Three games, two wins and one missed penalty to dissect since the last episode of the Inside Elland Road podcast - Graham and Joe are back on the case. This week features: Leeds United's Ron Burgundy, Ipswich Town's dishwasher moment, Georginio Rutter.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to the Inside Elland Road podcast, your home of Leeds United views,
00:11 news, opinion and analysis from the team at the Yorkshire Evening Post. I'm Joe Donoghue.
00:16 I'm joined as per usual by YEP chief football writer, Graham Smith. We've had Norwich, Stoke
00:22 and Huddersfield since our last recording. Two wins, one defeat, six points from nine
00:27 on the whole, a decent enough set of results, which puts Leeds third in the table, 25 points
00:33 from 14 games. I think we're kind of getting to the stage of the season where the standings
00:38 start to even themselves out, where teams are usually quite reflective of where they
00:43 end up at the end of the campaign. Is that how you'd see things as well, Graham?
00:49 Yes.
00:50 Ah, good. You're in a talkative mood today. Excellent. Should we discuss Leeds being the
00:56 third best team in the division then? Because I think that's the first thing in my show
01:01 notes here. And that was kind of a little segue for me in the introduction that Leeds
01:07 being third, 25 points, almost averaging two per game. The signs are positive. They're
01:19 very good this season. They've been consistent, especially at home. Maybe not so much away
01:26 from Ellen Road, but still, I think it's fair to say that Leeds are the third best team
01:31 in the division, which come the end of the campaign is not what listeners of this podcast
01:36 want to be hearing.
01:38 No. And I think it's always the case that if you have the third most points in the table,
01:44 then you'll sit third, won't you? I predicted, didn't I, that I thought they'd finish automatic
01:53 promotion candidates. I still don't think that's out of the question. I just don't think
02:01 it's possibly as likely as it was when I first said it. And that's simply because Leicester
02:08 have set off like a fox with a tail on fire. And the Tractor Boys are absolutely motoring,
02:17 aren't they? I mean, they are plying a furrow that we didn't perhaps expect them to play
02:23 by. You talk about that kind of promotion bounce that they've got, but this is something
02:28 a bit more, I think, something a bit more substantial. And whether or not they drop
02:33 off, I think they'll still be up there. It would be a catastrophic failure, wouldn't
02:41 it, from this point for Ipswich to not at least be in the play-off picture come the
02:45 end of the season. I think they're going to be right up there. They're playing good football,
02:50 they're getting great results, they're being a little bit relentless. They've played a
02:56 game less, haven't they?
02:57 Yes, they have. They had their Rotherham game called off due to a storm.
03:03 And they're only four points behind Ipswich, I mean Leicester. So their start is probably
03:11 equally as impressive as Leicester's because they were in League One last season and a
03:17 lot of these players played for them in League One. But leads are tucked in quite nicely.
03:24 If you think of this as a, I don't know, I feel like you're not doing it justice by calling
03:29 it an 800 metre or a 1500 metre race, but they are that runner that everyone expected
03:34 to be in the final reckoning and they're tucked in, pacing quite nicely. They haven't shut
03:40 off to lead it like Leicester, but they're not that, well, they're 14 points behind,
03:45 so they are quite a way back. But they're leading the rest of the pack, aren't they?
03:49 And you're still expecting them to make a move or to gradually close that distance.
03:55 I just think everyone's been taken by surprise by how phenomenal the top two have been. But
04:04 I still think you can say that leads have been impressive. They've had to come out of
04:08 a really difficult start to the season. Farke warned us it was going to be bumpy and it
04:14 was turbulent, to say the least, with all those players leaving and particularly the
04:19 ones that leads had targeted to stay. Players they lost having really hoped that they would
04:25 be able to base the team around them. And yet, here they are, third, and they're playing
04:34 some really good football at times. They just haven't quite nailed consistency yet. And
04:39 I think that would be the one real area of improvement, I think, would be being more
04:47 brutal, more clinical. That's maybe one of the only things that's missing at this point.
04:53 But I think they've been good. As an attacking force, they've been really impressive at times.
05:01 And I think there's going to be a lot of wins this season, a lot of goals, and I think they'll
05:05 be right up there.
05:06 Absolutely. Leeds are on course at the moment to record 23 wins this season. They've won
05:11 seven from 14, which, I mean, 23 wins. I don't know what to do with myself. There's only
05:16 so many ways you can say that Leeds have won a game of football, especially after the last
05:20 two seasons when we were sort of starved with six or seven or eight in a season. But yeah,
05:26 I mean, we'll get on to Leeds' recent victories, the ones against Norwich and Huddersfield.
05:33 But just staying with the topic of Leicester and Ipswich, because this weekend obviously
05:36 brings the test of Leicester, probably the biggest game that Leeds have had this season
05:42 so far. And we haven't really discussed it on the Inside Ireland Road pod this season,
05:48 just how remarkable the start that both teams have had. You know, Leicester's is a championship
05:53 record. I think it's 13 wins and one defeat from 14 games, which is ridiculous. And then
06:00 I think Ipswich's record is 11 wins, one draw, one defeat. That one defeat obviously coming
06:05 out of Portland Road when Leeds visited there. And for anybody who isn't clued up on just
06:11 how staggering those starts have been, and I'm not looking for excuses as to why Leeds
06:17 aren't in the top two, because 25 points from 14 games in most previous seasons is enough
06:22 to have you in there. That's the whole point of this. You know, I think I was speaking
06:29 to my friend, a Leeds fan, Adam. He was adamant, see what I did there, that Ipswich's run will
06:35 come to an end. You know, in all competitions, I think they've lost once in the last 26 home
06:40 games. They've won, you know, never mind, you know, drawing 12 or drawing 13 and being
06:46 unbeaten or whatever, they've won 25 of the last 30 home games across all competitions
06:54 in the league, so across League One and the Championship, which is just a staggering record.
07:00 And I was looking at their results this season. Most games at Portland Road, they've scored
07:07 at least three, which is just remarkable. So I think the hope from a lot of Leeds fans
07:16 will be that they do end up dropping off, that maybe they get an injury in a key position
07:22 or maybe one or two or suspensions and they maybe just, you know, when, I don't know if
07:28 you have this, Greg, but you know, when you sort of pull the bottom rack or the top rack,
07:32 yeah, the bottom rack of the dishwasher out and it sort of goes off its little track.
07:36 I don't know, what would you call that? And it's sort of...
07:42 - Roller, it's on like rollers.
07:43 - It's roller, yeah. It comes off its roller ever so slightly. I think Leeds fans are kind
07:47 of hoping for that. A dishwasher moment, shall we say, for Ipswich. Leicester, I think, are
07:53 a different kettle of fish because they retained a core of Premier League players. I think
07:59 they recruited quite well over the summer as well. So they've probably, I mean, apart
08:05 from the obvious players like Harvey Barnes and James Madison, they've probably got just
08:09 as strong, if not, you know, a slightly, slightly weaker squad than they had last season. And
08:16 it's used to say that Enzo Maresca, the manager, isn't a better coach than what they had. So
08:20 there's, I mean, I think if Leeds go to Leicester this weekend and get something, given how
08:28 strongly they've started, anything but a Leicester win, I think that's another indicator to the
08:32 rest of the league that, as you say, Leeds are sort of leading the peloton. They are
08:36 leading the chasing pack and they're very much in the race, even if they are behind
08:43 the early pace setters.
08:45 I'm just stunned that you know Adam Ant and you've never mentioned this before.
08:51 I'm not friends with Adam Ant, no, but yeah, sorry, go on, go on. I'm actually amazed that
08:57 you thought that I would know who Adam Ant is. I do know who he is, but isn't he from
09:02 your generation rather than mine?
09:04 I do like to give you some credit, Nian again. He giveth and he taketh away. I think anything
09:13 but a Leeds win on Friday night and you can almost, almost forget about Leicester this
09:21 season and just focus on winning as many points as humanly possible and putting the pressure
09:26 on Ipswich. I think if Leeds beat Leicester, it is a huge, huge boost for Leeds. It is
09:36 a bit of a shot in the arm for the rest of the division and it just might, just might
09:41 introduce a little bit of a wobble at Leicester, but it won't take away anything at all from
09:49 how phenomenal they've been and how relentless they've been.
09:54 And I don't know, it's just quite, it's a surprise, isn't it, that it's worked out the
10:01 way it has. I mean, Leicester went with, it was a risk in the managerial choice because
10:08 yes, his coaching pedigree is obviously phenomenal, but you never know that these things are going
10:13 to work out perfectly. You never know if the dressing room is going to be right for the
10:17 manager. You don't know if he's going to get the culture right, the chemistry right. Lots
10:23 of people in football that you think would do really well at management don't. It's a
10:27 really, really difficult thing to get right and to get right so quickly. You think back
10:32 to Bielsa, you know, when Bielsa took over at Leeds and got them playing that football
10:37 so quickly and got them winning games so quickly, it was a surprise because that doesn't always
10:42 happen when you go for a kind of left field or an unusual appointment, maybe an ambitious
10:47 one, but again, completely unproven.
10:51 So it has taken everyone by surprise, but it's quite exciting in a way that there's
10:57 teams that are playing so well and setting such standards because it sets them up, it
11:02 puts them right up there to be shot at. And then Leeds go to Leicester this weekend and
11:06 they are definitely not the favourites to win that game. So if they win it, I don't
11:12 know, it feels like a big thing, doesn't it?
11:14 It certainly will be. And I'm really, really looking forward to the game at the King Power
11:19 and not just because on previous visits, I do seem to recall the grub being quite nice
11:24 of a Premier League standard. Look at you nodding vigorously there. You can remember
11:29 sort of the little pick and mix station they have, don't you? You can just keep going back
11:33 as many times as you like to get your sweets.
11:36 Well, I was hoping to go a week without sugar. But now that you've said that, maybe I'll
11:41 have to make an exception on Friday night. I always like the welcome at Leicester. They're
11:46 always incredibly welcoming, almost like they're pleased to see you. Whereas there are other
11:52 places where you can go in football and it's strange to say, but it's almost like they're
11:59 not that fussed about having journalists there, which comes as a complete and utter surprise
12:05 to me on every occasion.
12:07 Yeah, it'll be a good game, I think. And I think Leeds will create chances. I really
12:15 do. And I think what they've got to look out for, and we can maybe come on to talk about
12:19 it in depth later, but they've got to have learned from recent previous disappointments.
12:26 They've got to learn from games where they've conceded the first goal early. Because I think
12:31 if you do that against Leicester, I think it'd be very, very difficult to come back.
12:36 They've got to learn from games where teams press them and they didn't perhaps cope with
12:40 the ball and cope with the pressure as well as they could have. And yeah, let's see how
12:46 they can go about their business in the final third, because I think they have the ability
12:50 there to trouble every team in the Championship. It'll be good.
12:53 Yeah, well, speaking of the final third, of course, then, well, we should discuss Crescentia
12:58 Somerville, we should discuss Jorginho Ruta, because those two players in particular have
13:03 been very impressive over the past three games. Norwich, obviously, the two goals that Somerville
13:09 scored - one of great technique to bend it into the far corner via the post, and then
13:16 the composure to finish under pressure after a really long, busting counter-attack. And
13:22 then, of course, at the weekend against Huddersfield, two goals, two assists in 45 minutes. I mean,
13:28 we were sat there, weren't we, in the press box at half-time, sort of debating, canvassing
13:32 the rest of the journalists, saying, 'Is it possible? Can we give him a 10? What else
13:38 could he have done?' It was a real delight to watch a player, even from sort of a journalistic
13:45 perspective, from a neutral perspective, it was just a delight to watch a player just
13:49 playing fantastically well. And then, from a selfish perspective, because I do have a
13:55 soft spot for Jorginho, seeing him retire 24-year-old Tom Edwards at right-back, who
14:02 was subbed at half-time and I presume has decided that football's not for him anymore,
14:07 that was also a real spectacle. Those two in particular, Graeme, I mean, they really
14:14 do hold the key to Leeds' success this season, don't they? And I have to say, I quite liked
14:20 your explanation there of the scenic route, the differences between Somerville and Rutter.
14:28 Very, very eloquent, very well put. It's a shame that you're going to do all of it
14:32 a disservice on Friday by misnaming or wrongly referring to Leicester's arguably player
14:41 of the season, Dewsbury Hall, whose first name is...
14:43 Kiernan.
14:45 Oh, he's got it in one!
14:48 Of course I've got it.
14:50 I was thinking that I was going to catch you out there with, you know, you're going to
14:53 say he's called Kieran, Kieran Dewsbury Hall. No, it's Kiernan. He's got a second name for
15:01 a first name and he's also got a wedding venue as a second name.
15:06 Yeah, Dewsbury Hall is in that famous viral video where that kid is eating, I can't remember
15:13 what he's eating, a bacon sandwich or something, and singing a song about chuffing love in
15:19 Yorkshire. You should look it up, it's very, very funny.
15:21 Is it plusnet? I feel like it's plusnet.
15:24 Oh, no.
15:26 No, I don't think so. I don't know what you're talking about.
15:30 I know the video you're referring to.
15:33 Maybe he doesn't say Dewsbury Hall, maybe he says Dewsbury Road. Yeah, I think he says
15:36 Dewsbury Road actually, so we'll edit this out in post.
15:39 No, we won't.
15:41 Yeah. Yeah, Kieran and Dewsbury Hall. It's funny you should mention him, Joe. It's funny
15:48 you should mention him because I have just been looking, having a little look at how
15:52 he's been doing and the answer is very well indeed. So well done, Kieran and Dewsbury
15:58 Hall. According to the stats people who scored and so far score, he's the best player in
16:04 the division with the highest rating. He's performing the best. Number two is Crisentio
16:10 Somerville and another side has them one and three with the pesky Jack Clark nipping in
16:18 there, cutting inside onto his right foot just to nip ahead. Another former Leeds player
16:25 doing very, very well. Nine goals.
16:27 Well, I was just about to say that. I would say that I think Jack Clark scored three or
16:32 four penalties this season, so the moral victory, the moral second place should be Somerville
16:36 on that other side.
16:37 And also Somerville's not played as much, which is the kind of sting in the tail is
16:43 that yes, he's just tucked in behind Dewsbury Hall, but he's also played a significant
16:48 amount of minutes less than the Leicester man because of little injuries.
16:54 Well, if you were looking at an average rating, which I think I believe is the stat that you
16:59 were looking at, then Dewsbury Hall probably comes out better in that one because he's
17:03 played more and his average rating is still high.
17:06 Yeah, but you could have made a better argument there.
17:09 Well, no, but what I was going to say was that Somerville, end product determines a
17:14 lot of these things. Let's be honest, people who score and set up goals get very high
17:19 ratings on these sites. Dewsbury Hall has a little bit more end product than Somerville.
17:25 I think he has one fewer goal, but two more assists. I think I'm right in saying that.
17:29 And he's played a lot more minutes. If Somerville plays those minutes and adds
17:36 more end product, then I think he'll probably come out on top of that little individual
17:40 battle. But what will be interesting is how the Championship's "best two players",
17:46 which of them has the biggest impact come Friday night.
17:50 And the hope is, I suppose, for Leeds that the muscle soreness that Somerville was reporting
17:57 at half time, it wasn't enough to keep him off the pitch. If it was in any way serious,
18:02 Leeds would have kept him in the dressing room and he wouldn't have come out for the second half.
18:07 You just have to hope that that hadn't developed into anything or hasn't worsened or anything.
18:12 And he was out for his birthday.
18:16 So he was, yeah, him, Jorginho and Jed Spence. So that's a nice little trio. I wonder why
18:24 Willy Nyanta wasn't there or simply wasn't pictured.
18:27 Because maybe he just maybe didn't want to be pictured. Maybe he was doing something else.
18:34 I don't know. It seems unlikely that if Chris Somerville was there, Nyanta would not be far
18:38 behind because they have often been joined at the hip since Nyanta arrived.
18:43 Even when Nyanta doesn't start, he still finds himself on the pitch celebrating goals with
18:49 Somerville. I did love that. For anybody who was at Elland Road, they'll know what I'm talking
18:52 about at the weekend where Nyanta just sprints onto the pitch as he's warming up and you think,
18:59 well, you're going to get a yellow card for that. That's a very silly thing to do.
19:02 But also, you're a little scamp. What are you like? The pair of you?
19:07 Yeah, I thought he was going to get a no-one-can-er special,
19:10 carded without minutes. But the referee was very lenient. I thought, I'd love to know
19:18 if it's firstly in the referee's report and what language has been used to describe the incident.
19:23 Secondly, how the referee admonished him. Was it very much the school teacher telling off a young
19:29 whippersnapper who's done something a bit silly, but it's a charming kind of silly. It's not
19:36 malicious. No-one's got hurt here, Joe. I would like to know how the referee, Mr Bell,
19:46 had actually addressed Nyanta when he told him off. Should we talk about the other wing
19:51 options at the minute? I didn't want to hear about it straight after the game because I thought we
19:56 should all be talking about Rutaire and Somerville. But I'm willing now, a few days later, to talk
20:02 about the less impressive side of things. Obviously, we've done Dan James a great disservice
20:08 by not talking about him because he's flying at the minute. He's adding all the end product you
20:13 could want. I think we should kick this section off with the question, who saw Dan James keeping
20:19 Nyanta out of the team and keeping him out of the team this decisively? I think it was something we
20:26 were discussing at the weekend as well, wasn't it? He was there with another two goals and I think
20:32 both of the finishes. Did he have any other shots in the game? Because that would be really telling.
20:37 I certainly can't remember. He did. He did. He lashed one high and wide.
20:44 That was the Dan James that we'd become accustomed to seeing in the Premier League.
