Sheffield United and Chris Wilder reunited, Middlesbrough's early-season burst and Bradford City's derby delight - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Name: Sheffield United and Chris Wilder reunited, Middlesbrough's early-season burst and Bradford City's derby delight - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
Uploaded: 2025-09-17T17:51:11+00:00
Duration: 59 min 25 s
Channel: Yorkshire Post

00:00Hello and welcome to Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post. I'm your host Phil Harrison.

00:18As ever, I'll be joined by the Yorkshire Post football writing team of Stuart Rayner

00:22and Liam Wobshaw. On this week's show we will start, where else? At Bramall Lane and

00:26return for a third spell as Sheffield United manager of Chris Wilder. Following the sacking

00:31on Sunday of Ruben Sellers, the man who replaced Wilder only in June, it became clear pretty quickly

00:36that the club's owners were set to perform a remarkable about-turn and bring back the coach

00:40they felt wasn't the man to take them forward just a short while ago. We also look at Middlesbrough's

00:45impressive start to the Championship campaign, which sees them top of the table with four wins

00:49and a draw from their first five games. And, despite exiting the League Cup after a 1-0 defeat

00:54to Grimsby Town on Tuesday night, we look at the boost that Sheffield Wednesday will receive

00:58from their short run in the competition, in particular the invaluable experience gained

01:02by the club's younger players. In the Premier League, we look at the biggest concern for

01:06Leeds United on their return to the top flight, their 1-0 defeat at Fulham on Saturday, highlighting

01:11their lack of five power up front, with Daniel Fark's team having scored just the one goal

01:15in their four games so far. And, we also reflect on the latest Yorkshire Derby in League One,

01:21in which Sean Bradford City bounced back from the previous week's defeat at Doncaster with

01:25a convincing 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town at Valley Parade. You're listening to Football

01:29Talk from the Yorkshire Post.

01:32YorkshirePost.co.uk

01:33As mentioned, we're joined by Stuart Rayner and Liam Wobshaw, and this week, really only one

01:39place to start, and the events that took place at Brammer Lane across Sunday, Monday, and

01:44probably Tuesday if you want to pick out the press conference. Stuart, pretty clear before the

01:48international break that Ruben Sellers was on thin ice, having lost all five games under

01:53his leadership, and then when the Blades got hammered 5-0 at Ipswich on their return to

01:56action on Friday, it was pretty obvious his days were probably numbered. Firstly, was his

02:02removal justified so early in the season, which I know may sound a daft question, regardless

02:07of his dismal record? And secondly, are the Blades doing the right thing by going back to

02:11the man in Chris Wilder that they felt wasn't the right man for the job just under three months

02:16before? Well, I mean, in terms of the first question, your instinct is to say six games,

02:22that's ridiculously early to be sacking a manager, particularly when he didn't have his full squad

02:28in place for the first, you know, four or five because of their sort of tardiness in the transfer

02:32market. But I think when you look at the manner of the performances, and then to look at the performance

02:38against Ipswich after they'd actually got the full squad in place. And if anything, it seemed like

02:47it was it was even worse, you know, there just seems it. So given all that, it just felt a matter

02:53of time. And as you already alluded to, and the sooner they got on with it, really, the better.

02:58You know, it's, it's a harsh business and, and, and you feel for Ruben Sayers, but he really didn't

03:05help himself. You know, he didn't, he didn't, he was presented with some problems by the sort of

03:10makeup of the squad, particularly in the early weeks of the season. And he just didn't solve

03:15those problems. And that's, that's kind of the manager's, well, that is the manager's job.

03:19So, yeah, I don't, even though it's so early in the season, I don't think he can really have any

03:25complaints from my perspective. I don't know what you think, Leo.

03:29No, I think, I think it's, it's fair enough. I mean, nobody wants to manage and likes to see

03:33a manager lose, lose a job so quickly. And, and you feel for, for Sellers on the human level,

03:39given what happened to him at Hull, where, you know, arguably he fulfilled the brief of keeping

03:44them up. Okay. It wasn't pretty, this, that and the other, but he did the job, didn't it?

03:48And obviously me and yourself have spoken to him at close quarters. And he's, and he's a good

03:55able guy, isn't he? He's a young manager. He's, you know, he's ambitious. He was, it was a huge

04:00opportunity for him at Sheffield United. But yeah, they just didn't seem, he just didn't seem

04:05to offer any real hope, did they? There was, they were sort of getting beat, but there was not a lot

04:09in, in the performances. And you were right, what you said. I mean, we, obviously we had a little

04:15text on Friday night and, and, and the one that you said was, I thought was spot on that

04:19the lineup just seemed like a real long suicide note, didn't it? It just, I looked at that lineup

04:24and it, it looked confused. It looked like a manager who, who had overthought things to the

04:29extent where some of his decision didn't, didn't particularly make sense. Obviously, Hamer being

04:34on the bench and, and it was always a dangerous fixture I felt going to Ipswich. Ipswich haven't,

04:40haven't sort of cracked any, any pots at the start of the season, but you sort of thought

04:44it was a question of when, not, not if they'd get into, get into gear. And obviously they

04:50did that against Sheffield United. And yeah, tough in terms of, in terms of the timing, right?

04:57You know, we were only just at the start of the autumn, but there was, you know, for a

05:01side who went so close to promotion, okay, they've lost one or two senior players, but, you

05:06know, to be propping up the table and just some poor, poor, poor, real poor performances as

05:11well. Um, you couldn't, you can sort of understand why they've, they've sort of hit the, hit the

05:17button if you like. And I think with, with Wilder, you know, it's not, it's not a case

05:23of a new man coming in, not knowing the club. He knows the workings of the club. He knows

05:28a lot of the players. He knows what makes the punters tick as well. What sort of football

05:33they'll, they'll buy into. And, uh, you know, he's a very experienced manager. It's his club

05:37as well. He's, he was retaining that hunger and that, and that passion. And, um, yeah,

05:43I mean, for him, it would just be like fitting into a pair of slippers, I think again, in a

05:48funny sort of way.

05:49Yeah. And I think, you know, just another point on the, on the earliness of it. Um, you

05:55know, if you're looking at a promotion season, you're probably aiming for about two points

05:59a season, sorry, two points a game, which is what Sheffield United got last season. Yeah,

06:03not two, not two a season, two points a game from here takes them to 82 points. That

06:08won't get them automatic promotion. You're taking your chances in the playoffs again. So

06:12again, although, although it was early, that kind of underlines that, you know, they've

06:16already not lost the possibility of automatic promotion because I do think, I do think it'll

06:22take fewer points this season. I don't think we'll see the points, Sally, as we saw

06:26Burnley and Leeds, but, um, already it's looking like playoffs is, is the most realistic aim

06:33for them. And as I've said before, in this podcast, they need to get promotion this season

06:37because they'll lose the parachute payments at the end of it. If they're still in the

06:41championship, the squad will break up and you know, their chances will be that much, that

06:45much poorer in terms of, in terms of getting up in the future.

06:48Yeah. I think there's a, I think you're definitely right. I think there's a, there's a numbers

06:51aspect to it, isn't there? You know, data and all the American, a lot of the

06:56American sports are very data driven and they'll be, they'll be looking at the numbers.

06:59I suppose they're lucky in some respects that, you know, it's like Southampton, they

07:02made a pretty slow start as well. And one or two, you might have expected to, to, to be

07:07there, yeah, to be there at the top early on, have had a bit of a slow start. So, you

07:13know, there's still an element of time if United get their act together to, to get inside

07:17that top, um, top six. But I think by every passing result, and I just think it was the

07:21manner of, of the performance at Ipswich wasn't it as well. I mean, there's, there's

07:25sort of ways to, ways to get beat. And that, that just wasn't one of them. I mean, there

07:30was the, the size of the defeat. There was the sort of confused nature of when you looked

07:36at the lineup and you saw, you know, Hamer on the bench, two others and sleep. It just

07:42looked, you couldn't really see what he, what he was doing. And, um, yeah, it's obviously

07:47harsh on, on sellers, but there's, there's a lot of reasons to, to make you think that you

07:53can understand why they, why they've done it. Yeah. And just to go back to the second

07:57part of your question, Phil, um, yeah, I mean, I'm not sure we, we don't really know

08:03because the owners don't, don't talk to anyone and tell us what they're thinking, but I'm

08:06not sure how much of Wilder's sacking in June was about the football and how much was about

08:11the transfer policy. So if it, if it wasn't much about the football and there's kind of

08:16that justification for bringing it back, there is still the problem that they have to work

08:19together and, you know, the, the, the stumbling blocks that were there, you know, presumably

08:24are going to come up again. So it's, it's not without its risk, but, um, to go back to

08:28what I was saying about the parachute payment, they need somebody who, I mean, there's no

08:34guarantees. They tried Slavisa Minkanovic a couple of years ago, it looked like a guarantee.

08:38There's no such thing, but they need a manager who at least has a track record of, of getting

08:43promotion, which of course Sayers didn't have at that stage of his career. And while the tips that

08:48ticks that box, as Leon says, knows the club, I mean, the squad's actually changed quite

08:53a lot in a few months. He's not going to be able to pick up where he left off. There's

08:57been quite a lot of damage done, but nevertheless, I think a lot of the signings that Sheffield

09:02United have made were very Wilder-like signings, actually, towards the end of the window.

09:08So I think it's a squad he can work with and get a tune out of. But I say whenever, whenever

09:15you change manager, it's a gamble. And, you know, for Wilder, it's always a gamble to

09:19go back and risk his reputation, but he just can't say no to that football club, can he?

09:24I think he'll like the us against the world aspect as well. There was a little bit at the

09:29start of last season. They got doctor points, didn't they? At the start of the season.

09:32That seize mentality, rolling your sleeves up. That's something from my experience with

09:37Chris, that's right up his street, isn't it, really? And obviously, hauling them up by the

09:42bootlaces when he took over the first time around, what is it, 10 years ago, when they

09:48really were going nowhere, you know, under the previous manager. In the end of the final

09:54day of the previous season, they were walking around on a lap of honour and getting barrapped

09:58and, you know, turning the club's fortunes around from, you know, a low and a bit of

10:06embarrassing ebb. You know, I think that'll really float his boat as well, the sort of

10:12person in him.

10:13And he's already given them a poke in terms of people like Ame and say, look, you were

10:17the best player in the Championship last season. You're nowhere near that this season.

10:22You know, applies to Cooper, to Harrison Burrows, to quite a lot of the players who we left behind.

10:27They just haven't performed yet. And he's already spelt that out to them and basically

10:30challenged them to do something about it.

10:32I think that's it. Even the players that have gone, they've still got some pretty good players

10:36who have stayed put and they've just not got going at all. And you think if anyone can

10:41sort of relight the fires, it's going to be wilder, isn't it?

10:43Yeah.

10:44You were at the presser on Tuesday, Stuart. It was announced Monday afternoon. You were

10:49at the presser on Tuesday. What was the mood? I mean, was it a case of him saying all the

10:54right things, saying that he was prepared to work with the director of football or whatever

10:58system that the Blades board do want to bring in in the near future, if anything, in terms

11:04of changing the structure?

11:05Yeah. I mean, it does sound like they're certainly considering that. As I say, they need to put

11:09something in place to stop what happened in June happening again. You know, whether that's

11:14structurally or whether that's just a different, you know, different mindset from either side

11:19of the table, I don't know. But something has to change. Otherwise, we're just going to

11:23have a repeat of what happened. So, yeah, but he did say all the right things. I mean,

11:28you felt as things were unfolding over the weekend, wow, he's going to come back in a

11:33really strong position. You know, because they're basically coming back to him begging,

11:38we made a mistake, come back to us sort of thing. That's a great position to be in, in

11:44terms of taking a new job. But he didn't seem to be sort of flexing his muscles in that

11:49regard. It was all about, look, there were a few digs about, I'm going to start playing

11:55players in their proper positions. I mean, that's an excuse. That's an excuse for Hamer's

12:01form. But also, there was a lot of stuff about the bottom of the table for duels. They're

12:07in the bottom three or four, I think he said, for running stats. And he was just saying

12:11that's unacceptable. I mean, the whole ethos of which Sheffield United had been rebuilt

12:16since while they came back, as Leon said, when they were in League One, is outrun out,

12:20fight out, play. Well, they haven't done any of those three so far. He was basically

12:25saying, well, the first two in particular, who are new lads? You've got to, you've got

12:29to do something about it.

12:32Yeah. Staying in the Championship for now, total contrast in fortunes for the next team

12:37we're going to talk about in Middlesbrough. I know they saw their 100% start to the season

12:42ended at the weekend. I think they need to stop his time equaliser to get the point at

12:47Preston. But there aren't obviously just one of two unbeaten teams left in that division,

12:53sitting a point clear of Mark Robbins in Stoke City at the top of the table. Leon, what do

12:57you make of the job done so far by Rob Edwards? I mean, I know it's early days, but it's very

13:02impressive, isn't it?

13:03Yeah, I can be very pleased. I mean, so much so that if they'd have beaten Preston, it'd have

13:07set a club record at the start of the season for consecutive league wins. I think in a funny

13:13sort of way, the result at Preston was arguably the most significant of the lot. I mean, a

13:21lot of times last season, you know, conceded a few late goals in Middlesbrough, they wouldn't

13:27have gone on to get anything in that game. Obviously, Preston went ahead twice, they scored

13:31in the 88th minute. And, you know, I think last season that would have been that, but they

13:35had the sort of, the fortitude and the character to manage to go back the other end of the

13:40pitch and nick something and show that fight and that resilience. And I don't think they

13:44would have showed that last season. Yeah, it's been very, I think it's been impressive

13:50on a few levels. I think an important thing for Edwards to do, I mean, he seems a real

13:58genuine fellow. And I think we've spoken about it before, he really, really, really wanted

14:03the job. He saw this as his calling. He obviously lost out to Michael Carrick for the position

14:09when Carrick got it when they were both interviewed. And he still retained his passion for the job

14:15and, you know, he was desperate to get it. And he's sort of managing to work the town

14:20a little bit. He's getting the fans engaged and reconnected with the club. I mean, you looked

