Boss Paul Jewell says he hadn’t planned to bring in short-term loanees such as Richie Wellens, who signed a one-month deal yesterday, and DJ Campbell, who looks set to join him at Portman Road later today, but that he felt they were required to get Town's stuttering season back on track. The Blues manager insists that he still sees building a team as a long-term project.

Jewell said there has been cash available to make additions, but it’s been a case of finding suitable new recruits: “There has always been money available for me to try and get players in, it’s just getting right ones. This is the balancing act.

“I can bring people in, I could bring people in tomorrow. I know that the money’s available, but I don’t think they’ll be the right ones. You’ve got to try and get the right players.

“We didn’t want to bring loan players in, that was our aim, but we might have to bring in some short-term deals to try and get us out of this hole and try and then look beyond when we get to January.

“I keep saying, it was a long-term project when I came here and I understand that my contract runs out at the end of the year, but I think I’ve got to try and make decisions with an eye on the short-term but with a view to the long-term, [making sure they’re] the right ones to get us out of the sticky situation we’re in.”

Speaking yesterday lunchtime, Jewell said that he has liaised with owner Marcus Evans on several occasions this week as they worked on deals to add Wellens, Campbell and Mohsni to his squad: “One minute he’s in Montreal, then he’s in Chicago, then he’s in California. We’re trying to bring a couple of players in as we speak.

“Marcus is aware that we need a little bit of help and he’s trying to help us. I’m not happy with the situation, Marcus isn’t happy with the situation, nobody’s happy with the situation who is connected with Ipswich. But, at the end of the day, we’re going to try to fight our way out of it.”

While there is money to spend, he says it’s evident that there are a number of clubs in the division with budgets above and beyond Town's.

He says that may mean they beat the Blues to signings in the short-term, the future may not be entirely rosy for all of them later on down the line: “I think fans are intelligent enough to realise that when they look around the league and at what teams are spending or have spent that it’s going to be a struggle for us to compete with that.

“Money doesn’t guarantee you anything but it gives you a really good chance when you’re spending the vast amounts of money that some clubs have, not all clubs.

“Certainly I feel in the Championship this year there are a few clubs that if they don’t go up, could find themselves in financial difficulty.

“We don’t want that. As I’ve said a million times before, look at Portsmouth. We don’t want to be one of them, whether when I’m here or in 10 years’ time.

“The club can never be put at risk. It’s been put at risk before and the club went into administration. That’s what people don’t want.”

He empathises with supporters’ frustrations at the current situation, however, and says no one wants to get away from the division’s lower reaches more than himself: “I understand that fans don’t want to be down the bottom, me more than anyone, I don’t want to be down the bottom. It makes your life hell, it really does.

“At the same time, Marcus is being straight and honest with me and it’s not as if we’re penny pinching, we’re just trying to look after the long-term interest of the football club.

“Marcus has been at this club for five years and has spent a lot of money and we haven’t had the success that maybe that investment should have had, and that includes when I’ve been here.

“But when we’re up against some of the big spenders and the big payers, we can’t compete at this moment in time.

“If those lads get promoted, that’s fine. If they don’t get promoted, next year the wages and maybe the owners won’t be about. I’m sure Marcus will.”

Photo: Action Images

sheepdags added 11:10 - Oct 5 Interesting that he's talking directly to ME rather than going through Clegg even though ME is on the other side of the pond. It's the same old story of leave things too late and then panic and bring in half a team of loan players. Higginbotham is a good singing but we didn't need more midfielders where we are already over-weight and bringing in loanees will only undermine the confidence of our own players. Like RK he's blaming the players for poor results rather than looking at his own coaching and motivation.

0

PunchNoHopers added 11:29 - Oct 5 Sounds like desperation to me, unfit players coming in, who haven't played for us or anyone this season, will pee-off current players like Drury, Carson and Hyam, sounds like a recipe for disaster, YET AGAIN!!!
0

upthewallpaul added 11:44 - Oct 5 This just papers over the cracks and we end up struggling every season, using loan players to keep us up, then unable to kick-on as we cannot replace them in the summer. Difficult to see a way out of this mess without setting a long term plan and sticking to it however painful it becomes.
0

TractorRoyNo1 added 11:53 - Oct 5 your can't manage, you can't motivate, and your coaches can't coach, do the honourable thing and go now and take your mediocre gang with you, i'd rather have fred the bus driver in charge and get relegated than watch or listen to you in the media for another 6 months until your contract expires - jewell you are totally spent force - £&%-off NOW!
0

greenkingtone added 12:13 - Oct 5 I am not sure sticking to a plan is necessarily the right approach. I refer you to the present government as an example. Plans need constant audit and revision. If the plan is not working then corrective action must be implemented. At a football club circumstances are changing all the time, and mostly beyond the control of management.
0

Tiggs added 12:18 - Oct 5 This is really becoming ridiculous. I have no idea why people still support this clown or his sidekick. There is no plan, never has been. Mr. Jewell is totally clueless and continues to waste more and more of Mr. Evans cash. Short term fixes are no good and any decent Manager would have built his squad in the summer and used loans for injury cover. Have we got any injuries? Don't think so. He needs to do himself a favour and resign, take Mr. Hutchings and the recent headline maker with him. This club is sinking fast and has sunk so low since the departure of Joe Royle. So, so sad..........

0

TractorCam added 12:31 - Oct 5 Maybe if you had actually signed the players in the summer then we wouldn't have this problem would we Jewell
0

alfromcol added 13:24 - Oct 5 Tiggs you have probably forgotten the injuries to Hyam and Taylor (long term)
0

Lightningboy added 13:42 - Oct 5 If we lose tomorrow,this clown needs to go before it's too late...simple as that.
0

Edmunds5 added 14:50 - Oct 5 PJ is under pressure, his job as a manager is to get results for this football club which these loan signings may enable us to do. Chelsea dont have a plan, Man City dont have a plan. Ideally we would love to see our younger players all coming through and have a clear strategy but would I rather be flirting with relegation? or have three on loan players of genuine quality who could push us up the table? I know which one I would choose.

0

footyblue added 15:05 - Oct 5 yes but then clubs don't have to loan 7 players to try and keep Jewell's job
0

Edmunds5 added 15:26 - Oct 5 I know what your saying, It does have that ring to it that Jewell knows that even when the side plays well they only get away with a point, i.e Brighton and so he feels forced to change things for the sake of his job. But three months is a decent chunk of the season over a period where there will be a fair few games, if DJ Campbell goes and scores 8 9 goals for us and helps push us up to mid table or beyond I would be delighted. All of these players are representing our club and our permanent signings have hardly put the world alight. I would rather have a dedicated pro than someone wo wanted to leave such as Delaney. You have to take the rough with the smooth I'm afraid and if these three players push Ipswich up the League then for now I'm more than content with that, but of course Jewell has reconsider quite a few things and continue to take us forward once the players return to their clubs, if he is still here then, thats when he will have to start earning his corn if he wants us to be a force.

0

h32 added 18:24 - Oct 5 WarkyWonderLand - agree with you totally - and desperation has struck, but Jewell really has no other option right now, but to go for the short term fix to get some points on the board - the points gap between top and bottom has become significant already, and the rot has to be stopped, otherwise ....... ????? No Jewell man, as you all know, and yet to be convinced !! .... that I ever will be - but at least he is doing something. We have to be happy with that - for now anyway.

0

StochesStotasBlewe added 18:55 - Oct 5 Remember what happened to the budgies when they played too many loanees. You have been warned ladies & gentlemen!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0

Jimmyonthewing added 18:57 - Oct 5 The manager has consistently said that he wants to bring quality players in on long term deals. It is obvious that a lot of effort has gone into trying to do just that but lots of deals have fallen through - for various reasons but unlikely to be because potential recruits suddenly decide they don't want to play for the manager of ITFC. Getting these loan players in is not so much desperation as 'what's the alternative?'. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. The die is cast so let's just get behind the team on the pitch COYB

0

RegencyBlue added 19:46 - Oct 5 The most surprising thing about this is that there was a plan! Frankly there has been precious little evidence of it so far. I dont blame Jewell alone for this shambles either. Evans and Clegg must be doing their calculations on the back of a cigarette packet the way this club is being run.
0

warbeat78 added 21:43 - Oct 5 This situation isn't entirely ideal i know and im sure most of you agree but it doe's give us alot more options to change tatics when up against strong physical sides which we have struggled with, at times this season it will all come together over the next few games then we should be able to see where were heading. Upwards i feel
0

runaround added 22:22 - Oct 5 One positive is our squad now looks a lot stronger than a few weeks ago. However a number of those players are only on loan and when loans end we will be back in the brown stuff again. Only hope is this short term fix gets us going in the right direction again quickly
0

chorltonskylineblue added 23:30 - Oct 5 “I keep saying, it was a long-term project when I came here and I understand that my contract runs out at the end of the year, but I think I've got to try and make decisions with an eye on the short-term but with a view to the long-term, [making sure they're] the right ones to get us out of the sticky situation we're in.” Have you tried CTRL + ALT + DELETE? Tried turning it off and on again? Oh sorry, it's human error.

0

IvorFeeling added 01:30 - Oct 6 Phil - this is the easiest piece you have written as it is a direct copy from this tim last year after Andrews, Collins et al. Deja Vu and how many times does PJ need to make the same mistake? The loans do add quality but assuming two play tomorrow then we will have 4 non ITFC players on the pitch and this can't be good. Whatever happens in the short term Klug has got a he'll of a job on trying to convince young talent to sign for us - I know of several youngsters who recemntly have chosen the carrot crunchers over us.

0

IvorFeeling added 01:31 - Oct 6 Sorry 5 as I forgot about N'Daw - even worse and I am not including the Moshi Monster!
0

IvorFeeling added 01:41 - Oct 6 It's late as I also forgot Loungo! 'hello, it's pawn PJ, could we buy xxxxx as he would really do a job. Great we can offer a pork pie, a fumble with Tracey down the docs and I could get you a meet with John Bishop as he is a fellow scouser. What you want cash, sorry we don't use that stuff as it confuses our CE, could we borrow xxx for a few weeks plus your goalposts! Great eh and they thought Harry was a top wheeler dealer - can't wait to appear on Bargain Hunt next week!'

0

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls