- 2 months ago
This week begins with discussing Bradford City who had an entertaining derby day when they clashed with Barnsley and shared the points in their 2-2 draw.
We move onto Doncaster Rovers and Huddersfield Town who have seen their form drop in recent weeks.
We discuss Leeds United and manager Daniel Farke who did his best to play down the 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
We look at Hull City's 3-2 victory over Birmingham City before turning to Sheffield United who followed up their 1-0 victory over Watford with a dominant 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
We move onto Doncaster Rovers and Huddersfield Town who have seen their form drop in recent weeks.
We discuss Leeds United and manager Daniel Farke who did his best to play down the 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
We look at Hull City's 3-2 victory over Birmingham City before turning to Sheffield United who followed up their 1-0 victory over Watford with a dominant 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:25we'll be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:28of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football Writer
00:32for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, we'll watch
00:35all to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you
00:40can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
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01:02or Facebook pages, or email us directly with the subject matter of the Football Talk podcast
01:06at yp.sport at nationalworld.com.
01:13As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the
01:17Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobstall.
01:21Good morning, guys.
01:22Morning.
01:23Morning.
01:24Morning.
01:24Right, let's start this week with Bradford City, who had an entertaining derby day when
01:30they clashed with Barnsley and shared the points in their 2-all draw. Now, the Bantams have
01:36scored 35 times in 17 games this season, but they do have a tendency to be quite open at
01:43the back. Do you think they sort of have the balance right yet, Leon?
01:48Yeah, I mean, they've just got to stay true to their instincts, really, aren't they? I
01:54mean, it's sort of served them well, this sort of high-energy sort of front foot football,
02:02especially at home. The games at Valley Parade, they're just like big occasions, aren't they?
02:08So, of every game there, it's, you know, you go there sort of looking forward to it and
02:13expecting something. Yeah, they're full throttle, they're all in. I think they had 25 goal attempts
02:21on Saturday against Barnsley. And I think if you look at the start of the season, you
02:28know, the teams have beaten. They've beaten a lot of teams who were fancied, you know, to
02:32be up there, the Huddersfields of this world, going to Cardiff and winning there, Luton.
02:37So, why would... No, they shouldn't be lacking confidence, should they, really? They should
02:41have that within them to back themselves and think we can have a go, not just have a go
02:46at teams, but beat them as well. They've got plenty of sort of match winners in the ranks.
02:53I mean, Bobby Point never actually played on Saturday, but the likes of himself, Swan's
02:59got a few goals. There's obviously Kavanagh coming back as well. He made his first league
03:04start of the season. It was quite surprising to see him, really. I thought they were going
03:07to ease him in a little bit. He had his sort of first half 45 minutes against Lincoln in
03:14the cup game, did well and scored, looked really sharp. You thought, well, he'll ease
03:18him in on Saturday, but he actually started with them. You know, he gave a backing to Kavanagh
03:25and Humphys, who played well in that game against the under-21s, went with them. And yeah,
03:31they've got plenty of attacking options. And yeah, they're all in and, you know, they're
03:39certainly not conservative at the front foot. And it's working, you know, a treat so far.
03:46They've got a big game at Stevenage on Saturday away. It'll be fascinating to see how that one
03:52works out. So yeah, I just think it's the way Bradford have gone about the business,
03:57not just this season, but sort of last season as well. I mean, you look at the home form,
04:03especially in the second half of last year, and they really did blow away quite a few teams,
04:07didn't they? You know, I was privileged to be there. I did a few, Stuart did, and the Colt is
04:13the game. And, you know, everyone's buying into this, you know, regular 20,000 plus crowds. Every
04:19game's an event. And they're going there to be entertaining, and they are doing. And, you know,
04:24it's been a breath of fresh air, what's happened at Bradford over the past year.
04:29Yeah, I think that's the point. I think when you've got a weapon like Valley Parade,
04:33you use it, don't you? And every team's got its weakness. But if you're going to err on one side
04:39or the other with Bradford at the moment, you'd err on the front-footed side rather than the
04:43negative side, because you want to get that crowd behind you and whip it up. It's clearly
04:48working. I mean, you know, you can talk about the goals they've conceded, but ultimately look
04:53at the league table, and that's what it's all about. You know, they've got a couple of
04:58big tests coming up now with Stevenage and Lincoln, you know, two teams who've, I think,
05:03probably caught a few by surprise with how well they've started the season, like Bradford.
05:06But they're coming into it with real momentum. And yeah, I just think, you know, as Leon
05:14says, why not play in that way when you've got that crowd behind you? Because the last
05:19thing you want is a quiet afternoon at Valley Parade. You want the fans up, you want them
05:24excited. And as I said, as Leon says, they've got the attacking players to feed off that as
05:31well. It's not like they've not got the squad to play that way. They've had injuries at the
05:35back as well, which is, you know, one of the factors behind them, maybe conceding a few
05:41more than the perfectionists would ideally want. But you can't really have any complaints
05:48right now if you're a Bradford fan. It's just been a really good start to the season,
05:53hasn't it?
05:53I think it's the way they play, isn't it? Obviously, you know, the sort of 3-4-2-1
05:59if you like. It doesn't really deviate from that. The wing backs, that high energy, that
06:03full throttle, they're fundamental, aren't they? Whoever they use, whether it's, you know,
06:06whether it's Wright or, you know, Richard's coming in or whoever else on the other flank,
06:10they've got Nerville and, you know, others can slot in Halliday. So, yeah, it's just a big
06:18weapon in their armory, that sort of high energy, full throttle, you know, going for it down
06:23the sides. And, yeah, it's just been a real sort of breath of fresh air, really, hasn't
06:31it?
06:31Yeah. And now I want to have a look at the other team in this equation, that being
06:37Barnsley, who became the first side in 2025-26 to stop Bradford from winning at home this
06:45season. But they are still sort of struggling on the defensive side, wouldn't you say, Leon?
06:51Yeah, they are. I think it's one clean sheet and it must be 25-26 games, something like
06:57that. But it was a good day for Conor Horan on Saturday. I like what he said about, he
07:06had Mark Roberts on the bench, who, you know, me, myself and George C and Arthur Barnes,
07:11you should know he's that senior figure in the defence and that old head. And it would
07:16have been easy to bring him on. I probably tweeted about it at half-time. I expected,
07:21wouldn't have been surprised to see him come on in the second half, because every time that
07:25sort of crosses were coming into the box, whether they were low or in the air, you sort
07:31of feared for Barnsley in the first half. And they did. It's true, they obviously conceded
07:36a couple of goals, but it could have easily been a couple more. But he spoke afterwards
07:42to Horan about doing a lot of work in the international break. And obviously there's the context of the
07:48previous game. They were winning 2-0 at Wiccan, going into the final few minutes and conceded
07:54two goals, you know, under pressure at the death. He could have easily gone for a bit
07:58of a, I suppose, a comfort blanket, if you like, and thrown on Roberts and gone to a back
08:03five, really, and tried to sort of stiffen it up. But he didn't. He'd done a lot of work
08:09on the training ground just to try and, you know, get some concentration, get some organisation.
08:16And, you know, he stuck with those who've sort of, who've been playing in Roberts' absence.
08:23And it was a little bit of a test for them, really. I mean, especially, I mean, they did
08:26very well, Barnsley, to get it back to 2-2. And they were good in the second half. They
08:30went toe-to-toe with Bradford. But, you know, instead of throwing Roberts on, he went, he kept
08:36with the players, he kept with, you know, Shepard and Earl. Shepard had a decent game.
08:41Earl was a little bit up and down, but there was some heroic defending in there. You know,
08:46like I said, Bradford mentioned earlier, 25 attempts on goal. So they were really throwing
08:51the kitchen sink at Barnsley and trying to get a winner. And Barnsley held out. And I
08:55think psychologically, you know, that might be important for them, really. OK, it wasn't
09:00a clean sheet, but, you know, Bradford threw a hell of a lot at them. We've mentioned
09:05about Bradford's brilliant home form. And they got away, you know, the first sort
09:09of team to come away with a point at Bradford this season is the prize for Barnsley. So
09:13I thought that was encouraging. And a couple of good substitutions as well from
09:19Hurray. And I thought at half-time, I thought he was going to bring on Roberts, but he
09:24obviously didn't. He brought on Dike Vivne. He slotted in on the right. Watson came
09:31off and he set up the second equaliser from Patrick Kelly. And Kelly was a really smart
09:38substitution. I thought he really stiffened it up in the middle. Hurray was playing
09:42Vickers inside centrally, almost like a 10. But he decided to stiffen up the midfield,
09:51put Kelly in there, provided a bit more bite and certainly energy and a bit more go forward
09:56with a body in the middle of the park. And he scored a great goal. And yeah, obviously
10:01big ticks in the box there. But it's obviously a game that everyone's going to remember for
10:05that unbelievable goal. I mean, it's small wonder it went viral. And, you know, you see
10:15goals from a distance periodically. But I don't know what you think. I mean, I'm struggling
10:21to think of one as good as that. You sort of watch it on the replay. I think the angle
10:27sort of from the sort of cop and you see it sort of front on. I think that's the best
10:34one. It was almost like a golfer getting out his driver really, wasn't it? He just hit
10:39it just perfectly in the sweet spot. You know, it had power. It had swerve. It had direction.
10:49And I just thought it was just technically perfect, wasn't it? Even the point where it
10:54actually, you know, the point it dropped in the net as well. You know, it was just picture
11:00perfect. And I know there's been one or two who criticised Sam Walker a little bit. But
11:05I just think you've got to take your hat off to the brilliance of that moment. I mean,
11:09I don't know what you think.
11:10Well, I knew it was a good goal, Leon, because the first I sort of heard about it was getting
11:14texted by Bradford fans telling me what a good goal was. When the opposition is saying
11:19that, you know it's a good end, don't you? And yeah, as you say, just a really good goal.
11:26And nowadays you see many goalkeepers much further off the line than that. You know,
11:30I saw Teddy Sharman-Lowe, the former Don Castelloni, playing the other day. And he was miles outside
11:36his area a lot of the time. So I don't think you could complain about Walker's positioning
11:43particularly or anything like that. And he's a big lad as well. We're not taking a lot of
11:46development.
11:47Nearly collapsed the net as well, didn't he?
11:49That's right. So yeah, just a brilliant goal. And for Leon, who was there, I mean,
11:54I was there for Josh Windus' goal last season. It's kind of an I was there moment. You will
11:59remember him for the rest of your days. And he'll be dialing out on that for a long time.
12:04And rightly so. But yeah, just to go back to what Leon said, I was really encouraged when
12:10I heard Hurrahan's comments about not using Roberts and why he did it. I think, as Leon
12:17says, that it shows a manager who's got a bit of confidence in himself and more importantly,
12:22a lot of confidence in his players. And hopefully that transmits and they take a lot from that.
12:27I mean, Roberts will certainly come in pretty quickly. You know, he played 90 minutes in
12:31the trophy in the week. So he will be back to stiffen them up. But hopefully those players
12:36take a lot from that and from knowing their manager.
12:40Yeah, exactly. They had the guts to do that.
12:42Yeah, it was well.
12:44Because, you know, they're in a long run of Yorkshire derbies at the moment. First of
12:49four, I think, isn't it?
12:52They're the sort of games that a lot of managers won't take risks in for those reasons.
12:56But to see somebody with the belief to just say, no, let's go for this. And, you know,
13:02he didn't get the win he wanted, but he didn't lose either. I think that was very impressive
13:07from a young manager. And as I say, I hope that has the effect it should have on those
13:13players he showed the belief in.
13:15Yeah. I mean, it was good for Cleary's. I mean, obviously he's got all the kudos with
13:19the goal, but, you know, he's been handed his chance in the starting line-up and he's
13:24taken it with both hands, isn't he? He got a goal at Wickham and even before his goal
13:31on Saturday, he looked the player who was troubling Bradford. He was sort of getting
13:35down the sides a little bit and he's obviously got pace and power. He's definitely got something.
13:41He's certainly a little bit raw. He's still learning the game. But, yeah, I think hopefully
13:48Hoorahen's picked his time with him, really. He's had one or two decent performances in
13:52the EFL Cup. He's obviously mindful of his development. Hoorahen, he doesn't want to,
13:59you know, he wants to blood him at the right time. And Zibane's having a little bit of a sticky
14:05run and he's given him his opportunity. And, yeah, it's, you know, great for the lad.
14:10We interviewed him afterwards and, you know, he's a smashing young man and, you know, he
14:15had it a little bit tough at Walsall last season. They were flying, funnily enough,
14:19Walsall, but he was struggling to get some game time. He was on loan from West Brom and
14:25he ended up going back to West Brom and being loaned out to Hartlepool and he galvanised the
14:32season for him there. He had a decent spell there on loan. And he's obviously got a big
14:38move for him. He's only a young lad, 21. A chance to impress him in League One and still
14:44a bit of a project signing a three-year deal. And we'll have to see how his development goes.
14:49But, yeah, he certainly won't forget Saturday in a hurry.
14:53Yeah. And speaking of sticky runs, that leads us on to our next topic, which is Doncaster Rovers
15:01and Huddersfield Town, who, after having a look at their positions in the table, I've seen
15:07that their form has sort of dropped in recent weeks. And I wanted to ask you briefly, should
15:13their fans sort of be alarmed at this recent dip in form, Stuart?
15:17Well, I think there are two different circumstances. One, you've got a brand new manager who everyone's
15:27still working out and he's still working everything out. You know, we've talked a lot about League
15:31Grant's got a lot of experience in the game, but, you know, being a manager is different.
15:37Again, we've seen, you know, we've seen it in the past and we'll see it again. Whereas
15:40Doncaster Rovers, they've got Grant McCann. They believe in Grant McCann. They're right to
15:46believe in Grant McCann because of what he's done. And they're going through a difficult
15:49spell. But, you know, this is a newly promoted side. They were always going to hit a blip.
15:58It's perhaps turned into a longer one than you would have hoped. That's certainly the case.
16:03And it's definitely not a cause for complacency. We've seen some angry comments from Grant McCann
16:11after games. You know, the players will be feeling his frustration at the moment. But
16:17I do believe, and I think the Doncaster fans believe, that there's a man who knows what
16:23he's doing, will get to grips with this in time. One thing he's got in his favour, same
16:27as Bradford, there's a big squad to work with. So there's lots of options and lots of people
16:32who can come in and freshen things up and offer him different things. I think he'll get
16:37there. I think this is just one of those periods that they've got to weather.
16:43Huddersfield, having been at their most recent game, the game against Bolton, a bit of a worry
16:51in the sense that it felt a little bit like this time last year where Huddersfield had
16:58this run where they were winning games under Michael Duff and the fans just didn't seem
17:04completely sold on it. So as soon as that run turns, as it has again for Huddersfield,
17:11the doubts start to creep in amongst the fan base. I don't think they're very happy with
17:16the brand of football. I don't think they're yet convinced that, you know, Grant fully knows
17:24what he's doing in terms of tactics and that. I think that's probably a little bit harsh, but
17:29that's the way of it. You know, every sort of opinion as a supporter is amplified that
17:36bit much more. But he's in a tricky spell because we know he's not got a patient chairman.
17:42So we know the fans are happy and he's going to have to find some solutions. And he's not
17:48been helped by injuries as most predecessors for the last goodness knows how many years
17:53haven't we. And they really need to get to grips with that. But I do think they need to find a bit
18:00of stability. They need to get, you know, they've invested a fair bit in centre forwards, the last
18:04couple of transfer windows. They need to get more goals out of those guys, definitely. And they need
18:13to just start instilling a bit of confidence in the supporters with the style of play. It was good
18:22to hear Grant saying that, you know, he spoke to Linda Gooch before the game, he was talking about the
18:31importance of clean sheets. So talk to Grant about it as well. But he's clearly not going to go down the
18:36route of just parking the bus, clean sheets above everything. You know, there's going to be a
18:41balance to it, which is important. But they do need to get back to keeping clean sheets.
18:47You know, they showed in the early part of the season what they're capable of.
18:52They've got to get back to that, really, to instill a bit of faith in the supporters as much as
18:57anything else. Because, you know, at any club, you need to carry the support. But, you know, particularly
19:04at Huddersfield the last couple of years, the chairman's been very swayed. And, you know,
19:07maybe that's not a bad thing, but the chairman's been very swayed by supporter opinion. So it's
19:11even more important that you have those guys believing that you're the right man for the job,
19:17I guess. You've just got to hope they get the best out of those forwards, haven't you?
19:21Yeah. You know, he played May in a deep role on Thursday, didn't seem to work. They've had
19:28times where he's pushed out wide or Taylor's been wide. And it's that chemistry and that sort of
19:35connection, isn't there? I mean, he seems to be pretty well stuck on this sort of 4-2-3-1,
19:40really, doesn't he? Yeah. So getting another sort of tactical string to the ball there. But yeah,
19:46I'd agree with everything what you said there. You know, he's getting worrying, isn't it? And,
19:50you know, the thing that struck me as well, looking round, obviously watching it on the television,
19:55it was just a crowd as well, wasn't it? There was, you know, the only sort of,
19:59the only sort of full section of what I saw really was the ball in them, wasn't it?
20:02Yeah. There was some, I know it was on, it was a Thursday night and on Skype, but there was some
20:06huge gaps in the, in the, in the Huddersfield end. And, you know, that's the sort of thing that,
20:13you're talking about chairman, that's the sort of thing that they certainly don't like to see,
20:17really. Obviously it was a decent, you know, a decent roses fixture. And yeah, there was,
20:23and there was certainly a lot of feelings that, that were made known at the, you know, at the,
20:29at the end of it. And no, it's sort of looking as well though. I mean, he's getting some,
20:36he's getting some criticism. Grant is a new manager and you know, you have, you have to shape up,
20:41don't you really? But you look at those players, the players really need to step up and yeah,
20:45they've got some good players on paper there and players that, you know, you looked at when
20:49Huddersfield's made those quite a lot of signings in the summer, you thought, yeah,
20:54he'll be good, good strong. He's proved himself in league one, good, solid players.
20:59You know, the likes of Lowe, you know, Ledson, Gooch, Harness, they're good players at this,
21:05and they're senior professionals and they've got, yeah, they've got, and they're talking about this,
21:10you know, there's stuff about having a core leadership group, this time and the other.
21:13There's, you know, there's Wiles as well, there's May, there's enough seniority, there's enough
21:20players who've had decent careers. They, as much as the manager's getting, you know, getting some,
21:25getting some stick and that goes with the territory when, you know, Huddersfield in this division,
21:30they've met no bones about wanting to get out of it this season. It's not, I think it's fair to say
21:37it's a competitive division, but I don't think it's as, it's probably as good right at the top end as it
21:42possibly was in previous seasons. You know, it's about time the players as well, they're all right,
21:47they can come out and talk. They've got to start sort of doing the business and, and helping out,
21:52helping out the manager. Yes, they've got, they've got injuries, you know, some unfortunate injuries
21:58as well, but they've still got probably the best squad, arguably the best squad in that division,
22:02probably. Yeah, you should be able to cope with those injuries, shouldn't they, with all those.
22:05Yeah, I mean, you've got, you probably, I mean, I'm thinking off the top of my head a little bit,
22:10but I dare say there's not some, perhaps Luton have got a similar, Luton might have a similar squad
22:15strength, maybe a little bit better, but there's not, there's not many others, is there really?
22:19Yeah. So they've got, they've got to be getting more bang for the buck out of the players at Huddersfield.
22:25And, um, yeah, I think the worrying thing is, you know, a lot of worrying things on, on Thursday was that
22:31they've usually been pretty strong in the first half, haven't they? That sort of, yeah. I'm sorry,
22:36in the, um, not first, in the, in the sort of, in the second half of games, that's sort of been one,
22:40one sort of trade that they've had, but the sort of reverse applied really, didn't it? I mean,
22:44they obviously got the goal in the first half and then they, they just seemed to really just
22:49lack confidence from it, that they were really just hanging, they were just sort of hanging on
22:55for a scrappy 1-0 and dropping deep really, you know, and, um, no disrespect, I mean, Bolton, um,
23:01they've had a bit of an up and down sort of season so far and they've been,
23:04the numbers away from home haven't been good, but, you know, they've gotten beaten, they've been
23:09beaten at Northampton 2-0, they've been beaten 3-0 at Burton a few days before and, um, you know,
23:13Huddersfield should, it was just a bit, just a bit timid, I thought, they weren't really
23:18proactive at all in the second half and, um, you know, whether that's, uh, well, it's got to be
23:24some sort of confidence issue, hasn't it, really? And, uh, you know, that was disappointing to see,
23:28I mean, and, uh, they sort of invited Bolton on, didn't they, really? And, uh, obviously Rooskin
23:33came off as well and, uh, they looked susceptible, susceptible down that side and, uh, yeah, I mean,
23:39obviously the goals arrived late, but they looked right for the take and it was a worrying, um,
23:43I think it was the manner of it that was worrying, wasn't it? Given that second half where they just
23:48offered next to nothing, did they really? That's the impression I got, um, um, uh, watching it.
23:55I mean, I think quickly with, with Doncaster, I just, I agree with what Stuart said. I mean,
23:59McCann's been in these sort of runs before, probably a little bit, uh, longer than he would have,
24:04would have liked. I think it's six or seven games now, isn't it? And, um, they've just got a few
24:09problems at both ends of the, of the pitch at the minute, haven't they, really? They,
24:13I think they're, um, they've got an issue with, um, availability of right back and the trying one or
24:18two sort of, um, sticking plasters there, but, and the, you know, trying one or two combinations
24:23in the centre as well. And, um, obviously Owen Bailey had that little bit of a, a goal,
24:30a goal run at the start of the season, but you can't be hanging your hat on the midfield.
24:33They just obviously got, I think he got four or five goals in the first, um, a couple of months,
24:38but, uh, you know, that's not going to carry on forever, is it really? And, uh, yeah, just issues in,
24:45in, uh, in, in both boxes. Obviously, um, Billy Sharpe's not scored for a bit, but I mean,
24:51it's the other supporting cast really, isn't it? The, you know, the couple of the other strikers
24:55that they brought in a bit have been struggling. And, uh, I just think, you know, it's getting to that
24:59point in the, in the season, you know, when you start sort of thinking towards January,
25:04I just think Doncaster could just do with somehow just grinding out a couple of results.
25:08Yeah. You know, getting a couple of scruffy, ugly one nils. I mean, I thought that
25:13at halftime, I thought that's possibly what they were going to do against Northampton, really.
25:18You know, with no disrespect, but the side that, you know, you should, you should be thinking about
25:23beating at home, even though they've started the season reasonably well. And I thought it had the,
25:29it had the smell of that at halftime. I thought they might just sort of dig out a one nil and, um,
25:33um, might settle things down a little bit, but, uh, obviously it wasn't to be, but that's what
25:39I think Doncaster need to do. Just, just grinding out a couple of results, but they've got some
25:43toughish games coming up, haven't they? They've got a, they've got a derby against
25:46Barnsley. They've got to go to, um, I think they've got Lincoln away and, um, I think they might have
25:52Stevenage as well. So, um, one or two, one or two tests there, but, you know, conversely,
25:59if you can get a good result in one or two, you know, and a couple of those, then it can,
26:03then it can turn, can't it? But, uh, yeah, one or two alarm bells, but hopefully they can, uh,
26:08Stuart said they've got the right, uh, they've got the right manager there who's, who's seen,
26:13you know, he's, he's, he's seen similar things in his career, but, uh, it would be nice if they
26:18could sort of dig out a result from somewhere pretty soon. Yeah. But like, like Leon said about
26:22Huddersfield, you know, don't, don't rely on the manager. There's, there's enough players there.
26:27There's enough leaders. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it goes for, goes for all teams, really.
26:30Sometimes you can be too much looking to the manager to, to get you out of the mess,
26:35just on Huddersfield as well. It just, it's funny, funny the way football works. So,
26:41you know, Bolton come on a Thursday night, not having one away from home and that feels like
26:45an inevitability about it. And then lo and behold, Huddersfield's next game away to Michael Duff,
26:50you know, and they're not, they're not the matches you want.
26:53There's theatre there, isn't there? Exactly. But if they can, if they can get through there
26:57and they've got a couple of cup games, maybe time to look at something a bit different. Maybe
27:01time to look at May and Taylor playing up front together, for example, as a front two or something
27:06like that. You know, I don't think, well, no, because I asked Grant after the match, are you
27:12one of these managers who just will double down on, on this is my way and this is where we're going
27:18to do it. And he's very insistent that, no, I'm not. You know, I try to learn from every game and
27:22all that sort of thing. It's time to put some of those lessons into action and show a bit of
27:28flexibility. But I certainly wouldn't, I certainly wouldn't write him off yet. You know, he's a young
27:34manager learning his trade. It's just, it's just got a worrying feel to it. And they do need to turn
27:39that narrative quickly because he won't get the time that, for example, McCann gets at Doncaster,
27:45because he hasn't got that back catalogue to fall back on. You just hope they do, Stuart,
27:49because I mean, it's becoming a bit of a big groundhog day, isn't it? Yeah, exactly.
27:53At Huddersfield and it's almost rinse and repeat. It feels like a bit of a, a bit of a depressing
27:59loop at the minute. And one that's getting them nowhere. It's not like Chelsea or wherever you
28:03can say it's working. It's not. Absolutely. You just, you, you just think for everybody's sake
28:08that they can, you know, they can get themselves out of this, out of this little hole,
28:12because, you know, he's, he's a good, he's a good talker. He's, you know, he's,
28:16he's ambitious and, and, you know, he really did seriously impress in getting the job and
28:22to put faith in him. And, you know, as another young manager starting out in his first full
28:27time gig, you know, you, you, you wish him a bit of luck. Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
28:33And now I wanted to look at Leeds United and manager Daniel Farker did his best to try and
28:39play down the two nil defeat at Burnley, but how should we view it? And does this sort
28:46of increase the pressure on Friday's game at home to relegation threatened West Ham United, Stuart?
28:53Yeah. Well, you know, I said on the podcast last week, I thought they should be looking to get four,
28:58four points out of Burnley and West Ham. So, um, to stay consistent to that, that that's,
29:03that's out the window now, you know, they, they're down to a, down to a maximum of three.
29:07It felt like a real missed opportunity. There's, there's been a lot of leads games this season.
29:12Um, full and for example, Bournemouth where Danny Farker has been able to come out and say,
29:18we, we deserve, we deserve more than we got. Um, I don't think that, I don't think the Burnley game
29:25was that, that day. I mean, you know, you could look at the, you can maybe look at the highlights.
29:29You could certainly look at the numbers and say, well, Leeds created so many chances.
29:33They put in more crosses than, uh, any teams put in a Premier League game this season.
29:38I think it was something like, I think it was 19 shots to four, blah, blah, blah. But, um,
29:44very few of the Leeds players played to their potential. Um, there was some sloppy defensive moments,
29:51which, which Burnley really, really took advantage of. And, you know, Leeds know by now what, what Burnley are like.
29:58Burnley got 2-0 up and basically said to Leeds, okay, have the ball and create your chances.
30:03We, we believe you, we can keep you out. And, and, and so it proved. And, you know, Leeds,
30:08Leeds missed some really good chances as well. You know, there was one for Aronson in the first
30:13half, which the keeper saved. Keepers shouldn't have been allowed to save that. Um, you know,
30:17there was a, there was a Harrison volley in, in the second half, which, which he should have buried.
30:21And then there was a Bogle miss, which was the worst of the lot. I mean, I suppose he's got the defense
30:25that he's a fullback at least, but, um, yeah, it was, it was a real missed opportunity because you,
30:31you, you look at these games when you're a relegated team, there are games you, you've got
30:36to target and you've got to take advantage of. And with the greatest of respect to them, Burnley away
30:42is one of them, just as, uh, Leeds at home is one for Burnley. You know, you've, you've,
30:46you've really got to cash in on those games. And, and Burnley did with a couple of moments of quality.
30:50Leeds just, just lack the quality that they, that they needed on the day. And, uh, you know,
30:56these, these days happen. You can't, there's no point making a massive drama about it. We're only
31:01in October, you know, it's, it, it's not the end of the world, but, um, Leeds need to be much sharper
31:07against West Ham, who even more so than Burnley really look there for the taking at the moment,
31:13you know, to watch them on TV on, on Monday when they were totally outplayed by Brentford,
31:18you know, they, they look there, they look there for the taking. And if Leeds,
31:22if Leeds come away from this week, having played Burnley and West Ham and not
31:27beating one of those, then, you know, then the excuses we were making for them earlier
31:32on in terms of playing well and it'll come, they start to run a bit more hollow when you,
31:37when you don't cash in on days like that.
31:40I think this is the biggest probably mentality test in, in terms of a one-off game.
31:44So far really, Stuart, isn't it really? They've, uh, you know, we've spoken about it before that
31:48these are the games, so almost the bellwether games where you do get sort of judged and there's
31:53extra focus on you. So it's a, it's a Friday night. They sort of, it's the, it's the, it's, you know,
31:58the big, the big game of the evening, they play, they play on the West Ham side who, um,
32:03obviously coming up, coming in off a, a pretty lousy performance on, on, uh, on Monday night.
32:09And, uh, yeah, if Leeds need some sort of inspiration, I suppose, you know, they perform
32:16reasonably well against Tottenham without getting something, they played really well,
32:19I thought, you know, the game I did against, against Bournemouth. And if they have that,
32:23if they have that intensity, that, um, that energy and just, you know, sharpen up at, at, at, at both ends,
32:29I mean, they really should have got three points in that game. It was one late slip at the end,
32:34a bit more, you know, Rufus in front of goals. You mentioned about the game with Calvert-Lewin,
32:40uh, you know, use that performance, the way this sort of energy and the intensity is a template,
32:44but just, uh, just, uh, sort of sharpen up really. And, uh, yeah, it's, it just, it just does feel like a,
32:52like a pretty big game for them coming off the back of another game where they thought they would
32:56have been hoping to get, to get points. And, uh, yeah, big test for the, for the collective
33:01mentality of the group. And, you know, that's been one of the things that's been, you know,
33:05decent so far that this season and, uh, you know, get it's probably stiffest test on, on Friday.
33:11It's a game that really, you know, Leeds need to, uh, need to win and up with the producer performance
33:17as well. Yeah. I think it just kind of showed where Leeds were. I mean, you know, with injuries,
33:20they were down to the fourth or fifth choice winger. And unfortunately, Aronson and Harrison
33:25Harrison were the ones that missed the chances. Um, you know, the centre back who started to look
33:33just, just shaky in moments, you know, Bournemouth game is one of them, Pascal Stroik,
33:37he's certainly not playing terribly, but you do wonder if Yaka Biel could be a, could be an upgrade.
33:43You know, Biel's sort of, um, one of those classic characters at the moment where his,
33:48his reputation is doing very well because he's not playing, um, you know, in all honesty,
33:53we're all sort of, to, to a degree, we're all sort of guessing a little bit about his, his quality
33:59in the Premier League, but the time will come where they need to find out and have a look. Exactly.
34:04And it feels like it might be sooner or later, but yeah, you know, West Ham for all their problems,
34:09they've still got the quality of Bowen and Pacitar. Leeds, Leeds need to come up with those,
34:15those quality moments themselves. And that's, that's just what was, what was lacking in the,
34:19in the Bournemouth game, you know, sorry, the Burnley game. Yeah. And, you know, some, some,
34:25some decent stuff at times, but when it really mattered, um, they, they were caught short, but it
34:30does, I've, I've seen quite a bit of Leeds this season early on, seen a bit as well. It did feel like a,
34:39a bit of a one-off in, in that respect. Um, so they've got to show that it was a one-off really
34:45by, by putting them, that behind them and, uh, putting things right basically against West Ham.
34:50Yeah. I mean, I think looking at the schedule as, as well, Stuart, after this, they've got,
34:54I think they've got three of the next four away, haven't they really? So that sort of increases the
34:58focus, you know, to, to get something and probably get a win really, you know, you know,
35:02they've got Brighton, Forest and, and they've got Manchester City, not too far down the, down
35:07the track and, um, and then Chelsea and Liverpool at home. So, yeah, it just feels, feels like a,
35:14a pretty big game on Friday night. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the, the complexion of those
35:18next three games have changed. You know, last week, Phil was talking about five games against
35:21bottom half teams. Brighton are now in the top half. Villa seem to be sorting themselves out.
35:27They're just going to have a new manager. So, you know, as has been the theme for Leeds this season,
35:33you want to get ahead of the game. You want to get points in the bag against West Ham to just,
35:38just, you know, dial down the pressure on Leeds in, in those, in those matches. Yeah. Um,
35:44yeah, um, it really is a big opportunity against West Ham. We can't waste it. Yeah. And all,
35:49and all the while, Sunderland are picking up results. That's a little bit of a,
35:52a stick that people might be beat, you know, they can beat Leeds with as well. So there's,
35:58there's a lot of, a lot of stuff, a lot of psychology, isn't there? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
36:01But, you know, beat West Ham and the world will be a different hope for them next week. It's,
36:05that's the nature of it, really. It is. It is. Yeah. Yeah. And next, let's take a look at Hull City,
36:13who following their 3-2 victory over Birmingham City, claimed another three points,
36:17this time in a 2-1 victory over Leicester City. Um, what was your verdict on the game, Stuart?
36:24Um, well, they just feel like a club in a really good place at the moment. Um, the,
36:30the, uh, the win at the weekend was the first time they'd gone back to back since that infamous
36:36three game run under Tim Walter, which was the, the falsest of false thorns, uh, we've ever seen,
36:41really. Um, but yeah, to then follow it up again against a very good Leicester, Leicester City side,
36:47when you look at the players they've got to pick from, they didn't play very well on the night,
36:50certainly in the first half, but, uh, but nevertheless, you know, there's, there's quality
36:54there to dig themselves out of a hole and they very nearly did. It must be said, Harry Winks hit the
36:59woodwork in, in, in stoppage time. But, you know, you look at it from a Hull perspective,
37:05no Ollie McBurney, who's been such a big player for them this season in, in, in terms of scoring the goals,
37:10you know, um, Ryan Giles went off injured in the second half. He's in, in, in great form for them at the
37:16moment. Lundstrom was injured. Uh, you know, Louis Coyle was, was on the bench, but we were told
37:22afterwards wasn't, was never coming off the bench. Captain wasn't, wasn't fit enough to play. He was,
37:28he was just, I don't know if he was just there as a cheerleader or what, but, um, you know, lots of
37:33problems. You know, we talk about this all the time. Team X has got lots of problems. Team Y has got lots of
37:37problems, but when you're in a good spirit and you're in a good mood, you can, you can ride them through that,
37:42that, that much, that much better. And, you know, Kyle Joseph, in all fairness, probably missed a
37:46couple of chances that, that McBurnie would have taken, but he absolutely worked his socks off for
37:51the team. And it, and it really allowed other people around him to, to flourish. Um, Liam Miller,
37:58who, you know, by all accounts was, um, excellent off the bench at Birmingham, made his first start in
38:03363 days after his, uh, ACL injury, scored a wonderful goal, uh, set a goal up as well. Joe
38:11Gellhart just, you know, continued to show the good things he's shown, um, in his, in his two
38:17loan spells at Hull. Matt Crooks, again, was, was Matt Crooks, managed to, managed to, uh, slip over
38:23going for a cross and it ended up setting up Miller's goal. You know, he was, he had, he had a really good night.
38:28Um, and, and they played some really, first half, they played some really good, fluid attacking football.
38:34Um, it was really, really good to watch. Um, as I say, Leicester just went to the races and obviously
38:40Sifuentes got into Leicester at half time and they were, they were much improved in the second half.
38:46So Hull had to work really, really hard, but you know, you look at the sort of players, Hull's sign and
38:52that the sort of mentality about the club and, and you kind of think sometimes they can, they can
38:57they can get, there's a danger anyway, that they can fall into the trap of all these fancy
39:02players, not, not doing their bit in terms of the all round team effort, but they absolutely did.
39:08Um, you know, Miller ridiculously, really unfairly played the, played the whole game,
39:13which I don't think was right really, but needs must. Joe Gelhart was tracking back ferociously,
39:20mentioned Kyle Joseph's pressing. There was, there was some real effort, you know, in amongst the skill.
39:27It was a really, really good blend. And now, you know, they've got a fascinating game on,
39:32on Saturday against Charlton, who are another team like them who've really surprised us this season
39:36and just how, how well they started be very, you know, big contrast of styles against the Nathan
39:41Jones team, but I think it'll be a game worth watching. You know, there were 20,000 there on,
39:46on Tuesday night. And when they read out the attendance, my first thought was,
39:51I bet, I bet there's some people who didn't go wishing they did because it was,
39:55it was really good entertainment and say, it's a, it's a club in a good vein of form at the moment.
39:59It's really good, really good to see.
40:01Yeah. I mean, looking at Hall, I've not done too much of them. They've got some players there who,
40:07you know, they, who can hurt teams at championship level, who, you know, the Geldharts,
40:12the, the Matt Crooks, obviously mentioned Burnie, even though he was injured. They've got those
40:17sort of players, but if, if they can just sort of get the balance right, doing the organisation,
40:24the sort of doing that ugly side of the game and getting that more on an even keel and consistent,
40:31then they should have a half decent season because they've got enough sort of match winners in the,
40:37in the ranks. Stuart's mentioned Miller as well, back from injury. It's just doing that sort of,
40:42that sort of ugly, ugly side that, that sort of managers sort of see, but supporters sometimes
40:50necessarily don't really, you know, doing, doing that enough times, you know, you look at their,
40:55their confidence must be, must be pretty high in the minute. Obviously they needed, they needed to get
41:00that sort of monkey on the back, off the back regarding, you know, first away wins of the season.
41:05They did that at Birmingham, who, who got, who gone, God knows how long without a,
41:09without a home defeat at St Andrews. So that, that was, that was, you know, feather in the
41:15boat really, wasn't it? And, you know, at home as well, look at the teams, they've beaten
41:19Leicester, Southampton, and even obviously Sheffield United have struggled, but the, you know,
41:24the fact remains they've still got in the playoff final, you know, last year. They've,
41:28they've beaten three sides who everyone was, you know, if you're talking, having a straw poll at
41:32the start of the season, which sides will be right up there in the promotion reckoning. A lot of
41:37people have, have set those three sides and Hull have beaten them all at home. Obviously they had
41:40issues with, with that home form last season and they've sort of turned it around and, but yeah,
41:46I think as Stuart said, you know, a game against Charlton will be an interesting one, you know,
41:51a side that have slipped under the radar. I did them at Sheffield United. They're not, they're not the
41:57sort of, they'll sort of take you on in a, in a basketball match and say, you attack, we attack,
42:01but there'll be, there'll be a high level of organisation there and game management and
42:08it'll be good to gauge Hull's progress at home against, against a little bit more of a lesser
42:14light on home soil. But yeah, they're doing, they're doing plenty right at the minute, Hull. And yeah,
42:20it's good to see.
42:22Just in defence of the Hull fans as well. And there was a moment in the, late in the first
42:26half where Gell had tracked back almost to the corner flag and got a massive round of applause
42:32for it. And likewise, you know, a couple of Kyle Joseph moments, you know, and imagine
42:36Yannick Westergaard.
42:38Yeah. I imagine Yannick Westergaard was probably walking down the street on Wednesday half expecting
42:42to see Kyle Joseph behind. It was just relentless. But yeah, the fans, the fans really appreciated
42:48that as well. You know, I think, I think, you know, fans in our part of the world, particularly,
42:53it's not all about pretty football. You want to see that effort. You want to see that commitment.
42:57And, you know, home form has been a problem for Hull in recent years. And part of it is
43:03probably that they weren't doing enough for that side, that ugly side that Leon talked about,
43:10to get the fans on their side and behind them, you know, in the same way we were talking about
43:14Bradford getting their supporters behind them. So they really have buried a ghost in terms of their,
43:19in terms of their home form this season. And as I say, if I was, if I lived in the region
43:25and was at a, at a loose end on Saturday, you could do a lot worse than get down to,
43:30down to Hull because it's, yeah, it's, it's just entertaining to watch.
43:34Yeah. I think with a championship historically, there's not many occasions where teams just get
43:38promoted, you know, on individuals, just blowing away teams. I mean, you look at it last season,
43:43I mean, but Burnley's, Burnley's statistics were just, defensive statistics were absolutely remarkable,
43:49weren't they? They struggled to think of a side who were better organised without the ball
43:53that I've probably ever seen at championship level than, than Burnley. And, you know, even,
43:58even though, you know, Leeds scored a shed load of goals, you know, that was a real sort of team
44:03ethic there as well. And yeah, I mean, those, you know, it's the teams that will always sort of do
44:09well in the, in the championship. You look at the early season struggles of, you know, one or two
44:14other teams that have gone down, you know, Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich, they look like,
44:18at the minute they're just, you look at the teams on paper, some excellent individuals, but it's just not
44:23happening for them as a team, is it really? So, you know, and quite a few of the, you know,
44:28the better teams are up at the top end and yeah, interesting on, on Tuesday, I can't think of
44:33many, there probably is knowing the championship because it's so unpredictable, but to the top of
44:39my head, I can't remember many occasions where three teams who were relegated from, you know,
44:43the previous season on the Premier League, all lost on the, on the previous night, on the same night,
44:47sorry. Obviously, it's with Southampton and Leicester, which we suggest that, we'll have to wait and see,
44:54but it might be a little bit more open than, than you think.
44:57It certainly feels that way, doesn't it? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And our attention now turns to
45:03Shuffled United, who followed up their 1-0 victory over Watford with a dominant 3-1 win
45:08over Blackburn Rovers. How would you rate their performance, Leon?
45:15Yeah, well, at half-time, it looked a little bit plus a chance, really. It was,
45:22yeah, it was a big game for both sides, wasn't it? Blackburn had not won,
45:26not won at home since the end of April and obviously four wins at the start of the season.
45:33I think there was only three or four times in the history where they've gone five games at the
45:36start of the season without, without winning a home game and, you know, ultimately that's what
45:42transpired. It was a big, a big old second half for Sheffield United. It felt a little bit like,
45:48I did the game in a different division, Northampton played Rotherham a few weeks ago and that felt like
45:55a really big second half and Rotherham, they were losing and they turned it around and won and it felt
46:00a little bit like that, like that for Sheffield United. I mean, Blackburn,
46:05Blackburn got in front, there wasn't much in the, in the first half to be quite honest and,
46:10you know, you did think that the first goal would be big. I mean, you looked at the goal,
46:14I mean, there were two lower scorers in the, in the, in the division, was it 22nd play, 23rd?
46:22You know, it looked a fine margins game, Bradford got it, Bradford, Blackburn got in front.
46:27Yeah, and obviously we all know about Sheffield United losing one nil games this season and
46:32you fear for them a bit, but yeah, they, they summoned up the will and the, and the character
46:36and the, and the good play as well to, to turn it around. They got, um, it's the unequalizer
46:41early in the, in the second half and, uh, you know, you just felt the tension in the, in the home,
46:47home support of, uh, of Rovers and they just never got, got going at all. Sheffield United kept the foot on,
46:54on the throats and, uh, you know, on this, this occasion, they managed to sustain, uh,
47:00their sort of dominance. And, uh, yeah, I mean, they nearly doubled the, the sort of goals tally
47:03for the season in one half. They'd only, I think that, you know, that scored, um, you know,
47:09not scored, only scored four and they got three in the, in the second half. And, uh, yeah, we, we spoke
47:14about this before, myself and Stuart, you look at the championship, you get these blocks of three
47:20game weeks and you can really sort of, if you have a good, you have a good week, you get seven
47:25points or nine points in one of them and it doesn't half flip. Yeah. I mean, even,
47:29God knows, I looked at the table last night, they're only nine points off the playoffs.
47:36Well, yeah, indeed. That's how crazy it, um, that's how crazy it is. And I, I think in some
47:42respects it, it's good that there's a small, there's a short turnaround for Sheffield United.
47:46They've got to go up to, um, Preston on Friday. I think it's good that they're away. I think it's
47:52good as a short turnaround. So I'm saying, you go away, you can get a couple of back-to-back
47:56results away from home and it doesn't half lift things in the dressing room, bring things together
48:00and, you know, lifts the training environment. And, uh, Chris Wilder, he'll know that. And yeah,
48:08there was some good performances in the, um, in the second half, especially they kept it
48:12solid at the back. Um, Tamari, um, um, he looked good in midfield. He got a really good
48:18evasion when he, when he came off, he was athletic and, uh, he put himself about and, uh,
48:24I like the look of him and, um, I think Calum O'Hare, he got a few plaudits on, on Saturday,
48:29getting the match-winning goal, but backing it up, you know, it's all right being a leader one game,
48:32but do it for the next game and the one after that. Obviously his mate Hamer's not around at the
48:37the minute with an injury. So he's got to, he's got to really sort of step up for Sheffield United.
48:41And he did that and it was good to, you know, a nice little turnaround for, for Burrows. He missed
48:46the penalty in the whole game when he came off the bench. He, he, um, as he came off the bench
48:52against, uh, against Blackburn, turn it around really nice, nice goal. Tyrese Campbell as well.
48:57So, yeah, things are starting to look a little bit, um, a little bit better for Sheffield United,
49:02certainly better than it looked at half past eight when they were one nil, one nil down. So, uh, but
49:07yeah, let's see what happens at, at, uh, at Preston now. If they can get a win there and, uh, they'll,
49:12they'll be starting to, you know, the, this sort of, uh, the bleeding will, will start to stop a little
49:18bit, I think. Yeah. I mean, this, this three game week has to be for them what we were expecting
49:23a month ago when, when Chris Wilder walked back in, this has to be when the season starts. Yeah.
49:28And as Leon says, the championship is so bonkers and, and the, you know, the compressed nature of
49:35it is such that if you do put runs together, Wilder was talking about how, you know, last
49:40season they put seven, eight, nine game runs together. Anything, well, not anything is possible.
49:45I'll, I'll say here and now, I don't think they're going to get automatic, uh, in terms of,
49:51in terms of, you know, being in the, in the playoff shakeup, it's, it's, it's almost always
49:55possible in the championship. Yeah. Cause it, because of the nature of the league and,
49:59you know, they can't afford to think in those terms yet. They just need to,
50:03need to get things up and running. But, um, you know, if they do, there'll be other teams worried
50:08about them. You know, Liam mentioned about them. People look at that squad list and think,
50:13you know, if they're starting to find form, we're worried about them, you know? Um, so yeah,
50:21it's, it's frustrating if you're a Sheffield United fan that they've given everyone such a big
50:25head start because they really didn't need to. But now that we are here, you know, hopefully
50:31we'll start to see, to see the real them and, and, and other people should be worried about them.
50:36Yeah. I think getting out of the bottom three as well, Stuart, isn't it? I know it's early this season
50:39and they say, don't look at tables this, that, and the other, but it must be a nice side that they've
50:44been stuck there. So the first chunk of the season and, uh, to see themselves out of that,
50:48that's got to be, uh, psychologically uplifting. Totally agree. Yeah. And finally for this week,
50:53we will take a look at the player and team of the week. Let's start with Leon. Um, which team do you
51:00think deserves the honour, uh, this week? Yeah. Well, in comparison to, uh, you know,
51:07in previous weeks, it seems that, you know, there's one or two candidates, really good to see
51:11rather than United. I mean, we've talked about teams on the, on the move and, um, there's a few
51:17signs of life there. So they did the Northampton game. It's about backing it up, isn't it? I think
51:22they're now four and four and beat and in all competitions, if you, you bring in the draw
51:26against Bradford and the, and the trophy win and, uh, they're the sort of wins you need,
51:30you know, just sort of, uh, uh, knuckling down, might not be too, too pretty, but getting you one
51:35nils at, at home and, um, and see Sam Nombay's back. Good to see, um, you know, Rotherham in that,
51:41in, in that respect, turning it, turning it around a bit. And they'll be starting to look at the table
51:45as well and, uh, in, in a bit more of a, a nicer light. You've got to mention Hull as well. We spoke
51:50a bit about them. Terrific away win at Birmingham. They were strong at home. Backed it up with a,
51:55with a real marquee win against, um, you know, against, uh, Leicester. A great win for Middlesbrough
52:01against, against Ipswich. You know, on, on Friday, they were going into that off the back of their first,
52:06um, defeat of the season at, uh, Portsmouth. One or two issues struggling for goals. But, you know,
52:13I think you've got to go with, um, um, it's not got to go with, it's probably quite a tight call
52:17really, but I'm, I'm going to go with, given the position, you know, Sheffield United really,
52:22they've, um, absolutely, you know, backed, backed up a, backs up a home win with a, a big win against
52:29the side that were down there at the, at the, uh, at the bottom. And, uh, yeah, I'll go for Sheffield United.
52:36Yeah. For them and for Rotherham, this feels like it could, has the potential to be a really
52:40significant period of the season, wasn't it, in terms of turning the torch in?
52:45Um, yeah. Sorry. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, in terms of the player mark, um, we've mentioned a few
52:52already, you know, Leon rightly pointed out that, um, there was a lot more to clear his performance
52:58than just that goal. But even if there hadn't been, that would be worthy of, uh, worthy of, uh,
53:03inclusion in this. O'Hare, there's, there's a lot of, um, a lot of the survivors from Sheffield
53:08United's last season who haven't really produced their best yet. And, uh, I know O'Hare has done
53:14that the last, the last week or so in a strange kind of way, because he, him and Hamer were so
53:19good together at Coventry City. It feels like maybe they've, they've struggled to get the best
53:24out of those two at the same time at Sheffield United. So, you know, this, this time with Hamer
53:30out injured, we don't yet know how long it's going to be. It's really a time for him to step up and,
53:34uh, and show what he's capable of. And he's made, he's made a good start in that respect.
53:39Um, Sam Nombe, as I say, you can't underestimate what that will do for Rotherham's confidence
53:44to, to, to, to have him back and, uh, and scoring again. And, you know, by all accounts,
53:48Zach Jules has brought an awful lot of the back as well in terms of, uh, in terms of strengthening
53:53them. Um, watching Middlesbrough on the TV on Friday, another big game, you know, they seem to have
53:58be being thrown a lot of big tests at the moment. We talked about the sort of, uh,
54:03inevitability of, of, of games for Huddersfield at the moment for Hayden Hackney to perform that
54:07well against the, the team who tried so hard to sign him, uh, in the summer. Yeah. You know,
54:12he's, he's a really big player for them. And we talked about this in August when we, we weren't quite
54:17sure what the future held for him. It's such a big deal for them to keep hold of him. And,
54:21you know, you feel like, you feel like he's a player who will end up in the Premier League
54:26sooner rather than later. It'd be great to actually do it as a Middlesbrough player and
54:31not, not have to go elsewhere, but lots of water to pass under the bridge before then.
54:35Um, yeah, as I said, Leeds were, Leeds were really below par at Burnley as, as individuals,
54:41but the one exception I think was, was Gabriel Gunmanson, who's been excellent, I think,
54:46for them at left back. He obviously had his moment against Fulham, but, um, by and large,
54:50he's, he's, he's really strengthened, uh, that squad. He looks a, looks a real quality siding,
54:55but, um, maybe partly swayed by emotion, partly, uh, swayed by the fact that I was there watching
55:02him. Now I'm going to go for Liam Miller. Um, you know, you, it's, it's, it's just horrible
55:08as a football fan to see, you know, a player out for a year and, and, you know, you, you,
55:13you can't even imagine what they, what they must go through, um, doing it. He's seen his,
55:20uh, fellow ACL victim, Mo Balumi come back and then get injured straight away. So that can't
55:25have been, um, great for his confidence in his body, but, um, they do seem to have managed him
55:30well. As I say, by all accounts, he was excellent against Birmingham and then, and then to follow
55:35it up on the, on the, uh, on the Tuesday and such a, such a good moment for him. It wasn't just the
55:40fact that he scored a goal. It was a great goal as well. You know, um, an important goal as things
55:45turned out. Um, so really good to see him back, uh, and doing well and just fingers
55:50crossed. We all know how difficult it is when you come back from long-term injuries in terms
55:54of suffering further niggles. Fingers crossed he can keep fit and carry on because he makes
56:00all a much stronger side when he, uh, when he is in that, in that vein.
56:03Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There were some good candidates this week.
56:06Yeah. We were a bit spoilt for choice. As you said,
56:08Leon, a bit of a contrast to last week. We were, we were spoilt for choice on both counts, weren't we?
56:12Yes. Yeah.
56:32Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbrell who will doubtless join us again soon for more
56:35discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to date with all the
56:39football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com
56:45or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport
56:48on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers,
56:53you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or email us directly with the
56:57subject matter as footballtalkpodcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com. As ever,
57:03many thanks for listening. Look after yourselves and bye for now.
57:09We'll see you next time.
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