Being a wily old fox Paul Jewell probably thought that Ipswich were going to be on the wrong end of a thrashing in both games and subsequently suggested he would leave the team in the capable hands on McParland as he hadn’t got to know the players.

Well, after Chelsea returned to winning ways and thrashed Ipswich 7-0 last Sunday at Stamford Bridge Jewell must have felt rather smug.  The last thing a new manager wants to do is start with a hiding.  So imagine his dismay when he witnessed a gallant Ipswich team beat the mighty Arsenal 1-0 last night at Portman Road from a comfortable seat in the directors’ box, knowing he cannot take an ounce of credit for their best result in ages.

Instead he will take charge for the first time this Saturday when Ipswich travel to Millwall; a game which looking at the form book should result in defeat for Paul Jewell’s Tractor Boys.  The following Saturday Ipswich are at home against Doncaster Rovers.  If Jewell fails to win that game he then faces Arsenal at The Emirates in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final; and on the 1st February Paul Jewell will return to Pride Park when Ipswich take on Derby County where he is bound to get a hostile reception.

So what has Paul Jewell done since he miraculously took Wigan into the Premier League?  Not a lot is the simple answer.  His record at Derby County is not a good one.  He replaced Billy Davies and won his first match in charge when Derby, then of the Premier League, beat one of his former clubs, Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on penalties.  Four days later they were knocked out of the same competition by Preston North End who was fighting a relegation battle in the Championship. His 16th game in charge saw him lead Derby to a 2-0 defeat to another former club, Wigan, and in doing so set a new club record of 21 league games without a win.  That same year, Derby County were relegated from the Premier League with just 11 points, equalling a 108-year Football League record.

Just three points above the Championship relegation places, if I was an Ipswich Town fan I would be sad but relieved to see Roy Keane given the sack but shaking my head at the appointment of Paul Jewell.  I wouldn’t be too surprised if Ipswich Town get relegated to League One this season while fierce rivals, Norwich City rub salt in to their wounds by winning promotion to the Premier League.

brian laws sacked

Sheffield Wednesday have predictably parted company with Brian Laws following the 3-0 defeat to high flying Leicester City, that plunged the Yorkshire club into the Championship relegation zone over the weekend.

Despite the urgency of Laws dismissal, the Owls say they are in no rush to sign a replacement manager, with the Academy boss Sean McAuley taking the reins as caretaker boss.

In a statement from the club, Wednesday chairman Lee Strafford praised the efforts of Brian Laws, particularly in his first two years with the club;

“A very positive legacy has been left by Brian in terms of the quality of the playing squad we now have at Sheffield Wednesday and we will now focus our attentions on securing the right manager to help these players push up the league in the short term and make us competitive for a return to the Premier League in the long term.

Brian has put in an immense amount of work as manager at this club and he should be remembered for some genuine achievements on the pitch and for stabilising Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship.

We are very fortunate to have someone of Sean’s capabilities within our club to drive change and ensure that Sheffield Wednesday’s best interests are served. We will not rush into the next permanent appointment as this will be a key appointment in terms of determining the long term future of our club.”

Northern Ireland manager and former Sheffield Wednesday player Nigel Worthington has thrown his hat into the ring according to media reports, his contract with the International team expires at the end of the year and he is said to be considering his options for the future.

Worthington told the Belfast Telegraph;

“Let’s be honest about this, in two weeks time I will be out of work and I have to weigh up my options. I spent 11 great years at Sheffield Wednesday as a player and the club means a lot to me. If the opportunity arose to speak to them, then I would have to listen to what they have to say. It would only be fair to myself and my career but at this moment in time there has not been any contact and I am still under contract with the IFA and enjoying working with Northern Ireland.”

Others who are being tipped for the Wednesday shortlist include Darren Ferguson who was recently sacked by Peterborough and former Burnley coach Steve Cotterill.

Barnsley

It is the second defeat on the trot in the Championship and third in a week including the Carling Cup loss at Arsenal for the Baggies and has put a temporary dent in their attempt at marching straight back to the Premiership.

Barnsley, who are at the other end of the Championship table, were much the better team and deserved the win with a performance that belies their position in the league.

Michael Chopra scored four in Cardiff’s mauling of Derby County as the Welsh team found their early season form and thrashed Nigel Clough’s side 6-1.

Promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough and Preston were both beaten, the latter by lowly strugglers Reading who won away 1-2 and lifted themselves up the table but will need to build on this result to avoid a relegation battle later in the season.

Gareth Southgate was booed by the home crowd following the 0-1 defeat by Leicester who are now just one point behind Middlesbrough after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Roy Keane’s Ipswich were robbed yet again as Sheffield United scored an equalising goal in injury time to make the score 3-3. Ipswich had led 3-1 and will be disappointed at letting the game slip away, although one point is better than none.

Ipswich Town’s Simon Clegg was quick to dispel any rumours that Keane’s time at the club was coming to an end by issuing a statement to say there is no pressure on the Irishman.

Coventry staged a late comeback to take all the points from their visit to Watford, trailing 2-1 the Sky Blues scored twice in the last ten minutes or so to seal the win 2-3.

Bristol City beat Blackpool 2-0 who are now both on 16 points just outside the play off places which is becoming very congested with five teams on the same points.

Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 against visitors Sheffield Wednesday, the same result as at Doncaster who entertained Swansea. The bottom of the table clash between Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough and Plymouth was won by the south west team 1-2, their first win of the season.

Newcastle have the chance to stretch their lead to five points at the top of the league when they take on QPR tonight, while Nottingham Forest will host Scunthorpe in the other game.

Jeffers appeared to head butt and punch Port Vale captain Tommy Fraser, for which he was shown a straight red card in the 37th minute of the game.

His actions left Sheffield Wednesday manager Brian Laws fuming, despite the player apologising for his actions. “His conduct was totally unacceptable and something this football club will not tolerate from any player” says Laws on the club website.

“The kind of behaviour enacted on Tuesday night is completely unacceptable and does not represent what Sheffield Wednesday stands for and clearly sets a bad example for the game of football. We have therefore enforced the heaviest punishment available to the club with immediate effect and transfer-listed the player.”

Jeffers began his career at Everton making his debut in 1997, days before his 17th birthday. A much publicised row over a pay rise ended with Jeffers moving to Arsenal in 2001 for £8million.

The player has been dogged by injuries and attitude throughout his career and has never managed to fulfill his early promise at Everton.

Perhaps now it is Jeffers last chance to save a career that promised so much potential.

Francis Jeffers has never reached his ‘fox in the box’ status after bursting onto the scene with his boyhood club, Everton. After scoring an impressive 18 goals in 49 appearances for Everton over a three-year spell he was subsequently sold to Arsenal and a very impressed Arsene Wenger.

At Arsenal, he was limited to 22 appearances whilst scoring a mere four goals. He later had infamous spells with Charlton Athletic, Rangers, Blackburn Rovers, and Ipswich Town before settling down with the Owls.

He joined Sheffield Wednesday for £700,000 last summer and in that time he has only played 12 games and scored only two goals, as numerous injuries has hampered him making any real contribution.

Jeffers was brought to replace fans favourite Steve MacLean as he moved on to Cardiff City before moving south to join Plymouth Argyle.  The current number 9 has been submitted to much criticism resulting from his bad form and lack of goals. Sheffield Wednesday fans believe Jeffers lacks commitment and has no urgency to regain a starting place.

His return to action this season resulted in a 25-minute cameo substitute appearance in a 6-0 defeat to Reading, hardly making any significant impact.  He also made a ten-minute appearance against former club Ipswich Town.

For the England under 21’s side, he scored 13 goals in 16 games, equalling Alan Shearer’s record, making him hugely popular in the England scene.

He went on to play only once as a full international when he scored against Australia in England’s embarrassing 3-1 defeat. A night fondly remembered for Sven Goran Eriksson making 11 changes at half time, and the introduction of a certain Wayne Rooney’s international career.

Francis Jeffers never had a chance again as Wenger lost faith in his ability, and he was quickly ushered out of Arsenal back to Everton, and this damaged his reputation and more importantly his confidence.

Injury has played a huge role in his mentality and with a run of successive games, his confidence may build up and the Wednesday fans may see some glimpses of that ‘fox in the box’ potential.

His approach play is still there and you cannot lose the talent to score goals overnight therefore, he must have something. He can score goals and can make a name for himself in the Championship but he needs to be mentality and physically in a good shape to be a success.

Brian Laws has reinstated his frustration that Jeffers is not match fit and the fact that he will not be for a while. Surely, it is up to Jeffers to make sure his career does not look a big embarrassment and be remembered as an expensive flop.

That is my opinion anyway. It is never easy to bounce straight back to the Premier League, but the amount of signings Paul Jewell has made cannot go unnoticed. The have brought in Martin Albrechsten, Kris Commons, Rob Hulse, Nathan Ellington, Przemyslaw Kazmierczak, Jordan Stewart, Ruben Zadkovich, Paul Green, Liam Dickinson, Paul Connolly and Steve Davies. They also have former Reading midfielder John Oster on trial and are by far the busiest team in the Championship this summer.

Considering these players are being added to a squad which already contains players such as Giles Barnes, Robbie Savage, Gary Teale and Emanuel Villa – Paul Jewell is certainly putting together a strong set of players. The former Wigan boss has admitted that he wants at least two players fighting for each position. If this becomes a reality – like it is shaping up to be – the biggest challenge for Jewell will be keeping all of his players happy.

After the abysmal attempt at Premier League survival last time around, a good start to the season is crucial for Derby. They start with games against Doncaster, Bristol City, Southampton and Barnsley, meaning they will fancy their chances of topping the table come the end of August to ignite their promotion push.

So, who else will push Derby for promotion? Well, Reading and Birmingham will be fighting it out for an instant return. However, in my view, Birmingham are extremely unpredictable and Reading, having lost Dave Kitson and John Oster could struggle early on. A lot will depend on who they buy with the £5.5m they received for Kitson from Stoke.

Elsewhere, I think that Sheffield United will be strong. They finished the season excellently and will look to continue this at the beginning of this season under Ian Blackwell. Greg Halford and Sun Jihai have been brought in and I expect them to occupy a play-off spot.

Then, of course, there is the likes of Wolves, Watford, Bristol City and Crystal Palace that will be looking to go one better after just missing out last season. It is set to be another fascinating season that’s for sure. Bring on the 9th August.