In this week’s show, Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss Hull City’s chances of making the Championship play-offs. With Just three games to go, they remain six points adrift of sixth spot.
Leeds United’s hopes of clinching a top-two automatic spot took a hit at the weekend with a home defeat to Blackburn Rovers – but results elsewhere meant they didn’t lose too much ground on automatic promotion rivals Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
At the other end of the Championship table, Sheffield Wednesday are still in the fight to avoid the drop, both they and Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town sitting just a point from safety with three games remaining.
Also this week, Stuart picks out his star player of the week, while Leon plumps for the best team from Yorkshire over the past few days.
Have a listen, see if you agree or now and get in touch with your own thoughts on ANY football-related matter, either down in the comments section below or via our social media channels including on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also listen to our show via your own preferred podcast provider, including Apple, Google, Spotify, PocketCast and many more.
Leeds United’s hopes of clinching a top-two automatic spot took a hit at the weekend with a home defeat to Blackburn Rovers – but results elsewhere meant they didn’t lose too much ground on automatic promotion rivals Ipswich Town and Leicester City.
At the other end of the Championship table, Sheffield Wednesday are still in the fight to avoid the drop, both they and Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town sitting just a point from safety with three games remaining.
Also this week, Stuart picks out his star player of the week, while Leon plumps for the best team from Yorkshire over the past few days.
Have a listen, see if you agree or now and get in touch with your own thoughts on ANY football-related matter, either down in the comments section below or via our social media channels including on Twitter and Facebook.
You can also listen to our show via your own preferred podcast provider, including Apple, Google, Spotify, PocketCast and many more.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:14 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:17 of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:21 Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:24 Leon Walshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:29 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, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:38 feeds, the main one being @ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:43 Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:48 if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:51 or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:56 at yp.sport@nationalworld.com. Yorkshire Post.co.uk
01:02 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:05 the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall.
01:08 Good morning guys. Morning.
01:11 Morning. Right. This week saw Sheffield United fall to a 2-0 defeat when they faced Brentford.
01:16 Middlesbrough played out a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town. Huddersfield Town shared the
01:21 points with Bristol City. Rotherham United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Swansea City.
01:27 Barnsley played out a 2-1 draw with Reading. Doncaster Rovers claimed an impressive 4-0
01:31 victory over Accrington Stanley. Harrogate Town played out a 2-1 draw with Sutton United,
01:37 and Bradford City played out a 2-1 victory over Salford City. However, let's start this
01:43 week with the clash between Hull City and Middlesbrough. The game presented a 1-1 draw
01:50 which was then followed by a 3-0 win over Queen's Park Rangers. This now sees Hull
01:56 six points off the playoffs. Do you think they could make one last push for the final
02:04 playoff place? And with regards to Middlesbrough, do you think they should plan for another
02:09 try next season, Leon?
02:10 Yeah, I think it's pretty much all over for Middlesbrough, just running out of points
02:18 and games. I think Hull have still got a sniff. They obviously had to beat QPR on Saturday
02:25 and they've done Sheffield Wednesday and others have had a little bit of a favour there. They've
02:32 got a small window, I think, Middlesbrough. It's been a decent run for them, hasn't it?
02:38 I think they're nine unbeaten now. They've had a little bit of fun but you really sense
02:43 that they had to win at Hull and Ipswich to give themselves a chance. Fair play to them,
02:48 they've got a couple of hard games and they've got a couple of decent draws in the circumstances
02:54 but in their position they were wanting more. I think Hull have the doors just about open
02:59 for them. A little bit of an interesting one is that West Brom have sort of slipped up
03:05 a little bit so they might have just a little bit of a chance there. It's pretty much similar
03:13 to what we've seen. They're going to have to win all the games they've got Watford on
03:18 Saturday and then they'll take on a Coventry side. Obviously, they've got their big bang
03:26 in the FA Cup. Hit them on the other side of that, that might be a good thing. Then
03:33 they've got a huge game with Ipswich. I think Hull are just having to tick them off one
03:37 by one. I think it is all over for Middlesbrough. I think with the greater respect it wasn't
03:43 a really big chance for them anyway. It was funny, I did a Hull-Borough game and it sort
03:49 of showed the good and the not so good really. Hull and Stuart have seen a bit more of them
03:56 than I have but I think in the final third in terms of game breakers and individual talent,
04:04 they're as good as anyone up there. The Philadelphians of this world, Carvalho, wonderful, gifted
04:13 footballers who you pay to watch, who can do something out of nothing. There is a bit
04:21 of an Achilles heel with Hull. They seem to me a tempo side. When they're going at teams
04:29 and they've got the mojo and the flying, they can be irresistible in parts of games. It's
04:38 when the game gets a little bit scruffy, a little bit slow, they're not quite at those
04:43 heights managing those periods of games. They had the game under control against Borough
04:49 to be fair. The Middles were scored early. Hull's response was very good. They were good
04:54 for the rest of the first half. Dimmed a little bit in the second half but it's just about
05:00 managing games, isn't it? Getting your second wind and the Middles were equalised. It was
05:07 a good goal from their perspective but I thought it was soft from a Hull one. Liam Messina
05:12 spoke about how the Middles were pro. Things like tactical foul, bringing a player down
05:16 if he's going towards goals, just take one for the team. They got exposed and paid the
05:24 price in terms of not getting three points. Good in the respect that I thought it was
05:28 a good game on paper for them to hit back on Saturday and they've done the job in that
05:33 regard. I think if Hull do miss out, I don't think it's anything to do with the individual
05:39 talent they've got on show. It's just those annoying facets of the game in certain games.
05:47 That was the first home win since the start of February. I know they've played well in
05:52 some of these games. I think Buddy Stewart did one that played Leicester. They packed
05:58 a punch and had a real go at them but there's other games as well where they should have
06:03 got three points and haven't. I think they lost to Stoke the other week. Games like that
06:08 and periods of games where they've not managed it well. I think in the final analysis if
06:13 they don't make it, it will be because of that.
06:15 I think going into that game, I looked at it and thought if it's a draw, that's it for
06:24 both sides. To be honest, I thought even a Middlesborough win probably wouldn't be enough
06:28 just because they played the extra game. I think it was only last week or maybe the week
06:34 before we were talking on this podcast and we thought Doncaster Rovers would run out
06:38 of time. Then suddenly at the start of this week, bang, they're one point away from the
06:41 play-off. You can never rule anything out. I think for both of these sides, they play
06:49 good football and to watch them at their best, they're really good teams. We saw Middlesbrough's
06:55 league cup run this season. We saw what they did to Chelsea. Saturday seemed like a really
07:01 good example of what Hull are like at their best. But they've both got similar weaknesses.
07:06 The goal Middlesbrough conceded against Hull was awful. Sweet-Middlesbrough's goal was
07:11 pretty poor as well from a Hull perspective. They both lack a bit of cutting edge. As Leon
07:21 says, that's what will cost them. You feel like on their day, they can beat anyone. So
07:26 if they do get into the play-offs, I certainly wouldn't rule them out. But it's that game
07:30 on game consistency that gets you there. That's what you worry about.
07:34 As I say, we'll wait and see. Maybe they will scrape in, as Leon says, West Brom giving
07:38 them a chink of flight. Maybe they won't. But that's certainly what they need to improve
07:43 going forward. Rossinho always talks about how they're a young team. They're a learning
07:48 team. There's been some big lessons to learn in the second half of the season, particularly
07:54 at home. Just about being more ruthless in both boxes. You can see all the elements of
08:00 that for a good team. They just need those little bits added. A striker you could hang
08:06 your hat on obviously makes a difference to any team.
08:11 And sometimes just a bit more pragmatism from both of those teams. Both Carrick and Rossinho
08:23 are the sort of coaches who will always defend their goalkeepers and defenders when the team
08:29 concedes a goal playing out because that's the way they want to play. But to me, there
08:34 is always a balance to strike. Sometimes you just feel that was a bit daft by whichever
08:41 player it was. They just need to strike that balance better as well.
08:46 The good thing for both of these teams is they play a style of football which I think
08:51 will serve them well if they can make that last jump and get into the Premier League.
08:59 They just need to tighten up on the details of it really.
09:03 I think that's right from Stuart. It is that balance from a middlesmen's perspective. We've
09:08 seen them at Chelsea when nobody's saying that playing out from the back is wrong. But
09:16 there's times and places, isn't there? You can go on and on about the Chelsea game. They
09:19 were 1-0 up from the first leg. You go into a Premier League game, it's not the venue
09:25 and the divisions above. You don't play out from the back against a Premier League team.
09:30 That was a mistake. I couldn't understand it in the game at Hull. You just thought half-time.
09:36 Hull have equalised on the half hour and they finished the half strongly. There's a time
09:41 and a place to surely play out from the window. It was a ridiculous goal, as Stuart said.
09:47 Afterwards, he was questioned about that. Michael Carrick, he's a pretty calm, laid-back
09:54 sort of character. But he was quite bristly when the journalist said to him, "There is
09:59 a time and a place to do that." He bridled with him a little bit.
10:06 I think he's... Mrs Sturridge said, "The lady's not for turning." I don't think Carrick's
10:11 fit for turning, is he, in that regard? They're going to carry on doing that.
10:14 I think the interesting one, going forward a little bit, is they've got Leeds on Monday.
10:20 Obviously, it's a huge game for Leeds. We'll speak about them later. I'm very interested
10:26 to see what tactics Middlesbrough employ. Obviously, Leeds have played the last two
10:30 games. They've come up against teams who have sat in and blocked off the spacers. Sunderland
10:36 did it very well. Stuart was there on Saturday against Blackburn. They did it just as well
10:42 and just had that little bit more going forward. Do Middlesbrough do that? Do they set up with
10:47 their three centre-halves, wing-backs, aiming to stifle and be pragmatic and block Leeds
10:53 out? Or do they take them on? They played Ipswich on Saturday and Hull as well. They
11:00 went there to give them a game. Even if it's a basketball match, you have an attack, we
11:06 have an attack. That will be very interesting from that perspective in terms of how Buddha
11:11 set up. They've set up in that low-brock three-man defence with wing-backs. They've
11:20 done that successfully against Leicester twice and they've beaten Leicester twice. That's
11:25 worked for them against a big hitter in the division. It's not really what they're used
11:33 to and I don't think it's what Cary particularly likes. Would it work for them against Leicester?
11:37 Do they do that against Leeds? I think we all like to see teams play good
11:42 football but the teams that play the purest, most evangelical football tend to be in mid-table.
11:51 The teams at the top, even the likes of Manchester City and what have you, there's an air of
11:56 pragmatism just at the right times about them. Obviously Michael Carrick and Liam Rasinho
12:03 have got huge experience as players but I think that's the balance both of them need
12:09 to strike better and if they both miss out on the players, I think that's the big lesson
12:15 from this season for those clubs.
12:19 We turn our attention to Leeds United who missed the opportunity to go top of the table
12:24 after falling to a 1-0 defeat when they clashed with Blackburn Rovers. All is not lost however
12:29 based on how the results went for teams around them. What were your thoughts on the game,
12:35 Stuart?
12:36 It's just really frustrating from a Leeds perspective on many levels really. First and
12:43 foremost their own performance. We've been talking about it since the international break.
12:48 They've just not been themselves. Too many players off colour. They had loads of the
12:55 ball. Blackburn let them have three quarters of the ball but they just didn't do enough
13:00 with it. Wiley makes that point about how Middlesbrough might approach it as well. They
13:05 challenged them to break us down and on that day they really struggled with it. Some of
13:12 their best players, we've just seen Crescentia of Somerville named player of the division.
13:17 He's not his best at the moment. Eugenio Ruta is not his best at the moment. Patrick
13:24 Bamford's hot spell in front of goal has run its course for now. Obviously Joe Pirro
13:31 has not been on the same form since the turn of the year really. So yeah, that element
13:37 was frustrating. I don't criticise Blackburn for this. Blackburn were time-wasting from
13:45 minute one and that just added to the frustration. I don't blame Blackburn, I blame the referee
13:52 for not stamping it out. As we've said on this podcast before, all teams do it. It's
13:57 up to the officials to deal with it. The fact that there wasn't a Blackburn player booked
14:01 for that until the 85th minute just added to the feeling of annoyance and frustration
14:08 at Ellen Road. Blackburn were quite physical. We see Ruta get a lot of rough treatment every
14:15 game. There was plenty of that. Again, I think it's more arguable that one but I think there
14:22 were three bookings given for fouls. Possibly could have been a bit stricter with that.
14:26 But it just all added to this mood of frustration. At this time of year, we always talk about
14:33 home advantage and this was the first time Leeds had lost at home all season. I think
14:37 when it gets to the really nervous parts of the season, sometimes being at home can be
14:41 difficult because there's just a natural nervousness amongst the supporters. I'm not just talking
14:46 about teams going for promotion, teams fighting relegation as well. It's really difficult
14:52 as a supporter to hold that in. We talked about this last week and really get behind
14:59 the team. Sometimes it can be a little bit easier playing away from home than at home
15:06 in this situation. It was just a really frustrating place. Blackburn did their job really well.
15:13 As I say, they ate up the clock, they managed the game. They had two counter-attacks of
15:20 notes. Sami Shmurdov forced a good save with one and scored with the other. They had all
15:26 the ruthlessness that Leeds didn't have and that we've just been talking about all the
15:30 middles were not having. When you've got a player of that quality in that form, it makes
15:35 such a difference. Leeds have got players of that quality but not in that form right
15:39 now.
15:40 Yeah, they've hit a little bit of a roadblock at a rough time. I don't think anybody would
15:47 have expected them to take one point from six. They had two home games against Sunderland
15:52 and Blackburn. Both looked sort of juicy on paper, didn't they? You would have certainly
15:58 had Leeds down to win at least one of those if not two. I think Stuart's point is a good
16:05 one. Sometimes it appears that home games at this time of the year when you're right
16:10 at the top and going for promotion, everything should drop into place but it doesn't, does
16:15 it? Invariably. I remember years back when Leeds were that great side they had under
16:21 Howard Wilkinson going from this division in a big fight with Newcastle and Sheffield
16:26 United. They had a big game at this stage of the season against Barnsley and were right
16:31 down at the bottom and Barnsley managed to beat them. These things happen. I think as
16:39 hard as it's been for Leeds and all the stuff on social media from the supporters, they've
16:43 got to be grateful for small mercies, haven't they? Plymouth beat Leicester on Friday and
16:49 nobody was expecting that. At least of all the poor teams at the bottom from our area,
16:56 that was a real signal for Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday. I think most people would
17:04 have probably had... Ipswich had two home games. Stuart's on the other side. The stuff
17:07 about the home games. Ipswich have had two home games and they've not won any either.
17:11 They drew against Watford and they drew against Middlesbrough on Saturday. I think Borough
17:17 did Leeds a little bit of a favour there as well. It's all about just holding your nerve,
17:25 isn't it? I think the worrying thing for Leeds is if they do end up in the play-offs, let's
17:28 hope they don't. There's a twist or two yet. When you look at this promotion race, I wouldn't
17:36 rule out anything at the minute. They've just got to try and get the mojo back, haven't
17:40 they? If they do finish in the play-offs, they're not playing well, are they? They're
17:45 not playing like a side who, if they go into the play-offs, are going to finish the job.
17:48 There's loads of historic things about Leeds in the play-offs and the record. They haven't
17:53 been playing well for a while. Stuart talks about the international break and the comeback
17:59 and they've been poor from that. They weren't scintillating before that, were they? You
18:03 look at some of the games they played. You did a few more, Stuart. They beat Stoke and
18:09 they weren't convincing. They beat Millwall, they did the job, but they weren't really
18:14 cracking any flags there. You have to go back to that real purple patch they had in February,
18:21 don't you? When they were stuffing Swansea and Plymouth. I don't think it extends a little
18:27 bit beyond the international break. They've not been cracking the flags. Teams are coming
18:32 to Leeds and they're setting in a low brock and they're saying break us down. They're
18:37 choking off the space. There's still time yet, isn't there? They've got two away games
18:44 now. They know what they've got to do. If they can get a convincing performance and
18:49 win at Middlesbrough, then things are suddenly turning again. That's how you've got to see
18:56 it and it's about holding your nerves.
18:59 The psychology of it could go either way because playing last, it could be that everyone gets
19:06 a win at the weekend and St Antoine win in the midweek and they're in real trouble. But
19:10 if we have the sort of weekend we've had recently, it could be getting a huge amount of encouragement
19:15 by the teams dropping points. You just don't know. It does feel like for all the teams
19:19 we're talking about now, it's as much in the mind as anything. We know Leeds, Leicester
19:24 and Ipswich are all good enough to win automatic promotion, good enough to win the games they've
19:28 not been winning recently. It's just about that bit up there. I think both Leon and I
19:32 on this podcast all season have taken a lot of encouragement from the fact that Daniel
19:37 Farquhar is in charge at Leeds and he's got that experience and he's got that calmness.
19:42 He was very good in the post-match press conference. Normally after a defeat they're quite short
19:46 press conferences but he talked for a long time about just staying calm. I'm not happy
19:52 with this, I'm not happy with that, I'm not letting them off the hook for this and that.
19:58 But we still have belief that we can get the job done and there's no need to panic and
20:02 all this. Of course he was talking then before Ipswich had played, before we knew how that
20:08 would pan out. I think that element is going to be crucial, although obviously he stood
20:13 on the sidelines for 90 minutes. There's a limit to what he can do and sometimes his
20:18 calmness to be honest frustrates the supporters because he's not quicker to make substitutions.
20:25 That is a big weapon in their armoury, the fact that he's been there and done that.
20:28 The players know when he says things to them that this is a man who's got a couple of titles
20:33 in the bag. Hopefully from a Leeds perspective they can make that count because a lot of
20:39 Leeds experience, when you think of people like Liam Cooper and the first half of the
20:43 season Luke Ayling, he's actually in the dressing room and not on the field. There are still
20:49 some quite good young leaders there like Anne Pardew who's very experienced for his age.
20:57 Those sort of people need to set the tone and really settle the nerves but it will boil
21:05 down to nerves rather than ability.
21:07 I would have liked to have seen them give Joseph a little bit more of a run on Saturday.
21:15 I mean, what do I know? I just think 10 minutes, he's a young lad, he had his moment against
21:23 Chelsea. A lot of these Championship sides won't particularly know that much about him
21:28 and come up against him. I just think they missed a little bit of a trick, maybe giving
21:33 him an hour or certainly giving him, if things weren't going well the second half, just a
21:37 bit of an extended run. But who's to say? He might have a say in the last three games
21:45 yet but I was a little bit disappointed by that.
21:48 We talked about it last week, if for argument's sake they brought him on for half an hour,
21:53 it just would have lifted Ellen Road that little bit. I think the fact that it was a
21:56 home game made it even more of a factor but as we say, he's been there and done that,
22:02 we haven't.
22:03 He did point out to us after the Sunderland game that, I think he said that one year,
22:07 it may have been the first year when he got promoted at Norwich, I think they drew the
22:12 final six games, they hobbled over the line, I think they drew four and won two. I suppose
22:17 in that respect he's been a little bit here before, hasn't he?
22:42 Yeah, it was good. They performed pretty well, certainly in the first half they were dominant
22:49 against a pretty poor Stoke side. I wasn't impressed by them in any way, shape or form
22:56 but unfortunately it's about results now, isn't it? It's the third home draw in a row.
23:02 Stewart did the one in midweek when they played Norwich, wasn't it?
23:08 They were two-nil down and drew. That was a good point, wasn't it? Against a side who
23:12 were on good form at the minute, going for the playoffs and promotion. That must have
23:18 felt like a win but the reverse applied a little bit on Saturday. There was a real sense
23:23 of an opportunity loss, wasn't it? It was compounded by not too many were expecting,
23:30 obviously we're talking about Plymouth, but Birmingham stuff in Coventry. Nobody saw
23:35 that so that was a real kick in the teeth. They're just thinking about teams lacking
23:40 ruthlessness, Hull and Middlesbrough. It was the same with Sheffield Wednesday, they had
23:44 some really good early chances. Ugbo should have scored right in front of the goal early
23:50 on, a chance that you have to bury and a header clear off the line soon after. Michael Smith
23:55 was unlucky with a chance that hit the crossbar. Quite a few half chances came and went. It's
24:04 bad as stoke where you thought they were probably going to improve a little bit in the second
24:09 half. They did, they didn't improve by much. They made a good substitution at half-time
24:14 and ultimately the key call of the game in bringing on Cundall. Obviously, Liam Palmer
24:23 put Wednesday in front with a great goal. Cundall comes on and within about two minutes
24:29 he's equalised. They were decent going forward in the first half, played well. They were
24:36 very organised at the back as well, they weren't giving much away. It was just one moment.
24:41 A couple of players were drawn to the ball, they didn't track the run of Cundall and
24:46 he was away. It was a tidy finish to be fair. These home draws are really proving a bit
24:54 of a bugbear for Wednesday at the minute. They've been in the relegation zone since
25:02 August 12th. Matchday 1 was the only time they were out on goal difference. They've
25:08 had so many opportunities to get out of it, you just wonder how many times are you going
25:15 to blow this opportunity. He was really flat afterwards, Danny Rowe. You could see the
25:23 disappointment etched all over his face. The previous time I'd seen Sheffield, he
25:29 was more angry than anything after the Middlesbrough game. It's so frustrating for him. They got
25:33 back on track, got back on the horse, won the QPR, got the draw against Norwich, in
25:38 the lead against Stoke. Just finish it off. Extremely frustrating. They've got to sweat
25:47 it out on Saturday, haven't they? They've got a huge game against Blackburn, which you
25:51 really think they're going to have to win now. They're going to be fretting on Saturday,
25:56 seeing all the other scores and just praying that somebody does them a favour or two from
26:04 somewhere.
26:05 I've said this before, it does just feel like a mental block to me. We're just talking about
26:10 the top end of the Championship. Who's the one team who's doing well at the top end of
26:13 the Championship? Southampton. Why? Because they basically ruled themselves out of the
26:17 title race. Suddenly they've hit a bit of form. Just like when Howard Wilkinson's team
26:23 lost, I think it was, Vaughan Elkman's City in '92. They basically wrote off the title
26:28 race and Bob's your uncle a few weeks later, they're the champions. I do think it has a
26:32 factor.
26:33 Leon talks about Birmingham getting that unexpected win. We saw Blackburn with their big win,
26:41 didn't we? We saw Plymouth beating Leicester. Sheffield Wednesday are at a stage now where
26:45 they've got to pull out one of those wins. We can't look at games like, for example,
26:50 the Norwich game and just say it was a good point. They need to get a better than good
26:54 point. Just looking back, I think it's probably New Year's Day since they pulled off one of
26:58 those wins that you really weren't expecting when they beat Hull. It's a lot to ask of
27:04 a team, but they're in a situation, as are Huddersfield, where they've just got to pull
27:08 something like that out from nowhere.
27:10 I say that the Blackburn game feels absolutely huge. John Eustace, after the Leeds game,
27:15 was immediately talking about that game against Sheffield Wednesday. Basically going against
27:20 what I've just said and saying the Leeds game was almost a write-up or a bonus for them.
27:24 It was all about, he would park the following Sunday. As Leon says, it may well be that
27:31 Sheffield Wednesday are boxed into more of a corner by other results or encouraged by
27:35 them. Either way, it's going to really ramp up the pressure and that's going to be a huge
27:40 game. We've seen before that this team can respond with its backs against the wall. Ultimately,
27:46 if you keep pushing your luck, like with Leeds, papering over the cracks before the international
27:51 break, it will come back to bite you. Sheffield Wednesday really need to come out with a big
28:00 statement when he would park and just get everyone believing that this can happen. They're
28:07 really teasing us. They're staying right on the coattails but they're just not getting
28:11 beyond that. It just felt like Saturday was such a missed opportunity to be leading 1-0,
28:19 both of our Yorkshire teams in it, to be leading 1-0 so late in the game and not finish the
28:25 job. It was a real kick in the teeth, I think.
28:28 I think they've had a few home games like that as well, Wednesday. They played Swansea
28:33 on Good Friday. It seemed to be a little bit similar. Swansea had one big chance and scored.
28:39 They've had one or two of those Wednesday at home that they've drawn and they should
28:43 have won. You wonder if it's going to bite them in the final analysis. They certainly
28:48 won't be lacking for support on Sunday. 7,000 Sheffield Wednesday fans are going to go to
28:54 the park so they'll create their own atmosphere. You do see the public speak about this in
28:59 a minute. You sense at the bottom that for their own wellbeing, Sheffield Wednesday and
29:04 Huddersfield really both need to win this weekend.
29:08 I think the last two home games have been the biggest of the season, haven't they, Liam?
29:13 Yes.
29:14 They're not lacking in support but they really need to give them something to get behind.
29:21 Next, I wanted to have a quick look at the promotion race at the top of the Championship,
29:26 which is really heating up now. Do we dare try and predict how this promotion race will
29:32 end because it's just so chaotic, Stuart?
29:35 I certainly don't. Every time you think, "Oh, this club's broke at the back of it," or,
29:40 "This club's done," as I said with Southampton, Southampton looked out of the picture really
29:45 Easter time, wasn't it, when they just dropped a couple of costly points and now all of a
29:51 sudden, out of the spotlight, they've been reeling the teams in. We know they play last
29:57 at Ellen Road so there's lots for them. As I said earlier, I just think it's going to
30:03 boil down to what's between the ears as much as anything.
30:06 Leicester, talking about home disadvantage, Leicester got three games out of four at home.
30:12 They've both got teams to play who've got something riding on it. Teams who are either
30:23 fighting relegation like Huddersfield play Ipswich on the last day, don't they, or teams
30:28 who are still trying to scramble in the playoffs or what have you. It feels like a really hard
30:38 to predict title, really exciting one, much like the Premier League. It's the unpredictability
30:43 of it which, if you're not involved, makes it so interesting and so exciting. I really
30:49 wouldn't like to call which way it's going to go.
30:51 I'd agree with what Stuart said there. It's certainly going to go to the last day, isn't
30:57 it? If you're Leicester, you're going to be disappointed. You've got three of your last
31:01 four games at home. If you don't do it, you're going to be bitterly disappointed and you
31:06 wonder how it would affect them for the playoffs. Southampton are the interesting ones, aren't
31:12 they? They're on the outside but they've got three out of four away as well. It's difficult
31:21 to call. It's the same as the bottom as well, isn't it? I just think at the bottom, both
31:27 of them have got to win this weekend, haven't they? I think it's worth mentioning that awful
31:34 call that Huddersfield had at Bristol City. You talk of big psychological blows and there
31:42 was none bigger there really, wasn't it? The tenth minute of stoppage time in a game where
31:47 the ball went up and it was a minimum of five. It was a ridiculous penalty, let's be honest.
31:53 You just wonder how much has that taken out of Huddersfield. I suppose you look at them,
31:59 they've got two home games now coming up so that's a good thing in that regard. I think
32:04 there's a moral there for all teams. Don't sit on one nil. One moment of brilliance,
32:11 one moment of badge refereeing and we see a lot of that in the Championship. Everything
32:16 could go out the window, one daft mistake. It's easier said than done, of course, when
32:21 you're in poor form and you're fighting at the bottom end of the table. For neither
32:29 Sheffield Wednesday nor Huddersfield, being one nil up after 90 minutes, it wasn't safe
32:34 for either of them. You've just got to fight your instincts to sit back and cling on to
32:41 what you have at times because both those teams and all the other teams are down there
32:46 because they're not that secure defensively. They don't have back fours you can bank on
32:51 and say even if you do, there's so many other imponderables that can strike. If you're not
33:00 involved in it, it's wonderfully unpredictable but if you are, it's just horrendous because
33:06 every week points you in a different direction and gives you that bit of hope or sniffs it
33:11 out. It's really hard to say which way it's going to go.
33:16 I think just quickly the mood moves, it could support us as well. We've spoken about Sheffield
33:21 Wednesday going to be taking 17,000 to Blackburn. They'll understand the situation, I'm sure
33:28 it will be. That will be, they took about the 12th man, there'll be a massive element
33:32 of that for them there. You look at the teams at the top and I look at Ipswich, I looked
33:38 at a bit of the reaction to the draw against Middlesbrough. With some teams at the top
33:44 leads, it would have been 'oh we've got a point, we've dropped two points', this and
33:48 that. I think there's an element of Ipswich who are just enjoying the ride as well aren't
33:52 they? It would be a remarkable story if they do finish in the top two but I think they'll
34:00 quickly regroup if they don't get in the top two and they've got another adventure coming.
34:06 I think their supporters are really all together and enjoying the ride. There's a few more
34:12 worry beads out at Leeds and Leicester but that's all part of it isn't it? At this time
34:19 of year you get a lot of tense games, there's not necessarily loads of goals. Supporters
34:24 can make a difference can't they? People can say that's a bit of a cliche but I actually
34:31 don't think it is really in this regard. Ipswich seem to be more as one perhaps, if that's
34:42 the right thing to say, than maybe one or two of the others at the top.
34:45 There's an element of the free hit for Ipswich isn't there? All of the teams that came down
34:51 have gambled a bit financially to get back up again so there's a pressure on if they
34:56 don't make it. We saw the other day Leeds owe £190m in transfers. We saw Leicester's
35:03 transfer embargo imposed because of their overspend. There's an element for those clubs
35:09 that they have to do it. Equally at the bottom end of the table, Plymouth would have gone
35:16 into this season fully expecting to be involved in a relegation battle. A club like Sheffield
35:22 despite having only come up through the play-offs from League 1, the club of their stature,
35:27 would expect to stay up and cement themselves in the division. Obviously Huddersfield, not
35:33 that long out of the Premier League. Clubs like that, there's a bit more pressure, there's
35:39 a bit more expectation on them but that's the price on the ticket when you join that
35:44 club and that's what you've got to deal with. The payoff is you get 7,000 fans supporting
35:48 you at Blackburn or the support Leeds get at Ellen Road. You've got to use the advantages
35:55 and not complain about the disadvantages but Ipswich do seem to be in a good mental place
36:00 for this. We'll see if it counts for anything.
36:02 There'll be a lot of teams wanting to do each other favours in York. There'll be Yorkshire
36:07 Club wanting favours won't there? Everyone will be desperate for Rotherham to nick something
36:12 off Birmingham even if it's only a point. We've got all those elements as well that
36:17 make it even more interesting.
36:19 Finally for this week, I turn to Stuart for his player of the week before turning to Leon
36:24 for his team of the week. Stuart, who's caught your eye most this week?
36:28 In terms of outstanding performances at the weekend, Ozan Tufan looked to be in absolutely
36:35 brilliant form for Hull City. We saw Emmanuel Atalaf continue this good goal scoring streak
36:43 he's been on but to be honest I've gone against both of them purely because neither was able
36:49 to make the difference in the midweek game beforehand. As we've said, that may or may
36:56 not be crucial. I've gone for someone who's really unheralded but I think people are starting
37:03 to realise what a good job he's doing. Brad Halliday scored the winner for Bradford City
37:08 and then got named in the League 2 team of the season on Sunday. You don't get many
37:18 better weekends than that when you're an unglamorous right back. I just think in a team that's
37:26 been really up and down, he's been one of the few players who's really stood up to it,
37:31 been really consistent and he's just the sort of player you want at that level. I've gone
37:37 for him as my player of the week.
37:39 Leon, for your team of the week?
37:43 There's one or two contenders we've spoken at length last week. Doncaster, what a story
37:51 that is, absolutely remarkable. 8th home win on the… is it 8th? Not home win, 8th win
37:58 on the home win. I don't know, probably Churchill was Prime Minister or something, wasn't he?
38:04 That's remarkable. They've got a smell of it now, haven't they? The one point behind.
38:10 They've got Barrow, haven't they, on Saturday? If they win that, Barrow aren't quite…
38:14 No.
38:15 You're speaking about West Brook, they're not totally there. They're having a ball,
38:20 Doncaster, when you look at them, we had something the other day on that. I think on the first
38:25 weekend of February, they were third from bottom, they'd just drawn at Sutton.
38:31 Yeah, we're second from bottom.
38:33 It's just staggering to be one point off the play-off. Brilliant stuff there from Grant
38:39 McCann, that league table in the canteen seems to be working. Yeah, Middlesbrough, I know
38:45 they've drawn a couple of games and I suppose it looks to be over the play-off bit but nine
38:53 games unbeaten at this stage of the season, it's a good effort that, isn't it, really?
38:57 I think it's probably more of a good effort in the respect that they'd lost to Stoke,
39:01 hadn't they, a couple of months ago? Probably a bit less at the start of March. Yeah, they
39:06 were looking over the shoulder, weren't they, towards the relegation zone if that continues.
39:10 So, they've got themselves out of trouble well. I'll probably keep in the theme that
39:15 Stuart said, Bradford City, they took 10 points from 12. Okay, they've not got into the play-offs
39:22 this start for a club of their stature. Disappointing but you look where they were, they were in
39:29 a bit of a crisis, weren't they? Not so long back. Talk about the mood music of the fans,
39:33 they were all getting against the owner, the chief executive and it was in danger of getting
39:40 toxic there and you thought it could get even worse but they've sort of dusted themselves
39:49 down. I did the game against Harrogate a few weeks back and they were awful and lost 3-0,
39:55 you did sort of worry for them really but they've shown a little bit of character and
40:00 fight which is what Graham Alexander was wanting and yeah, it's going to be another season
40:05 in League 2 but at least they're showing some pride and spirit. So, safe I'm going for Doncaster
40:14 again, I will opt for Bradford. Yeah, Doncaster making this feature a bit boring but I mean
40:19 just so good right now. Yes. But I think with all three of those sides, it just shows you
40:26 the what-ifs of the season, if only they hadn't given everybody such a head start but it just
40:31 feeds into what we were saying before about how mentally difficult it is as well and I
40:35 think you've got to take your hat off to all the teams who've sort of ridden that out and
40:41 put themselves in contention at the top of each division. But yeah, great to see all
40:47 three teams making a fist of it, really showing some pride in the shirt and doing something
40:54 that can take into next season. Yeah, I think it would suit Doncaster getting in on the
40:58 last day as well, wouldn't it? If they got in with a game left then they're thinking
41:02 'oh, we've got something to lose' but I think the way it's got in, it'd be better if they
41:07 actually do it, to do it on the last day. And I think if you've got any sense and you've
41:11 looked at any League 2 table up to now, you'd be absolutely terrified about playing them
41:15 in the play-offs because it's not just the run they've been on, it's the teams they've
41:18 beaten. A lot of them are above them and you'd be dead stiff if a team with that momentum.
41:25 It's a great team. It's a great team. It's a great team. It's a great team. It's a great team.
41:31 Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for
41:40 more discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to
41:44 date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at
41:48 yp.sport@nationalworld.com or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football
41:53 or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions
41:57 for our writers you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or
42:01 email us directly with a subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
42:07 As ever, many thanks for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.
42:11 [Music]
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