Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 152 - End Of Season Special!
48 Plays26 days ago
It's our final episode of the season! To mark the occasion all four of the lads have got together for an end of season special to look back on last campaign to see where things went wrong (with the benefit of hindsight!) as well as picking out their favourite moments. The boys also look back over their league table predictions to see how clueless they really were before the season started! Thank you for listening and supporting the podcast throughout the 24/25 season. Keep an eye out for updates from us over the summer about plans for the future.
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
Guests: Richard Popple, Tom Crack & James Bennett
Our Sponsors
Bioniq - Don't settle for off-the-shelf solutions made for ANY body. Get what's right for YOU. Right now.
We’ve spent years analyzing blood markers to develop our patented algorithm, enabling us to create a 100% personalized supplement to support your health by optimizing your micronutrient status.
Follow the link and Use code GSPN2025 for 40% of your first month’s subscription.
Zencastr
Built for quality - Designed for growth
A new era for creation is here.
The only complete audio + video platform to get best-in-class recording, intuitive editing, AI-powered growth features, and top-tier distribution tools — all in one place.
Get started for free!
We highly recommend it!
Global Sports Podcast Network - Creating the world’s first network of 30-minute daily podcasts for the world’s biggest sporting export, the English Premier League.
For advertising and sponsorship details or to learn more about the scale and demographics of our audience – email Ken Davies, VP Business & Development at:
ken.davies@globalsportspodcastnetwork.com
www.globalsportspodcastnetwork.com
Copyright | 2025 Global Sports Podcast Network | All Rights Reserved
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:01
Speaker
Every club. Every day. The Global Sports Podcast Network. Hello and welcome back to the Daily Ipswich brought to you by the Global Sports Podcast Network.
00:00:14
Speaker
The only place you find daily content on every single Premier League club, women's football and Premier League wrap-ups in multiple languages.
Season Reflections and Memories
00:00:22
Speaker
And is our final episode of the season today and we had to mark the occasion with something big. So we've got all four of the lads all together alongside me Rob Binns. We've got first of all Tom Crack. How are you mate?
00:00:35
Speaker
I'm good, Rob. Yeah, it's been ah it's been a long old season, so it's nice to have all four of us back on for this final one. We'll look at our predictions from the start of the season, which I'm very happy to dissect and we'll look back at some town memories, as well as some podcast memories, I'm sure. But yeah, good for all four of us to be here.
00:00:49
Speaker
Yeah, and we've got James Bennett as well. How are you, mate? Yeah, good, thanks, mate. Good to be back again. I've missed the last few, obviously, but um I have been watching us, so yeah. Well, I'm looking forward to discussing the season, definitely, and see what our predictions are. But yeah, good to be back.
00:01:05
Speaker
And finally, Richard Popple. How are you, mate? I'm good. It's the summer. I'm happy. Yeah. that No weekends ruined for a few months, exactly.
Season Review: Premier League Return
00:01:17
Speaker
exactly Right. like Like Tom alluded to there, we've got to split the pod into three different sections today.
00:01:24
Speaker
that We were originally going to do a full sort season review, like quite close after the game, maybe in instead of the match reaction. But then we thought, do we really want to talk about this season for half an hour?
00:01:35
Speaker
movie these are Probably best not. So we've sort of taken all of our best ideas we had for post-season podcasts and we're going to throw them all into one bumper end of season special. And that will be a lot for us for the 2024 campaign.
00:01:49
Speaker
we will go away in a couple of months and we will keep you updated over social media and stuff when our plan is to return over the course of the season. Everything we've got. We'll be coming up with things behind the scenes and everything. And like I say, at GSB and Ipswich on socials, if we have any updates for you, we'll put them on there. But we'll go through that all again, end of the show. We'll let go through all that side of things, what the future holds and stuff. We're going to be looking back rather than looking forward so far. So season review.
00:02:19
Speaker
um it was always going to be a memorable season this year. Obviously, after 22 years away from the Premier League, it was it was going to be a season to make memories. And the the ultimate goal we missed in the end, obviously we're wanting to stay in the league, but there's still plenty of sort of positives to try and pick out the season that I've got to you first, James. What's your sort of overall thoughts on the season? Have you got standout memory as well?
00:02:46
Speaker
Yeah, I've definitely got standout memory. For me, it's Jack Taylor against Wolves. That's probably my standout for the season. There is obviously some positives. I'm not going to come back after weeks missing and be all negative, of course. But yeah, obviously positives. We had Spurs, we had a win against Chelsea as well. And if you'd have said to me at the start the season, we'd finish just below United and Tottenham...
00:03:13
Speaker
I'd have absolutely snatched your hand off for it, but it's not quite worked that way. And also, we've beaten two European champions and I'm not, you know, no disrespect to the Conference League, but we have beat Chelsea and we have beat Bears, know what mean? So that's also a nice little positive.
00:03:30
Speaker
But... Yeah, I mean, it was like like you mentioned there, Rob, in the intro. It was it was nice to see us back after
Performance vs Expectations
00:03:38
Speaker
22 years. It really was. And then and nice to see us playing in the Premier League. It was brilliant. But I think as an overall sort of season, yeah, it's not not we've just not quite hit the mark, have we? And it's ah it was clear that the experience was missed and that it is needed. So we regroup. We'll see what happens in the summer, see what happens for next season, and we go from there. But overall...
00:04:01
Speaker
I was just happy to be back in the Premier League for a bit. Yeah, certainly, like I say, it was a season for memories, wasn't it? Something you'll take with you after a long gap away. Do you sort of echo those thoughts, Richard?
00:04:14
Speaker
ah Well, but and maybe not, no. ah by ah But I'll just take the other side. I hear exactly hear what James says. But i suppose because I have the benefit of age...
00:04:25
Speaker
I have got good Premier League memories, ah very good Premier League memories. So I think the idea of just being back in the Premier League whilst, yeah, it was amazing for the club to get back there.
00:04:35
Speaker
The journey to get there obviously was was incredible to watch and follow. And I think What it sort of said to me is the Premier League is a completely different place, obviously, to what it was 20 years ago.
00:04:47
Speaker
And it's kind of be careful what you wish for a little bit, isn't it? I mean, the the club really did try their hardest last summer to give us any chance to sort of stay up. But, you know, with the benefit of hindsight and everything else, of course, you know, you look at the business that we did in the summer and it was it was clearly nowhere near what was required to to get the job done, unfortunately.
00:05:10
Speaker
So it just shows you how far behind we had fallen in terms of as a club, you know, in the eight ball and in terms of what we've been producing over the last 20 years, really. So in the sense of seeing town back in the Prem, completely echo what James says. It was an incredible thing to have.
00:05:26
Speaker
But in terms of the season as a whole, Yeah, it was it was it it it the the sheen, and I was the one obviously out of all of us that was the most bullish kind of going into the season, but the sheen of being in the Premier League fell off pretty quickly, I've got to be honest.
00:05:41
Speaker
And... after the After the Chelsea game, which I think was my highlight of the year, which was, I think, end of December, wasn't it? It's just been a bit of a a bit of a slow death, a death by a thousand cuts ever since. So, yeah, it's been a long time coming, the kind of like, you know, the inevitable relegation, unfortunately.
