In the latest episode of our show, we look at how Sheffield United can turn around their difficult start to the Premier League campaign, Leeds United’s up-and-down week which brought victory at Ipswich before a Carabao Cup defeat on penalties at League Two Salford City.
Our panel of football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall, along with host Mark Singleton, then cast an eye over Hull City’s start to the 2023-24, as well as the early-season struggles for fellow Yorksnire championship teams, Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday.
Our panel of football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall, along with host Mark Singleton, then cast an eye over Hull City’s start to the 2023-24, as well as the early-season struggles for fellow Yorksnire championship teams, Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:22 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:25 we'll be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:28 of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by football writer for
00:32 the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobbshaw, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our
00:36 local clubs. Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across
00:39 Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com, as
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01:02 football talk podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
01:07 Yorkshire Post dot co dot UK.
01:09 Right, let's kick this week's podcast off in the Premier League with Sheffield United,
01:16 who paid a visit to Manchester City, which saw the visitors claim all three points. The
01:22 Blades will feel frustrated as in the 85th minute they got themselves level at one all
01:28 through Jadon Bogle before conceding three minutes later. What did you make of their
01:34 performance and how do you think the Blades will set up when they host fellow strugglers
01:39 Everton Stewart?
01:40 Well, I think they'll take a lot of confidence from it. I mean, the crowd were brilliant
01:46 in terms of the way they got behind the team and applauded them off at the end of both
01:53 halves. They clearly appreciated the efforts. I mean, we've all got to be realistic about
02:00 it. If you're Sheffield United playing Manchester City, it's going to be backs to the wall.
02:08 And you've got to eke out what you can. As you said, for 85 minutes, it looked like the
02:14 plan might just about work. But there's no question that Manchester City deserve to win.
02:23 They played pretty much all the football and it was just a case of Sheffield United throwing
02:30 everything they could behind it to try and grab a point. So Everton is a completely different
02:37 prospect. I mean, of all the games in early season, this is the one where you need to
02:42 pick up points because frankly, Everton are in a mess. They haven't got any points yet
02:48 this season. They've just made a signing this week in Beto, but whether he'll be up to speed
02:53 and what have you now is as good a time as it's probably going to get to have a home
02:58 game against Everton. Sheffield United need to be more positive and will be more positive.
03:03 I said those tactics were all about Manchester City. And yeah, they need to take advantage
03:10 of this opportunity because it's one thing playing well in defeat, but we all know they've
03:15 got to pick up points if they're going to stay in the Premier League.
03:19 Yeah, I totally echo that. I mean, for a lot of games this season, not just on the travels,
03:28 but at home, it's going to be about Sheffield United against the big hitters. It's going
03:33 to be about mentality, togetherness, concentration, organisation. A lot of things that served
03:39 them well in the Championship and they've still got a hard-core of players still there.
03:46 It's going to be a real dogfight and scrap. I think I mentioned last week, you sort of
03:52 look at the bottom of the Premier League, it's not quite set in stone yet, but I don't
03:58 think too many will be surprised if there's half a dozen clubs who are in that vicinity
04:03 going to be there at the end of the season. Every point's going to be so precious and
04:10 it's going to certainly magnify the games between the teams down there and effectively
04:17 could turn into a mini-league. Sheffield United are in good company, aren't they really? I
04:23 mean, I had a look the other day and probably not the biggest surprise, but none of the
04:29 promoted sides have actually got a point yet. I suppose there's a little bit of a caveat
04:33 because Luton haven't played at home yet. But yeah, I think the fact that they showed
04:39 such defiance and it's one of those that a point would have seemed like a win for Sheffield
04:46 United against Manchester City. They were very close to doing that. Obviously City's quality
04:54 shone through at the end and Stuart's right to say this game against Everton leaps from
05:01 the page, doesn't it? You look at the games Sheffield United have had so far, anything
05:06 from City would have been a bonus. This one, especially at home, has the makings of a real
05:16 six-pointer and they're probably going to have to be a little bit more proactive in
05:22 the forward play and taking the game a bit more to Everton. It'd be fascinating to see
05:30 if Cameron Archer gets the nod. They've obviously showed out another significant investment
05:37 on top of what they've paid for Gus Hamer and Stuart. I think those two are going to
05:45 be huge players for Sheffield United if they're going to achieve the season's aims. I'd maybe
05:52 like to see them bring in another defender as well. We'll have to see on that spot.
05:58 I agree with Leon, I think they're both really good signings. They were both two of the better
06:04 players in the Championship last season and they bring the sort of things that Sheffield
06:08 United lack. I think we've already seen both of them pay off small instalments. Obviously
06:14 Hamer scored on his debut but I think you saw in the way Olly McBurnie performed when
06:19 he came off the bench, possibly a big response to the fact that Cameron Archer's been signed
06:25 essentially to take his place. When managers talk about competition for places, that's
06:30 what they're on about. McBurnie was very good as a substitute for half an hour or so. I
06:39 would expect Archer would be the one leading the line but if not McBurnie should be a more
06:45 motivated better player for it. So one way or the other they should be better off. Just
06:50 expanding on the importance of the Everton game, you look at the games to come. Later
06:55 this month they've got Spurs, Newcastle and West Ham. There's a real danger where they
07:00 get into the position they were last season. I think last season it was 17 games before
07:05 they got a win. This is their big opportunity to avoid that because they've got United and
07:12 Arsenal to come in October as well. There's some difficult games coming up. Manchester
07:17 City was a good shot in the arm in terms of morale but they need to follow it up with
07:24 points because there's not much confidence you can take if you're looking at a league
07:29 table at the start of October or whenever and you haven't got a point to your name.
07:35 They really need to cash in on this opportunity. Everton we've seen over the last couple of
07:39 seasons start badly, pull it out of the fight, when Goodison rallies together, when they're
07:48 change manager and when they're really staring things in the face. At this stage they just
07:57 look a bit of a shambles of the club. Catch them when they're cold, take advantage of
08:02 it. It's easier said than done because it's not exactly like Sheffield United have hit
08:07 the ground running by any means. It's going to be a real squeaky bum game. It's really
08:13 important that Sheffield United take something out of it.
08:17 You mentioned in your report that the crowd is going to be huge. Obviously there's on
08:26 the pitch but you look at the sides down there, the support is going to play such a big part
08:32 especially in the home game. You look at Luton, every game is going to be a real adventure
08:39 for them. The atmosphere at Kenilworth is obviously not the biggest ground in the world
08:43 and homely rather than spectacular. They're going to be so up for it every home game the
08:52 backing is going to be incessant. It was great to hear that the Sheffield United fans are
08:58 a real cauldron. It's like that at its best. I just hope that if there's going to be a
09:05 point in the season where the Will go five or six games unbeaten, hopefully not too many
09:11 more but that's the time that you really need your supporters. It's going to be massive
09:17 as well on Saturday. They're going to be a big help if Sheffield United are going to
09:23 pull themselves over the line this season as they will be for the other promoter clubs
09:28 there in Luton and Burnley. It's just so important that they stick with them through the tough
09:35 times. In some respects it's relatively easy to get behind a side when the Champions are
09:40 a better side, the best team in Europe, better on a one-to-one level in terms of quality.
09:49 The support is brought into that quickly but it's the other games as well where they'll
09:53 really need them.
09:54 In terms of those games I was really struck. I was there on the opening day of the season
09:59 when they played Crystal Palace and they had a really demoralising summer. They'd just
10:05 signed Gustavo Heymoe overnight but he wasn't on the field so there weren't any real new
10:11 signings. It was a far weaker team than last season. Even in that game I think the crowd
10:16 realised the job they had to do and took it on quite willingly. A lot was made the last
10:24 Sheffield United were relegated about the absence of fans. It's kind of a put your money
10:29 where your mouth is situation now but the early signs have been excellent. They've been
10:33 really supportive and they are going to need that because let's face it, they need every
10:39 little thing they can tilt their way to make up this gap in terms of resources and preparedness.
10:48 I think the support is what's important.
10:54 You get the sense that the fans understand that and are very willing to take it on. It'll
11:01 get harder if the winless run continues but right now they're exactly where they need
11:10 them to be and hopefully that can tip the balance against Everton.
11:15 Next we turn our attention to Leeds United in the Championship who finally claim their
11:20 first victory of the season with a 4-3 win over Ipswich who going into this game had
11:24 a 100% record. The game saw goals from Ruta, Wilfred at Nanto and a debut goal for Joel
11:33 Pirro. The benefits of the club's ability to resolve the issues surrounding Nanto and
11:37 Sinisterra were quite evident. What was your assessment of the game and what do you think
11:43 Jed Spence can bring to the side Stuart?
11:48 First of all I think it was a really good week for Leeds United and for Daniel Farke
11:53 in particular. Not just a B-tip switch but just the list of goalscorers. Ruta absolutely
12:02 desperate for his first goal for Leeds gets it. Nanto and Sinisterra reintegrated into
12:09 the side. Daniel Farke had a real show of strength, showed that it won't be messed about
12:14 and brought these lads back in. It's all very reminiscent of the way he worked things with
12:18 Brenda and Campbell. Both of them don't just come back in but score and Joel Pirro scores
12:24 on his debut. It was all positive. Obviously they took a little bit of a step back on Tuesday
12:30 losing to Salford on penalties. They completely outplayed Salford but it did highlight some
12:38 of the problems as did that Ipswich game. They are quite fallible at the back. Against
12:43 Salford they didn't take their chances either. Pirro wasn't playing, he was cup tied having
12:48 already scored for Swansea in the competition. Hopefully he'll go some way to addressing
12:52 that. Nanto was excellent in terms of running up players but there was just a lack of end
12:58 product. Leeds need to stay sharp at that and they need to work on things at the back.
13:05 Now the signing, the thing that really stood out with Jed Spence last season, sorry season
13:14 before last when he won promotion with Boris, was his attacking players at right back. He
13:19 will add something to them defensively as well. He was one of the best players in the
13:25 championship that season and it was just an odd quirk that he was on loan from Middlesbrough
13:30 who had another of the best players in the division in Isaiah Jones. It was a very strange
13:36 and good position for Burry to be in. I think he'll add a lot. I think like a lot of FARC
13:41 signings he knows the course and distance in terms of getting teams out of the championship.
13:47 He's a quality player who's just lost his way for a year but hopefully he can get back
13:52 on it. I think he's a position Leeds needed to address because we've seen some good things
13:58 from Luke Ayling this season. Great goal against West Bromwich Albion. Daniel Farth likes to
14:03 play his full backs high but at times Ayling was struggling to get back and needs to be
14:08 a bit exposed down that side. So hopefully Spence's greater youth and athleticism will
14:15 make up for that. As we speak we're still expecting a couple more Leeds signings in.
14:21 They're certainly working hard at them and as I've said before on this podcast I've got
14:25 a lot of confidence that FARC will pick the right people. So I think things are moving
14:31 in the right direction for Leeds United but there are still big areas that need to regress
14:36 and we do see with FARC teams that they do often start seasons slowly and build into
14:41 them in the championship years. Definitely work to do but it felt like a really positive
14:48 week last week. Yeah I mean it's been a good start to the final window week if you like
14:56 with bringing in Spence obviously brings a hell of a lot to the table going forward.
15:03 Not massively sure about him defensively wise but he's certainly got athleticism and pace
15:11 and I'm sure the Leeds supporters will buy into him in terms of what he brings to the
15:16 table especially defensively. But yeah we've spoken about FARC before and I think both
15:24 Stuart and myself like the cut of his jib. He's had early issues and tests. He's not
15:30 felt sorry for himself. He's laid the law down. He's obviously got Gonto and Sinisterra
15:38 back in the fold. You know you sort of look at it. I was speaking with people ahead of
15:45 the weekend's games and I quite fancied Leeds to turn over Ipswich. I just had a sort of
15:53 funny feeling and obviously there's a lot of expectation on the shoulders of Ipswich
15:58 who have had a brilliant start to the season. Outstanding in the final third of last season
16:04 in League One and they were the class side from what I saw. So that was a tremendous
16:13 win and a little bit of a blowing midweek in the cup but I think if Leeds can have a
16:20 sound into the window and obviously they've got a Yorkshire derby with Sheffield Wednesday
16:25 on Saturday. For their sake obviously Wednesday they've got their own reasons to want to get
16:32 something from it before the window. If Leeds can get a positive result there, finish the
16:37 window well, I think given the adversity that they've had in high summer, it'll have been
16:45 a decent start for them. And credit to Daniel Farker, he's showing that he's a safe pair
16:57 of hands and a good operator. Yeah I would say more than a safe pair of hands, he's showing
17:05 that he won't be messed with. I think that Ipswich win was basically built on the back
17:13 of the feel good factor that he's generated with the way he's dealt with it. Some people
17:18 might be listening to this on September 2nd, you'll know by now whether Soto and Sinisterra
17:25 have actually stayed. Not 100% certain whether Sinisterra will but I think to face down Nando
17:33 like that was really important for the rest of his tenure at Leeds United. It just sent
17:41 out a really big message and has done him a lot of favours with the Leeds United fans
17:46 when he hasn't had the early results to cling to. I think we'll look back on this as a really
17:56 important week in Farker's time at the club. It's obviously a big issue but if they do
18:02 manage to keep them then those two and you bring Leroy into the mix, that's the three
18:09 that will really worry the overwhelming majority of championship teams. It will bring a lot
18:18 to the table, obviously Gonto and Sinisterra with the pace and the trickery and directness
18:23 and obviously an outlet down the middle to score goals. For Leeds' sake, that will be
18:32 fairly important and really augur well for the autumn and winter time when the table
18:39 really crystallises.
18:42 Hull City is our next stop in the championship, who had to settle for a point when they welcomed
18:46 Bristol City to the MKM Stadium. Ozan Tufan claimed his fourth goal of the season when
18:52 he opened the scoring for the Tigers before the visitors equalised late on in the second
18:56 half. How do you think Liam Rossini will feel after his side's start to the season, Leon?
19:02 I think he'll be reasonably pleased. Obviously, like any manager, he'll have wanted more.
19:09 Hull haven't managed to win three league games in a row in his tenure and I think it's something
19:14 they haven't done since right at the start of the new regime in January 2022. I suppose
19:23 that's one to get to tick off but they're going the right way. They've got a decent
19:30 continuity of selection defensively. They're well structured and they're obviously playing
19:39 through the thirds possession football. They look like one of those teams that if they
19:45 can talk before the end of the window it looks like Hull are going to be quite busy. Obviously,
19:50 they brought in Ryan Alsthopp as a goalkeeping option. They'll have Aston Villa, Philly
19:57 Jean, that one's reasonably close. So they're going to be one of the busier teams before
20:03 the end of the window. To build on what they've already got, they've got some good signings
20:08 in there. Scott Twine, I like the look of Liam De Latt. I think they can be reasonably
20:15 pleased but they've set themselves up nicely for the autumn.
20:20 I think Toufan's a good emblem for Liam Rossini's time just as he was a good emblem for Sean
20:28 Watson's time. When they signed him it seemed like almost an example of where they were
20:35 going wrong, signing these fantasy players who weren't really knuckling down and fitting
20:41 into the team's structure. In January you thought that would be Toufan gone. They didn't
20:48 really fit into what Liam Rossini needed. Rossini's obviously got into him and he's
20:57 obviously responded extremely well to become the sort of person you can rely on. Not just
21:03 this luxury player but this person who fits into this structure. He's been a real bonus
21:09 when you look at a lot of the signings made last summer. It just didn't work for one
21:15 reason or another. He has been one who has actually adapted to this new way of thinking
21:22 and it's obviously saved a lot of money in the transfer market and been a real bonus
21:29 for them that this quality player has shown what he's capable of.
21:34 They just don't look a team of individuals anymore do they Stuart? They've got a lot
21:39 more of a structure without the ball and he looks a lot fitter as well. Toufan as well.
21:47 He was up for the press recently and he was speaking about how hard he worked in the off-season
21:52 back in Turkey on his own. I think credit to the lad as well. I suppose it would have
21:58 been easy just to say this isn't particularly working and he'll go back to Turkish football
22:04 where I'm sure he'd have a hell of a lot of suitors. No, he kept his head down. He's
22:11 part of the journey at Hull and he clearly wants to do something. He's got four goals
22:18 and he's scored some different types of goals, classic goals as well. All power to him. Hull
22:26 are going the right way. It's been interesting to see what happens at the end of the window.
22:31 There's obviously talk of Ester Pienaar who was the top scorer last year. He's got interest
22:36 in Spain and one or two others as well. Liam McSenior knows what he wants and as well as
22:46 the individual talents he's got there, it's within a team framework which is at championship
22:52 level is so important.
22:54 And next we turn to Rotherham United and the Millers fell to a 2-1 defeat when they hosted
23:03 Leicester City. The Millers who were fired up as the match went on had an early goal
23:08 by Jordan Hoogle ruled out for offside before they drew level eight minutes into the second
23:13 half through Fred Ognjadinma. Although the Millers have had a fairly slow start to the
23:19 season, is there any cause for concern for the fans, Liam?
23:24 I think it's one of those unfortunately. We're not out before the end of the window. I think
23:29 if you spoke to the Rotherham fans they'd sort of ask us on Saturday morning or maybe
23:36 after the Norwich game on Saturday afternoon really. But they're desperate to do some huge
23:42 pieces of business before the 11 o'clock deadline. They're in for Brian Nominé who
23:50 Matt Bale knows well from his time at Exeter. Vardy were also in for him but it looks like
23:57 he'll be in for Sam. He won the race for his services and you hope they can get that over
24:05 the line. We want to go in the other way as well amongst the fringe players. Partly Keogh
24:12 on Josh Coyle and Jamie McHarg. But yeah, you look at the games that Rotherham have
24:23 played this season, in terms of the league anyway, I wouldn't read too much into the
24:31 big cup defeat in midweek because he had to be very problematic with his selection, Matt
24:36 Bale. Apart from the 45 minutes against Stoke when they went off the rails, they've really
24:44 been in games and competed. They were very unlucky against Blackburn obviously. We spoke
24:48 before about the hugely controversial wrong decision to send off Adoni Neymar. But Rotherham
25:00 played well enough in that game to compete at Stunlund as well. Against Leicester, you
25:07 look at the team sheets beforehand and especially the bench, how much power Leicester had. Rotherham
25:14 played pretty well. They were front foot, they were aggressive. It wasn't just a case
25:17 of you're up United against Manchester City and stopping them in how they were playing.
25:23 They were dictating to Leicester and pushing their own game onto them. They just needed
25:31 it. They couldn't really change it too much from the bench. The sort of Leicester's quality
25:39 told in the end and they obviously scored a goal towards the end to win the game. They
25:45 just need a few more Rotherham players with a bit more potency in attack who can get a
25:53 goal or two. They just don't have too many of those. That's where you worry. If they
26:00 can do the business that Matt Taylor wants, if they've got a bit of money to spend as
26:05 well, selling Ben Wiles to Huddersfield, then you just hope that they might have a chance.
26:14 Rotherham have been very realistic in the transfer window and very patient. It's a fine
26:20 line sometimes between patient and passive. Time will tell which side of that line they
26:27 were. You just wish from their point of view that they'd have got Ben Wiles' money a
26:31 bit earlier so they could have been a bit more aggressive in the transfer window. But
26:37 we'll see. It might be that we end up saying that by waiting until the last minute they
26:42 were able to get X, Y and Zed who were quality loan players in. We just don't know at this
26:48 stage. Whoever comes in is going to come in late. I wouldn't be overly optimistic having
26:58 seen Norwich at the weekend. I wouldn't be too optimistic about the chances at home to
27:04 Norwich given that these players are still going to be bedding their way into things.
27:10 So the game away to Huddersfield straight after the international break really was large.
27:16 I've banged the drum a few times on this podcast about so many of our teams not really
27:23 being ready for the start of the season until after that international break. But all excuses
27:28 are gone then. They really have to be at it then. And yeah, I think it's just, as Leon
27:36 says, it's a difficult one to judge until the window is closed. It looks like they have
27:42 made a couple of good signings already in Thierry and on Inma, if I can say it properly.
27:48 You struggled as much as I did with that one, didn't you?
27:53 I did. They both look like they can be good additions. So hopefully we'll be saying that
28:00 about the ones still to come. It's just frustrating that so many points will have been and gone
28:08 before that window is closed.
28:11 It's difficult for them, isn't it? Obviously, with the... Robbham need firepower, don't
28:15 they really? And firepower invariably costs quite a bit of money. And even in terms of
28:22 loan signings, if you want a fairly decent quality-wise goalscorer in the Championship,
28:29 it's not going to be cheap. Obviously, Lionel Nombé, he's done well for Exeter in League
28:37 One, but it's obviously a step up coming to the Championship. You would think as well
28:45 that they might go for a lone striker or two. I think they need more than just one up front
28:52 really. He does so much work. Jordan Hewgill, we might even go on to talk about the situation
29:00 with Danny Ward at Huddersfield. He does so much selfless work and battles with the defenders,
29:05 but it costs in some respects. He's not going to be there sniffing around for the tappings
29:15 and the predatory goals really because he does so much selfless work otherwise.
29:20 I think the main thrust of it for Rotherham at the end of the window will be just getting
29:25 a couple more attacking options just to hopefully give them a bit more of a goalscoring impetus.
29:32 Next on our list is Huddersfield Town, who followed up their 1-0 draw against Middlesbrough
29:36 with a heavy defeat by Norwich City, who maintained their 100% record this season. The Terriers
29:42 were 2-0 down inside the first 20 minutes, but that's not to say that Huddersfield Town
29:47 didn't have their chances, as Josh Kerroma went very close with a free-kick attempt before
29:52 David Wagner's men took control. Knowing that Huddersfield's next game is a visit to the
29:58 Hawthorns, how did you rate the performance and what changes could we see from Neil Warnock,
30:05 Stuart?
30:06 Well, to me it feels a bit similar to a lot of the things we've seen about Jesse Marsh's
30:12 United this time. They played quite well at times against Norwich from Tita Green, but
30:20 they are making big mistakes at both ends of the field and you just can't afford that.
30:29 It seemed like a regular thing already this season where you're saying about Huddersfield
30:33 that they played well. And the most disturbing thing for me is that most of these defensive
30:40 mistakes are coming from the players you would normally hang your hat on. They're not coming
30:45 from, by and large, from young kids who are new to the league. They're coming from the
30:50 likes of Petty Pearson, Nicholls, Jonathan Hogg, Mikhail Helik, players who we know are
30:55 really good players at this level and who you can normally rely on. So that's a bit
31:03 of a puzzler for Neil Warnock. And then at the other end, it's kind of the same old mold.
31:08 I mean, Leon's already touched on it. And Danny Ward, they've got a very good striker
31:12 in terms of contributing to the play, holding up the ball, doing all the mucky stuff that
31:20 a lot of players don't like to do. But there just aren't enough goals either from him or
31:25 around him to compensate for it. I mean, I'm hoping that Ben Wiles will help in that respect.
31:32 He's shown at Rotherham what a good eye for goal he's got. But it's going to take more
31:37 than one player. As we speak, Huddersfield are still scaring him. But much like Rotherham,
31:45 they just need finishers. Josh Karoma shows you flashes at times, but you just can't bank
31:55 on him as a goalscorer. I don't know if he gets good positions, but he just doesn't finish
32:01 them off enough. They just need to find a bit more from that. And as for what Warnock's
32:09 going to do next, well, I've asked him about those defensive mistakes and where they're
32:14 coming from. And he said, well, these are good players. I'm going to give them every
32:18 opportunity to work it through. I mean, obviously, places will come under threat once Tom Leeds
32:26 gets fit. Maybe Yuta Nakayama can put a bit of pressure on. For now, only Warnock's relying
32:33 on those players to work it out for themselves. But you just can't rely on that forever. And
32:38 something is going to have to change. Yeah, I mean, clearly, I think for me, Stuart, they're
32:42 definitely another forward option, don't they? Well, they've obviously brought in Birzog
32:47 and the little cameo that he showed at Middlesbrough, he did put himself at bat. He's a decent size
32:55 and looks to have a bit of pace, but it's going to be one of those probably seasons
32:58 again where Huddersfield are going to have to share the goals around. So bringing in
33:02 another option in addition to Birzog, they've obviously got Ward and Karoma. It could be
33:08 so important for them. But I think equally that it's time for holding a bit of nerve
33:14 as well. I mean, without being too critical of the chairman, I was surprised by, he was
33:21 obviously very disappointed with a lot of Huddersfield fans after the score on Saturday.
33:28 And obviously he went on to social media to make his feelings known and saying it's an
33:35 unacceptable performance, blah, blah, blah. I just think sometimes it can be a little
33:39 bit better to keep your powder dry. We're still only in the summer still, just about
33:50 in August. So we haven't got into the guts of the season by any means. Neil Warnock is
33:58 shown as a shrewd operator at championship level, can be trusted. He's been in all manner
34:06 and types of scenarios. So yeah, I think it's just a little bit early to panic even, take
34:14 into account the fact that it was a heavy defeat.
34:17 Yeah, I mean, in fairness to Kevin Argyll, he did track about an hour and a half. But
34:23 it was the timing of it as much as anything to tweet that when the manager was speaking
34:27 to the media. I mean, Neil Warnock is your expert on the ground. So at least, excuse
34:33 me, at least wait and see what he said before you reach your own conclusion. I think, yeah,
34:40 you're right. I mean, it's very, one of the things that really winds me up at this time
34:44 is people producing league tables so early in the season because they're just irrelevant
34:51 at this stage. There aren't enough games.
34:55 I should hope they are looking at the Yorkshire teams at the bottom, Stuart.
34:59 Exactly, but this guy will come up for the championship. But yeah, that kind of feeds
35:06 into this impatience that, you know, and obviously we've got lots of clubs at the wrong end of
35:12 those league tables right now. And the obvious reaction is just to panic about the fact that
35:18 you know, your team's bottom of the table or in the bottom three or whatever it is.
35:25 You can't be complacent about it, but equally, you can't be knee jerked. And Norwich City
35:31 are an extremely good team. You know, they were really good on the counter attack. They
35:35 look like the David Wagner. They've got themselves sorted out to be a real force this season.
35:41 And finally for this week, we turn to Sheffield Wednesday, who are still searching for their
35:46 first point of the season after falling to what can only be described as an incredibly
35:50 frustrating 2-1 defeat when Cardiff City scored a winning goal in the 98th minute. Now, seeing
35:56 as their next game sees them pay a visit to Ellon Road and knowing that both Leeds United
36:05 and Sheffield Wednesday lost in the cup on penalties, what can the Owls do to try and
36:11 turn their fortunes around? And how much pressure do you think Shishkon Wuniath is under at
36:18 the moment, Leon?
36:19 Yeah, I think it's fair to say he's under the microscope. He, you know, he spoke from
36:25 the heart. I did the midweek game, the EFL Cup against Mansfield and it was a funny one.
36:34 In some respects, it's a classic trait of a side who things aren't going particularly
36:42 well for. They actually played decent for the most part and they should have put the
36:46 tie to bed. They hit the woodwork a couple of times. The Mansfield keeper, Christie Pym,
36:52 had a pretty good game. And for decent parts, they played pretty well Wednesday, but they
36:57 just couldn't get that second goal. Quite often when a team's struggling, Mansfield
37:06 sort of sends that score to a late equaliser and then went on to win on penalties. And
37:14 there were a few grumbles at the end from Wednesday. It's just not going for Zisco at
37:21 the minute, isn't it? They've got a huge derby coming up at Leeds United on Saturday. If
37:30 Sheffield Wednesday do manage to lose that, they've got the international break, then
37:35 if things don't improve reasonably quickly after that, then I think he's under a real
37:42 big amount of pressure, really. They've obviously, you look at the start of the season, they're
37:47 bedding in new players, quite a few of them from overseas. They're still clearly finding
37:53 the feet at the championship level. There's a lot going on with the squad, which players
37:58 are going to be part of it going forward. We haven't even seen a sniff of Marvin Johnson
38:04 so far this season. They've obviously come in Zisco Munoz and trying to get a new way
38:13 of playing, obviously promoted to the championship from League One. I just think Wednesday should
38:23 have been a bit more pragmatic for me. There was obviously the statement from the chairman
38:28 saying in terms of his aims for the season and they sort of contrasted with what he'd
38:34 been talking about with Darren Moore and it basically led to Moore's departure. This season
38:39 for me is all about Wednesday just consolidating and retaining the championship status. For
38:47 the majority of last season, they were a strong core, they were hard to beat. They weren't
38:51 necessarily brilliant on the eye, but they had an effective way of playing for the most
38:57 part and they seem to have lost a bit of that. You look at the late goals that they've also
39:04 been conceding at the start of this season, which is a worry. At the minute, it feels
39:10 like a little bit of a perfect storm is brewing and you just hope for Munoz to say that it
39:18 blows over, but he's certainly under pressure. He needs to get a bad result at the weekend
39:25 and it'll intensify.
39:29 This feels to me like another case in point of needing patience. I think Leon's already
39:35 outlined it, new manager, a whole load of new signings, ten new signings as we speak,
39:41 most of them from overseas. It is going to take time to bed in. They were by all accounts
39:47 very good against Cardiff until they conceded the late goal as well, so they're clearly
39:52 making small steps, but also there's a long way to go. I think Munoz could help himself
40:00 by involving more of the players more often who are adapted to English football already.
40:08 I'm a bit disappointed to see Rhys James was an unused substitute in the League Cup. I
40:13 would have thought that would have been a good opportunity to throw him on and say,
40:17 "Everybody's saying you should be in the team. Show me why you should be in the team."
40:24 I do think he needs to help himself, but I do think they need a bit of patience. We heard
40:31 boos at times at Hillsborough last season, even when they won promotion. It's a club
40:39 with high expectations, it should have high expectations with its history and its stature,
40:45 but you do need that patience mixed in with it. Who knows on Saturday? Actually, Wednesday
40:52 they've had some pretty good results against Leeds in the last few years they've played
40:57 together in the Championship. Gary Monk always used to enjoy going back and some of his predecessors
41:03 too had some good results there. There shouldn't be too defeatist about it, but I just think
41:10 it's going to be a slow process and there needs to be more realism starting with the
41:16 chairman. All this talk early season, as Leon's noted too, about going for the playoffs, just
41:23 not sensible. It had to be about consolidation. If you performed above expectations and the
41:31 playoffs opened up, great, but it was too high a bar to set. I think he's going to need
41:40 time. I worry that he's not going to get the time, but I do think people need to hold their
41:46 nerve at Hillsborough right now, difficult though it might be.
41:49 You just hope for their sake that they manage to get a couple of wins in September. That
41:57 will hopefully buy them a little bit of time, won't it really? Obviously, we've got the
42:02 game on Saturday, but I think once you get into the autumn, for a lot of people, it's
42:10 when the season really starts. This thing about performing with a fair degree of encouragement,
42:17 if it's not married up by getting points as well, it really does increase the angst among
42:24 supporters. I think at the minute with Wednesday, there's been a certain amount of realism from
42:29 the supporters. It was obviously a shortened pre-season from winning the playoffs. They've
42:35 had a lot of upheaval with the manager leaving, big turnover of new players coming in. It's
42:45 going to take time, but once we get into the autumn, that patience, and Stuart's right
42:53 to say that, there needs to be a certain degree of patience, but there's got to be a bit of
42:59 progress and a bit of hope as well. When the games come relatively thick and fast, you've
43:04 got to chip away with it, won't you?
43:05 They're going to need a bit of luck as well. Again, they've just dropped their guard in
43:12 the last couple of minutes. What they'll need is for Leeds to hit the woodwork like they
43:17 did when they were battering Solveig Bladon, rather than hitting the back of the net. It
43:23 could be that we end up looking back on a game like that and saying, "Well, that's where
43:27 things turned for them." Or it could be we're looking at it and it just follows into this
43:32 pattern and, as I said, Munoz doesn't get time to turn it around. There's a lot riding
43:39 on this game, say, against a Leeds team who just feel a lot more buoyant right now. They
43:46 are going to need to hold their nerve and they will come under pressure in that game
43:50 because we know what good attacking players Leeds have got. But as we alluded to earlier,
43:55 they can be vulnerable defensively as well. If Windsor get the chance, they've got to
44:01 take advantage of it.
44:03 Many thanks to Leon Wobbshaw who will doubtless join us again soon for more discussions on
44:18 the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football
44:22 news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com
44:27 or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield
44:31 Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers,
44:35 you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or email us directly with
44:40 a subject matter as footballtalkpodcast@yp.sport@nationalworld.com. As ever, many thanks for listening, look
44:48 after yourselves and bye for now.
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