Looking Toward the Future

This episode is brought to you by Flex Mise, a multi-award-winning digital business lender dedicated to providing UK SMEs with flexible finance done properly. On April the 28th at Portland Road, you won the championship of the first division in your first season and how do you feel? I feel fine. Um and I'm delighted. I'm delighted for everyone . And Itswich win the cup for the first time in there this three the flag is up for off stride against Brazil and it's been winning the Europe an on an aggregate of five goes to four and for the air to bring success at the European level to little market town like which is quite a few. Support line is provided by Clapham. It's Clapham's got it. Stewart, it's three one inches . And Supper slips the premier check Championship bound in switch town. Welcome back to the official town podcast as we continue our 145th anniversary celebrations. Let's head straight back into the action as Matt Holland ticks down with Russell Osman, Luke Chambers, and Town Fullback Harry Clark. Matt, it's all yours. Guys, we're here to celebrate 145 years of Ipswich Town. We've got a few errors here, haven't we? Russell Osman , joined in nineteen seventy five, all the way through to Harry Clark, who's still played now in t twenty twenty three, so we're covering forty eight years between us. It's not bad, is it? That's not bad. Yeah. A few games have uh gone under the bridge since then. Just just a few. Between the three of us. Two hundred and eighty five games, three hundred and ninety six games , three hundred and twenty one. Yeah. I I got some catching up to the th you got some catch up. But you will, you'll get there. You'll get there. I'm actually going to go. So it's over a thousand then. We we're getting that way. Yeah, we're we're over a thousand games between us, yeah. Um how would you, if you were asked to describe Ipswich Town, how would you describe Ipswich Town? At the moment I would describe Ipswich Town Football Club as a football club that plays proper football, that plays football in the way that um it was synonymous with a club back in uh Bob Robson's era, how they pass the ball very well um the style of play which people appreciated and I think now over the last sort of 18 months we've actually got that sort of spirit back and that style of play back, and people are looking at Ipsy Town Football Club and where in Robson's era we were like everybody else's second favourite team, I think we'll be the same. I think we'll be similar to that now because the style of football is fantastic. No disrespect, Luke, to what went on in your era, but you know it absolutely changed a little bit, didn't it? Yeah, and I think every that's the dream for every club, isn't it? You want to have a nice way of playing but we've now got a nice way of playing but we're very difficult to play against it's not a nice team to play against yeah so that's the balance you've got to get get right and I think especially now that's where we are. See I, think if if you you ask me to describe Itchery's town, I say it's community. Hundred percent. I say the football club's a heart of the community. Um and now I think we're back to the level, bringing back the foundation and I think the current group now are buying into it, aren't we're 100 yeah community visits etc yeah one with the foundation also like just that buzz around the town like obviously we haven't had that really no in the past since especially since I've been it and obviously now that you know we're doing well But you've been a fan all your life, haven't you? Yeah. Born and brought up in Ipswich. Watching him. He sent me a He sent me a picture yesterday, didn't he? I saw the picture. Seen the picture. He had his hair like mine. Some barnet that wasn't trying to be like you, bro. But you're right, you are right, yeah, the beard the beard's coming. But you're right, I aren't you? And obviously during my time, that's when it fell away. So at the minute we've got away. Oh just individual decisions, wasn't it really? People made a decision that wasn't a benefit to the club at the time, rightly or wrongly, and now . So I think a lot of a lot of people have been surprised by how far they'd gone backwards, Luke, weren't they? Because when everything started going well recently everybody sort of stood back in amazement and said Christ where are all these people coming from? Where are we selling all these blue and white shirts? Where's why are the pubs so packed on a first game of the season, Bolton first game the season, last season. People everywhere in the town centre. But that's what's been crying out for, isn't it? For ten years. Yeah. Obviously that's where we are. That's the case for that. Yeah, they forgot how far backwards it had gone, hadn't they, in the the community aspect and the supporters aspect . The history of the club we're talking about is 145 years. So we're going back a long way. But before you joined, what did you know about the club? Um absolutely nothing. Really? Nothing. You joined in 75? I I joined in 75. I started playing for the youth team in 74. Uh, Charlie Woods, who was uh my youth team coach, he would come up sometimes and pick me up from Burton on Trent in the Midlands on a Friday and drive me down and we'd stay overnight at Charlie's house, play for the youth team on the Saturday morning, and then Charlie would drive me back. And it was like a four-hour each trip for Charlie then. Wow. And in those days , the club said we would have to be prepared to go that extra mile to get the best players we could find. So they brought a lot of players down from the northeast, northwest, put on lots of training games, practice matches , uh, entertained a lot of people to try and find those really good players. Um but Sir Ralph Ramsey had been in charge, he'd won the league in 1962, and you won't aware of that. No. No. I'd I'd heard of Kevin Beattie, Alan Hunter, but I didn't really know where Ipswich was, I didn't know much about the club at all. You know, I was at Derby County fan. We used to go to the baseball ground every weekend and watch Brian Clough you know Roy McFarlane playing Colin Todd, you know, great players in that era. And that's why I grew up watching, you know, so yeah, if they were playing Ipswich, that you'd see them play Ipswich, but you didn't really take on board what it meant. You know, and I got invited to come down here on trial. Trials went well, started playing for the the youth team while I was still at school. Um I was actually the captain of the youth team um when I was still a schoolboy when we beat West Ham in the FA youth cup final. You know, I mean we had 16,000 people here, well, for the second leg of the youth cup final. I mean that shows you then it's a community 100% now . Academy as well. I think that I think we're synonymous with bringing players through the academy as well. I mean, obviously Bobby Robson gave youth a chance, George Burley gave youth a chance. You've been in the academy as well, ain't you? You come through the system. I know you left us to go to Arsenal, but you you you're back. Yeah. Yeah, no, well that picture uh I put up yesterday, me and you, I'm in the I'm wearing my development kit. Yeah, you're in there still. So I was in the development. From what age? Oh god. I I came at ten, I I think at nine or ten, didn't get in. So whose decision was that? Bomb squad. Uh have a word . Ardem Ate . Yeah, Ardam, yeah, still see Ardam. Yeah, so he I'm sure it was him, he said he said no. And then the following year we played Norwich away and I broke my arm and was in the hospital bed. What what year was this? Um so this was two thousand eleven. Must have been. Because I started started doing the under eighteens when poor Jewel joined his manager. I came back and did the under eighteens for a couple of years then. Yeah. So it must have been 200 and I was in the hospital bed and Nashi rang my dad and said, Oh but I hope he's alright but he's in. I was like, are they doing this because I just broke my heart? I didn't know if it was so but yeah to avoid the lawsuit. you actually house some of the academy players now and have done it. Yeah but in your time when you were playing here as well. The last f six years yeah we've had obviously Flyny Downs come through, Idris, we had Tristan, uh Jack Lancaster is now having a good career at Cambridge. Um yeah, loads of the boys there now. And it's a a big part of my life. Obviously me being here for as long as I was and then my my kids go to school here, this is my home. So like like you say, when you how do you sc describe the club? Like part of my life. you know What did about a club before you arrived? Well I remember watching you in the in the playoffs and yeah you all get promoted to the Premier League, watching your Premier League. But I don't think it's one of them you don't really realize how big the club is until you come and you get involved and you see the fan base and you see obviously the location is always difficult in some respects, but once you're here and you realise what a big fan base and what a what a back in the club has, if it's done proper ly it it can show you there's no real limit to where it can go for now so it's funny isn't it we're all we all remember the next person alongside as well exactly you remember uh James and I remember your ear as well because there's a kick row as a kid growing up I used to sort of watch my dad playing I I used to listen to listen to football scores and afterwards my dad'd go uh what were the scores what the scores what happened I'll say oh Ipswich one whatever Paul Cooper saves the penalty. I remember saying that every week Paul Cooper used to save the penalty every week, didn't he ? He he was not a bad goalkeeper. Giving it a budget defence Is it you or butch? Is it you or butch? No, it's butch all the time. You know, kept kept Coop on his toes. It was a way of keeping him involved, keeping him acting. It was very good actually because he just used to take the uh he used to take the Mickey about you know, the whoever was taking the penalty. He's not the biggest either, is he? No, but it but he would stand two thirds one side of the goal. And lean the other way. Right, you know, and say, go on, go on, you stick it there and the bloke stick it. No no,, he''ss he good gonna dive that way now, isn't he? Or or is he gonna dive that way? And he just psyched him out. He just went, thanks for it. Much like you know. So and he saved loads of penalties, loads of penalty, really good. And obviously, Bobby Rob son, the manager as well. I mean what what can you tell us about Sir Bobby Robson? Well I think people have to realise you know when we're talking about that that era if if you're an Istrich Town supporter , the facilities that that are just through those windows behind our cameraman there, that was our training pitch for the three teams. That was our under eighteen's pitch on the the Saturday. So you had no training South East Coat. No. No. Sometimes you team were over in the park over there. Can't quite believe it Harry 's like lunch . Lunch for us . You walked over to the sport ing farmer pub that got dip uh demolished about 18 months ago, two years ago, the other side of the car park there, and it was chip butty with or without gravy. That'll do, wouldn't it? A pint of what? With pint. And that was it. That that was like your your lunch. That was some pitch out there though, wasn't it? Pitch was in great condition, wasn't it? It was a good cross. It was a grass. Yeah, grass used to be a grass pitch. You don't remember the grass pitch either no. We used to train the South East. So we had the training ground, but this used to be the pitch that we trained on the day before a game. Yeah. So we always used to do set pieces and this this used to be the game before. It was good. It was good. And we used to have a little fiberside right on the far side where the huts are now. And cars used to park in there on a Saturday on a match day. So on a Friday we used to have a five-side game there. And there's all the potholes and puddles and everything. It was just a a bit of fun, like you know, and it was big sandpit for Paul Cooper by the wall. Sandpit. Remember those doorkeepers working in the sandpit? No. Wild differently. The old headed the head did you have one of those heads on a rope as well? The paw on a head on a rope. That was head on the training rope. Yeah no. Yeah, yeah. Terry Butcher probably used that one in Kevin Beatty. But you talk about Kevin Beatty, you know, no matter how high you put the ball up Beattie had the bloody thing , you know, it was just he was phenomenal. He was outstanding as a player. I was like I always like to have George as a manager. And I think that one of the things about the managers here, they always try and improve you as individuals as well. Obviously, George with myself certainly made me a far better player by working individually with me. You've got a manager now in Kieran who is I think one of the best at it. When I look at the players and and the players that he's improved and where they are now compared to say two years ago when he arrived, every single player has got better, haven''t they? And thats the judge for me. That's that's how you judge. Yeah. That's a coach, isn't it? 100%. Yeah it's not just a manager. It's a coach. And maybe you can do that whilst winning and doing the things we're doing. It's byproducts in it. It's a byproduct of improving play players they're already gooders when they arrive at the club if you make them better it's it's pretty much gonna improve results. We we have Mick you admit as manager, I had Mick as manager with Ireland. I mean I you know I I love Nick. I think he's as honest as the day he's long and and and did a really good job in difficult circumstances here didn't he? Exactly that, yeah. Mick was one of those guys, he had to deal with the handy he was dealt half the time, so we were grinding results out left, right, and centre, and that was obviously a different era for the club where it was all hands to the pump, whatever we could get, big bar of steel to a degree. And for me, for the majority of the time, he was punching well above where we should have been. You you have a bottom four budget to play with. That's where you're gonna end up most of the time. More than likely. You know, so Mick was like you know, battling to get in the top four, top six, top eight, you know, year after year after year. But on a bottom four budget. Yeah, exactly. And and he did a remarkable job, especially when he came in when we were we were thirteen points after seven games, you know. So the way he turned round the way the lads were playing, the way they thought about themselves, their confidence, he improved that almost immediately. And for me, yeah, like you say, you know him well enough, and he he definitely improves people and has them believing and they can beat anyone, and that was a real good trait that he had. Still I' stmill trying to get over the fact he didn't have training ground. I can't pitch it. Well that being a grass pitch. Yeah. Can't you? It was it it was in really good condition as well. I mean the pitch has always been good here. Counting games there, the pitch was always good there. Yeah. Um there was no problem. It wasn't until probably mid-80s, early 80s that we started using uh Willie's favourite Doom us um I think Holland? No basic basically you know on Bent Lane and stuff like that, you know, we used to occasionally go up there and it was like oh cracking it's a decent surface for the change, you know. What about this place, Portman Road, because it's a special place, isn't it? You must remember the first time you walked up to Portman Road . No? What the first time I'd have been tiny, but I mean it, your first game. My earliest memories I I always have two. One was waiting wait begging my dad to wait until the final whistle so we could watch him do the do the fist one. Which is what you've now done as well. Is that purely because Luke did it? I think he saw me, he saw me in town and he saw my new fresh haircut and he's like, oh chambo, do you mind if I do this one? I was like, crack on mate, do you want me? It's your time now. Yeah, it's passing the battery . But I think because like as a kid, like I loved it and I know how much the fans enjoy it now, and it's like even when I don't You feel like a fan. Yeah, and I just know it's just like m us showing them sort of appreciate I don't know how you start it or not. It is it is like that relationship connection at the end of the day, it's whether you play or you don't play, the environment that's now created, it you've got the squad, you've got the staff, you've got the fans, you've got behind everyone's want. Yeah, yeah. Which is almost gives you that goosebumps sort of feeling when you talk about it but it's that's what's created now so it's amazing for you to be able to and the boss at the minute like it's he's so so hard on like the boys that aren't playing or aren't or say on the bench every it's everyone and it's everyone plays their part whether it's in training or off coming off the bench and scoring goals or That's an art in itself, isn't it? That man management side of it. So difficult. Massive. I I remember I remember coming the first time to Portland Road and being over overlawed really with what it was about. George Burley came to Bournemouth to to chat and try and settle the club to me. He didn't need to really because within 10 minutes my mind was made up and I was coming. I was I was I was done I'm done didn't even come and visit the club didn't visit the training round he he came to Bournemouth where I was playing I said yeah I'm coming first day I came here and signed I remember driving from Bournemouth that morning and then I actually got lost I actually got lost because I went to the Toys or Us roundabout and then turned right. Instead of coming straight into town, I went right past where the ski slope was. Was it down in that down that way in. And um so I was that was those used to be early anyway, so I wasn't late still, but I managed to I managed to get here, walked into and thought, wow, this is I've been here the year before because I've played for Bournemouth in the cup against Ipswich, so I've been here previously. Um I think this place under lights is unbelievable . Because I I now live obviously just outside Colchester. When I drive in and you're coming into Ipswich, you come toys Raz round about up to the top, you start driving into Ipswich, you see the lights and you see the sign then Ipswich Town Football Club. That moment it just even now I drive into a game with the lights on, yeah, I get goosebumps. I just go wow this is this is and I felt as soon as I got here I felt like I was at home. It just felt like I'd gone home. If you want to introduce somebody to football and show them what it's all about . Take them to a night game. Yeah. Under the floodlights. And that first moment when you see the floodlights and the pitch and the green expansion. There's always a different feeling too. Well it's in the towel as well, isn't it it's in the town you get a lot of new stadiums now that are just a little bit further out where everyone there's not that real feel of walking into a game. I went to I was manager at Bristol City and I went and watched Liverpool play Manchester United with drawn Liverpool in the in the FA Cup in the fourth round and I went up to watch the game. It was a night game. Bearing in mind I'm about 38 at the time. You know, play a few games here and there. And I walked into the stadium just as the teams were coming out onto the pitch. Oh, every hair me body sort of went bang! At Anfield, you know, yeah, at Anfield. Jeez, you'll never walk alone when that goes. Unbelievable. Yeah. Even working there now need to have somebody that's been involved in it for you know twenty nearly thirty years at this point. Even being here at the weekend for me. Yeah. It's such a different feeling because when you're in the zone and you're walking out and you're on the pitch, I don't want to say you block it out, but it's just a totally different experience here. And when you come and watch the game and you're not you feel involved, but you're not involved, it's like a whole different when they score you're like . And you wish you were playing, don't you? A little bit, yeah. I think when you walk out when you walk out on the pitch, you're just going out for kickabout with your mates, aren't you? You're gonna play football. Yeah. That's all it is. It's a it's a game of football with your mates on the pitch. But when you're watching and it's like your team as you're saying. But the crowd and the the crowd and the atmosphere now is totally different as well. Because I I sat with Terry Butch Terry Butcher about three weeks ago and he said we used to qualify for Europe every year. He said we never got crowds like this. He couldn't he can't quite believe what's happening at the moment and where the people have come from and the support that we're getting at the moment. I know we had it when we were in the Premier League, we had a couple of years where we we had big crowds, but when I first signed in ninety seven, the average crowd, I think was about eleven or twelve thousand. That was our average crowd. Now you're getting full houses all the time. I think the the intensity's stronger. You know, you talk about the fist pump and the the you you're both you know and that's the connection. You know the the there, they're with you, they're really on top of you. I think I don't see as much of each other in and around the town centre but on a match day. I think we've all had that though. We've had that connection with the with the crowd. You know you do the fist pump. You you do the fist pump. I did the lap clapping the fans. I didn't have good we've all had it, Russell. Exactly, yeah. We've all had them a good experience, haven't we? By ninety minutes I was ready to get off last. We're in the bath already. What's your what's your favourite store there? Favourite memories of Port Like what's your favourite match at Portman Road personally? What was you what would you be your favourite game? I mean I put Inter Milan beaten Inter Milan here in the UE FA Cup, the playoff semi-finals against Bolton. We had two playoff semi-finals against Bolton. We lost the first one on away goals. I scored two in that that that game. And then obviously the Jimmy Gilton hat trick as well. Those moments, all the crowd running onto the pitch and I mean wow, it doesn't get much better really. Well you had it last season obviously being extra six nil. That day it was six. Yeah, I couldn't say you enjoyed that much. I couldn't tell with a flag and money that was uh that was a good day, that one could be. Do you remember the night? No, yeah, I did. You do remember I wanted to remember that night. Yeah. I wanted to remember that night. I didn't you play you won the FA Cup, seventy eight and you didn't I didn't but you played eighty one you UE FA Cup. UAFA Cup, yeah. So we had a great UEFA round. So we obviously had the game here, three E nil. Yeah. Yeah. That was that was a great game. That was a great game. But we were explaining that down . It was a yeah it was alright. But we've never lost a European game at home still. I know. You know, which is a great record for the club to have now. You know, and in that time you've there been Barcelona game, there's Lazio, there's Santachian, there's there's all those crowds. Crazy in it. And all those crazy companies. we had Avenir Beggen uh Sloven Libreek or whatever it was. We did intimal land. But we did all those, we did grasshopper Zorik and stuff like that, you know. And and it was just good fun. Good games, you know, and we we were just fortunate at the time um that we happened to make the most of it that season. But that season we played sixty six games that year, you know, in 1981 as well. I played them all, played every minute of every game, 66 probably as a while . And you didn't miss many? I didn't quite play 66 though. Didn't miss many. Didn't it smell We we were a bit uh unfortunate because we we lost the semi final of the FA Cup at um Aston Villa with Kevin Beattie busted his arm there, so that's the last game. And you were league that late in the season as well for the league, early in Villa. We lost Geor Georgege, Burning. Yes, right, because he missed the injured final, didn't he miss the UEFA Cup final? He missed the UEFA Cup final. We we missed him more or less the whole of the second half of the season. Yeah. You know, and in those days we still only got the one sub ruling . So yeah, one sub. Do you not do you not remember football much another? That was one sub. One sub . The first sub. They didn't have subje ct at one point I've never known yeah keep Keith Peacock was the first sub wasn't he was he was my coach at Charlotte nineteen seventy seven three was three subs no yes one sub. But Bobby Robson only made 13 signs, is that right? Yeah. Yeah. In in 11 years at the club or wherever he was at. Yeah, that's a stat. That was a stat. You know, Mickey Lambert 'cause you relied on the youth you brought the youth players in. Yeah, Mickey Lambert was the sub for the uh FA Cup final . Um people like Roger Osborne, Kevin O'Callaghan, you know, they were very good uh subs for us, you know, but we never had the luxury of three coming on, five coming on. You know, and as a defender you don't get you don't get taken off anyway. So, you know, we were always on the pitch. So he played a lot of games. Walkie that year he played sixty-five out of sixty-si x. But the thing with Johnny Walky never trained