00:05:58
Speaker
um And I think that has taken some of the the joy of of the last couple of years away, fractionally. But, you know, football fans are fickle. We've got short memories. I'm sure i'll we'll be forgetting about it and be buoyant come come August again.
00:06:11
Speaker
Yeah. What about you, Tom? do you sort of sit on this? We've had kind of both ah either sides there. Are you somewhere in the middle or do you lean one way? I'm going play my Swiss card and play the neutral one here, I think. There's aspects of both, isn't there? I think I've definitely had so much more positive outlook this season, ah I think for the most part, especially start of the season. yeah Just the build-up, especially into that first game against Liverpool, it was very, very magical. And that's why put it on the list of bi car one of our biggest moments of season, just having that as an occasion.
00:06:41
Speaker
But the occasion does wear off, doesn't it? You know, it's it's it's it's it's its that sort of feeling of facing a Liverpool or a Chelsea. You know, it's great, but, you know, the wins need to rack up. And yes, they came few and far between. They were
Challenges and Hopes for the Future
00:06:54
Speaker
really memorable. But I think for me, the the main sort of take I've had for this season is something like you said, Richard, it's it's the Premier League is such a different animal in comparison to every other league we've been the past years. And and as well, I'm a part of the early turn of the century as well. And we did have a really good first season back, so it's hard to just immediately say, oh, you know, it's good you're back in Premier League and down we go again because, you know, we've shown in the past of a decent side that we're able to do it.
00:07:23
Speaker
um Obviously, the Premier League is a much different beast back then, I'm sure. But yeah, there's there's been good moments, like yeahs a few wins and stuff, but I think considering the first half of the season, which we're going to look at a bit more detail, I'm sure, but like I think overall, overall few wins here and there, around 70 points, pretty good. If we doubled that with couple more wins in the second half, we would have had a really good chance to maybe survive. But January onwards was ah was a bit of a slog um and it did kind of show us where we were as a club.
00:07:51
Speaker
But... I've been saying to a lot of people who've said, oh, tough luck with relegation. It could be seen as excuse, but I'm very much with the of the group saying, I think we just got here a bit too early. Maybe maybe that's bit that could be an excuse to say.
00:08:03
Speaker
But if you think, if you look at the squad, the majority of it, starting XI-wise with the exception of this last ever season, we had some sort of sentimental players come on the pitch. it was It was an entirely new squad with the exception of Davis and Morsi every now and then. So to get that chemistry built in the toughest league was an even harder a challenge. And I think we did a pretty good job here and there, but really tough season.
00:08:22
Speaker
few bright moments, a lot not very so bright moments, but yeah, um I'm looking forward to hopefully some wins next season um and maybe back Premier League hopefully challenge a bit better. What about your favourite memory in there? So, as say Rich said the Chelsea win, James or Taylor go against Wolves. ah Yeah. you got so You got a different one or do you match in one of those?
00:08:42
Speaker
a couple. ah I think my favourite moment, like big, big sort I think was the way the Spurs win just because it was the first win as well. I think all four us on the podcast recap as well. That was really nice. I got my ah father-in-law as a Spurs fan as well. So was able to rub it in, which is pretty good.
00:08:56
Speaker
um And just, yeah, it was, I think, a really, really great moment, especially if we didn't win that game. Where was the win going to come from? Because, yeah, like I mean, I don't expect to win going into that game, but it was just like, you know, it's near December now, we still haven't got it. But so it was a great sort of just monkey off our back to get that.
00:09:10
Speaker
I think just my favourite sort of moment this season was, um and we had it on the award show at turn of last year, it was a the laps go against Villa. It was just, it was a proper Portman Rowe coming together moment live on Sky and just show the quality of what he was as a player. we And we put, I mean, both games against Villa this season, and we put really, really good performance in against a side that would go to the Champions League quarterfinals of all places. So to put in a good performance like that against them and I think was one my favourite goals of the season probably would be De Lapp's, yeah, I think second goal or as equalizer against Villa. Yeah.
00:09:40
Speaker
What about you, Rob? What's your favourite moment? I'm with James on that one. I think Taylor Hedda for me because that was like, In a lot of season with a lot of downs, there was a point of... I mean, i so I've been somebody who's been quite especially negative the whole time round. to Just the way I am.
00:09:59
Speaker
Try to expect expect disappointment and you're not then you're not surprised. It doesn't hurt you as badly when it comes. But that was like the one time of it that was the the one moment of proper belief. We're like, right, we kick on, we do this now.
00:10:11
Speaker
And that feeling that probably lasted a week, knowing us, we probably got beat the following week and it was all zapped out of me again. But that week would have been just, that would have been the best little spell of the season for me, the little belief there after something like that. But...
00:10:25
Speaker
Yeah, we lost 4-0 to Newcastle the week later at home. Oh, yeah, yeah the one that yeah. That one that started the run that we then went on to get about four points for about 25 games. Yeah, brilliant. yeah So it did last a week then, yeah.
Relegation Impact and Opportunities
00:10:36
Speaker
lasted What did I say? lasted a week and we went 1-0 down after 30 seconds the following week and has come back to earth. Yeah, that's how it goes. for But it wasn't doom from the start, it's the wrong way to say, but that we won't go into it. Obviously, that gap is just massive now.
00:10:51
Speaker
and so In terms of staying up, it's it's disappointing to have not put up more a fight, definitely. But imagine telling us in August that, right, so someone sits you down and goes, you're in the Premier League, well done.
00:11:02
Speaker
But to stay up, you've got to get 40 points and you've got to finish above the Europa League winners. know but i And if someone told you that in August, you we wouldn't have a chance, would we? And so it's more of a problem with the state of football that...
00:11:15
Speaker
which we won't go into. We could do a whole other podcast on that. We're like Sunderland, for example. Do you guys want to see one of the three sides that have gone up, Sunderland, by the way, stay up, just to end that narrative? I kind of do. Not that I've got an allegiance we've right one of them.
00:11:30
Speaker
yeah You don't know. want more to stay up, Rich? Or you want more to go down? so I want Spurs to go down. I want Man United to go down. I'd like Chelsea to go down. yeah and I'd like all three of them to stay up. Because Man United and Spurs are the luckiest.
00:11:44
Speaker
you know Spurs, that stat about they lost the most games in a Premier League season without going down this year? Yeah, incredible. They're a disgrace. And they won the Europa League. It's an absolute disgrace.
00:11:55
Speaker
So I'd love the three promoted clubs to stay up. yeah We need the big fish to fall. We really do, to to mix it up a bit. I just don't think it will. That's my problem with the way it is now. like Imagine Sunderland now.
00:12:09
Speaker
Just obviously was off the back of winning the playoffs. Fantastic way to win it as well. Goal in the last minute by an academy that. That element of excitement, but then knowing that you've got absolutely no chance next year with that squad. lot that's That shouldn't be like that, should it? It didn't used to be like that. That's the problem we've got now, is that you come up knowing you're gonna go back down.
00:12:32
Speaker
you don't know and Unless you've changed the entire squad. In our case, obviously, we've done it extra quick, but ah you knew these players who were playing League 18 months ago weren't going to be good enough, so it's then like you knew were going to have to go and buy 10 players or something. It shouldn't be like that. You should be able to come up and just give it a good go of what you've got, at least be able
Recruitment and Squad Management
00:12:52
Speaker
to compete. But then, like say, but when Spurs and Man United are the teams you're chasing, they're just, they've got, even if they are a disgrace, as Richard put it, they've got enough good players there who can just turn up on a day and win games on their own. Like, I mean, Bruno in United's case, like,
00:13:08
Speaker
theyre what They are where they are because he's won them about six games on his own. this yeah and so that's the that's the issue. They're teams you're chasing and promoting sides haven't got a chance. but can Can we talk about that that recruitment side of things, though? Because you just you just said that, you know, a club like Sunderland coming up with that squad haven't got a chance, right?
00:13:26
Speaker
But we have seen in previous years... So the closest side to staying up last year was Luton. ah yeah And they didn't really splash the cash. they bought They bought, you know, a few players, obviously, and people like Ross Barkley was a very...
00:13:39
Speaker
shrewd signing for them and they played well and they made their home ground a very difficult place to come which of a course is is the reason why we are being relegated because our home form was was so poor but we changed everything and at points in the season the players that had got us there in the first place now I'm not saying that you know there clearly isn't a kind of ah black and white answer to this And of course, there's Harry Hindsight going on here a lot anyway.
00:14:05
Speaker
But we changed so many players. We brought in so many new players. And McKenna throughout the season didn't know what his best side was. We got to May and we still didn't know what our best side was.
00:14:17
Speaker
And you had players coming in that were replacing players that had replaced them, you know, nine months earlier or whatever. And could you tell a difference, really, between the way the side was performing? not Not really, and i would argue, to a certain extent. And we had you know a number one goalkeeper who ended up being the number three goalkeeper and all that kind of stuff. So is there an argument that... I agree with Tom. We clearly came up too early. We clearly came up with a squad that was...
00:14:43
Speaker
A lot of it was in League One and they did incredibly well in the Championship. And and and the you know the reasoning was they are not good enough for the Premier League. I'm not sure if that was proven actually over the course of the season. So whether a side like Leeds or whatever who have come up, who who arguably have a better squad, would they be better placed to keep their squad together, maybe add two quality players and go for it, you know, 25, 30 million quality players and trust the people that got them there? Because it it seems to me like this big overhaul is the narrative that you have to do you have to do that in in order to to give yourself a chance.
00:15:17
Speaker
And I'm not sure if that's being backed up at the moment. It's interesting, really, because I think the argument, if if you want to do what Forrest had done, ah think you have to. If you want to push on, if if if your goal is beyond stay up year one, if you want to compete higher up in the league, you have to. Because players will show you within a couple of months if they're ready or not.
00:15:38
Speaker
And you you then make that, like by January, you should have a squad that's good enough to compete. And so we we didn't still at that point. But it's interesting because I've argued that everything, let's say the players, you know we had to go sign those players. And when you look at it, though, like the big example for me is Greaves.
00:15:56
Speaker
How much did we spend on Greaves? 20 meals? Something expensive like that. Fantastic when he played start with, don't get me wrong. But was has he performed better than Burgess as a whole over the course of the season?
00:16:08
Speaker
who is obviously someone who'd come up from League One and would have been in that category if we said wasn't good enough when we sat down in August. Probably not, has he? So maybe there is that argument. Industrial aspects of it, sorry to interrupt Robert, industrial aspects, doesn't it,
Lessons Learned and Continuous Improvement
00:16:20
Speaker
of team chemistry, doesn't it? I think a lot of players in that form do know the system and all that well. Like we talked about Burgess and Davies' connection, that left side.
00:16:27
Speaker
It's so well established regardless whatever league you're playing in. Whereas you've got all these guys coming in new system, new teammates, new area, all of the above. And then you're playing against, you know, your Mo Salahs and Kevin LeBronis week. it's It's such a tough nut to crack.
00:16:42
Speaker
I mean, you look at like, Burnley and Leeds, I think may be the exception next year because it's for the most part, majority of the squads that were up and down. And yes, they went down, but you know, that experience is there now, which may be beneficial. And I hope that'll be with us for the case. So I think hopefully we'll probably talk about it today or a few weeks in time, but we will hold on to a lot of the players,
00:16:59
Speaker
who are part of this relegated squad and will be better for it having gone down. Yeah. But yeah, I'm not sure what's next on the agenda, Rob, but yeah, just... Well, I think it's interesting, like, as I Richard though, isn't it, that obviously we're we're we're saying all this with the benefit of hindsight, we've watched the entire season, but we got a lot wrong this year.
00:17:20
Speaker
Yeah. Like, that's that is obviously like, we've... looked we've That is why we're down where we are. There was a lot like we should have competed a lot better than we did outside of things like say the sign-ins, a lot of the sign-ins like, know said we won't do it now but because we've already got plans in this episode. We were recently going to do an episode of grading all the transfers and say the summer ones, like there's going be a lot of like C's and D's in there, which is,
00:17:44
Speaker
like Again, it's hindsight, isn't it? But the thing, there's a lot of things that went wrong that easily couldn't have, that easily could have been gone right or probably should have gone right to give us a better chance. But we can't change that now. What we can do you've got to learn from that because there's also a lot of things we've done very well in the championship that we now need to go and do again and develop further because it'll be, you want to try and compete again, that's where, that's where
Predictions Review and Surprises
00:18:09
Speaker
I'm in with it now. Like,
00:18:11
Speaker
The club will know exactly what we've just done. Sit down, we can point out all these things that went wrong, what we should have done better. But we've got act on that now. And that starts with next season, even even though it's a division lower down. But that's what we've got to see. And we've got which is something we haven't really had the issue of doing for a while because everything's been going so rosy for two and a half, three years now that we haven't had this point where, all right, well, learn this went wrong. how do we How do we learn from that? How do we stop it happening again?
00:18:41
Speaker
We go up and that's the interesting thing we we sort take forward now. that So I don't know how that and how that might play out really. I'm quite intrigued. Before we wrap up and sort of move on to the fun little elements we quite on the show, has anyone got any sort of final points they want to make about anything over the course of season as a whole or anything particularly you want to talk about again?
00:19:03
Speaker
rubbishche and
00:19:07
Speaker
Straight away to that. Yeah. That would sum it up, really, weren't it? So we could talk about the first half of season because there was of things there. But also, but I feel like if we talk about the first half, we have to talk about the second half as well.
00:19:18
Speaker
And I don't want to talk about the second half. It was just so poor that second half, wasn't it? I'm really like, you know, we if we're trying to like add in moments, you know, we I think we've we're all quite, I mean, there's a reason that all of our favourite moments of season were the first half of it.
00:19:32
Speaker
And it's not just because you won a few more games and stuff, obviously it helps, but moments and why as they were there, but the second half... Flipping It really wasn't nothing. I don't know if it's just down to injuries becoming a factor or yeah January signings and lack of chemistry and it's a bit all over the place, but it really it really wasn't good.
00:19:49
Speaker
It really wasn't good. and There's an argument to be made of how he performed in the first half of season. If we doubled what we made there, we would have been to south of 40 points. but it it wasn't there. I don't know what switch you'd like to think after being in the league for a few months few mu at that point, you'd be able to just crack on a bit.
00:20:06
Speaker
but we We sort of degraded and just went back and rather than going forward. But yeah, difficult end of the season, but there have there were bright moments, which definitely will live long in memory.
00:20:18
Speaker
Hopefully new ones can be made in a few years' time. Definitely. So if you want to sum the second half the season up, we can do it a point I've made on this podcast countless times. The later a season gets on, those teams down the bottom eventually hit that point where they just become horrible to play when they're scrapping for every point of their lives and they sort kick in and start doing stuff.
00:20:38
Speaker
We're still waiting for that. I've been saying that since January. We're still waiting for it that sums up a second after That sums up the second half of the season. that we We would never get on one of those Wolves runs where they go unbeaten in seven or eight games whatever they did to Dragon. We were never going to do that, but you thought we were going to kick on and They grind out a couple of ugly 1-1 draws and that. But, well.
00:21:00
Speaker
It really did. It was going to come and it just yeah it just never did. Yeah, will say. the I think to sum the season up, I think this is the age-old phrase. us The journey is better than the destination.
00:21:15
Speaker
I think we put it that way. But now we we start a new journey again. Now, hopefully, we when we come, we we can't get on. It's amazing. New journey now. last so Mark Ashton said it back in like October or something did interview, didn't he? That people think the Premier League was the end. It's just the start of the next beginning. We'll see where it takes us from here. He's very smooth with his words, isn't he?
00:21:37
Speaker
Yeah, Mark Ashton is, he'd be great. He'd spin anything, the
00:21:45
Speaker
but say We'll leave that there. and ah that's the sort of we we took some positives out of it, but that was the sort of negative section we sort have to do. We can't let the Premier League season end without looking back over it, could we? But we've got a couple more fun things as we draw the pod to the close for the year. But before we on to one of them, we will just have a quick message from one of our sponsors.
00:22:06
Speaker
Your body is unique. And Global Sports Podcast Network has partnered with Bionique, the world's most personalized supplements. Bionique provide 100% tailor-made supplements designed to deliver precisely what your body needs at exactly the right levels to optimize your health.
00:22:27
Speaker
No guessing. So click the link in the show notes. Use the code GSPN2025 40% first month's subscription. for forty percent off your first month's subscription Bye, Anique.
00:22:38
Speaker
Don't settle for off-the-shelf solutions made for just anybody. Get what's right for you right now. And we are back for the second part of today's show. And it's going to be a fun one, this one. It's going to be that we were already looking forward to this episode when we recorded effectively the first part way back in August.
00:22:56
Speaker
You might remember then, three of us, I think it was going to be four of us, but I think, told me you might have been on holiday and we changed the date, so and you missed out in the end. But we all sat down and done a Premier League table.
00:23:07
Speaker
of where we were going to think we'll go. And we knew that it would be a great laugh to go back to it in May. And it's been, we've done even worse than we thought we would. Admittedly, some of it's not our fault because who if you you could tell me anybody who legitimately put Man United and Spurs where they finished at start of the season, like people might have done it out pure hatred if they're an Arsenal or Liverpool, Man City fan, something like that. But Yeah, but so we've also got that. that That's going fun. We'll run through that. we'll start We'll go bottom up on that and we'll see. i was going to say he's done the best, but there's nothing there's nothing to celebrate with whoever whoever's done the the least bad on this, really. But we've also got... we had We all made our predictions for Ipswich's player of the season.
00:23:51
Speaker
which So we'll see. I can tell you now, none of us said Liam Dallap or Darroche. You actually won it, I should say. But we'll see who we put in instead. And we also... We threw in a little curveball at the end of that episode.
00:24:02
Speaker
where we did some rogue predictions. One was Ipswich related. One was just general Premier League. Something that we just thought, you're trying to get that clip in a way that we haven't bothered go and get the clips, but you're trying to make that genius. You want to go back at the end of the season.
00:24:15
Speaker
And say, I nailed that on the head. And just, it's exactly what I would say. I've ruined mine a bit. Mine has come in and I have been that i have've been that guy who goes around reminds everybody who's done that.
00:24:27
Speaker
To cover over the fact his league table is absolutely horrendous. So let's start with the league tables then. So we'll go from the bottom up, like I say. Obviously, we know it. We spoke about it already. the It was three promoted sides who went back down.
00:24:40
Speaker
And none of us had that to be the case. Obviously, as ah we're quite biased on that front. I don't think any of us were going to put Ipswich to go down, were we? But we start with let's start with the there's the bad one. I'll do mine first. Someone's got the exact same three as me in the same order. So I'll put i'll do mine first to say I had Leicester bottom because if you remember way back when, they were at threat of a points deduction, which I thought was going to come in, which never happened.
00:25:04
Speaker
Then I had Southampton 19th, so at least got two out of three to go down. And then I said Nottingham Forest, who were third for about four months of the season, then ended up finishing seventh. But ah yeah, so Tom, you were the same as me on this one. Do you remember your sort of thought process that who you that about having Forest down there? Because I can't remember what mine, I can't think back to mine now with hindsight why I thought that would be the case.
00:25:28
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, well if you look they they obviously the season before they did survive, with I think it was a six-point gap, but they were seventeenth So, you know, it's it's a lazy, probably lazy analysis to make, but it's also one that could be quite justified come the next season. So if they're 17th last season, most so it could be 18th or below the next. But...
00:25:46
Speaker
They absolutely cracked on, didn't they, and had the one of the best seasons in their recent history. um Looking at our predictions there, Rob, me and you from 15th to 20th are in the exact same order. um we you get yeah adam or at Forest 18th, I thought, you know, it just seemed, if we had to sort of sacrifice a team that wasn't Ipswich Town into that bottom bottom three,
00:26:07
Speaker
I thought it could be them, but they proved myself and everyone wrong, including themselves. I think they surprised themselves this season, how well they've done. Kind of flagged near a bit near the end. I think it was quite funny. A lot of their fans sort of moaning and not getting Champions League football considering how close they were. But I think any form of European football in comparison to the season had before, they would absolutely take it. And considering their history, you know, some could argue they should be playing European football. So really good season for them, but it it does make me and you look a bit foolish.
00:26:36
Speaker
Yeah, well, so let's Rich, let's move on to yours now, because you had Forrest down there. You're with us on that one, unfortunately. But you did have a slight change, so you didn't have Leicester in there. Who did you who did you have in there instead?
00:26:48
Speaker
Well, first of all, I don't remember putting Nottingham Forrest in there. You said they'd be worse than we did. You had a 19. We at least all had a chance.
00:27:00
Speaker
This is a Word document. I think somebody's tampered with this and having a bit of a laugh. ah I don't remember that, but um I do remember putting Wolves down there. ah Wolves I had in 18th. And I think, you know, at the time it was justified, right? Obviously, we were working off the previous season.
00:27:15
Speaker
Gary O'Neill was doing terribly in 2024. I think Wolves were on a horrendous run in 2024. And look, you know, going back to James' favourite moment of the season with our winner at Molyneux, at that point it was between us and Wolves for 17th and 18th. And if they hadn't made their managerial change, and obviously they had ah an incredible bump after that.
00:27:37
Speaker
and great run of form towards the end of the season, feasibly we would have been in a fight with them. So I think I was i was relatively justified in that. But obviously i was thinking of the Gary O'Neill version and not the one that they became. And yeah, Forrest, you know, clearly we, you know, a few of us got that wrong. James had them highest up in 15th.
00:27:55
Speaker
They had an incredible season and it was a real shame that they kind of fell away a little bit. Well, actually, to be honest, they didn't really fall away. It's just, that you know, the stronger teams kind of put together ah decent run at a critical time, really. But yeah,
00:28:07
Speaker
Southampton, obviously, I got right. but And Leicester, I was only one off. But, yeah, it's um it's a pretty poor prediction, really. Yeah, James, you've dodged the stick we'll inevitably get for having Forrest relegated.
00:28:20
Speaker
So who who did you sort of have in there alongside Leicester and Southampton? Because you've done a bit better than us, but still not great, is it? but I mean, I don't think it's too... In fairness, mate, my other one was Bournemouth, so I don't think it's too much better because they still...
00:28:33
Speaker
Had a pretty decent season, didn't they? Really quite surprising because they were going for Europe for a little bit. They could have they could have maybe made it, but um obviously, yeah, they fell off a little bit, but they had a good season. So, ah yeah, not the not the best sort of. I mean, yeah, I've got Southampton and Leicester, um but then 17th, I've had Everton as well, who obviously, again, like yeah Richard just said, with with Wolves, they had a managerial change and sort of,
00:29:00
Speaker
had a bit of a run, didn't they, and took them up the table a little bit more. So, yeah, not the worst, but could have been a lot better. James, why did you pick Bournemouth? Just looking, where they finished season before, you know, we were saying Wolves and Forest quite low down. They finished 12th the season before.
00:29:12
Speaker
Like, you know, I just didn't think they had it i in a in a middle that in them again to do it twenty two seasons in a row. um I didn't think Irola would have been that decent. I'll be completely honest here. He took me by surprise and Yeah, they've made me look stupid. So thanks for that one, Tom. I think a lot of unknown signings. like Hoyssen, we didn't really know anything about him, really. yeah yeah And then he's now going to Real Madrid. There's a lot of players like that for them. I think... fifty millers um yeah The problem is with these as well.
00:29:42
Speaker
It was like, Rich has touched on one of the problems already, is that obviously see when we make these in August, you can't factor in... One thing is managerial changes. Like Rich said, like we were we were doing Gary O'Neill Wolves when we all put them where they were, which we're going to get on to some Wolves predictions in a minute. i say we Exactly. That's what i want to touch on in a minute, because we're talking about Gary O'Neill's rubbish Wolves team and two out of 11. So I'm not sure how we come to that conclusion. Yeah.
00:30:10
Speaker
We'll get back to that in a minute. But yeah, well also
Managerial Changes and Season Outcomes
00:30:14
Speaker
it's transfers, isn't it? the The transfer window shuts after the season started. So like, you don't know what it's like. Again, use Wolves as the example.
00:30:21
Speaker
Were we to know Kunja were still going to be there? Like when there was three weeks left of the window? You've got, because I always think of this, that the year then Harry Kane left Spurs late in the window, the season before last, I did a lead towel with my mates and I banked on Harry Kane staying with where I put Spurs.
00:30:39
Speaker
And then Kerry came left two weeks later. So like you can't factor its it. may Just to make us sound not as bad as we have, but let's just skip over. them What's left of the bottom half, no one cares about that really. do they They're all over the place. Well, i will say, to sum it up, in the positions of seventeen to 11th, we got one correct position between us, and that wass me having Everton 13th. So that's how well we've done there. but before So before we jump on the top half,
00:31:09
Speaker
James and Tom, Wolves 11th. but and Go back into Rich's point. We were talking about Gary O'Neill Wolves who were rubbish. Can we get the thought process behind that one?
00:31:21
Speaker
you got Going back a long time. Yeah. and I think but with with that, will I mean, you know, I'm not ah ah the biggest like Wolves consumer, I guess. it just they've they've always had like sprinklings of really good quality. I tell i was a big fan Gary O'Neill and when he kept him up and I was ashamed to see him get um the boot from... um was he got a boot from Bournemouth, didn't he, after keeping him up and then going to Wolves.
00:31:46
Speaker
So I thought he felt kind of disrespected. And then to keep Wolves around as well, I thought, you know, he must have been a good manager in there. But that was my thought process, that he was going to keep them soldiering on, I think. But they were probably the worst team in the league um until he left.
00:31:59
Speaker
um So, yeah, I probably just expected him to do well. He didn't. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly the same, to be honest. I just thought he looks like he actually doing all right. do you know what i mean? And obviously it's come to fruition now that he wasn't doing a good job. but Has he got a new job?
00:32:15
Speaker
Has he moved on? I don't know. mean yeah actually yeah And well, there you go, I guess. um It looked like he maybe would have been, new you know, i'll just keeping a bit more solid for this season, but it didn't turn out that way. And it's made me and Tom look daft.
00:32:29
Speaker
Yeah. Well, I'm not going to pick on you there. I've i've thrown you in first, and group you two together, but we're going to Rich, your one next we've got to talk about, and then we'll do mine afterwards. West Ham. In fairness. ah well yeah Oh, yeah, West Ham. I'm counting Ham as my one.
00:32:44
Speaker
But before that, we've got talk about... You have an Ipswich in 10th. Because you were an excited one of us. was yeah that's We finished 19th at the end with losing to Leicester with two games to go.
00:32:57
Speaker
ah forgotten I'd forgotten where we finished. and Yeah, yeah i was gi I was giddy, wasn't I? I was giddy And I overcooked the situation quite badly.
Unpredictable Nature of Football
00:33:11
Speaker
I mean, I would say about the West Ham thing quite quickly, we were all drinking the Lopetegui ball crew Kool-Aid. Because we've got... 849, Frim's got 9th.
00:33:21
Speaker
yeah Yeah, we um I'll take i'll take the hit on West Ham. Because I i said the 8th and I'm pretty sure I said that they'd be knocking on the door of Conference League as well. So I'll take the hit on the West Ham. But... There's a bit of redemption there for me later on, which we' well we'll get to when we get to the road predictions. But yeah, on paper, West Ham recruited really well, didn't they? A bit like us, really. It's probably part of the reason you thought up there with 10th, which even at time we said was a bit ambitious, to be fair.
00:33:47
Speaker
yeah it's like You have to judge windows before you've seen people play, don't you? I think what this goes to show to me, the whole the whole prediction really, the fact that you know only one one of us out of about 20 places between 11th and seventeenth got one club right, maybe it goes to show that we don't know much about the Premier League and we weren't watching it very much because we hadn't been there for 20 years.
00:34:10
Speaker
so but And maybe that's why town themselves didn't do very well in the Premier League because they hadn't been watching it very What I will say though, because we're why why we're all so far off there, This is why football is brilliant.
00:34:22
Speaker
Because how boring would it be? like you don't want to sit here and say you got 15 out of 20, right? Because it's boring if you know what's going to happen before it starts, isn't it? though The fact we're all horrendously wrong this shows like just shows how unpredictable the Premier League is and football in general. so That's why i we enjoy it.
00:34:38
Speaker
That's the way I'm looking at it, not that our ball knowledge is disgraceful, which we'll see. We've got more teams to predict next year. If we do championship, well, got four more teams in there. I wouldn't have a clue.
00:34:49
Speaker
No, I couldn't have a clue. A little bit about looting going down. nice No, definitely. But yeah, so so west I'll take the hit. I put West Ham higher, so I'll take the hit with West Ham because I'm pretty sure I... i say It's that argument of signings. just say I mentioned this while we were so before we recording and one I don't think I'll get written down because my predictions are sort of merged between two documents and one of mine is also shared with my predictions for the Liverpool game. So when I'm saying about judging silence before you've seen them play, because I have a specific note wait on the notes for the Liverpool game, which say, or like predicting Ipswich's season, will say...
00:35:27
Speaker
my note is we'll play a similar style of play to the championship, but with Muric and Greaves at the back, we'll make less mistakes. that will say that We won't concede as many goals. That's exactly what I've got written down in my notes. So it shows in the case of... What was that based on, Rob?
00:35:42
Speaker
What was that based on? Because I was not confident about Muric one bit. No, so I don't know. Because, yeah, I think mu what I remember about Muric is he played that one really nice 30-yard Traveller in a pre-season friendly. And that sold that just sold me That's what we need.
00:35:57
Speaker
That
Team Performances and League Surprises
00:35:58
Speaker
is what we need. I was just thinking, he plays out from the back without much confidence against Nice in a pre-season friendly. I forget that he gave six howlers away for Burnley and got them relegated.
00:36:09
Speaker
yeah don I don't know. It's brushed for the European places because we don't care about that, do we? We weren't bothered about that end of the table. but so Conference League spot, unsurprisingly, because we've already mentioned where we all put them, nobody had Forest, but Oh, sorry. I was just just completely brushed over my other disgraceful one I put in there. as I was looking at West Ham.
00:36:29
Speaker
I put Chelsea in ninth. I probably should mention that, in fairness, didn't I? Because they came fourth in the end, which is... And I'm not going to lie. I did, I was saying to you guys before, I did two league tables that ended up being different. I did one my mates as well. One with my mates, I actually put them tenth. so I don't know what I thought...
00:36:48
Speaker
i think it's I think I just didn't really rate Maresca at the start the season. there like think yeah I think a lot of people didn't really, to be honest. Especially if the going up the league. it It did kind of feel it was it was him or McAfee who was going to go to Stamford Bridge, wasn't it? And I was really happy when he didn't.
00:37:01
Speaker
They've just made, you know, you can disrespect... They've made a gradual step every last two or three seasons, haven't they? Yeah. That's the other thing. i thought like all I thought they'd be in a position where, but bit like Spurs and United, I thought they'd get to the run-in and they'd just sack it off and win the Conference League instead.
00:37:19
Speaker
ah thought I thought they'd be like... they know I thought they'd be in a point where, well, we're not getting Champions League, so we can throw everything at the league to try and finish fifth and sixth. Or can just win the Conference League by beating Swedish mid-table sides.
00:37:30
Speaker
And ah so I thought they'd do that and just sacrifice the league in the same way Spurs and United did. They just gave up on it in February and thought, well, we'll try win the Europa League because we've got more chance. But yeah, that's not going well for me. But to be fair, we all had Chelsea in the same sort of spot, really. But yeah, ninth was...
00:37:46
Speaker
quite badly low from me. It looked like it was going to come in at one point, though. though They sort of stumbled over the line until the last two weeks of the season, didn't they? that There was a point it looked like they were going to finish seventh or something, which I wouldn't have looked that bad then. But yeah, then they locked in and finished fourth.
00:38:02
Speaker
So back to the European spot. So what reminded me is because Tommy had Chelsea seventh, so not even not as far away as the rest of us. James Rich, you had Newcastle in the new in the Conference League spot. I haven't I had Aston Villa because I didn't think they'd be able to balance Champions League with them think with everything. But I remember my reason and for that is I thought they'd be like Newcastle and their squad wouldn't be able to handle Wednesday, Saturday. and yeah Then they made the Champions League quarterfinal and should have got Champions League again this year, but they somehow didn't beat Man United on the final day.
00:38:37
Speaker
but and Whether they got robbed or not, we're not getting into VAR. This is going to be a fun section. Europa League, which... we should we count I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have known 5th was going to be Champions League at start year. We could have guessed it.
00:38:51
Speaker
But yeah, we'll we'll run off saying 5th and 6th were our Europa League picks. You might have noticed we haven't mentioned Tottenham or Man United yet, which is concerning for us. We can't have table. We can't have that right. This is where me and Richard have got them.
00:39:08
Speaker
Fifth and sixth in those two Europa League spots. Me and Richard, opposite orders. I had Tottenham above, which obviously worked out be worse because they finished below. Richard, you did at least have Man United above Tottenham.
00:39:20
Speaker
It's 10 places off like the rest of us, but you at least got the order of the two them right, which I didn't in that case. Yeah, I mean, no one knew, as you've already said, that they were going be an absolute shower of whatever that they both became. No, exactly. At least I had them fairly low down. Newcastle, suppose, with a sort of surprise package for three of us. They had a better season than most would have thought the start, but they came on really strong towards the end.
00:39:49
Speaker
um But yeah. Yeah. and So you two have actually got the same team. Me and Richard had the same teams for the two Europa League spots in a different order. yeah So do you two. same Same two teams, different order. But there's another big one we've got to talk about here because you've both got Liverpool here. James, had them sixth, Tom fifth, and obviously they won the league. So that's another a tough one for you.
00:40:12
Speaker
it's it's the It's the clips you've seen going around all socialists around in May, April time when obviously like the league was there. And everyone was kind of saying, oh, new manager. And ah it it was, you know, we talked a lot about here about saying stuff that sort justified why he would have thought that way.
00:40:25
Speaker
And in Liverpool, it was that, you know, when Fergie left United, it's still happening now, to be honest. They've never reached the same heights. Wenger, near the end of his tenure, and a meet the after Arsenal, you know, haven't really won much since with Arteta, but, you know they're starting to now find the feet. But when after Wenger left,
00:40:40
Speaker
it was a bit of shambles. So you just, you know, what happened with Klopp being a generational manager and really having like his sort of feet embedded into the entire roots of that club. But, you know, um the difference in that was that Slott inherited a team that was ready to win as opposed to teams that were kind of flagging.
00:40:55
Speaker
And that's really the difference maker, wasn't it? And, you know, with his brilliance as well, as obviously Slott has got, that's why they've done what they've done. I don't think putting the fifth was a rogue shout, um but they've proved me wrong. And, you know, nice have a different league winner than City all the time, isn't it? Regardless of whoever was.
00:41:10
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. For me, I just sort I just thought, I didn't think they were going to like strule or anything. I just thought it would just take them a year or two, you know, to get to everything. Like you say, new manager coming in, obviously the end of Klopp, everything.
00:41:23
Speaker
And not not not even Liverpool fans thought they were going to go win the league this season. you know mean? So... They've surprised everybody. Slott has surprised everybody with the way he set them up and the way they've been playing because unbelievable stuff. I don't think anyone's seen that coming, to be honest, to come into a team like Liverpool into the Premier League, your first season in it, and just take it by storm like that. I mean, obviously, we've seen managers do it in the past. Obviously, Mourinho did it when he took over at Chelsea. And I'm not saying Slott.
00:41:50
Speaker
is on the same level as Mourinho but what he did this season was pretty unbelievable to be fair in Premier League terms so yeah fair play to him I'll then i'll take the sixth and i'll i'll I'll swallow it bitterly It's funny as well with it I thought Liverpool is ah probably the first Premier League champions to actually re but rebuild the season after winning it because they're going to sign a lot I think you're going to have stamp on the team like Frimpong and Vurk's coming in it's really weird to replace the squad that just won it but like to be the case I mean, he was pretty smart, wasn't he? not to you know he He inherited an up a brilliant squad.
00:42:21
Speaker
They, more than anyone, have attacking options. You say what you want about people like Darwin Nunes or whatever. They have more attacking options off the bench than the other club. And and they've they've proved like they had a brilliant squad already. He didn't need to tinker with it, but he obviously changed the style of football a little bit.
00:42:37
Speaker
But yeah, they've been brilliant. And I think obviously they've taken advantage. They've not had, like if you look at the kind of like wins and the points total and all that kind of thing, they've not had an incredible season. I don't think they would have won the last three years.
00:42:49
Speaker
Yeah. they would have come third last year again with that points total and stuff. But obviously, Man City had a massive fall off. Arsenal flatlined a bit. I mean, they drew too many games, right? so and And Liverpool have taken advantage, like fair play to them, really. Yeah. yeah I suppose there's that argument that as well that they did give for the last four games because they already won it. So maybe they got a more respectable total on there.
00:43:13
Speaker
Because in theory, they they could have they could have still got 96 points. if they won the last four, but they'd won the league already and sacked it off, to be fair. But then also, like bob talk about the drop-off there, though.
00:43:24
Speaker
ah did What did you just describe it as? All-mighty drop-off Man City? Three points behind Arsenal in the end. enough Yeah, but in terms of what they were, I mean, come on. Yeah, know. mean, that's what I'm saying.
00:43:34
Speaker
I think Arsenal won 16 of... challenge Yeah, but Arsenal won 16 of 17 games or something to end last season, and Man City still won the league. Yeah, exactly. They were just like a monster. Yeah, but so that's when you're talking about the level teams have dropped, that's how far Arsenal dropped off as well. is it They only finished three points above City in the end. but yeah So our top fours then.
00:43:53
Speaker
um None of us had Liverpool to win the league, as we just said. Me and Richard, we both had them in third. So we look at them slightly less bad on that front. Me and Tom went City to win the league.
00:44:05
Speaker
You two went Arsenal to win the league. And then and second was all just the same teams in the opposite order. And then completing the other top four, say, I had Liverpool third, Newcastle fourth. So was so close to Newcastle dead on, but they bottled it against Everton on the final day. Yeah,
Final Predictions and Player Performances
00:44:21
Speaker
yeah.
00:44:21
Speaker
And got in anyway. And I remember saying, the reason I thought Newcastle is because they didn't have Europe. And I said exactly why I put Bill O'Leary down, is because I thought I wouldn't to handle it. as I thought that no distraction from Newcastle, I thought they'd be able to kick on this year.
00:44:37
Speaker
where everybody else wouldn't. And they did really. And they so they should have got me a correct prediction, but they decided not to turn up on the final day and got away with it with the top five. Rich, you had Villa in fourth. though So again, a close one. They could have, they could have nabbed it on the final day again, but they got beat. So both of us had the chance to walk away looking really clever there. And our team decided to lose to a team they should have beat on the final day.
00:45:02
Speaker
um We won't talk anymore about Man United and Spurs, but yeah, Tom and James, you both had United third, Tottenham fourth. We'll skip past that. If they'd have just won more games throughout the season, we'd have had a chance. We've still got them James. We've got them You three did at least say Man United would finish above Spurs. i didn't even I got those two the wrong way round, even we hit amongst their shocking seasons. So you got that on bit.
00:45:29
Speaker
ah been trying to I've been going through it in my head while I've been asking questions going away. And final scores on the league tables, he's actually a draw two ways. It's a whopping 2-2-1-1 draw on correct positions.
00:45:44
Speaker
ah that I've only got two. Rich and James, you just got Southampton bottom. That was it. Well played, James. Well played.
00:45:55
Speaker
Tom, me and you, tom me you The title rate, our boring predictions of City to win the league again have clutched up for us because that meant we had Arsenal win second to get a point each. And you had Villa to come sixth and I had Everton to come 13th.
00:46:11
Speaker
So that is... Yeah, 14th, yeah. Yeah, that's how we pulled off. The fact that we went... down the like The fact those two actually went out there and said somebody knew would win the league is, in the end, um we went boring, is how we've done that in the end.
00:46:25
Speaker
That's the league tables. Bring it back to Ipswich. So we all asked our... We put it MVP, effectively player of the season, who we thought was going to be important this year and why.
00:46:36
Speaker
and We've actually only got three of these because... some we haven't wrote down Richards at some point and obviously it's in August so no one's going to remember who he said. So you can just you can just pretend, yeah, let's just say Rich said O'Shea because he won it and we'll give you that one and you can just laugh at us.
00:46:55
Speaker
I'll go first on this one because I went fairly boring on it in all honesty. Like I didn't try and go out there and pick anybody like that. I just said, well, who was very important last year?
00:47:07
Speaker
Leif Davis, I'll say him again. But I do remember making the point a lot in the early weeks that that could be an area where we get found out. is that Because he does go up the pitch a lot. And if we don't cover that space well enough, when I'm thinking of, you know, the standard of right wingers in the league, Salah, Saka, they are my worries.
00:47:26
Speaker
People like that going into it. And yeah, so that's why I said Davis, because I thought he'd have to lock in and do a better job defensively to cover that. And why that's why he would be important in my head, why we would stay up. And I was actually, I was wrong on staying up and I was wrong on him doing that because we did get exploited there a lot. And actually, i just sit by the end of the season, I was saying if Conor Townsend was fit, I'd have started him instead. But let's run through your both of yours quickly. I'll do James first. You went for Hutchinson.
00:47:54
Speaker
I've got a quote from you on this one. there's a very tough one to call. and So you were you clearly between a few names, but can remember why you let that I remember, got yeah, so in fairness, yeah, I've got a quote here as well. So was like, very tough one to call.
00:48:08
Speaker
But I'll say it, as I do think we'll be much more defensive ah than the last two, which was fair. ah But I think our new signing, who was incredible last year, he was, will excite us again and hopefully get us on the edge of our seats, especially in the big games.
00:48:21
Speaker
Not even a little bit, do you know what I mean? And got me standing up and leaving the room. against United, you know what mean? And not even close. i mean I mean, yeah, it's a tough season for him, I know. and But, yeah, Hutchinson, I mean, I think it was, think it was more maybe hopeful because I did think he was going to kick on because he played so well when he was on loan.
00:48:42
Speaker
And in signing him permanently, I thought, yeah, it's his chance now in the Premier League, he'll go and do it. But just not quite there, was it, unfortunately. And I think that's, we've touched on it earlier, haven't we, where McKenna obviously didn't find his right 11 for the whole season, essentially.
00:48:56
Speaker
I think that maybe had a bit to do with it as well. He obviously picked up an injury here and there as well. And, you know, he couldn't find his form, I don't think, you as not many could, to be honest. But,
00:49:06
Speaker
Yeah, I think it was a fair shout. And it's just a shame that he didn't kick on like I think most of us thought he would. But he'll stay, I'm sure. And he'll have a good season and Championship. i I'm sure of that one. So, yeah, may I might call him for next season.
00:49:22
Speaker
Yeah, maybe. maybe And then, Tom, yeah, you went to Sam Morsi as
Future Strategy and Adjustments
00:49:25
Speaker
well. I think you ah okay you've actually wrote your reasoning down, which I didn't do, which is good from you too. Yeah, i think I think with him it is more, as James said, going from that, you've got to look from a defensive point of view as as opposed to attacking is who would be our favourite season, which did tell us to be the case with Dario Shea, didn't it? But I just thought with him being...
00:49:45
Speaker
you you saw in league one of a championship, just so how many times he picks the ball up in the middle of the park and just changes it. And it's such a great sort of like high line of a defense where you can get the back four. I was he would have been that in the Premier League as well. But I think with him, the thing we saw the biggest detriment to his play. Cause I do think like tackling wise and stuff, he was still relatively confident, but I think Richie mentioned it plenty times. The season was Morsy's fitness. yeah You know, he just, he couldn't really keep up with the pace the Premier League, And, you know,
00:50:11
Speaker
It's the first time really a long time that we've kind of seen him out the squad, not necessarily due to form, but just I think his overall fitness, he couldn't necessarily hack it. um So we did kind of see, I mean, that the the quote I said was providing a side more decisive tackles in our box as well as in the middle of in the middle of the park.
00:50:25
Speaker
We got that from Cayuste, didn't we? We didn't know we were going to get that. um So that's that type of player who I thought would be our best player this season did turn out to be that, but just wasn't Morse. It was his own cohort in Cayuste. Not saying I would have...
00:50:38
Speaker
pick you say but that sort of role of a player is what I thought would have been our best and it did turn out to be the case but yeah I'm intrigued with what's going to happen with Morsi now moving forward I think it's it's an exciting summer of transfers wise for us obviously some outgoings but also some incomings as to what do you do with him obviously he is our leader age is starting to catch up now I still think he's a reliable hand on the field but do we look to bring in someone new or we I've seen talks of Flynn Downs potentially come back or does it Cameron Humphries maybe get his chance down he's bit more an attacking player but can he go in the centre part more it's going to be an interesting part of the field that's going to need an overhaul regardless um of more of these capabilities for summer are we in talks of Flynn Downs I saw it yeah I saw a little report the other day does this happen every summer that we're talks I think so yeah it happened last year definitely
00:51:25
Speaker
Would you take him back? I wouldn't take him back. No, wouldn't. I can't see Southampton letting it happen that we're in the same division again next year as well because he performed very well for them in the championship so I think he'll be one to stay on there. But we've been going on for these predictions for a while now but so it's been good fun to go back but...
00:51:45
Speaker
We are, let's finish on the rogue ones very quickly because I think we've been going for nearly half an hour in this section now. But yeah it's good I'm desperate to include these because this is my redemption arc.
00:51:56
Speaker
This is apparently the one, my out there predictions, apparently where I'm better than trying to do it sensibly. But the only ones we've got written down on these are mine. So the rest with rest of us are trying to pull from memory here.
00:52:08
Speaker
and So, I mean, James, you can remember your one. So we did an Ipswich-related one, we'll do that first. And me, you and Tom actually all went down a very similar line with this one. So yours was more specific. So should we cover yours?
00:52:19
Speaker
Yeah, so my, for the Ipswich one was, m I thought we'd go to Old Trafford and win 3-1, but, you know. ah We should have won there, though. We should have won there. Yeah, we should have won there. Do you know what I mean? Because that was a wasn't it?
00:52:33
Speaker
We lost 3-2, but Lejean got 2. who Yes, Jamie Philogene's crowning Ipswich moment. well Yeah. Those goals were amazing as well, yeah. Yeah. yeah And then Tom, I think you were a similar line. I think you had that we'd win at Old Trafford but didn't go as the extent of 3-1, I think was your line. So down on a similar road. And I went even more vague um because i worked I played it safe, effectively.
00:52:55
Speaker
And mine set out to be right because I said that we will go and win away from home against any ah any of the big six. I've got Old Trafford in brackets. Yeah. I just have one of the big six teams. We would go to their place and beat them.
00:53:08
Speaker
And we went to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and beat them. So oh yeah down that one ah ri I think you just having us in 10th was already your rogue Ipswich shout, to be honest. I think that's probably failed. And I'm not, it's not an Ipswich point, but I refuse to get through the podcast without putting this in because I am buzzing with myself.
00:53:27
Speaker
Yeah, when I took the hit from West Ham in eighth, I went completely against that because my rogue prediction was, for my general Premier League one, is that the West Ham rebuild won't work. Lopetegui will be sacked.
00:53:40
Speaker
And then, which was, that was the point. But I feel like I remember saying in there as well that I've got a memory of myself saying, and they'll finish 14th or something like that. Like that exact quote, and they'd finish 14th. So unless I'm just making myself sound better than I am, should have gone and found...
00:53:57
Speaker
butgraph sharp it's in fruit Yeah, maybe we'll VAR check it. maybe i'll put Maybe we'll put that in the edit if I've said it. And if we have if if it's not in the edit, I either couldn't be bothered or I've got it right. I mean, that's why that's not in you've had your bets there a little bit. Because if you'd have been like, you know, i said Lopetegui was going to get sacked, they're going finish 14th and Potter was going to take over, we would have called BS.
00:54:18
Speaker
thought Yeah, true. You stop short of doing that, but I mean, you'll probably he'll probably get sacked at the start of next season by... but They'll get them at ninth now and just be completely opposite of what we expect. Yeah, maybe. maybe Maybe, yeah.
Conclusion and Future Plans
00:54:35
Speaker
Right, um that brings us to the close of predictions. And actually, we're going to end the podcast there as well, because we've been having so much fun and waffled on about stuff that we've sort been going for nearly an hour already, so...
00:54:46
Speaker
we know we We didn't want to do too big of a bumper episode, so we'll cut our planned end-of-season awards segment because, let's be honest, I think it was going to be an ananimous unanimous, I should say, vote for Liam DeLapp from the four of us. I know he didn't win the club one, but... yeah A fantastic signing who's now looked like he's going to bring us in 30 million quid for the championship as well.
00:55:05
Speaker
And potentially a striker on loan as part of the deal as well. But we'll see how that plays out over the summer. But like I say, this is going to be our last podcast of the season. We won't do any more over the summer period now that we'll leave it be. We will have a break. We'll be like the players. We'll have a time for holidays. And then...
00:55:22
Speaker
come back in pre-season sort of time. We'll see where we are, but we just want to finish today's podcast with a massive thank you for anybody who has listened, whether it's your first episode today, you've been there from the start or joined anywhere and on the journey.
00:55:34
Speaker
We sort sat down in August, not really knowing what we were doing. It's a brand new project. And we've got 152 episodes out to you. You've stuck with us throughout the whole season when things go poorly on the pitch and when we actually dropped off ourselves. We haven't done five a week for a long time. So people have stuck with us through that as well.
00:55:50
Speaker
It's not fully appreciated. We're going to go away over the summer, try and come up with what we' do and say we will get any updates out to you. But for now, from all four of us, thank you for listening and goodbye.
00:56:04
Speaker
Every Club.
00:56:07
Speaker
The Global Sports Podcast Network.