- 5 months ago
Inside Elland Road: Our new signing
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00:00Hello, and welcome to the Inside Ellen Road podcast. I'm joined by The Yorkshire
00:14Evening Post's Graham Smith, and I'm your new co-host Chris O'Connor. Graham, I've got a little
00:20bit of a signing on statement if you're happy for me to read that first. Yeah, absolutely. Give the
00:26people what they want. So, I just want to say a few words as I make my debut on the podcast.
00:32I am not, have never been, and never will be called Joe. I will not be responding to requests
00:39for photos of my bird, and as a happily married man, I will not be responding to any requests
00:44for fornication on Twitter should Leeds score dramatic late goals this season. I know the
00:50task ahead. You don't come in and replace a fan favourite like Joe Donoghue overnight.
00:55They are big shoes to fill. Probably very big shoes in Joe's case. The Donoghue Smith
01:01double pivot was iconic. It would take time to develop the same understanding, rapport,
01:06and level of abuse they had. I just want all the Inside Ellen Road fans to know that I'm
01:11going to fight for the Inside Ellen Road metaphorical shirt. I'm going to kiss that metaphorical Inside
01:15Ellen Road badge, and I'm going to mean it. And I know there'll be a lot of people missing
01:19Joe. I get it. I miss Joe. I want you to imagine your mum has been dating a handsome man from
01:26the North East, but he's left now. He was always going to leave. But now she's come to
01:32her senses and found a Leeds fan, and he's here, and he's going to do his best for the
01:36whole Inside Ellen Road family. Mum's had her fun. Give the new man a chance.
01:43Joe, that was lovely. Really, really lovely.
01:49That's going to stick, isn't it? Have I just got to try and accept it?
01:53I think so. Yeah, lean into it. When I joined the YUP, the amount of people that said,
01:58oh, you've got really big shoes to fill. And there was actually a massive pair of shoes
02:03under the desk where I had to sit at the Yorkshire Evening Post Office in Leeds. And I don't believe
02:09they were filled because they were about a size 12, size 13. They were enormous shoes. And I never
02:13found out whose they were or whether it was just a really malicious joke that somebody had gone out
02:18and bought a huge pair of shoes and left them for me as like a visual reminder of what I was
02:23tapping into. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. What a first day. What a moment. Yeah. Graham, look, just to say is,
02:31yeah, it's a pleasure to come on board. I know we first met around. You did a kind of interview and
02:37a bit of a preview for the play through it all together. So, yeah, thanks for the coverage on
02:42that. And yeah, thanks for coming along to see it as well. And yeah, it was a pretty special
02:48thing for me as a Leeds fan. And I like to think, yeah, it meant a lot to quite a lot of
02:54Leeds fans. And I had so many overwhelming responses. So, yeah. And to get this off the
02:58back of it, it's just been like, yeah, it's been such a cool journey.
03:02I have a question about your play. I have a few questions about your play, actually.
03:07Shoot.
03:07Does it mean more to you that I cried or that Calvin Phillips cried?
03:13That's a tough question. I mean, you know, when I was thinking of Leeds United Legends
03:16coming along, I was thinking Bamford, Phillips, Smith. That was kind of, that was the three
03:21I was aiming at. In all honesty, it's weird when you write, you obviously have ambitions
03:31and dreams about what you want the piece to achieve. And honestly, the most nerve wracking
03:35part is often the jokes. Because when you're in a room live with people, you know if the
03:38jokes work straight away or not. So that's the bit you're kind of most nervous about you
03:41in the audience. And obviously, I wrote a piece around dementia and I wanted it to
03:46move people. And I wanted to do that story justice. I worked with some amazing people
03:51around dementia and in dementia care. So I did, you know, I did hope that the piece
03:55was moving and that there would be kind of, maybe not happy tears might be stretching it
04:00because hopefully the piece was full of hope and not just about despair. But yeah, you know,
04:06the dream is to help move people. And hearing that is always very special. And I had lots of
04:11amazing interactions with fans. And yeah, to make a man like yourself cry, which I can
04:16imagine is no easy feat. Yeah, that's got to be up there in my writing journey. That's
04:21got to be up there.
04:22Yeah, my emotions have been just on the edge of frayed ever since I took this job, really.
04:28So Bamford went, Phillips went. I think one of the highlights for me was Dean Smith as
04:33Orta. Every single time he opened his mouth, I lost it. It was absolutely superb. But the
04:39big question I had, and I'm pretty sure it was a big question in your mind, was what
04:44would Marcelo Bielsa make of a play about Marcelo Bielsa? Because my feeling was he'd
04:52love the fact that Leeds United and the promotion had bled into the arts and the culture of the
04:57city. I think he'd be really touched by that. But I wonder what, as such a modest and kind
05:02of humble character, I wonder what he made of the fact that he was the star of this play.
05:06Yeah, that's a good question. That was probably my biggest fear going into it, actually, especially
05:12the weeks leading up. I was like, he meant so much to me and so many Leeds fans. I was
05:18worried that I might have created something which he would be against. He might have thought
05:25it would be, you know, he's a humble man and he might have thought he didn't deserve it.
05:30But the worst thing was that maybe he might have been, you know, against it or slightly
05:36offended in some way. You know, there is a stained glass window with some religious iconography
05:41and I know he's a religious man. And that was a metaphor to kind of show what he meant
05:45to Leeds fans. But there were bits I was like starting to worry. But, you know, anyone who's
05:53had any interactions with Bielsa will know how kind of personal and special they are.
05:56But I can say he was made aware of the show and he sent just the most lovely message to
06:04the cast and creative team. And it was one of those moments, you know, you'll just, you'll
06:07never forget. So, yeah, it was, it was in many ways a love letter to him. And that was
06:14one of the highlights of the whole piece. So, yeah, amazing man. And I honestly, again,
06:20I couldn't have wished for it to gone better in that respect either. So, yeah, it was a, it
06:24was an aim, like, again, another kind of aim, which you're like, ah, it might not happen.
06:28But, yeah, it was pretty amazing.
06:30And you also got a first-hand glimpse at Patrick Bamford's new muscles, the new arms
06:35that he got himself over the summer.
06:37Yeah, very impressive. He was looking like he took the off season very seriously. And
06:43it kind of lulled me into a full sense of, you know, thinking about, oh, I wonder what
06:48Bamford is for, top goal scorer. Yeah, kind of, yeah, kind of thinking. I mean, I'm stretching
06:55a little bit there, but I did, I did think that, and I'm biased because you came to see
07:00my play, but I'm also biased to anyone from that era. I love that team. And I'm a romantic
07:05when it comes to football. That'll probably come across in these episodes. But I wanted
07:11Bamford to be a part of this season. And I felt like there was a part he could play.
07:15Yeah. So a few days after that was when the Farker did the interview where he basically
07:20said he told Bamford he hasn't, he's not in the plans this year. So yeah, I was quite
07:24disappointed because he looks in good shape. He's obviously got a 17-goal Premier League
07:28season under his belt. I think he's only 31. Yeah. I get the wages. I get the question
07:33marks. I get the kind of real, the reality side of it. But yeah, it was amazing he came
07:38and he was so nice. He stayed and chatted to everyone. I mean, stayed around and spoke
07:42to everyone. Had time for everyone and was personable. And that's not always the case
07:47in my experience. So yeah, seemed like a really good guy.
07:50Yeah. I've always had that impression from Bamford that he's, he's kind of, he's a nice
07:56lad. You know, he's a good lad.
07:59As did Phillips, by the way. Just to say, Phillips did as well. But I wasn't at that one because
08:03Phillips just turned up where, yeah, so I couldn't be there. But when I heard Bamford was going
08:09to be there, I, you know, quickly threw out all my plans and made sure I was at that one.
08:13Yeah. Football's just a brutal industry, isn't it? Like, you know, you can be a hero one minute
08:19and then you can spend two seasons just injured, frustrated on the sidelines, on the subs bench,
08:25and then just, that's it. You know, kind of time to move on. And it is time to move on for Bamford,
08:30I guess. You know, Fark has made it very clear. I am fascinated to see what Bamford does.
08:38Does he, does he stick it out thinking, you know what, I've no real financial incentive
08:44to move. I might only have to wait 10 games and Leeds might get a new manager. Maybe the
08:49new manager will, will want me. But then, but then at the same time, there's a huge risk
08:54to that because Leeds are in the market for a striker. All right. They haven't got one yet
08:57and they're taking their sweet time about it. But they've also got Lucas Nemecha.
09:01They've got Harry Gray coming through and they've got Joel Piru, who was last year's
09:05golden boot winner in the championship. Piru has come back in fine fatal, won the bleep
09:10test, which raised my eyebrows among others. And he's been scoring in pre-season. You know,
09:17if he's, he'll be in the right place, won't he now and again, he probably will get the odd
09:21chance, probably not as many chances as he got in the championship, but you'd still back
09:25him to finish. You know, finishing ability is finishing ability. And I think he's got
09:30very, very good finishing ability. So it looks tough for Bamford. It looks tough to actually
09:36make a contribution or get in, even if Daniel Farker was removed. So I just think it's best
09:44if, if Bamford finds a new challenge and a place to prove his point elsewhere.
09:49Yeah, I get that. I guess if you were someone close to Bamford, that would probably be what
09:54you'd be saying, you know, at this stage, you do need to play. And I did feel there was,
09:58maybe there was a bit of, it wasn't completely cold off Farker did it. There was an element of,
10:03you know, it seemed to be, he was in some ways saying that this is also best for you, Patrick.
10:07Like they've got a good relationship. I kind of got from that. But yeah, you're right. It's,
10:12football is so hard to get those moments where they end and where there's kind of, you know,
10:18a nice romantic closure, which is in some ways why it was kind of nice. Firpo left how he did
10:22on the up, because that might have and probably would have been the best ending Firpo could have
10:28had. So sometimes you've got to enjoy those moments when they come because yeah, they don't
10:34always happen. Thinking of movings in and out, I think that's a nice transition into me as a fan.
10:43The thing I want to know most about pretty much always, and you'll know this from your WhatsApp,
10:48is transfers. So I thought by the time we came around to doing this, we would be, yeah,
10:56maybe talking about an imminent deal. It seems very quiet from what I can see. I'm hoping you're
11:02now going to tell me that, you know, we are, El Canoos is in the building ready to sign.
11:09Yeah, Mitrovic is another name I've seen going around. Is there any updates on any of these
11:13names? Is it all still as it was last time I spoke to you?
11:17There's been a lot of talk and a lot of names, but not a lot of substance to a lot of what's
11:23being said. So Bilal El Canoos, Leeds made an inquiry, and I believe they had talks with his camp.
11:33Last time I checked in with his camp, there was no update. There was no progression on that. Now,
11:39no one is saying this, but my feeling would be if there's a release clause for this player and Leeds
11:45haven't activated it, then you could deduce two things. One, they don't value him as high as the
11:52release clause and would like to strike a deal, you know, pay a little bit less. So that's perhaps
11:58why they haven't gone and done it. Or they're not so certain that the player will come, that they can
12:03just go and do the release clause and make an official bid and try and get him in. There are
12:08other clubs on the scene, and I think that's potentially making things a bit more difficult
12:13on that one. And also, it's a pivot, isn't it? Pajon was a left winger. El Canoos is a 10.
12:20I am absolutely not against the idea of bringing a 10 in. I think if you have 30-odd million,
12:2635 million euros, right, to commit to a 10 or a left winger, I don't mind which you commit the money to,
12:32but make sure you get the other one potentially with one of the two Premier League loan slots
12:36that you've got still to use or with a more bargain to steal from elsewhere. But try and get
12:40both and also get a striker. And while you're at it, get fullback because Isaac Schmidt wants to go.
12:48We know that Farker is not really having him. He's probably not Premier League level yet.
12:55And you're a bit light at fullback. So, oh, and added to that, we don't know how long Bogle's
13:00going to be out yet. So there's a lot to do, isn't there? Mitrovic is an interesting one
13:06because he meets the profile in terms of size and physicality, not so much in age.
13:13But the big sticking point with Mitrovic before anything could happen for Leeds United would be
13:17wages. I mean, when you're on hundreds of thousands of pounds per week, plural,
13:23plural, you're going to need to accept an enormous, a whacking great wage cut to come to Leeds.
13:30Because that's just not in there. It's not in their gift to give that kind of money.
13:36They're competitive on wage.
13:37Would you add in the, I know a lot of the talk around the signings of the summer has been,
13:44you know, these are good human beings and people have been impressed by that at Leeds.
13:49And without, you know, I don't know who people really are. It's very hard to tell,
13:53but I guess there's a perception around Mitrovic that he's maybe a difficult character in the camp.
13:58And if you're going to take a risk on wages and bringing someone in who maybe might upset
14:03things, I don't know if that's something they'd factor in as well.
14:07Yeah, I don't know what Mitrovic is like either. I know that he's a pretty nasty character on the
14:13pitch. I don't mind that at all. Somebody at Leeds said to me this summer, in a kind of half-jokey way,
14:21they were talking about the quality of the humanity that brought in, you know,
14:24what great blokes they are that they've got this summer. And they said, you almost need like a rogue.
14:30You almost need like a bastard to throw in there as a cat among the pigeons.
14:36So maybe there's room for one of those yet, but yeah, I wouldn't mind them signing a big,
14:41nasty centre forward who's going to batter centre halves week in and week out and score goals.
14:47He was, up until that last Premier League season, he was kind of viewed as an in-betweener,
14:53wasn't he? You know, a player who, far too good for the championship, not quite good enough for
14:58the Premier League. But I think he kind of put that to bed. And then he went and took the kind
15:04of the mercenary route, taking the Middle Eastern money. But I just, I struggle to see that one
15:12happening unless something miraculous can happen in terms of wages.
15:16So what I'm getting from that is that we kind of are where we were five, six days ago when time's
15:24running out. And the El Canoos one is interesting because if we're thinking of looking at the Villarreal
15:32game, if you're thinking 4-3-3, it's a lot to then go spend a lot of money on a number 10 over a left
15:38winger. Whereas a left wing obviously slots into that system really well. Canoos can play left wing
15:42if I remember rightly, but he's definitely not where he's best suited. So if you were talking about
15:47which one to use for the loan, which one to use for the money on, if you're going to, if you're
15:50thinking 4-4-3, 4-3-3 will be your main formation this season, then I would say you want to be spending
15:56the large amount of that budget on another left winger to replace Solomon, who we are lacking.
16:03I know we've got Harrison, but we are weaker overall than we were last year.
16:07Yeah. I mean, that is, that's the major point that last season's best left winger is no longer at the
16:11club. Yes, you brought Jack Harrison back, but does he really want to be here? Do you really
16:16want him to be here? You know, it's the wages versus contribution thing again, isn't it?
16:20We can come on and talk about Harrison a bit more in depth later, but I see what you're saying.
16:27A left winger feels like a more natural fit in that 4-3-3. I'm not entirely certain that
16:32Farka is completely wedded to 4-3-3 and we'll see it week in, week out, like we did 4-2-3-1.
16:37I still think we'll see 4-2-3-1. I also like the idea of having a 10 for those games where
16:43you need a bit more incision and you need a player who's, you know, very good at passing
16:49and can pass into the final third. And maybe you can play Elkanus in the midfield three.
16:56Maybe he's the, maybe he can be an 8-10 type, you know, pushing forward a little bit more.
17:00I don't know. Um, I wouldn't profess to be an expert on that, but, um, I just think they
17:06need quality in the final third and it's not a case of just, just go and get quality and
17:11we'll try and shoehorn it in. It has to make sense. Obviously it has to fit the plan, has
17:15to fit the profile, but there's a reason why people are starting to get angsty. I think
17:22the head loss is a bit much because they did seven deals in 41 days from, uh, Lucas Nemecha
17:28to Lucas Perry. Yes, it's gone very quiet since Pajon. It's gone deathly quiet. In fact,
17:34I think for two reasons, one, they're exercising patience. They, I still think they believe there
17:42will be a deal to be done for Rodrigo Muniz at Fulham, but the window is obviously closing
17:46on that and you can't wait forever. The other thing I think is that they have, I think they've
17:52possibly plugged their leak and thrown a veil of secrecy over everything again. Um, I think
17:58they've been a lot tighter with information. That makes sense to me because these deals
18:02I think are going to be the hardest ones to do because there are going to be, there's
18:05going to be the most competition. Everyone wants a striker. I mean, look at what's happened
18:10this summer. You know, Liverpool, um, wanted Azak. They decided to go and get Newcastle
18:16back up signing and they still probably want to go and get Azak. Then Newcastle will want
18:21a striker, but Manchester United want a striker. So it looks like they're going to get the one
18:24that Newcastle wanted. Everyone's after difference makers in the final third. So any player I think
18:30that leads go for, that's a player of any quality is going to have options. And the pond that they
18:36seem to be fishing in, a lot of these players have champions league options. I mean, uh, Hitsu
18:41Dwan, Ritsu Dwan at, um, uh, is he Freiburg? He's about to go to Eintracht Frankfurt. He's
18:49one that leads really liked the look of this summer. They made inquiries, but it never looked
18:54like leads were really allowed to be in the race for that when it felt like the decision
18:58had almost been made weeks ago. And it's just been about negotiating. He's going to a club
19:03that is in the champions league group stage that finished what top three last year in the
19:08Bundesliga. Um, they have loads of money to spend because they've sold players for huge
19:14amounts of money this summer. That's what they were up against in that particular case.
19:19They were up against Marseille with Pigeon, champions league football, south of France.
19:24It's difficult. So at what point do you lower your standards, you know, in order to make sure
19:30that you get an improvement in, and then does it come down to the club's line of, well, the
19:36player has to be an improvement on what we've got. And if he's not material improvement,
19:39why are we spending the money? Um, yeah, it looks difficult at the minute.
19:45It's a trade-off, isn't it? And the closer you get to the end of the window, in fact,
19:50actually, I would say equally as important, the closer you get to the Everton game, um,
19:56that trade-off becomes even more, the risk just increases. If you can't find anyone who
20:02will improve the team massively, what, at what point do you start thinking about getting
20:07a body in? And yeah, I know the previous season, you get 46 games in the championship
20:13and with the squad we ended up with, you can almost afford to not give teams a five
20:18games head start, but to think that, you know, by the time the window closes, we'll
20:22have our team and we've got plenty of time to then make up the difference. But imagine
20:26we lost to Everton and then you've got Newcastle and Arsenal, you know, before the window
20:30closes, if I remember rightly, um, you don't want to be on one point after three
20:36games, uh, going into the Premier League season, especially with the narrative around
20:40promoted clubs past few years going straight back down. There would just be such a negative
20:44feeling straight away. And I kind of got that impression from Farker's post-match
20:49press conference, you know, where he was saying, in fact, he even said we need to have
20:54bodies in by the end of the international window, which made me a little bit worried.
20:57Is, was that, is he playing some sort of PR game externally? Or do you think he was just
21:02answering honestly a question in the moment? Uh, because I get the impression that a lot
21:06of that stuff will be, should be happening behind closed doors. So I thought that was
21:09an interesting kind of comment and sort of maybe showed that he was also getting a bit
21:14frustrated with the process.
21:16Well, here's next on the line. Um, you know, if there was a massive failure of recruitment
21:23this summer, yes, heads could roll plural, but first and foremost, who's going to be the
21:28one culpable for the results that follow? That's Daniel Farker. So I can understand if
21:33he was getting a bit, starting to get a bit stressy about it. Um, you know, Pajon leads
21:40felt like they moved really quickly, but they were still involved in that deal for nine days
21:44and came out of it with no player. We are now, what, 25 days away from the end of the
21:48window. You've got to get four players in. You're looking at working on, you know, two
21:53deals at once really in order to get them over the line. But at the same time, this time
21:59of year, the proximity to the window means that deals get done quicker because clubs know
22:04they have to get done quicker because if a club is selling to leads, they want to get
22:08it done and wrapped up. So they get the, you know, they know what money they've got to
22:11play with to go and get their replacements. Um, and everyone wants to know what their
22:15final squad is going to be in time for the season. So things can move quickly, but I
22:21could understand if Farker was a little bit slightly on edge about this. Um, at the
22:27same time, the intention has always been to sign offensive quality. So as long as he's
22:33not getting the sense that the intention has changed or the noise is changing and I'm, I'm
22:37not getting that noise at all. Like leads still, all the noises are that leads are trying.
22:43Leads are working on stuff. Leads are, are looking into things. It's just that nothing
22:49appears to be imminent right now. And that's what puts people on edge fans and also Farker.
22:53But he knows how emotional this fan base is. He says it all the time. So he had to know
22:58when he said that, that there would be a reaction to that. Um, and I think it's maybe played into
23:03the, what we're saying at the minute, which is, I think we're quite close to a, you know,
23:07there's like a semi-regular meltdown around the club. It feels like, it feels like we're
23:11kind of, we're building to one.
23:15It's quite amazing how quickly the meltdown can come after, you know, when we had that
23:19flurry of signings and it was, um, you know, oh, you know, we're looking really good here.
23:24Uh, and then the Pajon, is that right? Pajon? Pajon?
23:28Pajon.
23:29Pajon signing was imminent. Everything was looking amazing. Um,
23:34I was looking at the odds on top 10. And now, uh, just a week or so later, 10 days on,
23:40uh, it can immediately feel like very anxiety inducing. You know what it makes you feel a
23:45bit like, I feel a bit like, I think I had a line around this in the play as well.
23:52I think it's something Phil Hayes said once, being a football fan is a bit like being, you
23:56know, a drug addict. And in many ways, a lot of the, uh, the highs you get from the kind
24:02of the football induced drug is like transfers. Transfers seems to be this thing that just
24:08creates such a kind of adrenaline rush in people. And in many ways, Graham, you are like the,
24:12the dealer. You are the, the drug dealer, uh, because there's, there's a lot of people on
24:19Twitter, you know, these journalists with blue ticks who promote all these, you know,
24:25links that don't seem to go anywhere or just seem to be paper talker agents. And that's not the good
24:31stuff. I'm waiting for Graham Smith to put a tweet out. And that's when I know, you know,
24:35this is, this is it. So in many ways, Graham, I think you are a bit like a drug dealer who's not,
24:40not doing their job at the moment. We're here. We are, we, we want some of these, uh, these hits,
24:45but they're not coming. And you're saying it's a problem up the food chain, up, up, up the ladder.
24:50You're not getting it either. Um, but yeah, you know what happens when people don't get their hit?
24:55Yeah. That's where, you know, without getting into too sociological, bad things happen, Graham. So
25:00I think I speak for all of us. I say, I need, I need my transfer hits soon. Um, yeah, believe me,
25:06I, I am saying, uh, to my suppliers that I need product. Um, you know, the product needs to come
25:12from Europe or South America and it needs to come now. Um, when, when we, when we talk about,
25:18you know, do you maybe lower your sites or do you maybe say, well, I mean, ultimately you are
25:24lowering your sites, aren't you? Cause Pajon was number one. He was what Leeds felt was a unique
25:28opportunity that wasn't available to them. And then suddenly was, so they had a go at it and
25:34they took a swing. They do feel that there are other players at that level, but I think Pajon
25:39showed how difficult it would be to get one of those players. So if you're, if you're lowering
25:44your, your sites and your standards, right. And I've seen people talking about Jonathan Rowe.
25:47So, which seems natural. That's another name. Yeah. I saw that come around today.
25:52Leeds wanted him last year. He went to Marseille. Uh, it feels like we've been here before. It
25:58feels like we're here all the time. Um, and now Marseille have gone and got Pajon and they've
26:03got Weah and it looks like he'd probably be a player that they might consider letting go.
26:09But when you look at it, right, he's how old is he? Let me see. Uh, he's 22. He's got 13 games in
26:18the Premier League without scoring a goal, got one assist last year in Ligue 1. He got three goals,
26:23three assists in the championship, 12 goals, two assists from 35 games. He's a long way off
26:31Igor Pajon in terms of a, this player will come in and we'll score and we'll create a
26:36Premier League level. You're kind of going on potential there, aren't you? Um, and, and
26:43hoping that he can catch fire in the Premier League and continue to develop, you know, maybe
26:48off the back of his, his top league experience last year, but he, he didn't exactly light it
26:53up, uh, in terms of end product anyway. Um, and then it makes me think, well, do you just
26:58go and, do you just go and do a Solomon? You know, I know that the feeling at Leeds
27:03was that the first price that they were quoted this summer was, it was not what they felt
27:08was a reasonable price for, for Manor Solomon, given the context around him. So they went and
27:13looked elsewhere. Is it just going to be a case of, um, Parag nudging Robbie Evans and
27:20Robbie Evans nudging Adam Underwood and saying, go and get the Solomon.
27:24I wouldn't be against it. I remember he was in my mind, I was thinking, right, get
27:30that deal done early on in the summer. Um, particularly how the season ended. And I
27:35know it's not as possibly as exciting cause we've already seen him, but I think it's a
27:40solid, good Premier League signing. Um, yeah, I, I think some ways this is also part of the
27:49design of having a window, which ends a few games into the season, because it does seem
27:54like a lot of the, we were saying lowering our standards, but in some ways, some of the
27:59high, uh, some of those people high on the list often don't become available to the final
28:04few days of the window. And there's a huge kind of domino chain of things falling. So
28:09it could be you gamble and waiting for something like that. There's talk of Grealish going to
28:14Everton and I know wages and there's loads of financials there, which probably put it
28:17out of, puts it out of our reach, but you know, there are probably players who you could
28:22do deals for very late on. Rafinha was very late and look how he turned out. So there is
28:27definitely, again, my fear though, is just that in the Premier League, if we had a bad
28:32start, you might not be able to attract people and you just, you don't want to be paying catch
28:36up straight away. And I'm sure they're feeling this as well. And I know it's very easy for
28:41us all to say how the club are letting it slip, but maybe they're trying 24 seven all
28:47the time around the clock, trying to get things happening. And it's just not happening for
28:50whatever reason, because one of these dominoes needs to fall. So yeah, it's difficult. It
28:54is difficult. Um, I just want, it's a challenge. It's a challenge. I don't want four signings
29:02tomorrow. And that's, that's a challenge they haven't had yet. You know, they've, they've
29:08gone up, they've, they've found sensible business. I'm not saying it's easy to do the
29:12work they do, but they've, they've been capable of it. You know, they've been able to do sensible
29:16business in every window so far. They've made signings that made sense and have strengthened
29:21Daniel Farka's hand in each window, maybe not January's, but in the summer windows, but
29:28being able to go and get difference making quality for the Premier League is not something
29:33they've ever had to do before. Um, and it's a real test. And like, I don't want people
29:40to think that this is, this entire podcast is, is letting them off the hook and saying,
29:43oh, it's really difficult. You know, give them time, give them patience. It is really
29:46difficult, but ultimately they have to do it. There's just no, there is no option.
29:50You know, you're absolutely right. You don't get off to a bad start in the Premier League
29:54and, and tend to recover. That's not been the way of it. That's not been the trend for
29:57newly promoted teams. You have to get a solid start. Leeds have got a tricky first month.
30:03And then in, in, in the weeks after that, I think there are opportunities to go and get
30:07points, but getting the right players is absolutely important. You know, you go in
30:13and spending 25 million pounds on a player who then doesn't contribute and you end up
30:16with Ramazani or Harrison fighting it out for the shirt. That's, that would be a disaster.
30:22Um, I'm not saying that those two couldn't do a job in the Premier League. Um, we could talk
30:29about them now, actually Jack Harrison, hardworking, we'll track back. You could see why Daniel Farker
30:35would want to keep him around because he'll do a job defensively. He'll go up and down all
30:39day and completely empty the tank and run himself into the ground. Will he make a difference in
30:44the final third? Not so much on the evidence of the last two years. He's done it, but he
30:50did it at Leeds under Bielsa and then struggled. And he hasn't been that player. He hasn't been
30:56that 20, 25 million pound winger for quite a while. So huge question mark there. Ramazani
31:03undoubted quality in the, in the final third is that kind of player that will take a shot
31:08on from 25 yards and surprise the keeper. Really, really good ball striking very quick
31:14can get out of challenges. It's the other side of the game that worries me with him.
31:18What fans will see with Ramazani is him charging after a player, charging back to make a tackle
31:25and try and get the ball back again. What you might not notice is that that player ran
31:30past Ramazani and he wasn't switched on to it. So the opposition have then moved 10 yards
31:34further forward. I think that's where Farker has his main issue with Ramazani is his being
31:41completely switched on and almost having the Joe Rodon mindset of let's just protect ourselves
31:49at all times. Let's be really defensively aware and switched on and organised at all times.
31:57Maybe that's a difficult thing.
31:58A large part of that is coachable though, right? I know there's an element maybe that's down
32:03to individuals, but you know, you can drill coaching and part of Farker's job will be trying
32:08to get that side of the game up on Ramazani. It's kind of similar, more pronounced in Schmidt,
32:15right? Seems very good on the ball, but off the ball positionally and maybe defensively
32:19seems very lacking and, you know, don't spend too much time on him because it seems like
32:23he's going, but yeah, that's your job, Daniel, isn't it? Like coaching league players to try
32:29and do that.
32:31Yeah. I mean, yeah, you can lead a horse to water and all that, but that is his job,
32:36you know, and I think that's part of the reason why we didn't see that much of Ramazani last
32:42season. And then when we did see him, I remember again where he coughed up the ball in the middle
32:49of the park and left his team facing a counter attack and Farker went absolutely mad in the
32:55technical area. And it felt like that was very much at the heart of why Ramazani struggled
33:01for chances, you know, and maybe that suggests that he's just not getting the managers kind
33:07of, he's not doing everything the manager wants. Farker does a lot of saying, oh, it's up to him,
33:13you know, it's up to him to shine. It's up to him to make the improvements. So maybe it's a bit
33:18of both, but ultimately you're right. You know, the coach's job is to improve players.
33:23Yeah. And I guess his job also is to not pick him if he doesn't think he's meeting the standards
33:27he sets. So it goes both ways. I definitely feel like there's a talent ceiling to Ramazani,
33:33which shows he could do a job in the Premier League and make a difference, but it is too big
33:38a question mark to go into a season relying on that. And that's what we're going back to. It's
33:42too many question marks of will Perrault be able to chip in with 12 goals this year or more? I like
33:50to think he possibly can, but I'm not, you know, confident. I'm not entirely confident on it. I'm
33:56cautiously optimistic that he actually, when we're maybe breaking, get a bit more space. If I want
34:03a ball to fall to him, to anyone, it will be him to kind of like put it in, side foot into a corner
34:08from like 12 yards. And I think there is a potential he can get a few goals like that this
34:12year. But again, I don't want to be relying on that going into a season. So to go back to the
34:20recruitment, right? I actually think they've done a really good job at creating a really solid base,
34:24a foundation of a team who's not going to get rolled over like some of the teams that have gone
34:28up recently. I think the size, the physicality, the profile of people like Stack, Longstaff,
34:34Beal, like I'm really impressed by what they did. And there's a really clear plan, which I think is
34:40good that they've targeted an area of being right. We're going to be physical. We're not going to be
34:44a pushover. Teams aren't going to enjoy playing us. All that's done. And that actually, I felt like
34:49was kind of the, some of the stuff you might not think about as much when you're thinking of
34:53transfers, but I think they've ticked that box massively. And I'm very impressed with that side of it.
34:57It is just the difference makers left. That, that bit, which can maybe change a one-all game where
35:03we've kept ourselves in it to who's going to nick it and make it 2-1. Because that Everton game could
35:08be like that. It could be an attritional game with very few chances. And looking at the Villarreal game,
35:14you know, it doesn't fill you with huge amounts of confidence that we can find a moment of magic and
35:20win that game 2-1 when we might draw it or lose it if we didn't have this difference maker.
35:25So that is what I kind of see it as. That's the job that needs to be done in the remaining
35:31of the window. And as you've kind of alluded to, it's possibly the hardest job and one that
35:35they haven't actually done before.
35:36Yeah. I think the friendlies have all told us that, you know, that yes, they scored goals
35:43against Verl, who are German third tier and Paderborn, who are not what you would call top
35:52league, you know, top, top league material yet. Against Man United, they were competitive,
35:58I thought. Against Villarreal, they were competitive. Those are good signs, you know, that there were
36:04signs in those games that Leeds can contain and they can compete and they can play a little
36:09bit of football as well against very good teams. Champions League opposition, but, well,
36:15certainly in Villarreal's case.
36:17Yeah, I'd put Man United closer to Paderborn than Villarreal at the moment.
36:22Yeah, they did not look like they had a great deal of a plan when they played in Stockholm.
36:27I know they've kind of improved a little bit since then. But Villarreal are a very, very
36:33good team, you know, very good team and did well last season. Champions League football
36:39this season. It was a good test for Leeds and I think AC Milan will be a good test for Leeds.
36:44But you're right. It's the final third where you think, where is the creativity? Where's
36:48that, like, magic pass coming from? You know, to split the defence open and put a player in.
36:54And Peru, you know, great player to have for the final 20 minutes if you're looking for
36:59a goal. But he's not the man you want to be pumping the ball long to in the Premier League.
37:04You know, if Leeds are looking to go more direct, then of their current options, it's Lucas
37:10Nemecha all day long because his hold-up player and his ability to have his back to goal, you
37:17know, shake off a defender, turn nicely, turn the defender, get at him or play the ball
37:21off. I'd much rather see Lucas Nemecha do that than Joel Pirou. But then Nemecha doesn't
37:28seem to have the, you know, 15 goal a season finishing in him.
37:33No, although he did get 17, I think, in a season at Anderlecht. But obviously, it's a
37:37different level and he hasn't reproduced that since. But yeah, I guess the conventional
37:42wisdom would be saying that you play Nemecha for 70 and Pirou comes on around that mark
37:47to try and get a goal or maybe the game's more stretched or, yeah, Leeds are chasing it.
37:53But again, that's tough to rely on as your only options, which is why they do need another
37:59number nine. And equally, I'm excited by Gray, but you can't be looking to your bench and
38:06seeing him as the only kind of attacking person who can come and change it. It's just too much
38:11pressure on a young lad's shoulders. Think of AC Milan then, Graham. What are you expecting?
38:18Are you expecting to see the XI who will be starting at Everton at some point in the game?
38:23Maybe not starting, but do you think at some point they will have to put that XI out so
38:27they get some legs in together?
38:30Depends, doesn't it, on who's fit and who's available? I mean, the injuries were less than
38:33ideal for Villarreal.
38:36What's an update on them? Bogle, is he doubtful for Everton?
38:40Well, we haven't had an update yet. I don't think there's been quite a lot of scaremongering
38:47about months and not missing the first half of the season and all of that. We haven't
38:52had that from the club. That's not what the noises have been, but we are still waiting
38:57on a definitive time frame for Bogle. Hopefully we can try and get that today and put a few
39:04minds to rest. But he's certainly a question mark at this stage. Harrison was going to have
39:10a scan on Monday about this adductor issue. Dan James missed the game. Bornau missed the
39:17game. Someone else was five. Lucas Perry missed the game, goalkeeper. Perry, you'd think, would
39:26be ready for Everton. Harrison, I think, Farker would hope would be ready for Everton. Whether
39:33or not he plays in order to be booed by both sets of fans, we'll have to wait and see. But
39:39it very much depends who's available to him as to whether we see the Everton team against
39:44AC Milan. It'll be interesting to see what team Milan put out as well because they're
39:48obviously playing Chelsea the day after. But that doesn't mean that we're going to see a
39:52reserve side. When these friendlies are arranged, so in both the cases of Strawberry Arena and
39:58the Aviva, they wanted a marquee fixture that would sell lots of tickets this summer. So
40:03they invited clubs to come and play. Strawberry Arena wanted Leeds to play Man United because
40:09they knew that both clubs have a big following in Scandinavia and they'd sell lots of tickets.
40:13The Aviva wanted Leeds to play because there's an absolutely enormous Leeds United fan base in
40:19Ireland, in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. And so they will sell, you know,
40:2440,000, 50,000 tickets. But when you agree to these friendlies, you have to make certain
40:30assurances about the strength of side that you'll put out because what the Aviva don't want is selling
40:3650,000 tickets and then the bomb squad making an appearance and Leeds 21's running out to get
40:44absolutely smashed by an AC Milan mixed side. So both teams will have signed a contract and they'll
40:49have made assurances as to the strength of team they can put out. So it would be no surprise if
40:54AC Milan played a really strong team first half and then a different team second half.
40:59And then the next day against Chelsea, the second half team maybe plays the first half and, you
41:04know, vice versa. Well, they mix it up and players who got 30 minutes, 45 minutes the day before
41:08get 45 minutes the day after. They'll work it a certain way so that Leeds will face a decent
41:15calibre of opposition. I'm quite sure of that. But in terms of the game is almost a secondary
41:19consideration this weekend to what will be around the game and which will be an extension of the
41:26summer of promotion, really.
41:28Yeah, I'm gutted I can't make it over. Both sides of my family are Irish and my mum's side
41:33all come from Dublin. So I've got loads of family over there. I think I went over quite a few years
41:39ago now to see them play, I think it was Shelburne. And I think Aston Villa playing St. Pats and like
41:44a double, kind of double header. My family will train Pats fans, my Dublin family. Yeah,
41:50unfortunately, my, not unfortunately, it's very fortunate for my wife, but she's in a show in
41:54Edinburgh. So, and we've got a little eight-month-old boy. Yeah, so I'm going to be looking
41:59on, we're heading up to Edinburgh. She's job sharing it. So someone's doing it at the moment and
42:03she's taken over. So I looked to see if I could make Dublin work, but I just can't, which is gutting.
42:08And because it's just, I don't think people outside Ireland realise the pool Leeds have over
42:13there. It is huge. And the people who fly over for games, I don't know if Dublin will be ready for
42:21the sea of Leeds fans that's going to descend on them. But yeah, it's going to be really, really
42:25cool. I actually asked my cousin for a pub recommendation for anyone who might be listening.
42:30And so my cousin's a sign writer, Colin McConnor. So he paints, the fact that it's kind of my family
42:34trade. My granddad did it as well. And his brothers and the painter decorator signwriters,
42:39basically Dublin family is kind of where I come from. And Slattery's, if I remember right,
42:44it's called like Michael B. Slattery or something. Let me just make sure I get it right.
42:50Martin, is it Martin? Yeah. Martin B. Slattery. It's near the Aviva. He recommends it as a good pub.
42:58And my cousin's painted it. So yeah, that's my shout out. God, I can't be there.
43:03Yeah. The Camden, I think, which fits three times. Yeah. That's the famous. Yeah.
43:07It's going to be like a bit of a hub, I think, for Leeds fans. I'm flying to Belfast Friday,
43:15seeing family, going down to Dublin on train. I just assumed that I'd be able to leave it late
43:20to book a train ticket from Belfast to Dublin. I could not have been more wrong. I have managed
43:25to get a train, a very, very, very early train. But all the trains that go from Belfast to Dublin
43:30on Saturday morning are full. The commercial coach companies are almost all full going from Belfast
43:37to Dublin. And then there are coach loads upon coach loads. There's a huge number of coaches going
43:42from Newton Abbey, I think. There are going from other areas of Northern Ireland. There'll be coach
43:48loads from the West of Ireland because there's masses and masses of Leeds fans out there. It will just
43:53be largely an invasion, I think. Oh, can you call it an invasion when most of the people
43:57are already there? Yeah. Was it a civil war? Actually, that's probably... You can't say
44:03that. You can't say that, can you, either? It's definitely not that. Yeah, yeah. It's a movement
44:08of people within the island of Ireland, I think is... Yeah. And how many of them will have
44:15had the time to get their hands on the new third kit by the time they get to Dublin? Probably
44:21very few, I would imagine. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I saw it this morning. I don't know. I think
44:30people do make some gut reactions, but my first impression was how red the sponsors looked
44:35on it. Yeah. It's almost like it was highlighted to show off the redness, which is... Can we
44:41make... Can we make this extra red? What red have you got? This redder than red? Just, you
44:46know, did no get an agenda, it seemed like. Reminds me of in Spinal Tap, when they have
44:52the black cover of their LP, and he says, you know, none more black. You know, what's
44:59blacker than this? What's redder than this? I honestly think, and this is not like a lead
45:05star Facebook reaction, but I do honestly think the red on that kit detracts from what might
45:10have been quite a nice, fun design. Yeah, the scarves, yeah. It's a bit incongruous to
45:16have red with that colour scheme, I think. And it's unfortunate that they couldn't yield
45:22in some way or make some sort of design concession that would have made the sponsor work with
45:26the kit. I just think it works against the kit in this instance. Yeah. Because they've
45:31done it for the other kits, right? With some of the other kits, they've adapted the logo
45:34to suit the design. But no, yeah, that was the first thing I noticed. I was like, that's
45:39not for me. I won't be getting it for that reason. But they're not aiming, they're not
45:44really aiming kits at, you know, with all due respect, men of your age, Chris. True.
45:49Yeah. It's rare, actually. It has to be, like, the yellow kit last year, as soon as we saw
45:53that, I was like, right, I have to get that one. It's just really cool. Yeah. But yeah,
45:57you're right. I am not the target market. Yeah. So, you know, maybe the kids are going
46:04to love that and want their red balls on their logo, extra red. So, yeah. Just on the Aviva
46:11as well, I want to give a shout out for my cousins. If you were in the stadium, you'll
46:14see there's loads of quotes and stuff painted on the walls. My cousin Colin did that as
46:17well. So, yeah, he actually, I turned up on the job with him. I don't know if I can
46:23say this, actually. And he took me into the stadium. I was like, he just said, oh, this
46:26is a sign writer from England has come over because he's like, I'm meeting these big people
46:30from Dulux. I'm not sure you're meant to be there. Just pretend you're a painter. Like, with
46:33about 30 seconds before I met these people and end up doing a tour of the stadium with
46:36him. So, yeah, yeah, it should be good fun. So, you're away for two weeks, right? Is
46:42that right? Coming up? Yeah.
46:46You're back before the end of the window. Yeah, back before the end of the window, not
46:50back for the start of the season. Apologies, everyone. But I do have another family that
46:54I have to, now and again, spend a bit of time with. The ones that will look after me when
47:00I'm very old and frail. Cause you lot are not going to do that. Let's, let's have
47:05it right. Um, yeah, going abroad for a little while. Uh, if I happen to see a striker, left
47:11winger, a 10 or a fullback on my travels, I will be sure to bring him back with me. Um,
47:16but yes, so what we wanted to do with the pod was just do a bit of a, we haven't gone
47:21away, you know, type podcast and, um, let people know that we are going to be podcasting. Um,
47:28we're going to relaunch properly, um, probably the first week of September, myself and Chris,
47:32and it will be a business as usual, maybe not as nerdy as it used to be. Um, slightly
47:38taller, I think than it used to be. Um, uh, maybe, maybe we can grow that mustache out
47:43Chris. I don't know. And give people what they, what they really want, but, um, yeah,
47:48we're looking forward to it. I'm excited.
47:50It just means a lot that you've called me Chris twice there, I think in succession. So,
47:53uh, my work is done. Um, quickly then, uh, Graham, do you want to have a quick prediction
48:01on Everton, uh, and maybe a season kind of thoughts on where you right now, where you
48:07stand, um, Everton game and maybe season as a whole, and I'm going to be taking it
48:11with the knowledge. I think the club will do something. So I'm not going to say it's
48:15not, this isn't, this isn't the squad that we'll start the season with. Cause I think
48:18no one thinks that. So I'm going to give them a bit of leeway that they will get a
48:22moonies and maybe a couple of others done, but yeah. What do you, what do you think
48:26at the moment for Everton this season? Uh, I'm going to say
48:31Leeds United to Everton one, and it's going to be a late goal and Ellen Road is going to
48:41play a part in that. And yeah, Everton are going to be a bit shell shocked by, by the
48:48Ellen Road factor, uh, with the goals coming from, uh, be all, not be all cause he's not
48:54playing, uh, stack stack is going to open his account and the sexy new left winger is
49:04going to score as well.
49:06Wow. Um, I had two, one down as well. So I know I have to now change it. Is that the
49:11rule or, um, no, no, you can, you can, you can go on.
49:13Kind of similar narrative hard for one, one going into the last 10 and Peru to get a late
49:18winner would be my kind of, that's what I'm thinking. Um, and yeah, Ellen Road to just
49:22be raucous and basically suck the ball into the net at the end. And that'd be a big part
49:26of it. Um, season, what are your, what's your gut? You're going to be more rational. In fact,
49:31I'm going to be, I'm just going to, you know, lay my stool down now. I will probably never
49:35not predict Leeds to win, um, in any game this season. So I just want to get that clear
49:40off the bat, man, see it away, whatever it is, I will be finding a way to convince myself
49:45that we will win. Um, but I'll try and be a bit more rational at constant season prediction.
49:50But yeah, what, what, what do you think for a season so far? Um, I'm going to predict
49:5516th. Okay. I think every Leeds fan would take that now. I always think right. Leicester
50:05won the league. That's what, that's always my baseline starting point. Leicester won
50:09the league with Robert Hoof and, um, you know, who was right? Some of that team you look at,
50:15you think how on earth did that team win the league? Like Mark Albright and I played every
50:18game. Drink water. Drink water. Yeah. So I'm not saying we're going to win the league. Uh,
50:23but I think that kind of ninth to 20th region is get a ball with a bit of luck and good signings.
50:30And I am going to say Leeds will finish 14th, uh, but we can reassess it when we're next back and see
50:40what we think with, uh, probably more of an idea of what the squad will be. Yeah, absolutely.
50:47Cool. Well, yeah, it's a pleasure to make my debut, Graham. Um, hopefully coming off to a bit of
50:52applause, maybe five minutes for the end. Um, yeah, it's a pleasure. I'm sure our new double pivot will
50:58be developing in the weeks to come and, uh, yeah, it's, uh, it's been a pleasure. Thanks very much.
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