14:27at the crowd that they took to Preston. There were nearly 6,000 for a game that was an early

14:32kickoff and also on Sky, which is pretty impressive. And yeah, in terms of his conduct and getting

14:41his message over to supporters, the fans have bought into that with respect. I think he's

14:47a good guy, he's Michael Carrick, but he was never that sort of, he never had that sort of

14:51personality and charisma in terms of his character to sort of get that sort of get those vibes

14:56across. But it's the main thing, I think it's on the pitch. And yeah, they just look a little

15:04bit more pragmatic. They're more intense in terms of the running and the pressing, a bit

15:10more high energy. The sort of approach that they had were under Carrick, it was, you know,

15:15pass, pass, pass, pass your way out of trouble at the back and take risks. They've sort of,

15:21they've sort of, I mean, they still do try and pass it out a bit, but a little bit more

15:26pragmatic. And it seems to suit more of the players. And they made a good start defensively

15:32as well. I think that was, that was important. They've got some, obviously they've got some

15:38new defenders at the ball. They've got Alfie Jones, who's settled in really well. Britain's

15:42done well as, as well coming in from, coming from Blackburn. So they seem to have tightened

15:47up a little bit. They've gone to three centre halves and yeah, they just, they just seem

15:53to be a bit more vibrancy, you know, sort of further, further forward. They're not just

15:57sort of passing it for passing sake. And they look to, you know, it's early days, but they

16:04look to have sort of striking on something really. I mean, they've got a game on Friday

16:08against, against West Brom. And I think they've done some good work in the transfer window

16:13as well. That's, that's dovetailed with everything. I think I said last week that one of the most

16:19significant things is keeping hold of Hayden Hackney. It's not, it's not a transfer in and

16:23out. It's someone who they've kept hold of. That's, I think that's been important. Obviously

16:28lost a few players as Az has gone and Van Der Beer, but they've got good money for them.

16:33They've spent good money in, in terms of their, of their incomings as well. I mentioned Britain,

16:38I mentioned Jones. They've signed Strelick from the Savini International, who's scored

16:44a lot of goals on, on the continent. I know he's a really exciting signing. They've got

16:49one or two, you know, you look at the squad, they've got good options and good options to

16:52come off the bench. You look, you look at the game against Preston. Strelick came off,

16:58came on, sorry, and one or two others as well, Hanson. So they look, it looks at a squad

17:05capable of being in the top six mix for, for most of the season. And they look, there's

17:11a bit more defensive structure there. They look a little bit more resilient, obviously

17:16allied to, to the fact that Edwards, you know, he's got, he's, he's engaged with the, with

17:22the Middlesbrough punters pretty quickly. Supporters are liking what they're seeing. And

17:28it's been, you know, buttressed by a, by a strong start to the season. So yeah, reasons

17:33to be, to be, to, to be positive for Middlesbrough at the minute.

17:37Yeah. I think, I think the contrast with Sheffield United are quite glaring actually,

17:41because Middlesbrough and, and Sheffield United between them are probably the two worst culprits

17:47in the region in terms of getting the transfer business done late. In Middlesbrough's case,

17:52obviously waiting to see what happened with Finn and Zars and with Hayden Hackney.

17:54Yeah. I think, I think they've got the ducks in a row though, haven't they? A little bit.

17:58That, exactly. Don't panic, weren't they really?

18:01But, but also I think, I think the big thing is Edwards didn't have to wait for these players

18:05to come in to find solutions. He, he, he found ways around it before, before the reinforcements

18:10came. I mean, Leon's mentioned the intensity. The, the, the talent was always there under Michael

18:15Carrick, but now there's a bit more structure, a bit more of a focal point with, with, with

18:20Strelic as opposed to some of these floaty, floaty centre forwards who were sort of false

18:24nines and all this sort of thing. So all of that has just given them something to, something

18:28to work with and found, found a way to, to get the ball rolling. And then the reinforcements

18:33have come. And as Leon says, they've been, they've been well identified and they've been

18:37able to fit into that structure. They've been picked to play certain jobs in that role.

18:41Where Sheffield United, it's all just seen, seemed a bit slap dash. Yeah. Yeah. Not, not

18:47that, not that same structure. I say Rob Edwards just seems to have a real clarity of mind

18:53about, about what he's doing and has just set to doing it. And, and huge credit to him

18:58because I say we always knew the ability was there with them, but we saw it at times in

19:03the last couple of seasons when they were good, they were very good, but it was, they just

19:06didn't have that structure to, to grind out the consistency when, when things weren't

19:11going so well, to focus minds, to stop those daft defensive errors that were, that were

19:16slipping them up. And I'm not saying, you know, everything's sorted and, and it's, they're

19:20going to stroll it from here, but there's already a foundation. And once your season gets

19:24off to a good or bad start, it just shapes everything. So yeah, it looks, it's looking

19:29really positive. Yeah. I think, I think you made a good, good point there, Stuart. They

19:33did, they did see the blades. I'm worried a lot of late business, but you just felt

19:38it. I mean, I mean, I mean, when Sellers said a few weeks ago, he, he just said, it's not

19:42been a good window so far. There was like, there was a couple of weeks left. That suggested

19:46that things hadn't gone to plan and they were, they were sort of behind the, behind the eight

19:50ball. And they did look a bit of an element of, of scattergun, didn't they, in terms of the

19:55sort of work at the end of the, the window. And yeah, I think say fans have, fans have

20:00taken to Edwards. I think another interesting thing this week was, was he had the sort of,

20:04you know, bravery really as a, as a relatively newly appointed manager to have a little bit

20:09of a go at some of the fans as well, didn't he, about Morgan Whittaker. When he, when he

20:14came off, there was some, he's not had, I mean, it's fair to say he's not had a vintage

20:20start to his Middlesbrough career after coming in from, from Plymouth in the January window.

20:25But, you know, there was, there were some years when he, my ironic years when he came

20:29off against Preston and, you know, straight away Edwards afterwards, you know, speaking

20:34to the press saying, you know, look, that's not on, we're all a family. We shouldn't be,

20:38we shouldn't be, you know, attacking our own and having to go at them. And, you know, he

20:43had the, he had the character to do that. And I think a lot of Middlesbrough fans have applauded

20:48him for that. And, you know, that's the, that's another indicator of his passion and

20:54his sort of, you know, character. And, you know, he's obviously big on, on the togetherness

20:59aspect of it. And, you know, the fact, I think if, I think if Michael Carrick had

21:04said a similar thing at the end of his tenure, he'd have got a few catcalls from supporters

21:09and they'd have had a go at him, but to be fair, Edwards has done, has done it. And,

21:13and he's not had much, much aggro from the supporters, which suggests to me that a lot

21:20of them have accepted him and, and are liking what he's doing.

21:23Yeah. I think, I think the big element as well is just self-confidence. He, he knows what

21:28he's doing and he knows he knows what he's doing. You know, and I suppose it's fair enough

21:33if you're, if he spent the first, you know, six weeks or whatever in the job really giving

21:38to supporters, he's entitled to ask a bit back in return. He's, he's got that credit

21:43in the bank with the way he's behaved and performances. And I say, he's got the confidence

21:47to, to, to flex those muscles basically.

21:51And it's, yeah, it looks to him, it's not, he's not doing it for a show for public relations.

21:55I think he, he seems to be a genuine guy. He was desperate for the job and he's got it.

22:01And yeah, I think he's, I'd say his character has gone down pretty well.

22:05And he has, you know, you have to mention the fact that he has actually got a team out

22:09of this division as well before, which, you know, it was presumably one of the reasons

22:13that, that Steve Gibson appointed him. He has form, he has good form as well, doesn't

22:17he? And that togetherness that you mentioned, Leon, is probably something that was a massive

22:22part of a team like Luton Town getting up in the first place.

22:27Yeah, I think you're right. I mean, Middles, I don't think that they've spent a little bit

22:30of money, but they're not going to get promoted just by way of numbers, by flashing the checkbook

22:35really. They're going to need a lot of other things. They're going to need, they're going

22:37to need quality. They're going to need resilience. They're going to need everybody buying into

22:41it and coming together. You know, the early signs of the season so far suggest that they

22:47are. And yeah, I think that was important from Middlesbrough's perspective. It was, it

22:51was, it was starting to sort of break the sort of connection between amongst, I mean,

22:56the fare on the pitch wasn't great in the second half of last season, but there was a bit

23:01of growing disconnect between the manager and the club and the supporters. So, you know,

23:06I think that Edwards has come in and he's certainly addressed that, you know, he's conscious of

23:11the issues that were there last season at Middlesbrough in terms of the disconnect. And that's another

23:18thing that, you know, that he's doing.

23:20Yeah. Before we move on, we'll just stick in the championship before we move on elsewhere.

23:26Just a quick word about Sheffield Wednesday, Stuart. You were there on Tuesday night, the

23:31League Cup run came to an end and, you know, amid all the misery of what's happened off the

23:35field at the moment, or still happening off the field for the Owls at the moment, that

23:39short run in the competition would have provided some welcome relief. Wins over Bolton, Leeds.

23:44To your mind, Stuart, what did Wednesday sort of gain from it? It was a short run, but it

23:50provided some welcome relief. And which players stood out from you in that?

23:55Yeah, well, I mean, apart from anything else, it just provided something to look forward to.

23:59You know, the league form is so miserable at the moment. And of course, now it's league

24:04all the way for the rest of the year. So, you know, unless or until they get the change

24:08of ownership, it looks pretty, pretty grim in terms of the fare. But it's just, I think

24:13I think if you sort of, as a supporter, if you approach these competitions in the right

24:19way, it's about seeing what's there in the cupboard in terms of the young players, the

24:24way Sheffield Wednesday have approached it. And I think Ernie Weaver's really stood out

24:29as a centre-back. I think he looks ready to challenge for a first-team place. I think

24:36George Brown, at the other end of the field, he was a development player they were actually

24:42able to sign before everything hit the fan this summer. And again, he's another one who

24:48looks like he's capable of competing in the first team. And then they had a young 16-year-old,

24:54Yisra Oloa, come off the bench. And he looked really exciting. You know, he looked like a

24:5916-year-old. He gave him the ball and he wanted to run at people and take them on. And he wasn't

25:03worried about the fact that the stands were empty and there's all these financial troubles

25:07of this, that and the other. He just wanted to play football. So yeah, I think there's

25:11some positive signs there. I mean, they'll obviously have to manage all these young lads

25:15carefully. They don't want to break any of them. But, you know, Pedersen's comment after

25:22the game was, a small squad's got a bit bigger now. And I think that is the net result of

25:27this League Cup run. It will have given those players a bit of belief that they can do it,

25:34having, as you said, having overcome Bolton and Leeds on penalties. Equally, the Grimsby

25:39game showed that they're still not there by any means. You know, a well-organised, confident

25:48League Two Grimsby team had too much for them. They weren't miles better than them, but they

25:53were better than them on the night. So there's still some way to go. But I just think, you

25:58know, there were problems with it, obviously. The boycotting element was divisive. The fact

26:04that they picked up another two injuries on the night, that's absolutely the last thing

26:08you want with that squad. But, you know, in the situation they're in, they've got to cling

26:13to the positives. And the positives are there are players in that system who can give them

26:18the much-needed help that they need. I think that's spot on. I mean, amid a really

26:23rotten season, there's, you know, chaos behind the scenes. The one thing that they can take

26:29from this at the end of it, if I suspect, I think a lot of us do, that it doesn't end

26:36well, just for some of the young players to have broadened their education and got some

26:41sort of experience and got something out of it as young professionals and also as people

26:45as well. You know, that's one thing that amid, you know, amid this desperate time for Sheffield

26:51Wednesday that there can hopefully be one positive, some of the young professionals who probably

26:57would be, you know, under normal circumstances that wouldn't, you know, a few of them would

27:00be out on loan somewhere, wouldn't they? And they could be in the National League, something

27:04like that. It's obviously been fast-tracked. And yeah, that's sort of one crumb of solace,

27:09I think, amid a very difficult, intense time for the club.

27:15Definitely, definitely. Time to move on to the Premier League and a potential, well, it

27:20is, not potentially, it's a big cause of concern for Leeds United on their return to the top

27:24flight. There's been plenty to admire, obviously, in their performances, particularly on the defensive

27:29side. But one area that will be keeping Daniel Fark up at night currently is the lack of goals.

27:34So far in four games, they've scored just the one. That coming on that opening night win

27:38against Everton at Ellen Road. After the transfer window closed, it was clear that one area Fark

27:43had not been able to address satisfactorily was up front. It would be the main focal point

27:49for business coming to the January window. But is there a danger that before that arrives,

27:54too much damage may have been done?

27:56There is a danger. But I think the fact that they've got things sorted out quite well at

28:02the back. I mean, there were one brainwave from Gabrielle Goodwinson in stoppage time,

28:07away from a third clean sheet in four games, which is certainly not to be sniffed at as

28:12a newly promoted Premier League team. So I think that will keep them in the fight.

28:17You know, they're on four points from four games. They're basically on course. You know,

28:21talks about two points a game for promotion. Talk about one point a game to stay up. So

28:25they're on course. They're just not comfortable. And it's obvious. It's obvious where things are

28:31going wrong. I mean, they're mid-table for the number of shots they've had this season.

28:37They're bottom of the table for shots on target in the Premier League. And it's not just about

28:42the finishing. It's about the creation as well. But, you know, really, what do you expect when

28:48you sign two free transfers? The interesting thing was, really, from my perspective, being at

28:54Craven Cottage, was kind of how Farker went about it. In terms of, you know, he came out and he was

28:59very much, I'm very proud of my lads. No criticisms of them, you know, just a bad break. But then he

29:05sort of went on to say, well, you know, when he's obviously asked about the lack of goals,

29:10what do you expect really? You know, I've got four wingers in my squad who were here when we were

29:15relegated. Actually, Dan James was out alone, but that's by the by. They were called hopeless then.

29:24I can't expect them to deliver what they're not capable of. And it sounded very harsh. I mean,

29:29I suppose the thing that Leon and I can't really quantify is he knows these dads' personalities.

29:37It might be that all four of them will respond right to that kick up the backside.

29:41But it seemed a bit of a gamble to me because I think it's fair to say that more players than

29:50not nowadays need an arm around the shoulder more than a kick up the backside. And attacking

29:54players need confidence to perform at their best. So we'll wait and see. I mean, you know,

30:00Wolves away in the next game is a big test for them. But it seemed to me quite a risky

30:05approach to be just so publicly. I mean, he tried to sort of couch it in a non-critical way,

30:13but you couldn't, you couldn't, you know, avoid those words and think, you know, and take any

30:19other interpretation from it. So it will be fascinating to see how they respond as individuals.

30:25Yeah. I think I'm looking at Leeds' game, obviously a huge, huge game at Wolves there at the bottom

30:30of the table. Lost all their matches so far. Then they've got the two home games against

30:37Bournemouth and Tottenham. I think with the Wolves game, I think it's such a sort of big game.

30:43They're a sort of a team who Leeds would have known before the start of the season, a good

30:47chance they're going to be in our vicinity of the table. And I think the result is sort of the

30:52be all and end all there, isn't it? It would be nice if the Leeds could play well and win

30:57fantastic. But I think they just settled for a really scrappy, dog-eared 1-0. But I just

31:03think that with those two home games, they need, the results are obviously important, but I

31:08think they need to also give, in one of those at least, the support is something to buy into

31:12by way of the sort of, you know, an assertive attacking performance. You'll hopefully get some

31:19points. But, you know, one that's entertaining, creating chances and offers a little bit of hope

31:23in that regard as well. I think the Wolves game set on Saturday, I think that will just

31:27take care of itself. I think that was always destined to be a big game at this juncture

31:33of the season. And obviously, Wolves have made a slow start and Leeds, yeah, you know,

31:39OK, four points out four. Always going to be a big game towards the bottom end of the

31:44table. But those two home games, I think they just need to, Leeds could do with offering

31:48something to the supporters in terms of the performance before the next international

31:51break.

31:53And I think in fairness to them, they did that in the Everton game. But, you know, just

31:57all this talk about we've got to be rock solid, you know, we've got to sort of compensate

32:02for the weakness of our attackers. Talk about Sheffield Wednesday fans not having much to look

32:05for for the rest of the season. If that's the way it's going to be, it's not going to

32:09get Leeds fans excited, is it? And, you know, as Liam was alluded to with Middlesbrough,

32:14you know, if you can, same again, if you can get that fan base on your side, it's just

32:18another one of those marginal gains, isn't it? We all know what Ellen Rose like when they're

32:23right behind the team. So you need to get behind the team and you need to do something

32:27between that, towards that. And you've got to strike a balance because they can't be

32:31kamikaze. They're not good enough to do that. But equally, you know, they can't park the

32:38bus either. I mean, Fark has been saying that himself all season. They can't just rely on

32:44defensive play. And Saturday showed why, because they, you know, they defended very well for

32:4993 minutes. But you can do that in the Premier League and some world-class player can do something

32:56amazing that just nobody could stop. A referee can do something stupid that nobody can do

33:01anything about. So can a VAR. Or you can shoot yourself in the foot with a mistake. So, you

33:08know, you need that insurance of being able to throw punches back yourself. And you also

33:12need to keep the opposition at bay and not invite wave after wave of attack. So as Leon

33:18says, that's really what they need to demonstrate. Because you do feel as though, and we talk about

33:23this with a lot of teams, but particularly with Leeds this season, home form is where

33:27the bulk of the work has got to be done.

33:29Yeah. I mean, in fairness, yeah, they did in part of the game against Everton. They did

33:34OK, didn't they, really? But it's just bringing it all together. I think the Newcastle game

33:38was more, I think, with the weather as well. It just became a real sort of stalemate, really,

33:43wasn't it? First home game. We're happy to sort of take a point. I think Newcastle were

33:47happy with it. But yeah, it'd just be nice for them to sort of take something from

33:52these two home games from hopefully a points point of view as well, but performance as

33:57well. And as Stuart's rightly said, it is about the balance aspect, isn't it?

34:01Yeah. I mean, OK, I think is where Leeds are at the moment in terms of what they've got

34:05to do. But you just, everyone wants more than OK, of course.

34:09Yeah, absolutely.

34:10I mean, is it just finishing off the forward play or is it a lack of creativity as well?

34:17I think it's a bit of both. As I say, they're mid-table for shots on goal. So that shows

34:20the energy they're creating a bit, but not enough. I say the fact that bottom four shots

34:25on target shows that it is a bit about the finishing. But I do think they need more creativity.

34:31You know, there's a lot of focus on the centre forward, but they need goals from other areas

34:35as well. I just think all round, I think, I say defensively, they've done excellently.

34:41To have been without the first-choice goalkeeper and for Karl Darlow to make a couple of brilliant

34:45saves, that really underlines how good they've been there. They've been without Ampadu for a couple

34:50of games and still they've looked solid. But yeah, they need to, the thing about the Fulham

34:56game, I think the Newcastle game as well, really, even the Everton game, for the, you

34:59know, for the football they played, they didn't create enough chances in any of those games.

35:04That one goal they've scored, a penalty.

35:06Penalty, isn't it? Yeah.

35:08So they need to make more when they're on top of games. They need to be more ruthless when

35:13they get the opportunities. It's a bit of both. But some of it will come from the mindset

35:18of, you know, Farker was talking after the game about how well Brendan Aronson had done

35:23defensively as a winger. And you can't ignore that side of the job. But of course, we all

35:29want our forward players, first and foremost, to be good going forward. You know, Leon was

35:35dead right when he used the word balance. It's just about striking that balance and getting

35:39it right. And in the Fulham game, understandably, because Fulham are a very established Premier

35:44League side. Leeds were away from home, blah, blah, blah. The mindset was on the defensive

35:50side. And they just, I don't think they can be like that at Ellen Road. As Leon said, in

35:56those two home games, they've just got to show a bit more. And I think they'll probably try

36:00to. We'll wait and see if they're good enough.

36:03I think set piece as well. I mean, there's a lot of made about the physicality that Leeds

36:08were bringing in and the tall timber at the back and midfield. You know, a couple of

36:13goals from set plays wouldn't go and miss, would they?

36:15Yeah. Well, I think they'd probably missed out in terms of getting the person to deliver

36:20those set pieces they wanted. But as we said about Middlesbrough, every team has problems.

36:24You've just got to solve them.

36:25Yeah. Yeah. Lead one now. It's the gift that keeps on giving for our newspaper in terms

36:32of Yorkshire interest in Derby rivalries. Another Derby took place at the weekend, Leon.

36:37You were at the latest instalment, Valley Parade. Bradford took on Huddersfield. Two teams,

36:42you know, both have enjoyed positive starts to their campaign.

36:45Yeah.

36:46How do you assess both teams' performances on the day? And do we yet know if it's a hat

36:52trip for Bobby Poynton? And also, one of the points you raised in your post-match pieces

36:59was the concern that Lee Grant will have about his team's first half performances.

37:04But I mean, just initially, just how did both teams perform? Obviously, Bradford got the

37:09upper hand with a 3-1 win.

37:11Yeah, it was thoroughly deserved in the end from Bradford.

37:15It was a funny game in the respect that Huddersfield actually started very well.

37:19I mean, we're going to talk about the sort of issues they've had in the first halves

37:24of games with conceding goals. But they made the better start.

37:27I think they were the more accomplished. And I think there was a big moment a few minutes

37:32before Bradford scored. It was a nice counter from Huddersfield.

37:37Harness played in Joe Taylor and a little bit unlucky.

37:41Deflected shot. It hit Aidan Baldwin and looked up and hit the crossbar.

37:47If that had gone in, Huddersfield would have... I don't think too many Bradford supporters

37:52would have quibbled about the merit of a Huddersfield opener because they started off

37:56well. They showed poised. They were moving the ball around well.

37:59But it didn't. Often derbies are about moments and it obviously hit the bar.

38:04Didn't go in. And soon after, Bradford scored.

38:07And yeah, for me, they pretty much took over after that.

38:10I think impressive from Bradford in the respect that I was there seven...

38:15Well, not there, but I was watching Bradford seven days earlier in another derby

38:19against Doncaster. And they were very poor in the first half.

38:24And it was a pretty uncharacteristically poor performance all the way through, really.

38:29So there were one or two questions on Bradford's shoulders.

38:32And it had such a big game. Everyone knows the narrative about it.

38:36They'd not played Huddersfield at home for nearly 19 years.

38:41Obviously, the re-equatance of the derby between them.

38:45A huge crowd.

38:47And in the event, it was the biggest crowd since 1949 at Valley Parade.

38:52The biggest attendance in modern times.

38:56Just over 24,000.

38:58So, you know, it was a real proper occasion as well.

39:01And obviously, Bradford were interested. They've had a bad result.

39:06You know, can they sort of hit back in the sort of derby that matters for them this season?

39:12It's fair to say. There's a lot of Yorkshire derbies.

39:14But Huddersfield, that was the scout that Bradford wanted.

39:18And yeah, their response from a bit of a sticky start was really impressive.

39:22And, you know, seeing the first goal was an absolute gem.

39:25There was some issues defensively from Huddersfield.

39:29But, you know, a first-class move.

39:31It had graced any football match.

39:34Sweeping pass from left to right from Aidan Baldwin.

39:39And some really good interplay.

39:41And a finish from Poynton.

39:44And yeah, I mean, going on to Huddersfield.

39:47I thought their response was sort of OK-ish.

39:52But, you know, Bradford looked the more likely.

39:56But Huddersfield was still in the game.

39:58And, you know, it's this thing about managing aspects of the first half,

40:03which is a little bit worrying from a Huddersfield perspective.

40:06You know, Lee Grant will have been wanting to get them in.

40:08Look, we won nil down.

40:08We haven't had the best half.

40:10But the second half, we've got 3,000 of our own supporters.

40:13We're playing in front of them.

40:15We'll sort of take that at half-time.

40:17But, you know, two really poor goals from Huddersfield's perspective.

40:22And that was pretty much the game after the match.

40:26I mean, they pulled one a consolation late on a goal back from Redmond on his debut.

40:33But it was interesting from Lee Grant.

40:34He said, look, I'm not interested in what happened after the break.

40:37I don't particularly care, to be quite honest.

40:39Because, you know, he knew that it was pretty much, the game was pretty much over 3-0 in a derby.

40:45I suppose one or two matters, and we could have made one or two changes earlier.

40:48But I think that's by the by.

40:50They gave them too much to do.

40:53And, yeah, I mean, as he said as well, if this sort of thing has happened once,

40:57then it's fair enough.

40:59You sort of think, well, these things, you know, do happen occasionally.

41:01But, you know, they've done something pretty similar at Blackpool.

41:06They conceded three goals in a bit of a cluster.

41:09They conceded two goals in the previous derby at Barnsley in the first half.

41:15And, you know, you sort of look at the numbers, and it looks to be a bit of a problem, doesn't it,

41:19in terms of concentration and organisation.

41:22And I think from Huddersfield's perspective, they've had one or two different options in the back line.

41:29And you sort of, one or two of the wing-backs are coming and come out,

41:33and the centre-halves, I think at some point they're going to have to hopefully settle on the back four

41:41that they want to sort of, you know, lead them through the autumn and the winter.

41:44So, I mean, there's, I suppose they've got one injury to Watmo,

41:48but there's been a little bit of chopping and changing there.

41:52And, yeah, it was worrying in terms of the goals that they conceded.

41:56And, yeah, it's becoming a little bit of an unwanted habit.

42:01They're sort of, I think they're top of the second half table,

42:05but they're second from bottom in the first half table.

42:08So, you know, there's, say, on two or three occasions this season,

42:12they've been giving themselves too much to do.

42:14Especially away from home, yeah.

42:16But I think the thing we've got to remember with Huddersfield,

42:19there's so much excitement around them in the summer.

42:21You know, they did throw a fair bit of money about it in terms of wages

42:25and what have you, and there was a lot of expectation on this season.

42:27But you've got to remember the context.

42:29This is a new manager, not just new to the club, new to management

42:33and 14 new players.

42:35And it'd be weird if they weren't teething problems, really.

42:40It's a matter of, he seems like a very intelligent bloke,

42:43a very driven bloke.

42:45Can he learn from them?

42:46And as Leon says, one of the main lessons might be getting that stability

42:50and not tinkering too much with the team.

42:52You know, he's obviously very conscious of rotation

42:55and trying to get the best out of his team.

42:57But it's a lot easier to do that when you've got that platform,

43:01isn't it, Leon?

43:01You know, maybe you can shuffle the wing-backs a bit more once you've got that.

43:06And that spine, he wants to get that spine, doesn't he, right?

43:09Yeah.

43:10Exactly.

43:10And as I say, if you've had a sustained run of five clean sheets

43:13and, you know, four wins or whatever, it's easy to do that tinkering

43:19around the edges.

43:19But the other side of it, of course, is he's looking for players

43:22to put their hands up and say, you absolutely cannot drop me.

43:25And, you know, maybe there's not enough players yet have done that.

43:29But it's very early days.

43:31In the same way as we could get overexcited at the start,

43:35you can get overexcited about three defeats.

43:38It's not intermountable by any means.

43:40There's just issues that need looking at and things that need tightening up.

43:45And I just agree with everything Leon said about Bradford,

43:48that they just look in a really good mental place at the moment,

43:52that, you know, you can't promise that there won't be any setbacks,

43:55but you can promise that there'll be a reaction to them

43:57and they won't linger on them.

43:59And that's a great place to be when you're dealing with a group of human beings.

44:05Yeah, I think it speaks well to the Bradford group, doesn't it?

44:07And we're talking about one or two issues.

44:10And they've had one or two issues, sort of injury-wise, Bradford,

44:13on Saturday, probably the best defender in terms of performance this season,

44:17Curtis Till, he was out.

44:19And it looks like he's going to be out for a wee while as well.

44:23And Joe Wright, another one, another centre-half option who wasn't around.

44:27But there was no hint of panic.

44:31Graham Alexander, when they were at half-time of the game at Doncaster,

44:35when Joe Wright came off, he slotted in Ibu Torre,

44:39who'd been playing as a left wing-back.

44:41He slotted him on the left of a three.

44:42And he played there again on Saturday against Huddersfield.

44:47And he looked the part.

44:48He's not the biggest lad, but he read the game well and slotted in.

44:53And there's that element of players coming out.

44:56We've got the squad depth.

44:58If someone comes out, we've got someone to slot in there.

45:01And Alexander spoke about potentially Brad Halliday.

45:04He could be one of those.

45:05He may not have been playing as right wing-back.

45:10Obviously, Nerville's got the nod in the league games.

45:12But Halliday can also slot in on the right side of a three as well.

45:16So he could be an option there if there are some injuries.

45:20Yeah, I think everybody's contributing at Bradford.

45:25It's a real sort of squad effort there.

45:27And I think Stuart's right when he says about Huddersfield as well.

45:30It's just going to take a little bit of time to get those sort of relationships in the spine of the team.

45:37And I think it's a good test for Grant as well.

45:39He's an engaging character.

45:41He speaks well.

45:42He's clearly a very good coach on the training ground.

45:44And obviously, his first gig as a manager on his own,

45:48you're going to get these little bits of bumps in the road and these difficult moments.

45:52And I think it's a good test for him early in his managerial journey.

45:56Better to have them now than at the end of the season.

45:58Yeah, absolutely.

46:00Yeah.

46:00And it was interesting in respect that, you know, you spoke to him as well, Stuart.

46:03He's a very calm character.

46:06He's interested in thought-provoking what he said.

46:08But he was a little bit, you could see on, understandably so,

46:11you could see on Saturday after the game, he was, you know,

46:15he was flat and really hurt and disappointed.

46:18And it's almost felt like saying, well, that's management, mate.

46:23That's how it goes.

46:25And he'll have had a difficult Saturday night and he'll have been thinking things over.

46:29And, you know, one of the questions that he was asked was, you know,

46:33how do you sort of account for these defensive sort of lapses in concentration?

46:39And, you know, he basically sort of said, look, I've got to look at myself first.

46:43Look within.

46:43I'm not going to criticise the players.

46:45I've got to look where I can, I can maybe help them on the training ground.

46:49So there was a little bit of looking inside himself as well.

46:54So, yeah, it's obviously a difficult moment for me.

46:59I mean, you know, he really was looking forward to that derby as the Huddersfield supporters were

47:03and a tough moment, but it's happened early in the season.

47:09Just lastly, before we move on from League One, just eight games in now, Bradford and Doncaster,

47:14obviously, to the same, for the same reason.

47:17Are they both overachieving at this early stage?

47:21Or are we going as expected with them?

47:25Are they playing to how you thought they would, Leon?

47:29Go on, Stuart.

47:30Yeah, you are first.

47:31No, I was just going to say, I wouldn't ask Grant McCandack.

47:34You'd probably get quite a short answer.

47:36Yeah.

47:38I think both of them probably are overachieving, but I think it just shows what momentum,

47:46what a good manager, what a clear way of doing things can do for you.

47:51And there's no reason why they can't keep it up.

47:54There's a lot of talent there.

47:55It's simply the fact that they've made a step up.

47:58But I say internally, certainly at Doncaster, I think there was always a belief that,

48:03yeah, people think we should just have a mid-table this season or we're going to be better than that.

48:06And I wouldn't be surprised if there was the same at Bradford.

48:10Yeah.

48:11I mean, it's not McCand's way, isn't it?

48:12We've known him long enough, Stuart.

48:14And, you know, I remember that, you know, his final game for Doncaster,

48:17first time around, when he lost out in the playoffs in the semifinals,

48:21you know, he strikes me as a sort of individual who remembers things and thinks,

48:26right, I'm going to turn this around.

48:27So that'll have been in his mindset.

48:29I think that's important for all the clubs.

48:31I just sort of look at League One per se, and it doesn't look as,

48:36and funnily enough, Connor Hoagher mentioned it as well,

48:39and I very much agree with him.

48:41I don't think anyone's going to sort of, there's not going to be a Birmingham,

48:44a Wrexham or an Ipswich this year.

48:45I think it's going to be, I think there's going to be quite a few teams

48:48who are a little bit closer, really, in terms of the points.

48:53And it's just great to say, but there's Barnsley as well,

48:55what a start they've made, you know.

48:58Obviously third in the table, 16 points from six or seven games.

49:03You know, that's been first class from their point of view.

49:07And obviously Huddersfield and mentioned about Doncaster.

49:09And yeah, they'll all be thinking that they're in with, I think Huddersfield.

49:14Yeah, I mean, they haven't finished in their top seats,

49:17it looks a non-negotiable for them, given what they spend.

49:20But I think the other three that we mentioned, Bradford, Donnie and Barnsley,

49:25I think the trick for them is just turning a sort of good start to the season

49:31into a very good season, really.

49:35And in this sort of period now, we're heading into autumn, autumn winter.

49:39That's the time when things take shape and the consistent teams come to the fore.

49:43But I think looking at the squad options of all of them,

49:48if they can sort of have a decent run in terms of avoiding, you know,

49:52clumps of injuries and suspensions and things drop for them in that regard,

49:58I think they've got a chance to still be in the picture by the time.

50:02And the January window, I mean, it's a long way off, isn't it?

50:06Once we're talking about the January window and then we can see where they need to reinforce.

50:11But I don't see any reason why they can't be up there.

50:16Yeah, four out of the top six, we can't have much more than that, really.

50:20You know, four out of four would be better, obviously, but, you know,

50:24that's just been greedy.

50:26Yeah.

50:28Something we've not done yet this season and which has probably got missed in the move

50:34of our colleague Mark Singleton to foreign climbs to pursue alternative employment,

50:41as it were.

50:42Hopefully we'll hear from him soon in the coming weeks, though, fingers crossed.

50:45But, yeah, player of the week and team of the week, which was part of last season's podcast

50:51on a regular basis.

50:52So we're going to bring those back this week.

50:54And Stuart, I'll start with yourself.

50:57And you want to choose the team of the week from the last few days, if that's all right?

51:03Yeah.

51:03I mean, I think normally when you do team of the week, you're drawn immediately to the teams

51:07that win.

51:08But actually, I think a couple of teams that have drawn have really stood out.

51:11I mean, Leon quite rightly said that in many ways, the nature of Middlesbrough's draw was

51:17almost more impressive than some of the wins.

51:20And in a very different way, Hull City with that equaliser from John Egan, and I think

51:25it was the seventh time, you know, for a team that had lost the last two, obviously three

51:31on the track, you know, it starts to get worrying.

51:32So good character from both of those teams.

51:35One coming from a position of real confidence and one from sort of rolling their sleeves

51:40up stood out for me.

51:40Similarly, Barnsley won without playing well.

51:44And that's a massive tick in the box when we're talking about these teams challenging

51:48at the top.

51:48Reading as well.

51:49I don't think, God knows when, the last time they beat Reading at home, it was ages

51:52ago.

51:53Yeah.

51:54And, you know, again, at home, that's a big thing as well.

51:57They're really getting to grips with things at Oakwell again.

52:00So, yes, some really positive signs for Barnsley as well.

52:03But I don't think really you can look away from the performance Leon was watching on

52:09Saturday.

52:10For Bradford City, as Leon said, on the back of a, you know, really disappointed derby the

52:14week before to go out and do the business so spectacularly well.

52:19Just a club, a club and not just a team, a club in a really good place when Leon points

52:24out that attendance record, the thing's snowballing and they've just got to keep it going.

52:30Fair comment.

52:32Yeah.

52:32Leon, we'll go to you for the player of the week, first one this season.

52:37And a lot of good signings have been made during the transfer window.

52:40A lot of good impact players brought by various clubs in Yorkshire.

52:46Who stood out for you in the back of the store?

52:47Which, several players, presumably.

52:49Yeah, I mean, I think in the spirit of sharing it around, as Stuart chivalrously did, we've

52:56got to mention one or two from other clubs, haven't we, really?

53:00Carl Darlow, you were there, Stuart, but by all accounts, he had a pretty good day at

53:07Craven Cottage, which was coming into the side and he'll have felt like, you know, that goal

53:13more than anyone, wouldn't he, really?

53:14He'd done his bit and it was just one of those agonising goals as well, wasn't

53:18it?

53:19He just sort of, I still sort of watch it and I just wonder how it sort of went in,

53:23but he did and obviously no one can do anything about it.

53:26So it was, it was tough on Darlow, but he had plenty to be proud about with his performance.

53:31I think, I mentioned Daryl Lennon at Middlesbrough, he's had a desperate time of it.

53:36He's been out for the best part of two years with some horrendous injury problems.

53:42I think it was a serious Achilles problem at first and he's had one or two sort of secondary

53:49issues as well.

53:50A big day for him, as they've thrown into the sort of deep end.

53:54I know he'd sort of played in a development game at Halifax, I think four or five nights

53:59before, but it was a big call to play him at Preston and he came through and did well

54:04and he'll have been feeling a lot better with himself on Saturday night.

54:09A bit stiff, no doubt.

54:10But yeah, looking at the, some of the other candidates, Ollie McBurnish going against his

54:16old club for Hull, John Egan as well, poking a goal at the end.

54:22It's hard though to, to sort of get away from Bradford.

54:29I think mentioning this back to us, to Barnsley, Luke O'Connell, he's had an excellent start

54:33to the season.

54:34Everyone knows how important he is to the, to the Barnsley cause.

54:37Obviously him, DKD and, and Phillips keeping them massive for Barnsley.

54:44John O'Bland as well, who's a real name to watch.

54:47I think he's, he's having a terrific time.

54:49He just come back from Wales under 21 international duty and by all accounts, he was terrific

54:55in the middle of the park against, against Reading.

54:57But I've got to go for, this of all, I've got to go for a Bradford player, really.

55:03And there were, there were a lot to choose from.

55:06We've spoken about Josh Nerville, my former self and Stuart.

55:10I think we mentioned that he was probably one of the, the sort of buyers of the summer

55:13and anyone who was there on, on Saturday at Valley Parade would have, would have, would

55:19have certainly felt that he's, I'd say he's a player, he's a good age.

55:24I think hopefully he'll get to the championship with Bradford, but I think it's a case of when

55:28not if he, he gets to that level.

55:30He's, he looks a real top signing.

55:33Bobby Poynton, I'm not, I'm still not sure.

55:35Going back to your question, Phil, which I really, which was only about half an hour

55:41ago, which I really never had.

55:43I still don't know whether he actually has gone or hatched.

55:47The VAR decision's given quicker than that, hasn't he?

55:49Yes.

55:50Not many, right?

55:51I could have walked to Stockley Park or whatever it is quicker, really.

55:56Still don't know whether it was his hatchery.

55:58I'm a little bit, I don't know what Stuart thinks, but I couldn't, if it was a touch from

56:04point, then it was a very, there's a very faint one.

56:08Yeah, but it's just great for him.

56:10He's had a brilliant year.

56:11He's, he's a local, I love these sort of stories.

56:13He's a local lad.

56:15He's a smashing kid.

56:16He's a good footballer.

56:18And he'll have felt top of the world Saturday night.

56:20They'll have also rubbed, well, he did, he rubbed it in with a few of his Huddersfield

56:23mates in the away end.

56:25He lives just, he went to school with quite a few of them by all accounts.

56:29So that was great to, it's great.

56:31It's been great to see his development and rise.

56:35A homegrown kid who's, he's making it big at his hometown club, but everyone's keeping

56:41him down to earth and that's been good to see.

56:45Sarcevic as well, big game player.

56:47Yeah, he was, he was poor at Doncaster, but I asked Graham, Graham Alexander knew he,

56:52he sort of, time management, he thought, well, he was bad that week, but he bowled him up

56:58for the Huddersfield game and he produced two, two sort of big moments in the game.

57:04And I'll get to our pick in a minute.

57:08Aidan Balding was great, obviously I mentioned about him before, terrific, defended brilliantly

57:12as well.

57:13And to say he was sort of, he had a bit of a knee complaint going into the game, first

57:17class performance.

57:18But the one I'm going to actually pick didn't score.

57:20So, and he'd done plenty of scoring a few weeks before, Will Swan, he'd scored four out

57:26of four.

57:27Ah, right, yeah.

57:28And didn't score, but he was, I thought he was absolutely brilliant last Saturday.

57:34The Huddersfield, he did defence, he didn't give them any piece, he was at them.

57:38He was chasing, harrying, involvement in the third goal.

57:42And he really, to me, really softened up that Huddersfield back line and very unlucky in

57:48the second half when he hit the bar.

57:51So, I'm going to vote, I'm going to go for him, funnily enough, even though he didn't

57:55score, because I thought he showed to me, I was a little bit unsure, is he just a goal

58:01scorer?

58:01But that performance to me showed that he's an all-round good footballer.

58:07So, there you go, Will.

58:09And he's had a good impact, well, ever since he arrived, has he?

58:14It's not just about a Saturday's game.

58:16I think he scored four in five or six or something like that he scored?

58:19Yeah.

58:19He got four as well.

58:21I think it was the record, it equaled a record.

58:24I think it was, I think it was 12 years Naki Wells had scored in four successive games,

58:30league games for Bradford, which, you know, it's a pretty strong achievement when you think

58:34about all the goals that Andy Cook scored in the last three or four years, but he's never

58:37actually managed to score in four successive games.

58:40So, you know, fair play to Swan.

58:42You know, at the start of his Bradford journey, he'd obviously come, he'd shown little flashes

58:47at Crawley last season.

58:49I think he scored, what, eight, nine goals, something like that.

58:51But this was a big jump for him, wasn't it?

58:53With respect, going from a relegated side in Crawley, going to a, you know, a big club

58:59at this level in Bradford City.

59:03And yeah, I've been really encouraged by what I've seen of him.

59:06Clearly got a nose for a goal, but there's more to him.

59:09And he scored a lot of those goals away from home, which was a worry that we both had about

59:13Bradford this season.

59:14So that's been a big, big factor.

59:15Absolutely.

59:16YorkshirePost.co.uk

Sheffield United and Chris Wilder reunited, Middlesbrough's early-season burst and Bradford City's derby delight - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended