Football's regulator on Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United's timely win and Leeds United's Premier League opportunity - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Name: Football's regulator on Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United's timely win and Leeds United's Premier League opportunity - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
Uploaded: 2025-10-16T15:57:56+00:00
Duration: 59 min 44 s
Channel: Yorkshire Post

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

00:15and I will shortly be joined by our football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Liam Wobshaw.

00:20On this week's show we get to find out what English football's new regulator David Cogan

00:24hopes to achieve at crisis-torn Sheffield Wednesday, who continue to be held back by

00:28the ownership of Deshvane Chancery. Rotherham United picked up just their third win of a so far

00:34disappointing League One campaign, but even more crucially, it was an all-too-rare away

00:38triumph. Goals from Joe Rafferty and Josh Benson giving them a much-needed 2-1 win at Northampton

00:43Town. Bradford City showed their ability to adapt given the number of changes they made for the

00:48midweek EFL Trophy win over Everton Under-21s, a further sign of how their depth was enabled them

00:53to enjoy such a positive start to their League One campaign. We also look ahead to a crucial period

00:58in the Premier League for Leeds United. This weekend's trip to Burnley being the first of a

01:02five-game run, which Daniel Fark and his players will probably have earmarked for taking something

01:07from every game, with West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Aston Villa to follow.

01:11We also have a look at England's World Cup qualifying campaign. This week seeing them become the first

01:16team from Europe to qualify for the competition in 2026 and we also look at the impact that Thomas

01:22Tuchel has had on the players that have played for him. You're listening to Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post.

01:28YorkshirePost.co.uk

01:30As ever, we're joined by the YP's football writing team, Stuart Rayner, Liam Opshaw, preparing

01:35for a return to normality following the latest international break. A number of Yorkshire

01:40clubs are still in action during that time, Rotherham United, Bradford City and Arlington

01:43Town, to name a few. And we'll touch on the two League One clubs later in the show to discuss

01:49their latest performances and what we can expect from each of them going forward. We'll also

01:53look ahead to what could prove to be a crucial part of Leeds United's Premier League campaign

01:56with five games coming up where they'll probably be expected to take something from all of them.

02:00But we're going to start in the south of the county and Stuart had an exclusive interview

02:04with English football's new regulator, David Cogan, which appeared in our Sports Weekend

02:08edition last week. It was of particular interest, obviously, to Sheffield Wednesday fans, given

02:13the troubles and the traumas that are continuing to engulf their beloved club in relation to controversial

02:19owner, Dejvon Chancery. Stuart and David Cogan said his powers are going to be accelerated

02:26to allow him to deal with the, quote, absolutely critical topic of Chancery's management of Sheffield

02:33Wednesday. Let's see, who is he? What's his background? And most importantly for ourselves

02:38here in Yorkshire, what will he realistically be able to do at Sheffield Wednesday in terms

02:44of resolving the situation, that he's just continuing to drag the club down?

02:48Yeah, well, I mean, he's got a fairly varied CV even, but one of the most relevant bits is

02:56that he's sold the media rights for some of the Premier Leagues and the EFL's TV deals.

03:03So he's been involved, you know, with some of the movers and shakers of English football.

03:10He's got links to the Labour Party as well in terms of being a donor, which has made things

03:17slightly controversial in terms of his appointment, because the role is supposed to be completely

03:22independent of government. But yeah, in terms of his powers, there's legislation going through

03:29government now, which when it gets passed, I think it's a matter of when rather than if,

03:35will give him quite wide ranging powers to look into the finances of football clubs to

03:43investigate whether the people running them or the people who want to run them in the future

03:47are fit and proper people with much, say much wider investigative powers than the Football League

03:54have at the moment and much more stringent powers in terms of dealing with them

03:58and dealing with people who don't meet the standards. And that includes the ability to

04:05remove an owner. So, you know, from a Sheffield Wednesday point of view, this is sort of the

04:12saving grace on the horizon. I think with most things that the regulator does, he's kind of

04:19there to, as a sort of last resort when football can't sort its own problems out. But, you know,

04:27we've seen, they've been negotiating for six years now, the Premier League and the Championship

04:31to sort out a better arrangement in terms of how the TV money spread out, and they haven't been able to.

04:38You know, they've got, I say, the Premier League and the Football League have both got these fit and

04:44proper people tests, and Dajon Chan-Siri is still the chairman of Sheffield Wednesday. So, it's clear

04:49to me anyway, there's some people who say a regulator isn't needed, football can regulate itself,

04:54but it's clear to me that at times, it's not able to do that, and it needs somebody to step in.

05:00The hope has always got to be that it gets resolved first. The best case for Sheffield Wednesday

05:06fans is that Chan-Siri sells the club at a reasonable price before it even gets to that stage,

05:14because it's a legal process, so it'll have to go through, much as they're trying to speed

05:19the powers up, it'll have to go through an investigation, you'll have to have due process.

05:25No doubt, well, I say no doubt, there's every chance he might, you know, sort of throw in

05:30appeals and that sort of thing and slow up the process. So, the best thing that can happen,

05:35and this is what Kogan himself, I think, wants to happen, is that Chan-Siri wakes up and smells

05:40the coffee and doesn't leave himself open to, you know, what could be coming with the regulator,

05:47but, you know, we've been hoping for some time that this would come to pass, and it hasn't,

05:52so it's good that, or it will be good when that full-back is in place, and there's that extra body

05:59to take matters into their own hands, basically.

06:04And it's just refreshing, I suppose. Is it music to ours fans, it is?

06:10I think ours fans are just desperately looking for the end of this process, you know,

06:17whether that be somebody putting their head above the parapet and saying,

06:20yes, you know, I'm in deep in talks with Chan-Siri and we're close to agreeing a price,

06:25or it's somebody stepping in and saying we're going to remove him or whatever.

06:29It's just, it's just a miserable, miserable situation they're in, and they just want an end to it,

06:34because, you know, once they get to that point, you can start to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

06:41We've talked before on this podcast, you know, there's hope there in the form of they've got,

06:45they've got what seems to be a really good manager, you know, they've got some young players,

06:48they've got some spirit about the club, but until the clubs run, you know,

06:52they've got a huge fan base and all that sort of thing, but until the clubs run properly,

06:57none of those things can be properly harnessed.

07:00And obviously, you know, the longer it goes on, the more damage will be done.

07:04So if you're a Wednesday supporter, you just want somebody to come to the rescue and say,

07:12the fact that they will have to go through more stringent tests in terms of proving that they're fit and proper

07:17should put people's minds at risk.

07:20Because sometimes in these situations, you have a bad owner, the new owner comes in,

07:24and he's almost, you know, fated as the answer, just because they're not the old guy.

07:29And then they turn that to be a cowboy down the road or, you know, not have the money they say,

07:35and all this sort of thing.

07:36So hopefully, hopefully the regulator's biggest contribution will be making sure that the next guy running Sheffield Wednesday

07:46has the money to do it, has the business plan to do it, and then say he's able to unfree all that potential, basically.

07:54I was going to say, Leon, obviously, from a footballing point of view,

07:57Sheffield Wednesday is a club with absolutely huge potential, as Stuart just says there.

