "I sometimes lack concentration." All of these things can be worked on and will make the difference between him being a mercurial Championship talent and a genuinely top player. He's making progress, but there is so much more there.

0

whittonite added 15:16 - Mar 2 if p.j. gives jet a free role it would'nt work because our forwards are not among the quickest we've ever had at this club.same would apply to bullard in a free role.we have to pick our passes we give to chopra and scotland ,who dont very often have the pace to get beyond the defenders.the only thing that stops us from banging in 3 to 4 regularly is pace!when bullard or jet or even leadbitter pick the ball up in attacking positions you can see them itching to play a ball for someone to run onto, the forwards try but are usually matched for pace by the defense.lee martin (bless him)cant carry our pace attack as the only forward capable of getting behind defenders.and if your holding on to the ball too long your going to get closed down. p.j. may have to dig out peters again,not a bad finisher if i remember rightly!

0

petermorris added 15:27 - Mar 2 'I seem to get my efforts on target quite often'. There's the problem. Tell him the woodwork isn't the target PJ - it's the gaping hole in between.
0

Garv added 16:10 - Mar 2 He's been ridiculously unlucky with some of his shots, with efforts at Reading, at Leeds and home to Forest all hitting the woodwork and they would have been real worldies! I don't think the free role would work because as he says he hasn't got the energy that Martin has. I've said in the past "he can't play on the wing" (this was nearer the start of the season), but he's proved me wrong. Just needs to keep it up and not become inconsistent.

0

fourth added 17:29 - Mar 2 What a misaligned person. Most great performers arrive by hard work and an understanding of how to best represent their personality. If JET were to recognise and insist on his role and put his heart into that, he would find himself playing at a much higher level.
0

Sindre94 added 17:39 - Mar 2 Hes infact a quick and very strong player, so he can work everywhere i think, (not defense)
0

Fatcatevans added 17:48 - Mar 2 Avoid Cardianl Park on wes JET - Orange Wednesday 2 for 1 at Cineworld lol
0

billlm added 19:20 - Mar 2 wednesdays thats so funny, please tell him fatcat lol
0

Blue041273 added 21:32 - Mar 2 Reading between the lines I would say that JET doesn't really enjoy the role he is being told to play. His role (along with Murphy's) requires discipline and concentration to maintain the shape which allows the free role for Martin and to his credit he has more than met all expectations. But you sense that he is not comfortable with it and in truth you want to believe that there is more in him to come. For us to believe however that his heart is in it and that professionally he is in it for the long haul, he's got to come up with a more convincing line than steering clear of Cardinal Park on a Wednesday night. I sense a want away sometime soon.

0

ernie added 22:27 - Mar 2 Cardinal Park is full of pikey ipswich cretins most nights of the week
0

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls