If Paul Jewell were to be sacked today, I really don't think I'd feel any sorrow.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not starting any protests to demand he be removed from my club. (As I've long been saying - changing managers on a regular basis is not going to get us anywhere.) But I am rapidly losing patience with him.

We never thought we'd see Joey Barton successfully accessorising a mauve pram with matching shoes. Anything is possible in this world, Kickettes. Image via twitter.

It's been a week of political posturing, professional problems and puffy faces at Kickette.

And that's just the staff.

By Chris Wright

"Here love, put down the ironing for a minute, my car bonnet needs a good waxing..."

Ipswich lost again last night; 2-1 to Birmingham, Nikola Zigic nabbing the winner in stoppage time, their 11th defeat in 14 matches.

Manager Paul Jewell was also left fuming over an incident in which Ipswich winger Lee Martin was fouled in the box by Brum's Stephen Caldwell and no penalty was given on the insistence of the referee's assistant a lady human with a vulva and everything by the name of Amy Fearn.

On my way to work this morning I saw a sticker in the back wondow of a car that said 'My daughter plays rugby' in bold, pink letters.
At first I thought, well that's a bit of an odd think to have advertised in your car.
But when I thought about it more I realised, actually it's not.

No Tractor Girls allowed Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell is at the centre of a sexism row after post-match comments about a female assistant referee. The Tractor Boys' gaffer was infuriated after his side were refused a late penalty at Birmingham only for the home side to grab a winner. He was in no doubt [.

Ipswich boss Paul Jewell is hopeful of signing Leicester City defender Sean St Ledger after agreeing a fee as well as personal terms with the player.
But Jewell says the 27-year-old Irish international, who has made eight league starts this term, has a number of offers to consider.

Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell must have feared the worse when he walked into the dressing room at half-time during their game against Barnsley at Oakwell last Saturday.
His side was 2-0 down and staring down the barrel of an eight consecutive league defeat. Incredibly, they hit five goals during the second half as they staged the most unlikely of comebacks.

Last Tuesday night I sat through a freezing cold 4:0 defeat at Burnley and it was gutting.
I spent the whole drive home in deep thought, trying to make sense of what is going wrong with my beloved Ipswich. I came to the conclusion that the most significant contributing factor to the 6 straight defeats was a lack of confidence.

How many emotions can one football team make you feel just three months into the season?
Elation: Check (Bristol Away)
Anger: Check (Peterborough Away)
Pride: Check (Coventry at Home)
Hope: Check (West Ham Away)
A little bit Lucky: Check (Portsmouth at Home)
Pure Frustration: Check (Millwall Away)


August's trip to Peterborough was devastating because it highlighted what a mess the side were in at the time.

By Chris Wright

In which, while regaling Ben Shepherd and Chris Kamara with a tale about former Barnsley manager Danny Wilson, unwittingly drops a sizeable 'F Bomb' all over the shop...

The image of De Zeeuw and Paul Jewell sharing a moment of sudden, crashing realisation will surely soon find it's way into football's pantheon.

I have a confession to make: there's a small part of me that's relieved we lost on Saturday.

The recent run of good form has been a fascinating watch, and thoroughly deserved after the work the boys put in to turn things around following Peterborough away.
But it had to end some time.

A win from Town today would see the Blues getting three great results from what we thought would be the three hardest games of the season: Middlesbrough, West Ham and Brighton.
What a wonderful time it is to be a Town fan!
I was speaking to @FelsedBoy this morning and he quite delightfully described today as 'feeling like the first of the season, with the glorious weather and the feeling of hope in Ipswich'.

By Chris Wright

In which Ipswich pair Jimmy Bullard and Keith Andrews rile manager Paul Jewell by undermining a week's worth of set-piece training by deciding free-kick duties with an impromptu game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' during the Tractor Boy's 3-0 win over Coventry in the Championship last night.

Over the years, the Tractor Boys have become notorious for getting stage fright when the Sky cameras come to visit.
And with the two most recent televised games ending in heavy defeats - last night was the night to emulate Cardiff Away rather than Narwich at Home.
I just had this feeling in my bones that yesterday would be the day the pieces of the jigsaw came together for Town, and I was right.

What are the odds Martin Jol pips Fergie to Manager of the Month? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

Alex Ferguson won the title last season but Roberto Di Matteo, then at West Brom, won as many manager-of-the-month awards as him. I can't believe he managed that with the players he had at his disposal but he keeps delivering the goods, that Fergie.

This article was written by William Taylor.
Jimmy Bullard has signed for Ipswich on a two-year deal, having had his Hull City contract terminated. Town boss Paul Jewell had been keen to bring Bullard – who could wear his new Mizuno Wave Ignitus boots back to Portman Road following a successful loan spell last season.

These are some of the perks of being a professional football manager. Why look for the things you desire on Craigslist when the club's official website will do a far superior job?

There's a Paul Jewell joke somewhere in here just waiting to come out.

The Ipswich Town team seemed to take a while to come out of the dressing room on Saturday evening: what do you think Paul Jewell was saying?
If you were him, what on earth would you have said?
Having not made it to Portman Road this season, this weekend was the first chance I've had to see the rapidly self-destructing side for myself.

Its seems that Town's Barmy Army is once again divided.
One half are angry that Paul Jewell played a second choice team last night, effectively dumping us out of the one ray of joy we had last year - the Carling Cup.
The other are relieved, if bothered at all, that we don't have to worry about losing players to injury and exhaustion in 'The Mickey Mouse Cup'.

Hull City assistant manager Craig Shakespeare admits the club has rivals for the signature of Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala.
The Spaniard impressed during a loan spell at the KC Stadium last season and the Tigers are keen to bring Ayala back on a permanent basis.
A fee in the region of £850,000 is reported to have been agreed with Liverpool and Hull is now looking to meet the player's demands.

Word has it that on Football Focus this weekend Ipswich Town were tipped to be this season's 'dark horse'. I wonder if they're thinking a little differently now?
As The Football League Show's Steve Claridge said on Saturday night following a disappointingly short review of our match:
'Dark horse?

Tye with his spiffy new shirt

Bolton's third or fourth signing this offseason (depending on which member of Meagles put pen to paper first) is Tyrone Mears. It's now officially official that Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears have signed for Bolton Wanderers in a deal worth around £2.75 million for the pair.

Teenage tricks: What Sunderland can expect from Connor Wickham is a post from: Just Football

Connor Wickham has long been admired by England's elite. Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all had their eye on the 18-year-old, but it was Sunderland who stumped up the £8million + cash that proved too tempting for Ipswich Town to refuse.

Liverpool is still in the hunt for Connor Wickham, despite Sunderland moving ahead in the race for the Ipswich striker.
According to skysports.com, the Merseysiders remain 'very keen' on the teenager, although Sunderland have already entered into talks with the Tractor Boys over a proposed £13 million deal.

Ipswich have not received any firm bids for teenage striker Connor Wickham, according to manager Paul Jewell.
Liverpool and Sunderland are among a list of clubs in recent weeks to have been linked with the 18-year-old, who is currently away with Stuart Pearce's England Under-21 squad at the European Championships in Denmark.

Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell is desperate to get his hands on a 20-goal-a-season striker to reignite the Blues' Championship promotion hopes for 2011/12. The Suffolk side have toiled in the absence of an out-and-out goalscorer for several seasons and it has left Town hamstrung in the midst of the Championship table for a number of seasons.

Ipswich Town boss Paul Jewell is desperate to get his hands on a 20-goal-a-season striker to reignite the Blues' Championship promotion hopes for 2011/12. The Suffolk side have toiled in the absence of an out-and-out goalscorer for several seasons and it has left Town hamstrung in the midst of the Championship table for a number of seasons.

