On this week’s show, panellists Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss the batttle for supremacy in the Championship with Sheffield United, Leeds United and Middlesbrough all in the thick of it – and all able to produce wins on a regular basis, the Blades seeing off rivals Sunderland at Bramall Lane, while Middlesbrough overcame struggling and managerless Hull City at The Riverside.
Leeds came unstuck at Blackburn Rovers but remain firmly in the picture.
Sheffield Wednesday appear to be on the up after a late win at Derby County, while Rotherham United will hope they have turned a corner with Tuesday’s 2-1 win at home to Lincoln City. Finally, Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver was left angered by his team’s softness as they went down 2-0 at Salford City.
Have a listen, see if you agree or now and get in touch with your own thoughts on ANY football-related matter, either dow
Leeds came unstuck at Blackburn Rovers but remain firmly in the picture.
Sheffield Wednesday appear to be on the up after a late win at Derby County, while Rotherham United will hope they have turned a corner with Tuesday’s 2-1 win at home to Lincoln City. Finally, Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver was left angered by his team’s softness as they went down 2-0 at Salford City.
Have a listen, see if you agree or now and get in touch with your own thoughts on ANY football-related matter, either dow
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we'll be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:18of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:21Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:26discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you can keep
00:30up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website
00:34at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds,
00:39the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football,
00:45or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you have any
00:49questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook
00:52pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcast at yp.sport
00:57at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk. As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week
01:03we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football
01:07Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobbshaw. Good morning, guys.
01:09Good morning. Hello.
01:11This week, we saw a mixture of league and FA Cup action with Harrogate Town progressing
01:16through to the third round of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Gainsborough Trinity. And we'll
01:21be covering them later on in the show. Doncaster Rovers progressed after claiming a 2-1 extra
01:27time victory over Kettering Town, and Barsey dropped out of the competition after a 4-3
01:32defeat on penalties to Bristol City, which was followed by an agonising 1-0 defeat when
01:37they clashed with Wrexham on their return to league action. In the Championship, Middlesbrough
01:42fell to a 1-0 defeat when they clashed with Blackburn Rovers, and we'll be covering them
01:47later on in the episode as well. In League 1, Huddersfield Town faced off with Wigan
01:53Athletic and produced a 1-0 victory for the Terriers. In League 2, Bradford City clashed
01:59with Barrow at Valley Parade, and that resulted in a 1-1 draw between the two sides.
02:06However, let's start this week's show with Leeds United, who produced a very dominant
02:11display when they produced a 3-0 victory over Luton Town, before missing the chance to return
02:15to the top of the table by falling to a 1-0 defeat against Blackburn Rovers. What were
02:21your thoughts on the two performances, and what can the team learn from this, Stuart?
02:25Well, I think it's Leeds United at the moment, isn't it? A lot of the time, they look like
02:32the best team in the division, and the reason why they haven't pulled away at the top is
02:37they just chuck in the odd result every now and then, like Blackburn, like Burnley, where
02:42they dominate the team. Dominate is probably a little bit unfair in terms of the Blackburn
02:51game. They certainly had a lot more of the ball, created a lot of chances, and just couldn't
02:58put things away. Maybe the difference between Leeds and, say, Burnley and Sheffield United
03:06at the moment. Leeds, we praise a lot for being a really solid team defensively, but
03:12Burnley and Sheffield United are on another level at the moment in terms of not conceding
03:18goals, and I guess that's just what you need on those bad days. It's about, you know, you're
03:26going to have bad days. It's about making the bad days less bad, I suppose. Coming away
03:33with a draw, I'd say, against Luton, they were really good. Against a team in a poor
03:40vein of form, they battered them, frankly. Should have won by more, but got the job done.
03:49And yeah, that's Leeds at the moment. I mean, that's a lot of teams, to be fair. When they're
03:54not putting teams away, we're sort of criticising them for not being ruthless enough. I think
04:02it was 13 chances that Blackburn didn't manage to score any, and at the other end, Blackburn
04:08hit the crossbar and then took advantage of a penalty when Ayo Tanaka, who's been outstanding
04:15for Leeds this season, just a bit sloppy in his tackle, concedes a penalty, and there
04:21you go, 1-0, job done for Blackburn. So, it's just a matter of just sharpening up a tiny
04:29bit from Leeds. I don't think there's any cause for panic, I don't think there's anything
04:35to worry about, but for me, it's the reason why the best team on their day in that title
04:42race have not pulled away from the rest of the pack.
04:45Yeah, I agree with what Stuart said. I think there's no cause for panic. Leeds have won
04:51six of the last nine. In the last couple of games they've lost, they've hit back immediately
04:58with a win. In terms of Blackburn, they obviously came into the game off an excellent win at
05:05Middlesbrough. I know they had a day less to prepare, but that's probably negated by
05:10the fact that their home game at the previous weekend, they got called off, hasn't it? So,
05:16they've obviously put the pace up for that. And he's a very good, tactically aware manager,
05:22John Eustace, we've probably said it before, he was very unlucky to lose his job at Birmingham
05:27and you look at the descent there after he left. It's his third win in a row against
05:35Leeds, isn't it, without conceding a goal, obviously at the start of his reign at Birmingham,
05:40to beat Leeds early season last year. They did a job on Leeds at the end of last season
05:46at Helen Road, so he's a sharp operator. But yeah, it's one of those seasons, at a time
05:58of year, where you're going to get the odd bump in the road, really. Leeds losing at
06:03Millwall in midweek, difficult venue, we've spoken about that many times before. And Blackburn
06:09as well, I think Leeds will just be glad to get back home, won't they? They're particularly
06:15strong in defence, haven't they? They've won the last six, haven't they, at home? Three
06:23out of four at home, they've got Derby on Saturday, they've got the game in Middlesbrough
06:30next Tuesday. That will probably be an intriguing one, in the respect that Middlesbrough might
06:38make it a game and have a go at Leeds. They won't just sit in with a low block. They've
06:44got Oxford as well. These type of opponents, Leeds, teams going there, sitting in, trying
06:52to frustrate. They've found a way, haven't they, really? And they've just got to do that
06:58again. I'm sure I'd expect a Leeds victory and a reaction against Derby on Saturday.
07:06And that's the art of good teams, isn't it? Hitting back straight away from a defeat.
07:12I think it's going to be that sort of season. There's some fascinating games for all the
07:18teams at the top this month. I had a little look earlier. I'd be interested to see, in
07:25terms of the league make-up, how it looks at the start of the new year.
07:32I don't have any concerns about Leeds United at home. They've been excellent there, as
07:36Leon outlined. I suppose the interesting thing would be if this away issue gets into
07:42their heads. Because I think since Cardiff in September, they've only won once away from
07:48home. And the only reason I say it is that Daniel Farke mentioned after that win against
07:54Swansea that Joshua Gullavoge had mentioned in the dressing room about their poor run
08:02of away results and about wanting to put things right. So the Leeds players are obviously
08:06conscious of this at the moment. And as Leon says, I don't think it's any cause for panic
08:12or anything to be concerned about. But these things can become an issue if you let them
08:17get into your heads. And obviously, the easiest way to get out of your head is with a couple
08:21of wins, whether they've been lucky, deserved or whatever sort of thing. So, yeah, I just
08:27hope it doesn't become a bit of a mental block for them away from home. But as Leon says,
08:32at home, that Luton game being a prime example, you're just very confident at the moment
08:39that whatever barriers the opposition throw up, they will find a way through.
08:45Yeah, I think that's a good point you made, Stuart. I mean, if they do, was it the next
08:51away games at Preston? If they do lose that, then it's more of an issue, isn't it? They'll
08:58probably lose.
08:59Yeah, even just draw away.
09:00That would be three out of four, wouldn't it? Or yeah, even a draw away. 1-1 Swansea
09:06game, which was a real helter-skelter game. That would look a bit of an outlier then.
09:11But yeah, no reason to panic for Leeds. And they've certainly got a manager who's not
09:16prone to that sort of thing.
09:18And of course, they've got one of the better players due back soon in Ethan Ampadu, so
09:24that should give them a lift if that happens as well. So I'd say definitely not panic
09:30stations, but just something to be wary of, really, isn't it?
09:34And next, let's turn to Sheffield United, who claimed top spot in the Championship with
09:39a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. Now, Chris Wilder's side seem to be on a roll at the
09:44moment, and with a congested Christmas period just around the corner, this could prove to
09:49be very useful as the season goes on, wouldn't you say, Stuart?
09:53Yeah, I mean, I saw both Sheffield league clubs over the weekend, and we'll talk about
10:00Wednesday a bit more later, I think, but similar performances in that for long periods at the
10:07start of both of those games, you just looked at the Sheffield team and thought, they're
10:12not on it today. They just couldn't pass from A to B. So it's credit to both of those sides.
10:19I think Leo mentioned it in last week's podcast. It's that time of year where you've just got to
10:26grind out wins regardless, and those days when you're really not on it and it's just not
10:32happening, and you still manage to win. And in the case of Sheffield United, they were
10:37playing a Sunderland team who I think had drawn the last five games, but yet, they were
10:43really on it. They were excellent. It was a real test. So to come through that, I think
10:50I said at the time, it was almost through sheer force of personality really, was a big
10:57tick in the box. That's what we're talking about with regards to Leeds. Some days when
11:01it's just not happening, you still have to sort of force it through. In Sheffield United's
11:06case, massive moments in the first half when Michael Cooper saved the penalty. We mentioned
11:12him quite a bit on this podcast this season. He's not actually had a lot to do in many games
11:17because the defence in front of him has been so good, but when he has been called upon,
11:21and this is the skill that the really top goalkeepers need, he's really delivered.
11:26Excellent penalty save there, lifts the place, suddenly get a man sent off, lifts the place
11:33again, and then just an act of stupidity by Harry Souters to pick up a second yellow card.
11:39All that good work's undone, and you're back to square one. The longer the game went on,
11:44the more you just thought, is it going to be one of those days for Sheffield United? But actually,
11:50Tom Davies came off the bench, a player who's been talked about a lot recently in Sheffield
11:54United circles because he's had so long out with injury. He'd come back in the previous midweek,
12:01and it was almost like he came on and just said, I'm not having this. Forced his way through the
12:06area, forced the ball under the goalkeeper, and you could tell by the reaction of the stadium,
12:11by the reaction of the players, that this was as big a win as it felt to me sat there.
12:21I said this to Wilder afterwards, and it was a bit of a hard one to quantify at the time,
12:26but if everything goes to plan for Sheffield United, and they were to go up, you feel like
12:32that would be one of the nights you'd look at and say, that was a really big win. Not at our best,
12:37playing against one of our rivals for promotion, and still got the job done. That was just the way
12:43it felt on the night. Yeah, I'd spot on. I think they're the ones that you remember. They'd obviously
12:49beaten Oxford pretty comfortably, really. The game was pretty much over early in the second half.
12:55They'd beaten them 3-0, but if they do achieve their aims this season, they'll remember the
13:01Sunderland game, who looked a good side. They'll remember that a lot more in terms of the contacts
13:07of the season, more than the Oxford games. Yeah, I think the thing I liked about Sheffield United,
13:14they're sort of different ways of winning. They're winning in all types of weathers, aren't they?
13:18They're grinding it out a bit against Sunderland, they took their chance against Sheffield Wednesday,
13:27just a tremendous consistency. The run that they'd been on, given that one or two questions
13:34were starting to be asked after they lost, and they were very well beaten at Leeds,
13:40and soundly beaten at Middlesbrough as well. They've answered all those questions.
13:46I sort of look at the top, I think there's a fascinating little sub-plot with the goalkeepers.
13:51The amount of clean sheets that they're getting, I've sort of had a little look, and then Trooper's
13:57got 11 in 16 games, Trafford at Burnley's got 11 in 17, Meslier's got 10 in 18. Whoever comes out
14:07on top, presuming they stay fit, you get to May the end of the season, and that particular little
14:13individual stakes, that could have a bearing on who finishes team-wise in the top two or three,
14:18couldn't it really? Obviously one of them will probably end up in the play-off, so that's
14:28fascinating. That sort of defensive aspect that Stuart's touched on, Burnley's run's remarkable,
14:34isn't it? They've only conceded six goals this season or something, isn't it?
14:38I think that's right, yeah.
14:39Which is staggering, isn't it? It goes back to the famous Ferguson quote about
14:46how strikers win your games and defences win your titles, and it could well be that sort of season.
14:56I mentioned a bit earlier, this time of year, the sort of games come thick and fast. There's
15:02some sort of big test coming up, isn't it? Sheffield United have got Burnley on Boxing
15:06Day, they've got to play West Brom twice. I think they've got some as well at the start of the new
15:13year. Leeds have got Borough, Burnley have got to play Borough twice this month. They've got
15:21Watford as well, Sheffield United, so some fascinating little subplots there in terms of
15:29which side can piece the run together. Psychologically, it's always nice, isn't it?
15:37If you're that team, I know it doesn't mean a lot, but if you're that team who are top
15:42on New Year's Eve going into the new year, that can give everyone that little bit of a boost.
15:48In a potentially tight race for automatic promotion, it could mean something.
15:56Yeah, and that Leeds, you talk about the new year, but at the moment that Leeds changing a
16:00couple of times a week, isn't it? With the TV schedules and everything. So it's really up and
16:06down. You can't actually read too much into who's top at any given moment. But as Leon says,
16:13these sort of random dates that we pick, they do give you a lift, don't they, to be top of the
16:18league at the end of the year. And particularly, as Leon says, with all these big match-ups,
16:24a lot of them are being held back this season. It's really good. You want to see them later in
16:29the season when they're more decisive. We're going to learn a lot about the character of these teams.
16:35I think on pure ability and squad depth, I think probably Leeds are ahead in that group. But when
16:42it comes to the mentality, and you look at those defensive numbers, particularly that Leon's
16:47outlined, that tells you a lot about it. From Sheffield United's perspective, eight games on
16:52their own now without conceding at home, speaks a lot for the mentality. We always talk about it in
16:59terms of the clean sheets the goalkeepers have kept. But actually, it's about the whole unit,
17:05isn't it? I mentioned earlier how little Cooper's had to do. I think Leeds fans,
17:11I think there's a few doubts in certain quarters about Melie, but part of that record is how well
17:18protected he's been by the unit in front of him. Yeah, it's a really hard-to-call promotion race,
17:25which is exactly what you want. That's the thing we've spoken about as well with Sheffield United,
17:34they're not just constructing a new side, but it's a new dressing room, as we've talked about quite a
17:38lot. They've got to come together and build a new mentality and culture. Most things that have been
17:47thrown in the direction, they've handled probably apart from the
17:51Leeds and the Borough game, but the reaction since then, it's been fantastic, hasn't it?
17:55I think they've won five out of six. You look at the games coming up, they've got to go to
18:00West Brom, that'll be tough. Millwall, they've got a long trip to Cardiff before Christmas,
18:05they've got a couple, I've just had a look now, they're at Sunderland on New Year's Day,
18:09then Watford, and then they've got a couple of home games against Burnley and West Brom.
18:14They really will test Sheffield United, but there's not many groups who will be more well
18:20prepared mentally to deal with that, given the hurdles they've cleared so far this season.
18:28I think it's fair to say, Liam, they're finding more from within the group than perhaps we were
18:32expecting early season. We were talking about depth, they've only got one specialist centre
18:37back available at the weekend because Soutar and Alfred Holich are both suspended, but Jack
18:42Robinson stepped up. We mentioned Tom Davies, Kiefer Moore's been out, and whatever you think
18:47of Kiefer Moore, he divides opinion a bit. The whole style of game was based around him,
18:52and yet Tyrese Campbell has stepped up, so they've done really well in that respect.
18:57And he's been smart in retaining the full-backs as well. Everyone knows how much
19:03demands that particular position in modern football has, and Wilder's certainly alive to
19:10that, and you could see that sort of carrying on going forward. And again, only possible because
19:15the French guys have really stepped up. It's almost a toss of a coin now as to
19:22whether you go with Sariki or Gilchrist as first choice right back, because they offer you such
19:26different things. Our next stop is the clash between Middlesbrough and Hull City, which
19:34saw Michael Carrick's side come out victorious and maintain their place in the playoff spots.
19:38On the other hand, this game saw the Tigers fall to their fifth straight defeat and sees them
19:43remain in the bottom three. What were your thoughts on the game, and have there been any updates
19:49with regards to the search for Hull City's next manager, Leon?
19:55Well, as we're talking in midweek, Andy Dawson's down to do the pre-match press for the
20:04Blackburn game on Thursday. Yeah, they've been certainly sounding out quite a few candidates
20:09and speaking to the representatives. From what I can gather, they're quite like
20:16Sellers at Reading. He's doing a brilliant job there, isn't he, considering it's a complete
20:22basket case there, and to have them in the playoffs in League One is all power to him.
20:29Some other candidates as well, who've been mentioned, the likes of Alex Neil,
20:36Steven Schumacher, Slavica Jukanovic, he's one they've spoken to as well.
20:43Yeah, I think whoever takes it has got a fair old job. I mean, to be fair to Stuart, he's seen
20:50more of Hull than I have, but I saw the look at him and obviously they've lost five in a row and
20:57ten without a win, and apart from that, what, 11 or 12th day window, they haven't won a game,
21:02have they, this season? They look a bit too easy to play against and they don't score enough
21:12goals. I mean, I did the game on Saturday. I mean, they came back into it with a goal from
21:21Mason Burster with about 20 minutes to go. I mean, to be fair, Burra missed a few chances and
21:30Panda in goal made some good saves, but they got themselves back in the game. You just wanted them
21:36to be a bit more savvy and tying up at the back and he just became, you know, I find that he was
21:43entertaining in the final quarter. It was just a basketball game and there was probably, you know,
21:49there's only going to be one winner there because Middlesbrough, frankly, they had more in their
21:52armoury than Hull. They just needed to just be a bit cuter. I mean, I spoke about Middlesbrough,
21:58they played Blackburn in midweek and Blackburn doubled up on Ben Doe. You know, the winger helped
22:06his fullback and Doe had his moments, but he wasn't nowhere near as influential as he was
22:11in the game against Hull and, you know, they were just left exposed time after time. I mean,
22:16Cody Drama didn't have a good game. He played a part in the first two goals for Middlesbrough,
22:24but, you know, he had no help at all. It just looked a little bit of a team of individuals
22:33almost and obviously Ryan Giles came on and he was, he fared a little bit better, but not too much
22:40better. They're just lacking in terms of game management and, you know, they're struggling
22:48to score goals, they're struggling to keep clean sheets. I mean, in fairness, they had one of the
22:53better players in Hughes was suspended, but I just think looking at it, if I can sum it,
23:02they just look too easy to play against at the minute. They've got to find a bit of backbone,
23:07you know, and especially this month when the games are coming thick and fast, they've got to
23:13sort out their game management because they're just looking, they look very vulnerable to me.
23:20Yeah, I think there's just a bit of naivety about that football club generally and that's,
23:26I think that's where this managerial search would be really interesting because,
23:30let's say you've got a chairman in, as you know, the Jali who, I think his intentions
23:35are absolutely brilliant. You know, he's really keen to get fans back into the stadium,
23:40cutting ticket prices, all this sort of thing. But, you know, this is a, you suspect his instinct
23:48at the moment is to go for an entertainer and then you've got Jared Dublin, the head
23:53of recruitment, who we're told is quite involved in this process as well and I think his instinct
24:00will be more he knows the championship, you know, he's been more involved in the nitty gritty of
24:05football. It's more about some of those qualities that we're talking about with regards to the top
24:10sides, the gritty, the ugly qualities that you need and, you know, you would think, for example,
24:15that someone like Alex Neil, appointing him with the greatest respect to Alex Neil,
24:20would sort of, you wonder if that would appeal to Ilha Jali. But you would think that actually
24:26that would be a very good appointment, what they need would appeal to Dublin. So it'll be
24:31interesting to see who holds sway, they're not the only people involved in the process, of course,
24:35who holds sway, what sort of route they go down, because as Leon says, they do just need
24:42that harder edge, that more pragmatic side to them. You know, January's coming up and always
24:47when a transfer window opens, you feel like, oh, I want to go out and get shiny new attacking players
24:53and, you know, they could certainly do with a more ruthless finisher up front. But more than
24:59anything, I think they need to invest a bit more in the back half of that team to just make
25:04themselves harder to beat. Charlie Hughes looks like he's been a decent signing in that regard,
25:08in fairness to the regime. But Leon and I were talking about it on the weekend and you just look
25:15at that back line and it just looks as though it hasn't been invested in. There's too many familiar
25:22names, which isn't a criticism of the players involved, but it just shows they've not had any
25:25competition. You know, they lost Jean-Michel Seri, he was quite cultured, but he was the holding
25:31midfielder. And again, they haven't really got that same security in front of them. So I think
25:35they need to just be a bit more hard-nosed, both in terms of the new manager and the money they
25:41spend. And for Ilha Jali, that will be a bit fighting against his instincts, but sometimes
25:47you've just got to do that to step forward. You know, Leon was quoting to Alex Ferguson,
25:53Manchester United teams weren't boring, but they were based on that solidity. If you're going to
25:59be great with the ball, Man City, whoever, you need to have the ball, you need to be able to win
26:03the ball. And they'll need to strike that balance. You know, as for Middlesbrough, with the exception
26:10of that Blackburn blip, they're in a good run of form at the moment. They're looking pretty exciting.
26:15But again, I spoke to another colleague over the weekend who's seen a lot more of Middlesbrough
26:20than probably either of us and he said, well, they really struggle when teams
26:25park the bus against them, basically. That's when they have the problems. You know, Hull
26:32weren't able to, well, I say recognise that. Andy Dawson probably looked at what he had and
26:37was sceptical about whether he had the tools to do it. But you need that ability, as Leon said
26:43earlier, to win in different ways and Hull don't have that at the moment. Hull just play one way,
26:47which is great if it works, but it's just not working often enough by a long way.
26:53I think with Middlesbrough, it just showed the importance of their sort of gun players,
26:57if you like. They'd obviously missed Sadio, who's one of the form players in the Championship,
27:03isn't he? Most weeks he plays, he scores a spectacular goal and he's creating as well.
27:10It's another tremendous goal against Hull and I hated that Hackney coming back. I thought that
27:18was significant, especially given the fact that Morris is out at the minute. Ben Doak, he's
27:30carrying a bit of an injury, but what a signing. He's been a go-to man. The test for Middlesbrough
27:38will come in these next two games. They're in a decent lick of form, but they go to Burnley on
27:46Friday. I think Burnley have won four in a row and we've spoken about their credentials earlier.
27:51Then a huge game at Leeds United next Tuesday. As away games go, it doesn't get much tougher,
28:00it really didn't go into turf more. There's a double-header for all the Championship teams in
28:10December. You play someone twice at Middlesbrough, you've got to play Burnley twice.
28:15Yes, they've got some big examinations coming up. A lot of teams will know a bit more about them by
28:22the end of the month. You mentioned Doak, Hull are signing those sort of players on loan last
28:27season. You need those players with that extra stardust to get you to the other level. You look
28:32at how Delap's performing in the Premier League at the moment, how Carvalho's doing at Brentford.
28:37They're on loan at Hull because Hull had a coach who Premier League clubs were trusted to look
28:42after their players. That's another thing they have to bear in mind when they're looking for
28:47their next man. If you've got someone like Carrick, who's been able to use that market quite
28:52well in the last couple of years, it just gives you that extra quality that you cannot afford on
28:58a Championship budget. In these days of PSR, you have to stick to a Championship budget.
29:03Yes, just seem to be Hull at the minute. I don't think the greatest respects the
29:07Chairman. He's heard the praise, get to 50 points and be safe, hasn't he really?
29:11Oh, exactly.
29:14Let's now turn to the game between Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday,
29:18where the Owls walked away with all three points and their third win from their last
29:22five games with a 2-1 victory. What would you make of the form that Danny Roll's men
29:28have had as we go into the December period, Stuart?
29:33Well, the form's been massively up and down, as highlighted by the fact that that was their
29:38first back-to-back wins since August. Equally, they haven't had a run of defeats either.
29:44And it was the character, as I mentioned earlier with regards to Sheffield United,
29:50Wednesday were having an absolute shocker for an hour. I mean, they really were. And they were
29:55lucky that, like Sunderland, Derby just weren't ruthless enough to put them away. And to be fair
30:01to him, we praise him season in, season out quite rightly. Barry Bannon was having an absolute
30:08stinker. But then, you know, 65 minutes in, he produces an absolutely gorgeous goal. I mean,
30:16the way he measured it, to clear the goalkeeper, clear the defender, get him back on the line
30:21and dip it under the crossbar. It was a beautiful goal. And it just kick-started Sheffield Wednesday.
30:28It went from a complete non-contest to a really tight contest. It wasn't suddenly all Wednesday,
30:35it was chances at both ends. And a big goal for Jamal Lowe personally at the end of stoppage time,
30:43that won it for them. But again, it was another winter game where you just have to roll your
30:52sleeves up and get the job done. And Danny Rowland, fairness to him, tried all sorts. He changed
30:57formation four times. He ran through it all at the end of the game. He put Shea Charles to centre
31:03back, which I don't think anybody was expecting, but it was a bit of a masterstroke as it turned
31:09out. And they just got the job done. And, you know, we talk about them being inconsistent,
31:15but when you've got that mentality, that is the first cornerstone to finding that consistency.
31:21Just having that mindset that, as I've mentioned earlier, we're having a bad day, but we're not
31:28going to lose. And then when things do click, obviously you take full advantage of it. But
31:34because they're so inconsistent, we certainly can't jump to any conclusions one way or another
31:39about them. We're going to have to judge them over an extended period to see if this has been
31:44a turning point for them or just another flash in the pan. Yeah, they're looking in a good place.
31:52Seven points from nine, a good reaction to the Derby defeat at Bramall Lane, which will have
31:57hurt them. And, you know, I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, you're looking at Sheffield
32:02Wednesday's game. There's some, you know, with respect to most of the teams that they're playing,
32:07there's some opportunities for, you know, a decent haul of points. They've obviously got three at
32:14Hull and Derby. They've got Preston and Blackman coming out. They've got to go to Oxford. They've
32:18got Stoke. Three of the next four are at home. And, you know, I think that could be important
32:26in terms of their development, you know, when they have to take it to teams rather than just
32:32being away from home and being tactically flexible and sort of managing your sort of
32:38plans to fit your opponent when the onus is on you a bit more at home. Yeah. You know,
32:44getting that side of it and taking the game more to teams will be interesting in that regard. But,
32:51yeah, fair play to them. You know, and certainly Danny Roald has shown his,
32:55you know, his tactical adaptability, his dexterity, call it what you will, and
33:00they're in a handy place. Yeah. I feel like in terms of their development, they're ticking a
33:06lot of boxes in terms of their away form. And as Leon says, it's now transferring them to home.
33:12I mean, an interesting part of the dynamic, I wrote a piece about this in Wednesday's Yorkshire
33:19Post. Danny Roald's a manager with a plan B, and his plan B is Michael Smith, who's
33:28a better player for those, a more useful player for those away games than the home games when
33:33you're looking to dominate possession. But the problem, if you could call it that, that he's
33:37having at the moment is that Michael Smith is playing so well in terms of his goals that plan
33:42B is in danger of becoming plan A. And hopefully for Sheffield Wednesday, Jamal Lowe scoring
33:48that goal will just make the alternative option of a striker dropping off the front and joining
33:53in the possession a bit more of a realistic option. Because for all that Danny Roald keeps
33:58defending him and saying how well he's playing, you know, the numbers tell you Ike Oboe's struggling
34:03and Jamal Lowe's been in a bit of a trough until recently. So if they've got different types of
34:10strikers in form, it just gives them a bit more flexibility to play in different ways, which again,
34:17we've been banging on about the old podcast, you do need to do over the course of a league season.
34:23If they can get back to back home, that would really give them some momentum, wouldn't it?
34:30Before Christmas, you know, Sheffield Wednesday, before the power of that crowd there when they're
34:34all behind them. And, you know, it's some force a bit, you know, Leeds and Sheffield United,
34:42but obviously, you know, the Championship, it's a big if, but there's an opportunity for them.
34:48And, you know, short of March, April, this is the best time for any of our teams to get momentum,
34:54because when the games come so thick and fast, you can really get the ball rolling in clubs like
34:59Sheffield Wednesday, you know, Huddersfield in League One, they'll be looking at this as a
35:04real opportunity to really force the issue in terms of their league position.
35:11And now let's shift our attention to Rotherham United, who came away with all three points in
35:16their 2-1 victory over Lincoln City. What did you make of the game and how useful could this be
35:22for Steve Evans' side as they head into December, Leon?
35:26Well, it was a poor game in fairness. A lot of them can be at this time of year, but,
35:33you know, the result dictated everything as far as Rotherham United are concerned.
35:39And it was actually a night when they started, I think it started off fifth on bottom orient,
35:46I think they raced into a 2 or 3-0 lead at half-time against Bristol Rovers. If
35:51Rotherham had actually lost that game, they would have been in the, you know, dropped into the
35:57bottom four. So, yeah, for all manner of reasons, it was a big night in the season,
36:06a potentially big night for Steve Evans. You saw the third before and there was a delay for
36:13half an hour, there was a bit of a power outage. So, us cynical journalists had the old lights
36:19were out. Even from afar I was thinking that. Indeed, we had all that in our tiny little minds.
36:30So, but yeah, thankfully from Evans' point of view, they found a way, Rotherham. And I suppose
36:38in fairness, at least they were sort of picking from strength, which they struggled to sort of
36:42do. They've had a lot of disruption and players being out in varying junctures this season,
36:49but it looks a bit more like it. The team sheet, they had Malik Wilkes, who was a welcome
37:00returnee. They had Raghett and Rafferty together. And yeah, it was a decent matchday squad. There
37:08was no Coen Bramhall, there was no Cameron Humphies who were, you know, they were bombed
37:16in effect, but you know, they're senior players and they couldn't find a way in. And I thought
37:21they played all right in the first half, Rotherham. They were a bit more assertive in the face of
37:28Lincoln. Lincoln, you know, played more of the football, you know, between the thirds,
37:33but they scored a good goal, Rotherham. It was a good header from Sam Nonway. To be fair,
37:39you feared for him a little bit in the second half. Lincoln, a decent football side, pulled
37:44one back and they didn't sort of do too much, Rotherham, but I think it could be a huge moment
37:50in the season. Sean Raghett against one of his former clubs, you know, a big signing in the
37:57summer for Rotherham. He's one of the players we've spoken about who's had problems with injuries and
38:03putting his hand up to be available. He came up with the goods and it just felt like an important
38:15psychological moment for Rotherham. You just hope, I don't think they've got to look too,
38:22they're not in a position of looking too far ahead at the minute and they've got some
38:26bigger tests to come. They've got a game at Blackpool on Saturday, but it was a step in
38:32the right direction. It was certainly a back to the future for Steve Evans. He pledged to be no
38:38more Mr Nice Guy. His chairman had told him, he said, well, you go in soft, Steve, get back to
38:44what you sort of used to be. Tub thumping, banging his chest on the touchline. It was certainly that.
38:50You could hear his voice from a good distance away. It was very theatrical on the bench in
39:05his technical area. It was a rewinding in that regard. It certainly wasn't pretty
39:16on the pitch, but it was all about the result for Rotherham on Tuesday night.
39:21That was a big team sheet when it came out. I think that sent a message, didn't it?
39:28Evans talked a lot. I did his pre-match press conference on Monday and a lot of the questions
39:34were turned back to all the injuries they've had and all this sort of thing. Sometimes when
39:39managers go on about injuries, it can sound like a real excuse. Like we mentioned with the away
39:45form, it can get in players' heads and it can excuse things. But I suppose when you're coming
39:50out of it and the narrative is, well, we've got everyone fit now, it can play positive
39:55psychological tricks with the players. Maybe that can just get them believing. We talked about what
40:02an opportunity this time of year is. I think of Rotherham's last six games of the year,
40:07four of them are at home. They needed to show to the home fans there's something to get behind,
40:14because frankly, they haven't been good enough anyway, particularly at the New York this season.
40:18But again, if they can build a bit of momentum, if there's real possibilities for them, if they
40:25can keep these players fit, if they can build up ahead of Steve, then yeah, it could be a glimmer
40:31of light out of the darkness for them. I think it's going to be at home, isn't it?
40:36They've touched on the game at Blackpool on Saturday. After that, they've got four out of
40:40five at home. I wouldn't discount in terms of importance either, they've got the
40:44trophy game as well against Tranmere. The league situation does take a bit of pre-eminence,
40:54but Tony Stewart likes a good cut run, doesn't he? They've won this competition before. If they
41:00can get past Tranmere next Tuesday, that could suddenly increase in importance and it can
41:11sort of galvanise the season in that regard. But yeah, I think it's small steps at the minute.
41:16You look at Ronan, I think it was the first time in the first half that they'd taken the lead at
41:24the New York Stadium as well. They've won the last two in the league at the New York Stadium.
41:29All right, no great shakes and it's not party time, but given the sort of disruption that they've had
41:35in the league this season, it's something at least, isn't it? They've won the last two at
41:41home and they've got to look at it in that respect. It's small targets at the minute and
41:49I suppose that's one thing that they did on Tuesday night, but by no means out of the woods
41:58yet. They've got a lot of big games this month.
42:01And we now turn our attention to Harrogate Town, who weren't able to make it four wins in a row
42:07after falling to a 2-0 defeat to Salford City. Now, I saw that you said that Harrogate Town
42:12were never really in the game after going 1-0 down, Stuart, but what can Simon Weaver
42:18sort of take from this game? Well, from the way he was talking afterwards,
42:23it sounds like he's got a lot of confidence in the team. He's got a lot of confidence in the
42:27Well, from the way he was talking afterwards, it sounds like he's going to take quite a lot
42:32from the game and it might not be good news for the Harrogate players. He was an angry man at
42:36full-time. He was really, really disappointed with his team. Softies, he called them.
42:42I mean, one thing I really liked about his comments, he had a real go at them for going
42:48down too easily, looking for cheap fouls, which is something you don't hear managers say often
42:52enough. So that was very good to hear. But yeah, it was Harrogate in a nutshell,
42:59I think. We've talked a few times this season. Lyon's covered some big wins for them this season
43:04when they've really risen to the occasion. Derby games, cup games, we were saying games when they're
43:10written off, they can deliver the goods, but actually that consistency, it's four years now
43:16since they've won four games on the trot. It's difficult with a small squad and they do have
43:21a small squad, but in some regards, those players might be their own worst enemies because this
43:27cup run with a draw at Leeds United to come in the third round has put some money in the pot
43:35for Simon Weaver to make changes to this squad in January. And he was really scathing about the
43:40mentality of basically his whole team. So I think a few of them are going to be on trial in the next
43:48couple of weeks, not only to play at Elland Road in January, but to keep their place in the squad,
43:55because as he said, having already banked the money from two televised FA Cup games,
44:01they're in a position to go and start spending as soon as the January window opens. And it was
44:07pretty clear. I mean, I don't know if he's calmed down since, but as of sort of an hour after the
44:15kickoff, he was sort of going through the list and there's a lot of black markets against players who
44:20if they don't book their ideas up, you know, they'll be finding replacements arriving for them.
44:27Yeah, yeah. And finally for this week, I will turn to Stuart for his team of the week before
44:33looking to Leon for his player of the week. So Stuart, who has done enough to earn your team
44:38of the week nomination this week? Well, I think I'm going to go with the theme of this podcast
44:44and I'm not going to go with the team who perhaps produced the best performance, which was,
44:49I don't know, Leon was there, possibly Middlesbrough. And equally, you know, another
44:55win for Huddersfield. But I'm looking at the South Yorkshire teams and the teams who've really
45:02ground out important wins, you know, Doncaster one nil down at non-league opposition in the FA Cup,
45:09finding a way, two goals from Billy Sharp, get through an extra time, you know, job done and now
45:14they've earned themselves a game against Hull in the next round. I mentioned the two Sheffield clubs,
45:20but yeah, not in spite of what Leon said about it not being the best performance, but because of what
45:26Leon said, I think I'm going to go for Rotherham United. That's a really big, well, it's got the
45:32potential to be a really big win for them. And I really hope that in a few weeks' time, we're
45:37looking back on that game and talking about it as a turning point for them.
45:43And Leon, who's made your Player of the Week nomination this week?
45:48Yeah, well, I was probably fortunate enough in the respects, I was, you know, I was at
45:54Middlesbrough on Saturday and they had quite a lot of their gun players putting their hand up,
46:00mentioned Finnezaz, Doak and Hayden Hackney. But yeah, there's one or two contributions
46:10elsewhere. I mean, it sounded from what Stuart was saying, he wasn't having the best game,
46:14Barry Bannon, but he, you know, he does what he does, doesn't he? You know, a sort of special
46:21contribution is never too far away on his birthday. Can they produce one? Michael Cooper as well,
46:29we've spoken about him a lot on this podcast and I dare say we'll continue to over the course of
46:35this season. You know, it seems to be he's taking, you know, protecting this not conceding record at
46:42Bramall Lane really personally. You know, he hasn't, Sheffield United haven't conceded since,
46:48well, it's now, we spoke about this last week as well, they've got an entire season of the year
46:54without conceding a home goal. If you go through, you know, throw up through Orton,
46:59that's staggering, isn't it? And like all good goalkeepers, he didn't have loads and loads to
47:04do against Sunderland, but what he did, he did it properly and a big, you know, penalty saved to
47:09deny Patrick Roberts. But I'm going to be honest, FA Cup, that's been in vogue, hasn't it? Of late,
47:17I'm going to get a bit traditional and nostalgic and I'm going to go for Billy Sharp,
47:24I think, you know, he got Don Costa out of a, you know, a little bit of trouble at Kettering,
47:30they were losing at half time and he didn't look particularly amused. Grant McCann, but when you're
47:35in, when you're in a bit of bother, you know, it helps having people like Sharp on the pitch,
47:43he's probably never scored at Kettering before, has he? I know his dad will have probably told
47:46him anyway because he keeps a record of all his goals, but a great moment, I mean, he's had tons
47:55of great moments, Billy Sharp, hasn't he? But, you know, even at, you know, he's nearly 39 and,
48:02you know, on a bit of anomaly, a backwater and not a terrific ground, he rolled up his sleeves and
48:12showed what, you know, playing in front of the televised audience still means to him and,
48:19you know, what a professional he's been and still scoring goals at 38 years old.
48:26And I think as well what would mean a lot to him, you know, people get to these numbers and
48:31in terms of their age and people just assume they can't play a full 90 minutes anymore. So,
48:37to have scored the winner when he'd been on the pitch for 105 minutes,
48:40that tells you a lot about his fitness, his professionalism, his dedication and about why
48:46you should never write somebody off just because of their age. He's definitely still got it.
48:50Yeah, well, he's seen his big mate, James Coppinger, he played till he was 40 and
48:55he obviously wants a piece of that, doesn't he?
48:57Yeah, quite right too.
49:11Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
49:15discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to date with all the
49:19football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com
49:25or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport
49:28on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers,
49:33you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or email us directly with the
49:37subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com.
49:42As ever, many thanks for listening. Look after yourselves and bye for now.