648: Kings of Anglia: The perfect start

20:10Mark Heath:How would you assess those two?

20:12Stuart Watson:I think that's a fair assessment of both, to be honest. Issa Diop was looking really classy in pre-season. Yeah, had a couple of shaky moments in this game. It's a silly needless foul on Xhaka that gets punished for the goal. There's a moment in the second half that could have been punished when he looked a little bit flat-footed and probably didn't take on the shot first time. So we'll put that one to one side. I don't think that's him. thankfully it didn't it didn't matter Sherpen yeah slightly nervy start as you say he almost got pressed within the first few minutes there was one where there was sort of a back pass or a ball came to him and Diop I think it was Diop who sort of gestured for him to come and get it and he was a little bit slow coming off his line you're thinking uh-oh how's this gonna pan out but his response under you know such pressure was was really good that save that you mentioned great reaction stopped to kind of flip it up over the bar um his kicking i think can improve but his throwing oh he's certainly very impressive i mean he was bowling the ball out with those big long arms you know deep inside the opposition half wasn't he can throw a ball uh so that was good um came and confidently punched the ball over traffic in injury time while they were trying to see out the victory.

21:47Yeah, he was fine.

21:50Stuart Watson:He was probably more than fine, actually. He was okay. So he'll be pleased to get that first one under his belt.

21:56Mark Heath:So you suggested after that throw that he did that he could throw the ball further than most people can kick it. And I think that was fair because literally from halfway inside his own area, he overhanded it. I think it went over the kind of semicircle in the other half, didn't it? Huge throw. So potentially a bit of a weapon there from Sherpen.

22:17Stuart Watson:Any questions over the goal on his behalf? I don't think so for me. I think it's a really good free chance. Just a great goal, isn't it? Yeah. The fact that he has got those long arms, he almost kind of got to it, didn't he? But I think you just have to peg that one as a piece of brilliance from Angulo.

22:35Mark Heath:Premier League, isn't it? That's what happens, as Gary O 'Neill said. Right, before we move on to obviously the match winner, Cracker Jack, Jack Salad, etc. I think it's worth also reflecting on the old guard, because although there are a lot of new players playing, obviously players who maybe had scars from the last Premier League season, which Gary O 'Neill made a point of in his post-match Cressa, you know, how well they did as well. Interesting. I mean, Daro, share it right back. Shall we start there, Shui? Because we both kind of had reservations about him in that position. and Gary O 'Neill said after the game, look, I need to get him in the side.

23:08Mark Heath:I need to get him and Diop in the side. And there were times in the first half where my concerns around him are his pace, essentially. At the highest level of football, has he got the pace to live with the kind of wingers he's going to be coming up against right back? And a couple of times he got burnt, wasn't there, in the first half. But as Gary said, he also, he brings like a physicality and an ability in the air to that role that you maybe wouldn't expect from a right back. What was your assessment overall of Dara in that position? Do you continue to have concerns about him being played there, if that's indeed what happens all season?

23:41Stuart Watson:I had a chat with Luke Chambers walking from the press room to the press box, and I said, Ipswich Town captain playing at right back, who'd prefer to be playing centre-back. That sounds like a familiar tale, doesn't it? He had a little chuckle about that. Dara was very diplomatic with his response on Friday when we asked him about how do you feel playing there? And he sort of went, yeah, you know, I'll play wherever I'm asked. I'd rather be at centre-back. That's where he feels most comfortable. This kind of summed up both the hopes and fears for him playing in this position. As you say, in the early stages, there was a couple of times where he doesn't look entirely comfortable when he's got a winger running at him.

24:28Stuart Watson:but he also gives you an extra level of aerial presence and physicality in the back line. So when long throws and corners and crosses are coming into your box, it's an extra strength there. It was something almost old school about some of the big switches out to him. He'd push on onto the halfway line and just stick it on Dara's head for a flick on. And I think that's, you saw Thomas Meunier, the Sunderland right back after the game, talking about there was something quite simple and basic about Ipswich's approach, which some people might bulk at, given all the stuff we've just been waxing lyrical about.

