- 4 months ago
Category
š„
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk, the Yorkshire Post football
00:18podcast covering everything from Leeds United in the Premier League down to Harrogate Town
00:22in League Two and occasionally also dipping its toe into the National League. On this
00:27week's show I'll be joined by the YP football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Liam Wobshall
00:31as we cast our eye over Leeds' perfect start to their top flight return with a 1-0 victory
00:36over Everton at Elland Road on Monday evening. We'll then switch to Championship mode and
00:41see if there's any end to the miserable start to the season being enjoyed by both Sheffield
00:44United and near neighbours Sheffield Wednesday before looking at the contrasting promise
00:48shown by Middlesbrough and Hull in their respective campaigns. If you want to get in touch with
00:53us at the YP on any football related matter drop us an email at yp.sport at ypn.co.uk
01:00or give us a shout or reply on Twitter via at YPSport or you can go direct to Stuart and
01:05Leon's own accounts. We're also on Facebook offering several club specific pages which
01:10bring you the latest football news from around and wide roads. You're listening to Football
01:15Talk from the Yorkshire Post. Yorkshirepost.co.uk
01:19Right, as mentioned, we're joined once again by the YP's football writing team of Leon
01:25Wobshall and Stuart Rayner. We're going to talk Premier League and Championship on this
01:31week's show. Well, that's what we're going to concentrate on. I'm going to start off at
01:35the very top. Stuart seems to have been coming for ages compared to, well, particularly with
01:41all our other teams having got started early. But Leeds United finally returned to action on
01:48Monday night at Ellen Road and it was a joyous occasion eventually, although they did have
01:52to wait a while for the magic moment to arrive and for some people in somewhat controversial
01:57circumstances, yeah? Yeah, I mean, it certainly felt like it had been a long way just in terms
02:02of their built-up anticipation at Ellen Road on the night. It was absolutely banging on the
02:09night. And yeah, a really good performance with one sort of caveat in that they absolutely
02:17dominated an Everton team with loads of Premier League experience, but didn't put them away
02:22until a penalty in the 84th minute, which as you said, it was a bit of controversy around.
02:28That was the one niggle, but as a newly promoted team, to start with a win and a really good
02:34performance and something to work on, I think that ticks a lot of boxes. I thought they were
02:40outstanding in the way they dominated, particularly the first half, but the game as a whole. The
02:48new midfield three worked brilliantly. I thought Gabriel Goodmanson was excellent at left back,
02:54getting forward and doing what a little bit of defending he had to do. And yeah, there
02:59was a real intensity about Leeds' football, about their pressing, the sort of thing that
03:06you would struggle to replicate Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday in the Championship
03:12over 46 games, but in the more week-to-week Premier League, you know, something that perhaps
03:18is a bit more achievable on a regular basis. And I'd say if they play like that over the
03:23whole season, they won't have any problems. They were very good. I'd say it did give Daniel
03:33Farker that sort of little bit of leverage with the board to say, when I keep saying about
03:37these attacking reinforcements, I do really need them. But as a performance as a whole,
03:44I thought they were absolutely excellent.
03:45Yeah, there's obviously a lot of controversy about the penalty. I think, you know, he obviously
03:53made a movement. His arms were next to him, but he did make a sort of leap. He lent it into
03:58the ball. But I think it's fair to say that Leeds will probably get, they'll come on the
04:02wrong end of a few of these in the season ahead. So I suppose there's an argument to say that
04:07these things will even themselves out at some point. Stuart's right to say, you know, over
04:12the course of the piece, Leeds deserve to win. And, you know, it's quite interesting that
04:16after they scored, they had to finish quite strong as well, didn't they, really? There's
04:20no real onslaught from Everton. Yeah, I'd just agree with what Stuart said, really. It's,
04:26you know, August particularly well. The midfield three played well. The game management was good,
04:31wasn't it? And, you know, the fillip of a clean sheet as well. You know, showing how
04:37to manage games. Leeds are going to have to do that this season if they're going to, if
04:40they're going to, you know, successfully achieve their aim. So it was a good step in the right
04:45direction. It was, Stuart's mentioned one or two of the new signings. I thought some of
04:49the, you know, the cast already on deck played very well. I thought Ampadu had an excellent
04:53game. Obviously, they were strong and orderly at the back. Tanaka had some good
05:01contribution. There were some nice passages of play, especially in the first half from
05:06what I saw. So, yeah, I mean, I think it's just good for the league as well, isn't it?
05:09I mean, two promoted teams, you know, winning first up. I can't remember off the top of my
05:14head when any of the three teams who got promoted when they first won last season. So it was
05:23a positive sign in that regard. Obviously, Leeds winning, Sunderland winning. That was good.
05:28A clean sheet, tick to box, three points to get them off the board and get them off the
05:34board at Ellum Road as well. I think psychologically that's important. And yeah, I mean, like I said,
05:41the penalty was contentious. I think there'd have been a lot of iron if it had gone at the
05:46other end of the pitch for sure. But what I would say is I think these will even themselves
05:50out over the course of the season. Leeds are bound to get one or two of the funds along the
05:54way. So I don't think they'll be making any apologies for what happened last night.
06:00Yeah, I mean, I thought it probably was a penalty because of the fact that he lent into the ball,
06:05as Leon mentioned. But his arms were by his side. It was one of those that really could
06:10have gone either way. And once the referee did...
06:12You could say he was trying to stop it with his midriff, wasn't he, really?
06:15Yes.
06:15You could see if he's handed by his side. So...
06:17Exactly.
06:19What can you do as a defender? Can you move towards the ball?
06:22Yeah. I mean, that handball is a nightmare now for defenders. You just don't know what
06:26you can and can't do, don't you? As Leon says, there'll be more of these controversies
06:31to come and some will go against Leeds. But I think the important thing, we know it's
06:36going to be difficult for Leeds this season. You know, you don't need to know much about
06:40the recent history of the Premier League and Championship to know that. So really important
06:44for them and for Sunderland to get off to a good start. Just to fill in the gaps when
06:50Liam was saying about when they last won last year, I think one of the teams didn't get
06:54the first win till October, the other two till November. So yeah, to just continue that
07:00momentum from last season and that positivity, huge. Because if they'd gone into games against
07:05Arsenal and Newcastle without it, you worry about it. And, you know, there's also a stat
07:09doing the rounds. I think it's any team, any newly promoted team that's got 10 points
07:14after the first 10 games has stayed up. Those that haven't have gone down. So again,
07:21it shows the importance of hitting the ground running and building on that positivity. And
07:25really, I say, for all that it wasn't perfect as a Leeds fan, I don't think there could be
07:30anything but positive coming away from the ground after that performance.
07:34Yeah. I mean, they've got to show that platform, first of all, and be solid and hard to beat.
07:39And, you know, you look at Everton, I think there was only that chance, wasn't there, in the
07:41second half at the near post. It was the only real say that the goalkeeper had to make. So
07:47from a defensive point of view, it was, you know, it was a strong performance. And, you
07:52know, Farkas, obviously, I think the priority before the end of the win will be bringing in a
07:56couple of strikers, which is, well, it's the hardest thing to do, isn't it? They're the ones who cost the
08:01most dollars. They've obviously got Calvert-Lewin to come in. But I think in terms of team-wise,
08:08defensively, collectively, it was a step in the right direction. It looked to be on the
08:13night that Everton had more issues than Leeds.
08:14Yeah. I mean, Daniel Fark made a lot before the, well, before the start of the season,
08:19throughout the summer that he wanted to sort of, he wanted his team to maintain that positive
08:23approach that they'd shown in the Championship. Obviously, it has to be countered by a more
08:28defensive approach generally. But did you see plenty of that approach, that positive of getting on the
08:33front foot? And perhaps, was it easier against a team like Everton who had plenty of struggles last
08:37season?
08:38Yeah, it was easier against Everton. Everton were poor, but you don't, you don't get fewer
08:42points for beating a poor team. And when all said and done, it's just about getting the job done
08:47and getting on with it. But yes, there was a lot of positivity in the way that they pressed,
08:53in the way that they dominated the ball, in the way that they looked to get forward. You know,
08:59Leon and I have talked about it many times on this podcast. It's about having that platform
09:05first and foremost. And that was there. You know, you never felt all night they were in any danger
09:11of conceding. And that allowed them to play in that positive way. And say, if they can add those
09:17bits, you know, a winger is a high priority for him, as well as another centre forward, then that can
09:25really take them on another level. But it's just about making that first step and establishing
09:30yourself, getting that first win on the board, getting some positivity, continuing the momentum.
09:36They're, you know, a few steps down the road of where they need to be. And now it's just
09:40adding the rest, really.
09:41I think that's the way, that's how they're going to achieve the Raves this season. They're not,
09:44with the greatest respect, they're not going to stay up by smashing teams, are they?
09:47It's going to be about managing periods of games when they're under pressure. You know,
09:53that sort of collective unity, discipline. And yeah, it was a good step in the right direction,
09:59I thought.
10:00Particularly with games against, well, a trip to Arsenal and then Newcastle at home coming up.
10:05I mean, you know, we could be, we could have, you know, could have, could have, could have,
10:08should have, would have. You could easily be looking at a situation if they'd not got that
10:11win last night where three games in and they've not got a point. So it was perhaps even more crucial
10:16to get that first win on the board, like you say.
10:18Yeah, I mean, let's be honest, luck comes into it. And, you know, Sunderland were lucky to get
10:23West Ham at home on the first day of the season. Leeds were lucky to get Everton. There was luck
10:27around the penalty, but you've just got to take advantage of it. Because as Leon says,
10:30there'll be enough moments when you have bad luck as well.
10:32Yeah, definitely. Okay, let's turn to the championship. And we'll start, we'll start in
10:39Sheffield, because that's where it all seems to be, well, not happening in many, in many senses.
10:44Leon, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United obviously both struggling. You were at Hillsborough
10:50on Saturday. A 3-0 defeat at the hands of Stoke City. A protest from the fans against
10:55this front of the Genesiri. Do you see any end in sight for the sort of club's woes?
11:02No, no, sadly not, not particularly really. I mean, you can't imagine trying to say we want
11:06to do anything until the transfer win is out of the way, if they do sell it in the autumn.
11:11But in terms of decent, shall I say, and they made the feelings heard.
11:15Obviously, the mock funeral procession from Hillsborough Park to the stadium.
11:19There was a little bit of disruption when the game got away with the shrills,
11:23with the whistles. It did sort of, it did sort of die.
11:27Yeah, it was funny. There was a chorus of Wednesday till I die,
11:31then there was a few whistles. Seconds later, Stoke scored.
11:34So it was, yeah, it was funny. It was just a sort of, I mean, obviously Stoke was at the
11:42opening game. It just stuck to me that it's a sort of game unless things dramatically alter
11:49and they can get some players in and some, you know, experienced players.
11:54You're going to see a lot of those sort of games this season, I think.
11:56You know, I look at Wednesday and you just think, how can they try, how can they win games at this level?
12:02And I don't know what Stuart thinks. I just think they're just going to try and stay in games as long as possible.
12:07Yeah. Nick a goal and then defend with their lives, really.
12:12Obviously, the sides at the bottom don't get much luck and they've had no luck at all this summer.
12:20You know, you're wanting to stay in the game, keep it tight, call it what you will,
12:24and they concede a goal after 59 seconds. And obviously, they have the team talk at half-time,
12:31maybe tweak, address one or two things, and then 27 minutes, 27 seconds into the second half,
12:38they concede a second and the game was pretty much over by then. They had a little bit of a flurry,
12:46a couple of chances. Unfortunately, they came up against a very good goalkeeper on the day in Johansson.
12:52We know a lot about him from his time at Rotherm. He didn't have loads to do, but what he did,
12:57he did extremely well and it's easy to see why one or two Premier League teams are looking at him.
13:03And straight away after that, Stoke got a third goal and that was that.
13:07I mean, you just look at the bench, you just can't, with the greatest respect in the world
13:11to what he's got there, he can't change anything, can he really? You know, he can change it to sort of
13:18freshen things up in terms of energy, but in terms of being proactive and making a couple of bowl
13:23substitutions to win games, there's not a great deal he can do at the minute. And one or two of the,
13:30I mean, there was nothing wrong with the heart. There's certainly tick boxers there. There's no
13:35lack of application, but you just look at them in, you know, in a few areas, there's players that
13:42played badly over the course of the piece. But, you know, for the first goal, it was him and
13:46the other inexperience and Stoke scored. And yeah, I just sort of said in my match report, I mean,
13:53Stoke has come from Huddersfield or in League One. He's exactly the sort of player that you think under
13:58normal circumstances, Wednesday should be going for, really. You know, a championship savvy player with
14:03all the goals. And yeah, sadly, there was no lack of effort. There was, you know, the applause at the
14:10end was heartfelt from players to supporters and from supporters to players. You know, they are all
14:17sort of in it together. But yeah, in terms of how home games will pan out, unless somehow they can get
14:26those sort of experienced bodies in to provide some covering across the squad, I think there's
14:31sadly going to be a lot of games like that. And I suppose the only positive is that nobody got injured.
14:37Yeah, I mean, as Leon says, I was at the Leicester game and the spirit and the heart and everything
14:43was brilliant for 75 minutes. But, you know, the worry about Sheffield Wednesday is maintaining it.
14:50You know, it's the 2020s and for right or wrong, you get five substitutes in a game. You need that infusion
14:57of energy from the bench. And you just look at Wednesday's bench now, you know, never mind, you know,
15:03a couple of months down the line, if this is to continue and you just think there's nothing there.
15:07You know, they're really, they're really struggling to persuade the Football League to allow them to sign
15:13new players. You know, they've identified players they want. But Football League are in a really difficult position.
15:19They're trying to ride two horses. On the one hand, like everyone in football, they want Chanciri out of that club
15:25and they want to do what they can to help with that. On the other hand, they don't want Sheffield Wednesday
15:34to go bust. So they, you know, they can't, they can't sort of let them spend money they can't have.
15:39On the other hand, you don't want the sort of situation you have with Salford in the Rugby League where
15:44one team's just a free six points for someone and it's just the luck of the fixture. So they've got,
15:49they've got to avoid that. But I mean, one of the big worries for me, Leon mentions, you know,
15:55Chanciri holding on till after the transfer window. Piers Charles has been outstanding in the,
16:00in the first couple of games. I don't know how he was against Stoke, but there's a wage bill coming up.
16:07The temptation is there to cash in. I just look at Piers Charles and I look at James Trafford and
16:13you know, in the last couple of years, Man City have sold it for 20 million and bought him back
16:17for 27 million. I think if Charles had a full season of championship football, I don't think
16:22he'd quite get to that 20 million valuation, but he'd be heading in that direction. If he gets sold
16:27now by a desperate Sheffield Wednesday to pay the bills and to get the money up front, then it's going
16:31to be like the Gasama and Masaba sale. It's going to be massively reduced. And you just, you just fear
16:41that they're going to, you know, end up selling the family silver for buttons really. And it would be,
16:47it would be a real shame because, you know, like everyone else at that club, Charles has had,
16:53you know, opportunity to walk out and go elsewhere. He clearly doesn't want to. But if it comes to a
16:58situation where he has to be sold, I think it will just damage Wednesday even further. And,
17:04you know, he's the only senior goalkeeper there. So they really are going to need to
17:08to get some signings in if he goes, but it's such a desperate situation and it does,
17:14it does need to resolve it. But unfortunately, it all hands, hangs on one man's ego and how much
17:19he's prepared to, to sell the football club for. It's as simple as that, really.
17:23And even the grass was too dry on Saturday as well. There were no sprinkles on it at half
17:29time. If that doesn't sum things up, nothing, nothing does really. They've just got to be
17:33grateful for, for small mercies. I suppose this week, there's no, there's no midweek game. I
17:38suppose that is something, isn't there? And the go to, to Wrexham on Saturday. And, you know,
17:43after all the hype about Wrexham, they've obviously kicked off with two defeats and maybe there'll
17:47be a little bit of, a bit of pressure there, but you sort of do especially fear for them when the
17:53season kicks in and you get the three game weeks, that's going to really, that's going to be so,
17:59so hard for, as it stands for Wednesday to somehow cope with that. It's almost cruel really, isn't it?
18:05You know, if you have to factor in, you know, they might get a Wednesday night game and have
18:10to back up on, on the Saturday. I mean, it's, it looks the hardest job in management having to
18:15sort of do that as, as things stand for sure.
18:20And while the times are dark at Hillsborough, no doubt, Leon, I gather some light relief came by
18:25way of the match day playlist with a couple of songs that were played.
18:29Yes, it was quite, it was quite brazen.
18:31Someone, someone was having a bit of a joke.
18:33Yes, I do like to get, it must be the old musical heading me, I like to get a few into
18:41the odd match report. So there's a little bit of a brazen cheekiness there, which I don't mind
18:47in the circumstances. There was, yeah, they had money too tight to mention. What else did they have?
18:53They had a live and kicking as well before that. So we sort of build it up really.
18:56Was it the Deerene one? Yes, we had that at half time. So it's, it's amused, it can, it can
19:05amuse some of us sort of colouring. Gallows humour. But yeah, I mean, I mean, as you said as well,
19:13Sheffield United as well, it's not a good, I know it's only two games in, but yeah, it's not a, it's not
19:18a great look for the Steel City, that, that league table at the minute, is it? So I think they've got
19:23a few worries as, as well, Sheffield United. I don't know what Stuart thinks, but it just,
19:28it just doesn't smell right there, does it, at the minute? No.
19:31For all manner of reasons, you know, they, they obviously need to get players,
19:36desperately need to get, well, it's not as desperate as Sheffield Wednesday, but sort of,
19:41there's a real keenness for them to do some, some important business if they're gonna,
19:47you know, consult, you know, they want to be amongst the players this season in the
19:51championship, they need work to do. And there'd obviously been, you know, he spoke last week,
19:57Ruben Sellers, he was quite candid saying, you know, it's not been good enough, the recruitment
20:01safari included himself and filled everyone really. And yeah, he's had to lament on a poor
20:07performance at the weekend as well, which he said wasn't good enough. So it looks like a big game
20:11for them against Millwall this weekend. Yeah. The balance just doesn't, doesn't feel right there.
20:17So it's, it's created by poor recruitment. But yeah, I saw them against Bristol City on the,
20:24on the opening day of the season and the midfield was just left wide open. They had Sidipek, who's
20:29not really a holding midfielder as the, as the one holding midfielder and, and, and Hamer and
20:36Callum O'Hare as number eight, as they like to call them in the modern parlance. And they were just
20:41swamped in midfield, you know, say as for all, I'm a, I'm a big fan of, uh, of what he did at
20:47Hull. Well, say a big fan, he did a good job at Hull. I wouldn't go overboard about it. He did a good
20:52job at Hull, but, um, he just couldn't, he just couldn't find the right formula that, that day,
20:57you know, whether it be getting the fullbacks to help out or asking the midfielders to do more work
21:03or whatever, they were just, the balance was just all wrong. And then, you know, by all accounts at
21:07Swansea, the attacking side of the play, which was the, the positive side against Bristol City,
21:12that went missing as well. So, um, they're really, they're really searching for something,
21:17but, but I think the answer lies in, in more bodies and, and, and bodies in the right position,
21:22because as I say, anybody would struggle to, to make a, a good team out of that, out of that
21:29collection of players. So having got the money in for Anil Ahmed Hozic in particular,
21:33they need to start spending it because it's all well and good buying these artificial
21:38intelligence players, one of whom's already been shown the door, but, um, their signings
21:43for tomorrow. This is Sheffield United's last season with parachute payments. You know,
21:48it sounds a bit overdramatic when we've just been talking about Sheffield Wednesday to say
21:51that they need to go up this season, but in a footballing sense, they really do need to do
21:56it this season. They can't be, they can't be just thinking about the long term, unfortunately.
22:01I think the players need, the senior players need something to buy into, don't they?
22:04They need to go out and buy two or three proper players, if you like. Obviously they've lost,
22:11they've lost Armand Hodges, they've lost, they've lost more, you know, big, probably big voices in
22:16the dressing room and, you know, big championship ready players. And yeah, I mean, you sort of look
22:22at the first game, I sort of watched bits of that and obviously Norrington Davis got a lot of stick,
22:26but he's basically a left back who was, who was asked to play in the, in the centre, wasn't he?
22:30And obviously the lad on loan, Binden, he's, he's only, he's only a young boy, isn't he really?
22:35And he's just starting out in the championship and, you know, they desperately need another,
22:41another, another senior proper sort of centre half. Obviously they've been after,
22:46after quite a few, linked with Bobby Thomas, but it, it looks like it's one or two others that were
22:50sniffing around him, potentially in the Premier League as, as well. And linked with a couple of
22:57other players as well, Ben Godfrey of this world, there's a, there's a Swedish lad as well. They
23:01desperately need a couple in, in that part of the pitch for me.
23:05Yeah. I mean, you know, they've got nine months to turn the results around, but if they don't
23:09convince the senior players in the next couple of weeks, then, you know, the likes of Hamer,
23:14the likes of Cooper, there'll be good offers for them. They'll suddenly be thinking, well,
23:18I'm not sure I should be hanging around for this. And then the damage is done. So it is actually
23:23quite urgent that they, you know, make some statements on and off the field that,
23:28that they are going to sort this out.
23:31I mean, Sellers spoke afterwards, I think on Saturday, that he said he would perfectly
23:35understand if the fans started to turn him. Is it a touch early for that?
23:40Well, it is. But as I said, you know, this is, this is the reality of the situation. You've got
23:45the ticking clock of the transfer window. Something needs to be sorted. Of course,
23:49of course he needs patience. Of course he does. But one of, Sears is very good at crisis management,
23:55because that's all he's ever had to do in his career. And, and, and one of his big strategies
24:00is just to pile all the responsibility on himself and all the, all the blame on himself. So I think,
24:05I think that's part of it.
24:06Sheffield United fans aren't stupid. They're not, they're not going to, you know, force him out of
24:11the, out of the club on the, on the, on the basis of a, of a couple of, a couple of results when
24:16they can see the wider problems. But, um, as I, as I keep saying, there's, there's no time to faff
24:22about. They really need to, need to get on and address this very quickly.
24:26There's an appreciation of what happened at Leeds last season. They were in exactly the same boat.
24:30They lost the playoff final. Um, Sheffield United were probably a bit more unlucky on the day,
24:34weren't they really in their particular final, you know, Chris Wilder speaking afterwards about,
24:40about the fact that you've got to take inspiration from Leeds and see Leeds did follow up, follow up
24:44at an outstanding following season and obviously won the title. And, you know, that'll be in the,
24:50a lot of the back of the, the blade support as my, you know, trying to emulate that, but you know,
24:54the first couple of weeks of the season, they just look nowhere near that. And obviously got big,
24:59big issues with, with the squad. So, you know, that's sort of counting against Sellers a little
25:04bit as well.
25:06By contrast, our other two teams, uh, in the championship are, uh, currently unbeaten,
25:11only two games in, I know, I know. Um, but, uh, Middlesbrough, where sort of had a sort of
25:18tame summer in terms of recruitment, I think, in terms of, um, how their fans will feel about
25:23what business was or wasn't done. Uh, have made a promising start, obviously, you know,
25:27uh, lead cup hammering my, uh, Doncaster Rovers aside. They've had, uh, two decent swim, um,
25:34two decent wins. Uh, and, uh, it's, it's looking pretty positive up, up in the North East, isn't it, Leo?
25:40Yeah. I mean, obviously not the, the, the, the cup defeat against Doncaster was an undeniably
25:48tough night. They were, they were mauled against it. It was pretty much a second string, uh,
25:52Doncaster team as well. And, you know, they made, they made a few changes, but it wasn't that many.
25:57They only made sort of five, five or six changes. But I think if you look over the, if you'd have said
26:03three games in, you know, which two games would you, would you have wanted to win as a new manager?
26:09You know, you'd, you'd certainly pick the, you know, ideally you don't, you don't want to lose
26:13to a low division team at home and especially so badly. But, you know, the league, the two league
26:18wins, it obviously takes a preeminence, doesn't it? And I think the encouraging thing is the, is the
26:23defensive, the result has shown two clean, clean sheets. They didn't concede too many chances
26:30against Swansea on the, on the opening day. And they looked pretty, pretty solid against Millwall
26:35a couple of moments. Um, Luke Hayley had to make an important goal line clearance in the,
26:41in the first half. And, you know, the ex-borough player Kobe and he, he, he was a little bit
26:46unlucky in hitting both poles, but he, he probably should have scored in the, in the second half.
26:50But they've been, you know, considering some of the, some of the awful concessions they made
26:55in the second half of, of last season, the self-inflicted ones and that, that inability
27:00to cope with, with pressure. They, you know, the, the, the signs in that regard are defensively
27:05a positive. He's made a, he's made a good start to his Middlesbrough career. Alfie Jones,
27:10who's obviously coming from, from Hull. He's, he's been pretty solid in his first two, uh, league games.
27:16Um, Luke Hayley as well. He's, he actually, I thought even in the game against Doncaster,
27:22he was one of the few players who put his, put his hand up and, you know, showed a lot of pride
27:27in, in his performance. He's, he, he's still showing that he's, he's going to be an important
27:32player for, for Borough at the, um, even though he's at a senior age. And yeah, there was a little
27:39bit of a, I think they needed it after the Doncaster game and a little bit of a, I suppose,
27:44a feel good factor back. They've made a couple of signings as well. And by all accounts, they're
27:48going to make a few more. I suppose the big thing is what happens with it, with Hayden Hackney is,
27:54you know, he's a player who looks to me as he's, you know, he's one of the top operators in his
27:58position in the, in the championship, a division. He's, you know, perhaps got the measure off,
28:04and he certainly showed his importance against, against Millwall. He, uh, you know, in, in the
28:11second half, he was, he was dropped back a little bit. They brought Kante in, um, defensive midfielder
28:16from, from French football, still a little bit inexperienced. They brought one of the new signings
28:22home, Hans Hanson on, who was in an advanced midfield role. And he, he actually looked the part
28:26and I think he, he changed it a little bit at Millwall. Hackney slotted back and was given a
28:31little bit more, more room to, to pull the strings and dictate. And he scored an excellent goal.
28:37And, you know, Finnazzas as well, he's, he was a big player in most of the good things that
28:42Burra did last season. He made his comeback from the bench. And, uh, yeah, it was, it was a damn good
28:48team performance, wasn't it? I don't think that many people would have had, had, um, had it down for an away win.
28:54Millwall obviously started well beating, beating Norwich, but yeah, I mean, they got, uh, hopefully
29:00got the Doncaster wobble out of the system and, you know, two wins out of two and two in clean sheets
29:05for a, for a new manager is, is just the ticket, but they've obviously got a hard game coming up
29:10this weekend at Norwich. Yeah. I mean, Hackney will be, will be crucial as, as we've known all summer,
29:16really. If, you know, if he has to go, it'll be, it'll be very, very sad to see him go. But
29:23the important thing is that he goes early enough that Middlesbrough can spend the money well.
29:28Um, say if he stays, that, that's brilliant. That's, that's almost the, the ideal situation,
29:33but Middlesbrough just need to know where they stand. They don't want a repeat of
29:37Hull a few years ago with Jared Bowen, where the sale didn't go through till after the deadline.
29:41So they had no chance to spend the money. And that was the start of Hulls to climb into League One.
29:47Yeah. One of two teams that, isn't it? Losing players. Exactly. So, so yeah, they just,
29:51they just need to know where they stand with that. I say, Hackney showed against Millwall how
29:56important he is, he is to them and you would, you would love to keep them. But the reality is,
30:00if you keep missing the both of the Premier League, it's at some point, these guys are going to outgrow you
30:04and you just have to accept that. And as I say, spend the money wisely. But, you know, on the whole,
30:10I think it's just a good coach doing what good coaches do, sourcing out the back first, building
30:15from there, built a lot of bridges with the supporters by all accounts, which is a very,
30:20very clever move. And then I say, hopefully, if they get the Hackney money, it's then about addressing
30:27what I think Leon referred to in the last podcast. They still have not really properly replaced this,
30:32replaced Latte Laff. They still sort of have this addiction for signing number 10s when they need a
30:37number nine sort of thing. You know, get that right, but a good platform to come from. And,
30:43you know, the reverse of Sheffield United, it's easier to attract these players if you've got
30:48that sort of start and you can say, look, there's something worth getting on board with here.
30:52Yeah, I mean, from listening to Edwards, he sounds reasonably confident regarding getting the work
31:01done in the window before the end, doesn't he? It's probably in a little bit of a contrast to
31:06Sellers, who, you know, he does sound a little bit more worried, doesn't he? They're obviously
31:09bringing a lad in from Manchester City as well on loan, highly rated Notre Dame. There'll be one or two
31:14there that they've got the ducks in the row lined up to hopefully come in and start to the beach.
31:19And of course, in Edwards, you know, he's a savvy operator as well, presumably.
31:24Yeah, I mean, he's just got to, he's less obsessed with playing out from the back and getting it
31:28fought up. So, yeah, there probably will be some, a lot of championship teams, there will be some
31:34some bumps in the road. But, you know, it's important coming in, as Stuart said, he's
31:38come in and he's tried to really connect with the supporters. He's gone out to see them at fan
31:45engagements. And, you know, he's someone who really wanted the job, didn't he? He obviously lost out
31:51to Carrick first time around. He was obviously interviewed for the Bristol City's job and well
31:58in the thoughts of that club. But, you know, by all accounts, the Middlesbrough was the one he wanted.
32:03This is the job that he feels is made for him. He did, by all accounts, did a really,
32:08strong presentation when he, when he actually got the job and convinced the Borough hierarchy
32:13that he was, he was the man. So, yeah, he's desperate to do well. And, you know, but all
32:18new managers need that little bit of a, provide that little bit of hope in terms of results,
32:23first of all, to support us. And he's, you know, he's done that early on, very early days.
32:28There's a few, a few new signings will take a little bit of time to, to bed in. And he's,
32:33he's got to toughen them up defensively consistently. It's a decent start in that regard.
32:38But still a lot more to do. But yeah, he's, he's, he's certainly got off first base,
32:43hasn't he, with the seven runners up to play.
32:46And we'll finish off this week on the east of the county.
32:50Stuart, you were over in Hull at the weekend on Sunday, witnessed a confidence-boosting
32:56win for Hull City, another team of ours who've had a troubled summer, shall we say, but they
33:01do seem to be emerging from the shadows, as it were. And a goalless draw at, you know,
33:06a good Coventry team, followed by a 3-2 win courtesy of Olly McBurney and his late winner on Sunday.
33:13Again, it's promising signs for the new manager, isn't it?
33:17Yeah, they seem to have had quite a good crisis this summer, really.
33:22You know, one of the, one of the earlier podcasts in the summer, I was pretty gloomy about Hull's prospects.
33:28I hope it's not to knee jerk off the back of a couple of results, but I'm much more encouraged
33:34by what I've seen since. I mean, they've been restricted to free transfers and free loans this
33:42summer because of not being on time with various payments to various people.
33:49But maybe it's just forced them to think a little bit more cleverly about their recruitment.
33:56You know, they're into double figures now for signings, and there's some good ones in there.
33:59I mean, you obviously mentioned McBurney. He's the, he's a sort of standout after two starts,
34:05two goals, two assists. That's, that's not a bad way to start off. Joe Gellhart, I think every
34:11Hull City fan knew that would be a good signing, but they've been able to make it happen.
34:16They've obviously been able to persuade the Football League that they can, they could afford
34:21the wages and that sort of thing. So yeah, I think it's, I think it's, I think it's worked
34:26quite well for them. They were very entertaining in the, in the Bristol's and the, sorry, Oxford
34:33United game that I saw at the weekend, which is, as we know, that's a big part of the brief
34:37when you're managing Rajan Ilajali. You've got to entertain as well as win. And you know,
34:42they scored three against Wrexham as well. They were a bit worrying defensively, but you know,
34:48as with, as with everyone, this is the first couple of weeks of the season. They're not going to be,
34:52they're not going to be perfect. But whereas most football clubs, as we've been saying,
34:57you build from the back, maybe with Hull, you have to build, build from the front to earn the
35:01patience of the owner. And yeah, I think it's, I think it's been, I think it's been a good start.
35:07The key for them, you know, we talk about Middlesbrough with Hayden Hackney. They really,
35:12really won't want to lose Charlie Hughes, who's had an excellent sort of first 12 months as a
35:18Hull player. And it looks like that rarest of rarities at Hull City, a good defensive signing.
35:25So yeah, hopefully, hopefully this is a sign that they can, they can move forward and progress
35:30as we speak. We're still waiting to hear if their appeal against the, the fee restrict. But after,
35:37after the way things have gone so far, maybe this should be appealing for it to be extended,
35:40because as I say, it's, it's focused in their minds. And yeah, I think it was important,
35:45a lot of, a lot of the clubs in the region to have a positive start and not, not more so than,
35:50than Hull and they've managed to do that. I mean, apart from sort of going to Coventry,
35:54they're not too, they're not too nasty really, are they? You know, you'd take Oxford at home and
35:58Blackburn at home early season, going to, going to Swans. The manager as well, you know, he's,
36:03he's come in and pulling the juries out a little bit among the Hull City supporters. And,
36:08you know, he's set them up to get a good, you know, an excellent point, not just a good point,
36:12an excellent point at Coventry and, you know, your first home game, first impressions and,
36:17you know, and, and, and entertaining game of football and, and, and a win. So that's a,
36:21that's a tick in the box for him. You, you know, you look at the Hulls,
36:24sort of starting eleven, they've got some, got some pretty good players still,
36:27haven't they, at this level? Yeah.
36:29The Lundstrans, the Matt Crooks, Casey Palmer, McBurney, Geldhart, you know, if they
36:34sort of all sort of come together and, you know, play well and have a good day,
36:39Hull are a, a decent force in this division. So, yeah, I mean, the trick is now backing it up.
36:45They've got a home, home game against Blackburn, which I think looks, looks pretty handy on,
36:50on paper. There's a few issues there at Blackburn and, you know, try and make the most of,
36:55of this early season, um, uh, fix your list. But, uh, yeah, it was, it was a good sign for Hull on,
37:01on, um, on Sunday morning, especially given, you know, it was a lousy opening third of the,
37:05of the season last year, wasn't it? With Tim Welter, he just never, he just never took off
37:10whatsoever. And he was, he was just almost behind the eight ball, wasn't he? He never,
37:15he never got, certainly never got off first base with the Hull supporters. So, um,
37:20hopefully it's a, it's, it's a change in that respect.
37:22Well, I was going to mention that obviously, as you alluded to a bit earlier about Hull Stewart,
37:27obviously, despite the transfer embargoes, they're actually seem better prepared than they were 12 months
37:32ago, um, where it took them forever and a day to get players in, by which time it was too late to save
37:37Tim Walter. Um, I mean, Sergei Yakirovich, um, seemed a pretty savvy operator in the, in the,
37:43in the players that have been brought in so far. Obviously, again, as we keep stressing, it is early
37:48doors. Um, but, um, just, just, just better placed to sort of hopefully avoid the kind of
37:55worries that they had last year in terms of trying to just stay in the league.
37:58Yeah. I mean, they've had a good preseason in terms of results. Yeah. You might say preseason
38:03results, big deal. It doesn't count for anything. It doesn't count for much, but they lost, I think
38:07they lost every game under Valter last season, you know, so just on it, on every level, if they feel
38:13better prepared, even though, as you say, the circumstances, they should really be, be less
38:18prepared. Uh, he wants two or three more players, I think he says, but, you know, we've got used under
38:25Elijali to seeing, you know, five and six arriving in, in the last week of the transfer window.
38:30So it's, it's another sign that they're, they're ahead of the game. There just seems to be some
38:33clearer thinking there. Um, as I say, it's early days, the fixture list has been kind. We'll wait
38:40to see how things pan out, but it's optimistic. Winning at home was really important because
38:46the home formers, the home form and the home entertainment has badly let them down. Uh,
38:51you know, even in the good times, uh, under, under Elijali. So it was just, it was just a big tick
38:56in the box. And, you know, it's good to see a lot of Hull fans leaving the ground, feeling positive
39:00and excited after, after a home game, which let's be honest, if McBurnie hadn't scored that late goal,
39:05we'd have been back to another frustrating draw when they should have outplayed, you know, should
39:10have beaten a weaker team they outplayed. But, um, yeah, look, look does come into it. You've got
39:15to make the most of it. And, uh, and it feels like so far so good. They have done that.
39:20YorkshirePost.co.uk
Be the first to comment