On this week’s show, The YP’s football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss the latest news from the Yorkshire football scene.
They start with assessing the race for automatic promotion in the Championship, in particular Sheffield United’s credentials of securing a top-two finish, as they battle it out with Yorkshire rivals Leeds United and Burnley.
Elsewhere, it is the automatic promotion aspirations of Doncaster Rovers that come under the spotlight in League Two, Grant McCann’s side letting a two-goal lead slip at the weekend against Swindon Town, although they still retained a place in the automatic promotion top three spots.
They also discuss the sacking of Michael Duff by Huddersfield Town in the wake of their 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers, a result which saw them drop out of the play-off positions. Was owner Kevin Nagle right to make a chance in the dugout, or was he too hasty?
Also, the writers choose their team and player of the week.
Please note, this podcast was recorded BEFORE Barnsley sacked head coach Darrell Clarke and Leeds United’s 2-0 Championship win over Millwall on Wednesday night.
They start with assessing the race for automatic promotion in the Championship, in particular Sheffield United’s credentials of securing a top-two finish, as they battle it out with Yorkshire rivals Leeds United and Burnley.
Elsewhere, it is the automatic promotion aspirations of Doncaster Rovers that come under the spotlight in League Two, Grant McCann’s side letting a two-goal lead slip at the weekend against Swindon Town, although they still retained a place in the automatic promotion top three spots.
They also discuss the sacking of Michael Duff by Huddersfield Town in the wake of their 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers, a result which saw them drop out of the play-off positions. Was owner Kevin Nagle right to make a chance in the dugout, or was he too hasty?
Also, the writers choose their team and player of the week.
Please note, this podcast was recorded BEFORE Barnsley sacked head coach Darrell Clarke and Leeds United’s 2-0 Championship win over Millwall on Wednesday night.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we will 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,
00:25Leon Walshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:29forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:32by logging on to our website at yp.sportatnationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:38feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:44Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:48if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:51or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcastatyp.sportatnationalworld.com.
00:59YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:01As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:05the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall.
01:08Good morning guys.
01:09Morning.
01:10Hello.
01:11Morning. Right, this week in the Championship we saw Leeds United fall to their first defeat
01:15in 17 games when they lost 1-0 to Portsmouth. Middlesbrough fell to a 1-0 defeat at the
01:20hands of Swansea City before playing out a 2-1 victory against Queen's Park Rangers.
01:26Chesterfield Wednesday cruised to a 3-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle, and Hull City had to
01:29settle for a point in their 1-0 draw with Bristol City.
01:33In League 1, Huddersfield Town suffered a 1-0 defeat when they faced Bristol Rovers,
01:37and we'll be discussing them later on in the show.
01:41Barnsley suffered a 3-0 defeat when they clashed with Blackpool.
01:45Rotherham United left their game against Wrexham empty handed following a 1-0 defeat, and in
01:50League 2, Bradford City missed the opportunity to go top of the division after suffering
01:54a 1-0 defeat at Gillingham, and Harrogate Town were able to put more distance between
01:58themselves and the relegation spots with a 1-0 win over Carlisle United.
02:03However, let's start with Sheffield United, who claimed all three points against Preston
02:09North End with a 1-0 victory, and along with it, they drew level with league leaders Leeds
02:14United. This was then followed by a 1-1 draw against Bristol City, which then took them
02:19top of the table.
02:22What did you make of the two performances, Stuart?
02:25Yeah, it was a funny old week for Sheffield United, and really, as we're speaking, it's
02:30kind of not over, because for all of the title teams, it's all in the context of what Leeds
02:36and Burnley do, and we were talking before Leeds' game against Millwall, but yeah, on
02:43the Saturday, they played very well against Preston North End, and it was a strange one
02:50because Chris Wilder came out after the game and said it wasn't a tight game, and he still
02:56had a bee in his bonnet about people referring to it as a tight game on Tuesday, and you
03:02can see exactly where it came from, you know, they dominated the possession, they had almost
03:06all of the shots, but the fact of the matter is, they won 1-0, and Preston hit a post,
03:11so you know, in the only aspect that mattered, it was a tight game, and in that respect,
03:18I think they did really well, because there was a real calmness about them, you know,
03:24they really got the job done, and what Sheffield United are very good at this season is winning
03:30those 1-0s, winning those really tight games, they've actually won as many games by one
03:37goal margin this season as Leeds and Burnley put together at the time we're speaking, which
03:41is, you know, obviously, all the teams have their different strengths, Leeds are really
03:49good at grinding out teams, and they've got this fantastic goal difference, the fact that
03:52Sheffield United is the poorest goal difference of the three, could come into it at some point,
03:57but it does speak to some of their qualities in tight situations, so you know, there were
04:03definitely boxes ticked in that game. Then on the Tuesday, well, then of course Leeds
04:10lose to Portsmouth, that immediately gives some encouragement to Sheffield United and Burnley,
04:17Sheffield United know a draw will take them top, but you really want to win to cash in on that,
04:22because, you know, you're never quite sure what's going to happen with Leeds on the Wednesday,
04:25and it was just strangely flat at Bramall Lane that night, I mean, it was all down to the players,
04:33the players set the mood in that respect, and there was a lack of energy about Sheffield United,
04:41and there wasn't really that zip in closing players down, Bristol City were,
04:46who played very well by the way, were able to move the ball around quite comfortably,
04:51big gaps in the midfield, and just, you know, some poor decision making, which Chris Wilder
04:59put down to fatigue, mental fatigue, which is probably quite justified, you know, there was
05:05a moment where Raksaki was played through on goal, and his touch let him down, just lots of
05:10little things like that, and it was really drifting along, and you could see it was going in a bad
05:17direction, then with about half an hour to go, they brought on Gustavo Heymer and Rhian Brewster,
05:24and it immediately lifted them a level, there was a bit of energy about them,
05:30they score within seven minutes of it, Tyrese Campbell to go 1-0 up, but then slip back into
05:35how they were, and just invite pressure on, and it took until the 90th minute, but you felt that
05:41Bristol City equaliser was coming, and I think it was just, it was just a reminder that you can't
05:47turn it on and off in these games, you know, much as I've said they're good at closing out 1-0 wins,
05:52you can't just, you can't push it up too often, you can't just sit back and hold it, I mean,
05:58Michael Cooper made an absolutely outstanding save at 0-0, and that's one of the reasons they're
06:03so good at getting these 1-0s, but if you, as I say, if you just try and switch it on and off,
06:10I know we're at the time of year when you're trying to preserve energy, and you've got lots
06:13of games and all this sort of thing, but it just doesn't work, you've just got to go hell for
06:17leather and deal with it really, and they weren't able to do that twice in the week.
