Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town refused to pay over the odds on transfer deadline day
By Stuart Watson
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
12:26 AM
IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell revealed the club missed out on transfer deadline day signings after sticking rigidly to their valuations of players and their wages.
The Blues boss was keen to strengthen his squad – particularly in defence – following a return of just eight Championship points from a possible 45.
However, he was not prepared to go above his valuations of players – either in terms of transfer fee or wages – meaning several deals fell through late on in the day.
A fee was agreed for a duo Portsmouth players – believed to be keeper Stephen Henderson and the versatile Joel Ward – but the players’ wage demands are understood to have been too high.
Scottish Falkirk decided to reject Town’s bid for teenage centre-back Murray Wallace – having initially accepted it – after the Blues decided they wanted their £300,000 transfer fee to be based largely on appearances. He ended up signing for League One side Huddersfield instead.
And Stoke defender Danny Higginbotham rejected a loan move to Town, joining fellow Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest for a temporary spell instead.
It means that keeper Alex McCarthy (loan from Reading) and midfielder Ryan Stevenson (£50,000 from Hearts) are the only arrivals at Portman Road in the January transfer window.
That was all overshadowed by a shock 5-1 win over Championship table-toppers West Ham though.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare really,” said Jewell, who had an individual bid for Portsmouth centre-back Jason Pearce rebuffed.
“I thought we had at least two deals done, but when I arrived at the ground around 5.30pm they’d fallen through.
“We spent a lot of time and a lot of energy on it but it’s not to be.”
Town could still sign the Pompey pair – who Jewell didn’t name, but are believed to be Henderson and Ward – when the loan window opens again in a week’s time, subsequently wrapping up permanent moves in the summer.
Jewell isn’t ruling that out, but says he won’t pay over the odds for the pair.
“You never say never,” said the Blues boss. “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 got over the line, so we move on. Things may or may not be revisited.”
Jewell continued: “It’s so nonsensical, the transfer window. I said to Marcus (Evans) this afternoon, when we were talking about things breaking down, that 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.”
Speaking of his failure to sign Murray – who looked around Ipswich on Monday – Jewell said: “We watched him on Sunday (against Celtic) and we’d agreed a fee. There’s a little bit more to this one than meets the eye.
“I think he might be a good player, one for the future, but 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.
“We’re disappointed to be missing out on that in a way, but these things happen.”
The Town manager also 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,” said Jewell. “Things might change when the window closes and people haven’t got a club, I don’t know.”
Those comments came just minutes before it emerged that Higginbotham has signed for fellow struggling Championship side Nottingham Forest on a temporary basis.
Elsewhere, former Blues loanee Keith Andrews – who Jewell had wanted to sign permanently – has joined West Brom on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers.
More Ipswich Town news
- TRANSFER LATEST: Ipswich Town have not given up hope of thrashing out a deal with Celtic for Daryl Murphy
- Grant Leadbitter ‘relaxed’ about finding a new club
- POLL: Would re-signing David Norris be a backwards step for Ipswich Town?
- George Burley looking forward to Cypriot challenge
- The myths surrounding Ipswich Town’s season
- Tommy Smith signs new deal at Ipswich but admits: I almost quit
- POLL: Is West Ham’s Sam Baldock the right man to boost Ipswich Town’s attacking options?
- Ryan Stevenson’s praise for midfield rivals Byron Lawrence and Jimmy Bullard
- Grant Leadbitter close to securing move to Middlesbrough
- SIMON CLEGG INTERVIEW: Ipswich Town won’t employ a high-risk strategy
27 comments
well done the town against west ham but don't get too excited as this may be a one off see how we go on Saturday against a team near bottom, perhaps the town management expect other teams to give players away obviously town management are not serious about promotion as this will not be achieved without spending money to bring in players who are worthy of the fee which is asked
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pedro
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Mmmm.... Great result on the pitch but off the pitch much to worry about
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Blue and true since 1962
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Bluebob - by the way liked your comments and very much in agreement. Very fairly put and always good to hear a balanced objective view from another club.
