603: Kings of Anglia: Town cut down by Blades

26 Jan 2026 · 1 h 6 min · 27 chapters

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In short

Ipswich Town’s 3-1 defeat at Sheffield United (Bramall Lane) ends a seven-game unbeaten run; discussion covers match turning points, tactical/selection decisions, player performances, and the wider promotion context (especially upcoming away fixtures).

Guests

Alex Jones (young Ipswich supporter/journalist-involved friend of the host). No other guests appear in the transcript.

Key claims

  • Ipswich’s performance was among their worst of the season; McKenna was “not very happy” and said it wasn’t good enough.
  • The match swung after a Greaves error playing out from the back and after Ipswich conceded from their own corner (a “sucker punch”).
  • The head-loss/push-and-shove incident was triggered by Chris Wilder’s wind-up style and Peck’s actions; Sam Smoddix chased Peck into the tunnel, leading to a melee.
  • Substitutions changed the game briefly: Azon, Leif Davis, and especially Wes Burns.

Notable examples

  • Missed chances early: Jack Clark’s outside-of-the-boot miss; a clear chance after Sindra robbed the ball; Ipswich should’ve been 2-2 after 20 minutes.
  • Goals: Sheffield scored from Ipswich’s corner; Walton faced multiple rebounds; Bamford finished after a direct hoof over the top; Bamford later sent off for a dive.
  • Player notes: Leif Davis should have started; Mimetti debuted as a No.10; debate over George Hurst’s form and whether Ipswich need a different striker; Sindra criticism tempered by age/pressure and Burns’ return.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Reflections on the Game

0:22 to 2:14

Discussion on Ipswich's recent match loss and its implications.

“Okay, friends, the seven game unbeaten run is over.”

Chocolates and Road Trip Tales

2:14 to 4:26

Casual banter about chocolates and service station experiences during travel.

“I don't think he might have had one, but Ross is a man of service stations, which is like a balance between, I don't know, have you been to a service station with Ross?”

Emotional Rollercoaster of Football

4:26 to 6:38

Exploring the emotional highs and lows of football fandom and social media impact.

“And they're saying, oh, well, clearly the wheels are falling off at Ipswich.”

Post-Match Analysis

6:38 to 8:52

Insights on the match performance and management decisions following the loss.

“which of course we'll talk about at some point.”

Key Moments and Missed Opportunities

8:52 to 12:04

Analyzing significant chances in the game that could have changed the outcome.

“Sheffield United had lost three in a row before this game.”

Final Thoughts on Team Performance

12:04 to 14:00

Concluding thoughts on the team's performance and future outlook.

“Bolton, he had a very difficult debut because he literally just got off a plane from Australia and he was brought off early.”

Match Analysis: Critical Mistakes and Consequences

14:00 to 15:54

Examining the pivotal errors leading to Sheffield United's confidence and goals.

“The second one was unfortunately really poor.”

Recurring Defensive Issues

15:54 to 18:15

Discussing familiar defensive problems resurfacing in Ipswich Town's gameplay.

“So you've already mentioned the kind of mistake that Grease made.”

Goals Conceded: A Deep Dive

18:15 to 21:45

Analyzing the circumstances surrounding the goals conceded by Ipswich Town.

“McKenna, then, I'd say we haven't got the audio, but I'll read you some quotes just because it takes us on to the next moment.”

Half-Time Turmoil: Escalating Tensions

21:45 to 24:49

Exploring the chaotic moments that led to a physical confrontation at half-time.

“We had the kind of pushing and shoving after the first goal.”
Show all 27 chapters

Substitutions and Tactical Changes

24:49 to 27:34

Reviewing the impact of substitutions and tactical adjustments in the second half.

“Don't get drawn into these needless fights.”

Game Conclusion: Final Moments and Reflections

27:34 to 28:00

Reflecting on the closing moments of the match and the implications of the result.

“It's that perfect, almost Connor Chaplin-style cutback.”

Match Recap: Ipswich vs. Sheffield United

28:00 to 29:24

A detailed analysis of the game with key moments discussed.

“but he just about manages to get it in by rolling it in off the post.”

Memetti's Debut Performance

29:24 to 31:52

Discussing new player Memetti's impact and potential role in the team.

“What did you make of actually seeing for the first time in a Ifritch Town shirt, AJ?”

Balancing Performance and Fan Expectations

31:52 to 38:08

Exploring the challenges of player comments post-defeat and fan reactions.

“Within the grander scheme of things, it is just a game of football.”

George Hurst's Current Form and Striker Debate

38:08 to 42:01

Analyzing George Hurst's performance and the need for a new striker.

“Derby are in pretty good nick at the moment as well and aren't an easy side to beat.”

Striker's Importance for Ipswich

42:01 to 43:14

Explore the crucial role of the striker in Ipswich's performance.

“He takes criticism really well, I think it should be said, whenever we talk to him.”

Sindra's Criticism and Expectations

43:14 to 45:45

Discussion on expectations and criticism surrounding young player Sindra.

“hasn't it where I think we're talking about it being an important thing.”

Managing Young Talent Under Pressure

45:45 to 48:08

Importance of managing pressure on young players like Sindra.

“speaks volumes about where he is at the moment.”

Injury Impact on Team Dynamics

48:08 to 51:31

Analysis of the impact of injuries on Ipswich's squad and performance.

“and big improvements needed from him at the same time.”

Transfer Window Strategies and Targets

51:31 to 54:24

Exploration of Ipswich's transfer strategies and potential targets.

“We knew they weren't going to do loads of business this window.”

Realistic Striker Acquisition in January

54:24 to 56:02

Discussion on the realistic options for acquiring a striker in January.

“adding over the next week the other one clearly is Stryker and we did a I did a Sunday knee-jerk poll yesterday.”

Transfer Strategies and Hypotheticals

56:02 to 57:24

Discussion on potential striker signings and transfer strategies for Ipswich Town.

“The moves that I could see happening would be ones where the dominoes start to fall.”

Player Insights and Scouting

57:24 to 59:46

Reflections on scouting players and recent signings, including Lorenzo Luca.

“If I ask you now, which I'm going to, with a week left, whether they sign a strike or not, give me a percentage as to what percentage do you think chances are?”

Food Adventures and Match Day

59:46 to 1:01:16

Light-hearted discussion on food experiences during match day travels.

“I do want to mention, I know from watching Rossi's game day, food at Sheffield United, I want to ask you about this because he had what I would call a good, honest plate of food.”

Upcoming Features and Player Profiles

1:01:16 to 1:02:30

Preview of upcoming content focusing on player profiles and their backgrounds.

“but for me it was just crisps and a nice McDonald's on the way home.”

Upcoming Features and Player Profiles

1:02:35 to 1:03:10

Preview of upcoming content focusing on player profiles and their backgrounds.

“at stardustspirits.co.uk for 20 % off all their superb alcoholic concoctions.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:08Mark Heath:Hello friends and welcome to your Monday morning Kings of Anglia, Ifritetown podcast. It's not a happy Monday. It's a blue Monday, unfortunately, on this very podcast. Proudly sponsored, of course, and this is happy by Stardust Spirits and Molecular UK. Okay, friends, the seven game unbeaten run is over. The Blades cut town down at Bramall Lane. And now, of course, the sky is falling in. I'm joined by my young friend, Alex Jones, to break it all down. You've been telling me, Alex, how much you're looking forward to really getting into the nuts and bolts of this one, having, I'm sure, spent most of your Saturday talking about it and then the trip home talking about it as well.

0:48Mark Heath:How are you? I'm brilliant could not be better it's been a fantastic weekend from the Saturday of course negatives Ipswich Town lost probably means they're going to get relegated now of course positives you might remember that Dino good friend of the pod gave us some chocolates and that was earlier in the month and I've been holding on to those for a while and haven't opened them been a good boy and i brought them in the car for us all to share out on on saturday so that was probably the best part of saturday i think genuinely there's quite someone missing there isn't there in that so so you got chocolates this is how you are if you want mark consider well considering you don't go to games but i know that you will be there on saturday so if you want i will are there any leftovers is it just the is it just like the fudge like normal oh no they're all the same good stuff there you go there are still some left chocolate can you bring me a couple i will save you some i promise and the biggest reason we still have them is because on the way up we did make an okay diner stop and uh once i'd had that and once stew had had that i think that the appetites had kind of gone for the rest of the day were you in the same car as ross though because I can't believe they would all still be.

2:13Mark Heath:No, I'm going to say that's the real reason they're all still there. Ross was with us on the way back. I don't think he might have had one, but Ross is a man of service stations, which is like a balance between, I don't know, have you been to a service station with Ross? I feel like you must have done, but Ross is essentially find a fast food place, order about half of the menu, and then polish it off with some M &S fruit. Oh, yes. The eats in the car. I've made several trips to service stations with Ross. I remember coming back from the O2 one time and I think it must have been what one o 'clock in the morning or something and Ross to my surprise had never used a late night you know when you have to just go up to the window he wasn't familiar with that concept I'm not surprised by that originally he turned himself away and said no mate just go because the doors didn't open so he thought it was closed I said no just go to the window mate they'll get what you want he was heartened by that before we get rolling AJ important question last time we spoke on this very podcast with just the two of us you'd had a bourgeoisie breakfast the bougie breakfast the spenny breakfast of croissant so what do you have today swan no same again same again start yeah start the week with a with a sweetish bang always with jam yeah you are posh anyway friends let's talk about football shall we it's just town sadly and because ross isn't here and i'll just you we don't have any audio unfortunately so we'll have to um maybe read some of the quotes out but it's fair to say describe what happened yeah it's fair to say mckenna wasn't very happy after the game essentially said it wasn't good enough and that's fair they lost three-one at sheffield united um clearly after a good run a setback uh and as i've kind of somewhat facetiously suggested now the uh the sky is falling in but what you're a young football fan alex this is kind of a new phenomenon but now it's kind of focused on every single result and if you lose it's you know it's dreadful but i did you remember the days when teams used to lose a football game and they just went and played the next one and hopefully they won that one welcome to the world of social media more than anything i think and um i think that we can all be really guilty of getting dragged into this i i definitely feel that i can as well and one of the hardest parts of actually being a journalist is sometimes separating what you see and what you know to be true from everything else and all the narratives that get put out there so um yeah i i think that that is one of the biggest things and then when you finish this game and you log on to twitter and obviously there's a lot of comments from ipswich fans we're feeling upset understandably but do you know what ends up riling you up more is seeing all of these comments from Middlesbrough fans and from Coventry fans and from Norwich fans.

5:03And they're saying, oh, well, clearly the wheels are falling off at Ipswich. And then you're thinking, oh, God, the wheels are falling off at Ipswich. Coventry are playing on Monday and Middlesbrough won 4-0. This is a disaster. And it's so easy to get drawn into that. I also think that we are at that point of the season. Do you remember when we had this whole Leeds-Southampton mess in that last championship season with Leicester as well? And it was one of those where I would have a tab open on my screen the whole time monitoring their results. I would sit and watch every game that they played on Sky religiously and I'd be stood in front of the TV with my arms by my back, pacing up and down, watching them like I was almost on the touchline.

5:49I just think that football's changed in a way and we've become all a little bit too one extreme or the other but it's also natural it's just part of how you feel with the emotions of it and definitely within this Ipswich Town season it's kind of quite natural as well isn't it? Because we've had the highs of Ipswich looking like they're unbeatable we're not going to lose another game this season and the lows of them losing 3-0 to Charlton and struggling on the road and all of these things and I just don't know that anyone knows how to feel, do they?

6:21Mark Heath:I suppose within the context of, you know, it felt like finally they were on a bit of a run and they were on a bit of a run, let's not forget that. The form division and then they lose a game and, you know, it's hard not to... Clearly you feel deflated, but let's try and keep it within context, shall we, friends? And the overall kind of bigger picture, which of course we'll talk about at some point. But this game itself then, AJ, what are your kind of initial thoughts, kind of a few hours removed from it happening? um it's good to be able to talk about it a few hours removed i would say is the the main thing because the aftermath of it was definitely kind of real burning frustration and disappointment and the performance was really poor let's not they didn't kind of distract from that they they were bad it was one of their worst performance of the season um i did go into the game quite kind of aware of what Sheffield United are.

7:14And I don't think that the blip that they've had at this kind of start of 2026 can distract from that because before that, they were the form team in the division. They were the best team over the course of the last, I think, 10 or 12 games, actually, in terms of the points that they picked up between November when Wilder had got his feet under the table and managed to kick them on, and up until the end of 2025. And there was a feeling that they'd go and really put their foot to the gas and get into the playoffs. And obviously that had the setbacks with the Charlton defeat. That was when they had nine men.

7:48And then at Southampton, which was kind of one of those

7:50Mark Heath:really flat midweek displays. But it always felt like this was going to be a difficult one. And I thought that anything that Ipswich could have taken from this game would have been a positive. I think a draw would have been a good result. A win really would have been an excellent result. But I think that this game also has to be seen in the context of what it is, which is one of the most difficult games that Ipswich will play this season. And things will get easier and there will be blips. And that isn't to distract away from the fact that it was a poor performance, the fact that they've lost as many games already this season as they did in the last championship season.

8:28But I think that's where you need to kind of find a balance between these two things, like feeling the frustration and the hurt and the anger and disappointment with how they played, but also understanding what the wider context is around both the game and where Ipswich are in general.

8:45Mark Heath:Yeah, well, let's try and keep it sensible and measured, shall we? And in that kind of frame of mind, you can take it one of both ways, can't you? Sheffield United had lost three in a row before this game. But equally, now if you look at their last, I think, six home games, their score is 17-3 in their favour. So clearly very good at home and highlighting what a difficult game it was for town, regardless of the fact they then didn't play very well. We have to start at the start then, AJ, the team, because there's obviously some talking points around the team. Chief amongst it, Leif Davis not starting, which I think I remember reading from Stu.

9:17Mark Heath:It's just the third time he's not started when he's been fit. And I think one of those must be his very first game, his debut. He says, I'm trying to remember if he came off the bench in that game. I can't remember. Anyway, it's certainly unusual. Jacob Greaves comes in there. Other talking points, clearly. Azon not starting. We know we spoke last week about fans wanting him to go again in the wake of that really good display in midweek last time. And I guess also Agelli returning for Wes Burns, who's shown since he's returned how important he is to this side. So what did you make of the starting XI?

9:51Leaf was the only shock I felt. I pretty much saw the rest of it coming. The midfield two made more sense because I thought that for a game like this, which was always going to be a bit blood and thunder, that Jack Taylor was going to be more suitable to play alongside Izo Matasiwa. Wes Burns, I think at the moment, and I have felt definitely since that Bristol City game, is the best option that Ipswich have on the right. But one of the things that Kieran McKenna mentioned is that they have to be so careful with him if you've been out for a year with an ACL injury. I mean, you've had it, for example.

10:23Mark, if I said to you, you've been out for ages, and I know that he's had all the professional help and stuff, but go play week in, week out in championship-level football, that's not an easy thing to do is it no exactly um so that was that's obviously um something that has to be managed and i thought cindra coming in made the most sense um and then with as on i'm i am a believer that um form should be rewarded with starts so if i was in charge i would have started even as on in this game but i also understood the point that stew made before the game which was that tactically it probably made more sense to have George Hurst in this one, especially against a rotated Sheffield United back line.

11:06You haven't played very much and were only due to injuries. So the big question mark for me was at left back. And even then I kind of saw some of the logic. Greaves probably looked more solid defensively when he's played at left back than Davis has at times, just because they're very different profiles of players and dealing with an attack-minded Sheffield United side, who have a lot of overloads down that side with Siriki and Brooks in particular, who double up and make it difficult. Maybe that made more sense. In hindsight, I think that was definitely a mistake from Kieran McKenna, unfortunately.

11:42But hindsight as well is a wonderful thing.

11:44Mark Heath:Yeah, that's the other thing you get after games like this, isn't it? The old hindsight Harrys. It was obvious they shouldn't have done that without kind of flinging it beforehand. If you're going to say things like that, we need receipts beforehand, please, going forward. Hindsight Harrys, awful. I was talking after Wham, by the way. I just went back and checked. Leif Davis' debut, of course, he did start. He had a very difficult... Bolton, he had a very difficult debut because he literally just got off a plane from Australia and he was brought off early. He gave away a penalty. So that was not one of the instances where he didn't start.

12:15Mark Heath:I just misremembered incorrectly, essentially. Start of the game, though, AJ. Clearly, they've started games well in the past couple. Got early goals. And there was opportunities in this one as well to go 1-0 up and goals change games and who knows what could have happened. There were multiple chances, weren't there, before Sheffield United got ahead. There was a Gellie had a chance when he kind of stole the ball and raced away. There was a chance with Hurst. Maybe even Jack Clark, had the ball not gone a little bit too wide, he would have been able to shoot. And I think there was another one, which I can't remember off the top of my head.

12:49Mark Heath:But there were certainly two or three good chances for Town to take the lead. Yeah, I mean, this game for starters should have been 2-2 after 20 minutes. It was total chaos, to be perfectly honest. I think that, again, maybe in a similar vein to the Middlesbrough game, it becomes a what-if, and it's kind of what Kieran McKenna said after the game, is that if one of those two chances goes in that they had early doors, then the whole picture is different. If both of them go in, then there's an argument that it's almost over at that point, and you can turn the Sheffield United crowd. And Ipswich should have done better with both of the opportunities that they had.

13:26The first one is a cross from the right. I think it was Furlong who managed to find some space down there. It's kind of a good looping cross, very similar to the one that Hurst ended up scoring against QPR, it would have been. Same kind of move. Hurst flicks it on. He did really well in that one. It was a tough game for him, but I think he deserves credit for the way that he did that. And then creates the chance for Jack Clark, who I've seen score much harder goals than that many times. and he ends up taking it with the outside of his boot and shanks at it. And that's the first one. And that was kind of a, oh, that's a pain.

14:02The second one was unfortunately really poor. And it's a shame to say that. I will give credit to Sindra for his work in this from robbing the ball off. I think it was Ben Mee. Both does well to position himself in front of him to get the ball, but also then shows the strength to get away and do all of that stuff. I think he had too much time but for a player like him with the price tag that he's had and I hate bringing it up but it's true he should be putting it into the net from that position he ends up taking it with his weaker foot which is odd and it's such an awkward shot it's still a decent save from Cooper but needs to make him work a lot harder and it felt like Ipswich should really set the right tempo and the right kind of comfort levels here and it all changed, in my mind, with one slip, one moment that gave Sheffield United confidence, which is when playing out from around the back, Jacob Greaves passes the ball back to Walton, totally undercooks the pass, and Brooks manages to rush in and try and set the cut back to get into the net.

15:13In the end, I think it's O'Shea who clears that off the line, but that is the moment for me that totally changed that game where the momentum swung and Sheffield United realised, hang on, we've got the confidence here to go and put these to the sword. And that's duly what happened because for the rest of the first half, apart from that one moment that you referenced where Peirce was able to play Jack Clark in the left and it was kind of just a slightly overhit pass and then Hurst was kind of awkwardly trying to get it back to Clark who wasn't able to make the right contact. Apart from that, Ipswich had no chances and it was all Sheffield United.

15:48Mark Heath:Yeah, I'm going to kind of wrap that up in a bow called Familiar Problems Resurface. So you've already mentioned the kind of mistake that Grease made. And we have seen a few of those, actually, haven't we, in recent weeks. The town haven't necessarily been punished for it, but it's definitely been creeping back in, these kind of errors playing out from the back under, you know, kind of no real duress. And then, of course, the other one would be bad goals conceded. And that's exactly what we get from town having the chance up the other end with Hurst having a chance to score. they win a corner and then Sheffield United basically score from that corner.

16:20Mark Heath:And Kieran McKenna referenced it after the game saying it was very, very poor. And it was. So let's start here then, shall we? First goal for Sheffield United. We thought we'd kind of eradicated these sort of goals. We hoped so anyway, because it looked so much kind of more secure at the back, hadn't they? But this is one from kind of earlier in the season in terms of goals conceded. yeah all three were a little bit of a shambles and um when you look at it actually i made the i drew the comparison with the middlesbrough game actually it was really similar in the chances that ipswich were conceding and the way that they approached the game um probably hadn't actually dawned on me until i sat here and thought about it how similar these two games have been um and yeah the biggest thing for me you can't concede from your own chance from your own corner you simply can't let that happen.

17:13How they managed to leave themselves so exposed, knowing that Sheffield United are a direct team, was so disappointing where they cleared the corner. They're a good corner team, Sheffield United. So they get the ball out and then they play it up to Hamer really quickly. I think it's the goalkeeper who almost sends it straight up. And all it takes is one ball over the top from Hamer, just one simple pass, leaving him in far too much space. They know the player that he is and the quality that he brings. It's one pass, and all of a sudden O 'Hare's in this little pocket, goes through on goal, closed down, but not closed down quick enough, forces Walton out of his goal, and they kind of collide in the middle.

17:50But before that, it's O 'Hare who manages to dink it over and goes into the back of the net. And it's one of those where, similar maybe to Clark at Coventry, it kind of hangs in the air and bobbles over, and you know what's going to happen for about two or three seconds before it actually crosses the line. And yeah, that was a real sucker punch to concede from your own corner. So, Paul.

18:15Mark Heath:Yeah, Hamer is class as a side note. I've always liked him as a player. McKenna, then, I'd say we haven't got the audio, but I'll read you some quotes just because it takes us on to the next moment. So, yeah, we had better chances, probably three big, big moments to go one and up, which we just discussed, which, of course, would have changed the complexion of the game. The third of those chances, of course, is the corner that they then score from. Then we have to go on to the next bit because the first goal was really, really poor from us. We can't concede that goal from our corner. And then we didn't find enough to get through to half-time.

18:44Mark Heath:When they get the first goal in a situation like that, the stadium is going to be up and you have to stay strong until half-time. The second goal is disappointing from us. Again, we don't sprint back in quick enough, which is not like us, and they shouldn't get two or three bites of it to score. That's a big thing for us, sprinting back in as a collective. If we make a mistake and they get one chance, we have to make sure they don't get the second and third phase of it we didn't do that well enough which obviously then leads us to the second goal AJ because as McKenna says there okay you won down you've got to get to half time at least keeping that kind of score and they don't and where do you say on the second goal because again this definitely kind of falls under bad goals conceded just I know people have said Walton was at fault but for me it's more the fact that they get so many opportunities and there's not anyone kind of there's not that desire to get to the ball first off these multiple rebounds that end up with them kind of putting the ball in the back of the net again yeah head loss started first after that first goal of course because walton catches o 'hare and that turns into a bit of a scrap which i know is that a theme that we will be coming on to momentarily um and i think that the head loss carried on a little bit into this phase i don't know where dips which heads are out it felt very much a case of get in at half time and try and get back into this one.

20:01And if it's one goal, I would have backed it because it should have got back into the game, especially with the subs that they had. But two was so, so difficult. And yeah, fingers have been pointed a little bit at Walton for this. And I can understand it to an extent. Should he do better? Yes. Should he have to face three shots? No, absolutely not. The first one is so, so poor. How Patrick Bamford, there we go, manages to pick up the ball quite deep, carry it forward you have Ipswich defenders who are backpedalling there's this big open space the shot, if he manages to get his laces through it, that ends up in the back of the net, it's actually quite a poor shot but Walton has bodies ahead of him, doesn't really see it that well either, gets down pushes it away, the rebound comes out, I think it was I need to see if I can get the order right for this one I think it's Siriki then who hits the second one again that's a quick instinct powerful save to deny that one and then again it's statuesque defending you have to close down the the ball I know that you don't want to get drawn out of position but you have to kind of be like a magnet and go go to it you can't end up just standing there and and expecting your goalkeeper to save it or expecting that it'll be all right because someone else will do it.

21:23And the whole back line, I think, was at fault for this one. The last one comes out to Andre Brooks. And I think at this point, Walton knows that if there's another shot that comes his way, it's going to go in the back of the net. Gets rolled in. Two nils are very difficult to come back away from home at Bramall Lane where they've not lost in the league since the start of November.

21:44Mark Heath:Yeah, now, clearly, the next talking point is, as you said, the head loss. We had the kind of pushing and shoving after the first goal. that kind of escalated then at half time um now i thought full disclosure friends because um obviously i wasn't at the game i've only watched the extended highlights and for i guess obvious reasons they haven't included the the fracar at half time but i have seen on social media which is basically kind of sammy swaddix chasing after peck down the tunnel so what was your understanding of what happened and what was your kind of take on it yep so the goal comes deep into first half stoppage time i think it goes down as the fourth minute of four minutes that that were added on so first thing to say is what a terrible time to concede a goal in the football game my god um but yeah they ipswich go direct from from the kickoff they punt it long to hearst and hearst kind of goes down under not a great deal of pressure to be perfectly honest but yeah goes down referee gives it as a goal kick and then proceeds to blow the whistle um and then this is where you're playing a Sheffield United Chris Wilder team and Chris Wilder as we all know very well is a bit of a wind-up merchant and I think that reflects on some of the players and Siddy Peck who has probably seen as well how the Ipswich head loss started after the first little scrap goes over to George Hurst and just ruffles his hair while he's lying on the floor in pain or whatever and that then kickstarts a little bit of frustration but the one player who totally loses his mind is Sam Smoddix.

23:21Runs over like he's ready to knock him out in a barb roll, properly trying to square up. At this point, Peck knows that he's done his job. He's done exactly what he needed to. Peck beelines it down the tunnel. And Sam Smoddix chases after him, trying to get to him. The coaching staff, I think, of both teams, ends up coming out and almost blocking him. At this point, you've got other Ipswich and Sheffield United players chasing down. They're all crowding over. and there's a lot of pushing and shoving and everything going on in there. It probably took about two minutes to settle it all out. All started from City Peck, and it wasn't just Smoddix in the end.

23:58There were so many players getting involved. Jack Taylor was chasing after people. You had others getting pulled away by their shirts. It felt not too dissimilar from the Wolves' situation after that game. Was it after the game or was it at halftime? I can't even remember now. It was after, wasn't it? happened after the game yeah yeah so um everything that happened with with kunya and everything in there it's just this time it felt a little bit like ipswich were in wolves's shoes and i understand they weren't the instigators because it was city peck but you can't rise to something so small as that um heads went out the window at that point and um i think kieran mckenna had a big job uh to

24:39Mark Heath:calm them all down at halftime yeah that's the thing isn't it you want to see passion but you also don't want to see it spill over into into kind of almost giving them a mental advantage and edge because i'm sure wild would have been saying you've got them rattled boys look at that at half time it's a fine balance isn't it where ipswich were flat after their two early chances and that greaves moment i mentioned that i thought changed the game after that all the intensity dropped and probably prior to that scrap if i'm kieran mckenna i'm saying come on boys they need to kick up the ass because they're up for this fight and and you've not shown that you are you want to get the ball on the floor and play tippy tappy football and try and play your way through them but it's not that game coming here isn't going to be like that because yes they have good technical players but they're missing a hell of a lot of players and they're also they're here for a fight they're here to to have a bit of blood and thunder and that's an element of it that ipswich didn't get to to grips with so if you're mckenna you're trying to balance it by saying don't lose your heads.

25:41Don't get drawn into these needless fights. Don't lose all your composure because then you're going to have no chance at playing the football you want to play, but also put a bit of spirit into it because they didn't show that anywhere near enough in the first half.

25:55Mark Heath:Yeah, I suppose a lot of it would be frustration as well with how the first half's gone. Anyway, so 2-0 down at half-time, not ideal. And McKenna makes changes early in the second half. And we get to see Azon come on, we get to see Wes Burns, and also we get to see Leif Davis. And that did change things because obviously Tann then go on and get the goal and it's kind of game on. So what did you see from the subs in terms of injecting energy? And is there any argument going back? I mean, I don't want to be a hindsight Harry, as I've just said, but it's easy to say when you see them come on and kind of play well that they should have played from the start.

26:30I think definitely in the case of Azon and Leif Davis, they look so much more comfortable with Leif Davis at left back because he's a natural left back. And I don't think it's hindsight probably to say that he should have started this game. To be honest, you've got a very talented natural left back who is fit as far as you're aware. Play him, start him. He's the only natural left back that you have. It's not the same as the Coventry situation where he wasn't ready to go. I didn't really get that decision. And I think that's one that Kieran McKenna probably will regret, to be honest so yeah they felt more solid when he came on as on such a difficult situation for him because he just had so little to work with but at least his kind of link up play and all of those elements of of the game was quite good um but it's Wes Burns who changes the game and I can't sit here and say they should have started Wes Burns because I'm sure that for the reasons that we mentioned they didn't feel comfortable doing that but um he's the one who ends up changing the game does such a nice little combination work with Darnell Furlong down the right, opens up the space for a cross.

27:40It's that perfect, almost Connor Chaplin-style cutback. It's not quite as deep as one of those, but quite similar. Comes to Taylor, and he fires at McGuinness, formerly of Ipswich Town Lone fame, and McGuinness ends up sticking his arm out and blocking it with a handball. Right decision for a penalty. Jack Clark steps up. Jack Clark comes inches away from missing it and smacking it against the post. but he just about manages to get it in by rolling it in off the post. And 2-1, game on, very briefly.

28:14Mark Heath:Yeah, I mean, it's not all bad news, is it, AJ? Jack Clark, for those of you who had Jack Clark scoring the first goal for town, I mean, very nice indeed. So game on, as you say, and then it's not. Game off, because the Blades get a third. And again, this is, you could say, probably falls under bad goals, because it's basically just from a hoof upfield. um O'Shea gets a foot to it but then literally two touches later it's in the back of the net yeah unfortunately it's uh not Dara O'Shea's best moment I didn't think this was a terrible game from from his perspective but he should be organizing the back line better in in my opinion and um yeah it's disappointing the ball gets hoofed over the top it's brought down again I think it's this direct ball from Hamer over the top and um Patrick Bamford runs in and finishes really really well um here's my question i'll put to you if is there an ipswich player and this is what stewart is there an ipswich player who would be able to to do that do you think and take a finish on like that i'm not really too sure well that's part of the wider debate that we're going to come on to i think um let's leave that for there but so it's it's three one we still have time of course for for bamford to then get sent off as well um so he scores and gets sent off clear dive for the uh trying to win the penalty correct decision um and game over 3-1 the only other thing that i really want to talk about before we get to the on a bit of bigger picture stuff is we got to see memetti um who obviously signed on friday um a little cameo what did you make of him and there's a very good if you haven't if you haven't listened to it or watched it friends the boys um aj and you did a kind of live video friday lunchtime half an hour or so um It's certainly worth going back and listening to that or watching that because it's free to watch on our YouTube page.

30:03Mark Heath:What did you make of actually seeing for the first time in a Ifritch Town shirt, AJ? Things to like, again, comes on in a difficult position where, I mean, how on earth do you deal with that coming on in a game like that? Really, really tricky. But I thought that he handled it well, so deserves credit for that. Yeah, I think that it's interesting to see where he's going to fit in in this team. I think it's naturally going to be in the number 10 role. That's where he came on in this game. And now it's going to be where he can kick on from here. I like that he's quite an agile, almost quite nimble player, isn't he?

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30:46Which works quite well. He's different in that number 10 role. I think it's what Ipswich need in that 10 role. They need a player who can do that kind of side of the game that's different to a Sam Smodek second striker. Yeah, difficult to judge him too much off this game. But I think he was, as Kieran McKenna referenced, one of the positives of the match.

31:10Mark Heath:I'm keen to keep this narrative going just because I really like it. When he's signed, obviously you think, well, you know, obviously Felagine and Clark have got that kind of left side tied up. but I was wondering you know we talked about with your theory that moving to a back three or back five in the Premier League if they get there is there any argument that Mimetti may may fit that system kind of better because he you know he maybe tucks inside as a left-sided 10 yeah there definitely is because that's the role that he played at Bristol City but how you go about doing that again there's so many options now um I'm left in almost a little bit of a headache about how all of these players fit in in the McKenna system that we have at the moment in a 4-2-3-1 let alone in uh one where you're pardon me taking a midfielder out taking the number 10 out in the system and putting another center back in where you technically just have two floating number 10s so yes for sure would would be something that would work quite well but um I also at the same time don't even see how that works with the numbers that that we have at the moment okay well stick a pen in that but just sort of mention that because i want to keep the narrative going um right then uh game over 3-1 uh we next thing we talk about is dar o'shea's post-match comments because they um they've riled a few a few friends um and you were the guy obviously speaking to him after the game just let me get them up so i can i can uh give some context where are we I mean here we go let me read them it's a tough one to take but it's also a game of football we understand you're going to have guys in the league it's not always going to go your way you're going to get you're going to go into a tough ground against good opposition they had a bad start to the season but they're really in form I think they're a team that's on the up and he says we've got to take it it's not the end of the world it's a game of football we'll bounce back next week at home now I think that's That's the thing that's got people going, this kind of, I mean, perfectly right.

33:12Mark Heath:Don't get me wrong. Within the grander scheme of things, it is just a game of football. It's not the end of the world. But maybe not the wisest thing to say after you've just turned in a poor performance and fans have spent their own money and spent their time on a Saturday to go and watch you to then kind of be like, wow, just kind of almost shrug your shoulders. yeah um it's one where i suppose the context of it is always important isn't it and actually being able to listen to him saying it is different where uh in a written form it doesn't look great but even when he was saying it to be honest i did have kind of a gritting my teeth moment wondering about it but um this is also i think somewhat of the mentality that the group needs where they can't get dragged into it too much either way it's kind of what we spoke about at the start isn't it where um it's a fine balance between needing a kick up the ass and also needing to be balanced and measured and um all of those different kind of things so i think that yeah two different sides of things.

34:23I don't really know where I land on it as well, where I can understand the frustration from supporters. Naturally, that's going to be the case.

34:38But also I can sympathize with Dara and with how he would have felt after that game as well.

34:48yeah it's such a difficult balance to find with these things isn't it and with comments and how many times have i looked at what uh managers of and players have said before after a game like this and um they feel that there's clear frustrations and there's words that have been said and it's not good enough but you also can't let that emotion over spill into what you say and the other thing I also do want to point out and I think it's important to to understand this from a perspective that maybe we get a little bit more in the jobs that we do is that you've played a supercharged intense football game you're really annoyed with how your team's played, you don't want to get dragged into these things too much but also you are coming out of the game half an hour after and I'm sat there or stood there with Brenner from BBC and with Callum, and we've got our phones under your nose asking about what went wrong, why was this not good enough?

35:50So, yeah, I can kind of understand both sides of things with the frustration, and also I understand why O'Shea said it and why he feels that way. And I don't think it's important to not jump onto comments too much at the same time, but was it the smartest thing to come out with? probably not i don't know what side of the fence you're on with with those o'shea comments well

36:16Mark Heath:my take on it as i've already said is you know in the cold light of day those comments it's just a game of football 100 correct it's just a game of football it's not the end of the world it's one game and within the sporting context as much as after a game like this people like us and hopefully you know we're more sensible than a lot of people are gnashing their teeth and kind of frothing at the gills but you know we want we want blood all that kind of stuff in the sport when you're in that environment as a professional athlete there's a saying in sport on to the next one you lose a game on to the next one that's that is literally the mentality they have so i've got no problem at all with that mentality that's what they should have as a mentality um and equally that kind of um bigger picture it's just a game of football is healthy clearly um but i after a game like that probably maybe not best to go out and say that you know Keep those thoughts within the dressing room to yourself because it's just obviously going to wind people up who spend their hard-earned money and hours travelling up and down to Sheffield to watch a very poor performance.

37:17Mark Heath:So that would be my take on that. Any other notes from the game before we move on to the sexy stuff, AJ, which probably is what people want to hear us talk about?

37:31I'm glad it's done.

37:32Mark Heath:I think that yeah the away and the home balance is quite interesting isn't it where all of the positivity that we've had quite naturally comes from how they played in the last few weeks and how many of those games have been at home and this is now going to be the real test of Ipswich Town's promotion credentials because good god have they got a lot of games away from home coming up so yeah that's going to be challenge now, there's going to be a lot of mileage. We have this one home game coming up this weekend and then that's when the run of five starts away from home. Frat Park's a difficult place to go.

38:10Derby are in pretty good nick at the moment as well and aren't an easy side to beat. And we've got the two Wrexham games with Watford who are still in the promotion battle as well. It's really tricky. But yeah, I think that it's important not to lose too much faith based off what we saw over the weekend. Don't forget that Ipswich put in a very similar performance away at Leicester last month, I think, where they probably came up against a team on the day in Leicester that weren't as good as Sheffield United were, I think is the first thing. So I think Sheffield United were considerably better than Leicester were on that day.

38:52And what happened after that? They went on a lengthy run where they didn't lose a game of football. So, again, something that Dara O'Shea said, maybe they need that setback. Maybe they need that kick up the arse to be able to reset and go again because complacency is something that you want to be able to avoid.

39:10Mark Heath:Yeah, we might as well have this kind of bigger picture debate because it leads on to sexy stuff in a kind of natural way because clearly after this game, the narrative again was around, a lot of it was around George Hurst and his form. we had a column this morning from Terry Hunt, one of our columnists, saying what has happened to George Hurst, essentially. He's not the player that we know and love from previous versions of him, both in the Championship and, to a certain extent, in the Premier League. And I'm sure you've noticed comments calling for us to kind of talk again about George Hurst and come off this, I think it was referred to as rubbish, that he puts in a shift.

39:51Mark Heath:and essentially what people want is goals. Goals, goals, goals. And as a striker, you should be scoring goals. So you've already asked the question around Bamford scoring and have Town got a player who can do that. Where are we now then after this, AJ, in terms of how desperate or not it is that Town get a striker in? And also, George Hurst, as a player, should he still be starting? because I guess you would say arguably he's still the starting striker all things being equal.

40:26Yeah, let's touch on Hurst first. I think that I'd like to see even as I'm given a bit of a run of games now which will obviously have to be managed as well because he's not played a lot of regular football recently let alone in England. But I think we've seen enough from him in the last game and a third, isn't it, roughly, to say that I think he's in a good vein of form at the moment and I think that he's settling in quite nicely and his performance levels are better than what George Hurst has offered.

41:03I'm always really quick to defend George Hurst because I like who he is as a player. I like how he fits into a Kieran McKenna system. I saw him play in the Premier League last season and the performances that he delivered back into the campaign were the type that gave me huge confidence. We sat and we did KOA Live 2. And there is a clip that's gone quite big, I think, on our socials and was one of the big talking points of the night where we said, should George Hurst now, knowing that Liam Dillap's going to go, should he be the man starting to lead the line up top for Ipswich between now and the end of the season.

41:42And I'd say probably two-thirds of the hands in that room went up and said, yeah, I think George Hurst should be starting. So for us to be sat here less than a year on talking about how he's not good enough for the championship is a weird place to be. On the flip side, have the performances been good enough? No, they haven't. Should he be on more goals? Yes, he should. He's very open about that. He takes criticism really well, I think it should be said, whenever we talk to him. And his chances missed, he's missed some really poor ones. what I've noticed from him for a lot of the seasons I think that the work that he does does go unnoticed and I think that without him is Jadon Filagene on 10 goals?

42:24No. Is Jack Clark on 11? No. Is Marcelino Nunez able to run the show like he does? No. When he's off it do Ipswich fall apart? Yes, because they lose everything that he brings as a striker all the hold-up play, all of that so when he's doing the things that he needs to do when the touch is okay, when he's able to hold up the ball, he's integral to Ipswich's play, even when it doesn't feel like he's playing that well he is in terms of what he can bring to Ipswich but when he's not the whole attack falls to pieces and that's what we saw in this game where his touch was off he was losing the battle against McGuinness and me from 13 minutes onwards and it just didn't really work out so I would like to see it as on given a run and now I think after that performance at Bramwell Lane the needles move now hasn't it where I think we're talking about it being an important thing.

43:17I don't think it'll be make or break in it for such a season if they don't get a number nine in but I think it's important to go out there and do in the remaining eight days of the transfer window. I'm not convinced that they will go and sign one but But having someone that offers something different to Brackpom, to Ivan Aslan and to George Hurst, I think will be important. And just someone as well that can stick the ball into the back of the net on a more consistent basis.

43:49Mark Heath:The other thing I want to ask you about is, again, we've seen this chat around Sindra post-match and his kind of dip in form. And clearly with Sindra, slightly different to Hurst because Hurst hasn't got a big price tag. I think it's just expectations. we expected more from him because of what he did in the Premier League. With Sindra, he's got a huge price tag attached, and he's also got the complication of being a 19-year-old lad playing in England for the first time on his own. So he's got all that kind of complication off the pitch as well, which I know generally people just don't see that.

44:22Mark Heath:They're just like, well, I just want to see him perform on the pitch. He should just be focused 100 % on football, and almost like he's a robot in personal life, it doesn't matter. Clearly now Wes Burns is back. whereas I think we've already seen is going to bring a lot more to the team from playing that role. Where do you stand on the kind of Sindra criticism? Because you've already said that in this game you think he should have scored. And his performances were sort of going like this, weren't they? He got back-to-back goals. And then I think probably since maybe Christmas they've been dipping again.

44:53Mark Heath:So where are you with Sindra? I think it's quite natural because he's 19. at the same time am I seeing enough from him to say that he was worth 17 and a half million over the summer no and haven't over the course of of the season um in a similar way to George Hurst I think that he's very good maybe slightly different in that he's quite good at blocking the outside noise he doesn't really listen to things very much I think he's quite away from from all of the conversations that have been had with around the team which I think is really good for a player of his age. I don't think it's good to get drawn into that.

45:31I think that the best thing that could have happened to him is Wes Burns coming back because the pressure that he would have had if it was him and Casey McAteer is pretty big because we've seen nothing from Casey McAteer. And the fact that he's hardly even coming on in games these days speaks volumes about where he is at the moment. And if it was him and Casey, there would be big warning signs, big flashing lights screaming at us. And the fact that we now have Wes in there, who has performance levels above both of them, quite a way above at the moment, I think is perfect, where you then don't have to give Casey McAteer the minutes if you don't think that he's up to it.

46:12And also you can limit what you do with Cinderella Ageli. He does need minutes to get up to the level that he needs to be at, but he also can't be... he can't have all the pressure on him all the time. He can't constantly have the weight of that right side on his shoulders. So it's really important that we kind of manage expectations with him. But I think having Wes there is crucial. I'm just hoping that we can have enough of a role from Wes Bernstein now in the end of the season. I know, as I said, they need to manage his minutes, but I think that he's exactly what Ipswich need on that right side.

46:47Balance those minutes well with Sindra. but hopefully you can find the form again in the coming weeks and you'll have a strong right-sided unit. Are there concerns there? Maybe one or two starting to creep in because, again, he's the most expensive player that has ever been signed in this division. But I'm not looking to jump the gun too much at the moment because having one or two poor performances in there is not going to make or break a view on him.

47:13Mark Heath:Yeah, I mean, just generally as well, I would say getting on their backs, slagging them off, isn't going to help them play better. That's not going to improve their play. Especially in Sindra's case. I think that you're entitled to voice your pick. If you think George Hurst isn't good enough, that's fair enough, as long as he voiced that in a respectful way. The same with Case McHugh. I think in Sindra's case, it's a little bit different, where I think he needs that arm around the shoulder because of the fact that if I said to you and you're 19, by the way, you're going to be shipped off to Scandinavia and you're going to play football over there.

47:49you have a little basic understanding of the language, but you're playing in a totally different environment. There's every chance that 95 % of human beings would just crumble in that situation. So I think he deserves huge credit for what he's done. And I think he's one who does deserve the arm around the shoulder. But nobody's immune to criticism and big improvements needed from him at the same time. But don't go over the top.

48:14Mark Heath:One more thing I want to talk about before we get to sexy stuff, which I wanted to spend sort of 10 minutes or so finishing off the show talking about that. Injuries, we've been blessed and haven't really had any. Now we're in a situation where we've got a few and I just want to talk to you about the impact and how you see those gaps being filled. So we found out after the game on Saturday, a quote from Kira McKenna, we've gone from having a fully split squad to now having Chuba, Jadon, Nacho, it's obviously Marcelino Nunez and Ashley Young out all with pretty significant injuries. So we know that Nunes, we knew he was injured with the ankle.

48:51Mark Heath:But after the game, we got a bit more. McKenna says, Jadon will be the first one back. I would have thought, but I'm not sure exactly when. Says McKenna, Marcelino will certainly be a few weeks, which is a concern clearly because he's been the main creative force for this team. Is the answer to that just play Anes Mometi there? Is it Sammy Smoddek? How would you see that kind of shaking down before we get him back? Because that is a blow. It is. I don't think Sam Smodek's played badly on Saturday, but I don't think he can be the answer in this Ipswich Town system. I don't think it's him. They need a creator in that role, and Mometi, eight goals, six assists, is more likely to be that.

49:31So I think that Mometi, in the absence of Marcelino, will start to get more minutes, at least as well, in the absence of Jadon Filagene, because I wouldn't be surprised, actually, when Filagene comes back, we could see a bit more of the Filagene on the left clock in the middle experiment. I think of the absentees, Nunez is by far and away the biggest blow because they just don't have anyone like him in the squad. I know that Philogene's the X factor. He's probably on paper the better player because of what he can offer. But the fact that you've got Jack Clark to step in there and he just scores for fun three in his last two games just means that you don't even feel it at all at the moment, to be honest.

50:10And hey, Jack Clark scored more goals at the moment, which is pretty crazy to think given that he's only started a handful. So yeah, the absence of Nunez is a blow. I think there's a theory that it could have been played down a little bit after it happened to try and get that Mometi deal over the line. I wouldn't be surprised. And so we didn't have Bristol City saying, hang on, you need a number 10. Let's double the price here. But yeah, he was the player in particular that when I watched that game and I said it after 15 minutes, I turned to him and I said, they're missing Marcelino Nunez so, so much.

50:48And I think it could have been a much different game with him in it. Ashley Young's an interesting one because obviously he hasn't had the minutes, but he's always been in the squad. He's versatile and can fit in wherever. We'd see how long he's going to be out for, but this is, as things stand, the final season of his career. I saw that he took himself to the Man United away end yesterday. So at least he's not on crutches or anything by the sounds of it. but I don't really know what the situation is going to be with him. There's enough depth there to get by, but I worry more than anything about that number 10 role at the moment.

51:22Just not having the right personnel there. I really, really hope that Anis Mometi can find his feet quickly and be the answer in that position.

51:30Mark Heath:Okay, let's finish with a chat around sexy stuff. A week left in the window, AJ. They've got one in the door. We knew they weren't going to do loads of business this window. We had a solid link yesterday, though, in a position where they definitely will want to add. And it's quite a good one, quite an interesting one. Dan Neal, Sunderland, captain Sunderland to the Premier League, lost his place since then to Granit Xhaka. He's barely played this season. I think he's only made three appearances in the Premier League. And the Daily Record reporting that both Town and Rangers are very interested in him.

52:04Mark Heath:I think West Ham also mentioned. Out of contract. so again a chance maybe to do kind of a Metty style jump in the record went pretty strong saying that Town are kind of leading the chase and made a mood for him over the weekend clearly we're doing some digging on that see what we can unearth but on the face of it that would make sense wouldn't it Dan Neal, good young player, 24 years old can play both the deep role, both the 6 and the 8 and even the 10 I think probably read about him yesterday what do you make of it? Yeah I mean signing a promotion winner at this level regardless is already a good step let alone one who captained a team let alone one who's held in real high regard at his club let alone one who has those versatility bits I wouldn't be that keen to play him in a 10 from what I've seen him personally but the fact that he can cover Matasiewa I think quite well big tick the fact that he can play alongside Matasiewa and come in for Jens and for Jack Taylor when needed big tick not the tallest but I know that he's quite slick on the ball.

53:10He almost has that kind of effortless way of defending in a similar way to what Matasiwa does, where he can dispossess someone without getting his shorts dirty, if that makes sense. And yeah, there's a lot to like about him. He's young, he's English, he's a talented player. He's one that I think if Sunderland hadn't had the season that they've had, would want to have kept. the competition is going to be the big question mark here if he goes to Rangers he would get European football if he goes to West Ham he'll be playing Premier League football this season maybe the flip to that is how much is he going to play in those two clubs knowing that West Ham have very good options in midfield I think he'd be a squad player Rangers I'm not as familiar with but I can't see him going there and starting week in week out for example maybe if you're Kieran McKenna you're able to make that argument to him and say hang on if you come here you're going to play week in week out we aim to be in the Premier League next season and then there'll be a different situation to what you've had at Sunderland and we'll get you minutes to play so yeah a lot to like you'd hope there could be a cut price deal to be done but definitely some fierce competition within that

54:21Mark Heath:Okay so that's definitely one area anyway you'd expect them to be adding over the next week the other one clearly is Stryker and we did a I did a Sunday knee-jerk poll yesterday. You love them. As is my once. I bloody love them, yeah. And I asked, if Town don't sign a striker this month, will they go up automatically? So just over 350 votes. Yes, 30%. No, 70%. Now, that was fairly predictable. But in terms of the dial we've talked about, you know, after Azon's performance last week, we're kind of maybe veering back towards the knot. And then now, after this game, maybe bearing back towards a yes yes please we need a striker what kind of striker though ideally do you think they can get realistically in this in this kind of last seven days aj because it's very hard to go out and sign a striker in january full stop because everyone wants one and those that are available generally are available for a reason um and it almost feels to me like the expectation is that tam will go out and sign a starting strike not just a striker a starting striker which clearly makes it even harder is that realistic do you think i mean what what kind of market are we looking at do you think i think first things first take away kind of the marquee big big money strikers and the first one that comes to mind be like a hypothetically josh sergeant a zander potnik a someone who's who's starting week in week out at the club that they're in and performing well i can't see that happening because we're into the last stages of the window so if you're going to sign one of those players you need to spend a hell of a lot of money and put a hell of a convincing argument together to get them in for the other club to say, hang on, we've got three, four, five days to actually go out and replace them.

55:59I can't see that happening now. The moves that I could see happening would be ones where the dominoes start to fall. I'll take a hypothetical here, and it's difficult because he actually scored yesterday, I think, for Nottingham Forest, but take Tywo Awanee at Nottingham Forest. I don't know if there is a position of interest or what his situation is, but Forest went and signed my boy, Lorenzo Luca of course the masterful six foot seven Italian genius and that could be the kind of thing that starts the dominoes to fall he comes in they've got Igor Jesus who comes back from injury and then Sean Dice says oh hang on we've got three strikers here he wants to leave now we can sanction a move to get him out could be the same with a Joel Perrault I don't think he'll fit but you know as a hypothetical I think it's going to be something where the dominoes have to fall in the latter stages essentially yeah that's how I see it going I don't see Ipswich going out spending£20 million to get the starting striker at Team X at the moment I think either they're going to just sign someone that will kind of add to the competition essentially and offer something different a different profile of striker or they'll be opportunistic as they have been with signing Anis Mometti as they would be with signing Dan Neal and as they would be getting a striker let's say on loan from a Premier League club between now and the end of the season to fire them over the line.

57:20That's how I can see this playing out if they're going to go and get a number nine.

57:24Mark Heath:If I ask you now, which I'm going to, with a week left, whether they sign a strike or not, give me a percentage as to what percentage do you think chances are? There's a really easy answer to this. I can't do it. You're immediately sacked. Okay. I think there is a 35 % chance that they will go and get a striker. I think it's getting lower and lower by the day. I think that the pool will get smaller in terms of what they would want. And I think that there will be a balance when those options come up. I mentioned about the dominoes falling of saying, well, option X is available now, but do we want to take the risk on him?

58:07It has to be the right player. You can't just sign someone for the fun of it, basically. That's going to be the real challenge there. And I'm not sure that they will get what they want in that regard. Still, the priority for me, though, and I know it's not for the sexy one, has to be to get a midfielder who can cover for Azul Matasiwa. And if you said they signed Dan Neal or they signed a number nine, I'd still pick someone like Dan Neal, to be perfectly honest. That's not sexy, though, AJ. I know. I'm sorry. He won't score 15 goals.

58:38Mark Heath:We need a 20-goal-a-season striker. Get him in. Anyway, that is... What's Keefer Moore up to, eh? Well, he would be perfect, though, wouldn't he? Big Keefer. Him and Lewis Travis. Look at Wrexham, eh? Exactly what's needed. Look at Wrexham. Well, they're doing it. Anyway, I digress. Are you like a proud father seeing your boy Lorenzo Luca sign for Forest? I mean, you told everyone about him months, if not years ago. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, look, it's not like he was some total unknown. I think he was doing all right in the top flight of Italian football, which can't be ignored. But yeah, I did like seeing that.

59:11I always like going back through and seeing the players I picked out and how they're doing. and some of them, I remember I picked out one. Do you remember the one who was playing in the Spanish second tier on loan from, it was a top flight team. He was playing in the second division. He's been transferred to Strasbourg and got linked to Barcelona the other week. And I was like, oh, you know what? That makes me feel quite good. And others, I'm like, I've unearthed this little gem. He's playing in the German second tier and it's just been a disaster ever since I picked him out. So yeah, hits and misses.

59:41We've got a bit of work to do before my career as a scout finally kicks off. but it's good fun to do.

59:48Mark Heath:Okay, right. Any other business, AJ? I do want to mention, I know from watching Rossi's game day, food at Sheffield United, I want to ask you about this because he had what I would call a good, honest plate of food. It was sausages, chips, and onion gravy, which sounds like classic comfort food. Did you avail yourself of the same options? So, as I mentioned, we went to the OK Diner in the morning, and I was messaging my mum about this, funnily enough, and I said, oh, God, I think I'm going to feel quite sick after this, kind of as a joke. Anyway, 10 minutes into the drive away from there, my stomach started to turn a little bit, and by the time I got into Sheffield, I had had like two bottles of water, and I was like, I think I'm just going to have a bag of crisps for lunch, to be honest, and I took one of the ready-salted.

1:00:36Mark Heath:What did you have at the OKDOM? I just had a – it was a bacon sandwich with an egg, but what I noticed, right, is so Stu got a bacon sandwich, and they bring out this little little bacon sandwich for him and i ordered the same thing it just has a fried egg on top i just go boom there you go it's like double the size of what he has i'm like trying to cut the bacon off the sides um i don't know what i did what i did wrong when ordering that but um yeah i just felt a little bit nauseous after that i am someone who can be prone to car sickness to be fair so um yeah i maybe made a rod for my own back with that one I did not partake in the sausages, chips and onion gravy.

1:01:12I think it got good reviews, though, from what I'd seen. I know Stu managed to bring himself up to go and get some, but for me it was just crisps and a nice McDonald's on the way home. Lovely stuff.

1:01:23Mark Heath:Anything else to mention, AJ, before we take our leave?

1:01:29No, I think that I'm very glad to draw a line under this one. Yeah, stay tuned for what we're going to bring in the next week. I know the one thing that we will do is we'll profile Alniss Mometi, which is going to be something I'm going to do for tomorrow morning. He's a cage footballer by nature, which I didn't really expect, to be perfectly honest, that he was going to be... I think maybe because he comes through... He's an Albanian international. It just didn't really piece together in my mind that he'd be growing up in the streets of London playing cage football. But yeah, he's got that street footballer vibe to him.

1:02:03Ipswich are not averse to signing players from that background Chew Brabapol Mari Hutchinson Jeremy Sarmiento all done that earlier in their careers so yeah going to be doing a bit of digging into his time playing deep into the depths of non-league as recently as COVID which is weird Wickham and his schoolboy days at Norwich even Boo and everything that's led him to the transfer to Portman Road so keep your eyes peeled for that one that'll be tomorrow morning

1:02:30Mark Heath:Yes indeed right then the usual spiel to end the pod just to remind to support our sponsors user code KOA at stardustspirits.co.uk for 20 % off all their superb alcoholic concoctions. Gary and the team there are doing excellent work. And also use the code KWAY10 at molecular-uk.com for 10 % off all their various car cleaning and other products. I need them. Really need them. It's not looking good. It's a Jones mobile in a bad state, is it? Yeah. Well, the thing is, it's the interiors as well that's the problem now. So I have some car wipes that I got from Rituals. don't do what I did go and go to molecular instead but I've bought these before the partnership we had with um with uh molecular so I got some of the wipes and actually used them weirdly for the first time I found them lying around I did a wipe on the inside of my car and some of the things I saw doing that good god I I really need to get my act together that was uh that was not good you're growing penicillin inside your car are you yeah yeah what you need is banana dine mate obviously from molecular that's what you want inside your car um i also want to ask again for five star reviews uh on itunes because it helps lift us visibility wise in the charts we had a couple um since last week and the the one star ignominy um which i talked about and i shan't go back on again now but interesting that uh we we that still hasn't been upgraded to five star i am watching um but we had a couple from herbert huge me flip which i like and also ben buckingham thanks very much for that friends for leaving us those those five star reviews if you do enjoy the show it's just important um that if you can leave a review it just helps lift us in the charts and helps more people find us which obviously is much appreciated right then friends we've got things to do aj's got to get his ear to the ground on the transfer beat and write a profile about alice memetti i've got lists to make and paper to shuffle i'm very busy and important as i'm sure you'll appreciate um i hope you have a good start to your week friends and we're back later on this week to build up of course to what is now going to be a big game at the weekend against preston and also obviously a game where they're looking for revenge from earlier in the season.

1:04:32Mark Heath:So have a good one and we'll speak to you next time.

1:05:05Thank you.

1:05:31Thank you.

1:05:59Thank you.

From the publisher

Mark Heath and Alex Jones gather to reflect on a deflating result at Bramall Lane for Ipswich Town.

The boys talk through the game and the key moments, discuss the changes to the starting XI and lament old problems resurfacing.

There’s also a chat about Town losing their heads, the form of George Hirst and Sindre Walle Egeli, Anis Mehetmi’s debut and Dara O’Shea’s post-match comments.

Then it’s onto sexy stuff, with the link to Sunderland’s Dan Neil and AJ’s latest thoughts on the need to add a striker in the last week of the window.

Kings of Anglia is sponsored by Stardust Spirits. Get 20% OFF with promo code KOA at https://www.stardustspirits.co.uk/

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