602: Kings of Anglia: Town are on the charge after rocking Robins

23:05Mark Heath:All right then, so it's one and a half times, Stu, and I said earlier that there wasn't really any peril in this game. I don't think there was, but Bristol City's kind of best period came just after the break. Not that they were banging down the door or anything, but they had more of the ball and if they were going to do anything, it felt like it was going to come in that period but no because town then go and get the killer second and it's that man as on as much as jack clark scores the goal as on's touch for this this uh second goal is superb i mean kills it dead out the air and then looks up and and and finds clark um what did you make of this one and and we'll hear from from mckenna on as on in a minute well needed that goal as you say bristol city had started the second half the better side it had been a little bit scruffy from

23:52Stuart Watson:from Ipswich, but we're only talking five minutes or so. The momentum had threatened to shift. How many times this season do we say Ipswich kind of ruining missed chances and not getting the killer second? Thankfully, this time they got it. And that was a really important goal. And it's part of why I said that it's the most complete performance of the season because in a lot of the games, there's been prolonged periods of kind of jeopardy within halves of football. That five minutes or so at the start of the second half was as good as it got for Bristol City. And as soon as that second goal went in, that was job done.

24:39Stuart Watson:And it's Clark again. And you've touched upon it already. Brilliant work from even as on and just reward for a fantastic individual performance from him. Alex and I were kind of debating for his ratings piece. Clark's the obvious pick for man of the match, two goals. And we debated it and we said, no, maybe give Az on his dues in this one because I thought that was by far and away his best performance in an Ipswich shirt.

25:13Mark Heath:Yeah, let's hear from Kieran McKenna about Azal and then we can maybe praise his arm a little bit more because he definitely deserves it after last night.

25:19Kieran McKenna:Yeah, I thought he was really good at Coventry as well, I have to say. So I think that's his last two starts. I think he'd say really top performances. Yeah, I thought it was a really good night's work. Ivan's, for me, improving all the time, improving his understanding, improving his connections. Yeah, it's a lot to move to a new country and settle into a completely new league and stuff like that. but he's taken some good strides and he gives so much to the team works so hard, same as George Hurst, they both give incredible things to the team in terms of their physicality, their running they're willing to work for others how they bring other people into the game is continually improving I thought he was a really good outlet tonight the only disappointment is the goal he's produced an incredible save to stop getting the goal but I thought it was a really strong performance from him.

26:14Mark Heath:Right, so you just said it's his best performance in a town shirt. We know you're always going to get effort and desire and constant energy from us on. What kind of, in terms of what you saw last night, elevated that performance from what we normally get? Because, you know, on the face of it, he didn't score, which is the other thing that always gets brought up. He's not got enough goals. But what made it a great performance for you, other than the usual that we get from him?

26:39Stuart Watson:Just a lot more refined in everything that he did. You're right, it's never in question, his work ethic, his desire, his physicality. I think he's had to channel that. He's had to learn how to channel that. And Kieran McKenna has talked about their adapting to English football. The championship is very different to what he's been used to playing. There have been times I've been a bit frustrated where he spends a bit too much time on the floor. for me. I don't know if that's his gymnastics background growing up where in the exclusive interview I did with him earlier in the season, he talked about it's taught me to learn how to fall safely and things like that.

27:20Stuart Watson:Maybe he's just wanted to pull out a few of those forward rolls and things like that, but there was less of that last night. His touch at times has been a little bit loose. His link play was so sharp last night wasn't it anything that came into him little foot just the simple i say the simple things made difficult things look simple just sharp first time layoffs and then immediately on the move taking up clever pockets of space i just thought it was a really really good number nine performance last night yes he didn't score um but you know there was no sort of glaring misses in there it's an unbelievable save um yeah a big big stride forward for him um alex pointed out actually last night it hadn't dawned on me that his first start for ips which was the bristol city away game which was back in late september and that was a game where you know he got very little change out of bristol city's uh big three center halves um night and day that performance last night against the Robins second time around and encouraging progress for him.

28:31Mark Heath:Yeah, there was a moment in the first half as well where he won a towering header, but he had no right to win and kind of flicked it on to, I guess it would have been Clark and kind of set up an attack. I was like, yes, get in, Ivan. Let's hear from Mr. Azon. I think this is the first time we've played Ivan Azon or Joe on the pod, so enjoy it, friends. Here he is talking about last night's victory. Ivan, how good a win was that tonight? Really nice, really nice to still win at home, another win. Yeah, really thanks to all the fans that come on Tuesday. 25 ,000 I've seen. It's crazy to have all the body here and really thankful.

29:10What did you make of your own performance tonight? Honestly, I felt really well. The fans really thanks because you know sometimes you don't have best games and to feel them close to you is really nice so thanks for all of them. Did you think you'd scored in the first half? That was a terrific better goalkeeper, it was incredible wasn't it? Honestly I didn't see it, I wanted to see it again but I felt it like that it was a really good save I think I couldn't do more so yeah, yes, go on and go to the next one

29:51Mark Heath:I love him, Stu. It's nice to feel them close to you. Muy bueno. I love Ivan. I'm interested to get your take, Stu. On Monday's pod, obviously, you weren't around. You were on rotation, as it were. Alex wanted to get across a point about Hurst and the strikers in general, because obviously there have been quite a lot of comments around them this season, particularly now in January, kind of, well, we've got to get a starting striker in. and Alex said, you know, don't overlook what they do for the side. And we both kind of said that it's probably not essential in our view that they get a striker in given, you know, the team is playing well.

30:29Mark Heath:They do a lot for the side. The goals are coming from other places, that kind of thing. And we got a comment on YouTube which said, you're talking bollocks, which I enjoyed because that's football, isn't it? It's all about opinions and you're more than entitled to yours as we are entitled to ours. What do you make of the striker situation, Stu? Because you've got, obviously, Hurst, you've got Azon, who's just played really well. Akpom, injured at the moment, but in theory, can also play the nine. Is it essential for you that they go out and sign a striker in this window?

31:00Stuart Watson:Not essential, no, because you've got three players there in terms of quantity, who I think are all good players at this level, proven players, well, proven in Hurst and ACPOM's cases. And we've just talked about Azon's progress. I understand the argument that Ipswich could get an upgrade across those three. I think, you know, up until the last few weeks, and I guess one swallow doesn't make a summer still, but there's been some question marks over the impact that Azon and Akpom have had so far. George Hurst hasn't quite been what we thought and hoped he would be this season with the number nine on his back.

31:55Stuart Watson:I really liked what he did in the Premier League last season when competing with Liam De Laap and I thought this would be his big breakthrough year. it. It's not to say that I think George Hurst has been poor this season. I actually thought he looked quite sharp against Blackburn at the weekend.

32:20Stuart Watson:To get a striker, there would have to be a real strong sense that they are close to guaranteed upgrade on what they've got and I think that's going to be very difficult to do in a notoriously difficult transfer window is it something you know will they need a new starting striker if they get to the Premier League being brutally honest the answer to that question is yes but does that mean they need to go and do it now not necessarily I think the options that they've got in the building can be enough to get them over the line. And the last two performances from Hurst and Azon kind of backed that up, I would say.

33:04Mark Heath:I 100 % agree with that, Steve. That's my thinking exactly. I'm not sure if they're going to go out and get an upgrade in this window. Surely, if they do get to the Premier League, and I would say now I'm feeling more and more confident they are going to get back there, surely the time to sign that starting striker would be in the summer. When you've got more time, there's not as much pressure, there's more options, all that kind of stuff. And also, I know people have come up you know and said well we made the mistake before and not strengthening in january uh i think referencing the mick mccarthy side um that obviously kind of fizzled out but this side for me is already much better than that side uh where they sit in the league and stuff you're

33:42Stuart Watson:comparing chalk and cheese there with kind of what what that squad was exactly how it needed sort of you know it was a hard-working squad kind of punching above its weight and it needed arguably an injection of quality having got itself into a position that it probably didn't have any right to be in. Worlds away from that now with the money that's been spent on this and the depth that is there. They've spent half a season getting players up to speed personally in terms of them settling in the area, in terms of team chemistry and bonding together fitness-wise so many of these came in with with injuries or limited pre-seasons kieran mckenna has been consistent in saying during little periods where we sort of had a bit of doubt as to wasn't quite coming together as a collective that over time we will we will reap the benefits of of the work that we're putting in now and we're starting to see that now and azon's performance last night was was an example of that if you go out and sign a player now in the middle in January you're getting them for a reason it's probably because they're not playing at their current club or just come back from injury or for whatever reason and you're back to square one and you're trying to get them up up to speed in the second half of the season aren't you um yes Kiefer Moore came in and fired them to promotion last time in the championship again different situation Hurst got a big injury on boxing day and and they needed someone to fill a gap there isn't that gap to fill there at the moment it's just a bit more objective as to to whether they need something um yeah last night may have just you know if there as i keep saying if there's a needle of you know should we do something should we not i think that might have just edged towards the keeping keeping the powder dry end of the scale after last night yeah i want

35:35Mark Heath:to hear more from ivan azon stew um and i've got a clip here which which is ross has put these clips in the system. It just says, Azon on adapting. So I've no idea, I'll be honest, friends, I've no idea what he's talking about. I'm assuming he's talking about adapting to the championship. Let's see, shall we? It'll be exciting. Let's find out together. Ivan, I'll ask about you as a striker in the Kieran McKenna team because obviously people look at strikers and they think it's loads of goals, it's the main aim, but when you plan the McKenna, there's a lot of other things that come into it. You have to be really physical and hold up the ball and things like that.

36:04How have you found adapting to that side of things? As I told you guys before, I think I've improved a lot in a lot of parts of the game on the pitch. Of course, I think the striker normally is smoother because of the goals, but you must do a lot of things also apart from the goals and hopefully the goals will come soon. Yeah, and you feel like there's more to come for you? Is that the next step then, being able to put the ball in the net on a consistent basis? Because it feels like the other parts, you're really showing a lot of good stuff. Yeah, that's the goal, of course. We want to score goals, the striker.

36:50We live from there. But yeah, I think the first thing is to do the rest of the things well. And then, yeah, the goal, I think, will come, of course. How's it been playing in England over this period where it's busy as well, but you're not used to playing football in the cold that much either. Zaragoza is very different. No, I told you, that is crazy for me, honestly. To play midweek weekend is also stressful, but it's also nice because, as I told you, you have another game really soon. So, yeah, it's different, but I think I've adapted really well.

37:32Mark Heath:there we go that fit quite well in the end to the conversation we've just been having i always like the way as well alex who those you don't know he's a polyglot he speaks different languages and he speaks spanish pretty well and he just threw in there didn't he as he's talking to him just gotta make that point uh like he does when he pronounces dutch names when he's talking to us all i like it um stew have you got anything else in terms of the game itself because from this point onwards they're tuned a lot as i say i just it was it i just felt like well that's it. I've written the back page now.

37:59Mark Heath:I've got the pictures. Nothing else is going to happen and nothing Judy did. So is there anything else you want to talk about from the game itself? I want to talk about injuries, obviously, we have to talk about. And I also want to spend a bit of time talking about Christian Walton because I think he's been fantastic since he's come in. We talked about the eight clean sheets in the last 13 games. I've been really impressed with the way he commands his box as well, the way he comes for balls. For me, he feels like, I don't know, more secure I guess with him in goal than what we saw earlier in the season.

38:31Mark Heath:Would you say that's fair?

38:35Stuart Watson:I don't think there's an awful lot between Alex Palmer and Christian Walton. I think they're pretty much equal standard, very good championship goalkeepers.

38:50Stuart Watson:Slash Premier League goalkeepers still got a bit of point to prove at the higher level.

38:57Stuart Watson:but yeah, I agree with you. Walton's been excellent since he's come in. There are some things that he does slightly better than Palmer or maybe the sort of commanding of his box, the coming and plucking high crosses and relieving pressure that way. I think he's improved with his ball at feet. I would say that was something that wasn't the best part of his game, but he's got better at it.

39:27So, yeah, not a lot between them, but Walton is absolutely deserving of his spot at the moment, would be my summary on that one.

39:34Mark Heath:OK, the other thing, obviously, post-game of interest, injuries. We've been blessed thus far this season that not really had a lot of injuries. We knew that Jadon Filagene hurt his knee on Saturday. And last night, Nunez came off limping, looked like a classic sore one in the Paul Lambert vernacular. And you spoke to me after the game. just brings up to speed in terms of updates on those two.

39:58Stuart Watson:Yeah, Jadon Filagene had a scan yesterday. The verdict was it's not a very, very, very serious one from Kieran McKenna. It will be a kind of, you know, he's out of Saturday's game at Sheffield United and it will be a day-to-day assessment from there.

40:21Stuart Watson:We'll take that at face value. hopefully that's not a little bit of smoke and mirrors with a few days of the transfer window left and Ipswich not want to kind of show their hand too much was it an MCL injury that Philogene suffered in the second half of last season Chelsea came back from that relatively quickly so we'll have to see on that one we'll get a bit more of an update at the press conference tomorrow Nunez, yeah, took a bit of a whack to his ankle. Didn't see it at the time, but he sat down on the turf, had prolonged treatment to that, ended up sort of hobbling off the pitch, was still fit enough to be ushered forward from his teammates to take on the post-match fist pump celebrations.

41:18Stuart Watson:Yeah, again, too early to say on that. He's felt something in his ankle. McKenna didn't know if it was a twist or just an impact injury. They're going to have to see how that is. If you remember when Ipswich signed him, they signed him with an ankle injury from Norwich back in the summer. So I don't know if it's the same ankle, whether it's a setback on that. Again, we'll find out more tomorrow. But they're two very influential attacking players. You're talking there. Most teams, we'd be going, And that's up until last night, the talismanic top goal-scoring left winger and the assist, inform assist king in the number 10 role, potentially both being out.

41:59Stuart Watson:And actually, we're sitting here going, we've got Jack Clark and Sammy Schmodix is back and looking quite sharp. As long as they're not too long-term, Ipswich have got the squad to cope with their absences.

42:13Mark Heath:We'll talk about Sheffield United in a minute and how they might combat, obviously, the obvious replacement for Phyllagene, but other things in terms of selection. Anything else from the game, Stu? The only other thing I can remember from worthy of note was I enjoyed the Morsi Ashley Young handbags towards the end of the game. I thought that was what I felt fitting. Yeah, it's a nice little bit of competitive edge to this game. You can tell they're desperate for these clean sheets. You read out the clean sheet stats at the start. I think that's something really impressive about this team.

42:47Stuart Watson:From the early stages of the season, we talked about some Achilles heels and looking a bit vulnerable to counterattacks and some set-piece issues at times and self-inflicted goals against where they were switching off to long balls and things like that. This really settled back five, back six, if you include Matasiewa, has got the eye of the tiger about it at the moment in terms of seeking these shutouts. Yeah, nice little bit of competitive edge at 2-0. They didn't rest on their laurels. And as McKenna said, they stayed on shape. They kept fighting for every ball. And that sort of culminated in an incident towards the end where sort of a cross into the box and O'Shea and Sinclair Armstrong,

43:38Stuart Watson:who Ripswich fans I think have just got over calling for him as a striker after he had a couple of decent performances for QPR against him. Kind of landed on O'Shea. And then I haven't seen it back sort of close up. I don't know if he just kind of pushes him back to the ground or whether there's a bit of a stamp in there. I've seen some suggestions along those lines. But Dara O'Shea certainly reacted very angrily. to that. And it sparked a bit of a melee. Of course, Sam Morsi's one of the first on the scene, kind of pushing and shoving. And Ashley Young was having none of it. And they had a bit of a set to, which was a bit of fun.

44:20Mark Heath:I loved it. They went head to head. Morsi walked away with a big grin on his face. He obviously enjoyed that. I would say, I thought Sinclair Armstrong, some other days, he might have been off the pitch because he definitely, it looked on the replay anyway that he looked like he put his hands in O'Shea's face and kind of pushed him back to the floor um so it you know it was definitely the sort of thing I can understand RSA being vexed about um so anyway just a just a another footnote to the game which I enjoyed uh as we as we went to full time and town moved up to second ahead of tonight's action so let's draw a line under that Stu things are going very nicely indeed let's talk about sexy stuff because there was a story came out yesterday morning, fitting on the day they play Bristol City that Town were potentially interested in Anis Mometi, who obviously played for Bristol City last night.

45:11Mark Heath:Eight goals, six assists I think he's got this season. Another goal he got in the FA Cup. So nine goals, six assists in all competitions. And Struber spoke about it post-match as well, didn't he? So do you want to bring people up to speed on that? Yeah, a story that sort of came out yesterday, didn't it? on the day of the game. Or Monday night, yeah. Yeah, late Monday night. Football insider Pete O 'Rourke saying that Ipswich are interested,

45:41Stuart Watson:considering a move for him this month. He's out of contract in the summer. He's a talented championship player that's potentially available for a cut-price move. There's going to be a bit of things going on behind the scenes in terms of agent maybe wanting to create a bit of noise. He's in contract talks with Bristol City at the moment. Struber said last night that there is a good offer on the table for him and he's hopeful of him staying. But equally, he only wants players that are fully committed. So that's the situation there. Do Ipswich need another skilful left winger who likes to cut inside on their right foot?

46:28last week the answer would have been absolutely not. Now we wait with bated breath to see what the fillaging setback is like, even if it is a medium-term one with fillaging. Ipswich have got Sammy Schmodix, who played in that sort of inside left role in the Premier League last season and is a championship golden boot winner.

46:49Stuart Watson:There's an argument that funds could be better spent elsewhere, but Ipswich may be trying to think steps ahead as well. Is there going to be interest in fillaging further down the track? I don't know. For me, it's not one that makes an awful lot of sense at this moment in time. The fact that Wolves have now been linked to Mometi today makes me think that this might be kind of a little bit agent-driven and trying to help his contract negotiations. I don't know, but he didn't do an awful lot on the pitch last night and reading some of the replies from Bristol City fans, there's a sense that his form has maybe dipped a little bit in recent weeks.

47:28Stuart Watson:I think he's one of these players that looks really good on his day, but can be quite quiet on others. So we'll see how that progresses.

47:37Mark Heath:Yeah, I suppose on the face of it, he fits the profile, doesn't he, in terms of him being versatile and, you know, he brings goals and assists. But as you say, being as he predominantly plays on the left, you're not really sure how that fits into the grand scheme of things. The other thing to mention, Stu, is another story that came out yesterday Yesterday, under-21 signing potentially, a young lad from Chelsea who's very highly rated, Frankie Runham, who I must confess I've never heard of. But we understand that's essentially, if it happens, will be a signing for the under-21s.

48:10Stuart Watson:Yeah, like you, don't know an awful lot about him or his background other than the fact that there's been a bit of excitement about what he's done at youth team level for Chelsea and Mark Ashton has made it clear that while Ipswich are trying to get their academy to elite level and producing from within and obviously spending a lot of money on it, Category 1 now, the training ground revamp, etc, etc, there is going to be a period where they fill some gaps and they recruit externally into the academy. We've seen it with people like Sonto Boniface from Chelsea and a few others as well and this looks like it might be another one of those yeah if it comes off it's a it's a loan signing we talk of this is a Fabrizio Romano story so you know it's you know it's pretty kosher yeah talk of a buyback option for Chelsea who want to cover themselves um so it's a loan what world we're in now signing a player on loan for your 21s with an option to buy with the parent club having a buyback option that's the world

49:21Mark Heath:we're in at the moment crazy um before we move on sheffield united i've got one last clip to play from ivan is on which is ivan talking ivan ivan ivan talking about ivan ivan the great talking about town fans which I thought would be nice to play just before we start looking ahead. Ivan you spoke about the supporters earlier just how much do you enjoy playing at Portman Road I noticed when the second goal went in from Jack Clark you were really celebrating down in the corner with the fans. Yeah since I came here I have always told that this crazy is the best club I think in the championship the supporters are crazy and honestly have every game that the full stadium it's really nice what's it like when they're singing your name Ole Ole Ivan yeah honestly I think it's the best feeling for a for a player to hear your name and you know how they support you and how they value what you do in the pitch so it's really nice that is lovely stuff He's great, isn't he?

50:36And his smile is so infectious and the way he plays. I remember when he signed Kieran McKenna said the fans are going to love him because he basically plays like a fan in a shirt.

50:46Stuart Watson:Everyone has just been so willing him to kind of make strides with his performances. Yeah, so pleased for him last night. Great to see. And I was just looking at his sort of Wikipedia page while we were chatting earlier. We're talking about sort of the settling in period. I mean, he had quite the 2025. He left his boyhood club, Zaragoza. He goes to, I've just done an Alex there, he goes to Como in Italy in February last year. It doesn't work out for him there under Febregas. Then it was a kind of on-off move to Ipswich. So now he's in the third country in the space of about 12 months. He's a young man.

51:24And so often as football fans, we expect these people to deliver from day one. And that is probably unfair. so he's had a little bit of time to get his feet under the table now and um yeah hopefully last

51:37Mark Heath:night can be the start of something for him 100 % Stu uh and the next thing he has an opportunity to do is go to Sheffield United on Saturday now I appreciate we're barely you know the game from last night is is still warm um but we are going to have to talk about Sheffield United because that's next on the list and we won't be talking again in this forum before then um a chance for you to warm up, Stu, for your five straight away games in February, which I'm sure you're looking forward to. How are you feeling about this one? Because Sheffield United, they play tonight. They've got Southampton tonight.

52:08Mark Heath:They've been very up and down. Some good wins, some worrying defeats. I think they lost at Charlton last time out. Clearly, though, a tough place to go. The question on everybody's lips will be the side. What do you do with with the team rotate again? Ivan and Zon's just had his best performance. Do you, do you stick with him? Do you stick with Wes on the right wing? Is Jens going to go again? All these sort of questions. How would you approach it sitting here on Wednesday lunchtime?

52:39Stuart Watson:I think there'll probably be a little bit of rotation, but nothing, nothing drastic. Cause then there's a week between this one and Preston at home coming up. So I think it will be more a case of, kind of picking the right options for the type of game. I've really liked watching Jens Kuyusta. I think he's come on a long way since the early part of the season. Certainly in the home games, I think he provides that little bit more attacking thrust in the midfield. But there's an argument away from home that the sort of nitty-gritty qualities of Jack Taylor might be preferred at the weekend. You'd imagine it will be Clark again with Villagin.

53:23injured and he's been decent away from home this season. Do you know, he hasn't started back-to-back games since August, Jack Clark. Wow. So he'll be looking forward to, to trying to build some rhythm. You would have thought Nunez, is he an injury doubt? Sounds like it. We'll find out more tomorrow. If he doesn't start, could it be Schmodek's first start in, in a little while? I've liked what I've seen of him in a, in a couple, in the last couple of cameos. so hopefully he can continue to build. Is it too much to ask Wes Burns to start again in such quick succession, given where he's at? I don't know.

54:06I would argue that his qualities are sort of better suited away from home, given a bit of a counter threat. I don't know. Migueli, maybe even McAteer. I wouldn't rule out McIntyre as sort of an away game player for this one. And then Azon or Hurst up front. Azon deserves a chance to go again, doesn't he? But I thought Hurst was pretty decent against Blackburn at the weekend. So I wouldn't rule out a switch there. And then, as we've said, everything behind them is pretty much set in stone at the moment.

54:43Mark Heath:Yeah. With Wes, I think he played just over 60 minutes, didn't he, last night? that was clearly kind of a target for him to get to the hour and then make way. So hopefully he's ready to go again. Just with the 10, assuming Nunes isn't ready to go, is Smodek the obvious choice? Is there any kind of... We've talked before about Sindra potentially playing there. Is that something you'd like to see at some point?

55:03Stuart Watson:I think at this given juncture, Smodek is the obvious choice. At POM, I think, would have been very much in the conversation had he been fit, but he's out with a little groin injury. at the moment. Jack Clark obviously became part of the discussion after his performance there in the FA Cup against Blackpool, but he's needed on the left. I can see why Kieran McKenna and Sindra both talk about his long-term future being more as the number 10 because his natural instinct is to cut inside. But I would say Schmodek's qualities are what's required for this sort of game in the 10 at this moment in time.

55:45Stuart Watson:And as I say, I think he's looked quite sharp in these last couple of cameos. So that's where I think they would go if Nunez isn't fit.

55:55Mark Heath:Okay. How are you feeling about that big February, Stu? February on the road, the Watson touring roadshow? Not thought about it too much at the moment. I'm in the one game at a time mentality. maybe I'm just sticking my head in the sand. I need to start sorting out some travel arrangements and things like that. But that could be the definitive month in the season, isn't it? And it's going to require a big physical and mental shift from Ipswich. But they look like they're sort of preparing well for at the moment. So hopefully they can, there's two games before then, hopefully they can keep this form going and go into that month of February with their tails up.

56:49Mark Heath:One game at a time. Exactly right, Stu. There is something I want to ask you. I wouldn't ask you for a prediction because it's lunchtime on Wednesday. I think we'll do those later on in the week and put them out. I have a question for you, Stu, which came to me. I was clearing out some photos from my phone, and I found a question which got asked, I think, on Facebook by Junior Harris, I believe is Cambridge-based, a friend of Alex, asked us back in August, September time. And I'd completely forgotten about this, Stu, until I saw it, but it's important. I want an update. Have you pulled out the metal detector?

57:28Mark Heath:Yeah? No. What? No, it's in the garage gathering dust. um oh how disappointing i had it to be honest do you want me to do it shall i produce some content yeah we do a pod where i'm just out live metal detecting yeah i mean it's a place to be in it suffolk obviously the detectorists what you got mate all that kind of stuff i quite like the idea of metal detecting can i come with you just like the idea of just being in a field just no worries just just kind of wandering around with a metal detector yeah i like the idea of the solitude of it and just just switching off i can i can definitely see the appeal of fishing for that very reason um can't be bothered to invest in all of the the equipment and learn how to do it so that's off the cards maybe metal detecting is the is the next best thing uh when the weather starts getting a bit better we get into springtime i'll get out there yeah i really like the idea of it just it's just gentle isn't it just time on your own as you say or with one other significant friend um just shooting the shit and trying to find some roman coins would be lovely and if you did find something it would be it would be tremendous um anyway friends that brings us to the end of today's pod assuming you haven't got anything else to say stew i don't think so no i was frantically kind of doing some sheffield united research while you were talking because they were they were awful when they came to ipswich yeah uh earlier in the season weren't they just completely folded like a pack of cards in that in that 5-0, but a very different proposition now under the returned Chris Walder.

59:08Where are they up to in the table? I'm just going to... They're still 17th, I think, Stu. They're still very up and down. Yeah, very up and down, looking at their recent results. They beat Birmingham 3-0 at home, then they lost 5-3 at Wrexham. They beat Stoke away, and we've seen that Stoke are a decent side at Portman Road, haven't we, this season. They beat Leicester at home, and then they go out of the cup to Mansfield 4-3 and they lost 1-0 at Charlton last weekend. And as you say, they play Southampton away tonight, which will be interesting. So hard to know what to expect from them. Patrick Bamford up front and scoring goals was linked to Ipswich recently.

59:50Looks like they're playing a 4-4-2 at the moment. So it's a slightly different challenge for Ipswich tactically. looking forward to it as I am all the Ipswich games at the moment because yeah just starting to find their groove it feels like

1:00:07Mark Heath:Absolutely, right then friends we're coming to the golden hour, just a reminder to support our sponsors use the code KOA at stardosspirits.co.uk for 20 % off all their excellent alcoholic beverages and concoctions and also use the code KOA10 at molecular dash uk dot com for 10 % off all their car cleaning and other cleaning products as i've already said mrs heath particularly impressed with uh the interior the banana dine i've mentioned and she's been using the anti-fog glass uh cleaner as well or glass as you as you say around here um and again she's she's a big fan of that so so get involved with molecular some excellent products um if you could follow us across social media that'd be much appreciated kings of anglia on youtube instagram twitter x blue we're all on blue sky individually apart from Watson who hates social media uh and yeah true though isn't it Stu and also I've not asked for this for a while but if you could leave us a five-star on iTunes that'd be most useful because it just helps lift us visibility wise in the charts and on that note Stu I've got an apology to make an official apology from from Mr Heath uh we get plenty of five-star reviews although as I said we've not had them for a while we got a one-star review the other day Stu which which always uh cuts to the quick uh entitled host problem i can only assume ross has left this but anyway it's apparently from a from a dh rockman who says i used to listen to this show religiously but i'm tired of the main host i assume he means me bringing up his political views a lot i don't come to a town podcast to get their views on politics so until he stops i can't listen anymore if he wants to voice his opinion then make a political podcast otherwise stick to and the final word is missing but I assume you mean stick to football now then Mr DH Rockman Mia Culper Mia Culper I often use the phrase when I talk about KOA at the end of a live pod KOA is for everyone um and I realize I've been dropping in a few a few political references in the last few pods and I would hate to feel that anyone feels like they're thus excluded from I'm listening to the pod.

1:02:08Mark Heath:And this is just a place for everyone to get together around Ipswich town and talk football. Everyone should be involved and no one should feel excluded. Society as a whole is very divided, isn't it? Very polarizing. And I don't want to add to that. So DH Rockman, you've made a valid point. And I apologize. And I will stop talking about politics on this podcast. It's going to be football and other stupid stuff going forward. No more politics as much as I can avoid it. and as I say KOA is for everyone that's the message I want you to take home so if you'd like to change your one-star review to a five-star review DH Rockwell that'd be much appreciated yeah change it to a five-star review and then you'll come on next week I was just about to say what what what have you done with Mark Heath new new year new you normally you'd go absolutely nuclear and double down yeah until Mr what's his name to go no no no he's made a valid point I've been hoisted by my own petard.

1:03:03Mark Heath:Absolutely hoisted by my own petard. I'm the one who wangs on about this is for everyone. I don't want to be divisive. I don't want to turn people off. I want everyone to feel welcome here. And everyone is welcome here. So that's the message going forward. What's Mia Culper in? She's quite a good actress, isn't she? She was great in Batman Begins. Yeah, she would definitely be. Mia Culper would definitely be in Batman Begins and some Marvel movies. Absolutely. Anyway, friends, I hope you enjoyed today's pod. There's been no politics, which Dave Frockman would be delighted for. Well, there has been a lot of chat.

1:03:36Mark Heath:And it's just down doing very well indeed. And long may it continue. Friends, we are on the road this weekend. The boys are on the road this weekend. We'll be back next week to talk about the trip to Sheffield United and hopefully another positive result as town go marching on. Have a great end to your week. And we'll speak to you next time.

1:04:07Thank you.

1:04:38Thank you.

1:05:01I love you.

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