anyway. He only ever turned up on a Friday and he'd say, Yeah, I think I'm gonna be okay. So he trained Fridadayy, play Satur, it worked, didn't it? It worked. Still playing now, Johnny Walker, can he? I know. Yeah. Every week. Yeah. Five aside. I organised something for whatever night it was. He said, I can't do it. It's five aside night. Still, honestly, he's ridiculous. Yeah. Absolute ridiculous. What about your favourite game here? What what would you say was your favorite match? I would say the playoff game where we we played Norwich, didn't we? And the atmosphere was incredible. Yeah, obviously a lot like it is now, but it was a really important game for us. It was a one-one draw so it wasn't a a win but just that moment of obviously us spending 10, 12 months trying to build up over those last three years to make the playoffs and then we made them and then to play against your arch rivals in that home leg was a special day. But one of my highlights was when I I think it was boxing day. I had all my family here in a box and I scored the winner in the Haiti ninth minute against QPR I, think was, aheader. So yeah, one of those. Not a bad Christmas present, is it? Funding your business doesn't have to be complicated. It doesn't have to take weeks. It doesn't need to involve your bank. At Fleximize, we believe there's a different way to do things. We take the hassle out of finance so you can get on with what you do best, running your business. Think of us as your trusty sidekick with the power to boost your business with fast flexible loans built for you. Visit us at fleximize.com or call our EpSwitch office on 0147-3-22 08-108. Flex demise. Business finance done properly . Talking to derbies, um, it's obviously a huge game. You play themed in the play offs semi-finals. You actually scored at Caro Road as well. That must have been a a nice moment. It was, yeah, and I I was speaking s about the other day um with a few people and we didn't quite realise it was so late on and then obviously what transpired after it was was a bit damaging for us but yeah it was obviously a nice moment to go up there and score because as much as you try and control your emotions when you score against your local rivals. It's a a real good moment, obviously being captain of the team. He's smiley, he hasn't yet. He hasn't had the luxury of a derby. I mean the build-up starts probably as soon as the whistle goes on your previous match. Yeah. All the years. And people or the week before, even further back. That's all people want to talk to you about. I mean even people now speak to me about it. Yeah. December. December. You've got to beat 'em. You've got to beat him. You've got to beat him another one. 20 games before then. A night. Yeah, but you've got bigger fish to fry now, do you know what I mean? Yeah, but still that'll be. You have to remember it's only three points, but it does mean more than that, doesn't it? It is, it's it's a it's a good derby, isn't it? It's a proper derby game. You know, it's um it's exciting we played in a in a few in in our era there's the one that sticks in my mind was the second leg of the the milk cup when we lost back in 80 8 5 which uh you know that still sticks in the throat a little bit you know. But one of those things . I'd been sent off like the the quarter final game at um Q PR me and Simon Steinrod got sent off after five minutes for an altercation. And uh so I missed the first leg and then Bobby Ferguson didn't wouldn't pick me for the second leg. Because he sort of made it perfectly clear that he got no money and I wasn't gonna get a new contract and I was gonna go so he left me out of the the second leg of the semi-final and I was sat in the stand watching it and we lost . And that was a hard one to take. Yeah. That was a hard one. Yeah. I we got beat here once two nil and I remember driving out the ground and I was getting all sorts of pelters from the supporters and knocking on the window, how can you let them beat you? And why is it why oh god honestly it's it's the worst but we did beat me at five nil. Yeah. We made a DVD out of that one. The demolition derby. Well that particular game, Keith Hackett, and I don't mind going on record and saying this gave the worst display that I've ever seen a referee give in my whole career, because Knowledge kicked seven bells of what's it out of our lads that night, and Keith Hackett just let it go on as if nothing was happening. Were you there at Carrow Road? Because again, Butch tells a great story. He said that you got don't know whether you lost or not at Caro Road, and he came in. I think he was the first back to the dress room, kicked the door. That was a game. Yeah, well he kicked the door He's done it quite a few times at different doors, yeah. So he kicked the door in, walked in the dressing room, Bobby Robson's going around, moaning about the game. He said, and who's kicked the door in? And he's looked round the dressing room and he's gone, and so looked down, he's got half the door around his boot. It's always you, Butcher. It's always you but I can name at least half a dozen grounds in the Premier League at the moment that have had a door repair done thanks to Terry. Used to get a bit excited. I think the other thing about this club as well is is the people . I think it means so much to so many people and the people that work for the club as well. Um, you know, when I if I say a name now, you'll all go, I'm Pat Godbold, someone like Pat who has worked at this club for wow how many years? In fact, Pat should probably be on this podcast because she'd have far more better memories than we would and would go back a little bit further than we go. It's incredible. How many years long? She's worked in the last one, maybe. Didn't you start when she was ? Yeah, she started. Yeah. Bobby Rossman's secretary or and But she used to chase us up for stuff like doctor's appointments, dental appointments. No more but no mobile phones. But she still managed to track you down and say, don't forget, you've got a dental appointment tomorrow, you know. And if you missed it, you should get a right rollicking of her as well, you know, she was and chairman i mean uh kobold and yeah john cobold patrick cobold john kobold um was the chairman when i first joined the club and then Patrick Cobold took over from John . And my one last memory of Patrick Cobold was when we used to have pretty much lunch in the centre spot and then walk through the bar and round the back of churchman's to come and get changed at about one o'clock. I finished my lunch and walked through the bar . And Mr. Pat was standing on the edge of the bar, he got a glass of port. And he said, Osman, come and have a drink. And I said, Mr. Pat, we're actually playing Arsenal in a couple of hours, you know, at three o'clock. I can't have a drink. Mr. Robson's in the restaurant still. And he'll give me a right rollicking if he sees me having a drink with you. He said, Osman , come and have a drink. I said, Mr. Pat, you'll get me the sack. He said, Osman, Mr. Rob son isn't an employee of this comp any , as you are at the moment . So I am the chairman. When I say have a drink, have a drink. So I sat there and had a pinch of Guinness with him and three caught us before we played Arsenal on the Saturday afternoon. Did you have a world? It was lovely. No the result was Arsenal about the game. No we won. The game was great, yeah, we won the game. No problem. It's only a panic guinness. I think we would. We ran on that. Philip Hope Cobold was was obviously a brilliant guy as well, sadly passed away recently. And um in my time certainly I remember Philip hosting the barbecue at Glenham Hall. Yeah. We used to have a barbecue at Glenham Hall pre-season for all the families, the staff, wasn't it? All the club employees, everyone used to go there. And that's the together ness of the football club again. Yeah. It used to drive Bobby Robson mad because he would give the players a lecture during pre-season about not drinking on a Thursday, Friday night before a Saturday game. So So the Thursday before the first game of the season, the chairman, John Cobold in particular, and then Patrick would insist that the party would be on the Thursday night. Before the first game of the season. Before the first game. And Robson used to say to them , Mr Chairman, I have just spent an hour telling the players that they are not allowed to drink on a Thursday and a Friday night before a game on a Saturday. And then you insist on having this party on a Thursday night. He says, Yes, Bobby. And so the party always went ahead. Everybody used to be very well entertained, and uh it was a case of the last player standing had to make sure that Mr. John and Mr. Pat had gone to bed, they were all okay, he locked the door, put the keys back through the letterbox. And Alan Hunter, Kevin Beattie, used to make sure that the chairman was okay. Bit more professional now, isn't it? It's hard to get the lads on a night out, isn't it? I think that yeah, that's just sort of the era now, sort of gone maybe . I don't know when you Yeah, obviously I had it through the when we used to go out and then obviously social media comes in and it just feels like this more professionalism now. Um where you're all as soon as that game finishes you're in recovery mode for that next one. See but I wouldn't era, I'd say it's more the boss um yeah that so I've been at clubs obviously last year and years before where lads will go out most weeks. And whereas here I don't know anyone really who goes out at all with Cracky. We'd never get an hour team then. You're in the last time Alan Brazil. Cool. But the but the thing here now for us, we're every airway trip six hours. Yeah. So by the time you get back from the way trip, you've been away for two days. I know, but you know it just wasn't to be frowned upon now, you know. Well it was even internal, you know, and you know we all enjoyed it. Yeah. And that was that was part and parcel of it,. You know we used to we used to go straight in the players lounge after a game and you know, three or four pies before you get back on the coach. A few drinks on the coach, coming back, game of cards, bit of a laugh, bit of a giggle, stop for lunch, have a bottle of wine, back on the couch. This is why this is why it's so good having so many different eras here and the forty-eight years between yourself and Harry, because Harry just can't quite believe what some of these stories that these things actually happened. Scary, isn't it? Some of the other people at the club, I mean David Rose, the club secretary, used to go in to sign a contract and he's smoke all through a room cigarette, didn't he? Away in the room. David Sheepshanks obviously was the chairman when I was here. I've got I've still got a really lovely um personal letter from David Sheepshanks from when I finished at the club and um when we got relegated I obviously financial reasons, I had to leave the club. Um and I've still got a handwritten note from from David Sheet saying thanking me for his contribution and that's something that you know it's just a nice touch and that's just that's just what the again a another thing that this club does does so well. You don't get that ever ywhere. Even even to the extent this week, so well last week, my wife fell off a horse, had a bit of a bump, black eye. Um some flowers arrived at home today from the club yeah just saying wishing her a speedy recovery and that's to me means so much it and that's why this club is so special those moments yeah can be my wife trick took today you want some flowers yeah yeah. What you've done. You've been out golfing, haven't you? You probably need to take some flowers home, don't you? Yeah. I mean Mark Ashton now obviously he's he's involved with the club isn't he and and and the players and the players get Marx he's incredible. I love Marx. He's brilliant. Yeah . Absolutely. Um Cluffy used to do that, didn't he a lot? Cluffy. Cluffy used to make sure that was Mick was saying. He was never manager of Ipswich . I saw. No, couldn't think we're talking about Ipswich. But yeah, Mick Mick Mick doing the name of everyone's kids, everyone's wife, everyone's partners. What what about favourite favourite teammates? Who would you I mean you obviously played alongside Butch for many years. Yeah, Terry was my aunt my roommate for a long time. Um all the lads out there. I mean I was lucky. I mean I pl I played with Terry, I played with two other lads, seven and a half at different clubs Steve Walsh at Leicester and um uh Neil Ruddick. Great lads like great great for a night out all three of them in those days but Terry you know, tell you was what he was, you know, you you're big six foot four, center half that wouldn't mind playing with a bit of blood dripping down his nose like you know. Great character. Poor minor, what a centre forward Paul was, you know, he would run through a brick wall for you. You know, fifty-fifty with a goalkeeper. You'd advise a goalkeeper not to go for it. Of course, Paul wouldn't take any prisoners. Walkie, of course, you still see him at the club now that he's not changed. Never bought a drink since, has he? What a player, Walkie. I mean again gr you know, for me growing up that's someone that I used to look at and think quite imagine what Walk he would be worth now. Oh yeah. But what was that As a central midfield player, what was his role? What was his role? Yeah. Well he used to get in the box. He did everything. No, no. No, he was a box to job. He was a box to box midfield player. His job was to sit in front of the two centre halves. He was our defensive midfield player. I wouldn't say he was he was never a defensive midfield player, was he? He was supposed to be. No, I know, but he was never a defensive midfield player. He's a box-de-box midfield. You know, if we played Brazilian man up front and gatesy often . Murin, Tyson, and Walkie at the bottom of the diamond . And he got thirty odd goals a season from there. So imagine imagine now thirty goals from midfield. Unbelievable. Scary, he's timing . And he said he said one day to me, he said, you know, when the ball goes wide and somebody's marking me as I'm getting into the 18 yard box, he said, I look at the person that's marking me because I know he's gonna look to see where the ball is. And when he looks to see where the ball is, that's when I go. He said I'm not the quickest, but that's when I get me extra half a yard of space. Marcus Stewart was like that. Marcus Stewart's movement was the same. 'Cause again, if he had another half yard of pace, he should have played for England anyway, but another half yard of pace pace he would have played for England. But his movement was as good as I've ever seen. Yeah, yeah. Ever seen. He's got a goal again. The goal in the goal at Barnsley um against Barnsley in the cut in the uh playoff final. You watch his header, the double movement. He goes once, twice and then back across his man. He should have tried playing against him. It was Jake. That was good, wasn't he? I played against him later on in his career when he was at Yoovo and he scored ahead of in the playoffs against us at Forest and yeah, he was hell of a player. Yeah. What about your favourite teammate? Tommy? My favourite teammate? Carl. Yeah I had loads of good teammates. We were all in it, really in it together. I don't think there was many bad people that I played with here. McGoldrick is big friend of mine, Scoosy obviously. He's still going, did he fly in this year? Yeah. Yeah. Well he's just pure quality. Again, if we'd have had a bit more round him and a bit more support then he could have definitely taken us a bit further than we than we got. You've got a good group now, haven't you? I was actually having this I'll get killed. But no, I was having this conversation. Who's I was speaking to? Might have been my cousin the other day. I was just saying like I've been at clubs where you might have had it in your career where it's like you can feel like it's toxic. Yeah. Oh I was gonna say here no here where it's everything. No, yeah, but you can feel like I've been at other clubs where it's just like toxic, whereas here like our group is actually like in like incredible. It's not one bad egg, everyone wants the same thing, everyone works incredibly hard, like everyone says oh it's momentum, but we're doing now it's not it's the way we work and the boys we've got. But it's been nurtured that hasn't it that together and and the the research is done on the individual as well before they come to the club. They buy into it. It's habits as well, isn't it? You get into the habit of doing the right thing and you see your teammates doing the right thing. You know, it's just as easy to follow somebody who does the wrong thing, you know, but at the club here at the moment it seems like those good habits have been embedded there and everybody's just following the colour. We we spoke about Mark Black. When you see a a CEO who's so invested in the club and uh with the lads and like you see you see him in the training ground every day like I've not really been in many clubs but you see a CEO just like on a day to day round the training ground in the training room, like laughing and joking but Community innit? Community personal relationships is what I feel was missing in our time. Yeah. My time here. What is there now is proof in the pudding that if you invest in people you get a a lot more buy-in, a lot more positive results. Definitely. I think another thing that's that's worth mentioning as well is the the growth of the women's team as well. You know, obviously football is for everyone and the opportunities in the past haven't always been there, but now the women's team and the and what they've achieved actually over the last couple of season and you actually you'll be really close to it as well you see the women's team at the training ground fair bit as well. Yeah, obviously they train train at the training ground and obviously I went to a couple of games last year, which was nice. Um my first time ever watching women's football and also you see obviously what England are doing as well. So the amount of people it inspires I know obviously I'm from it, I know I've so many friends that have little daughters and that who actually like want to be women's supporters now, which I assume you probably didn't have back and what you have you got what keeps two girls they play. Yeah, they like to play. Smash my boys in the garden. But but it does, it's seeing that again the bigger picture is obviously the England team being so successful. But we've had a team here for a for a while now and, they've been incredibly successful. And the integration that you do see now with the support that the club's giving them, but also them being able to use the facilities and have their own home ground and the publicity that they're also getting through their success is fantastic. The support it like you say it's not a separate thing where maybe before for certain clubs it's been separate, it's all under one umbrella which is again didn't didn't have room when you were blame. Yeah they had that picture It's one team. It's all great. And and the coaching as well because Joe Sheehan's at the training round, isn't he? And he and he watches Kieran coach and he'll be learning all the time as well, won't he, from from watching Kieran. Lucky fellow, isn't he? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You can learn a lot just by going or to the training ground these days. Yeah, it's a it's a good environment to um learn your trade. You're talking about the lads that are doing the coaching badges and stuff like that. That's a big thing now, you know, and the I'm sure some of the girls will start following the same road down there. So you never know where that's going to lead to. Absolutely. Brilliant. If I look back and think about some of the other names at this football club who've who've played, I mean Ted Phillips, Ray Crawford, we have the Hall of Fame dinner every year, is where ex-players are inducted into a Hall of Fame at the club. And um it's always an honour and a privilege to spend time with some of these players that have represented the club so well. I mean Ray Crawford's the the highest ever goal scorer at the club. Um and he's and he's such s he's he's brilliant, isn't he? Great value, gets up on the stage and he's he's still w well I mean how old is Ray be now? E ighties? Early eighties, yeah. Early eighties. Still got his sense of humour, still fit as a fiddle, he could play, couldn't he stit, he's still there, he remembers everything, he's really good. You know, so very looking at how people like it. Yeah. You know, people like Pat Cobalt. You know, that that's what the club is was built on. People of that sort of ilk, that sort of character. Pat gave me a when I joined the end of last season, she gave me a um an old squad photo and it was obviously my granddad who he passed away a few years ago but he gave me a she gave me a picture of a wow him I think it was under the Robson or Wang I know who who it was under but it was ma it's from like nineteen fifty like all the old Wow had like chunks out of it, but like and legit like pi pi printed out picture of my granddad, which is amazing. Crazy. Great. Shows our lunch, innit? Yeah. So so to finish , what does it switch town mean to you now? How important is it mean to you? How important is it in your life still? Because for me it still means everything. You know, I I've played for a number of clubs. This place is is I don't know, simply special. It is special. I still we all still well you obviously still live in the area, but we're all still in the area. We haven't gone away, we're still we're here living here. It's it's just a an incredible place, isn't it? And a and a and a wonderful football club. It's it's sort of been part of my life for like best part of 50 years now . You know, coming down here as a 14-year-old schoolboy, first of all, 14-15 . Um and seeing it all go full circle, you move away, you still keep your eye on how the club's going and it's it's it's gone through the through the ringer a little bit over the years. But to be back in the area now and to be able to come down and watch the club on a regular basis, which I can now , um, and see such entertaining football. For the last couple of games, I have even jumped out my seat when a goal went in. And usually I'm like good goal, good goal, but you know, the last couple of games. Well you got Chappa's curly one in there and one from the free kick and Barkey. They don't score bad goals on it. They don't. No. You know, they score great goals off great football. You know, and you're up there and you can see why people are enjoying it so much. But it's a proud place to come now as well. I mean I mean the whole matchday experience, the way even the dugouts, for example, the the surroundings around the pitch, which I was sort of banged on about for years when I was here. It's just everything seems to be ticking a box now. It's amazing what investment can do, isn't it? Oh yeah, exactly that. And it's just it is amazing. But it is everything. It is everything was starting to deteriorate yeah and now because it's it went downhill so far it's it's taken time to get it back to where it is now. And I would think they're probably only not even halfway to where they want to go at the moment . You know, with the the stadium as it is, you know. And even you look outside now we see it, yeah it's great but it's probably not what they want. No, no. You know, they've got different areas of the club that have been improved all the time. Well look look behind there, I mean we want a few more of those don't we? Want a few more trials. We need a bigger one, don't we? That's you know we've won the title, 62, FA Cup, UE FA Cup, we've been promoted, we've been in Europe many times, but that's what this club's all about, isn't it? The history of it. We need another star, don't we We got three on this at the moment. That's what we want. I just don't think there's any limit to what the team can achieve, especially this season and moving forward, with with everything that's in place and it's going to be added. It's a fantastic place, as you know, to live, regardless of the football club. It's a fantastic club to be involved with. It's so nice, isn't it, to walk around the town and see the shirts. They're everywhere. It's amazing. Uh oh it used to be Matt United shirt, whatever it might be. Well now everyone has got an Ipswich shirt. Every kid's got one. I think we have to understand that, you know, there are gonna be bumps in the road, you know, there are gonna be problems and issues and this that, and, the other. But at the moment everything's going on. It's like it's like a marriage. Ups and downs, good and bad times, isn't it? Smalls and crowns. But you you know you stick through it and you you know this is it, isn't it? This is that's that's this is the future. Here's to the next hundred and forty five years, lads. Absolutely. Look, appreciate your time. Good luck. Good luck for the rest of the season. We're we're right behind you. Enjoy your first derby as well, by the way. I can't wait. Yeah, neither can we. Neither can we. So thanks very much for joining us. A huge thanks to Matt Holland and our brilliant guests for a cracking trip down memory lane. We've absolutely loved putting this together. We really hope you've enjoyed listening to them. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast from to get the latest episode of the Town Podcast as soon as it lands. We'll catch you on the next one. Until then, though, happy birthday, Ipswich Town.