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SussexTractorBoy
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Bluebob - by the way liked your comments and very much in agreement. Very fairly put and always good to hear a balanced objective view from another club.
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SussexTractorBoy
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The bottom line is that the club have not backed Paul Jewell with the financial clout to fix this mess. Great performance though last night was, so was Barnsley and we couldn't kick on from there because we are defensively very fragile and always liable to give away silly goals. That decision could send us down if we can't turn this one good performance into a long undefeated run. We're known in this division as big spenders but clearly Evans has just pulled the wool over people's eyes by signing well known old duffers with problems that nobody else wants (managers included).
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russell mariner
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
The bottom line is that the club have not backed Paul Jewell with the financial clout to fix this mess. Great performance though last night was, so was Barnsley and we couldn't kick on from there because we are defensively very fragile and always liable to give away silly goals. That decision could send us down if we can't turn this one good performance into a long undefeated run. We're known in this division as big spenders but clearly Evans has just pulled the wool over people's eyes by signing well known old duffers with problems that nobody else wants (managers included).
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russell mariner
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I would just like to say in answer to your article, Jewell refuses to pay over the odds, the fact is, the two players concerned stressed that they did not want to leave Pompey at any price, especially for a manager who they consider to be very poor, & who is ruining a very good club like Ipswich town. Last nights performance excepted, Ipswich have been very poor this season, due to poor player selection by a very poor manager. Pompey have an exceptional young manager, who given the right resources would be very exceptional, & our players think the world of him. Our club would rather go down fighting, than give way to the vultures that are trying to take advantage of our situation. Finally, I might add that I have an interest in Ipswich, as my relatives live in the Barham, Great Blakenham, & Claydon area, & I have watched Ipswich play on several occasions while visiting them. I wish you the best of luck for the future, but you need to find a decent manager.
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bluebob
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Without detracting from a tremendous win last night I have been recalling some of the comments made PJ and RK. Jewell claimed recently that he had several sheets of foolscap ( should be A4) paper full of potential target players yet we only get one. He then says the failure to pin down Murray was due to the fact that we tried to give them less money up front, rather like the situation of the ground rent owed to IBC !! He said last season that we wouldn't be in the same position with so many out of contract players again We are !!! RK claimed in one unguarded comment that contracts are down to others, a situation that apparently still exists and is affecting Jewell. Also RK was reported as saying that he didn't meet the CEO before accepting the job. The boxes being ticked are all occupied by Clegg who Evans brought in to be his spokesman although as boss he makes the final decision. So the two common factors which have plagued both RK and PJ are firstly Clegg being puppeteered by Evans.
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Brian Betts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Whilst completely welcome and uplifting, last nights victory was a needle in a very large haystack. Can we string more than one display like this together. If we can, then we move on, but this still doesn't explain why a player would rather go to "Uddersfield" than to a club with the facilities of ITFC. This has in my opinion a lot to do with the pursuasiveness of the people dealing with the transfer. Sir Bobby seemed to be able to pursuade just about anybody to sign for Town. Yes, I know what people will say "We are in different times" true, but if you cannot get over to potential signings how much better we are than another club they will go there. Our league position doesn't help but over the past few weeks if it wasn't for stupid defensive mistakes we would be half way up the League. I don't know, but presume that this new thing regarding clubs living within their means also applies to the Championship, so whether this is why we cannot offer players the money they want is a direct result of this I don't know. Perhaps someone could tell me. But if we cannot compete where does this leave us. It's a bit of a vicious circle, if you don't bring in the crowds you can't afford the players, if you don't get the players the crowds dwindle.