08:01I mean, it just needs somebody, the right person to come along and get its head in in the right direction again, doesn't it?

08:08Yeah, I mean, we've had sort of these sort of things before.

08:12I mean, it's good to see the guy who's actually got teeth now.

08:16You know, who's a place who can do something about it.

08:18I mean, we've seen too many examples of this, and, you know, the proof will be in the pudding.

08:23But, yeah, let's hope he can finally sort out Sheffield Wednesday.

08:26I mean, to me, it just seems that football at times, we talked about this on last season's podcast,

08:33when we talk about York City and me, one automatic promotion placed into the football league.

08:39Things like that, which sort of go beyond the interests of just a division or a group of chairmen.

08:45Sometimes it just needs somebody above that who can take a bigger view or say the same with the distribution of money

08:51and that sort of thing. And to have someone like that with power to act, if everything goes as it's meant to go,

08:59as Leon says, the proof will be in the pudding.

09:02I think England will be, English football, sorry, will be stronger for it.

09:06But this will be, will definitely be his first big test if John Seary is in place, you know, when his powers come through.

09:15And the good news is that he seems very determined to meet it head on.

09:19He's already, you know, even before he was sort of officially confirmed in the post,

09:23he's been talking to people, people at the club, supporters groups, you know, groups looking to buy.

09:31So he is clearly top of his priorities.

09:34And it really has to be because it's, frankly, it's embarrassing English football at the moment

09:38to see a club of that stature being mismanaged in such a bad way.

09:44Just see pictures of John Seary being dragged out, kicking and screaming from Hillsborough at some point in the near future.

09:50Well, it's starting to feel like it would come to us.

09:52Well, then he'll be there, will he?

09:53That's his penalty.

09:54Probably not. Probably not.

09:57OK, moving on.

09:59Let's look at League One.

10:01Leon, you had what turned out to be a very pleasant trip to Northampton.

10:05Yeah, indeed.

10:05To watch Rotherham at the weekend, an away win, a rare away win.

10:09I think it was the first since April, but that was the first for God knows how long back then,

10:15I think, under Matt Hampshire, obviously, as well.

10:17But, I mean, welcome relief all round, particularly for Matt Hampshire, very popular guy.

10:23Back in action this weekend, they got home to Leighton Orient.

10:26Obviously, I think they can draw a level on points with them if they win.

10:29It's only one win, it's only one game, I know.

10:31But do you sense a turning of this tide because of that win?

10:34At Northampton, it was a big win, wasn't it?

10:37Yeah, I mean...

10:38In their season.

10:40I suppose it is a little bit easy to get carried away with Rotherham.

10:45They were just desperate for something, weren't they?

10:47And a lot of things came together.

10:49But I think if you just look at it a little bit more broadly in terms of the recent past,

10:54they'd...

10:55OK, they'd not beaten Bradford, but they'd have probably taken a draw beforehand.

11:01It was probably in the wrong order, in a way.

11:04Obviously, they were tuning up and it ended 2-0.

11:06But that's a pretty good performance, isn't it?

11:08And there was some...

11:10OK, they didn't exhibit themselves particularly well defensively, Rotherham, on the night.

11:15But I know Stuart did the game, I watched it.

11:17But there was a lot to admire further forward and there were some encouraging signs, which was good to see.

11:24The EFL trophy, look, it's got its detractors.

11:28And I think it will do until time in Morium, really.

11:32And Rotherham were 2-0 down against Oldham, a lower division side, in the next game.

11:38And ended up winning that 3-2, a couple of goals near the end.

11:42And when you're in a difficult position and you're doing it tough, you sort of take those sort of things.

11:46And things like that become more important, obviously, at the Bradford and the Oldham.

11:50And now they've followed it up with a really consequential result, potentially in the season.

11:58At Northampton, I think I thought last week, there were a lot of issues with Robben,

12:01things going against them, that's a rotten injury and growing up.

12:06And continues to have a bit more key on it.

12:09It looks like he's going to be out for a long time.

12:12And you wonder if his loan's probably ended.

12:15He wasn't involved at all.

12:18But, yeah, they'd lost in the last minute at Mansfield.

12:22They'd drawn late on against Wigan at home when they were winning.

12:26A few other examples of that this season.

12:30And it was really good to see them turn it around in the final quarter

12:34and not just stop the rot.

12:36They'd have five away defeats on the trot.

12:39I think this is what I particularly liked about it.

12:42Some other clubs would have thought, well, they equalised.

12:45We stopped the rot.

12:46Let's just be solid and take a point.

12:49End the run of five successive away defeats.

12:50But they didn't.

12:51They got the ball.

12:52They went straight back to the centre circle.

12:55And they pushed for the winner.

12:57And they got it.

12:58They thoroughly deserved it.

13:00Northampton were disappointing from their perspective.

13:05It was good disappointment if you're a Rotherham fan.

13:07But they'd had a reasonable start to the season.

13:11Very strong defensively.

13:12But they weren't very good on the day.

13:15But in fairness, Rotherham were.

13:17And had to cope with some adversity.

13:20It was a...

13:21I don't know if you've seen it, but it was a really...

13:23I thought it was an exceedingly soft penalty award.

13:26That Northampton got and they tucked it away.

13:29It was, you know, Premier League referee as well.

13:31So, that made it even more frustrating and disappointing.

13:35But, yeah, Rotherham didn't feel sorry for themselves.

13:38And, yeah, they turned it around.

13:40And it could be a huge moment in the season.

13:43I think, well, rather than jumping the gun, we've just got to wait and see, really.

13:47They've got Leighton Orient on Saturday.

13:50And I had a little bit of a look.

13:51And if you sort of look at the fixtures coming up, if you factor in other competitions, I think they've got something like seven out of the next ten games at home.

14:02Five out of the next six, isn't it?

14:03It's a stop.

14:04Yeah, it depends how you want to work it, yeah.

14:06Yeah.

14:06If they can get through in the FA Cup, if they can post a few home wins.

14:13Now, by the time you're probably getting towards Christmas and, you know, Rotherham have had a good run, you can sort of start to think, yeah, they have turned it around.

14:22And there was, yeah, so I'm not going to sort of put my head on the chopping block and say this is it.

14:30But I think a lot of things went for them that they probably haven't done in, you know, in previous games.

14:39Obviously, the late goal and Josh Benson, he's had a frustrating start to the season, had a few injuries.

14:44He's scored the winner, brilliant free kick.

14:47Sam Nombay, obviously, he'd been out since, I think, second or third game of the season with a torn hamstring.

14:55He came back and he did 20 minutes.

14:57That was good to see.

14:59You looked at the bench beforehand and you thought, yeah, it's a bit, it's certainly looking a little bit better than it has done in previous games.

15:07Kian Spence came on, he made a nice cameo.

15:10And, yeah, the game management was good.

15:14Kudos to Matt Hampshire.

15:15Sure, he made the changes at the right time and he made a few little tweaks in the second half as well.

15:21He moved Joe Powell.

15:24Him and Gore in the middle, I didn't think were particularly working, but he switched it around and he put Powell as a left wing bat.

15:31I thought that worked.

15:32And the big one that worked for me was Jordan Hugel.

15:34He gets a lot of stick and I think he will continue to.

15:38He's obviously...

15:39Well, he said something about that after, didn't he, Matt, I'm sure.

15:41Yeah, yeah, it was interesting.

15:43It's quite a nice line from our point of view.

15:45You know, he was sort of rounded on the critics a little bit saying, well, you can have a go at him, but he's been great for me.

15:50His attitude and I think he's right.

15:53He's one of those strikers.

15:54He's not easy on the eye.

15:55You're not going to whack a ball over the top and he's not going to out-sprint a centre-half and whack it into the top corner from 25 yards.

16:02But what he will do is, he'll do the ugly things, he'll fight with the centre-half, he'll tough it out, do the hard yards almost.

16:12And he changed the game for me at Northampton.

16:14He roughed up a few of the centre-halves.

16:16And his header for the equaliser was terrific, I thought.

16:21It was a really, really smart bit of play.

16:24A lovely cushion header.

16:26And obviously, Rafferty was steaming in and buried it.

16:29So, good signs in a lot of regards.

16:32Hampshire are using his substitutes well.

16:34Well, the psychology of turning around those late goals, the psychology of not winning an away game since April the 8th, flipping those things around.

16:44You look at one or two players coming back.

16:48You look at the fixture itinerary, as Stuart said, quite a few top-heavy with home games.

16:54So, there's Nambé as well, obviously, he's a big one.

16:57So, there are reasons to be a bit more optimistic for Rotherham.

17:01You just felt everyone connected with the club needed that.

17:05Tony Stewart, as well, the chairman, he would have had a nice glass of wine.

17:07It was his 80th birthday weekend.

17:11What are you going to say, it was his 80th glass of wine, then?

17:13Well, yeah.

17:14Yeah, indeed.

17:16Yeah, and he actually, Hampshire, we were holding court with him afterwards when he had to break off because he got a phone call from the chairman.

17:24So, I would imagine, in contrast to some recent times, it would have been quite a nice phone call.

17:31Definitely.

17:32Surely, I hope so.

17:33Yeah.

17:33I just think, I agree with Leon, nothing's been achieved yet.

17:36But this feels like a real opportunity for Rotherham now.

17:40And there are still things going against them, as Leon says, Keiratete's injury.

17:44But I just don't want to hear about them now.

17:47I just want to hear them latching onto the positives and the opportunities that present themselves.

17:52Because, as I say, it feels like something is starting to build.

17:56As Leon says, you know, three games now where, yes, they've not been amazing, you know, get the bunting out.

18:04But they've been steps forward.

18:06Sharif fit as well as Nambé is big.

18:11You know, Benton, what that pre-kick will do for his confidence.

18:15But, you know, he's very good against Bradford.

18:17He's clearly growing in confidence and, you know, he brings so much to that team.

18:23And, yeah, this run of matches, I say that they've got a trip to Oakwell where there'll be a few ghosts to bury after what happened last year.

18:34But, you know, the home games around it, there's real possibilities there.

18:37You know, they're playing Manchester City's kids in the trophy, you know, Leighton Orient have not had the best of starts to the season.

18:46Swindon and FA Cup tie at home, obviously you want to take advantage of that.

18:50And just this chance to build a bit of momentum and a bit of positivity.

18:54Because we've heard a lot about how groundwork's done and if we just get players fit, you know, things will fall into line.

19:01And now it's time to walk the walk.

19:04I believe that they can, but they need to be really positive about it.

19:08And they need to just keep this ball rolling.

19:11Because if they can, you know, there's no knowing really how far it can go.

19:18But we've said a few times on this podcast they've been owed a bit of luck in terms of particularly the injury side of things.

19:26This could be when they cash in on it.

19:30You know, if they go into it with the right mindset to make their own luck, I think there's the potential.

19:37And it's only potential for them to really kickstart this season.

19:42Yeah, and I think if you look at the division, there's a lot of sides seem to be reasonably evenly matched.

19:49You can probably say that about League Two as well.

19:53And yeah, Rafferty, who got the goal, the captain, he was really talking it up.

19:57He was saying that we feel like, you know, on our day we can beat anyone.

20:03And yeah, he was quite startling really saying, you know, talking about the Bradford game.

20:07And he said, well, for us, we should be beating Bradford home and away, which is, you know, quite a striking thing to say.

20:12But it suggests that confidence certainly isn't on the floor.

20:16And yeah, Stuart, it's right.

20:18There's some, the games, you know, the sort of run of games, getting one or two players back, bring a bit of confidence.

20:26And, you know, they're in a decent lick of form.

20:28They've got a couple of centre-halves who look like they'll be big players for them this season.

20:34Sean Raggett, I think he's, from what Matt Hampshire was saying late last week, he's going to be back earlier than expected from an injury.

20:42And they've obviously got the lad Holmes as well, who had a Man of the Match debut, who then unfortunately had his knee issue.

20:49It looks like he'll be back in sometime in December.

20:51So, if you're in a decent run of form, you've got players coming back.

20:56And then, obviously, December, you're getting a few games as well.

20:59You know, it all sort of fits in, doesn't it?

21:01But, obviously, it's important not to sort of jump ahead of ourselves, really.

21:06It's, you know, rather need to, if they're going to be sort of turning it around, they need to piece together.

21:12Not so much in three, you know, a six or seven game, unbeaten sequence.

21:17That's when you know that they're in business.

21:20Definitely, definitely.

21:21I mean, that confidence you speak of about Rafferty, Leonie, is that something that stems from the coach himself?

21:29Is he that kind of guy that instills confidence?

21:33You know what I mean?

21:33Some coaches sort of carry that with them, don't they?

21:36Yeah, and I think as well, Phil, I mean, it's a bit of a, you know, and I'm not, I don't think I'm speaking out of school to say that

21:49you couldn't put your, hang your hat on them all feeling the same way about Steve Evans, to be quite honest.

21:58You know, they've really bought into what, into what Hampshire brings to the party.

22:03They like him as, like him as a fellow and his staff, it's not just Hampshire, it's his staff as well.

22:08But they're not sort of so much to them.

22:13And, you know, they're working incredibly hard.

22:16You've got Richard Wood, it's his first coaching appointment.

22:19Everyone knows about the depth of feeling he has for the club.

22:23And then Dale Ton as well.

22:25I mean, obviously, it's been a lot of years at Barnsley, but he's got a depth of feeling for Rotherham as well.

22:30He played for the club, knows what it's about.

22:33He's a relatively local man.

22:35Andy Warrington as well.

22:37So, yeah, I think there's a genuine bond amongst that group of players.

22:43Had a little bit of adversity as well to sort of perhaps bond them even more.

22:46So, yeah, I think they're a reasonably timely bond.

22:52You could see that after they scored the winning goal, they were right in,

22:57covered Rotherham United for a lot of years.

23:00And it's a club that has been at best when they've had that link between, you know,

23:07supporters and players.

23:10And it was a Rotherham United-type performance, really, you know, of all.

23:14So, yeah, there is that depth of feeling there.

23:19And, you know, they're buying into the words of Hampshire.

23:23And he's a terrific, he's a very good group of people there behind the scenes

23:29who really care about the club.

23:33And they're sort of, if you're a good, honest, strong professional, you want to play for it.

23:37I think on top of that, that's hugely important.

23:40And as Leon's already alluded to, there's some good players there.

23:44You know, if you didn't have that, then it doesn't matter how good the manager is.

23:49But when you look at him and you're thinking, crikey, when we get Tom Holmes back, you know,

23:54Sam Ndombe was on fire at the start of the season.

23:57Josh Benton's got all this quality.

23:59You know, you can't kid players.

24:02They know what they've got in the dressing room in terms of the manager and in terms of the teammates.

24:08And if they didn't think, if they thought, well, I'm the only good player in this squad,

24:13or the manager's clueless, or the manager doesn't really care about us, you know,

24:19that's where the confidence comes from.

24:21And the disappointment this season is that we've seen too little of those good players because of injuries.

24:29So, you know, the sight of the treatment room, thinning out, it should give players a lot of confidence

24:37because some of the players, Baptiste and Agbear, both really struggled defensively.

24:44They're young lads learning the game.

24:45I don't believe they're bad players, but I believe they'll be much better players

24:50playing alongside the likes of graffiti and Holmes and people who can guide them and that sort of thing.

24:57John Heugel, you can make much better use of his talents when you've got players around him.

25:03They can see that if they can get more players on the pitch, which is something Hamshill's been saying,

25:11I think, a little bit too much, but it is definitely true.

25:14You can get more of those players on the pitch more often.

25:18They can move up the table and, you know, the time is going to come.

25:23It looks like it's coming soon, where that'll happen and they have to deliver.

25:29Do you want to keep out of trouble?

25:32Don, to its obsession, because it still is a club in transition.

25:38You just thought they could have, just bring a bit of enjoyment back this season in a transitional year.

25:44Get that run of games, maybe when, you know, a couple of derby games and, you know,

25:51obviously the game at Doncaster, stuff like that, and just have enough of that

25:58to sort of keep the supporters on the side so that they're not sort of in a permanent state of discontent, really.

26:08But, yeah, positive signs, but let's see, you know, let's see.

26:12Hopefully we're sort of speaking about this in a month's time.

26:18Yeah, definitely.

26:20We'll stay in the new one, obviously.

26:22I mean, perhaps the kind of season that Rotherham fans wish their team would have is.

26:26Leon, you got about this week, a bit.

26:29You were over in Bradford on a Tuesday EFL trophy.

26:34They had a convincing win, I think, over Everton under-21s.

26:37There was quite a lot of changes that Graham Alexander made.

26:42But presumably that's the sort of depth, the depth and flexibility that we've seen on a night like that

26:48is the big reason behind why they've had such a great start to the League One campaign, presumably.

26:55Yeah, absolutely.

26:57He's a squad player, you know, in rotation and heavy squad player.

27:02Matt's really having the part to play and he's proved as good as he's were.

27:06Yeah, they made 10 changes and, you know, no discernible sort of loss of quality, really.

27:16And I think the only starter was Niall Byrne from the league game.

27:21It's a sliding room of health, isn't it?

27:24You know, you know, get the huge guys to score players and they're having an emphatic win.

27:31And they've obviously got a big derby coming up against Barnsley and giving the manager one or two welcome headaches.

27:40That's what it's...

27:41He treats this competition pretty seriously, doesn't he?

27:46You look at the runs they've had.

27:49They've only won game from Wembley last season when they, you know, it took money bags Birmingham to stop them getting to Wembley in the late winter.

28:01And Bradford took a lot from that.

28:03In the previous year, they got to the same stage and very unlucky to lose out to Wickham.

28:11So, there's probably a little bit of feeling in there on the choir that, yeah, you know, we've gone get to Wembley.

28:18And sides have shown in the past that it can dovetail with strong league seasons, can't it?

28:26But, yeah, it was ticked a lot of boxers, Bradford, the other night.

28:32Callum Cavanaugh has been out since towards the end of July with a shin problem.

28:38He got 45 minutes in.

28:41Alexander turned around and says, look, just run around like a hand grenade and give it a 45-minute blast.

28:49And, you know, that's what he did himself and, you know, because the side's going well in the league, you know, he can be mindful and watch the match minutes like he did with Andy Cook.

29:04He doesn't have to just throw them in there, does he?

29:07He can sort of carefully manage his minutes.

29:12Lewis switches as well.

29:13He's been out since the end of February since then.

29:20That's another tick in the box and another one who could potentially compete, you know, in the league for that sort of left-sided wing-back at birth.

29:32And, yeah, Max Power, he missed the game rather than full suspension.

29:36He put his hand up.

29:36He got some minutes in before the derby with Barnsley.

29:43And, yeah, it's really, you look at it, over the past year, and it's not with the same group, it's with two sort of different-ish groups of players.

29:55They made a lot of signings in the summer.

29:59They've been strong at home.

30:00It's obviously three teams carrying it on as well, isn't it?

30:06Yeah, yeah.

30:06And that's impressive in, you know, whichever way you look at it, isn't it?

30:12Isn't it, really?

30:13And I think they're 10 and 11 now without a defeat.

30:18And, yeah, I mean, everything's...

30:21Well, he was desperate to get a hat-trick.

30:26He's never scored a career hat-trick in his career.

30:28You could just see him in the second half, and he actually nearly got the fifth goal.

30:33It was a score to Patterson, but he almost got a little toe-poke on the line, and he was, you know, he's desperate for Barnsley on Saturday.

30:44Proper strong.

30:44Yeah, absolutely, too, right?

30:46Yeah, absolutely.

30:47So, yeah, he was desperate to get the match ball, but he's probably given, I dare say, he's given Alexander a thing or two to think about.

30:59Will Swan start the season very well, didn't have a particularly good day.

31:05Maybe a little bit of food for thought for Alexander there for Saturday.

31:09But these are all the decisions that are great.

31:12All the managers love these sort of things, don't they?

31:14Yeah, and confidence is such a precious thing in football.

31:26I just don't understand why managers would toss it away in competitions.

31:32I mean, it's one, you know, about the mindset you go into these games with more than anything else.

31:39And, you know, we've seen it before.

31:41Bradford reaching the League Cup final in 2013, wasn't it?

31:46It was what that did for them in terms of dragging them through to the playoff final that season.

31:53And, you know, we saw it with Barnsley when they reached the trophy final.

31:57And, again, it dragged them into what sort of game it comes in.

32:02You know, it can be a behind-closed-doors friendly.

32:06If you can just get that momentum, that confidence, that rhythm, you know,

32:12it allows you to withstand the setbacks that will come.

32:15The injuries, you know, the odd defeat here and there.

32:18The defeat at Doncaster, the, you know, sloppy start to the game at Rotherham.

32:23It allows you to just keep the things snowballing.

32:27And when you're in a position like Bradford are,

32:31you just want to keep it going for as long as possible.

32:34Because, you know, once you lose it, you know, maybe, hopefully not,

32:40but maybe seeing this with Doncaster a bit at the moment,

32:42it could be hard to drag it back quickly.

32:46So, yeah, all power to them.

32:49They're just a really well-managed club,

32:53backed by a fan base that has been given something to cling to

32:59after, you know, years of sort of looking for it

33:02and not being provided momentum can take you, I think.

33:08I mean, I think it speaks very well of the culture on a day-to-day level

33:12at the training ground as well.

33:14They're all so pleased for each other when sometimes they might find

33:18themselves out on the side, but someone's done well

33:22and there's a genuine feeling of, you know, togetherness

33:26and happiness that a lot of people are contributing.

33:30And I think that's important.

33:31The confidence thing, as Stuart said, is massive.

33:34And, you know, you look at some of the teams that Bradford have beaten

33:36this season.

33:37You know, they're not going to be scared of anyone, are they?

33:38Not in an arrogant way, but, you know, they've beaten Luton,

33:41they've beaten Cardiff, they've beaten Huddersfield and they've beaten

33:45these sort of clubs well, haven't they?

33:46They're not just sort of nicked to win, they've backed it up with

33:49performances as well.

33:50So, yeah, there's an intensity and a confidence, but not an arrogance

33:54at Bradford because they seem to be a genuinely sort of together

33:58and pretty humble group who have led extremely well.

34:02And the interesting thing, I think, with Bradford, particularly in terms

34:06of Alexander, is perhaps a year or so ago or perhaps a bit further back

34:10than that, he wasn't actually that popular with a large section

34:14of the fans, was he?

34:15I think there were some fans, quite a lot of fans, doubted whether he was

34:18the man to actually get the job done.

34:20I mean, I know a few Bradford fans doing the time that I spend over in Bradford

34:23and they've completely changed their tune, sort of like an about turn

34:26on their thoughts on Alexander.

34:27They were very anti sort of Alexander a year or so ago or, as I say,

34:31a bit longer, probably a bit further back than that, whereas now he can

34:33do no wrong and that's testament to him and also the club sticking

34:39with him, I guess.

34:40Oh, yeah.

34:41I mean, he did sort of, I think the club had really hit sort of a rock bottom.

34:47I remember the other spring a couple of years ago and I did a game at Harrogate,

34:53I think they lost 2-3-0.

34:54So, there was a lot of, you know, a whiff of cordite behind the scenes.

35:00The fans were really getting at Stefan Root, the owner, and it just smacked

35:05of a sort of fractured club, really.

35:07And, you know, I remember after the Harrogate game thinking, you know,

35:11how is he going to sort of, how is he going to play out?

35:15You know, there's a chance they carried on.

35:17Alexander had had to the sort of litany of managers who've had a go

35:21and it's not worked for them, but somehow they've summoned up a really strong

35:28response and one of the, I think one of the standout stories of the last few

35:32years in the EFL, really, if you look at it in a broad sense.

35:37And he's referenced that as well, Alexander.

35:39He's referenced that sort of rock bottom, which the hit, after the Harrogate game,

35:46I think I remember him saying, if I'm right, in recollection,

35:50he was driving back to the family home in Lancashire.

35:54Just, you know, on the drive home, he was just a real deep think about where Bradford were at.

36:01And he's, you know, he's drawn on those sort of, he took strength from that adversity.

36:07And, yeah, it's been a remarkable story, hasn't it?

36:11Yeah, it's a good job he didn't have the radio on because the phone in that day

36:15he'd have been on the car off the road.

36:17But, I mean, it just reminds us of what we all know, but we all,

36:21many of us forget as fans when the going gets tough, it takes time.

36:26It'll take Mount Hampshire time.

36:27You know, you look at Grant McCann's start at Doncaster Rovers.

36:31You can look at so many, you know, over the years, any club you want to pick,

36:36it takes time.

36:37And obviously clubs can't just stick with the wrong man, you know,

36:42through sheer stubbornness.

36:44But when you believe in someone and Graeme Alexander's got a track record

36:47to make you believe in him, it really is worth standing by them

36:51and investing in them because, let's say, some of them can look out of their depth

36:56even in the first four or six weeks sometimes and then just turn it around

37:01through all the little things they've been doing behind the scenes coming together.

37:05And it's brilliant to see examples when that patience is paid off.

37:12And I think whenever it does, I think it's our responsibility to shout it

37:16from the rooftops, to just remind people for the sake of those managers,

37:20the likes of Hamshaw at the moment, who are in tricky spells.

37:25There is something to be said for just keeping the faith.

37:29And I think it's massive, massive kudos to the Bradford board as well.

37:32They've obviously made a lot of decisions over the years.

37:36And, you know, it wasn't the most sexy appointment in the world, was it really?

37:42And for a big club in Bradford City as well.

37:44I'll say Alexander, he'd had a brief spell at MK Dons,

37:49which didn't work particularly well for him.

37:51And, you know, credit for Bradford.

37:54They didn't go for a name.

37:56They did the due diligence and they've made an extremely shrewd appointment there,

38:00haven't they?

38:00Someone who's really, really galvanised the club

38:03and certainly the best manager they've had since Phil Parkinson, I'd say.

38:09OK, let's move up a couple of steps on the ladder to the Premier League.

38:19Obviously, we've been making the most of this international break.

38:23Leeds, probably more so than others, getting players refreshed

38:26and back in contention for places, probably.

38:31Back this weekend to take on Burnley at Turf Moor,

38:34obviously a club that came up with them last year.

38:35It's the first five games for Leeds, which put them against teams

38:39either just above them or below them in the standings.

38:42I think West Ham, Forest, Brighton and Villa are to follow

38:46before they then take on Man City.

38:48Is it fair to say, Stuart, that this could be one of the more crucial periods

38:54of Leeds' season in terms of, quote, survival?

38:58Yes, yes, I think it is.

38:59I think, you know, the last couple of games, I was very much downplaying

39:04the Bournemouth and Tottenham matches, the same.

39:08They were more about performance than results.

39:10I think these next two in particular, I think, is the other way around.

39:14I think you want a minimum of three points.

39:17You'd really like four.

39:18Obviously, six would be brilliant.

39:19But I think now is the time, like the Everton game was,

39:23like the Wolves game was, to really make it count

39:27and to just keep chipping away at that total.

39:31Because, you know, you mentioned those games.

39:33You're quite right to mention those games.

39:36And then on the back of those five, you've got Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool.

39:39So always this season, I think you're looking to get ahead of the game,

39:43buy yourselves a bit of breathing space for those difficult games

39:47that will come.

39:48And to me, for a long time, Burnley and West Ham have just leapt out

39:52as their two games to take advantage of.

39:55And I think they're in a good way to do that.

39:58I think, say, the way that they've played in recent matches,

40:02you know, regardless of results, I've given them a bit of confidence.

40:07I think they're solid defensively.

40:08I think they're making chances.

40:10I think they do need to be a bit sharper in the finishing.

40:13But I think, all things considered, they should go into those games.

40:17In a good frame of mind.

40:19And I think it's really important, let's say,

40:21that they make the most of these next two matches.

40:25Yeah, I mean, I couldn't agree with Stuart Moore.

40:28You know, just the certain weeks and periods in the season

40:31where if you're a team who's just got promoted,

40:34it's just purely about the results, isn't it, really?

40:36You know, you can look for performances at certain times of the season.

40:39This is just about results, isn't it?

40:41The instant dynamic for me will be if it isn't the nil-nil

40:45at Turf Moor on Saturday, which team might have the bravery to think,

40:50well, I'm not just going to stick.

40:53I'm going to twist and, you know, maybe make a couple of changes

40:56to proactive changes to actually win the game.

40:59So I think it'll be fascinating, potentially,

41:01in terms of how the game works, how that actually transpires.

41:06But, yeah, yeah, Stuart's right there.

41:08Obviously, they've got Burnley, they've got West Ham.

41:10I think it's intriguing.

41:11If you look around these sort of next two or three games

41:14for quite a few teams, it's the sort of same boat.

41:17I sort of had a little look.

41:18And I think Burnley, after they play Leeds, they've got Wolves.

41:22Wolves have got Sunderland on Saturday.

41:24So there's one or two clusters of games of teams

41:30who you think are going to be around that sort of same sort of area

41:32in that mini-league.

41:34And obviously, at the end of it, two or three weeks' time,

41:38probably before the next international break,

41:41I think the table will start to have sort of some sort of shape

41:47and meaning then.

41:48You can sort of think which teams are going to be

41:51in what sort of vicinity of the table throughout the season.

41:54But, yeah, if Leeds can just sort of, you know,

41:58dig deep and chisel out an away result, that'd be fantastic.

42:03I mean, they were a great win at Wolves and they were on the cusp at that

42:06of getting a strong point at Fulham until that late aberration.

42:11But, yeah, it's about the results, I think, in the next week or so.

42:16Yeah, I think for the sharp end of the Premier League table,

42:18this block to the next international break could be sort of the golfing

42:22equivalent of moving day, really.

42:24I remember Leon saying a couple of weeks ago,

42:29it's so bitty, the season at this stage, with all these international breaks,

42:32but you get November's out of the way and then you've got a clear run.

42:36And Leon alluded to a few weeks ago, that's when the table really takes shape

42:40and that's when you know, right, we're in a relegation battle.

42:44We're hoping to finish in the top half or push for Europe or whatever.

42:48So, yeah, I think come November's international break,

42:52I think when we take stock then, I think we'll be in a much clearer position

42:58and then the number of games we have over December will sort of shape things

43:02even further.

43:03I think the interesting thing is to say, we've mentioned before about Wolves

43:07and West Ham, will perhaps one or two others be thrown into the mix?

43:11Absolutely.

43:13And likewise, will, you know, for example, Forrest changing manager,

43:19West Ham changing manager, will that pull them out a bit

43:21or will they be kept in?

43:24Which is, you know, another significance to these games.

43:27Leeds want to keep West Ham in there, want to keep Forrest in there.

43:30Absolutely, yeah.

43:31Brentford are a team of, you know, having had Thomas Frank in charge

43:38for such a long time, it is a very much transitional season for them as well.

43:43As much as good will be.

43:46It could be a significant change for them at the helm, couldn't it, Brentford?

43:52Yeah, I mean, they've had a couple of good results, but not enough.

43:56So, from their perspective, if they can build on it, they can pull away.

44:01If they don't, they can get dragged in.

44:04So, it's a very significant period.

44:06I think they're one of the teams.

44:08They've just got to keep chipping away with wins, haven't they?

44:11Nicky, one or two wins.

44:12I mean, they got one, I think they got one against Man Utd, didn't they,

44:15the other week and did they beat Villa as well.

44:18So, they're one of those sort of few,

44:20reasonably established Premier League teams who they might sort of think

44:24it's going to be a little bit of a season of transition, maybe.

44:26We'll just do enough to sort of, as long as we just keep topping up

44:29with the sort of winner to every sort of half a dozen games.

44:35Conversely, if you don't, that's when you start to sort of worry a little bit

44:40and the spotlight gets thrust on you.

44:43And then through different circumstances, that's kind of where Leeds are as well.

44:46You know, they're not definitely clear of it.

44:48They're not sucked into it yet.

44:50They're on the precipice, really.

44:52And, yeah, that's why they, like Brentford,

44:55they need to keep chipping away with those wins.

44:57You can go, easily go three or four games without a win in the Premier League,

45:01but you can't let it become an extended run.

45:04Yeah, and I think as well with Leeds,

45:06I think I mentioned it at the start of the season that,

45:11I mean, they're all difficult games in their own way,

45:14but the way that the fixtures are spread out,

45:16there's not too many clumps of games

45:18where you sort of wince and hide behind the settee, really, is there?

45:23I mean, obviously.

45:24I mentioned those three, but they're only three, aren't they, Chelsea?

45:28Yeah, I mean, I suppose, you know,

45:29they had Everton and Arsenal at the start.

45:31Haven't they got a run in December where they've got City, Chelsea,

45:36and is it Liverpool?

45:37I'm just going to be like that.

45:39But it's only three.

45:40It's not like four or five, is it your point?

45:42Yeah, I remember a couple of years ago,

45:44but they sort of had two or three of those sort of really,

45:49you know, nasty, stinking runs of games.

45:52So I think they've fared a little bit better touch wood

45:55in that regard this time.

45:57Yeah, definitely.

45:58And in case anyone's running,

45:59I actually meant Keith Andrews, not.

46:01I don't know who the hell Anthony is.

46:03So apologies for that.

46:06We were mentioning the international break.

46:09Obviously, talking about how important it will be

46:12or what's the important stage of the season

46:15when we get to the next international break.

46:17We'll just touch on this current international break

46:20and talk about England, obviously.

46:23Qualification for next year's World Cup,

46:26the first European nation to do so.

46:27I think it's six games, six wins.

46:30And in time, it's two cool guys.

46:33I'll come to you first, Stuart.

46:34But you've got a head coach who isn't afraid

46:36he's quite happy to perhaps go with sort of like

46:39B-list players, isn't he, at times?

46:42And it's the case of what fits the team

46:44and not individual, in a way.

46:47Absolutely.

46:48I think he quite enjoys obsessing people.

46:50I think confrontation is kind of what he feeds off.

46:53But, you know, to go back to what we were saying

46:55about a really look, anything inspiring,

46:59nothing, you know, it was a bit same old, same old.

47:03You almost wondered why they'd change manager.

47:07But give him a little bit of time.

47:08I mean, even on this fast-forward thing,

47:11it's taken him a little bit of time.

47:13In the last couple of camps, you can really see

47:15where things are going now.

47:16You can see a clear way of playing it.

47:18You can see a clear way of picking squads

47:22in terms of what you just said.

47:24It's on ability.

47:25It's not on reputation.

47:26And given the depth of quality England have got to choose from,

47:30it's absolutely the right way to go.

47:32I mean, it feels like, certainly in hindsight,

47:34that that squad just needed shaking up a little bit.

47:37I mean, you even look at Gareth Southgate's last squad

47:39for the Euros.

47:40There was a bit of that then with, you know,

47:41dropping Harry Maguire and John Henderson,

47:43who've been mainstays, and leaving out Grealish and Madison.

47:46There was even a bit of a stick of dynamite under them then.

47:49And it just felt like things had got quite comfortable.

47:54They got quite a set way of playing,

47:55and it just needed shaking up a bit.

47:57And now, you know, you're in a brilliant position

48:00where you've got genuinely world-class

48:04or certainly near world-class players in some cases

48:08who've really got to pull it out in the next couple of months

48:12for the clubs, and if and when they get the chance

48:15for the country.

48:15Why wouldn't you want, you know, Jude Bellingham,

48:19Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, or whoever gets picked,

48:24having to play at the absolute top of their game for England?

48:26That's brilliant.

48:28And, you know, with the way that Morgan Rodgers performed

48:31in the last international break,

48:33the way that Bikai Osaka, who's a really good player,

48:35but not guaranteed of his place

48:37because they're not even making cold power

48:39and people like that.

48:41The way they've responded to it,

48:43Anthony Gordon's another one, Elliot Anderson,

48:44they've really risen to the challenger.

48:46They've shown, yeah, we can play under pressure.

48:49And, you know, there's much bigger tests for England

48:51to come in terms of the opposition competition

48:54where you feel as though they've got players

48:58who are getting the best out of themselves.

49:01And with the talent England have got,

49:04that should be enough to take them into the way of the world.

49:07I totally agree.

49:08He's got a, you know, it's been an impressive qualification.

49:11Obviously, the stellar result at Serbia.

49:15It's been a real catalyst.

49:17But there's a hell of a lot of players there

49:18who've got something to prove, isn't it?

49:20Going into these sort of friendlies in November

49:24and potentially in the new year.

49:26There's no special cases.

49:27He's proved that with, along with Kane,

49:31England's biggest name of all in Bellingham, isn't it?

49:34You know, I mean, he scored the goal in the Euros

49:36and it was about who else sort of thing

49:40when he was against Slovakia.

49:43And this guy, there's certainly no one bigger than the team

49:48and no one's going to take time to prove.

49:51As Stuart says, the list goes on, doesn't it?

49:54You've got Jack Grealish, you've got Folden

49:57who's found himself outside the squad.

50:00You know, the kid at the left back who was lauded

50:02the other month, Lewis Skelly, he was in

50:05and then he was taken out.

50:07You know, there must be seven, eight, nine names, really,

50:10who you can throw into the mid.

50:11Wharton as well.

50:12Alexander-Lanel.

50:14Yeah, it's just a great, great position to be in.

50:17The players, you know, to get on board that plane,

50:21you can't just sort of, I think,

50:23unless you're probably Harry Kane and a few others,

50:27you know, you certainly can't reserve your seat

50:29at the minute, can you, really?

50:30Everyone's on their toes and, you know,

50:32that's what it's all about.

50:34And we mentioned before about Tuchel,

50:37obviously a world-class coach,

50:39but he's, before he came to England,

50:41he's worked with some serious, serious

50:44world-class players, hasn't he, really?

50:45So he's not going to be, you know,

50:48bothered too much about names and reputations.

50:52And yeah, it's been here before with England,

50:55haven't we, as well?

50:55But it does, it certainly does, it does all go well.

51:00I mean, the one that always sticks with me

51:01is the run-up to the 1966 World Cup,

51:05after all, the only time we ever won.

51:06Yeah, yeah.

51:07When Sir Ralph famously told Jack Charlton,

51:10I don't pick the best players,

51:11I pick the best team.

51:13Absolutely.

51:13You know, and it worked then, it works now.

51:15You know, Jack Charlton wasn't probably

51:17one of the two best centre-backs in the country

51:19at that time.

51:20No.

51:20But he was, A, still very good,

51:24and B, the right blend alongside Bobby Moore

51:26and Nobby Stiles and everyone else

51:28to make things work.

51:28And that's exactly where Thomas Tuchel is,

51:32you know, picking Morgan Rodgers

51:33or Anthony Gordon or Rhys James

51:36or whoever it is.

51:37And it's entirely up to those bigger names.

51:40If you're prepared to drop that sort of arrogance

51:43that Duke Bellingham showed,

51:44or at least channel it in the right way,

51:46if you're prepared to be a team player,

51:48if you're able to reproduce the form

51:50and you show at club level

51:51and all that sort of thing,

51:53we want you on board.

51:54But if not, we've got plenty of others

51:56who will fit in.

51:57So really, to me,

51:59Tuchel's kind of done his bit for now,

52:01and it's over to you, lads.

52:02You know, show me Cole Palmer

52:04that you're fit enough.

52:05Show me Phil Foden that you can play

52:06like you play for Man City.

52:08Show me Jude Bellingham

52:08that you can be a good member of the squad.

52:10Show me Alexander Arnaud

52:11that you can defend well enough

52:13to fit into the structure.

52:15And if you can, brilliant,

52:16you're making them stronger.

52:17But it's not up to me now,

52:18it's up to you, lads.

52:20Yeah, I think that's it.

52:21I mean, you can, you sort of look at,

52:22Stuart makes a good point about World Cups per se.

52:26If you sort of look at the overall history

52:28of the World Cup,

52:29there's been a couple of outliers

52:30where sort of individuals have won them.

52:32You know, you probably think of seeing the last one

52:35and certainly Maradona in 1986.

52:37But you can think of a hell of a lot more examples

52:40of the best teams not winning World Cups, can't you?

52:42You need to go back to...

52:43Yeah.

52:43We're sort of old and grizzled enough

52:47to probably remember Brazil in 82 for the start.

52:51The French team in 86 were terrific.

52:54I suppose, I'm not that old,

52:55but even older,

52:56you talk about the Dutch teams in the 70s,

53:00what they had to offer.

53:02Hungary in the 70s.

53:03I can remember the 78 one,

53:05not the 74.

53:05Right, OK.

53:06Not the 74 one.

53:07I'm definitely not old enough for this,

53:10but Hungary in the 50s was another example.

53:13Yeah, I mean, you look at Brazil,

53:16they didn't win the World Cup for all those years

53:17and how did they win it?

53:18They won it on penalties by being ugly

53:21and having two defensive midfielders,

53:24weren't they?

53:24That's right.

53:26In Dunga and I can't remember the other ones.

53:28I can't remember what I was trying to think.

53:29But there's lots and lots of examples of that,

53:32of teams winning World Cups, isn't there,

53:34rather than sexy show business players

53:39whose posters are all over the world.

53:41So, and he's a shrewd fella at Tauntchul

53:45and he'll certainly know that.

53:47And most of those world-class players

53:48will be absolutely dead on their feet

53:50by the time the tournament comes around.

53:52Because they played in last summer's Club World Cup,

53:54they played in the Champions League,

53:55they played in the Euros.

53:57So the stage is there for someone else.

53:59It could be a squad.

54:00It could be a squad World Cup, Stuart.

54:01It really could, yeah.

54:02It really could.

54:03Definitely.

54:05Okay, let's finish off as usual.

54:07Not as much choice this week, obviously.

54:11But Player of the Week and Team of the Week.

54:13I'm going to come to you for Player of the Week, Leon.

54:17As ever, I'm guessing, you know, like I said,

54:19I know there's not as many teams,

54:20not as many games to choose from,

54:21but I'm sure there are still a few candidates

54:22that you sort of came across your desk, as it were.

54:27Yeah, I mean, I think if you sort of factor in

54:30the trophy game in midweek,

54:32as I mentioned earlier,

54:34quite a lot of Bradford players, ticked boxers.

54:36Only a 45-minute cameo,

54:39but, you know, it was like a real bottle of pop,

54:41Callum Kavanagh,

54:42and he did exactly what his manager wanted.

54:45And he looked really, I know, okay,

54:48it was, without too much disrespect,

54:51it was Everton's under-21s and mainly kids,

54:54but he was really sharp and at it,

54:56I thought, Kavanagh, that was,

54:58that was, you know, really good to see.

55:00Humphries as well, we've spoken about him,

55:02even though he couldn't nick the match ball at the end.

55:05But I think, really, you've got to,

55:08you know, it was a standout result, wasn't it,

55:09of the weekend for Rotherham United.

55:12He's got to be a Rotherham player, really.

55:15And, yeah, I'm going to go for Jordan Hugel,

55:18I think mainly because of the context of

55:20the amount of stick he's had from groups of supporters

55:24and, you know, what a waste of money

55:26they've been on about his, you know,

55:28a lot of discourse about his wages.

55:31And, you know, he's took a lot of,

55:32a lot of flight, but he's clearly still,

55:35you know, he's a proud professional.

55:36He's got the backing of his, of his manager.

55:39I think he's probably at a point in his career

55:42where he won't be able to,

55:44certainly he's probably been,

55:45it's a fair enough point as well,

55:46he won't be able to play every week

55:48and just line up from the off.

55:51I think he'll, he'll have to be used

55:53cannelly at times.

55:54And he certainly was at Northampton.

55:56He, for me, changed the game he came on.

55:58He didn't, he didn't score,

56:00but I think, you know, it's important

56:02when you look at his style of play,

56:04you can't just gauge him by,

56:06if he doesn't get 15 results,

56:08sorry, 15 goals every season,

56:10it's been a poor season.

56:11You know, he's, he, he softens up defenders

56:14and, you know, in his,

56:18in his stage of his career,

56:20he's shown himself to be a team player

56:21and it was an excellent assist

56:23for the equaliser at Rotherham.

56:25So, yeah, I'm going to go for,

56:27for Jordan Hugel,

56:28given, given the contacts

56:29I've, I've, I've sort of mentioned.

56:33Against you, I mean, team of the week,

56:35you know, we're sort of limited

56:36in that respect, but I mean,

56:37I'm guessing, well, you tell me.

56:41Yeah, no, you're guessing right.

56:41As Leon says, it's a no-brainer, really.

56:43It's Rotherham.

56:44So, we've, we've talked a lot about it.

56:46And so, I'd just like to mention

56:47a couple of other teams

56:48in the, in the FA Cup.

56:49I mean, Halifax, five years on the trot now,

56:52you know, really good start by,

56:54by Adam Lakeland.

56:56Turned it around as well,

56:57because it wasn't an easy start.

56:58Turned it around as well,

56:59because it wasn't an easy start

57:00to Halifax, was it?

57:01And, and, and never likely to be,

57:03you know, taking over

57:05in, in the situation he did.

57:07So, really good to see,

57:08to see, to see them do that.

57:10And then, and York City as well,

57:12you know, to beat Rochdale,

57:13top of the league,

57:14two goals for Alex Newby.

57:17Again, they've had a slow start.

57:18There's slightly differently.

57:21A, changing the manager,

57:22but, but a lot to do with the fact

57:24that the Rugby World,

57:24Women's Rugby World Cup

57:26meant that they're behind

57:27on the fixtures.

57:28But, yeah, a great win for them.

57:31I think, sort of listening

57:33to the pre-match press conferences,

57:34I suspect York were probably

57:35more up for it than Rochdale,

57:36which, which often counts

57:38for a lot in these,

57:38in these situations.

57:40But, as I, as I alluded to before,

57:43why waste the opportunity

57:45to, to maintain a bit of momentum?

57:47And they've been rewarded now

57:49with a, you know,

57:50a really exciting tie for them

57:52at Barnsley in round one.

57:54So, yeah, great to see

57:55both those conference side of ours,

57:58as I say, knuckling down,

57:59being professional

58:00and keeping the good times

58:01rolling in the FA Cup.

58:03But, for, for the reasons

58:05we've talked about

58:06throughout this podcast,

58:07you can't really pick anyone

58:08other than Rotherham

58:09as team of the week.

58:10It's been a,

58:11it's been a really good week for them

58:12and hopefully, hopefully

58:13they'll start with a few more.

58:15I just think quickly on the,

58:16yeah, I'd agree with that,

58:17obviously, but on the,

58:18on the Cup thing,

58:19it's the decent draws

58:20for the pair of them,

58:20aren't they?

58:21I mean, York,

58:21an away one at Oakwell

58:24for York,

58:25a big open away end there.

58:27Shouldn't be any,

58:28any limitation on ticket.

58:29They'll, I dare say,

58:30there'll be several thousand

58:31York fans

58:32who make the short trip

58:33down the,

58:35down the A64 M1 there.

58:38And, you know,

58:38Harley Fats

58:39as it could have been

58:39a bit more,

58:40a bit more glamorous,

58:42I suppose,

58:42but you're still a league,

58:43a league one team at home.

58:47You know,

58:47chance of a,

58:48chance of a,

58:49of a giant killing there.

58:50And, yeah,

58:52I sort of look,

58:52looking at the,

58:53the Cup drawing

58:55the round quickly,

58:55it's,

58:56wasn't the most sort of

58:57sexy draw,

58:58but sort of encouraging

58:59some respects,

59:00quite a lot of non-league teams

59:01drew each other.

59:03And,

59:03I think,

59:05I mean,

59:05if you get through,

59:05you get,

59:06you get the prize money,

59:07but,

59:07you know,

59:07hopefully if they,

59:08I think there was seven

59:09or eight all non-league ties,

59:11they get through to the,

59:12to the second round.

59:13You know,

59:13if there's two or three more

59:14of those in,

59:15in the second round,

59:16then,

59:16you know,

59:16you're guaranteed,

59:17yeah,

59:19hopefully sort of two,

59:20three,

59:20four teams in the,

59:21in the third round,

59:22which I think for the,

59:23for the Cup traditionalists,

59:25it's always great to see,

59:26isn't it?

59:26When,

59:27when you get,

59:28you know,

59:28a handful of the,

59:29of the non-league teams

59:30who were out of the pyramid

59:32into the third round,

59:32I always think that's great.

59:34YorkshirePost.co.uk

Football's regulator on Sheffield Wednesday, Rotherham United's timely win and Leeds United's Premier League opportunity - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

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