606: Kings of Anglia: Pompey postponed (again), deadline dissection and Derby discussion

19:31Ross Halls:Yeah, very much so. And they've got to get up to speed. So we need someone ready right now or at least challenging the current strikers. So there you go. I want to discuss, boys, because we mentioned on the live pod, you've got a lot of stuff on the transfer market and on deadline day. so we won't go in depth on that because I think we're retired now we're tired, it was a long January you know, it was a bit of a yeah, underwhelming window in a way I know a lot of people out there were not not too happy, you guys I think ranked it was at 7 out of 10 maybe 6 out of 10, stuff like that yeah, in the end it was a flat ending wasn't it, after you know, two solid signings with Meti and Dan Neal but there was a late bid for Millwall winger Femi Aziz and you put a story out today, Stu, about Casey McIntyre, you know, McKenna, you know, speaking about him.

20:22Ross Halls:He's not obviously had the best time at town so far. I still think he's a player there. I think the price tag, a bit of pressure there and all that stuff. Okay, yeah, he hasn't done too well on the pitch just yet, but there's been a few moments, performances as well. I thought, you know, he's a good player there and his defensive work as well. But then you go and see a bid record, a club record fee would have, If Millwall accepted it, it would have been a club record fee for them. Last minute, decide now a right winger, which is strange when you've got three right wingers already, Stu. What's your thoughts on that?

21:00Stuart Watson:There's probably four big questions that I think everyone's been asking post-transfer deadline day. And it's, you won't ask them, I dare you to ask them. It's about time the local press started asking them, etc., etc. One of my favourite times in the cycle of football reportage. It probably boils down to this, is people asking, does Kieran McKenna have the final say in transfers? I'm 99 % certain that that is the case, and I've kind of alluded to that in the bits that we've put out in terms of lots of names put to Kieran McKenna. Kieran McKenna didn't want to progress with a number of them because they didn't meet his high standards, and the club were absolutely fine with that because they put full stock in Kieran McKenna.

21:43Stuart Watson:So he is a manager rather than a first-team coach. It's not the Liam Rosinia situation at Chelsea where he talks about, I'm only involved in about 2 % of the transfer dealings, I think was the quote recently. But I can put that to Kieran McKenna when we speak to him tomorrow and see what he has to say. But I'm fairly certain that that is the case, that he has the biggest say in transfers. why no striker again that question will be put to him i can pretty much predict his response is going to be from what we've explained that as i've said all along if they'll you know the club did did all its due diligence worked really hard behind the scenes but as i ultimately said i have full faith in what i've got and if we didn't find anything anyone that was better slash different then we wouldn't do it and that's been the case so i'll ask that question you'll probably get that sort of response then in response to what you've just said why did you go for another right winger that's in the public domain now alex neil the millwall manager has confirmed that that uh the ips which made bids for femi aziz um millwall probably quite happy for that to be known because it you know reflects well on them that we've turned down big money for one of our players and maybe um alleviate some of the disappointment at their end that they didn't sign more players to aid with the promotion push.

23:09Stuart Watson:That is a very fair question, and that is a bigger question for me than the kind of why no striker one, is the right-wing recruitment that Ipswich have gone out and spent£8 million on Ogbena. Yes, he got injured, but they were very quick to move him on at the start of this season. Then they go out and spend another near£30 million on two others, Insindre and Casey McAteer, and six months later, here looking to splash some more money on another right winger that's um that doesn't smack of of well thought out recruitment does it so that is a fair question and how kieran mckenna deals with that tomorrow and approaches it we'll wait and see and the final question is the sammy schmoddick's one why have you let him go on loan we've been told consistently that he will only go if our valuation is met and he's ended up going on loan a straight loan by the way understanding is there's no obligation there despite what sammy's alluded to in his interview uh to a promotion rival a team just outside of the playoffs what's the situation what's the situation there what's led to that um again fair question and one will be put to kieran mckenna so that probably draws a line under deadline day for me.

24:31Stuart Watson:Those are the four big questions that have arisen from it. And we'll see, first of all, how Kieran McKenna kind of responds to that. And really some of these questions are maybe fairer for Mark Ashton as well. So it'll be really interesting to see if and when Mark Ashton kind of next speaks to the town fans. I would imagine that will be through a town TV interview at some stage. So we'll wait and see on that.

24:58Ross Halls:Okay. AJ? Have you got any answers? You predicted any answers that McKenna would say about definitely the right wing? Because, yeah, as I say, it's been a strange sort of recruitment on that side. Especially now with Wes Burns, who he signed for like Peanuts from Fleetwood when obviously he was the first ever game changer signing. And he's now pretty much first choice in a way. Yeah, so the two big questions that you alluded to is that and Smoddix. Honestly, on Smoddix, I don't know would be the point. I don't know what the answer is going to be there. The only thing I could possibly hypothesize is that Sammy has said in his interview that he, when the bid came in from Derby, said that he wanted to make the move.

25:40It was a move that interested him. And I think quite clearly when it got to deadline day, this was something that he wanted to do. So was it a case of having either an unhappy player who wasn't at his best or letting him go and play his best football elsewhere? maybe there was that balance and I wouldn't be surprised that is Kieran McKenna's answer I still feel a bit uncomfortable with the fact that he's gone to what could easily be a promotion rival between now and the end of the season with no obligation obviously there'll be a fee in there a loan fee but it's not going to move the needle that much for it which yeah that one I'm not too sure about and on the right winger side of things a little bit different because I can even though I probably wouldn't have done it myself I can see an element of the logic which would then go against what Kieran has said about replacing Smoddix.

26:29Was he to leave? Do we need a replacement? No. I think this kind of would have been the Sam Smoddix replacement in that Sindra Wala-Agelli would then have got most of his minutes in the 10th. Would have been a more natural kind of Smoddix replacement. Wes cannot be relied upon, I don't think, to play to start Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. And then you can manage his minutes a little bit more. and Casey McIntyre, despite all the big praise, is clearly in a position where I still don't think he's properly trusted. And Ipswich don't want to put too much pressure and two opportunities on him when he hasn't been able to deliver at this point.

27:10I'm sure that they do think he can get there, but I don't think it's going to happen imminently. And you can see that with the minutes he's played and how many times he's been an unused substitute when Ipswich have chased games. so then you bring in someone else who can play on the right solves the fact that probably aren't happy on their right-sided situation you get Syndra that plays through the 10 and then you can balance the minutes between Femi Aziz and Wes Burns a little bit better that's how I think the balance was seen again whether Kieran McKenna goes into any such depth when he speaks to the press tomorrow morning I'm not sure but I think that's what it was The Smoddix

27:47Stuart Watson:Smoddix? I suddenly couldn't say that then. Schmoddick's logic that you've outlined there, I think is fair. If it gets to deadline day and you're in deadlock over the fee, but Sammy's made it clear that he wants to go, as you say, is it worth keeping him around if his head's elsewhere to be a kind of squad player and you want your squad players to be that kind of positive, uplifting presence behind the scenes. That's an overlooked factor in the promotions before that people like Caden Jackson, Marcus Harness, several others were playing that supporting role behind the scenes with a smile on their face.

28:32Stuart Watson:If Sammy Schmodix wasn't going to do that, if he didn't feel that that was going to be the case, then just find a way to get the deal over the line and at least his wages are covered. and hopefully they can do something, you know, if he's better off going there and maximising, you know, improving his value, which means you might get a better transfer fee further down the track. So I can just about buy into that. The right wing side of things, you're right. There's definitely an argument, and I outland it on the morning of deadline day, that for all the talk about striker, right wing is an issue in the side at the moment in terms of two goals from Sindre Valergelli.

29:12Stuart Watson:and that's it. And Wes has obviously scored as well. But the fact, as you say, Ross, that Wes Burns, fresh from a year out, is now, in most people's mind, the best option on that right wing after spending so much money isn't a great look. And I do agree that there is a player there in Casey McAteer, and he's been a bit unfortunate that some of the chances he's created haven't been finished off at times. And I hope that Sindre Valergelli is going to, you know again i'll give him a bit of a pass because he's 19 and he's in the country for the first time and all of that but this is this is a high pressure season for ipswich town you've just dropped down from the premier league if you're going to spend 30 million pounds on two right wingers make sure one of them is a is a bit more of a kind of guaranteed to deliver in the here and now out of the two of them have one of them fine to be the kind of you know will grow in time and has a bit of a potential but for two of them to be you know a note that Kieran's now referring to Casey McIntyre as a late developer and someone that will come good in time to spend that much money on two that are seen as prospects rather than one that's ready to deliver now they've dropped the ball a little bit there haven't they again it's easy to say in hindsight because the hope I guess was that one of them was going to deliver and it's not been the case

30:34Ross Halls:on the other side on the left we've got two players you are producing which is just it's crazy really um but uh yeah i do like to see sindra i would like to see him in the 10 a bit

30:45Stuart Watson:more um so i think the plan with him was it was much like omari hutchinson that he's a young player a skillful player and you see it so often that those players start out on out on the wing where they can maybe express themselves a little bit more and then in time become more central players, become 10s. And that's what we saw with Omari Hutchinson. He played on the right in the Championship and then he transitioned into being a 10 in the Premier League. And I think that's probably the route that Ipswich have got planned for Sindra at the moment. But they've obviously got Nunez and Mometi in that 10 role there at the moment as well.

31:26So, yeah, that probably draws a line under deadline day for at the moment.

31:33Stuart Watson:We've spoken a lot about it in great depth. There are still some questions that need to be answered. And, you know, we'll do our job and we'll ask them. We did.

31:41Ross Halls:And by the way, we saw Mometi, Anastom Mometi, who has got a good, you know, calibre in the championship. He's got eight goals, six assists already for Bristol City this season. So that's a good sign. And we've got Daniel, who was captain, you know, Sunderland promotion last year. I know he was sort of captain here and there, wasn't he? I don't think he was the main captain. There was other captains weren't there, AJ. But two very solid signings in this window. But let's draw a line over it. That's done and dusted. I was going to ask another question to AJ, but do I ask him? Just a quick one. I'll give you a quick answer.

32:12Ross Halls:It's about price tags, because how much pressure do you think that does give players? I know you speak to players a lot. I think there's some players out there going, oh, I don't really think about it. But I think maybe for younger ones, they must have a little, like, Sindra must think about a little bit. He's a record championship signing. Possibly. I think it's more about the external narrative and what that creates, where pressure will naturally be on more because he costs 17.5 million. If he costs three, then we wouldn't be saying it in the same way. There would still be a discussion. If Anas Mometi didn't deliver between now and the end of the season, then you'd still have conversations about, well, why did we spend three and a half million on him?

32:47He's rubbish. which that would naturally be what some fans would say if he doesn't kick on at Portman Road. But I think it's just a narrative that can be created. And we've done quite well. I think that the fan base done really well to push that to one side. But naturally, and also externally, people will say, hang on, he's the most expensive player ever. The most expensive championship player ever. Ipswich have signed him and he's only scored twice. What's going on? So that naturally builds. But I think players probably are quite good at blocking those things out when deals are signed and stuff like that.

33:23Stuart Watson:Sindra got asked about it, didn't he, in one of his early pre-season interviews. And I think it's genuine that he's got that sort of laid-back, Scandi attitude. And he's like, don't really think about it that much, to be honest. Alex is right. It's more about the feeling that it provides externally amongst the fan base and expectations of a player to deliver. And when talking about Casey McAteer, Kieran McKenna made comparisons with Wes Burns and says, you know, Casey's 24. And he says, if you look at where Wes Burns was at in his career, he was at Fleetwood playing right back in League One and continued to do so for a few more years before he came to Ipswich and became the player he was.

34:03Stuart Watson:And even in his early days at Ipswich, Wes Burns, it took him a while to become the player that we know and love, didn't it? I remember there was a bit of a narrative around Wes that, oh, he's quick and he runs at people, but his final delivery is not there. And in Wes's own words, he used to just hit it as hard as he could into the box and hope for the best. And he's become, he's added some more finesse to his game over time. But there was less pressure probably in that environment because he'd come from a nominal fee from Fleetwood and Ipswich are in League One to sort of having a bit more of a spotlight on you, as Casey and Sindra do at the moment.

34:42But yeah, I'll just tell you something.

34:48Stuart Watson:There's a lot of talk about Ipswich's recruitment and how good has it actually been and how much money has been wasted and certain positions that have been messed up, etc., etc. There's a lot of talk around that the last few days. So I've gone through and I have rated all 51 of the signings made under kieran mckenna nine transfer windows now since he's come in uh it took a little while to do um hits missed hits misses mega hits costly misses juries out i've tried to sort of categorize them all um that will probably be online by the time people watch or listen to this going up at five o 'clock today so have a look at that see if you concur um and let me know what you think

35:33Ross Halls:looking forward to that my friend a lot of hard work going into that one 51 did you say?

35:40Stuart Watson:I'm hoping I haven't missed anyone out

35:45I've read this and it is a mega piece it's great thorough but also to the point marks on every single player the ones you think that you can name all 51 of them I'm sure there's one or two you forgot there was one that Stu forgot and we went back and got it. I can't remember who it was that you left out. I think Lewis Travis had slipped through the net originally,

36:09Stuart Watson:but he's on. I've not included people that haven't played kind of first-team games, goalkeepers, that have come and gone, things like that. Sorry, Joel Coleman. Yeah. I think it's interesting to look back on anyway. It's really good.

36:24Ross Halls:Yeah, yeah. I'm sure there's a lot of blasts from the past in that 51. Some players are thinking, oh, yeah, I forgot about him. that's just football isn't it you see players, you see names you go oh yeah, remember him like me with my ex-blues there's so many people if I put a story up they go oh him, I forgot about him Ross thanks for reminding me

36:43Stuart Watson:Ross, it's just dawned on me you're the member berries from South Park episode aren't you? you're wearing the right colours as well for them have you seen that? member member Dominic Thompson he got sent off last night little fun fact about him there you go i knew you'd know that i think you support ex-ipswich players more than you support ipswich town it's become a it's become a serious fetish if you don't mind me saying

37:14Ross Halls:yeah and of course i do well when i first got into this job i did like a ross meets series where i used to catch up with former players and i still do that now you know speak to i just i I don't know. I just enjoy it, weirdly enough. I think, you know, once a blue, always a blue. So there we go. But check it out, though, Stu's piece. I'm sure there's some blasts on the past, as I said, in that list. And yeah, Lewis Travis, we'll be playing against him this weekend for Derby County. Some of his modics, of course, will not be available because of the loan rule and stuff like that. But Pry part, the first of four away games now in a row.

37:51Ross Halls:And they're doing a right, aren't they, under John Eustace? They came out a bit of a dark horse, would you say? Because I think they're seventh at the moment, aren't they? I think they dropped out of the top six because of results over the midweek games. Good record as well, away from home, but not at home. Fun fact there. But anyway, AJ, come over to you. Derby County, when we played them last time at Porton Road, that was a bit of a battle, wasn't it? We had to score a couple of times on Lake Notley to get a point. Lewis Travis had a bit of a tangled in he with Ezra Matasiwa. Or was it Jens Kustad?

38:25Ross Halls:No, it was Jens Kustad. Jens. Yeah, I got a really bad image of it and I was like, oh God, that's not good from Travis there. But yeah, this will be a battle. You're opening forts against the Rams. You say they have a good away record. If you factor in goal difference, they have the best away record in the entire division ahead of Hull City. They've both got 27 points on the road. and then you contrast that with how they played at Pride Park and they've got the fifth worst home record, which is really, really weird. And I think that you're going to see a Derby team start to click now because I don't think that's going to last.

39:04And I think that the away record that they've had is more telling than the home record and that you're going to see them improve. To tease a bit, I've done, I've rehashed my 1-24 predictions, which will be out tomorrow morning, gone through every single team where I think they'll finish. including Ipswich, of course, and all the playoff top chases, all of that, and the relegation battle too. And I think Derby might do quite well, is all I'll say. I think they'll have a pretty good stab at it, and I think that they'll be right in the mix to have a shot at going to the Premier League. They've just built so well, I think, that January's been really good for them.

39:42Obviously, Smoddix has come in, but they've added little bits in as well. Derry Merkin's come in from Utrecht. They've signed Oscar Fraulo from Gladbach, a bit of foreign recruitment there, but they've also then got your experienced championship bodies. Ben Brereton-Diaz starting to deliver. Lewis Travis, Dion Sands and Bobby Clark have done really well since joining. He's from Salzburg, ex-Liverpool. They've got Brewster in there. Patrick Ajermang was someone that Ipswich were linked with over the summer. He ended up going to Derby instead. And God, I think Ipswich fans wish they could have come to Sportman Road because nine goals, three assists, to looking at someone at 25, 6 '4 striker who is worth probably about£20 million on his current form at the moment.

40:23That's how Derby value him. Well-oiled machine. And generally speaking, well-oiled machines under John Eustace tend to do quite well in this league. So I think this is going to be a pretty difficult game. It should be said as well to mention it's half 12 kickoff on Saturday. It's actually 12.31. It'll be something to mention. This is the British Heart Foundation's Every Minute Matters campaign, which shows the impact of a minute and what that can mean when someone's having a heart attack and the importance of learning CPR. So I thought that would be important to mention. That's why it'll be a 12-31 kick-off and why if you go onto any of your football apps, any game in the EFL will kick off one minute later than scheduled.

41:05Ross Halls:You stole my thunder there, AJ. I'm sorry. That's fine. Because yeah, we've got this big, very important to raise awareness. Because sadly, it's happening a lot now, especially in supporters in the stands. Obviously, it's happened a lot with players. Tom Lockyer is the standout one in recent memory. Even Christian Eriksen at the Euros. I remember watching that Denmark playing against, I forgot what they're playing against now, but I remember that just happening a lot. I was on telly just watching it and going, what's going on? Obviously, Christian Eriksen, thankfully, he's gone on to play games again as well.

41:35Ross Halls:Tom Lockyer as well. So, very important message. But 12-31 kick-off. But yes, do. Derby County, what's your thoughts on this one your gut feeling i've got a quiz question for you guys as well because we've got a pretty good record at pride park so i'm going to get aj and stew to battle out to see who can get this right uh which probably gives stew advantage but it's a shot in the dark answers aj so don't worry but stew how you feeling for this one yeah so my list of notes good record

42:04Stuart Watson:at pride park won four of the last five visits there for it switch hopefully that's a good omen as AJ mentions Derby great away but poor at home they've won four of their last sorry well one of their last seven games and that happens to be about Middlesbrough on New Year's Day but poor at home for Derby Ipswich we're talking about their struggles away from home as well equally one win in the last six away from home for Ipswich and that happens to be at Coventry so it's weird how both of the results that kind of buck the trend for those two clubs have came against teams in the top two. Do you know how many consecutive league games Derby have scored in now?

42:49Ross Halls:I'm going to say 12. Higher. Oh, okay. AJ, what do you reckon, mate? You've got to be going back to probably the start of November, maybe. I'll put it at 17.

43:05Stuart Watson:It's 20, according to the stat. I just seen reading that, which is a record that dates back to the 70s for Derby. So, yeah, they're a team that tend to be scoring at least once in games of football at the moment. That's without Carlton Morris, who's sidelined. They've still got him to come back into the equation. They've got Sammy Schmodix now to add into the equation. Have to point out that he's obviously ineligible. That's the one upside of him going on loan is that he won't be able to feature in this game and be the inevitable subplot that comes to fruition. You mentioned it, Travis, ex-Blue, Matt Clark at the heart of defence, ex-Ipswich player as well, Callum Elder, former Ipswich low-knee, or us just look at the excitement in his eyes at left back.

43:51Stuart Watson:No more Caden Jackson anymore. He left for Bradford during January transfer window. But, yeah, it's a tough test for Ipswich, isn't it, this one? But they all are. They are.

44:08Ross Halls:Three players at Bradford now. Lee Evans, Matt Hederton and Caden Jackson. Anyway, let's bring up quickly about the team because Jadon Finagene, he's potentially going to be back for Portsmouth. He now has had a few days to prepare for this. Nunes, of course, Stu will be speaking to McKenna tomorrow. Maybe it's more updates on injuries. But yeah, the team is looking fresh again now. We had a lot of injury issues, but now it's like, who's going to start, really?

44:42Stuart Watson:Did we mention, by the way, that Derby thrashed Bristol City 5-0 away in their last game? In amongst all of that, probably should have mentioned that as well. Yeah, five different goal scorers, I think, in that game. Is that right? AJ's correct me if that was right. I watched it, so I should know. But yeah, five different goal scorers. Yeah. Who plays for Ipswich? I think this is too early for Nunez. They're talking about the league game against Wrexham being slated for his return. So I would imagine Mameti continues in the 10. I've liked what I've seen of him so far with one cameo and one start from him.

45:19Stuart Watson:Philogene, as I mentioned, might have been involved at Fratton Park on Tuesday night had that gone ahead. So there's a good chance he'll be in the squad. Can I see him going straight back into the starting 11? Probably not, given that Jack Clark is scoring goals and playing well. Any other debates, gentlemen, in the team? What do you reckon? Yeah, definitely. Let me throw out a few interesting ones. So let's go through and say what we definitely think will happen. You'll have Walton in goal, Furlong, O'Shea, Davis. I'm going Jacob Greaves, left side and centre-back. I think this is now his chance.

45:57I haven't been overly impressed by Cedric Kipra in the last couple of games. James, caveat that the Sheffield United one, he definitely took a bad whack to the shoulder, which I think put him off, but wasn't convinced by McPreston. I don't know what you guys think on that one. Would you go again? How would you go centre-backs?

46:14Stuart Watson:Yeah, I think I had Greaves in my predicted 11 for the Portsmouth game. I thought, you know, he wasn't... Who did he come in at left-back for when Davis got rested, surprisingly, recently? Was that Sheffield United, wasn't it? Yeah. He wasn't great at left-back in that game, certainly nowhere near the levels of his left-back performance at Coventry at the end of the year, but he's been patiently waiting for his chance, and it may well come now. As you say, Kipre's just had a little bit of a dip, so I wouldn't be shocked by Jacob Greaves coming in at centre-half. Yeah, and you're looking at Matasiwa, and then the question around his midfield partner.

46:56I want to put this on to Ross. I want to turn host here. Ross, I'm going to ask you for a decision here. So who are you going with? I'm going to go Dan Neal. He was my starter in midweek. Basically, I think that the team that I would have started against Portsmouth would probably be the team I'd start here, to be honest. But yeah, Dan Neal was the one I'd go in for, for this game. I think that, again, he seems to be, for me, the perfect balance between Cajusta and Taylor, the perfect kind of middle ground. And I really want to see a partnership be built up, assuming that Neal can get to the levels that we saw him reach at Sunderland between him and Azor Matasiwa.

47:35Agree? Disagree?

47:35Ross Halls:Where do you go? The thing is with this, I'm actually going to ask you a question as well. This is going to be a different game to Portsmouth as well because Portsmouth, they were just going to be... Although Derby, they're physical as well. So actually, you know what? No, it's going to be a similar game. So Daniel, is he ready though? Is he ready to start? he's not been playing football but then when do you maybe play him in the FA Cup game get him up to speed and maybe start Jack Taylor in this one he's had a week and a half's training hasn't it been maybe a little bit more than that match minutes yeah match minutes is always going to be the big debate is how do you do that I could definitely see a world in which your argument is right and they put Taylor in I don't think this is a Jenski-Justa game for me I think it would either be Taylor or Dan Neal.

48:27I'd like to see Dan Neal in this one, but I could definitely see an argument he made where they do it the other way around and Dan Neal gets a start at Wrexham on that Friday night game. Yeah, where do you land then, Ross? What's your decision?

48:41Ross Halls:I'm going with Jack Taylor. I just think I'd rather maybe chuck Dan Neal in for the Wrexham game, you know, cup game, get him up to speed. And this is definitely not a Jens Q-Stay game because last time Lewis Travis really killed him. Not really. But really, yeah, that was a bad challenge. But Stu, you're sort of nodding ahead. Where are you going with it? Are you guys going to be Jens Kjusta?

49:02Stuart Watson:No, no, I definitely agree that this isn't a Jens Kjusta type match. I have just about fallen on Jack Taylor as a starter with some Dan Neal off the bench and then Dan Neal starting in the cup game the following weekend. But Ipswich have signed Dan Neal for a reason. as you say yes he hasn't started since August but you've got to give him some minutes at some point to get him up to speed so it wouldn't shock me if they chucked him straight in for this one but I'll go with Taylor to start and kneel off the bench in midfield OK so then we've got the rest of the team then to go I'm going to go with three that I think we can all agree which will be the three behind the striker tell me if you disagree right side Wes Burns best option at the moment free week off the back of the Preston game would have come out, I think, if it was the Portsmouth game on Tuesday.

49:54But with that in mind, I think that he'll start here. Do we agree? Nods? Yeah, I think so.

50:01Stuart Watson:Yeah, I think I had Sindra down. We were debating. I think you had Casey in your team for Portsmouth. I had Sindra in my team. We thought Wes wouldn't be able to play two in four days. But he's probably one that's benefited from that game being called off and he can go again. Yeah, Anis Mimetti in the 10, because I don't think there's that many other options unless you're going to put Syndra there. Yeah, Anis nods, nods. Jack Clark. All right, let's stop there. Jack Clark on the left, assuming that he's got the better away record and Jadon Villagin's only just coming back in. And then Stryker, that's going to be the position to debate.

50:43And I'm torn a little bit on this one. where I think Hurst could be suited to the game a little bit more. But, and I keep saying it, I do want to get Azon a run of games because I think that if he can get up to speed, he can be the man to take the mantle as the number nine. So I am going to go Azon for this one. Any further on that? Two other options that you can have, Akpom or George Hurst. Where do we go, Stu? I'll pass this to you.

51:16Stuart Watson:I'll go George Hurst for this one. I think away from home, Derby, tails are up. I think they're going to want to attack this game. It's going to be very different, I think, to probably one of the worst games of football I've seen back at Portman Road in August. I don't know what the ball in playtime was during that game, but it was just, I think Kimmy kind of called it a broken game of football, didn't he, in terms of the stop-start nature of it. John Eustace had the audacity to come out and sort of question where the world record amount of stoppage time came from which eventually thankfully came back to bite them with Jack Clark getting that late penalty but I don't I can't see how they'll be able to approach this game in the same manner given their form given they're in front of their home fans and I think that suits George Hurst's sort of running off the last shoulder quality some spacing behind.

52:10Stuart Watson:I look at their two centre-halves in Matt Clarke and Dion Sanderson, big centre-halves, but not necessarily the quickest or the most mobile. So that's my thinking, George Hurst. And it will be interesting to see what his response is, how tuned in he's been to the kind of feeling of disappointment around not signing a striker and some of the negativity that's overstepped the line in terms of what's been sort of levelled at him. I don't know if he's a man that's on social media or tuned into all of that sort of stuff. But if he is, hopefully that proves a motivation rather than something that buries him a little bit.

52:53Stuart Watson:We'll have to see.

52:54Ross Halls:Yeah, I know a lot of it's obviously on X, Twitter. I know a lot of football these days, they're mainly on Instagram. I know you can tag people on Instagram, but don't go on X, George. Do not go on there. that's not a good place for you if you want to search George Hurst. But I'm backing George to start this one. And last time we played at Pride Park, he scored, didn't he, Stu? Conor Chaplin as well in that 2-0 win, which was a really good day out in Derby. I really enjoyed that day. Funny enough, I actually did a weekender with some of the Kauai army. We got on Airbnb, good old John Watson. I shared a room with him.

53:31Ross Halls:And yeah, it was a good sort of weekender in Derby. So hopefully the same this weekend, getting a big win. So prediction time. I have got that quiz I want to bring up. We'll do that quickly first. So we have got a really good record at Pride Park. So we played at the baseball ground, of course, but since Pride Park opened in 1997, we'll play that 18 times, boys. How many times have we won at Pride Park in those 18 times? Stu, you've done a little bit of research. Did you say it was four wins there since the last five games or something like that?

54:03Stuart Watson:Yeah. so

54:05Ross Halls:how many times have we won at Pride Park 18 games remember that Carlos Edwards goal

54:12Stuart Watson:late winner charging through the pitch remember that 4-4 game incredible 4-4 game Steve McLaren coming down and giving the half time team talk to turn things around 4-1 at half time yeah just mad Christoph Berra score header there was that a late goal was that a derby or was it it was a home game

54:36Ross Halls:he scored a late winner at home I think he had scored at derby before but I think that was a draw but yeah what do you reckon boys

54:52Stuart Watson:I'll go 10 10 AJ I think it's going to be lower than that

55:01Ross Halls:I don't know, we just name checked I know but I mean 10 is quite I'll go 7 7, the correct answer is 9 9 wins 6 draws, 3 defeats in total so I've got a really good record at Pride Park and hopefully that continues this weekend so predictions, Stu you are leading the way my friend, but only by 3 points AJ is just behind you I'm having an absolute mare I need to maybe just follow the crowd or I need to just go a little bit more rogue and just hope for the best, what do you reckon

55:38Stuart Watson:Whose turn is it to go first I want to keep ordering these things

55:42Ross Halls:Maybe the one who well, technically the leader yourself You won the quiz, you got nearest You go first

55:52Stuart Watson:Okay, I'm literally going to do this on the fly

55:59draw

56:02Stuart Watson:can't quite bring myself to say an Ipswich win given what we've seen in the last couple of games

56:12Stuart Watson:1-1 so 1-1 draw and I'll say the goal scorer is going to be

56:24Stuart Watson:I think this might be a set-piece goal. I'm going to go rogue. I'm going to say Dara O'Shea.

56:33Ross Halls:Dara O'Shea. I like to see that. We haven't had a set-piece goal for a while, so hopefully we can get another one. AJ, so Stu's gone for a draw. Are you back in the town? Because we need to bounce back. We haven't won the last two games, which is not a disaster, but it's going to be a busy month. This could be a crunch part of the season in terms of make or break potentially. Yeah, I do feel that this is a tricky game and my thought going into it is just to bring the positivity to the pod, I think that Ipswich are more likely to lose this than win it. But I am also going to follow in with a draw.

57:10I was going to go 1-1 but that would be a bit boring so I'm not going to say that. I'm going to go 2-2 because Derby, as Stu has outlined, they're goals. Goals, goals, goals. So I think that Town might struggle a bit with Adjaman, but I hope they can get a couple themselves. With that in mind, I'll go 2-2, and I'm going to go with Anis again because I backed him in midweek in the game that didn't happen. So I'll back him to go here. Start Anis to get the goal. 2-2. Oh, Desmond loved that.

57:42Ross Halls:Do you know what? I'm going to back a Town win. Come on, boys. 1-0. I know that you said Derby score goals we're going to stop them on the weekend and you know what George Hurst he's going to cup his ears and he will score although I'm probably completely wrong and I've just ruined my chances to even try to catch you guys but that's just in my heart right now 1-0 win for town big three points clean sheet as well we'll find out and obviously find Heathie's prediction as well when he shares it with us is he going to back a win for the Rams, his boyhood club, in a way. Well, that's where he started supporting in his early younger days, young Heath man.

58:26Ross Halls:But yeah, I don't know where I'm going with that. I've had a bit of just a crazy couple of minutes, mate. I don't know what I've put in my cup of tea. Deep breaths, Ross. Deep breaths. Deep breaths, indeed. But yes, final bit of business, boys, because we're getting to that magic hour and I think we weren't going to record for an hour, but normally I'm the one who sort of brings it longer than it needs to be. But Stu, anything else from you?

58:53Stuart Watson:No other business. Fair. Look forward to seeing the young Heath man in due course. Yes. AJ? No other business. I think you need to go have a lie down somewhere. Maybe a quick shower.

59:09Ross Halls:Yeah, that's what I normally say. That's why Heathie's not here. he's having a lie down after the deadline day because I know he hates the transfer window, especially January. But there we go. Thanks again for tuning in to another Kings of Anglia podcast, of course, sponsored by Stardust Spiritually. Use the code KOA to get 20 % off your next order. And Molecular as well. Use the code KOA10 to get 10 % off your next order for all your car bits and balls. I would say your car grooming. That was manscape. Just your car cleaning business and stuff like that. two local companies in Suffolk because they support us for this podcast.

59:46Ross Halls:And also mention as well, Coway Live. We've got a date for it. 18th of April after the Borough game. We're just hoping that doesn't get rearranged because of Sky TV selections. But make sure you get your tickets though because they are on sale now and that's going to be a great night. Cannot wait to see you at the Barstinic, which is just going to be a good night. The big dogs there, the strike as well. But yeah, I'm just going to wrap up now. If you are going to the game, enjoy. If not, follow Coach Ross. We'll be there. Me, AJ and Stu will be doing our bits and bobs. They'll do the type of types.

1:00:19Ross Halls:I'll bring you game day and the picture picks, snap me snaps and all that. I'm just going to go now. See you later. Bye-bye for now.

1:00:29Ross Halls:Oh, dear.

1:00:31Stuart Watson:Bang. That's an hour.

1:00:45Thank you.

1:01:17Thank you.

1:02:10Ross Halls:Hey, guys. Hey guys, Lady Luck here. Are you going on any road trips this summer? I know I'm going to be going on a bunch of road trips. And being that I'm going to be Passenger Princess, I love playing on SpinQuest.com. SpinQuest has all of my favorite slot games, live blackjack, live craps. Head on over to SpinQuest right now and get yourself a$30 coin pack for just$10. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpinQuest.com for more details. Hi, everybody. It's James and Andy here from your next favourite podcast, No Such Thing as a Fish. Yes, we are two-fourths of a group of people who love facts and we love to find new facts and we come here every week and tell each other about them.

1:02:54Ross Halls:For instance, Andy, did you know that one of the world's oldest cycling road races is getting much harder because people keep stealing the road? I want to know more already, but I'm instead going to tell you my new fact, which is that some ancient coffins from the 17th century have faces. The coffins have faces It's really creepy Not just on the inside No Wow If you like the sound of those facts Or indeed facts in general Then come and find us No such thing as a fish Wherever you get your podcasts