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Daily Ipswich: Episode 103 - January Transfer Window Review
34 Plays25 days ago
Rob flies solo on today's episode to review & grade Ipswich's January window. He reflects on the players that have come in and those who have left and dropped down to the Championship. He also points some areas that have been neglected in the window and combines all these factors to give the window a grade.
The Daily Ipswich Podcast, part of the Global Sports Podcast Network, is the home of all your ITFC. Join us every weekday for the latest news, build-up and reaction in the club's first season back in the Premier League.
Host: Rob Binns
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Transcript
Ipswich Town's FA Cup Match Preview
00:00:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello and welcome back to the Daily Ipswich, brought to you by the Global Sports Podcast Network. It is Thursday. This would normally be reserved for a crossover episode, but as it is and the fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend, where Town are making the trip to Coventry.
Solo Hosting and Transfer Window Overview
00:00:27
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Unfortunately, there is not a Coventry podcast on the GSPN network for us to link up with, so have a bonus wildcard episode today to fill the gap on your Thursday.
00:00:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
I'm on my own today. It's just me, Rob Binz, just going to run through. And the plan for today's episode is we are going to have a review of the January transfer window. I'm going to look through the ins, the outs, areas that maybe potentially have been missed or we felt there should have been more looked into than they have been. And then I'm going to wrap the episode up. I'm going to give the window an overall grade as of now, having like we say, a few days out from the window closing.
00:01:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
And then we can we can always reassess back at the end of the year and see whether that grade proved to be accurate or not, depending on once we got sort of three or four months to see
New Player Signings and Impact on Team
00:01:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
in these players in action. But let's get straight into it then. Let's start off with the incomings. There's five of them in total, or four into the first team squad and one into the youth set up, which say in in order of when they signed, it was obviously Ben and Godfrey came in on a six month loan from Atalanta to show up with defensive options.
00:01:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
That was fairly quickly followed by Jayden Philogene from Aston Villa for £22 million pounds plus add-ons. It's a deal we've looked like we were going to get done for a cheaper price in the summer before Villa nabbed it, but we finally got our man six months later. Then Julian Siso came in on a six month loan from Brighton taking up our final domestic loan spot we had available. Obviously, see Calvin Phillips taking up the other one from his move in the summer. Then on deadline day, Santo Boniface came in from Chelsea to be part of the youth setup.
00:02:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
and Alex Palmer was brought in from West Brom for two million pounds. So let's say five signings until four of them entering the first team squad. yeah just say On paper, it looks like very good business. You have to say they've gone for... We spoke about it on on the show another day that as Premier League experience has been brought in, today and CSO, despite only turning 21 on the day he signed, has had a so considerable amount of Premier League football in the last year and a half. And you consider how long how long he's been injured during that time frame as well. I think he's got 50 plus appearances. He adds that experience into our attacking options. I'd say so far from what we've seen as well in one cameo off the bench against Liverpool and 90 minutes against Southampton, he looks really sharp. He certainly is a player who missed the majority of last season with a long-term injury. He certainly looks very he looks sharp and I think this will be
00:03:01
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very mutually beneficial move that one. I think it gives him a chance to showcase himself and obviously hopefully we'll get a few goals and goals and
Player Performances and Injuries
00:03:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
assists out of him as well. And like I could say, he already looks like he's going to be a bright spark in the attack. So that probably off the five is the one I'm looking forward to seeing how it plays out the most. But obviously Phila Jean's come in as well. Like I said, that we thought we had him in the summer, didn't we? And then Aston Villa pulled out the matching rights, but it hasn't worked out for him there.
00:03:29
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come in 22 million pounds is a lot of money especially in January but so potentially you could argue maybe a week was a winger high on the priority on the priority list I would have said I wouldn't have put it maybe as high as some other positions but it was certainly on there for me obviously this is this is before Burns got injured as well I would say if if only if we'd known that was gonna happen and Burns would also then end up out for the season that 100% of winger would have been right up there. So it was always preemptive business in that case because we did we did think a right-sided player was going to going to be someone who's looked into. Obviously, with our Benet's injury picked up against Brentford. And so Phil Eugene's come in. We know obviously McKenna's a big fan of him. we we we want We thought we had him in the summer, but we waited six months later. We spent more money on him now than then. He's had he's not had much chance to express himself at this level.
00:04:23
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When we go back to that experience argument, we think he's just had four Premier League appearances for Villa one start. I think it's something like that in the first half, but he did play 90 minutes in the Champions League against Bayern Munich in the game Villa one, so. He has had some good early experiences despite only being a young player as well, so. I haven't seen much of him yet, so just a few, he's come on, he's had some tough times to try and present himself, really. He hasn't played from the start yet, I think the f FA Cup,
00:04:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
We'll see him from the start of the first time. He signed just before the previous round, but didn't get a chance, but too late to make the squad. Came on against City at the score of four or five nil down, so it was always going to be tough for him. that Then came on against Liverpool at three or four nil down as well, so it was going to be tough again. So we'll see how it plays out. is a He had a and little cameo against Southampton as well, which He doesn't look as sharp as in CSO yet, but obviously a long way to go. And we know the quality's there. We saw it with Hull last year, so should be a good addition there. And obviously, like I say, at the point we signed, we already knew we'd lost to Benne for the season. Since then, we've gone on to lose burns for the season. So certainly a good bit of quality to have on that right-hand side as we seem to say is our options as we drop on like flies as the season goes on to unfortunate injuries. Austin Ben Godfrey's come in, obviously.
00:05:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
that was for me was one of the priority positions that sort of I call it the twins AB role as someone who could play centre back or right back or alternatively say slot into a three just the versatility and all the different options we try at the back and Godfrey suits that perfectly obviously primarily sent a centre half but he made pretty much every Premier League appearance he made after signing for Everton was at right back so he's well versed there he's always been good on the ball I particularly thought that was the qualities that got him a move when Norwich got relegated. he's ah ah He's been a good defender on the ball, which leans itself to moving out to aren aren't to fall back at times, or as i's say all a wide centre back in a three. From what we've seen so far, he's obviously another one who's had to spend a lot of time on the bench while he gets used to the squad and the style of football and everything, but he played in the FA Cup, he got a debut, and I actually thought Man City,
00:06:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
I said at the time, if it feel was an odd thing to say when you lose 6-0, but I thought he had a very good game against Man City, particularly while it was 0-0. When we had our sort of best spell of the game, while it was goalless, I thought he was ah ah he almost playing as an overlapping centre back in the early stages there, which said, brave, brave against a team like the City, but he had the confidence to do it on his first league start for the club. So I think there's good things to come there. I think he will certainly, if Tanzebi's back fit now, he will be first choice.
00:07:11
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and not in that area, but I do think Godfrey maybe forced his way and maybe perhaps next to O'Shea in the middle could say, we look we seem to be unsure whether Burgess or Greaves or Wolfie or whoever plays O'Shea is the only nailed on start or a centre back. So maybe Godfrey can push himself in there. Also, if not, he certainly provides a very solid squad option. So I think that one's going to work out as well. And then Alex Palmer coming in on deadline day.
00:07:38
Global Sports Podcast Network
No, we knew that was an area that needed targeting, didn't we? We we spoke about it at depth on Tuesday's episode this week. Obviously reacting to the Southampton game and I spoke about it on Monday as well that the club sprung this Walton injury that again, the latest edition of nothing being made public until after the event, you just suddenly see the team sheet Saturday afternoon. Walton's out the squad completely. We know he's out injured.
00:08:04
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few weeks I think it is but perhaps maybe more but as a with a groin injury. Muir Rich we've spoke again we spoke about in depth this week so I won't go over it again but he's an act is an act of hindrance for a variety of reasons when he's playing at the moment so the club does they've took action on it which so it's nice to it's good to see because Richard said it yesterday yeah if there's a time for a key player and your squad to pick up an injury you want it to be in January really because you have time to go in a deal with the situation. That's what we've done. We say we've had the Walton injury. It's not, might say as much as it caught our supporters out that sat, when that team sheet came out on the Saturday, the club were obviously, you know, throughout the week and they could already put something to work, maybe behind the scenes, look at the potential goalie options. And then so that Murich performance against Southampton certainly would give him a little boost. And Palmer has been one of the top keepers in the championship for the last couple of years, especially has a very good,
00:09:01
Global Sports Podcast Network
So West Brom were a very good defensive side. And as a result of that, so he's got a decent back four in front of him, but you have to have a good goalkeeper as well. We've made some, he's made some top saves and say he's clean sheet stats are very good in the championship. And I think he's probably, I think he's ready to make the step up. He's only 28 as well. So good age for a goal. He got 10 years in him at least. So I think it's a good option. And so I say, I'll be interested to see.
00:09:28
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when Walton comes back from injury, does he go straight back in or has Palmer been signed to be the number one for the rest of this season?
Financial Investments and Premier League Survival
00:09:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
At least anyway, but and we spent 24 million pounds in January on top of the hundred and something spent in the summer. So McKenna has been backed again and say there's been some good luck and some decent loan signs coming in as well, some more money being spent. So I think we're at around about 130 million quid.
00:09:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
over both windows this season. So we're giving it a go. We've spent big to try and keep the Premier League status. It's not got off to the an ideal start. So there's a long way to go. And certainly, I said it to Richard the episode the other day. We posed the question, of do you think the squad is in a stronger position at the end of January than it was at the start? And you'd have to say yes, looking at those names that have come in, which is, that's the first hurdle. that you feel As long as they feel like the squad has progressed, now we've got to go see see what these players can produce over the last three months or so of the season. And hopefully it can get us over the line and see us into the Premier League for a second year. But on paper, I say four names coming in really for the first team squad. Ben Godfrey, Jayden Finnerjee, Nulio and Cecil and Alex Palmer. On paper looks like a very good window and certainly for the teams down the bottom, probably the best January window on paper in terms of when you look at who's come in.
00:10:54
Global Sports Podcast Network
of the teams down the bottom, which hopefully will give us a boost and we can kick on now. But certainly in terms of the ins, I'm happy with the window as this happened. The players that have come in all look very... I should think we'll have a big impact on the season.
Departures and Loan Moves
00:11:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
So it's a win for me on the comings in, but we're going to have a quick break now to hear from one of the sponsors and then we're going to be talking about the outgoings that happened over the course of January.
00:11:52
Global Sports Podcast Network
And welcome back to part two of your Thursday daily Ipswich. So we covered the ins, wasn't, they all look into the outs. It wasn't as busy in terms of links here and there for players going out that four left in total, again, three from the first team squad and one from within the youth set up. Well, well, say the first one actually came, actually came back to go again. George Edmondson, been on loan, obviously,
00:12:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
at Middlesbrough rather surprisingly was recalled back. So we weren't expecting him to call from his lungs. He was getting regular game time at Middlesbrough. He was seeming very popular there and he suddenly come back. So he sensed the feeling was there that yeah he was coming back to be sold permanently. as So it happened to a lot, a lot of scenarios over the course of January, particularly say teams down the bottom, the likes of Lester, for example, with Tom Cannon, who's our boy who's there, we're calling from Stoke and sold him to Sheffield United. ah he thought that was the route we were going to go down, but actually it turned out to be the latest Mark Ashton masterclass in that Middlesbrough knew they had another six months on the loan and they were, they wanted to buy, they're ideally wanting to buy him in the summer and the sort of money they were putting on the table to sort of get a deal over the line to let him see the loan out and then be signed was nowhere near what but we want. I think they're off in around 300,000 something like that to get, to try and
00:13:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
So some get him on a permanent in the summer. But then, so Ashton and the team, they weren't having it. They said, that's nowhere near what we want. We'll scrap you alone, brought him back. And then, and and then Middlesbrough come back in a few days later with a beard of 710,000 pounds and plus add-ons, which could near enough double that if the reports are true and they're all hit on the add-ons. So an Ashton masterclass on that front got them almost twice as much money out of it, just over twice as much money out of Middlesbrough.
00:13:48
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Edmondson moved there on a permanent and it's a move that makes sense that he was in that category in the summer, wasn't he, that we put a few players in, especially when we done our sort of keep sell loan on the podcast early on. He was in the category of someone who didn't get as much game time as they would have liked in a championship last year. So for that reason, you'd expect them to have moved on either a loan or a permanent move in the summer. That turned out to be low. And he has gotten as another member of the promotion squad,
00:14:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
out the door unfortunately as he leaves as he's now say up in T side on a permanent basis but again I feel like in terms of the squad he wasn't really going to come in and play regular Premier League football you wouldn't think so makes sense in a way that he did he does move on on a permanent basis and then another one who left on a permanent basis from the youth setup Osman Foyo went off to AFC Wimbledon And that, again, sort of, we've seen Boniface come into the youth set up for Foyer, who never played a first-team game, but was certainly seen as a as an important player in the youth levels over the of the last couple of years. He's been setting out on loan to the sixth tier a couple of times, done very well this year. I think something like 12 goals in 20 games, something like that at Chelmsford City this season. So the fee hasn't been made public, but we've managed to offload him to ALC Wimbledon for, say,
00:15:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
see even try and try try his hand at full-time professional football now so you wish him all the best and say so we had Boniface come we had one coming one come out at the youth team level so obviously it'll be interesting to see from afar you never know he might might be as though a bit like Harry Clarke he might he might come back down the line maybe after establishing himself even though no it wasn't academy but even if Kiefer Moore just go off somewhere else struck down divisions establish yourself and then end up coming back as a completely, completely better player. So, see how he plays out. And then there was two lone moves down to the championship, again, fairly high up on the list of what we expected to happen. Coming into January, we did say Harry Clarke and Ali Alhammedy, we thought they would both be moved on in order to free up squad spaces to let some new signings in. Obviously, we can only have our 25 man squad, so,
00:16:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
naturally clear up two spaces and say a straight swap almost in Clark's case with Godfrey coming in. You thought at the start of the window these two would drop down the championship on loan maybe even on a permanent but certainly in Clark's case when Godfrey came through the door in the first week of January that you knew at that point he was it was more than likely going to be heading out but ah ah he went he's gone off to Sheffield United who seemed to have made all sorts of silence over the course of January almost trying to everyone's trying to buy their way up to promotion in the championship but snatched him off their rivals. so I remember the story broke almost that a formal approach had been made by Sheffield Wednesday for Clark. You think that'd probably be a quite a good fit for him going down there but then he rolls a good manager and then suddenly a few hours later at breaks that Sheffield United have also come in and they've pipped him to and he's had enough there. So perhaps an awful
00:17:06
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One of the interesting to see if you get the sort of reception he gets in the Steel City Derby later in the season. After it looked like he might well have been going to one side and then jumped over to the other one, but again, he's always, he's a fan favorite, Clark, and he says he's, ah like I say, he's almost the fan proxy on the team. He's neither, a sort of. As I said, it's almost like, because he's you know he's a lifelong fan, you see what he's like with the fist bumps at the end of games. You saw him in the promotion celebrations. He always, it felt like,
00:17:37
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is that someone almost living your dream. They say you see love them for it, that it's nice like to have someone who loves to club that much play in the start and every week in the lower divisions, being there for the success. It's nice to see. So they was they are any loans who come back in the summer. So hopefully Ian has a good spell there at Sheffield United and come back about a better player and fight for his place again next year. And Alhamdee as well looked like he was off to West Brom at one point. that That sort of fell through.
00:18:06
Global Sports Podcast Network
Then he went on, he moved on to Stoke City instead. Probably a better fit for him, I would say. I was ah did i wasn't sure when I saw it was Wes Brom initially. I didn't know if that was necessarily the right move for him. I had my i have my doubts at the time, then it fell through and say, Stoke, I feel like to me, he's not he's more likely to get consistent minutes at Stoke. And then, especially obviously in the end, Wes Brom got the likes of Adam Armstrong on loan instead. the think Al Hamady would have struggled to get minutes over if they moved ahead with that and kept him as well but I think it'll be a good move for him that he struggled this season obviously it's been a big problem when Dilap's gone off that and he's been the one coming on because he he he can't doubt his work ethic how much he runs around and puts himself about but he just doesn't provide anywhere near the same goal for it as Dilap and it's almost like
00:18:59
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I'll go up and say once he comes on and at times this year, that's killed off our goal threat for the rest of the game in some
Retention and Transfer Window Successes
00:19:05
Global Sports Podcast Network
cases. So it was a move that had to be made. And to be fair to him, like we say, he only signed a year ago, he jumped from sort of high mid table league to a championship promotion race on short notice, scored a few goals, done done a decent bit part roll off a bench. And then suddenly he's been thrust up another division into the Premier League, like I say, it's easy to forget.
00:19:28
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a year ago, general just over a year ago, he's playing League Two football. So I think a drop down to a championship team like Stoke, I hope he does well. And I think it will do good for him to get some more regular minutes and hopefully get a few goals as well. And overall, we can't fault really no one. Edmondson now on a permanent mistake who wasn't part squad anyway to two players who were in the squads, but not getting too many minutes have been loaned out. It's and on the outside. He's always a worry that some of you better players might get poached with the team and start looking. Obviously there was all sorts of talk going on with the lap after six months after signing. and that we'll We'll see how it works out. that so in the end we kept onto the kit We kept on the key players. A few of the squad ones have gone out ultimately. It's the best you can hope for as a team down the bottom in January. As long as there's no there's no big major outgoings, you've done something
Unaddressed Gaps in Midfield and Attack
00:20:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
right. so We've done well on that front. We've done well on the end. We've done
00:20:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
on who has come in. We've now said we've done well on the outs, so when we come back from this other a short break, we're going to look at some maybe some areas that were missed and that may well bring a grading down on what so far seems like a very good window.
00:21:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
And we are back for the final part of today's episode of the daily Ipswich. So let's talk about maybe some, we've talked about the positives of the window. So overall happy with the ins and the outs, but there were some key areas we felt a missed. We've raised on the podcast a lot of the times over the window, we were sort of waiting that is this the week we start getting linked with someone in this position is. And so we kept, we kept having to never happened in the end. We kept waiting for it.
00:21:31
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We never got it in the end. And of course, I'm mainly talking here about midfielder. We've spoken a lot about this on the podcast. It's something all four of us unanimously agreed coming into January was a position that we felt should have been a priority, but seems like not. This hasn't been the case for the hierarchy at the club. Cause like we say, there, there was early on in the window, there was a couple of links to manual Matics, which you sort of knew was never going to happen.
00:21:59
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And then the whole window went quiet again until the, as the window was about to close, there was apparently a slight interest in Flynn Downs, which we spoke about on yesterday's episode. But and so to go from pretty much the first week of the window of something you knew was never gonna happen, it's been three weeks of silence in that in that area. And then another rumour very late in the window that you knew wasn't gonna happen again, it's disappointing in my opinion that It's an area that I think one of the key reasons we have lost some of the games that you maybe felt we could have got something out of is because the midfield keeps getting overrun. It's been it's been a big thing this year. Have you seen the likes of Newcastle obviously when they when they have their good performances because their midfields dominated the game you saw of Arsenal against Man City this weekend that so often you win the midfield battle you set yourself up and in a very good position to win the game and
00:22:55
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How many times can we sat and what can we say we've won a midfield with won the midfield battle over 90 minutes in games this year that we just haven't had, almost haven't got that balance right. As Coyoost days obviously come in, he's struggled for minutes in the early points, but since November, this sort of early November around the Spurs game, he's come in and he's looked fantastic in pretty much every game he's played. That's what we need, we haven't got anyone like him, that's the problem. He's that he's fantastic when he plays, he's a key part of the team, but He goes off after 70, 75 minutes every game, and then we don't have a direct replacement. So then that all sort of, all the positive he brings to the game fades away as we had to swap it out. We've got Morsy and Phillips who are just almost identical in their playing styles. I mean, you lose so much by playing them together and not having a close day or somebody in there. It just seemed to me like from something like that was probably
00:23:52
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might have even been my number one spot for where to go and sign somebody in January. just It just seemed like such a problem position that we could help. So if he signed someone because they more as he's been struggling this year, he started really well and struggled. Phillips is obviously not, he's not hit the ground running at all. He's had the odd good game here and there. He's had a few other a few bad games as well. he sort He's of, he's struggled with consistency that you think you'd either go and sign somebody to go in next to Kaiusday and make and say make these two fight for the place. Try and fight for a place back over whoever comes in, or if nothing else, you may be so a rotation option who can play. and We can bring on when Kaiusday gets tired after 70 minutes or so and have more of a direct match, but so nothing's happened. And for me, that's a big miss. And I think we'll probably, because of that, I think we're going to continue to see the midfield overrun in games and that will ultimately going to cost us points.
00:24:48
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over the over the course of what's left of the season. I think this this could be a big error potentially when you look back in height with the benefit of hindsight in May, you might go back and I wonder if we will be, say the hierarchy of the club will be going back and thinking that should a midfielder have been targeted. And I think that for me, I feel like this is going to be something we're goingnna learn but going to regret coming in as the season can use plays out because at the moment,
00:25:17
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I say, I can't say injury. And then we're basic we're just short. And we're just light on options there anyway, really. They say, I can't stay injury now. And you've got more as Ian Phillips playing there. Like I say, it hasn't really hasn't worked them two together. They're too similar. It doesn't, you don't get a right balance in the midfield, them two there. And then I said, we're just so short on options there. You think about the rotation. So we had an issue at center backs. We brought Godfrey, a bit of issue on the right hand side with lack of players. So we got Philogene in.
00:25:47
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We've said, I mean, CSO bolsters the attacking options and allows us and complain a couple of positions that allows us there to cover some injuries as well. We've had an injury in goals. We brought a new one in, but we're fairly, we've got a fairly good depth in pretty much every position, but then in the middle of the park, we've got. Well, we've got more the coast, a Phillips score competing for the spots. You then got Taylor who could play there if he has to, but isn't he's better. Further forwards in the 10 rather than being in the two.
00:26:16
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then you've got Luongo who's barely played any games this season, doesn't make the bench most weeks, but we're so short on options in the midfield to the fact that it seems like it's not even been looked at because there's not even been realistic links going about over the course of the window that it seems to have been completely neglected, which for me is a big stickling point for this window that, like I say, I feel like we might come to regret that later on. But obviously the other area that was very much bigged up is a striker.
00:26:45
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And we can get on again, did we? that It seems to be they've gone with the approach of we've got enough people who could play striker in a way. Obviously, Hurst has, we spoke about the problem, I spoke about it earlier when I was talking about Al Hamadi when he comes on, doesn't have the same foot. We almost, we know Dilap, because of how hard Dilap works, you know he's going to tire himself out almost. He can't he doesn't get 90 minutes, the majority of games, because he's,
00:27:14
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tied himself out of him, say running around, taking the game to the defenders. And then it's almost been like the lap goes off. And then we just sort of, that's it. That's all that's our goal threat gone at that point. He comes off in the 80th minute. We don't look like scoring for 10 minutes. And then try and say, we don't have the sort of options off the bench, like we say, but obviously Hurst coming back from injury on proves that Hurst has looked good in the times he's played off the bench. He should have scored against Liverpool, but The fact he was there and in the position to get the chance is an improvement on where we were a couple of months ago. He started against Brentford and scored, so her has been back, but he's had such torrid luck with injuries recently that you can't guarantee him staying fit for the rest of the season. So we have got them, and CSO could go up front if you need to, Schmodix could go up front if you need them to, but they're not. It's not the primary positions they're going to be used in. but
00:28:38
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I'm not, say you don't want to, it' it's going to be difficult. It's January. You know, peak clubs don't want to sell the consistent strikers who perform at a high level. You're going to struggle to get them in January because the clubs don't want to get and let them go because because then they're in the problem. They've got the problem then of finding the replacement who can do a job and you're more likely you going to end up overpaying maybe for some people in January as well. It's a really tough market.
00:29:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
generally, generally, but especially for strikers to pick up someone who's had a good first half of the season in January. It's going to cost you a lot of money and the club's going to be very, very reluctant to do it. So it's always going to be tough, but again, we haven't really tried. That's that's been more the issue that there's not really, there's not been many concrete links. There's been a few conversations dotted about that. So normally Ipswich are one of the clubs who have ah ah have have an interest in this player and then nobody ends up bidding for them.
00:29:34
Global Sports Podcast Network
There's been no sort of concrete links to any strikers. Again, it almost feels like we've ignored it to look at other positions, but then, look, obviously I praised in C, so I think he looked really sharp and I think it'll be a good addition, but, well, we so we had that if we had a Premier League loan spot, that might have been the best way to get a striker, and we've got we've gone for as good as so.
Transfer Window Grading and Listener Engagement
00:29:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
I think it will work out in C, but I wonder where the priority is that You've gone and looked at almost a number 10. It was a very similar build to a lot of the other players we have to play in that three. You've gone to another one there where we have Hutchinson. We had Fillerjean brought in already. We've got Chaplin when he's back fit. Was that more of a priority to go for than a striker or a midfielder? Obviously, I suppose it's probably a case if you find out and see those available, you go and make the move for him because he's clearly...
00:30:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
since We've seen the level he's had in previous years, before we especially before he got that long injury that maybe i just that opened up, they jumped at the chance. But still somebody recruiting him to play that position when there was mid when we say a midfielder or a striker hadn't been hadn't been looked almost looked at. He's slightly concerning to me. And again, and i'm like I don't know if we're it will be as big of an issue as not signing a midfielder.
00:30:55
Global Sports Podcast Network
but Certainly, if Hearst gets injured again, like we say, he's had his horrible luck. If he gets injured again, we're in big trouble, because then we're look then what we're looking at and when we get to the point if the lap comes off or the lap gets injured as well. we've rear Again, I talk about lack of depth in midfield. We've got a serious lack of depth up front now that we are an injury away from really struggling for periods of games or whole games completely, which is my my concern in that area of the pitch. but
00:31:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
Let's wrap up then today's episode. We sort of discussed the players that have come in, the players that have gone out and areas that I think should have we should have made more of an effort to recruit in. So ah ah great I'll give the January chancellor window of an overall grade, all things considered. I'm going to go with a B. I think there was so some there was a list of sort key positions. I said coming into it that I think I said four positions that admit I would like to see, which was a right-sided player.
00:31:56
Global Sports Podcast Network
ah ah a centre-back, a twins AV role of centre-back, right-back sort of player, a striker, a midfielder, and then given the events of the window played out, you then throw a goalkeeper in there. We got three out of five of them, and like I say in CSO, should that position have been a priority for recruitment? Probably not, but I think it's a good opportunity. I think it's a loan that will benefit the player and us as well. I really like the look of him from what I've seen so far, so I'm hoping that will work out, and like I say,
00:32:24
Global Sports Podcast Network
the four names that have come into the first team squad, I think will be good additions. And so you've managed to clear room for it by moving some of the players who won't get as many minutes out on loan or out permanently that overall, like to say the business that has been done, I think it's been very good, but I can't give it an A for me because two arguably the top two positions I thought of coming into it hasn't been recruited. So that knocks it down that if I was rating purely the business that had been done,
00:32:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
I would give it, I'd give it an A because I think it's a strong window, particularly in comparison to the likes of Leicester and Southampton or say, or Woolsey, even some of the teams doing the business down there. I think we've had the best window of the teams down the bar, but so purely on the business that's being done, it would be an A, but I can't not factor in the the business that hasn't been done almost in the two key areas of the pitch. Like it's more so that.
00:33:20
Global Sports Podcast Network
Nobody's been bought, like I said, because January is tough to get the right players in, but almost the fact that who's been no there's been no talk about it, really. there was obviously Apart from that midfield, I'd say there was the Matich links week one, the Downs links were two hours to go, nothing in between. a Striker was sort of, there was a few names floated about in the first week of the window, and then we never heard anything again. It feels like the two priority positions but have not even been looked at, which I feel like could very much come back to bite us. but Like I say, the business we have done, though, I do think it's very good. So, overall, I grade a Jammery transfer window a B. We're interested to see how many of you, how many of our listeners rank the transfer window. Let us know on our socials, at GSPN, Ipswich, on all platforms. Let us know what you think of the transfer window and what grade you would give it on the old school letter system. Now, I'm going with a B.
00:34:16
Global Sports Podcast Network
And we'll see. and So we can come back to this at the end of the season and see what did B work out as a, as a fair grade, or maybe has it all passed all expectations. And I should have given it an A star we'll see. But before we've seen too much of any of the sign-ins, I think a B is a fair enough grade. And that closes out today's episode. So thank you for listening. We'll be back tomorrow with a preview for the trip to commentary in the fourth round of the f FA Cup.
00:34:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
Like I say, until then, you can keep up with us on our socials at GSPN Ipswich. Until then, we will see you tomorrow.