Latest news with #GeorgeHirst
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Town need to 'add some physicality in key areas'
The sun has set on Ipswich's venture into the Premier League and now the crucial work will begin to ensure the club is ready to mount a return at the first Liam Delap relegation release clause is a frustration, but its advantage is that it means there will be no long running saga with suitors fighting to win his midfield looks to be the most obvious area in need of Phillips and Massimo Luongo have left, Sam Morsy is another year older, and Jack Taylor has never nailed down a starting spot since joining two summers ago. We know Kieran McKenna likes to revisit previous targets so Flynn Downes returning to the club could be a possibility, while any permanent move for Jen Cajuste would be front, Town may have the ideal Delap replacement in the building already. George Hirst has proved he can score and assist at Championship level. Ipswich are arguably a better 'team' with him in the starting XI but questions around his durability will persist based on recent history. At least one striker will be needed to provide competition and transfer strategy over the past two windows has been to buy the very best talent from the Championship. These arrivals should put the club in good shape as it returns to familiar I would like to see now is some physicality added in key areas. The pace and power of the Premier League found us wanting and will need to be the immediate priority is the promotion challenge next season, Ipswich would do well to have one eye on future more from Seb Brown at the Blue Monday Podcast, external
Scotsman
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
The Scotland hitman who now has a 'cool thing' against his name and knows how 6ft 4in body works
Hirst takes a Goodison Park record with him as he sets sight on Scotland Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Last Ever Male Opposition Player To Score A Goal At Goodison Park. When this somewhat clunky-sounding boast is added to the achievement of winning his first international caps, processing the trauma of a season where his side won just four league games will seem a little easier for George Hirst. Considerable satisfaction has been gleaned, not least from scoring his first Premier League goals for the doomed Ipswich Town. One of them was the equaliser in the recent 2-2 draw with Everton. It meant there was something riding on it for Hirst last weekend when Everton played Southampton, which is strange considering he plays for Ipswich and they were away at Leicester City on the same afternoon. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Afterwards, Hirst checked the score: Southampton had drawn a blank. His status as the last man to score a goal against Everton at the Grand Old Lady was assured. Remember the name, as they say, as it could come in handy on quiz night at the Dog & Duck. George Hirst celebrates scoring for Ipswich against Everton at Goodison Park. | Getty Images And it's George not David Hirst, the father he's on the brink of emulating when it comes to international caps (it's just that the son's will be with Scotland rather than England). And neither is it 'Geoff', as he's been dubbed by John McGinn (surprise, surprise) in recognition of his England background. Hirst Junior represented England in four different age groups before switching to Scotland earlier this year and winning his first caps in the Nations League play-off against Greece. He will make his third appearance if he features against Iceland in next month's friendly, which will equal the number of times his father played for England in the early 1990s. Fingers crossed for Southampton Hirst could win his fourth cap v Liechtenstein few days later, when he will have another chance to open his goal account for Scotland – if he hasn't already. His father scored once for England v New Zealand. The prolific Hirst Senior also scored at Goodison Park for Sheffield Wednesday but not one as meaningful as his son managed with a far post header three weekends ago. 'Someone actually mentioned it to me straight after we played Everton,' Hirst jnr says. 'I just had both fingers crossed that no-one from the Southampton team scored last weekend. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "I thought it was pretty cool, to be honest. In ten years' time it'll be a pretty cool quiz question that I'm sure nobody will know the answer to. I thought it was a pretty cool thing to have against your name.' It was on the coach back to Ipswich when he was alerted to the potential significance. 'We realised that it was the second to last game and I might be the last person to score there,' he recalls. 'Someone said that to me and obviously Everton won at the weekend and I've been the last away player… George Hirst made his debut for Scotland back in March. | Getty Images 'You think of old school English football and I'm sure Goodison is one of those grounds that pops into pretty much everybody's heads in the Premier League and whatnot. It was nice to do it at a stadium like that with all the history that it's got and them moving to a new stadium. Hopefully I can go and play there at some point as well and score a couple of goals there…' Unless sent there courtesy of a kind (or, indeed, unkind) cup draw, he won't get the chance to score at the Hill Dickinson Stadium next season, sadly. Ipswich have long since seemed condemned for a quick return to the Championship, something that was confirmed at the end of last month following a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle United. Hirst can see some upsides from an exacting campaign at his club, including understanding both his body and mind better. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It's a season everybody, I believe, has improved as a player,' he says. 'We didn't manage to stay up but if you've got 25 lads who, individually, have all improved, then you go into next season in pretty good shape. Personally, for me, I think I'm at a position now where I'm 26 and I feel like I've finally found how my body works at 6ft 4in.' He has also reached a better accord with his inner self. It's not hugely surprising to hear that staying off social media is something he's found beneficial. '(I am) Not checking what people were saying…that's what I used to do,' he says. 'I don't do it as much and when I do it doesn't bother me. It's about being as self aware as you can, where am I in relation to where I want to be? Am I at my peak, can I get better?....If you are honest with yourself then when things aren't going right you can look in the mirror and say it's nobody else's fault.' Scotland manager Steve Clarke. | SNS Group There's a very different person now looking back when he examines himself although a recent switch to blond hair might have something to do with that. 'That was a spur of the moment thing,' he explains, via a Zoom interview. 'I got highlights in my head six months ago and went to get it done again. The girl doing my hair said it wasn't long enough so I decided to do the whole lot! I hadn't gone all that way to not get anything done.' It's something else for which he can expect to be teased when he reunites with his new Scotland teammates, although he welcomes the banter as it has helped smooth the transition between playing for England and Scotland (he qualifies because of his paternal grandfather). ' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Star
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Ipswich rally from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Everton
Soccer Football - Premier League - Everton v Ipswich Town - Goodison Park, Liverpool, Britain - May 3, 2025 Ipswich Town's George Hirst scores their second goal REUTERS/Peter Powell LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) - Everton's emotional farewell to Goodison Park continued on Saturday with an entertaining 2-2 Premier League draw against Ipswich Town as the relegated visitors came from two goals down to rescue a point. Beto and Dwight McNeil put Everton 2-0 up in the penultimate game at the famous old ground before the club move to a new home on the banks of the River Mersey next season. But a stunning strike from Julio Enciso and a late header by George Hirst brought Ipswich level as Everton failed to convert their chances to put the game to bed and had to settle for a 15th draw of the campaign. Everton moved to 14th place in the table with 39 points from 35 games, and Ipswich remained 18th. It was the last Saturday 3pm kick-off at Goodison Park some 132 years after the first with the final game at the grand old stadium against Southampton on Sunday May 18. "It was nice to contribute again to the team because I have missed that feeling, it was just disappointing we could not get the victory," McNeil told Premier League Productions. "We wanted to finish (at Goodison Park) on as high with two wins, not doing that today makes the last one against Southampton even more important." Everton will be frustrated they could not close out the match after taking a deserved 2-0 lead, but it was Ipswich who seemed the more likely winner at the end. "I'm really proud. It was always going to be a tough game for us," Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna said. "I don't think it had been a 2-0 game, but the group responded really well. "It took a great goal to get us back into it, but the group stuck together and I think we deserved at least a point." After a quiet opening 25 minutes, Everton hit the front as Carlos Alcaraz's excellent cross from the left was guided into the net at the far post by Beto. McNeil, making his 100th appearance for the club, doubled the advantage 10 minutes later with a thunderous shot from 30-yards that had venom and swerve and left Ipswich goalkeeper Alex Palmer rooted to the spot. Ipswich hit back on 41 minutes with a stunning goal of their own. No Everton player closed down Enciso and he unleashed a brilliant strike from 35 yards that left home goalkeeper Jordon Pickford with no chance. Enciso fired straight at Pickford early in the second half, but the visitors did find an equaliser as Hirst headed in at the back post from Omari Hutchinson's cross 11 minutes from the end. (Reporting by Nick Said, editing by Ed Osmond and Pritha Sarkar)
Scotsman
23-04-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
18-goal Scotland international linked to EPL transfer as duo target Steve Clarke new boy
The Scottish striker is being targeted by two clubs this summer, according to reports. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Scotland international striker George Hirst could find himself playing in the English Premier League (EPL) next season, despite being relegated from the top flight with Ipswich Town last week, after he emerged as a summer transfer target for two clubs. Pivotal in his side's memorable 2023/24 promotion campaign, despite missing several months of the campaign due to a troublesome hamstring injury, Hirst scored seven goals and registered a further six assists as the club completed back-to-back promotions in stunning fashion. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ipswich's spell in the English Premier League lasted just one season though, with their demotion confirmed following last week's 4-0 home defeat to Arsenal. The 27-year-old has impressed when given the opportunity by boss Kieran McKenna this season though, scoring two goals in three starts for the Tractor Boys. Although, he has found regular game time hard to come by due to the form of £30million-rated striker Liam Delap. Called up by Scotland boss Steve Clarke for the Nations League playoff games with Greece in March, the former Leicester City hitman was drafted in as a late addition to the squad after his paperwork was ratified by Fifa, coming off the bench in both games to earn his first caps for the Tartan Army. With Scotland reliant on Lyndon Dykes, Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams in recent years, the addition of Hirst was viewed as a positive step, with the player seen as a genuine EPL striker with his best years still ahead of him. Led the line superly in the first-half against Greece but will have been disappointed to have snatched at a glorious chance to put Scotland two goals ahead. Struggled to get into the game after the break as the service dried up. His only goal in his last 17 caps came against lowly Gibraltar so arguably needs to start hitting the net to keep his place with the likes of George Hirst and Tommy Conway pushing for a start. | SNS Group / SFA "I've known for a while that I could play for Scotland and that's always been a big aim of mine,' said Hirst upon the confirmation of his call up last month. 'I've been asked about it in the media over the past year and I've tried to bat it off, saying that I'm just going to focus on Ipswich, but if I'm being brutally honest it's always been in the back of my mind." Hirst has been tipped to play a big role for Ipswich next year in the EFL Championship with the club likely to lose top goalscorer Delap due to a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave if a bid of £30million is made. It is believed the club see Hirst - who has scored 18 goals during his spell at Ipswich - playing a prominent role in their bid to return to the English top flight at the first time of asking. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, the East Anglian club may have to brace themselves for some serious interest in his services, with reports claiming recently promoted duo Leeds United and Burnley are plotting a move for the two-cap Scotland international. The EFL Championship sides confirmed their place in next season's top flight with wins over Stoke City and Sheffield United respectively on Monday, and are already making plans for their summer transfer recruitment, with Hirst reportedly one of the names on the list for both sides.
BBC News
18-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Newcomer Hirst a 'good addition' or 'another injury-prone striker'?
We asked you for your thoughts on George Hirst's first Scotland call-up after the striker was a late addition to Steve Clarke's squad for the Nations League play-off with what some of you said:Adrian: George is a great footballer with a lot of talent. He will be a good addition for Scotland. Pleased for the boy, he's very popular at Not overly impressed by Hirst's record. I remember his father as a very good striker but was very injury prone. As Aaron Paul says, the apple does not fall far from the tree. I fear we are bringing a player on board who is injury prone and who cannot get a regular place in a team doomed to be relegated. I rest my When I saw that Hirst was added to the Scotland squad I was amazed. He must have improved a thousand fold since he spent a year at Rotherham United in the Championship! He tried, he ran about, but didn't know where the goals were and looked very ordinary. Good luck to him if he has improved so much, but he is nowhere near as good as his father About as strong a squad as we can muster presently and it's right we have a good look at Hirst. The lack of Scots playing for the Old Firm means we have to cast a wider net for new faces and Hirst is a strong contender. At 6ft 3in, given the right service, he will give us a few more options up front and at 23, he is yet to reach his peak. Anon: Should be nowhere near the squad. Wouldn't be in least bit interested in playing for Scotland if good enough for England. Also goalscoring record hardly impressive. Sooner we scrap the grandparent rule the Oh boy. Very excited to have yet another striker who is anything but a prolific goalscorer. Just what we need. I cannot wait for our midfield to score all the goals as per usual.