06:24I think it's just about finding a way really, it's a bit of a, I think it's a little bit of a
06:32fallacy about the running, you know, end of the season, really entertaining games and
06:36goals, you know, being quite regular, but my experience, I've found it the other way really,
06:42can be a lot of narrow scorelines, sort of single goal games, that sort of thing, and
06:48yeah, it's just, for once, as Stuart said, they've shown a really good capacity to edge
06:53out games, Sheffield United, it's a great habit to have, isn't it, you know, you look at the sum
06:57of the wins away from home earlier this year, you know, the Watfords and the Lutons, you know,
07:03organisation, togetherness, a lot of the things we associate with Sheffield United, but yeah,
07:07Bristol City are a decent side, and we're one of those, you know, clubs who've got an interest in
07:13the last playoff slot, and that looks, everyone talks about the sort of top four race, and you
07:20have to get to the top two, I think the battle for at least one of the final playoff slots is,
07:27you know, really absorbing, and like the race for the top two, it looks like it's going to go all
07:32the way, doesn't it really, and there's going to be, it does remind me, it's still relatively early
07:38days, but it does remind me a little bit of the, and we've got Burnley as well, but you know,
07:43the other lead Sheffield United scenario about, was it 2018, 19, I remember a few of those games,
07:51funnily enough, I think I did, I think I did it, Sheffield United played Bristol City at home,
07:57it was roughly this time of year, I think they may have had a sending off, they lost 3-2, and
08:02everyone's thinking it's advantaged Leeds, and then Leeds are the drop point somewhere,
08:07I did a game, I think I mentioned it on a previous podcast, a home game, they played
08:11Millwall in that season as well, and Millwall scored in the last minute,
08:15it's got the smell of that sort of, that sort of thing, I mean you look at the games, Burnley,
08:20obviously Burnley and Sheffield United both dropped points, you know, at home in midweek
08:25in games you'd have probably, you know, expected them to pull through, I think it's going to be
08:29like that, you know, not too many of it, I thought it was a dangerous game for Leeds at Portsmouth,
08:33but not too many would have hung their hat on Leeds losing there, but I suppose the warning
08:38signs, Portsmouth had taken, they'd drawn against Sheffield United at home, they'd beaten,
08:42I think they'd drawn against Burnley, they'd beaten Middlesbrough at home, so,
08:46you know, a dangerous game for some levels at Leeds, but it's got the, it's got the feeling
08:51that it's just going to carry on like that all the way through, and I think a lot's going to
08:56come into it in terms of deciding who, you know, ultimately is finishing second in the top two
09:04places at the end of the season, if you're in neutral it's so compelling isn't it, there's so
09:10many subplots, Burnley have got to play Sheffield United, you wonder how much will that impact on
09:16the final league table, look at some of the games as well, Leeds and Sheffield United,
09:20they've both got to go to Plymouth, they've both got to go to Oxford, I think they've both got to
09:24play Millwall at home haven't they, they obviously, by the time we're out we'll probably
09:29know the result of the Leeds-Millwall game, there's so much that goes into it and it could be,
09:36it could be, you know, it could boil down to a few injuries here and there or a few really
09:39good substitutions in certain games, you know, just, you know, it could be a tight game going in,
09:47you know, after an hour say it's 0-0, a bit of genius from a substitute, a good call from a
09:51manager and they're all experienced managers in that regard aren't they, obviously Wilder,
09:56Farker and Scott Parker, I think it's pushing it now for Sunderland really, I think they do
10:02look like they're going to finish fourth, great season that's it for them, but yeah there's so
10:08much that goes into and it just looks to be, it looks like it's going to really, I'd be very
10:12surprised if it didn't go down to the wire, you'd think with at least one of those places,
10:18and I don't know what you think Stuart, you do a few more of the games than I do, but I'd be very
10:25surprised if at least one of the automatic promotion slots wasn't decided going into the
10:30last day. Yes, and I think that's the thing, there's so many factors in it, there's so many
10:37twists and turns, there'll be so many results, absolutely, I mean as Leon says, we kind of think
10:43of it as an exciting time and it is an exciting time, it's not necessarily for loads of four
10:48threes, it's for the dramas of these little twists and everything that's on the line,
10:54because of course getting into the Premier League or not is massive nowadays and both from a purely
11:00footballing point of view and from a money point of view, it completely transforms these clubs and
11:06one of them is going to have to go through the playoffs and have a really nervy time to try and
11:12get into it, so I think the key thing is, and Leon's mentioned all of the managers, they've all
11:19been there and done it before, I think that's significant and it's all about not overreacting
11:27one way or the other, you know, Leeds had that great February and you think oh well maybe this
11:32is Leeds kicking away, you know, maybe that place is settled now and it's just a battle for second
11:41place and then within the space of a week or so, it's all back in the mix again, you know, and
11:46Leeds actually on Tuesday, at the end of Tuesday night could, if results have been different, been
11:50out of the automatic places altogether, you know, none of those three teams are letting up,
11:57none of them are being shaken off, but there will be setbacks, there will be freak results,
12:02there just always are, I mean, you know, you think, I guess probably one of the freakiest
12:07of the freak results last year was Leeds not losing but getting hammered at QPR, you know,
12:14when the pressure's on, where do they go on Saturday? Exactly, exactly, so and when the
12:19pressure's on, these sort of things can happen, you know, Leon's quite rightly mentioned Plymouth
12:24being in the equation a couple of times, you know, they're the sort of games where anything's
12:28possible and then you've got the, you know, the mid-table floaters, you know, the Swanseas of
12:32this world, they've got nothing to play for, nothing to lose, you know, so there will be these,
12:37there will be these issues and, you know, there's little things like
12:41Sheffield United trying to manage Gustavo Heymann's body at the moment, you know, you've got
12:46teams with decisions to make over whether to rest the play this midweek, Jadon Bogle with Leeds,
12:53Afrin Hodjic with Sheffield United because they might get a suspension coming up and all that,
12:57you know, so many different factors to come in and I think the most important thing is that,
13:03and Chris Wilder was very good in this respect on Tuesday night, you know, it felt like a real
13:09kick in the proverbials, it always does when you concede an equaliser in the 90th minute
13:14but there was, you know, there was a bit of context there from Wilder, it wasn't,
13:18it wasn't the end of the world sort of thing, it was, you know, there was no overreaction,
13:23it's got to be the same by the way, if for example, you know, they win 3-0 on Sunday or,
13:30you know, Leeds hammer Millwall out of sight or win at QPR, it's, nothing's done and nothing's over
13:36and it's just, it's just, it's just holding your nerve and as I said, I don't think it's a
13:40coincidence that the three clubs who are at the top have all got managers who know what they're
13:45doing in this respect and have come through this before. Yeah, Wilder's been here several times
13:50before, hasn't he? He won't, he won't panic, I mean, I mentioned those aforementioned games and
13:55I just think for those three clubs it's, it's just going to be really how they handle the
13:59pressure of the crowd as well, you know, they, you know, they may be playing a home game in April,
14:04they're not playing well, it's nil-nil after, they're playing a team who they should be on
14:07paper, it's nil-nil after 70 minutes, you know, what's the, what's the dynamic of the crowd going
14:12to be like, are they going to be edgy, is it going to get sullen and quieter, are they going to get
14:15behind the team, are they going to, that sounds, as trite as it sounds, I think that, that could
14:21have a factor, couldn't it really, the edginess, the edginess of particularly crowds at the home
14:25games, yes, you know, coming up, I think that's all going to be, it's all going to be part of it and
14:32yeah, I think if you're neutral, it's fascinating, isn't it, there's so many variables that go into
14:36it, whether, you know, it's substitutions, kick-off times, yeah, we talked before, haven't we,
14:43Leon, about who bats first and the cycle, that matters and it's all, it's all part of it and
14:49all those managers will, you know, they will know that, it's not just who dares wins, I think it's
14:56who, it's just who sort of holds the nerve really and referee indecision, you know, stuff like that
15:02and, but I think the one thing to say that these three managers won't panic, they know the score
15:07and there's going to be a hell of a lot that goes on between now and, you know, the start of May
15:14when it's, when it's ultimately decided. I'm not, I'm not necessarily convinced it'll be a classic
15:20sort of race at the top two in terms of flowing football and brilliant goals, this sort of thing,
15:27in terms of drama, intrigue and all that sort of thing, I think it'll just be compelling.
15:32And I suppose just thinking about it as we're talking here and another factor, we talk about
15:36the experience of the managers, these crowds have been through it before as well, that's
15:41significant, you know, if you're, if you're a club that's never been in this position,
15:45if you're a Leeds fan, for example, you're probably not going to get carried away by a,
15:51well, a lot of them won't get carried away by a couple of wins on the track because they'll
15:54be remembering last year and how they fell into it, so that's, that's significant too,
15:59but of course it's so, it's so emotional for support, it's all well and good to say keep
16:03your nerve and all this sort of thing, it's difficult, you know, when you care that much
16:07about a football club and something so big is coming up, so it could, it could be that all the
16:12teams find it's, it's actually a little bit easier for them away from home at this, at this nervous
16:16time. Yeah, I think the outlier would have been Sunderland, but I just think they're that little
16:20bit farther away now, aren't they really? There's, I mean, look, they're a huge football club,
16:24Sunderland, but that would have just been a joyride, wouldn't it, if they could have
16:27yes, got into, got in the top two, fantastic, but they're happy to be in the, in the play-offs,
16:31it's, it's sort of different for the other three, isn't it? Well, it certainly is for
16:34Leeds United, given their experience of the, of the play-offs, but yeah, it looks, it's going to
16:39be, it's going to be tense and compelling. Yeah, yeah. And next on the list are Doncaster
16:45Rovers, who also missed the chance to pull clear in the race for the automatic promotion spots in
16:50their two-all draw with Swindon Town, although Donnie weren't hanging around, seeing as it took
16:56them just 20 seconds to open the scoring. However, thanks to two second-half goals in the space of a
17:01minute from the visitors, they ultimately saw the points shared. What was your assessment of the
17:06game, Leon? Yeah, it was, it was a strange bonkers game. I mean, I spoke about, you get tight games
17:13at this time of the year, you sort of get the old madcap one as well, and that was one of them. It
17:17was, you know, Doncaster looked, looked home and hose. They scored after a bit of deliberation.
17:24I think everyone had it down as 19 seconds, ultimately. Rob Street, who's having, he's
17:29having a very good loan spell at Doncaster. I've seen a little bit of him and I like him. He's big,
17:35strong, athletic. He's got a goal in him. He's a good young number nine and he's having a good
17:42time of it. Got a goal, but Swindon were having problems down there left, I thought in particular.
17:49Second goal, Joe Sabara, his first goal, first league goal for Donnie since he arrived in the
17:55summer. So, yeah, it was all looking good. They were, they were in control of the, of the game at
18:02half-time against, you know, a danger for Swindon side. They've, they've turned it around a bit under,
18:07under Holloway. And it was interesting before the game, McCann was talking about
18:11how they were in a similar position to, to what Rovers were, were sort of in this time last year,
18:16when they went on that sort of mad run. And I think in, in League Two especially,
18:23it seems to be always the potential for one side to have a, to just come from nowhere,
18:27even if it's lower mid-table, because obviously there's the three promotion slots automatic and
18:33following the playoffs, you know, there's usually going into the last 10 games, if you,
18:37you know, if you're in a sort of mid-table, lower mid-table, you still got that little bit of a,
18:42of an incentive and obviously for Doncaster as well, their incentive is going on another one
18:46of those runs and, well, not just getting automatically promoted, but winning the title.
18:51He's made no bones about that all season, Grant McCann. And yeah, it was showed the
18:55good side in the first half. He just wanted them to, to manage the game and, you know,
19:02if possible and see it after, if they had to, but fair play to Ian Holloway. He just totally
19:08blew things out of the water. He made three interval substitutions and all,
19:13all in the final third and they, they reaped a harvest. Two of the substitutes scored and
19:18the lad on the wing, he was, he was absolutely brilliant for about 20 minutes. He settled both
19:24goals and yeah, they were, there was, they did regroup Doncaster in the press towards the end.
19:32They had a Jordan Gibbs and a few chances. Did a shot, scored a goal, which there was a bit of
19:37debate, but I thought it was offside. And I like the fact with McCann, he didn't make,
19:42he didn't overly make excuses. I mean, there was a lot of disruption beforehand,
19:47the back four who played at Bromley didn't play. Basically they all had injury issues. I think two
19:52of them were in the team on Saturday morning and then they had to make changes, which is,
19:57which is never ideal. McCann could have gone on, gone on about that. He referenced it, but he did,
20:03he didn't go on about it and, you know, credit to him as well. He didn't sort of rail against
20:08the referee either. He, you know, he sort of, I think the most pertinent thing I thought he said
20:13a couple of things, he, and I agreed with him that when it got back to two, to two, two, they
20:19were totally on the, on the ropes, Doncaster for a good period at the start of the second half.
20:25You thought Swindon had gone and scored a third. There was, you know, they were really nervous and
20:30jittery. Doncaster at that time, they didn't. And I think also at the end, you know, one or two
20:38grumbles with the referee this, that and the other, but fills and spills in front of goals.
20:43But McCann was right to say he was one of those halves where he thought it wasn't going to happen
20:48for Doncaster and, you know, take the points. And I suppose the disappointing thing in the aspects
20:56of what happened was the results elsewhere. It was an opportunity, lost Walsall, got beat to Grimsby,
21:03who they've got, you know, they look handy, so I don't think they might have a sniff of the
21:08playoffs. Bradford, the classic after the Lord Mayor's show, after getting the manager of the
21:12month and the player of the month. How many times have we seen that? They go to, they go to
21:18Gillingham, who were down there, aren't playing well. I don't, the manager must have only,
21:23did the manager there, he's only won one or two games, hasn't he? And lose 1-0, that's just
21:27football, isn't it? And that just happens. We spoke about the situation with Leeds and
21:33Sheffield United, Burnley. You have days like that where you don't win, but another two teams
21:38don't win. It's, it's classic, isn't it? And obviously Wimbledon were the beneficiaries,
21:43they, they, they beat Notts County, didn't they? That's right, yeah. And you look at the midweek
21:48games and did Wimbledon, I think Wimbledon lost, didn't they? Wimbledon lost, yes. So that is,
21:52that is it. That's basically squeaky bum time football in a nutshell, isn't it really?
21:59And then that's why we all, we sort of love it really. And I suppose it's why it makes the EFL
22:05so marketable and so special and why you have the, you know, all these televised games at,
22:11at this time of, time of the year, this, that and the other. So yeah,
22:15disappointed from that aspect for Doncaster. It could have been worse, but just,
22:19just to, you know, a little bit reminder, you've just got to stay
22:22concentrated and focused. It was interesting from McCann as well. He spoke about,
22:27you know, the players have got all the clips about, about the players at Swindon who might
22:31come on and, you know, what, what their, what their sort of skills and what, what their attributes
22:37are. But, you know, we certainly felt that some of them had been doing the homework in regard to
22:41one or two of the Swindon players who were good to be fair. So, yeah, they got a little bit of a,
22:47little bit of telling off for not doing the, not doing the homework, which was,
22:52well, that's, that's part of being a modern day footballer, isn't it? It's not just about
22:56turning up and doing it on a Saturday. You've got to, you've got to research,
22:59you've got to do your clips and, and you, you sort of due diligence in your preparation,
23:04not just eating right and preparing right. There's, there's that side of it that's,
23:09that comes into it. So yeah, disappointed on that level, but I think a sort of pertinent
23:16reminder, given that some of the games that Donny have at home, got some huge games, haven't they?
23:21Coming up before the end of the season, they've got, I can't quite remember what order. I think
23:26it's something, I think they've got, I don't know, they've got Walsall, they've got, they've
23:29got Wimbledon and they've got Bradford as well. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, there's one or
23:38two other games involving the other teams as well. So yeah, you've got to get everything,
23:45you've got to get everything spot on and do as, do as much as you can right in your, in your sort
23:49of preparation to, to get over the line in these sort of games. And yeah, for the story in that
23:57game was a 15, it was basically for me, a 15 minute spell at the start of the second half,
24:01when Swindon were excellent and Doncaster were all over the place, didn't quite know what to do.
24:07And that's why it finished, it's a war, but an interesting game.
24:14Yeah. I mean, I think I talked about this with Daniel Farker, actually,
24:19on the back of the Portsmouth game. I think when you have these moments as a manager,
24:24as Leon says, in Doncaster's case, as an example of players not doing the homework,
24:29it's important to sort of leap on it and really reinforce the message, because all the Doncaster
24:33players know that. But you know, over the course of a 4-6 game season, sometimes you just need
24:38these little reminders. You can just get a bit sloppy and obviously no one wants to lose. Obviously
24:43no one wants to chuck away a 2-0 lead or anything like that, but you've got to sort of make the most
24:48of it and really use it to ram home the messages. Look, this is what happens when we don't do this,
24:53when we don't do that. And really sort of try and turn it into as much of a positive
24:58as you can. I'm certain Grant McCann will do that.
25:02I mean, Doncaster are just quite tantalising this year, really. As Leon says,
25:08as far as McCann's concerned, it's all about winning the league. As far as I'm concerned,
25:12it's all about finishing in the top three. With that regard, they just can't pull away
25:17from the chasing pack, but equally, they're not getting dragged into it either. Leon talked about
25:23the missed opportunity of Saturday's results, but then they got sort of lucky with the midweek
25:28results. As Leon said, Wimbledon lost, Port Vale lost, and the ground wasn't made up on them.
25:38They always seem to be just around that third place. But yeah, I think if you look at it purely
25:47in the context, if you just strip it down to what Leon outlined, they had to change their entire
25:51back four, half of it at short notice. They only had three specialist defenders in there,
25:56albeit Owen Bailey's played centre-back before. If you have a day like that and you still come
26:01away with a point, I think reluctantly, in some cases, especially when you're 2-0 up,
26:06that's kind of jumped on and you've just got to swallow it and move on to it. But there's a lot
26:12of character tests to come, as Leon's outlined, with those games. And there's a lot of talent in
26:18that Doncaster squad, but they're going to have to show a lot of mental fortitude as well, because
26:23there's going to be more of these moments. The reason League 2 is... Leon talked about clubs
26:31coming from the pack and that sort of thing. The lower you go down the pyramid, the harder it is
26:35to get that consistency, because if players were that consistent, they'd be higher up. So anyone
26:39who can string a run together, it really makes a big difference. But you've kind of got to be...
26:46I was obviously proud for that, but you've kind of got to almost expect the worst in terms of
26:53you can't be too critical of a team struggling to back it up Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday,
26:58Tuesday, all the time. Some of these guys are at this level because their bodies aren't
27:03up to producing those levels all the time. Some of them just frankly don't have the ability. But
27:11you've just got to get your way through it and find a way. It applies to all divisions,
27:17all promotion races, all relegation battles. I think Doncaster, you look at the games,
27:22I've sort of mentioned it, Stuart mentioned the Notts County one. If they can get a fair
27:26share of wins in those... I mean, they are... It's another way to describe a huge six-pointers,
27:34especially at this stage of the season. If they can get two or three wins in those games,
27:41psychologically it'll be a huge boost for them. That could just tip the scales in their favour,
27:47doesn't it? Because being a little bit picky, you look at Doncaster's home form compared with one
27:54or two at the top. I mean, Bradford's home form is incredible, isn't it? And I think they've got...
27:59I think I wrote last week that I think they've got 45 points at home this season, which is...
28:06It's the same as Leeds and Birmingham. It's incredible, isn't it? 45 points and you've still
28:12got four or five home games to go. And Walsall have been strong, Wimbledon. Doncaster haven't
28:20been strong. There's a little bit of a gap there, isn't it? And if they can make the most of these
28:27home games that are coming up, which is good in a way, isn't it? If Doncaster can win a few of
28:32those, hell of a place really and looking good. But yes, some huge tests coming forward and
28:42some fiendish quirks of the fixture list, as is often the way in all divisions at this time of
28:48the season and not more so than in League Two. Yeah. Now, as I mentioned at the top of the
28:55episode, we turn to Huddersfield Town, who suffered their fourth defeat in five games and
29:00fell out of the playoff spots with a 1-0 defeat at Bristol Rovers. This was also followed by Michael
29:06Duff being relieved of his duties. What did you make of his time at the club? And what direction
29:13do you think the club should take in terms of finding his successor, Stewart? Well, his time
29:19at the club really was bitty. He had that sort of flying start, then that losing run, then a 16
29:28game unbeaten run and now things have tailed off and injuries have been a big factor throughout.
29:39I sort of alluded to this a little bit last week. I think the way he goes about things,
29:44it's very much, this isn't a criticism by the way, but it's very much based on
29:48solidity, defensive principles and all that sort of thing. And sometimes I think the football,
29:57quite a lot of the time, I think the football for the home fans hasn't really
30:01got them off the seats as much as they wanted to. And I do think that if you can get that side of
30:09the equation right, it buys you a bit more time, buys you a bit more goodwill. But ultimately,
30:15football and football management, it's about the art of the possible. And if you've got all these
30:20injuries, if you have a player like Michael Hellick sold in the middle of the season,
30:28it does undermine things. It was difficult for him. And I just feel like, unlike some managers,
30:34unlike, not to pick on him, but unlike, for example, Danny Scofield, who when he was Huddersfield
30:39manager, it was his first gig, he didn't have that thing to fall back on. Michael Duff's got a
30:46track record in terms of, he's won the title at Cheltenham, he took Barnsley to the play-offs and
30:50was that close to, at the very least, taking them to a player final penalty shootout. I think when
30:56you've got someone like that, you've got to show them a bit of perseverance and a bit of faith that
31:01they can turn things around in the bad times. Because when you look at it, on the day he was
31:06sacked, it was only 50 days since they were on that long unbeaten run, 16-game unbeaten run in
31:13the league. And I look back actually, and ultimately the spell of games that cost Duff,
31:20it was four wins in 15 games. Now, between August and December of this year,
31:27Graeme Alexander won four out of 15 games as manager of Bradford City. Bradford held the
31:33nerve and now they're second in the league, pushing for the title. There's obviously
31:39different circumstances, but I think it just shows that when you've got someone who's been there and
31:42done it, I don't think 15 games is enough to panic about and to sack someone over it,
31:52particularly if they've been there and done it before. I just think as a chairman,
31:58as a board sometimes, football is such an emotional game and it's obviously an emotional
32:03game. It obviously means so much to the supporters that they are going to react a lot. But like I
32:07said about the managers, you need that sort of toughness sometimes from the decision makers
32:14to not be too swayed by the supporters. There's obviously lots of disadvantages to not being a
32:23sort of Huddersfield Town fan born and bred like Dean Hoyle or whatever, but one of the positives
32:29should be that you're able to just take a step distant and be a little less emotional about it
32:34and a little bit more hard-nosed. And I really don't think, when we talk about John Worthington
32:40in a bit, I don't think they've sort of dropped themselves in it by appointing John Worthington,
32:45but to sort of entrust a promotion push to a guy who again has not got that experience in
32:55management level. I don't see how their chances of winning promotion have improved that much
33:02this week. It was a very reactive decision, I thought. Obviously the chairman, he'd come over,
33:11he'd been quoted on the radio as basically saying, don't forget that he's had the longest
33:18unbeaten run this season, 16 games, yet lo and behold, two days later, two games later,
33:25sorry, he gets a sack. Obviously they played, I think, the Wrexham game, they played well.
33:29A bad decision, as often happens when luck's going against you, went against them, it was a goal that
33:35shouldn't have stood, but they played well against a team at the top end of the division.
33:42It just seems to me it's purely gone on what's happened on Saturday, really, and obviously
33:47disappointing to lose to Bristol Rovers, but they're obviously a half-decent side, they've
33:51just gone on beaten Bolton, haven't they? And they're fighting for their lives and these things
33:56happen. You're not surprised by anything in football, it's just a depressing decision.
34:04And obviously the chairman, Kevin Nagle, he's the man who signs the cheques,
34:11and obviously it's his club in that regard, but it just smacks of a decision from someone who's
34:21not really a true football man, if that's probably the best thing to say. I mean, you look at,
34:27I mean, Stuart's right to talk about Graham Alexander, even this time last year,
34:31you think about that. I think they'd lost about four or five in a row, I think they'd lost five,
34:38one at home to Mansfield. I did a Notts County game, they lost 3-0. And there was a lot of heat
34:44on Alexander then, and obviously a bit more at the stage of this season, but Bradford held the
34:52nerve there. You look at Middlesbrough as well, having a real rough time of it, whether people
34:59agree with Steve Gibson or not, they lost five in a row relatively recently. A club who've got
35:05aspirations, not just to finish in the top six, but to push for automatic promotion. I mean,
35:11that's got totally blown out of the water, but a huge, huge clamour from the supporters,
35:17basically calling for Carrick's head. But, you know, Gibson's sort of held his nerve, hasn't
35:24they? And obviously they've won, I think they've won three out of four, after winning two out of
35:2812, so they've got a little bit of a sniff of the playoffs again. You just want to see,
35:36you want clubs just to hold the nerve a bit more and sort of stick by the man. And, you know,
35:43even I think the interesting thing, I've sort of had a little look on social media, and I dare say
35:50for every Huddersfield fan who's glad that Michael Duff's got the sack, there's probably another one
35:56who's sort of thinking, well, you know, we've had basically 14 managers in 13 years, something
36:03like that, or 15 in 14. I think if you count Worthington, then it's 14, isn't it? Yeah.
36:07Carrying on doing this, it's just rinse and repeat. And, you know, it's just little things
36:14for me. I mean, he had a desperate run with injuries, Michael Duff. You're talking double
36:21figure player count out. You're back for four centre halves, you know, Tom Lees, Nigel Longwhite,
36:29Matty Pearson, Rodinio Bolker. They sold another one in Micklehellock. He'd gone, you know, in the
36:37January window. How many football teams can get results when you haven't got sort of force in
36:43the, you know, your spire of the team's basically been sort of ripped out almost, hasn't it really?
36:48David Kasuma was, well, another player in the middle of the park who's been out of action as
36:53well. We've had the situation with Joe Taylor. You know, the itinerary was working against Duff
36:58as well, wasn't it? Three game weeks. You know, ironically, after this game against Bristol Rovers,
37:03he'd have had seven days for the game against Crawley. I could have, I think there'd be more
37:10mitigation for the decision if they'd lost to Crawley, I think. I think then I could have
37:15understood it a little bit more, but I just think it was, you know, extremely harsh when,
37:22not to give him a clear week just to sort of go into this game, but, you know, the decision's now
37:29been made and obviously John Worthington's a good club man and, you know, he could change the
37:37narrative. But I just think from a wider football perspective, it's, you know, it's extremely
37:44disappointing, but something that's increasingly commonplace in this time, isn't it? There's not
37:48many chairmen who do sort of hold the nerve anymore. No, I mean, just to throw another
37:54example out there, you know, look at Sheffield United last season. I mean, you know, Chris Wilder
37:59came into a lost cause really, but so did Nathan Jones at Southampton, you know, so does the current
38:06Southampton manager and there's talk that he won't last the season, you know. If you just stick by it,
38:13I mean, ultimately this rinse and repeat approach that Leon's just mentioned, you can't make
38:19long-term progress that way, you know, because every new man who comes in has a different style
38:24of play, wants different, you know, different members of the squad, he rates X, he doesn't
38:29rate Y, he plays with wing-backs, he plays with full-backs, whatever it is, it just, you know,
38:35really hampers the long-term progress. And it feels to me like the decision was made purely
38:42because they dropped out of the playoff places. Well, you know, this Saturday, if Bolton beat
38:47Stockport and if Charlton lose at home to Wigan, then a win would not just put Huddersfield in the
38:55playoffs, it would put them fourth, you know, so you can't be that guided by just, you know,
39:02an ever-changing table, just stopping the music at any one point and saying we'll make a decision
39:08on that, it's madness and I just feel sorry for him. You know, John Worthington, it has to be said,
39:14did an excellent job as caretaker manager last time around, but this is a different job, you
39:20know, when he came in last time, the back of Darren Moore's sacking, he's basically keeping the seat
39:25warm, he doesn't know how long, you know, he's doing it from game to game, so it's really just
39:30about sorting out the morale of the group. When you know you've got 10 games, hopefully 13 games,
39:37it's about sort of setting your own principles and getting the squad set up in your own way and,
39:45you know, it seems to me, I mean, Leon talked about it having covered the Wrexham game last week,
39:49that actually the morale and the attitude of the group is not the problem here, it's the
39:56injuries, it's that other side of it, so Worthington's still got to work with those
40:01same injuries and those same problems, and you may as well have got in with it, because of course
40:08he's been working in the academy, he's not been on Duff's coaching staff, so he's not had that
40:12close proximity to the first team, you know, a lot of his, same with a lot of the coaching staff
40:18working under him, he's going to need a little bit of time to feel his way out, they're lucky
40:22they've got the international break that we talked about before, but surely much better to have
40:28somebody who's in there, knows it, can see what the problems are, and as I say, has turned these
40:35sort of situations around before. He just needed a break, didn't he, I mean, I'm not being a total
40:40apologist for Michael Duffy, because, you know, there's some issues with the style of football,
40:46he's not been the best watch at times, hasn't he, and obviously you look at their, you know,
40:51their home record, they haven't won in seven and, you know, their struggles in front of goal, but
40:56he just needed a break, didn't he, really, you know, he was in the midst of a perfect storm,
41:02I've outlined all the injuries, and, you know, in the defence, the worst area of the pitch, really,
41:07you know, it's one thing that most managers will say, you want to keep your defence the same,
41:12don't you, really, to establish relationships, this, that, and the other, he's had none of that,
41:17and, you know, the itinerary as well, and, yeah, he'd had potentially a clear week to the
41:24Crawley game, then you've got an international break, Huddersfield's game against Wickham
41:31has been rearranged, so, then you've sort of got, you know, two full weeks, then hopefully get a few
41:37players back, and get some work on the training ground, because that's something that they've
41:41not been able to do, basically, you know, until this week, really, for a good sort of three or
41:46four weeks, it's been game, recover, game, and, yeah, just really disappointing that
41:54it just looked a decision, it's a decision that a fan had made, really, almost, if that's
42:00the right thing to say, if that's not too much of a trite thing to say, it just, you know, reacting
42:05to, to a sort of bad defeat, you know, almost a fit of Pete looking at the league table, he had
42:10that, I'm not saying it was solely because of it, but that's the sort of, that's the sort of
42:14perception you sort of get from it, don't you, really, and, you know, Stuart's rightly said,
42:19it's, it could all change that sort of situation in the table, you know, a few different results
42:24on a Saturday, a few teams change the order, because it's been quite fluid, that, those sort
42:30of positions, haven't they, for, for a fair while, for a fair while, so, yeah, just, just usually
42:35disappointing from a, from a football level, really, but I don't buy, you know, I don't buy a
42:40season ticket and watch Huddersfield every week and, yeah, I suppose, you know, some supporters
42:47will feel very differently and will back the decision, but, yeah, disappointing from, from
42:53where I'm sat. Yeah, yeah, and, you know, he's, Kevin Nagle's been very, upfront, you know, like
42:59Leanne mentioned, with regards to, to Grant McCann, that one promotion this season, he's put
43:03a lot of, a lot of money in to, to try and get it, but, you know, ultimately, you can't just say,
43:10we want promotion, we're going all out for it, because there's Birmingham City with other ideas
43:15and they've got more money than you and, you know, there's Wickham do what they're doing and there's,
43:19and there's Wrexham do what they're doing. I guess, you know, what Nagle would say and, and,
43:24and as Leanne says, the people who watch Huddersfield every week can, a better, better place
43:30to judge this than us is, is he getting the maximum out of, out of what he's doing, even considering
43:36those injuries, but, you know, I, I, I just think those injuries are such a big factor and such a,
43:43such a disruptive factor that you really have to cut them some slack and, and to, to still be in
43:48the, in the conversation for the playoffs, firmly in the conversation for the playoffs is, is not
43:53the, is not the disaster that maybe some people think it is. I think they'll only probably have,
44:02by my reckoning, a couple of players that will have played 35 games started this season. When
44:08Barnsley got, when they went so close a few years ago, they had seven or eight, you could basically
44:12name the back three and one or two others as well, you know, the Luka Connells, this and that.
44:18They've had none of that at Huddersfield, have they? I think Ben Wiles has played 31 games and
44:22the next closest is about, it's something like 26 or something. If that doesn't tell you about,
44:27it's all right having a big squad, but when there's just injuries all over the place,
44:31you know, what can you do? And I dare say, you know, if you look at Birmingham,
44:35obviously Birmingham has spent a lot of money, when you look at their numbers,
44:37they'll have players who played 35, you know, 40, 40 games this season, quite a few of them,
44:44I think. Yeah, the top three, probably every division will have that, won't they? That's
44:47why they're there. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And finally for this week, I will look to Stuart
44:53for his team of the week before turning to Leon for his player of the week. So Stuart,
44:57who have you decided deserves team of the week title this week? Well, it's been slim pickings
45:02this week. It's been a difficult week, you know, United having a good result and undermining it,
45:08it's been one of those sort of weeks. But once again, I mentioned to Harrogate Tam,
45:13big win for them. And I feel particularly in the relegation battle at this time of year,
45:18once you get to the stage where the number of points gap is bigger than the number of games,
45:24I think you're in a good place. That's where Harrogate are right now. So well done to them.
45:29Every season, you know, without being too condescending, when you look at the size of
45:34the club and what they're working with every season, they're still in the football league,
45:37this is a season to applaud. And they're looking good. They're looking good for that. But there's
45:43kind of one really obvious candidate for me for team of the week to go to Plymouth who are
45:50terrific at home. I think they've won 35 out of 40 points at home, something like that. But,
45:57you know, really good at home, really poor away to go there and win 3-0. Terrific, you know,
46:02and then looking from afar at Bramall Lane, and no doubt a few people chuckling seeing that they
46:06had 2-0 down away from home again at Norwich City to pull that round and win 3-2. Yeah,
46:14they needed that shot in the arm. It's quite a big game coming up for them on Sunday.
46:20At home to Sheffield United, you want to go into that in a good mood. And yeah, they've had an
46:27absolutely tremendous week. 400 league appearances for Barry Bannon, that's some achievement. And
46:35yeah, just a fantastic week for Sheffield Wednesday that they were just starting to need.
46:44And Leon, who have you decided deserves the player of the week nomination?
46:48Yeah, I mean, we looked at the week before. I think every Yorkshire team had won,
46:52hadn't they? Apart from Leeds, there were candidates all over the place. Yeah, one or
46:57two worthy of mention. I mean, Stuart's seen a lot more Sheffield United than me, but Harry's
47:02Campbell, you know, he's got this propensity for getting big goals. And yeah, everyone knows about
47:07his goal in the first derby at Bramall Lane. I think if he gets another definitive one,
47:14he'll never have to buy a meal or a drink in Sheffield again, will he really?
47:18He's not going to talk about the first one.
47:23Get an encore, won't he really? So yeah, it's pleasing for him, isn't it? He's had a difficult
47:29year. Everyone knows about his dad and just with injuries as well in his own career. And
47:35you know, he's seen his name back in lights in that regard. And he's proved to be,
47:40I always thought when they brought him in Sheffield United, it's a decent sign in that.
47:43I mean, he's probably lost his way a bit with injuries to start on the other, but
47:47Wilder will get his arm around him. So worthy of mentioning him. Yeah, Stuart's right to mention
47:52Sheffield Wednesday. I think the good thing is you look at the two, the sort of two away with
47:57plenty of contributions all over the place. By all accounts, Shalabar made a difference at Norwich
48:02when he came on. Smart substitution from Danny Roald, he's very good at that, isn't he? You know,
48:08Gasson who was causing problems, it sounded like he had Plymouth's defence on toast on Saturday.
48:16He's having a decent time of it. I mentioned Rob Street at Doncaster, they're really good.
48:23A good loan spread and I think Lincoln must have some good players if he's not getting a chance
48:27there because I do like the look of him. Luke Molyneux, he had a great first half. He's a
48:34class player, isn't he? At Ligue 2 level, there's not many better. You know, Pandu in goal at
48:39Hull, on the occasions I've seen them, he looks a pretty decent keeper and
48:45that was a really good point. I thought at Bristol City, they're strong at home
48:49and that suggests to me that Hull will hopefully be all right. Hopefully, I haven't cursed them
48:55before the Oxford game. But I think the one I'm going to go for is purely because of the
49:00predicament they're in. It's Johnny House at Middlesbrough. He's a brilliant professional,
49:05I've been lucky enough to deal with him right back when he was, I remember his debut, I'm that old,
49:12when he played for Leeds against, I think it was Barnet in the League Cup and just such a consummate
49:19professional, a professional's professional almost. By the sound of it, he's not fully fit.
49:25Middlesbrough had an injury crisis, they've no centre halves, they're having a sticky part,
49:29they had a dreadful result and performance at Swansea on Saturday. The fans are restless,
49:36Michael Carrick taps him on the shoulder and says, I've got a problem,
49:39Johnny, I've got no centre halves. Can you do me a favour? Can you sort of get your boots on and
49:45play in the heart of the back four? And yeah, I'll do it, boss. It's the old school
49:52sort of attitude sometimes that really does go a long way and he was excellent in an unaccustomed
50:00role at the age of 36 against a QPR side who were fairly decent and they had a big old-fashioned
50:10centre forward who was breathing down his neck and I just think it spoke volumes about his
50:16sort of professionalism and character that he did the job and he led by example,
50:24as he's done not just at Middlesbrough, in his time at Leeds and his time at Norwich as well.
50:29And yeah, one for the old schoolers, I'm going to vote Johnny Harvison this week.
50:35Every club needs a Johnny Harvison, don't they? From the rampaging attacking midfielder of his
50:40years to the fill-in centre back. I just hope they can keep patching him up and keep rolling
50:46him out there for years to come because they're such important figures on and off the field.
50:51As Leon says, it's just really gratifying to see a player still getting that enjoyment out
50:57of the game and still giving so much back to it at this stage of his career.
51:01You just held one or two others as well at clubs, Barry Bannon who's won,
51:07and Jonathan Hogg at Huddersfield. Hopefully, I spoke to Hogg the other week,
51:13while they're still hitting their numbers in training and they're doing it, keep going.
51:19I mean, I think they're at the stage now where it's sort of year-on-year almost, isn't it really?
51:26It's one of those that you don't know what you've missed until it's gone really, isn't it?
51:29Absolutely. Richard Wood, Liam Palmer, lots of clubs have got them and I say,
51:34and with Leon, I'm not one of these who thinks it's sad when people go on after their best. I
51:40just think it's such a great job. Just play it for as long as you can do it and as long as you're
51:44contributing. If that means dropping down the division, so be it, but don't give it away
51:50because you'll regret it. It's such a great job.