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whymarkmariner
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
THE Budgies have signed full-back Ryan Bennett from Peterboro..for in excess of £2.5m it seems. Peterboro quote "once their manager decided he wanted him their chief executive didn't mess about". But that's easy with Premiership incomes I suppose.Nevertheless the Budgies chief executive,McNally,acted fast to sack Bryan Gunn once the latter had encouraged season ticket sales and replace him with Lambert.That shows the importance of chief executives in modern football...different from the old style company secretary COYB
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colin mayes
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Maybe the penny has dropped, maybe it hasn't. The result last night was obviously outstanding, and begs the question why have we been so poor so often. I obviously hope that we have turned the corner, although the trend is still poor, and the way that the transfer negotiations have been conducted since Evans took over has been appalling. Trying to alter the terms of the bid after the deal has been agreed is shabby, and embarrassing. To me, it is no surprise that Hyam has been playing well, and if Jewell is still here in August, and sends him out on loan, then it shows he has learned nothing. I would love to be wrong, although I still feel very strongly that things need to change. We still only have 7 senior players in contract for next season, and the debt has still doubled in 4 years. I just hope that the win last night doesn't mask the underlying issues. In answer to your point, John Burls, I see this post as neither pessimistic or optimistic, simply a logical conclusion drawn from a careful analysis of the facts.
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Kevin Bailey
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
John Burls, you may have been proved right last night but what about rest of the earlier matches ? What happens if Sonko, Smith or Edwards pick up long term injuries ? We NEED strength in depth and soon. Oh, by the way I did see one swallow last year !
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Brian Betts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What a lot of pessimistic comments! What more can PJ do than have his team beat the league leaders 5-1. Notice there were no time servers playing last night, he has got the mesage I'm sure. So cheer up all you moaners (of which I was often one.) the corner has been turned and we shall wallop Coventry next.
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JOHN BURLS
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
This much-needed, welcome and exhilarating victory changes nothing. The laughable shambles of our transfer 'dealings' overshadows this, as does the bewidering attitude to our own emerging youth players. That a CEO working through the night is reported as either an accolade or as newsworthy is bewildering. In reality he might as well snuggled up in bed with a nice mug of cocoa!
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Mike Wyatt
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Well for a couple of weeks now I've been saying we don't need to bring in anyone, and I was proved right las night with a vengeance. It was a brilliant display from all eleven players and augurs well for the future.
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JOHN BURLS
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Firstly - Well done to PJ and team on a great performance and result....This should be of concern to ALL regardless of whether, like me, you are a Jewell out advocate or a Jewell in advocate.....Magilton, Keane and now Jewell have all had problems bringing players they wanted into the club. Evans and Clegg are saying they back Jewell but these are hollow words when not backed up with cash. We were left in no doubt by Jewell that his top targets last summer were Billy Sharp and James Coppinger. We offered £1.5m for both, got told to shove it and then started the merry-go-round of going after other players. Yesterday Billy Sharp alone went for £3m - twice what we were willing to pay !!! It's quite clear that trying to get players in for buttons not only slows the whole process down, there is no reason deals should be left to the last minute, but alerts other teams to the availability of players and we seem then to be out-bid. Regardless of who our manager is, and I reiterate that I would like it to be somebody other than Jewell regardless of the much needed performance last night, it seems likely they will face the same problems. It's either that or it is Jewell who is undervaluing players, which is quite a possibility given that he completely undervalues product of our own academy. If it is Mr Evans then he should surely have known that football is an expensive business and that there is usually a direct correlation between points and cash (you only have to look at the top of the Prem to know this is true). You can't make chicken salad out of chicken s***. Assuming Jewell is to stay, which seems increasingly likely, then it is down to him to highlight these very points to Clegg and Evans - grow a pair and demand they get with the program because if not we are going to go through this all again throughout the summer. We will then be left feeding off scraps from the transfer table or even worse, having to rely too much on the loan market.
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bluearmy78
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Things cannot be right at PR when so many players reject a move to the Town, even Higginbotham preferred to go on loan to Notts Forest rather than join ITFC. So PJ if you are one of those that need 100% certainty before recommending a signing to ME and SC, it says little for your knowledge of players abilities along with your coaching buddies. Perhaps you are being 'hobbled' from above but surely you who ' has been there, done it and even got a tee shirt' are capable of assessing the potential of prospective players. Some time one has to gamble on a gut feeling, just like you say you did in selecting Chops last evening.
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Brian Betts
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
So we have a CEO who can't organise contract extensions, can't really pick a manager, and can't sign players.....as for allowing the Falkirk youngster to slip through their fingers for peanuts, well that just about sums them up.They must be able to talk such a good game to Marcus Evans because he is meant to be an extremely intelligent business man, yet three years on from his investment and what has he to show for it except 25 long ones down the drain and a team in a far worst situation than when Magilton was in charge (At least we still had decent youngsters then and not being loaned and sold out). Something really isnt right. Good win last night, but what are the odds we lose on Saturday to the bottom placed team!
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J P W
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
great game last night..but i feel we still need tightening up at the back,with a CB and RB.I partly agree with not paying to much over the top for players..but watch those words don't come back to haunt you!
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keith matthews
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
What PJ & Clegg meant to say is they refused to pay the going rate for the players they want and which we need - Nicky Maynard went for just £2.25m - Keith Andrews went for a free!!!. They were only targeting the Pompey players as they were hoping to get them on the cheap due to their financial situation - even though it's happened to us in the past... Are there any plans to sign Daryl Murphy on a permanent basis - Are there any plans to offer contracts to the players whose contracts are expiring and 'could' leave on free's at the end of the season - Resulting in MORE players to be replaced. Lets face it the pair of them have no idea of true valuations of the players they were chasing.. Come on Town SORT IT OUT
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oilburner1978
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
There's n doubt Jimmy put in a lot of effort in trying to bring players in.Pompey may regret deals not being concluded?
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colin mayes
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
A lot of time was spent doing the deals yes you arrive at the ground to find they have fallen through that's what the previous manager said time and again and name no names who does the talking ?i rest my case manger undermined ?
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peter samuels
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
So another transfer window closes and no one else came i wonder who was doing the negotiations perhaps the new players called a halt when asked if they could help with the decor or the talked to the CEO you cant get anything for nothing and you pay for what you get hence we are in the bottom half of the league,yes last night was good but it should not detract from the failings of some people at this club who like the axe to fall on others rather than take it themselves
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peter samuels
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I do find it particularly concerning that, given the youth facilities and history, Jewell was unable to back his judgement on Wallace's ability- which doesn't exactly back up De Vos's support. That said, I'd prefer the cash ploughed into a better youth set-up with players given ample opportunity to get first team action over an extended period. That is the only direction that will lead the club to a more solid future.
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I am Spartacus
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Great win last night well done for that.. Think that we will still be fighting to avoid the drop after Clegg-less failed again to sign any defender's. Only the win has keep every one reasonably happy at the moment.Still would like to see Clegg-less and Jewell depart for the long good of the club as they both are failing in there jobs. People like Paul Jewell but he hasn't stepped up to the plate when it matter's And Clegg-less with no understanding on how to do deals or work with current staff............ Change's Still Needed At Portman Road sooner then Later...
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david bradley
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
More to it than meets the eye? Yeah, like reaching a deal and then moving the goalposts. Maybe we might start picking up a few points if we tried that on Saturday afternoons!!
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mike walker
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Why pursue these three for the entire transfer window (well … I believe a week was wasted before the first certain-to-be-rejected bid went in) only to actually talk terms with the players (well … two of them) in the final hours of the very last day. Obviously these two have no real interest or enthusiasm in coming here, so why pursue it further? What happened to alternative bids for these fabled hundreds of targets we’ve apparently identified? Where is the right back and at least one central defender? It’s difficult to credit the recent excuses that things are so much more complicated these days, what with agents, family (?) and all. How does that stop the initial fee being agreed that allows you to talk to said agents, players and their familyother hangers-on? Why was the fee for these two only agreed yesterday, the last day of the window? Surely this could’ve been sorted earlier. And then only to find out what was plain for weeks – the players didn’t want to leave. If they can sort loan deals with the option for a permanent move then fine, but forget these Portsmouth jokers – they don’t want to come. We want players that want to be here. And Portsmouth’s board were clearly playing our brave and gallant leaders for mugs. Relegation rivals after all. “OK guys, these Ipswich execs are idiots. They’re after our three and aren’t capable of chasing other players in similar positions at the same time so let’s mess them about until very last day. That’ll make sure their defence is garbage until next August.”
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Pete James
Wednesday, February 1, 2012