Ipswich Town manager Paul Jewell
Fast food fury proof of Paul Jewell’s high standards
By Stuart Watson
Monday, April 16, 2012
10:52 AM
THE hot dog man at Crystal Palace should just be thankful that Roy Keane isn’t still in charge at Ipswich Town.
Picture the scene. Blues boss Paul Jewell, frustrated at his side’s inability to make the most of another dominant first half display, takes his seat to face post-match media questioning at Selhurst Park.
Two retina-burning, stand-alone lights trained on him to aid the television cameras did little to lift his mood. A clumsily-worded question about how happy he was with a mid-table finish certainly did not help matters either.
So when a worker at a fast-food outlet began making a spectacular racket with his pots and pans just a few metres away (the interview area strangely stuck on the end of a public concourse), you couldn’t blame the exasperated-looking Blues boss for muttering a few choice words under his breath and cutting short proceedings.
Had hot-headed Keane still been in the Blues hot-seat you get the feeling the aforementioned Palace employee may have left the stadium requiring his cooking utensils to be surgically removed. As it was he carried on blissfully unaware of the irritation he had caused.
The amusing incident was proof that Jewell is every bit as determined and demanding as his predecessor though, something his players will attest to.
“The gaffer said in the dressing room that the sun is out but he still wants everyone to play,” said goalscorer Jason Scotland.
“He is telling us not to let the season fizzle out. If he sees guys slacking on the pitch he is going to pull them off straight away, but I think the team showed commitment and started from the word go.”
Midfielder Andy Drury – who has been rested twice following slight drops in performances levels of late – said: “Protecting the back four, getting forward and scoring goals – he (Jewell) wants everything I think!
“He is a demanding manager but that is good because it makes sure you keep giving 110%.”
A vast improvement defensively has seen the Blues lose just three times in 16 games. A return of 28 points from a possible 48 – almost two a game on average – is promotion form.
However, the goals have slightly dried up of late as Town have not taken full advantage of dominant spells in matches.
“We’ve scored a lot of goals this year, but for the last five or six games we’ve struggled,” said hard task-master Jewell. “We’ve had lots of possession but not made it count.
“There were some quality balls going across the box today and someone like (Alan) Shearer would have had a hat-trick. My players need to prove how much they really want to score a goal. Sometimes you’ve got to be prepared to get a cut eye.
“I’m not going to be too critical of my players though because we were terrific at times.”
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5 comments
Judge me at the end of the season, Jewell said. Well, mediocre at best, soporific, inconsistent, out of touch, poor judgement, dreadful treatment of Hyam and Smith in particular, as well as Scotland in the early part of the season and Bullard recently. Martin and Smith being banished for sendings off, yet the soon to deaprt non-captain material Leadbitter selected straight away, which is divisive. All in all, I would have to say not good enough, and if it were my choice, I would sack him.
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Kevin Bailey
Monday, April 16, 2012
I'd actually like to know what he said about the mid-table finish (a finish that he clearly stated he should be fully judged on at the end of the season- before the 'we have recently had a good run' brigade turn up to ignore all his failings). I imagine clumsey, in this case, probably means 'You are going to finish the season in mid-table, and you asked to be judged on that. Would you agree that you have been unsatisfactory this season?'
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I am Spartacus
Monday, April 16, 2012
Be careful with your comments and character adjectives!!!! Remember the mobile phone reaction- perfect calm, just a look and request for some respect. The question at Barnsley- again calm and a look. I would think Keanos reaction would have been to feel that the guy is only doing his job and would not have started a meet with the pampered press conference in the first place . In other words politely turned down the request until suitable premises were found.
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Brian Wren
Monday, April 16, 2012
Since I can understand barely a word he says at his mumbled press conferences I don't think it matters. Most of his words seem to be mumbled under his breath so don't think the blame should fall entirely on the poor old pie man!
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JOHN BURLS
Monday, April 16, 2012
Proof of nothing. How much money has Jewell raised for charity, compared to Keane? Exactly.....
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Kevin Bailey
Monday, April 16, 2012