On this week’s show, YP football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall run through who Yorkshire’s winners (Hull City?) and losers (Sheffield Wednesday?) were in the January Transfer Window.
They go on to assess Middlesbrough’s chances of making the Championship play-offs before working out how Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday respond to their respective heavy defeats at the weekend.
PLUS our panel pick their Team of the Week and Player of the Week ...
They go on to assess Middlesbrough’s chances of making the Championship play-offs before working out how Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday respond to their respective heavy defeats at the weekend.
PLUS our panel pick their Team of the Week and Player of the Week ...
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:11 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post,
00:14 where we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football
00:17 with members of our football writing team.
00:19 On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner,
00:23 and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Neil Marshall,
00:25 to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs.
00:28 Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:32 by logging onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com,
00:36 as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds, the main one being @ypsport.
00:41 If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook,
00:46 you can find us there as well.
00:47 And if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages,
00:52 or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
00:59 YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:01 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
01:05 Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobstrell.
01:08 Good morning, guys.
01:09 Morning.
01:10 Morning.
01:11 Right, this week we saw Leeds United continue their fine form in 2024
01:16 with a 1-0 victory over Bristol City, which saw the Whites briefly claim top...
01:21 Sorry, second spot in the table.
01:25 This was then followed by a 4-1 victory over Plymouth in the second leg of their FA Cup tie,
01:35 which now sees them into the next round.
01:37 Hull City came away with all three points in their 1-0 win over Millwall.
01:43 Rotherham United fell to a 2-0 defeat when they hosted Southampton.
01:48 Liverpool Wednesday had to share the points when they welcomed Watford to Hillsborough
01:51 before falling to a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Huddersfield Town.
01:56 Sheffield United fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat at the hands of Aston Villa,
01:59 and we'll be covering both Sheffield clubs later on in the podcast.
02:04 Barnsley had to settle for a point after playing out a 1-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers,
02:09 while in League 2 Bradford City played out a 0-0 draw with the FC Wimbledon,
02:15 and both Doncaster Rovers and Harrogate Town played out 1-0 draws with Sutton United
02:21 and Stockport County respectively.
02:23 But first, we start this week's podcast with a review of the transfer activities of our Yorkshire clubs.
02:29 So, Stuart, who do you feel made the most of the January transfer window,
02:34 and who do you feel had a poor transfer window?
02:38 Well, I think for a lot of clubs, not just in Yorkshire, but across the board,
02:43 across the leagues, across the world even, you know, it was quite a cautious transfer window.
02:48 I think the penny had dropped with quite a few English clubs that the authorities
02:55 are taking financial fair play seriously now, and they need to do the same.
03:00 So it wasn't the most dramatic window ever.
03:03 I mean, we saw clubs like Leeds and Sheffield United get the positions they targeted,
03:12 but no more than that, which is sensible under the circumstances.
03:17 I think the one that leapt out, Hull City clearly signed some very good players.
03:24 It feels like it's almost been a bit of a reset.
03:27 They've had a couple of weeks off and just reset the squad.
03:33 We know from his time at Middlesbrough what a good player Ryan Giles is.
03:38 We saw from last season in the Championship how effective Anas Ruri was.
03:44 He looks like another good signing.
03:45 We've said it earlier in the window about what a shrewd signing Billy Sharp was.
03:50 So certainly from an on-field perspective, it looks like a real good window for Hull,
03:54 a real sign of intent.
03:56 What I would sort of caveat it with, absolutely, Leon looked at the financial accounts for last year,
04:05 so not covering this transfer window, with an 86% rise in the wages.
04:10 They've clearly taken a big gamble that they're going to throw everything at getting up this season.
04:18 If they don't, I think there will be consequences down the line in terms of them having to sell key players.
04:26 It's a risky situation at the best of times, but I think it's riskier still when your target is the playoffs.
04:32 We all know you can't bank on what happens in the playoffs.
04:37 Anything's possible. Bad decision here, penalty shootout lost there, and it's all over.
04:43 It's a risky window from Hull City, but I think if you look at it from a purely football perspective,
04:50 I think after a difficult December and January, they look really geared up to give this a real push.
05:00 But as I say, they are going to have to because of the situation they've created for themselves.
05:08 In terms of bad windows, I would say Sheffield Wednesday really stick out,
05:16 not just in terms of who they weren't able to bring in, who are obviously very keen on a striker in particular,
05:24 but also in terms of who they weren't able to get out.
05:28 As you've alluded to, we'll talk about them a bit more later, but you do worry now that there are players in that squad
05:35 who know that the manager was actively trying to move them on in the window.
05:40 He said publicly he was open to offers for the likes of Rhys James, Michael Smith, Lee Gregory.
05:46 Some of those are going to have to perform for him.
05:49 There's going to be some players, again talking about the finances,
05:52 who are going to get paid to not play for Sheffield Wednesday for the rest of the season.
05:56 Now they're out of the FA Cup because they won't be included on the squad list because there are too many players there.
06:02 It just feels like, certainly speaking to Danny Roel after the Sheffield Wednesday Watford game the other week,
06:12 it felt like his morale has taken a hit as well.
06:16 I think just generally a bit of momentum has been taken out of Sheffield Wednesday on the field and off it.
06:23 We'll talk more on the field later on, but it felt like a bad window for them.
06:28 I think for a lot of clubs it was just underwhelming, but then you look at some clubs and you say,
06:36 well it was more about keeping a certain player.
06:39 Howard Keating, Abraham O'Do for example, was massive for them rather than keeping Victor Johansson.
06:47 I don't think there were many outstanding windows, but with those caveats, Hull was the one that really leapt out to me.
06:57 You look at Hull's squad and it looks a playoff squad doesn't it?
07:04 You look at the amount of attacking options they've got in their armour, Cavalio, Giles, you forget Filigene as well.
07:14 He obviously came in for £5 million in the summer window and it definitely looks like a jam today doesn't it?
07:21 You do wonder about them further down the line if they don't manage to make it and how they're going to fit everything in with FFP.
07:32 I think risk as well is the right word from Stuart, but Liam Messina as well.
07:36 If he doesn't manage to get Hull in the playoffs this season with everything that's been handed to him,
07:45 you've got to worry a little bit about him really.
07:49 That squad really should be getting into the playoffs from there given the outlay they've had.
07:59 You look at the figures, wages 131% of revenue, that's huge isn't it? Wages up from 86% as Stuart said.
08:08 It's a gamble and a risky one, but if it ends up with Hull getting in the playoffs and somehow getting to the Premier League.
08:19 One thing as well, it looks like the race for automatic promotion, I think the odds are that someone's going to be very disappointed to miss out.
08:26 You wonder if there's a psychological effect for one or two of those teams going into the playoffs.
08:33 That's a bit further down the line.
08:35 It's a huge commitment by Hull, a fair amount of money but there's some really good players there.
08:43 At the other end, you look at Leeds who've kept the powder dry, waited until the end.
08:52 Daniel Farke has been very consistent in his approach saying, not just the right players but the right characters as well with quality.
09:04 Connor Roberts certainly falls into that bracket.
09:07 I agree with what Stuart said about Sheffield Wednesday.
09:11 I think the issue there was they were just going public with so many targets weren't they?
09:16 Not getting them and it was obviously the two of them throwing with Maguire but I think it's Blackburn who got egg on the face a lot more than that.
09:28 That one seems a real mess doesn't it?
09:31 The talk of clicking the wrong buttons on the registration form, it's that and the other.
09:40 I think Middlesbrough will have liked them to bring in another striker.
09:49 That's what they've been missing a little bit this season.
09:53 When you listen to the reasons why they didn't do that, there's a sense in there that it's a risky market in January.
10:02 You don't necessarily get that much value for money and I think that's part of Middlesbrough as well.
10:09 Maybe holding back and thinking, hopefully they might nick it in the playoffs but it probably does look unlikely.
10:16 More in terms of keeping something back for the summer window where you contrast it with Hull who have really gone for it now haven't they?
10:24 There's a bit of a difference in approach there isn't there?
10:29 Yeah and I think in the here and now most fans would rather be in Hull's position but you only need to look a couple of years down the line and it could be very different.
10:41 I think we all know what a good custodian Steve Gibson is for Middlesbrough Football Club and what a vocal proponent he is of financial fair play.
10:52 He certainly wouldn't look very good if he was going close to the wind as he did in the 90s before those rules existed.
11:05 He did have a good palatial premise as well didn't he when the first cup went down but he had something in his arm.
11:12 Exactly, it's a different landscape now and as I said, as you can see across the window, I think clubs are more wary of Hull apart of the need to stick by these rules.
11:24 We've seen with the 10-point deduction for Everton, if it could happen to them it could happen to everyone and there would be a lot of nervous chairman at the moment double checking their accounts.
11:34 We've seen from clubs who clearly felt they needed to strengthen not strengthening or trying to move on players even that the penny has dropped to some extent.
11:47 It might be that those clubs who hold their nerve like Middlesbrough and others to be fair are vindicated in the longer run. It's just a test of patience for everyone in the short term.
12:05 That's life, that's football. Sometimes you do have to be a bit sensible about it.
12:11 Yeah, I think there's got to be a bit of pragmatism and obviously the position you're in as well. You look at Rotherham and we all hope they do manage to pull off a great escape but at the minute I think it's fair to say it's pretty unlikely.
12:27 We've had enough teams in the past from Yorkshire who have been relegated, Rotherham themselves, Barnsley and you're looking at a £7-8 million loss and when you're going into a transfer window in January how much do you spend realising that you're going to lose money if you do get relegated at the end of the season?
12:51 That could impact on the budgets anyway if you get relegated to league one. It's pointless throwing all your eggs in one basket and having nothing at all. When you're in Rotherham's position you've got to look at one of the medium terms. There's that element as well.
13:13 Time will tell. We're not very familiar with how these players will perform in English football, a couple of them anyway, but they've certainly shown a bit of ambition, a bit of fight. I'd say my only concern as I said in the previous podcast is that because they've changed manager there isn't that joined up thinking but hopefully they can reverse engineer that and get to a point where these signings do them some good.
13:42 You certainly couldn't accuse them of just sitting back and accepting their fate which was probably the most important thing for them this winter.
13:50 I'm also at that downstream of reverse engineer. I love that podcast. I don't know what it means but I like it.
13:58 Now we turn our attention to the league action which took place over the last week. Starting with Middlesbrough who had to settle for a point after playing out a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in a game which had to wait until after the hour mark for the deadlock to be broken.
14:15 This sees Michael Carrick's men just four points outside the top six with a visit from Bristol City next on the cards for them. What was your assessment of the game Leon?
14:27 Yeah it was a bit of an opportunity lost. I think if you look at the game in the round maybe a draw was a fair result but I thought for the bulk of the second half, I thought Sunderland shaded the first half but for a good half hour or so of the second half,
14:46 Middlesbrough were in the box seat and they scored a good goal. We mentioned a bit earlier about the fact they haven't filled that striker in who most supporters would have wanted but they've got players up there who they can play in a nine role and Marcus Forth scored a really good goal.
15:11 It was great control with a touchy one foot and a drilled finish. They were set fair to get a rare league double over Sunderland but they just switched off. It was a really sloppy goal. Got caught on the counter and played switch to the right flank.
15:31 I think it's fair to say that Tom Glover in goal should have done better in terms of saving the shot. Yeah it was a bit sloppy and disappointing from a Middlesbrough perspective. They've had their moments this season but they've struggled with a bit of ruthlessness in both ends of the box.
15:53 They're a very good watch between the third and fourth to play some lovely football on the day but you can accuse them of not scoring enough and giving away some cheap goals even though they are a good watch.
16:08 For me, you look at them last season with Akpom and Archer, they had the ruthless edge in front of goal and they've sort of lost that. It's fair to say. I think it's just how they've managed to... they are amongst a pack of clubs aren't they really?
16:27 They've got a little bit of hope to creep into the playoffs but every time when there's drop points that gap can get a little bit more so that the margin for error does... you can't be affording yourself too much of it can you?
16:46 How do they fill this number nine role that Torker Force can play there? Sam Greenwood, he is an option to Eamon though he's not an unorthodox number nine. So we'll have to see. They're going to have to certainly get a run of wins you would think in the not too distant future.
17:05 They've got Bristol City at home and they've got three out of four away and one of them is Leicester so yeah the clock's starting to tick.
17:13 I don't think Middlesbrough should be giving up on the playoffs by any means. That's the beauty of the Championship. It's accessible to so many clubs for such a long part of the season.
17:24 But I think really it's about coaching and fine tuning this team over the next couple of months so that if they don't make the playoffs the platform is there that they only need one or two players adding to have a real good push for next season.
17:39 I think that's the best way to look at it because as I say even if you get into the playoffs there's such a lottery that you can't really bank on anything. So you always have to be thinking about what if we don't go up this season?
17:55 Where do we need to be that we can improve this team with minimal number of additions? But yeah I think we've seen what Middlesbrough are capable of this season and we've seen the areas they're just a bit short in.
18:14 I think Sene Dieng being at the African Cup of Nations has hurt them a bit because you can see the level has dropped a bit with Glover. That's not the only mistake he's made.
18:29 Obviously we've talked many times about how the injuries have affected them and the other big theme of the season has been lack of ruthlessness. So it's been good to see Forse come back the last couple of weeks and really add something in that respect.
18:46 He's one of those players who his motivation for the rest of the season needs to be I want to show that you don't need to sign a player in my position. I can be a key player for you in the second half of the season.
19:00 I guess from a character point of view it's just a case of working out whether that is as Leon says playing down the middle as a number 9 or attacking from wide. But this is a time to really get your head around those things, work those things out and then go and sign what you don't have in the summer hopefully.
19:20 I think the way they'll do it, if they do manage it which is unlikely, is they're going to need some luck on the injury front as well. That's been a big story in the first half or two thirds of the season.
19:34 Josh Coleman has had an issue with his groin, if they can just somehow keep him fit, Lachie Laff has been out as well. If they come back, they've got Riley McRae to come back into contention as well.
19:48 They've got as many attacking options as you like, they might not necessarily be bona fide number 9s but you can mix it around a little bit can't you. They've obviously got Finn Azad as well, he played in a forward position against Sunderland.
20:03 There's a bit of an element of making do with men but I think if they are going to sneak in they're going to need a good run on the injury front for sure.
20:13 As I mentioned earlier at the start of the podcast, I want to focus on Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday who both suffered heavy defeats this past week.
20:24 Let's start with Sheffield United and their 5-0 loss at home to Aston Villa. This most definitely will not help in their hope for survival this season but what did you make of it Stuart?
20:37 Well worrying to be honest with you. Worrying because for the last couple of months really, or certainly a fair few weeks, we've been talking about how Chris Wilder's return to the club has got them fighting again.
20:52 For all their other shortcomings, they've been competitive in all the games. This was the exception to that rule. Granted Aston Villa are a very good side, albeit they've won one in five games in the league.
21:07 They're a very good side, they're a much better side than for example Burnley, Paul Heckingbottom's final opponent. But it was a worrying flashback to that Burnley game. I was at both of the matches and it was the way that they collapsed.
21:22 Four goals in 18 first half minutes and really poor goals. No pressure on the ball when the player was passing it through. Too often the runner he was passing to was in too much space.
21:37 They were really poor goals to concede and a poor performance. So this can go one of two ways. This can either be 'this is Sheffield United for the rest of the season'.
21:48 They've finally been ground down and broken and they're going to be a free lunch for anyone who plays them for the rest of the season.
21:56 Or this can be a blip and Luton Town away on Saturday is the stage for them to come out and show that was just a one-off. We are still fighting for this. We are still giving our all and we're still in this.
22:13 I think we'll learn a lot at Kenilworth Road from where that goes because if they were to lose there, it may not even be Luton who are in the spot they're chasing come the end of the season.
22:25 But Luton I think will be 13 points ahead with 14 games to go. They're getting to the point of being uncatchable from a Sheffield United perspective.
22:33 So it really, really is important first and foremost that they put in that performance and then that they get a result to just give them something to fight for for the rest of the season.
22:46 Because I think realistically we know it's going to take something very special for them to stay up.
22:52 But it's about showing pride in the shirt. It's about showing the supporters that you care.
22:58 I don't think it was so much that they didn't care against Aston Villa but they just lost the one thing really that Chris Wilder had brought them.
23:10 So it was a worrying evening if you were a Sheffield United supporter.
23:15 And quite a lot of them, and I can't blame them for it, didn't hang around to watch all of it.
23:20 There were a lot of people left after 20 minutes, a lot of people left after 30 minutes, a lot of people left at the end of the first half.
23:27 And again, if the supporters are losing that fight, that is massive as well.
23:35 But you couldn't criticise them because why should they hang around and watch that when the performance from the players was just so abject?
23:45 I think it's a good game, or if that's the right phrase, it's a game on Saturday where Chris Wilder will find out a bit about his players.
23:55 It's a game at a side of the road down there at Luton.
23:59 Fair to say it's a Premier League venue that brings its own challenges.
24:07 The crowd will be really on top of the Sheffield United players.
24:11 And obviously Luton have a way of playing which will be a test for the visiting players.
24:16 But you have to factor in the crowd as well.
24:19 It's a place where there will be no hiding place, so that will be a big defeat.
24:25 Chris Wilder, you would have thought he would be able to find out about some of his players there.
24:31 That will be an interesting exercise in itself.
24:35 We've spoken about the non-negotiables that Chris Wilder expects from his players.
24:40 Those qualities, not just in terms of technical ability but in terms of the mindset as well.
24:48 They will all be on the line on Saturday.
24:52 It's the worst possible game for somebody who wants to hide.
24:56 It's the best possible game for somebody with Bottle who wants to stand up and show it.
25:01 They showed a good professional, as simple as that.
25:04 So as Leon says, it will sort the weight from the chaff a bit in terms of Sheffield United.
25:12 Next we turn our attention to Sheffield Wednesday who have also had a rough week
25:17 when they visited Yorkshire rivals and fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town.
25:21 The Owls conceded four goals in the space of 12 second half minutes.
25:26 Due to Huddersfield Town claiming all three points on the day,
25:29 they now find themselves eight points adrift from safety.
25:32 Where did it all go wrong Leon?
25:35 What does Danny Roll do to help keep his side in the race for survival?
25:42 But then we can also talk about the flip side and see how this will affect Huddersfield Town.
25:48 Well it was a bizarre game.
25:53 Anyone who's looking at it from the outside will think 4-0.
25:58 Sheffield Wednesday have got a real good hiding and have been comprehensively bettered
26:03 all over the park for the whole game.
26:07 It wasn't really like that. It was a bit of a nothing game to be quite honest.
26:11 I actually thought Wednesday probably edged the first half if anything.
26:15 Huddersfield started the second half.
26:18 The better but the other game wasn't particularly going anywhere.
26:22 It was just an unfathomable defensive implosion.
26:27 Some of the goals were just so poor from a Wednesday perspective.
26:33 Goals that you couldn't really stamp out as well.
26:36 The first goal came from the corner.
26:38 Matty Pearson, a big central defender who has got obvious threats from set plays.
26:44 He's a big lad as well.
26:46 He was being marked by Anthony Massaba.
26:52 Instead of either a central defender on the visiting side or a big centre forward.
26:59 So that was 1-0. That set the tone.
27:02 Just really poor goals.
27:05 The third goal, Ederson on his debut was just ball watching and got caught.
27:11 Slap passing for the fourth and got caught out for the second.
27:18 That was the dispiriting thing from a Wednesday point of view.
27:23 I had issues with the defence.
27:25 Issues with the goalkeeper as well.
27:28 He didn't necessarily have much of a chance with the goals.
27:32 I thought he was extremely indecisive on the day.
27:36 Look what he probably is, a bit of a kid in a relegation bite.
27:40 There might be a decision to make there.
27:44 Obviously Wednesday were in action.
27:48 On Friday it heightened the pressure for that game.
27:51 Obviously got heavily beaten, albeit a much changed side in midweek in the FA Cup.
27:56 Obviously two four goals in two games.
28:02 It's totally a must win game against Birmingham if they're going to give yourself a chance.
28:09 You look at the away form, it's right to say Danny Rome has come in and done some good work.
28:18 Just to get them in with a sniff of survival is a fair achievement from where they were.
28:25 The away form has still been pretty damning all season.
28:30 The odd win here and there, something like seven goals in 15 games.
28:35 That's simply not good enough and points in one way.
28:39 The annoying thing from a Wednesday perspective is that they weren't out footballed by Huddersfield.
28:46 Given a lesson it really was self-inflicted.
28:51 On the flip side of the coin, Huddersfield you take anything.
28:58 We were speaking about the transfer window earlier.
29:01 The ironic thing was that Huddersfield had been a bit of a bit of a noise at the end of the year about bringing in a few forwards.
29:09 They did that and then they both came off with issues.
29:13 Recently they came off a groin problem in the first half.
29:17 And Madelovic came off in the second half as well with an issue.
29:23 Huddersfield ended up making light of that.
29:26 They put Josh Karoma down the middle and he made Haywilders' son Sean.
29:31 I think one of the big people to mention is Ben Wiles.
29:34 He's had a rotten time since his coming to Huddersfield from Rotherham.
29:40 He's never really got going but he really looked at home in a number 10 role.
29:44 All the pluses as well. I thought Brodie Spencer was good on a custom role at left back.
29:51 In a Huddersfield situation you really take anything that comes on offer.
29:59 I had a little bit of thinking back.
30:02 I got rid of Darren Moore last week and I had a penny for his thoughts.
30:06 He's probably thinking where's that four goal salvo come from?
30:12 But yeah, a great day for John Worthington, Huddersfield, Town supporters.
30:17 Kevin Nagel was able to tweet us about something that wasn't really controversial.
30:24 It was great to see Huddersfield go for the throat once they got in front.
30:29 It didn't sound just from following Leon's tweets of the game and reading reports
30:35 as though the shackles were really off in the way that we were promised in that first hour or so.
30:42 We saw them under Darren Moore sometimes go one-nil up in games and not really force the issue.
30:49 It was good to see that they piled on the goals.
30:54 They were helped a lot by Sheffield Wednesday.
30:56 That fourth goal in particular was just absolutely awful.
30:59 But that's not Huddersfield's problem.
31:01 They showed that ruthlessness to recognise there's a weakness here, let's pounce on it.
31:07 That was really good to see and hopefully that can be a template going forward.
31:13 It seems very likely that in the longer term, certainly, there's going to be a different manager in charge.
31:21 But also just really good to see, as Leon's alluded to, a boyhood Huddersfield fan who's grown up in the area,
31:30 who's played for the club, who's worked for the academy, who loves the club.
31:33 It's always good to see, it doesn't matter what the club is, to see someone like that having the day in the sun.
31:39 Maybe more to come, fingers crossed.
31:42 But that was really heartwarming.
31:44 I think from Sheffield Wednesday, I don't think you can box off the FA Cup game that followed it.
31:52 I know it's a different competition, I know it was a different team.
31:55 But the way it just adds to the narrative, the fact that having conceded four goals in 18 minutes
32:02 at the game Leon was at, to then concede three in eight second-half minutes against Coventry,
32:07 it just adds to this impression of the roof coming in.
32:13 It just feels to me, they went into the new year, they started the new year with real momentum, it felt.
32:20 When you go up to the Cardiff FA Cup game, they'd won six out of nine,
32:25 they made a couple of early signings in the transfer window, and it just felt they had momentum.
32:31 Whereas other clubs, particularly Huddersfield, were kind of stuck in the mud a bit.
32:35 That's really dissipated now, no wins in six.
32:39 Granted, they've played some good teams in that, but nevertheless,
32:43 the big picture is that the wind has come out of their sails a bit.
32:49 It's not irretrievable, but it is sort of worrying.
32:52 As I alluded to earlier, it seems almost like morale's been a bit damaged by what happened
32:57 and didn't happen in the transfer window, and it just feels like there's something to call back.
33:02 A good win against Birmingham on Friday, maybe by the time some people are listening to this
33:07 they'll know the results of it, but a good win that night could get things back on track.
33:13 But it does feel at the moment as though things have just edged away.
33:17 In typical Sheffield Wednesday fashion, I'm afraid to say, it feels like they themselves
33:23 are partly to blame for it. Particularly, we've seen numerous occasions in the last,
33:29 goodness knows how long, of boardroom decisions in particular just sucking a bit of the momentum
33:35 out of that club. Whilst it's certainly not all down to that, on the field things as well,
33:41 it does feel as though things have just cooled a bit when they were running quite hot
33:47 at the start of January.
33:49 I think they've just got to change the narrative really quickly, haven't they Stuart?
33:53 I'd say the next four, five, six games, if they don't provide themselves hope there,
33:59 the narrative's going to be about chance here, it's going to be about season ticket prices.
34:06 You just wonder if Wednesday's position as well in the next one doesn't significantly improve.
34:11 There's a hell of a lot of players there who will have a contract in the summer,
34:15 and you just wonder if they're psychologically throwing in the towel a little bit really.
34:22 But he's done a hell of a lot, it's important to remember that Danny Rose has done some
34:28 really good work there on the training ground, they've all spoken really highly of him.
34:32 You just have to hope his stake on Wednesday is that he can manufacture a response.
34:38 They really do need to beat Birmingham on Friday, and get another bit of a sugar rush
34:44 and a few wins quickly after to keep the fight going.
34:48 They're still capable of it, I would say that, but I do think this February period is going to be massive.
34:55 We talk about the signings they didn't make, but of course the run they were on before
35:00 was without these signings as well, so he can clearly do it with this group of signings.
35:05 It's not beyond them, it just feels like they've taken a real psychological hit.
35:11 On the flip side, you look at Huddersfield and all of a sudden I think the five clubs
35:16 directly above them are all within a win of them.
35:19 So if a new manager can come in and really hit the ground running, it could be really positive for them too.
35:26 But I think for both clubs, February is going to be quite decisive in shaping the mood of things for the rest of the season.
35:33 Yeah, they look really vulnerable, don't they? They're on a dreadful run.
35:38 Fair play to John Worthington, he bought them a little bit of time with that victory against Sheffield Wednesday.
35:47 Look, if they get anything from the Southampton game, that is a major bonus, isn't it?
35:52 It is pretty unlikely, but Rotherham still did go there and nick something.
35:59 But they've got two home games after that, Sunderland and Hull.
36:06 So I think regardless of what happens against Southampton, if they get anything as a bonus,
36:13 they should still hopefully go into those two games in reasonable spirits.
36:17 And Stuart's right to say there's quite a few other teams just above them who aren't having the best time of it.
36:24 Stoke as well, who will be looking over the shoulders of it.
36:27 And finally this week, we look to Leon for his Player of the Week before turning to Stuart for his Team of the Week.
36:33 So Leon, who has caught your eye this week?
36:36 Yeah, there's quite a few to be honest, Mark.
36:40 Leeds United obviously had a couple of good results in the South West, winning a good result at Bristol City,
36:47 and then doing the job against Plymouth.
36:50 Willy Gonto, he's got a couple of goals, he's put his hand up and back on the scene, so to speak.
36:57 I grew up in midfield, he just seems to be getting better and better, he's getting into a real rhythm.
37:04 And he certainly looks a player, doesn't he?
37:07 One or two others, I think Josh Barnsley making his debut at Bolton, one of his former clubs.
37:16 He had an excellent first appearance for Barnsley in a big game in his debut as well.
37:22 So, worth mentioning him, Abu Derek, for Harrogate Town on his debut at Stockport.
37:29 Not just his debut for the club, but his Football League debut.
37:33 He was very impressive by all accounts, so welcome to that young man.
37:38 But I think I'm in it probably a little bit biased because I was at the game,
37:43 but I'm going to plump for a Huddersfield player.
37:46 Brodie Spencer, as I've said, was very good at left-back when he was a right-back.
37:51 But I think given what he's been through and he was really looking for some sort of catalyst for his season,
37:59 I'll have to say Ben Riles, who was excellent when he came in the number 10 role.
38:03 And Stuart, who has caught your eye this week?
38:07 In terms of the team, obviously Leon's touched on a couple of them already having a tremendous result.
38:14 Another good result to draw against Stockport County.
38:18 I don't think anybody could have budgeted for them picking up points there.
38:23 So it just keeps the bandwagon rolling.
38:25 As I mentioned earlier, Hull having gone a couple of weeks without a game and after all the transfer activity,
38:31 it felt like almost a bit of a reset of the season.
38:34 So it was important they started that with a win against Millwall.
38:39 Leeds United, another good week, just keeping this unbeaten start going into 2024.
38:48 Yet again, made it a bit harder than they needed to in the FA Cup, but got the job done against Plymouth.
38:54 And that's what matters.
38:56 But in terms of the result, I just don't think you can look past that Huddersfield win.
39:01 Certainly I've been very critical of Huddersfield the last couple of weeks, but that was a perfect response.
39:09 And as I say, a real platform for them.
39:12 And absolutely no doubt whatsoever that John Worthington has to be the caretaker manager of the week as well.
39:18 But a really good week for Huddersfield and hopefully the start of a real upturn for them.
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