25:06Stuart Watson:But that, what I've just described, sticking it out onto Dara's head on the halfway line and flicking it on. Yeah, that was simple. And yes, it was quite effective at times as well. So his leadership, you want it in the team. They've signed Diop to play that right-sided centre-back role. I can see the logic about just trying to get him in the team. There will be times where maybe it will get exploited and exposed. We'll have to see. But hopefully the good will outweigh the bad with Dario Shea playing that position.

25:37Mark Heath:He certainly won a lot of headers, didn't he, on that kind of right-hand side. And then the other one I really want to highlight was Leif Davis, Stu. I thought in terms of his defensive work, there was one extraordinary moment, wasn't it, in the first half where it looked like Broby was, what's his name? Broby, isn't it? I can't remember how to say his name. Anyway, he was through, wasn't he, on goal. And we were all like, oh no. But Leaf is like a steam engine chasing him down and then hurls himself. He makes a huge block. And it's the sort of thing that immediately gets the crowd up, wasn't it?

26:04Mark Heath:And I thought generally he was superb. What are you giggling at me?

26:07Stuart Watson:No, I just love that. It was one of my favourite moments of this game. It's just making me smile. and we talked about all these different things that happened in the game, the things that make you smile. And that is seeing Leaf, and Gary O 'Neill said this after the game, it's natural that we're all going to be talking about the new signings, but let's not forget about the old guard, the ones that have been there, the ones that really fought to get Ipswich back in this division. Leaf is now in season number five at Ipswich Town. The last kind of key piece of the Band of Brothers team that remains and that really set the tone didn't it Brian Brobby who's a one-man wrecking ball charging away on goal and Leaf was brilliant he could have you know he could easily have clipped his heels but he managed to slow himself down not commit the foul and then throw himself into a lunging block and jumped up and gave it a two-fisted sort of roar of celebration to the north stand, that set the tone for the graft of the team.

27:09Stuart Watson:And I just love seeing that. I thought, and that wasn't the only time he did it. Again, the question mark on Leaf is defensively, is he good enough for the Premier League? And by his own admittance, that was the side of the game he needs to improve upon. Well, if this game's any evidence, you know, he's come a long way since the last Prem season.

27:28Mark Heath:And just very quickly, just to tick everyone else off, just so we've talked about everyone. I thought Jacob Greene's very solid. We know he's a favourite of O 'Neill. And Marcelino Nunez obviously started because Florentino Luis wasn't quite fit. And assessing the team beforehand, you think, well, is that the kind of weak link? I thought he did a good job. He was everywhere, wasn't he? He never stopped running. So in terms of performance, I thought that was probably better than expected for me.

27:59Stuart Watson:Yeah, I was surprisingly impressed by Marcelino Nunez. you're right, I looked at that starting line-up, Florentino Luiz misses out through injury a calf I think that is I know it is and Nunez starts at central midfield and it's off the back of him playing and looking far more effective as a 10 in the championship promotion season and it's on the back of him looking a little rusty in pre-season if I'm honest um you're thinking is the balance of that midfield him and lukic going to be quite right um and he was everything that all the other players were in terms of he ran he made a big block in his own box in in the second half um he a couple of times he was like pressing the goalkeeper at the other end of the pitch um he was good he was good though it was a real team team effort but and And he was very much in amongst it all.

29:05Mark Heath:Yeah, right. And let's talk about the finishes, shall we? The ones who came on and won the game. Jack Clark obviously got the winner in a perfect way. But we were sitting there, weren't we, Sue? I was saying 1-1. Really good performance. But have they got... Are we now going to see the levels of the Premier League? Have they got the people on the bench to bring on and go for the win? And you would say, comparing the calibre of players that the side's brought on, that is where Town are still playing catch-up, isn't it? That's where they probably still need a couple of signings because you've got the front four that came on, it's Tuberak, Pom, obviously Jack Clark, who else came on?

29:43Mark Heath:Casey McAteer and Sindra, which without being too unkind, you'd say they are not terrifying subs to bring on, are they, in the Premier League? So is that still something you'd say is something they need to work on depth-wise? They've obviously got, what, just over 10 days or so left in the transfer window. To me, it seems they still definitely need that striker. They still definitely need that kind of creative midfielder as well. It didn't turn out to be decisive in this game because obviously they went on and won it. But going forward, I think they do still need to level up on that depth and the bench, the people they can bring in.

30:20Stuart Watson:Yeah, I agree with that. I still think there are a couple of missing pieces of the jigsaw away from me starting to truly believe that they'll be okay this season. But there's still time. And Ashton, O 'Neill, et cetera, are bullish about being able to do that over the coming days. I shared your fears going into those final 10, 15 minutes. I looked at the changes that were made. we've mentioned the players that come on for it which who is it is a view shared by many going are they elite game changers in the premier league and these are the standards that we're talking about now but you know sindra is the championship record signing casey mcatee 11 and a half million pounds um not bad subs to bring on are they i think that's a sign of where the kind of the water levels have risen from.

31:17Stuart Watson:But Sunderland, by contrast, brought on five players. Four of them played at the World Cup this summer. Taubi, Alderete came on in defence, who's normally a starter for them. Isidore, Diara, good players. And it felt like the energy levels just dipped a bit in the team, having kind of emptied the tank. The energy levels dipped a little bit in the crowd as well. And my thought was, please just get something to show for your efforts today. All the good that we've just described. Please don't let this be a repeat of two years ago, where there were so many games where Ipswich got themselves in great positions.

31:56Stuart Watson:I think there was a stat that if games finished on 70 minutes, Ipswich would have comfortably stayed up. Bournemouth springs to mind at Portman Road, where they were leading that game. And then the subs, Bournemouth turned to their stronger bench and won it 2-1. And that happened quite a few times. So that was my fear. I thought if anyone was going to win it late on, it might be Sunderland. And I think they scored a ton of last-minute goals last season as well. So for Ipswich to go and get it, as I say, was a massive cherry on top. I would have been speaking in the same sort of tones today had that game finished 1-1.

32:34Stuart Watson:Yeah. In terms of what I'd seen and what I was encouraged by. So as I said right at the very start, for Ipswich to get the winner was just a huge, huge cherry on top of the cake.

32:42Mark Heath:and it comes from a man who we used to seeing come on and win games, Jack Clark super sub, we've had a lot of chat around him this pre-season Stu in terms of whether or not he can compete be next level in the Premier League, clearly a talented player but has he got those extra other bits you need in the Premier League to succeed he came on as a 10 didn't he to begin with and then moved out left when Maida came off and he goes and gets a classic Jack Clark goal Stu last minute against his former side, gets town win number one in the Premier League in the first game of the season. Couldn't have written it much better.

33:21Stuart Watson:Yeah, perhaps it's written in the stars because Jadon Filogene, had he been fit, who knows how those substitutions would have played out. Would Clark have come on? Would he have certainly ended the game on the left? I don't know. But Filogene misses out with an ankle injury that he's picked up in the final warm-up in Germany. Jack Clark ends up finishing the game on the left against his former club and as you say trademark Jack Clark finish I love the way there's very few players that dribble almost exclusively with the outside of the foot he kind of tippy toes across the turf doesn't he so he glides he gets the ball and it's what makes him so difficult to deal with for defenders because you know it's just little soft touches with the outside of the boot.

34:09Stuart Watson:They don't know which way he's going to go. He uses the defenders as a shield and just bends it around them. Goalkeeper's blind. And the roof is lifted. Portman Road erupts. It had to be him. I think he had, in the back of his mind, a respectful celebration were he to score. But when you score a last-minute winner on the opening day of the Premier League season, your first Premier League goal, all that goes out the window. I don't think, I know Sunderland fans will not be happy about it, but can you blame him?

34:40Mark Heath:No, absolutely not. And I really hate it when players don't celebrate against former clubs because that's kind of, well, anyway, I've talked about that enough. But, Stu, I'm afraid I broke Press Brock's protocol at that point. I jumped out of my seat and pointed at the sky. I'm not proud of myself. I've done that twice in my career. I think the other time was when Fabio Wardley landed that big knockout shot against Hooney when he's miles behind at Portman Road. So, again, I jumped. I think there's Voyage of me doing that on TalkSport somewhere and jumping into the air when he landed that shot.

35:08Mark Heath:So again, I apologise for breaking press box etiquette. Poor from me and I'll try and do better. But it was a dramatic moment. It was great. Let's hear from Jack Clark now, shall we? Jack, what a way to start life back in the Premier League, eh? Yeah, you could say that, yeah. It's sort of been a long seven weeks waiting and sort of chomping at the bit a little bit for the opportunity to play back in the Premier League. and obviously we got it today and we took it. Yeah, I mean, to win this game on opening day, we know how hard it was last time around to get off to the start. It's fantastic. Yeah, it is.

35:40Obviously, it took us a while to get going last time. I don't think the schedule really helped us too much last time in the Premier League and we sort of felt like we were good in games and coming out on the wrong end of certain scenarios and obviously it's a ruthless league. You give teams half a chance and all of a sudden you're walking off in despair. So we knew we had to obviously put that right coming into this season and staying games as long as possible and we did that today. Let's cut to the end because that's why we're here. Your moment to go and win that game, I mean, that was a fantastic moment for you, surely?

36:13Yeah, it felt like it had been a long time coming, almost. Didn't quite manage to do it last time in the Premier League and probably had a few opportunities to do so as well. So, yeah, it was more relief than anything else and hopefully it can help me and the team kick forward. Traditional Jack Klopp goal as well, left wing cut inside, that nice finish. Yeah, you could say that, yeah. It's become a bit of a trademark over the years. So, yeah, probably no better way to do it. And a weird feeling, I'm sure, to do it against Sunderland, the club that gave you so much as well. Yeah, sort of bittersweet.

36:45Like, even now it's not really sunk in too much in terms of how surreal of a moment it was. I sort of, like, had it in the back of my head. Like, coming today, obviously, if I did get the opportunity and did, I'd try, like, keep it as respectful as possible. and I don't know if the moment or the adrenaline sort of took over, but it is what it is.

37:06Mark Heath:It is what it is, that classic football cliché. I saw some of them fans, by the way, Stu, saying, how did we not stop that? We've seen him do that so many times for us, we knew exactly what he was going to do, but there we go. The other person just to mention in terms of the new boys who came on as a sub, Abdul Utara, Stu, who we got a little look at, came off in Nunes, didn't they, and played in midfield. he is not tall but I would say he's built like a little tank certainly seems like he's got the physical attributes to be a factor in the Premier League and clearly there's a conversation about where he's going to play which we may have when we start talking about Leicester do you kind of see enough of him to have at least an opening thought on him as a player for Itchwich Town?

37:48Stuart Watson:I can't remember what minute he came on in the game, I'll have to remind myself while I speak but it was relatively late wasn't it 80th minute so So, yeah, not enough of a sample size to make too much of a judgment on him beyond what you've kind of pointed out. You get that initial kind of look at him on a football pitch. He's, yeah, not the tallest, but physically looks strong, solid. Yeah, I think that's probably the best way of putting it. Gary O 'Neill said, pre-match, when I asked him if he got a role in mind, He's someone who's played right back, left back, midfield, further forwards. It was a bit of a wry smile.

38:26Stuart Watson:Yes, I have, but I'm not going to tell you today. You'll find out in due course. He comes on in central midfield in this one. Did we read too much into that? It's a little bit short on midfielders at the moment. I don't know. But he says he's surprised teammates with how good he's been in training in those first few days. And, you know, they've spent a fair bit of money to get him. He's only 20. so we'll find out a bit more I think we'll probably get our first proper look at him tomorrow night

38:57Mark Heath:at Portman Road. Indeed we will and we'll talk about that obviously at a nice occasion in store at Portman Road tomorrow night just before we move on to that, any more notes from the game? I want to highlight in terms of the last minute celebrations I turned from the celebrating players who were on the pitch down to the bench and Abdul Fatou went absolutely mental, he like ran halfway onto the pitch, he was jumping in the air, punching the air. It clearly meant a huge amount to him, which is great to see as a new signing. Anything else from you, students, in terms of the general nature of the win, how important it was and maybe kind of, as we've touched on, the importance, I guess, of the last few days of the transfer window in shoring up that depth?

39:40Stuart Watson:Yeah, I mean, I don't think it will change anything in terms of recruitment, but it's not going to harm, is it, when you're trying to get, let's persuade some ambitious targets to join the football club. This is, you know, if they've been watching on from afar and they're seeing the vibe and the togetherness and the spirit of the football club, that's not going to harm, is it? So that's great. And as I said to you before, just the general vibe around the place at the moment is really sort of bouncy and up. And Gary O 'Neill said the energy within the training ground was really good. Could you expect managers to say that?

40:18Stuart Watson:But the way he sort of spoke about that and the tone and the expression of it made me feel like it was really genuine. And I think that showed on the pitch. You can tell when a team feels quite sort of bonded and together. And so for them to have achieved that in such a short space of time is great. And, yeah, there's people already saying, we're already people talking about who their favourite players are. and I really like this team and there's already a feeling of connection and that's going to be needed. There are going to be some difficult days ahead. They might come in the next few days or so, go to Old Trafford on Saturday.

40:58Stuart Watson:Beware the wounded animal there. It's Liverpool under the lights at Portman Road. We just about squeaked a draw yesterday. And there's belief. There's a bit of bullishness about now, Ipswich, which is great. So it's mad, isn't it? We went into opening day saying, this feels big. Normally you start talking about must-win territory deep into seasons and there was almost conversation, not must-win, but need something here with the games that are coming to not kill off that narrative of when's that first win going to come and how's this season going to be. They're off to a great start and it gives them a chance.

41:42Mark Heath:it gives them a platform absolutely uh and i suppose the other thing just to mention stew is kind of uncomfortably ai's prediction for the game was uh was a it was spot on uh 2-1 emerson to score first said that uh sutherland would score from a set piece that happened and also said in cso would get the second goal and he very nearly did with outrageous spinning back the goal flick so i'm slightly concerned about uh our jobs going forward if ai can accurately predict stuff like that we'll have to see for the rest of the season but anyway yeah well just probably they've got

42:16Stuart Watson:enough certainly they've got enough audio of our voices now so we'll just get ai can probably

42:20Mark Heath:just do the pod just get ai just to do this on our behalf now can't we i don't know about that i'm not sure i'm going to be presenting that to the shadowy news quest viewers i don't think uh all right let's move on shall we um leicester city the visitors tomorrow night in the carabao Cup. And it's a nice fixture, isn't it, Stu? It's a beautiful draw. Clearly, the main narrative around it is the return of Wes Burns and Connor Chaplin, leg ends of this parish. And you ask Ernie Lough after the game about that game itself and possibility of changes. And he used a great term. He said, I'm desperate to beat Leicester.

42:58Mark Heath:I'm desperate to beat Leicester. I hate it when my teams lose. So I just want to make sure we win the game. What are your any thoughts on this one because obviously there's a chat around how he how he tinkers with the starting 11 but in terms of the game itself what would normally be a mickey mouse cup game that no one really cares about it's got kind of a nice feel about it hasn't it it has yeah um in the same

43:21Stuart Watson:way that perhaps it was written in the stars that jack clark scores the goal perhaps it was written in the stars that leicester city coming to portman road was to come out the hat for this one um um conor chaplin hasn't been fit at the start of the season but listening to russell martin it sounds like he might have a chance for this one wes got his first goal for leicester at the weekend um and they you know quite rightly get a the send-off that they deserve i know wes kind of did get it on the last day of the season because we were unsure whether he was staying and he he came off to a standing ovation clapping all four sides conor hasn't really had that so it will be nice that they get the send off and the love that they deserve from the Ipswich Town fans, that can all happen prior to the game and then when it starts all of that gets forgotten about in the same way it did with Sam Morsi when he came back with Bristol City and they will expect no less it's going to be interesting to see what this game throws up because Leicester City have had a torturous start to the season under Russell Martin.

44:31Stuart Watson:They've managed to, in the same way, do you remember when Ipswich went down to League One and I spoke to various journalists who'd covered Blackburn, Sheffield United, Leicester, big clubs that had done their time in League One and taken a bit of time to maybe escape it. And they said, trust me, you'll get your moment where your eyes are wide open to how difficult this league is. And we went, yeah, League One, it's going to be fun. We're going to go to new grounds and we're going to win loads of games look at the players we've still got yeah some have left but we've still got great players they've conceded a um a late goal to draw at knots county on the opening day and they were booed off after after losing 2-1 at home to burton on saturday um welcome to league one gary o 'neill says they're going to come to portman road looking to leave some marks on us so uh interesting game in store yeah my wife's not happy uh russell martin already

45:27Mark Heath:you talking about having honest conversations in the dressing room after two games which is a bit of a warning sign isn't it um how about talent institute because o 'neill was emphatic i'm desperate to beat leicester uh and for me that's music to my ears because they've just got a great win to start the season opportunity to get another win yes in the cup but winning is a habit um and keep that kind of good feeling going going into old trafford on sunday um what do you reckon might do with the side because i'm going to ask you to try and well both of us now have a little game of trying to pick the starting eleven because clearly there will be changes you expect there to be changes um but how many and where do you reckon um i think there'll be i think it's going to be

46:10Stuart Watson:mass mass rotation and i kind of said to gary neil was talking about how much had gone into that performance on saturday and we've talked about the the graft and the work ethic he's talked also about how certain players aren't fully there in terms of fitness. And CISO came off with cramp. Emerson is one that they've said hasn't had the same kind of level of off-season as some of the other players. So there will be plenty rested with a trip to Super Sunday game at Old Trafford to come. But it will still be a strong team that gets put out by Ipswich Town. Certainly, you know, a team that is more than capable of beating a down on their league one opposition in front of a buoyant home crowd.

46:56Stuart Watson:So do you want me to run through a potential team?

47:00Mark Heath:Yeah, I think so, because there is obviously a lot of interest around it. I'd be interested to get your take as to who stays in and who dips out. Christian Walton in goal.

47:09Stuart Watson:Gary O 'Neill said that that was a really difficult decision for him to make. opening day. He's got a new goalkeeper that they've spent a decent amount of money on, but he's also very respectful of Christian Morton being Player's Player of the Year last season. So I think that was a tough call for him to make. So Christian, having missed a bit of pre-season with a foot injury, will start this one. Darnell Furlong at right back, who we talked about being Mr. Reliable last season in the Championship. No problems there. Cedric Kipre will be one of the centre-halves, undoubtedly. Who partners him will be interesting.

47:49Stuart Watson:Does Dara O'Shea get his centre-back itch scratched in this game? Someone who is very robust and can turn out lots of games, possibly. Or does he go again with Diop? I don't know. Left-back, really, it's Leif Davis is the only proper out-and-out option there at the moment. wattara can play there but i think he will probably play central midfield alongside cameron humphreys um they're the two i've got sort of in in the middle of the park um and then a front four probably the ones that sort of came off the bench at the weekend which would be mcateer valeri gelly jack clark and tuba at pom um and then it's a question as to whether some of those that are on the fringes didn't make the squad at the weekend are they involved in this or if there's Thoughts, potential for them to leave?

48:42Stuart Watson:Is there any point kind of risking them and them worrying about sort of getting injured and moves being called off? People like Anis Mometi, Chio O 'Bone, Ali Alhamadi all kind of falling into that bracket. I mean, Gary O 'Neill talked about Anis being probably his toughest call to make in terms of not making the 20-man squad at the weekend, how much he'd worked so hard in pre-season. Talk that he might leave on loan. so there's my thoughts on the XI there's plenty of changes in there but still a pretty decent side I would suggest

49:17Mark Heath:I did wonder if Utara might be the one to step in for Leif Davis at left back the fact there's no natural back up there still as you say midfield is also a bit short isn't it?

49:28Stuart Watson:Florentino's not fit for this one they said they're not going to risk him calf injury as I said earlier but hopeful that he'll be back involved in time for United Phil Ajean still out with an ankle issue he was in a boot seen in a boot protective boot outside the ground at the weekend Matasiwa was described as being close after the game but I'd be very surprised if having had no pre-season at all he's maybe bench at best but I doubt it so it's not a bad team is it it's a core of a team that got promoted last season the new signing in there as well

50:14Mark Heath:and we want to win it don't we Stu I know it's only the Carabao Cup but off the back of what they've just done at the weekend if they go and lose this now it would feel like a bit deflating wouldn't it

50:22Stuart Watson:why can't Ipswich go really deep into the Carabao Cup yes I know it's been kind of almost exclusively won by the big boys and when you get to the latter stages they tend to take over but

50:36Mark Heath:they're a Premier League club now

50:40Stuart Watson:and they could go on a good run in this we always have the debate about whether it's help or a hindrance going deeper into the Cups and it's in these early stages of the season where you start getting a few midweek games in there but they're trying to build a really good squad, there's going to be some more players to come in why not I know in recent years it's it's been a bit of a nothing competition out on pens to Bromley out on pens to Wimbledon um they lost at home to Colchester and Newport going a little bit further back in the first round the only one that's kind of bucked that trend was the year if you remember uh they had the big comeback win against Wolves where Jack Taylor scored the screamer and then eventually they went out to Fulham in in the fourth round but um why not I I love the attitude, as you say, of Gary O 'Neill just saying he's desperate to win.

51:30Stuart Watson:He wants to win games of football. At the moment, this is a new team, a new manager, a new era. And it's about sort of getting that feel-good factor, sort of snowballing down the hill. And another win tomorrow night would help that.

51:44Mark Heath:100%. If they go to Old Trafford with two wins in the back pocket already this kind of early in the season, I think that's a perfect preparation, as you say. Man United lost at the weekend and no-one saw that coming. So if they can go and put the pressure on Old Trafford, fantastic. Stu, I suppose before we go, we should probably just talk about transfer stuff. Window closes at 11 o 'clock, September 1st. So what's that week on Tuesday, isn't it? Week tomorrow, yeah. Week tomorrow, yeah. They still obviously need to move players out. You've mentioned a few of them there. Mehmeti, chief amongst them, and he's been linked with Derby County.

52:16Obviously, Jack Clark linked with Middlesbrough.

52:19Mark Heath:And I know you're doing some digging on that. and clearly the Pricio stuff is still going on in the background in terms of potential signings. What's your feeling on things as we stand now? Who do you think are going to be? Is it three they need to basically trim or not register?

52:36Stuart Watson:Yeah. I think it's still 28 now with Ben Johnson and George Hurst having left in terms of senior pros. Sindra and Wattara don't count towards that because of their age. So they're at 28 senior players. the limit is 25 up until the window shuts you can keep changing you have to register a 25 man squad game by game and then you can change it for the next so it's pretty fluid but by the time the window shuts you obviously have to name your squad for the first half of the season so as it stands three have got to go if they're looking to add and Gary O 'Neill says he wants to still strengthen in defense midfield and attack so add three more on top that means six need to make way and we've mentioned a few of the ones on the fringes Ali Alhamadi has seen a move away collapse we'll have to see what happens with him going forwards of Ben A is clearly someone that that will move on you you would imagine and then there's some other conversations around once a midfielder if a midfielder comes in does that free up Cameron Humphreys to move on probably and then there'll be some more difficult ones like an Anis Mometti like dare I say even a Jack Clark which you know people are aghast at after he scored the winner at the weekend top goal scorer last season but with Jadon Filagene back in the picture albeit this ankle injury clouding the issue slightly you know with Maida as well on the left do they need to carry all three of those I don't know I know that's not gone down well with people the thought the notion of Jack Clark leaving Middlesbrough credited with interest talk of a loan there I don't know what that would do for Ipswich is that just I don't know what are your thoughts on that

54:23Mark Heath:well I've said all summer that I'm not sure about Jack Clark in the Premier League and I haven't really changed my opinion yes it was it was a great moment for him on Saturday but I do still worry about him having that you know the requisite physicality athleticism that you need in the Premier League. He's a great footballer, but does he have the other stuff that you need to be successful in the Premier League? I don't know. I can't see the sense of a loan, Stu. It would surely make sense if they're going to do it. They need to get some money back for him. And I can see him going to a kind of top-end championship club as a big signing late in the window for whoever gets him and town get a big chunk of money from it.

55:01Mark Heath:That would make sense to me. So, yeah, that's probably not much. There's ways of looking at it,

55:06Stuart Watson:isn't there? There's, you know, financial lieps, which are splashing the cash they're pushing the limits as we know with the financial fair play rules in their current guys at some point you have to start sort of player trading and profit making needs to come into it for it to be sustainable jack clark is someone that you could make probably a profit on of the 15 million that the itchish town have spent um so they might consider that side of things they've got to consider the left-sided options a loan is it alone with a view i guess alone keeps keeps things open a little bit so if you go down you know you've got a top top championship player still in the building i don't know i don't know what they're thinking is on that one but i i wouldn't rule it out and obviously as i said

55:53Mark Heath:you're doing some digging seeing what's happening was that your phone just going off was that it was it was and it's it's a call i probably need to uh respond okay all right well if you want to take that so I can wrap up and we can take our leave.

56:06Stuart Watson:I mean, I can quickly, I think we're nearly there at the hour mark. If you want to go through, do you want to quickly buzz through the rest of the transfer stuff and then I'll take my leave?

56:15Mark Heath:Go for it, mate.

56:17Stuart Watson:Yeah, as we say, Gary O'Dell says he was asked his strike of the priority last week. He said no, not necessarily. Clearly, they want to add someone to lessen the load on Emerson. He likes Tuberak Pond, but they want another one. um so we'll see what happens there gabriel jesus has been mentioned that seems to be ambitious in terms of the reported money he's on but depends how desperate he is to play that would be two brazilians up front which would be quite something wouldn't it liam de latre talk a lot of you know his name won't go away lots of premier league clubs being linked to him chelsea seem to be wanting a ridiculous amount for him off off the back of a poor debut season uh so they want a striker they clearly want a a top playmaker midfielder with uh ezekiel palacios um at leverkusen talks still rumbling on i need to get the the very latest on on that situation but you know clearly the two clubs have kind of there's a bit of a standoff in terms of fee will that get over the line eventually we shall see and i think they want to add a defender as well what type i don't know we talked about leaf not having a proper backup there do they get someone who can play centre-half and left-back.

57:34Stuart Watson:We'll have to see. So there's going to be things that are going to happen in. There's clearly going to have to be things that happen on the out front. And we're reaching the business end of the transfer window now. Things are going to really start to hot up over this next week.

57:49Mark Heath:Yeah, we know the striker's not going to be Briel Mbolo, Stu, who signed for Atlanta United, as you suggested he would.

57:56Stuart Watson:Yeah, I don't know where those kind of reports came from of Ipswich trying to hijack that deal. but I said it at the time, that was news to Ipswich when it was, oh, the deal's off and Ipswich are back in the party. There was no kind of attempts to hijack that. I get the feeling maybe Ipswich's name might have been used to maybe strengthen negotiations there. But he was one that was on a long list at the start of strikers. It became pretty clear that he was going to Atlanta. so yeah as I reported at the time that was that wasn't one Ipswich sort of had right at the top of their their priority list of recent weeks still trying to find out who who the top targets are at I've mentioned a couple of the names that are floating about there'll be plenty of plates spinning and I'm sure there's names that are not out there in the ether at the moment that

58:49Mark Heath:that they're looking at and working on yeah okay then mate let's let's take our leave shall we you've got a phone call you need to take. Just a reminder then, friends, Kings of Anger app and website up and running now. Thanks to everyone who stopped me, by the way, at the game on Saturday and said how much they're enjoying the app. Still just£2 for two months or£29 for a year. Sign up on the website to get those offers. Some people have been saying who've signed up through Apple, for example, that it's not£2 for two months. That's correct. If you go through Apple, it'll be£3.99. That's the standard fee.

59:17Mark Heath:If you want the offer, you have to go through the website and that's really the way to do it. £2 for two months,£39 for a year. will be£3.99 per month normally or£39 per year. But thanks for the positive feedback about that. We know the live bog is still an issue. We're working to resolve that in terms of pull down to a fresh functionality. Just a reminder, of course, support our sponsors. Use the code KOA10 at molecular-uk.com for all their excellent car cleaning products. And also, friends, if you could leave us a five-star review on iTunes, we'll have one of those for a while. It just helps us, lifts us visibility-wise in the charts, help more people find us as we go into this Premier League season.

59:49Mark Heath:All right, friends, Iftrystown are up and running. they have a perfect record in the Premier League and now they're going to try and make it two wins from two as Wes Burns and Connor Chaplin come back to Portman Road tomorrow night if you can't be there follow it with the boys if you are going to be there obviously give the boys a great send off a proper farewell for two legends of the club and hopefully we'll be talking about another Itchurch Town win when we convene again later this week have a great start to your week friends and we'll speak to you next time

1:00:28Thank you.

1:00:52Thank you.

1:01:22Thank you.

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