This town is a rugby town. The red and white horizontal stripes of the Warriors have always been the biggest team in the Greater Manchester town of Wigan, dominating the Rugby Super League with names such as Martin Offiah, Jason Robinson and Andy Farrell standing tall as the sons of Wigan. The blue and white vertical stripes, those that share the DW Stadium with their rugby league brothers, are represented as the lesser sibling of the Warriors in a town that is synonmous pie eating and harsh North Western living conditions.

Interesting theory on Twitter this week: davegoods reckons there's seven places to fill in the Ipswich Town first team this summer. Quite a task for our PJ.
I think you've got to consider even more than that. Our starting 11 could literally be anything next year: and trying to figure out who it will be is proving to be quite exciting!

Interesting theory on Twitter this week: davegoods reckons there's seven places to fill in the Ipswich Town first team this summer. Quite a task for our PJ.
I think you've got to consider even more than that. Our starting 11 could literally be anything next year: and trying to figure out who it will be is proving to be quite exciting!

If this was a school report it would probably read: 'Town have tried hard through this difficult year, but they must do better next year'.
Roy Keane this week told reporters, 'my only regret is that I signed the contract before I met the Chief Executive. I won't be doing that again' (www.bbc.

If this was a school report it would probably read: 'Town have tried hard through this difficult year, but they must do better next year'.
Roy Keane this week told reporters, 'my only regret is that I signed the contract before I met the Chief Executive. I won't be doing that again' (www.bbc.

Ipswich boss Paul Jewell appears to have resigned himself to losing hot prospect Connor Wickham to either Spurs or Liverpool in the summer.
Tottenham and Liverpool are reportedly leading the race for the £15 million-rated striker, who turned 18 on Thursday.
Jewell said: 'I am hopeful he will stay but, let's be honest, we are all at the mercy of the big clubs.

New Ipswich Town manager Paul Jewell has told Newcastle United that their 17 year-old target, Connor Wickham, is not for sale. Connor Whickham looks a future star but at which club? Newcastle could do well if they brought in the 17 year-old this summer, since he looks a great player in the making [.

U-20 international Cody Cropper received his first start as an Ipswich Town FC reserve team player last Wednesday, February 9th, drawing praise from first team manager Paul Jewell.

Arran Lee-Barrett, the 26-year-old first team backup and regular reserve team keeper, was rested in case he might need to play for Jewell's 1st team.

U-20 international Cody Cropper received his first start as an Ipswich Town FC reserve team player last Wednesday, February 9th, drawing praise from first team manager Paul Jewell.

Arran Lee-Barrett, the 26-year-old first team backup and regular reserve team keeper, was rested in case he might need to play for Jewell's 1st team.

Tweet

We're going to Wembley!

Arsenal are in the Carling Cup Final.

Arsène Wenger's side will play West Ham or Birmingham at Wembley on February 27 after producing a storming comeback in the Semi-Final second leg on Tuesday night. Ipswich Town had pulled off a famous 1-0 win at Portman Road a fortnight earlier and, for an hour, looked capable of completing the job this evening.

Tweet

~We're going to the Wembley~

Arsenal go into their Carling Cup semi-final 1-0 down on aggregate against Ipswich, but have home advantage in the second leg as they look to get to the Wembley final.

Gunners manager Arsene Wenger says January's heavy fixture list has left him with "no choice" but to rotate his squad following the 3-0 win over Wigan.

Fixture:- Arsenal vs Ipswich Town Competition:- Carling Cup Second Leg ( Ipswich lead 1-0 from the first leg) January 25, 2011- 19.45 UK-Emirates Stadium, London. Paul Jewell will look to repeat the feat he achieved with Wigan Athletic against Arsenal in the League Cup five years ago when he takes Ipswich Town to the Emirates [.

Cody Cropper

IMS caught up with Minnesota goalkeeper Cody Cropper on Sunday morning. Cropper had just finished a few days R & R with his father Joe who lives in Atlanta, GA. after nearly two weeks of training with the US U-20 National team in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It was the teams last tune up before the CONCACAF U-20 tournament in late March where all four semifinalists will qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup which will be held July 29 through August 20, in Colombia.