581: Kings of Anglia: How worried should we be about McKenna to Celtic - and can Town finally win away?

25:37Mark Heath:I was desperately trying to weidle a line out of Kieran. It was definitely entertaining. Friends, other things to talk about from the press conference yesterday. I guess the other main stuff is injury stuff, AJ. We saw Sammy Smoddix sharing that he'd gone under the knife during the week for a minor knee injury, I think, a minor surgery. It just brings up to speed on what Kieran said about that and also Chubarak Pom as well. yeah poor old sammy smoddix cannot catch a break um i remember talking to him before and he was saying i've never suffered a really like major injury issues in my career um maybe that was the poison chalice for him because he's had about two or three so far this season he went and had surgery over the summer it was on his ankle you might remember that that was his first surgery of his professional career, which is mental.

26:30And this is the second, and it comes after taking a blow from Chris Meppham in the West Brom game, goes down holding his knee. He tried to play on through that as well, where he goes down having walloped his knee, immediately picks himself up and almost scores a tap in about 40 yards up the pitch, which sums up what Sam Smoddix is. But yes, he went under the knife. He's had his operation. Didn't think it was going to be that serious, but he's had enough knocks. I'm assuming they don't want to take the risk on it. And naturally, with a knee surgery, that means that he's going to be out for a period of time, a few weeks.

27:07Kieran McKenna's hopeful that he'll be back somewhere in that kind of hectic, crazy run of games after the November international break. Maybe in that run of kind of late kickoffs that we get with those three away games or around that period. But he's definitely going to miss the next block of games. What is it? QPR, Watford. Swansea, Wrexham as a minimum, I think, is the expectation and the international games as well, which will disappoint and frustrate some of an Ireland persuasion. Tuba Akpom, better news. He came off and Kieran McKenna said his leg was in a mess. I think it's around the shin, ankle area.

27:45I'm labelling it as shin. I don't really know, to be honest. He's been out for a couple of days earlier this week. He missed a couple of training sessions, but all being well, they should be okay with him. He should have a part to play this weekend. Does not look like a serious one. So mixed, mixed updates. As far as we're aware, everyone else has come out from West Brom okay. So Smoddix is a midterm. We've still got Wes Burns as well. He'll be coming back onto grass and training, hopefully within the next couple of weeks and months. And good news on too, Brackpom.

28:20Mark Heath:Was it his cankle? Have you heard of the term cankle? It's an American football term. Calf and the ankle. Okay. Yeah, around that. Yeah, yeah. Just around the shin, basically. The shankle. The shankle. Ooh, it doesn't quite sound as nice, does it? No. He's got a saw on the shankle. Rossi, Sammy Smoddix. I don't think it's actually a bad thing because, as I said, Sammy, the way he plays, he's always going to be picking up these little knocks and niggles and stuff. So I don't actually think him actually now having to have an enforced rest is a bad thing and hopefully he'll come back kind of free of all these little knocks and he can really you can really kick on yeah i do feel sorry for him um because he spoke to aj in the summer about i've never had an injury he's got to yeah so maybe it's aj's fault maybe so sorry aj but it's also my fault as well as i mentioned before i've jinxed him because i put him as my top goal scorer on the man to be the man and uh yeah it is a shame um but yeah maybe this is opportunity now for him just to rest.

29:24And don't rush him back, OK? Kieran McKenna, if you're listening, I know you've been chatting about you with the Celtic and stuff. But don't rush him back. I know Sammy wants to be on the pitch, but just don't rush back, especially when you've had setback after setback after setback. Even last season in the Premier League, he came back, didn't he, for the commentary game in the FA Cup and then came off injured halfway through. So I know he's had a bit of backlash from Irish fans. He's, of course, gone to social media about that. but this is not true for him now to get some rest and hopefully he can be part of this you know winter break because I'm sure he's potentially back for that bit where there's games coming thick and fast so yeah rest up Sammy

30:03Mark Heath:How old is Sammy Smoddix? Has he just tipped over the third? Has he? He's hit the 30 boss maybe that's the key that's what's happening I also enjoy the idea that Kieran McKenna listens to this podcast and then thinks I'll just listen to the Kings just see what they think I should do about Sammy Smoddix I really hope he doesn't listen to this Ross says rest him that's what I'll do right friends so that's injury stuff and obviously we'll come back to starting 11 in short order as to how they fill that spot maybe at QPR this weekend and potentially going forward the other thing I want to talk about AJ is something which is again got brought up I think as part of Casey McAteer's chat yesterday and I'm assuming although I didn't listen to the whole of Kieran McKenna because I was doing my typey types as Rossi said about Celtic it got brought up then as well which is rank away form town's home form second best in the league just sweep the Charlton thing under the carpet and that didn't happen but generally they've been pretty good at home away from home they've been bad they've only got two points they're second worst in the league only Watford are worse on their travels and obviously the game didn't count towards that they were losing as well at Blackburn why do you I know you asked Casey about this yesterday he had thoughts on it why do you think that they've been so bad so far away from home?

31:19Mark Heath:What can you see as kind of the problems?

31:24It's really difficult, isn't it? Because if there was an easy answer to this, I think of all people that would be able to spot it and fix it, it would be Kieran McKenna and we wouldn't be talking about it because it would be fine. So, yeah, it's quite difficult. You could look at the tactics and the setup and the approaches. One of the things that I've mentioned is about respecting teams a little bit. And this is going to be a really – I can see it being quite a controversial point. You don't have to do it in the same way when you're at home, where teams are going to come to your place and they are going to soak up pressure.

32:04They'll probably sit deep. They'll try and frustrate you. They'll have moments on the counter, but on home soil, on Suffolk soil, as I love to say, and I'm sure Callum who's listening to this will love me saying it as well. I know he loves that phrase. It's a different story, isn't it? It's a different set-up. Whereas going away from home, I feel like you need to have a different approach. And the game that stands out to me in my mind with that is Middlesbrough, where they went up there and they turned it into a basketball game and the two centre-halves were playing on the halfway line. So it meant that this really strong borough team were able to just go pass, pass, pass, and they're through.

32:42Just take two, three moves. And I think that sometimes you need to go in with more respect into these games and realise that the teams you're coming against, like some Premier League teams, can just take two, three passes to cut you to ribbons. And sometimes you need to have your centre-back sitting deeper, even when you're in possession. And you need to make sure that you've got the right cover in certain areas. You can't always have Jacob Greaves pick up the ball deep into his own half and just try and dribble past four players. You can't have all these silky smooth Jenski used to moves and swing and stuff like that.

33:17You also need to do the basics right and go into games respecting opponents. That's one of the things that stands out to me. Should we talk a bit about the McAteer point? I think that was an interesting one where he said quite openly and we've spoken to players about this before and I spoke to Daro Shea about and he said, look, it's true, it's the elephant in the room for us and is the away form at the moment, we do sit down and discuss it. And Casey McIntyre brought the point in, I think it's been mentioned by McKenna, that they go into away games expecting to score in the first 30 minutes. And when they don't do that, they grow frustrated and they get annoyed.

33:53And that's when the opponent can sense that frustration growing and they can capitalise and the fans can feel it as well. The home fans in these away stadiums, and it builds up and all of a sudden the momentum swings and your confidence has changed. And McIntyre was quick to point out, football matches aren't 30 minutes long. It's not that if you don't score in the first 30 minutes, you're frustrated and you're annoyed and, you know, you've lost the game. Football matches are 90 minutes, 100 minutes, 105 minutes long. And you've got a long old time to swing that. So you can't be getting too invested in the first half hour, which isn't a way that I'd looked at it, actually, until he said it.

34:29And it's an interesting point. I think it's all about how you approach these games. I don't think necessarily it's anything tactically, apart from maybe things like keep your centre-backs a bit deeper in the pitch, stuff like that. Yeah, I think you need to respect teams more and also respect the fact that they are going to try and frustrate you because you're a big team coming down into the Championship. And that's what these sides have been at this level for a long time or been promoted to this level, will try and do.

34:58Mark Heath:Yeah, that was the other thing that Casey said. And if you want to read the kind of full chat with Casey, that's online now and online this morning. Essentially, he said that teams, when Ipswich Town come to town, They're a big game for anyone coming to their ground and they're going to be more up for it than maybe they would for other sides. Ross, you've been sat on the sideline all the away games. Have you noticed anything that you think, that's something that they're struggling with away from home other than obviously winning in terms of the way they play away from home?

35:29Not really. I don't know. I think obviously home form last year was dreadful. So sometimes it can change. you know every season there's different moments but then last time in the championship it was sort of home and away form was fantastic because we were just getting results here there and everywhere um so yeah i don't know as you said earlier like if if we did know i'm sure we kind of will be able to fix it and you know find that problem um because yeah we're obviously sell out away ends all the time um so you know in a way sometimes our the best supporters are away from home because you know they're troubled in their numbers and you've got all the the hardcore in that end cheering the boys on.

36:09But sometimes it just depends on how other teams set up and they sort of know a little bit about us now. I think we were a bit of an unknown entity when we got promoted in the championship last time. I think now a lot of people are like, you know, actually, they know what we want to do. So maybe that's another thing. I wouldn't say we've been found out, but they sort of know McKenna's sort of style of play and stuff like that. So, you know, a lot of teams at home, they want to do well. So that's the thing with us. We want to do well at Portman Road. Like many other teams, they want to do well at home as well.

36:45So, yeah, there's been some bad away games this season, but there's been okay ones as well. So, yeah, hopefully this trend will stop at some point because we do need to get a win on the board because I think if you want to have a successful season, you need to grind out some good away wins. So hopefully it starts this Saturday.

37:03Mark Heath:That's the term, though, as well, isn't it? You think back to the last championship season, the promotion season, they could grind results out away. I'm thinking of Blackburn, Swansea in the rain, QPR actually. They got these 1-0 wins, didn't they? They haven't shown that ability thus far this season. No, and again, that comes on to an interesting point. I put this to Kieran yesterday and I said, what are your memories of that last game? Not the last game against QPR, but the last trip to QPR. that 1-0 win, Chaplin scores in the 75th minute after shanking his shot and slicing a second one into the net.

37:39What are your memories of that? And he said, you know, I can go back and talk about any of these games, but this one actually is quite an important one, is what he said, because I look back at that, I think fans and the external and even internal memories of that season was Ipswich Town win this game 4-3. They score goals for fun. It's pretty football. They carve teams up. It's exciting. and they're everything you want from these kind of teams. He said it wasn't like that. People have their memories kind of twisted in a way by the fact it ended in promotion. There were a lot of those games. It wasn't week in, week out.

38:13There were plenty of times where they did have to go on the road and show these elements to games. And this was a prime example of that, where QPR were managed by Gareth Ainsworth, and we all know what his style of football was. It was a 3-4-3. They were direct. And for a lot of the game, they were the better team. and Ipswich ended up winning that one 1-0 by showing grit and determination and having a bit of luck and stuff like that. You go Mission Impossible. Sure, you'll find the QPR. There it is. That's the one. Still available. Still available. Go get it. And if you flick through that, don't do it now, which is hypothetical, you'll find plenty of...

38:48He is going to do it anyway. You'll find plenty of games within that that were those kind of gritty 1-0, 2-1 wins. Do you remember going to Blackburn and they had three goals disallowed. It was a good Friday. It was a good Friday. And it was absolutely pivotal. Yeah, it was a pivotal weekend as well where the other teams around them had all lost and Ipswich managed to go through and win that game. And there are plenty of other examples that come from that season. They had a pretty tight win at Plymouth. Yeah, the Blackburn one was mentioned. They won at Swansea narrowly. Morally, yeah, you can go through and pick a lot.

39:30Bristol City was another one. Sometimes you need to be able to show the intangibles, your grip, fight, determination, et cetera, et cetera, to go and win these games. It's not always about having the perfect game plan and everything come off and beautiful, brilliant little patterns of play. Just essentially, and this is someone who loves XG, put the ball in the bloody net.

39:54Mark Heath:Just win, baby. win ugly. And you're right. Swansea was 2-1. It wasn't 1-0, as I incorrectly remembered. I remember it as a 1-0 as well. Weirdly. Wesburn celebrating in the rain. All right, then. All that being said, then, they head to QPR this weekend with a chance to get their first away win of the season and put down a marker. I'm going to stick with you on this one. I hope you don't mind, Rossi, but I reckon that AJ might know a little bit more about QPR than you. Although, of course, you have recorded an Insight video around QPR, so we'll come to you as well. But, AJ, we talked about QPR earlier in the season being a bit of a surprise package.

40:27Mark Heath:I think they've lost two out of their last three now. They lost a derby last time out. So what are you expecting as we head to QPR? Because clearly, you know, the players and managers say, oh, good team, tough test, etc. What are you expecting? Yeah, QPR, as Louis van Gaal would say, Queen's Park raisins. One of my favourite Louis van Gaal-isms. If you gave me the opportunity to manage any championship team that didn't have parachute payments qpr would be my pick because they've got so many things that i like kind of a solid base good goalkeeper like strong defenders players like jimmy dunn in there and steve cook with his loads of experience and then bengue is coming from reading who looks really good um a really balanced midfielder they've got jonathan varan a young french midfielder and he plays next to nicholas madsen and then the attack and i love qpr's attack i think it's so good and we talk about the dribbly boys and they just have a whole team of them like dribbly boys under the age of 24 we've got huge potential you look at karimoko dembele you look at ilius chair you look at koky saito the japanese winger uh kwame poku who was just so good in league one peter have been injured this season uh richard cone who we know all about in his journey has been incredible uh paul smith in there roman burrell who i might come on to in a bit because I think he's the danger man for this game.

41:50There's so much exciting attacking talent within this team that I think is brilliant. And I think they can click when players come back in because it hasn't clicked the season. That's the reality. They started off pretty poorly. They drew home to Preston on their first game, knocked out of the cup at Plymouth and then beaten by Watford and absolutely picked apart in a game at Coventry where they weren't actually that bad, but everything Coventry touched turned into a goal. They lost it 7-1. and that was kind of you're going to like this Mark it was then the deer to be honest the lowest point and they responded to that by beating Charlton 3-1 and we know that Charlton are a good team they went to Wrexham and won 3-1 they beat Stoke who've been excellent they got draws at Sheffield Wednesday not as bad as people think and Oxford which isn't a great result they went to Ashton Gate, Bristol City, they won there and then it's been a little bit patchy beaten by Millwall, undeserved I think Millwall win personally given the numbers and the data.

42:49They went to Swansea, won that, but then followed it up by, as you mentioned, losing to Derby, who are pretty rubbish. So hit and miss is where they are at the moment. At their best, they can get all these players into the game. They're exciting. They're free-flowing and they're such a well-built team. At their worst, it's not really clicking and players still are finding their feet and they're hit by a few injury concerns and not having some top players in there. It depends which one's going to show up, basically, and that's what makes it hard to predict. But yeah, hard balance it's been for the manager to find, given all of that, to be ninth in the table with 18 points.

43:25They've won more games than they've lost, I think, is a pretty good start.

43:29Mark Heath:Rossi, what have you learned about QPR then from the people on the ground in your Insight video, which is going to be out at some point, pretty much probably out today actually, because not too long ago, we were talking about QPR being kind of relegation fodder and sliding down the league. So what's the situation there now as Tam prepared to go there? Yeah, shout out to Clive, who I spoke to from Lost for Words. See what he's done there. I like it. He's done very well there. And he said, typically, it's a typical QPR season. Good moments, bad moments, and just, yeah, it's what it is. He has said the new manager, of course, have got a Frenchman in charge.

44:08I think Azor Matasiwa would have played under him at Rennes. I believe he signed Matasiwa, manager Julian Stefan. Never managed in England before this, but yeah, a bit of a left field pick there as manager. Yeah, but apparently he's changed all his principles from that 7-1 defeat, and they go long ball, and they play 4-4-2, big man, little man, and all that stuff. Because, yeah, losing 7-1 is not good. And thankfully, like for QPR fans, as Clive said, he did change that principle, because he could have stuck to his guns, went, no, this is my style of play, this is what I'm doing. But now he went, no, we've got to change that.

44:46And they're obviously impressed and done okay since that game. I know they've had ups and downs, but they have got some danger men I'm sure AJ is going to mention. But yeah, Kone will be a key talking point because up top, he's the big man in that 11. So yeah, Daro Shea, whoever is playing in defence for town will be coming up against him.

45:08Mark Heath:We'll come on to that in a minute. Julian Stéphane. That's quite a fun name to say, isn't it? It sounds so bloody cultured. AJ, so let's talk about Danger Men. You've listed a lot of their players, a lot of their attackers. If you had to pick one or two, I know you've been banging on about Kone for months. Yeah. So I've assumed you're going to highlight it. I said it so you should sign him. Yeah, you did, yeah. Yeah. I mean, as I bet, I love all the dribbly wingers they've got. I love players like Saito, who I think is good and should have got a – sounds harsh on QPR, but like a bigger move in a way.

45:38And there's a few others in there. But essentially, the two that I'll pick out, I'm going to go with the big man-little man combo. I'm going to pick both of them, the two strikers that I think will cause problems. Kone, such an amazing story, came to England to play. He's born in the Ivory Coast, came to England to play in the Homeless World Cup a few years ago, ended up playing for Athletic Newham, who were in the 10th division. Don't forget, this was about five, six years ago, and his goal record at that level, it was like the 10th division of English football, was like he was scoring 40 plus goals a season he was absolutely ridiculous um he went on trial to top teams and they couldn't sign him because of his visa issues he couldn't play professional football kept going up up the ranks and um still scoring ridiculous goals for athletic newham until he finally got the chance to move to wickham after a trial did really well there and now is performing in the championship just like three or four years on from playing non-league football in the 10th tier, which is crazy.

46:38An unbelievable rise for a player who's only 22. And I think he's got a big ceiling, four goals in 11 games this season. And the concern that I have as well, playing alongside him is Roman Burrell. And he was a surprise signing, came in from Burton Albion, where he'd done well, was a good League One player. And he was someone I think could have gone over the summer, but it was a surprise that he went to the championship. And it's a surprise he's been starting quite regularly. and I think that Julian Stefan is getting the best out of him because he's not the tallest, he's about six foot, but he's got a real physicality and he's lightning quick.

47:13He's so fast. He's the kind that would just be one ball over the top, your time is run perfectly, he's faster than any defender and his finishing has been really good so far this season. Three goals, one assist, he's spread out quite nicely across the 12 games that he's been involved in. Eight of those have come as starts. and with what I've said about Ipswich and playing that high line and maybe not showing teams the right respect in certain games, that's where I worry because all it would take would be a long ball over the top, Kone flicks it on and you've got Burrell who's going to be faster than Reeves or Kipre or O'Shea or whoever's going to start in that game.

47:49He concerns me and I think that keeping him quiet will be key to getting someone from this game. I don't know what you're talking about, Mike.

47:55Mark Heath:Tannabin rocks solid against long balls this season. And pace on the counter. transitions. Absolutely. Nothing to worry about here. Rossi, I know you hate this, but I'm going to start with you. Starting 11 then, who would you play for town in this game? There's lots of chat around various positions, contentious positions. Who plays next to Dario Shea? Who plays in midfield? Who plays on the right wing? Who plays at the 10 in this game? Give me your answers please and your thoughts on each. I'm going to start off front because he's going to be my first goal scorer. Ivan Azon. Oh, he's going to do it.

48:25Yeah, he's going to battle against QPR defence and he's going to score. So he's going to be starting up front for me. I think Hurst needs a bit of time away from the starting XI. I think his confidence is very low. So I'll start Ivan Azon for this one. And defensively, I'll keep I'm going to keep it praying. I know I think we spoke about this actually on the fan social. So check that out if you haven't already. We discussed about McKenna. Sometimes he has defenders for certain games. We saw that with George Emerson back in the championship season where he played a few, I think he played against Holt and against Liam DeLapp, he played him instead because he just felt he was the perfect sort of player against them.

49:07So I think that's how McKenna will reuse Grieve and Kip Ray, but I want definitely Kip Ray for this one because he's going to be a cup against Richard Coney and stuff and he'll battle with him. And then Nunes in a 10 for me, I want to see that again. And I don't want to take AJ's thunder I'll let him jump on this in a minute but Jack Taylor again, give and have a go

49:33Mark Heath:In midfield? How about the right wing? It's going to be Casey McIntyre in it because he did the presser I know that's an always way but I think he will start this game Alright then AJ, some positions for you to talk about there I certainly would stick with Kipre I don't think you can drop him after they just kept a clean sheet and he's been good the three games he's played, started, he's been good in two out of three of them. And to be fair, he wasn't the only one that struggled against Middlesbrough. So what were your thoughts on the other positions there? Give us a full kind of one to 11. Yeah, so I'd start with Kit Bray.

50:08So we'll go from the back. I think Christian Walton will start and go. I don't think it's going to be David Button. That would be a plot twist. Furlong against his former team on the right. Leave Davis left. Daro Shea, right side of the centre-back next to, as I agree Kipre for this one I'm fascinated to see what happens with the centre-back situation in the next week would he start Jacob Greaves or would he start whoever doesn't play today against Watford, that'll be a discussion for another day but I'm interested to see that Matasiwa of course keeps his place and it's not going to be popular and I know Ross has set me up, I don't think Jack Taylor for this one, I think Jenski Kiyusta to go alongside Matasiwa.

50:53It's one of those where, yeah, it might not have worked too well in the last few games, and I don't think that Kiyusta, from his last few starts, has been very impressive. But this is the midfield partnership that I think will start most in the Championship, so let's just play them. Let's just build the chemistry and build them into the team. Nunez and the 10, I'd love to see a little bit more of. I'm going to go against Ross and go Sindravala-Igelli on the right for this one, and I think Jadon Philogene on the left, and that is possibly a controversial one. Wouldn't be surprised to see Jack Clark, but ultimately, if it's not broke, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

51:31And it works having Jadon Philogene start games and Jack Clark, come on. It's just a formula that works. And then I'm going to go George Hurst up top. At the moment, my inclination would be to play him to try and ride out this poor form rather than take him out of the firing line. And maybe it's just one that he needs to play games and have opportunities forward to him and try and build up that confidence that will get him there rather than taking him out of the team.

51:55Mark Heath:You missed out the 10. Can I assume that's because you're going to put Jack Taylor there? Did I not say Nunez? Did you say Nunez? Okay. Ross is nodding. So, yes, Nunez in the 10. Excellent. Just on the Nunez topic, I'm sure we'll have enjoyed the chat with the Norwich owner in midweek, didn't we, on Canary Call? I listened to some of it live. I mean, I don't know. He said, now that I know what an own goal is, it's an own goal. And I'm not sure I'd want my owner to be saying, admitting that he didn't know or doesn't know until recently what an own goal is. There's a lot of things in that interview that I wouldn't like my owner.

52:30To be perfectly honest. Yeah. Not really relevant, is it? But it was quite an interesting listen over the course of maybe. I think I'd tuned into about 15 minutes and I felt sorry for him in some bits and others asked, what are you on about?

52:46Mark Heath:Yeah, they're in a bit of bother, aren't they, across the board, I think it's fair to say. All right then, Rossi, it's your time to shine, baby, because you are leading the way. It's predictions time. Have you got that table? There is, actually. Oh, is he? Yeah, my point. In terms of the people here. AJ's leaving. He's off. He doesn't want to see the table. And this is why. So Stu's on top, 12 points. Rossi's second, 11 points. Me, 10 points. AJ, all the way down there. You might need a little telescope to see that. All the way at the bottom there, six points. Oh dear, oh dear, cut off drift So yeah, things are going well Thus far For yourself and Stu Rossi So tell us what you think is going to happen Tomorrow I've also got Breaking news, prediction from Stu, so I'll get his prediction Out of the way first of all He's talked, so we should have him He should actually start, he's gone for a 1-0 Town win, Daro Shea To get a goal, he's still picking That choice, he wants that goal from Daro I know he did score against Borough, but I think he wants an O'Shea winner and a clean sheet.

53:52So, yeah, 1-0 Darroche from Stuart Watson. My prediction, I want the first away win to happen this Saturday. I just have that feeling it's going to be a draw. So, I'm going to go for that. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but I'm going to go for 1-1. And as I mentioned earlier, Ivan Azon to score. hopefully he starts please start and he will score the first goal and then cupia equalize and then yeah one one so but we'll win away at swansea that'll be our first away win that's mine i'm putting it down now that'll be your hot take

54:26Mark Heath:it's your hot take yeah okay so stew win rossi draw what do i think i'm leaning towards a draw i'm gonna win i'll say two one win uh because you've taken one one that's probably what i was thinking um i'll say 2-1 win and i'll say who's going to score the first goal i will say i'll say gelly hmm that'd be nice wouldn't it see him get his first goal uh aj you showed signs of anger when i said yeah yeah i wouldn't i wouldn't have with anyone else but I'm trying to track you down. That's the problem. I was going to say to... Oh, God. I'll go with a... I'll back 1-0 as well. I'll follow Stuart Watson.

55:21I'm going to say the hardest part of this. I don't know if you guys have the same thing. Who's starting? Because I know we picked our teams, but there's at least two or three contentious decisions, especially in the forward line. We've spoken about striker and left wing and right wing, and I don't even feel comfortable about number 10. And I'm going to back George Hurst to see it out, and it's helped by the fact he's on penalty, so I'm doubling my chance. Probably not doubling, but increasing my chance again. He missed his last penalty, mate. Yes, I know, but if he steps up, there's a chance, isn't there?

55:55There's a chance, God damn it.

55:56Mark Heath:So you're saying 1-0 as well? You've just been speaking about free-scoring, pacey, rapid QPR. yeah and I think hopefully Ipswich with a free week on the training ground will learn their lessons and know how to deal with this but that is my concern all right then can you see why I'm bottom of this predictions league this season well hey your looks got a turn at some point mate so we've got wins from me AJ and Stewie I'm saying 2-1 Stewie and AJ both 1-0 and Rossi saying 1-1 so we'll see what happens before we finish Ross I just want to talk about a couple of other things which are in your wheelhouse.

56:34Mark Heath:You're off to Portman Road tonight to cover the Under-21s. We've spoken before, a bit of an emerging story at town because they're doing incredibly well in their first season of PL2. We've spoken about some of the players to watch. You've written about some of the players to watch, actually. Tudor Mendel, one of my new favourite players, favourite stories. So you're seeing them tonight. And then the ladies have got a big game as well, haven't they, on Sunday against Newcastle United. So do you want to talk a little bit about both of those? Yeah, funny enough, the honour 21s playing Newcastle as well.

57:03How are they? My pitches will just be Newcastle United players, plus the Zittrich town players for the women and the men on the 21s. I think there was actually one weekend where I think I had like, there was three games. I think I covered the under 18s, the men and the women, and they're all playing Bournemouth. So I just remember just getting just loads of pitches of Bournemouth and Itchwich for the whole weekend. But yeah, it's going to be a big game for, the women's, I'll start with them quickly. I know that's this Sunday. They're back for the international break. There's a few players that have had international call-ups, which have been great.

57:39Natasha Thomas making more history scoring her first ever senior goal at international level for Jamaica, which is great. She now adds to her list of record goal scorer, all-time appearance maker, first international senior player, and now first international goal scorer at senior level for Richard Town Women, which is great. Grace Neville has been on her travel. She's been in Mexico and in Kansas and America to play against Mexico and USA for New Zealand. So she's been busy and there's been a few other players playing for England on the 23s and Scotland on the 23s. But yeah, Joe Sheehan's side needing to get a good result.

58:15They're playing against a Newcastle team that are going to be managed by an interim manager because they sacked their other manager because they haven't been doing pretty well. They're ninth in the table and they're being on the touchline. I don't know if you remember this guy, Peter Ramage. He used to play for Newcastle, defender back in the day. Yeah, he will be the assistant manager to the interim manager who was the assistant manager to the manager who's been sacked. So, yeah. So, it's going to be a big opportunity for Joe Sheehan's side to get a potential good win on the board. Because last time out in the league, they lost 4-0 against Birmingham.

58:50So, they need to bounce back from that. So, yeah, big game at Colchester. So, if you're free on Sunday, go down and support the girls. been some good crowd so far which is good in their new home in Essex and then yeah the Unad 21s they're playing Newcastle they're unbeaten so far they played on Tuesday in the Premier League Cup they drew 2-2 with Preston so they're having a really good season and yeah it's the first game at Porton Road because they play at Colchester normally I think in the rules they have to play a few games at the Porton Road Stadium so yeah that's tonight looking forward to getting down there getting my snappy snaps That's a standard and seeing the young blues in action.

59:29Mark Heath:Yeah. So keep an eye out for Rossi's report from the under 21 site. We'll be there as well on Sunday, Rossi and Tom. I'm assuming you'll be there on Sunday. I haven't checked that, but I'm saying you're going to be. So big game for ladies. Sounds like a winnable game. Natasha Thomas though, Rossi. What's a legend in terms of stories. I mean, there are loads of great stories, aren't there, around Ipswich Town, but hers is up there as well, isn't it? I mean, she's been with the club for years, come from local non-league football, is now, you know, all-time leading scorer, scoring for Jamaica. That's almost kind of movie stuff in itself, isn't it?

1:00:02Yeah, incredible. I think this is her testimonial year. I think she's been in the club nearly 10 years now. And yeah, from grassroots football to playing, you know, in the fourth tier with us in the Women's Football League and then going up to now playing the championship or WSL2, you call it these days, is an incredible story. And now she's full-time as well. She's now a full-time professional footballer. When I first ever met her, you know, she had to like pay to get, you know, different things. And it's an incredible story. And yeah, she's sketched in the itch of town women's history, you know, definitely on the internationals boards.

1:00:36If when she does ever stop playing, she's probably going to be an ambassador at the club forever because she is just a trailblazer in this, you know, this team from, you know, the journey she's been on. And yeah, I'm sure she's so proud to score for Jamaica. And luckily it was a win because you always feel like, Great to score for your country, but if it's in a defeat, you're like, oh, that's not great. Because she played against England, didn't she, in June? Yeah. And they lost, like, badly. But still must have been an amazing moment for her to play against England. But, yeah, great story. And hopefully she can add some more of her milestones, because I'm sure she's still not finished yet.

1:01:13Mark Heath:What was the name of the – I remember reading your story. What was the name of the stadium? It was the Atto Bolden Stadium. That's right. Atto Bolden. You probably don't remember, boys, but Atto Bolden was one of the best sprinters in the world in the sort of mid to late nineties. And he wore these ridiculous glasses for one of the Olympics where he had like, they were literally kind of like silver skull things attached over his skull like this. He was around, he was perennial kind of second or third place. He was never, never best in the world, but always one of the most entertaining guys to watch.

1:01:43Mark Heath:Yeah. Fantastic. Right. Anything else to mention, AJ? I know we're on the golden hour mark, but I know that there's a lot of people that will be worried. about kieran mckenna being the favorite for the celtic job can i tell my story oh you've got this story to alleviate the how long is this going to be i mean we're at two minutes and i'll okay right now give me two minutes because you did have a request from ben brindle who i put it to you and you said no it sounds boring yeah because i do want to i was in playful mood but for ben i like Ben um so let's let's hear this story okay so I have a friend called Amulo I might mention him on this podcast before um and while he was at uni I believe it was while he was at uni at Loughborough some of his mates got bored and decided that they would try and get him on the odds list to be the new manager of Notts County Football Club so they created this personality this story for him this is Amulo Benen.

1:02:43He is the young prodigy manager of Swedish fourth division team FC SodaStream. They took this to Betviktor, who are very gullible. They said, look, we've heard this insight that Amulo Benen is going to be the new Knotts County manager, just to let you know, you might want to put him on your odds list now. Betviktor did not do their research. Betviktor put him onto the odds list initially quite low now those of you familiar with like managerial market betting if you put money on someone their odds right so if i went and put like two grand on antropos to cogler to be the new celtic boss he'd probably become the new bookies favorite i'm not going to do that but people put money his mates put money on him to be the new knots county manager because people weren't betting on the new knots county manager who the hell does that all of a sudden he was going up the ranks and people were starting to take notice of the fact that on the list he was ranked second there yeah at two to one favorite there was a point and i can't find the screenshot that he was the odds-on favorite to become the new manager of knox county football club ahead of luke tisdale neil collins mike williamson uh gary johnson etc etc um i decided to get in on this a little bit i created a photoshop of him as um as a manager which again like people actually believed was real not county fans online who the hell is a moolo bennett yeah when the this was getting put all over the place no one could find out anything about that picture again there he is i mean there's a there's a photoshopped him on to i can't remember whose head i photoshopped that on to that is also from a screenshot of a story that It got written by Sport Bible.

1:04:28It got picked up by national newspapers. Yes, my mate who was studying at university became the odds-on favourite with Bet Victor to manage Notts County, despite the fact that he was, what, 19, sat around in his university halls. He didn't get the job, unfortunately. But it goes to show that these odds don't always mean a lot. once you're on the list everything is decided by the amount of money that gets put on you and all it takes is some drunk uni lads who are having a laugh calling you the fourth tier manager fc soda stream in sweden for you to suddenly become the odds on favorite for an actual football job ahead of actual football managers who are actually like linked with the job properly so there you go don't buy into these things too much two observations there the pitcher has a little

1:05:20Mark Heath:bit of the Peter Sutcliffe about it if you don't mind me saying yeah Yorkshire Ripper-esque uh and also kids kids have changed man uh when I was at uni I was not doing things like that I was I was drinking heavily in the student union and experimenting with various other substances I wasn't trying to make my mate a betting favorite of a football side things have changed is all I could say on that uh friends there's one big yeah well you couldn't yeah I couldn't possibly say that, but I might be inclined to agree with you there, Rossi. Anyway, we've heard the story. Friends, the next thing to say, big news, KOA Live 3 is confirmed.

1:05:56Mark Heath:Tickets are going to be available from Monday. It's going to be on Saturday, December the 20th at the Baths, or the Baths, as you say around here, in Ipswich. It's going to be a big Christmas party shindig KOA style. After Sheffield Wednesday game, we've already said hopefully we'll make history with the town actually winning a game on the day of a KOA Live, fingers crossed. They'll never have a better opportunity, will they? So December the 20th, Saturday, December 20th at the Bass tickets available from Monday. We'll share the link wide and far on our socials. And we'd love to have you there if you've been to the first two.

1:06:28Mark Heath:Hopefully you've agreed they're enjoyable nights. I didn't get anywhere near as drunk at K.O. Live 2 as I did at K.O. Live 1. So that was an improvement. And I intend to continue on that, even though it is Christmas for K.O. Live 3. So I do a more than competent job hosting. And hopefully, as I say, friends, if you have been to one, you'll be able to recommend it to others who could hopefully get there and join us for a bit of Christmas fun. And who doesn't like fun around Christmas? And obviously, just a reminder, spread and support our sponsors. Use the code KOA at stardustspirits.co.uk for 20 % off all their excellent alcoholic beverages.

1:06:58Mark Heath:Gary and the team there. And our newest sponsor, Molecular UK. Use the code KOA10. Molecular-UK, he says, just checking. Molecular-UK.com. Check out there for 10 % off all their various cleaning products. I've got myself a little care package. I'm slowly making the Heathmobile look cleaner than it's ever been. so get involved with them also friends leave us a five star review on itunes just helps us lift us visibility wise in the old charts um it's always nice to get those and follow us across all our social medias kings of anglia on youtube instagram tiktok x and we three are individually on blue sky as well we're also on facebook if any of you granddads out there still use that um friends anything else to mention rossi nope i just enjoy the game if you're going as standard but if not we'll be there follow in charge of us boom absolutely AJ any final words I bloody love London away days we need more of them the fact there's only two in the championship this season is very sad and Watford does not count as one before you come at me okay it's too late into the show to get too much into that and we'll explore that another time perhaps friends I hope you enjoyed today's show I hope you enjoy your weekend whatever you're doing if you're going to the game enjoy it if you're not obviously follow it all with us and we'll be back next week to talk to you all over again

1:08:18Thank you.

1:08:50Thank you.

1:09:23Thank you.

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