What Will You Say Next, Mr Jewell? Written by DurhamTownFan on Thursday, 20th Sep 2012 09:35 Like many readers of this website, I often find the Paul Jewell post-match interview article more interesting than the actual match report. Not because the match reports are dull (far from it!) but because reading about how a manager reacts to a game is perhaps more interesting than reading about the game itself. Those of us who read and comment on these post-match reactions will have noted a consistent theme in Paul Jewell’s comments at least during this season, and perhaps during the whole of his tenure. Jewell will more often than not say that Ipswich dominated a game, failed to take chances, and gave away silly goals, or goals on the counter-attack. Several recent comments from readers of the website have noted that this is becoming a constant in Jewell’s reactions, and have clearly had enough. This raises two key questions. First, whether Jewell is the right man to turn this club around. Second, whether he even wants to turn this club around any more. I don’t want to dwell on the first issue too much. We all have quite strong opinions on the matter. The jury is out on the majority of his signings. As it stands we sit in almost exactly the same position as we were under Roy Keane. We have less money to spend. Attendances are falling. You’ll get where I stand on this one! What I really want to get people talking about is Jewell’s recent demeanour and his personality. These post-match interviews aren’t helping his cause. I’ve read all Phil’s reports and regularly listen to the BBC Suffolk clips on their website also. Every week, the same old story, with Jewell asking why we didn’t take our chances and bemoaning the giving away of silly goals. Well, I hate to break this to you Paul, but isn’t this what the entire game is about? Can you ever give away a goal that isn’t a silly one to concede? Is it not the job of the forwards to take chances? As I have blogged recently, fans on this website often seem to think that signings are the way to solve these issues. We’ve brought in Paul Taylor, who does look a quality player, but we still can’t score. We brought in Luke Chambers (and yes, although we do need another lad to challenge Tommy Smith) we still concede these ‘sloppy’ goals. I’ve argued before, and I state again here, that as well as signing these guys, you’ve got to instruct and inspire them, if your club is to be successful. Does Jewell give you the impression that he has the ability to fire up his players? If he delivers the same message to his players as he does to the press, it is clear that many of them aren’t listening. It is even possible to suggest that he lacks clout in the dressing room. Most of the younger lads won’t know what he did at Bradford, while his Wigan days have since been forgotten now that Roberto Martinez is cultivating a new style of play and a reputation to match. I’m one of the growing numbers of fans who’ve seen Jewell’s day come and go in the world of football management, and this is precisely the reason why he won’t give up the job. Judging by his interviews, it seems to me that Jewell doesn’t really need this hassle any more. As one recent post noted, if he were younger, he might walk away. But after his most recent managerial experiences (us included) it looks unlikely that Jewell would get another job at this level at least. So he figures that he has to stay. So, what happens? It is clear that Marcus Evans is hedging his bets with Jewell right now. With his contract up at the end of the year, it seems sensible to let this play out as long as possible, at least from a business point of view. So long as we’re not in danger of relegation, we’ll not have to pay him off, and can offer a new manager a job in the Championship come May without the back-biting that leads on from an outright sacking. But can we, as fans, last that long? Attendance figures suggest not, and the disgruntled comments of fans on this website suggest not. Personally speaking, I think I’m gonna explode if I read one more statement from Jewell that we dominated a game that we’ve just lost 2-0. I’m keen to find out what other people think, so lets have your comments! Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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