Paul Jewell
FIXTURES: Paul Jewell says promotion challenge will be as tough as ever for Ipswich Town
By Stuart Watson
Monday, June 18, 2012
9:43 AM
IPSWICH Town manager Paul Jewell says the challenge of getting out of the Championship next season will be as tough as ever.
The Blues will kick off the 2012/13 campaign as the longest serving team in the division having been in the second tier since 2002.
They face newly-relegated Blackburn Rovers at Portman Road in their league opener, before concluding August with tough trips to bogey side Watford and last season’s beaten play-off finalists Blackpool.
With Town one of 18 clubs in the Championship who have played Premier League football, Jewell said: “It doesn’t matter who you play on the first day of the season or the last in this division, you know it’s going to be a hard game.
“There are plenty of big clubs in this division who will feel they have the stadium and facilities worthy of the Premier League and getting back to that level will be the aim.
“The Championship is one of the most competitive leagues in the game and I lost count how many times I said that anyone can beat anyone in this league last season.
“It will be just as tough next year, possibly even tougher. You’ve got Sheffield Wednesday coming up, who are a massive club. Huddersfield have shown their ambition and Charlton were playing in the Premier League not so long ago.
“They will all look to build on the momentum of last season and we have seen Norwich and Southampton benefit from that over the last two years. It’s going to be a real battle, we know that, but it’s one we’re looking forward to taking on.”
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8 comments
Cyril, thank you for your few kind words but let us just assume that the report about GK Kuzsczak is not merely an EADT ' fairy tale' and that he is really a PJ target. Firstly according to the report the player is frustrated at not having more games at Man.U plus being currently down in the 'pecking order' of keepers. Clearly he considers himself to still be of Premiership standard so why would he want to come to what is a mediocre Championship club only to be on Evans & Clegg's restricted pay ? I can understand PJ wanting the best players available but should realize that he is hardly the inspirational type to attract the best. We as supporters are no different, we want the best for ITFC but land up with a manager like PJ so he like us will just have to put up with a compromise of mediocre football with little chance of Premiership status at least while ME & CEO Clegg are running (or should it be ruining) the club. However it would be helpful if PJ or EADT would cease pumping up supporters' hopes.
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Brian Betts
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
brian pj is not going to say any thing bad about clegg or mr e. that is why he is still here. a yes man.we all know what we need. the three who are in charge do not think like us. if they act now we might get a few players in. if not we will get the left overs or loan players. dads army.
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mike benham
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
My cat predicted that Greece would win, and also thinks that they will knock Germany out on Friday. Brian, I think that Clegg is too busy representing Guam at the moment to worry too much about shackling anyone.
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Kevin Bailey
Monday, June 18, 2012
The EADT has to take some responsibility for the bleak outlook for Ipswich Town under the current ownership (and manager). It is blindingly obvious that Town offer ruinous short term contracts to existing staff and can realistically only target players that nobody else wants to fill the voids created by such a policy year after year and that as a copnsequence of this short-sighted, long-term policy that relegation is a realistic threat next season - yet you continually invite your readers to live in cloud cuckooland.
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Rob Steroo
Monday, June 18, 2012
Brian, I do agree with you he is a master at putting his foot in it, but surely you realise any manager would like the best available but that is in the hands of the owner not PJ
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Cyril Baker
Monday, June 18, 2012
I agree with you Brian Betts. We sign one potentially good youngster - albeit injured for the start of the season - and now the sound of silence is deafening. We do not have the luxury of quality reserves or quality youngsters (thanks Roy!) so we need to bring in players as stated by Brian and also recognised by Paul but the news has dried up. What is happening? Anything?
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Graham Vine
Monday, June 18, 2012
You could argue that Town are being prepared very effectively for getting out of the Championship next season.
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woshaapernin
Monday, June 18, 2012
PJ you are an expert in stating the obvious BUT a novice in taking action on the obvious(to most people) signing a GK, CH, RB and MF who you claimed to have targeted last season. If you are being 'shackled' by CEO Clegg then say so.
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Brian Betts
Monday, June 18, 2012