20:50 But in the Championship, or rather over the past couple of weeks, he's been, and certainly in that
20:56 game against Huddersfield, drilling one low from the edge of the box at the end of a run,
21:01 keeping it low, again, very important, not giving the keeper an option. And then under pressure for
21:07 the second goal that he scored, holding off the challenge and effectively just being able to lift
21:12 it over the onrushing goalkeeper. That was, again, another example of good finishing. The expression
21:19 or the phrase that has been used before to describe Dan James, obviously I'm not going to
21:22 repeat it, but that certainly didn't ring true at Ellen Road at the weekend. I think he's got,
21:31 is that four goals? No, he had four assists, didn't he? Three goals, four assists in 12 games.
21:37 Yeah. Again, a great return. And especially, it's an especially great return given what Daniel
21:42 Farker has said previously, in that you need goals from everywhere. You need goals from everyone.
21:47 And the fact that we haven't spoken about someone who's contributed directly to seven goals already
21:52 this season, until the 33rd minute or whatever it is of this episode, kind of does speak to just how
21:59 much strength they do have in depth in those wide areas. You factor in that you've got someone like
22:04 Jadon Anthony to come in, Nyonto, who was the breakout star last season, who again, is being
22:09 kept out of the team. And right now, I think you'd be pretty harsh to drop Dan James for Nyonto
22:15 in a team which is sort of your strongest XI or your most informal XI. So yeah, I'm delighted for
22:23 Dan James because again, he's another one whose future was pretty uncertain. And now you can't
22:29 really see him being anywhere other than Leeds in this team because he's doing so well in it.
22:34 Yeah, and I think his pace will be important on Friday night, I think, if Leeds are going to break
22:40 and try and hit Leicester on the counter, which would be nice because I still remember the 4-1
22:46 defeat at Allen Road in the COVID season, I believe, when Leicester came and just let Leeds
22:54 play all this Leeds-Belsabal and then hit them on the break. I'm sure it was three or four times
23:01 to score goals. Vardy was just classic Vardy, getting played in behind, playing off the last
23:06 shoulder, running in and scoring. It would be nice if Leeds could do something similar. And they have
23:12 been really dangerous on the counter. And I think James' pace is a big reason for that. He has
23:19 difference-making speed in this division. And crucially, the end of it now.
23:26 Yeah, and that's the important thing, isn't it? That it's not just pace. Because if you want to
23:31 just pace, then you could just go to Leeds Harriers and sign up their fastest lad and get him to play.
23:37 And you can't really argue with James' position in the team at all. There's no real facet of his
23:47 play that you'd say, 'Well, Nyanta's going to do that better.' James works his backside off and
23:53 has always been known for that. And he defends. He tracks back and he helps protect his full-back.
24:00 Nyanta, less known for his effectiveness in protecting his full-back, I would say.
24:09 And yeah, Nyanta has worked hard. And he has worked hard when he's come on, but he just hasn't
24:16 been anywhere near as effective as James has been. And in a foot race, I think James probably wins.
24:23 And so right now, there's just no real argument. I think what Somerville, Routier and James have
24:29 done is really ask a question of Willy Nyanta and Jadon Anthony. What can you do to get into
24:36 our spots? And we've not really seen them do that. And I think Anthony, yes, it has mostly been cameos.
24:43 But then when he's been given his chance, he hasn't really taken it. I thought he was
24:48 incredibly poor against Stoke. I don't know what it was, but a player who's clearly technically
24:54 very able just could not keep hold of the ball, kept overrunning it or giving it away.
25:00 And if you are in a team where someone else in your position is flying and is banging in goals
25:07 and adding assists, then when you get a chance like that, you really have to do something.
25:14 And even if it's not scoring yourself, you've got to create and you've got to keep the ball
25:19 and play well. You've got to do the basics well. And I just feel like he really dropped the ball
25:24 on that occasion. Nyanta similarly made very little impact against Stoke. And yes,
25:30 they were playing in a changed team. Gruyere was in the midfield. It wasn't the same team
25:36 exactly that had been tearing teams up. But this is your opportunity to show Farka that actually,
25:42 yeah, you have got real strength and depth and you should be thinking about me for a starting
25:45 position. And they didn't do it at all. Well, I mean, just to bring it back to a more positive
25:54 point whilst you were going on about how you're just so, so disappointed by Jadon Anthony and
25:59 Willian Hunter. The players who are playing in a team third in the league, Graeme, let's remember
26:05 that. I did have a look up to see who had scored the most goals on the counter-attack in the
26:11 championship this season. And there are no fewer than nine teams who haven't scored a single goal
26:17 on the counter. There are two teams who scored four goals on the counter, two teams who scored
26:23 three and a handful of others who've got two and then one. But ahead of everybody, six is Leeds.
26:31 So it goes to show that you are right in saying that Dan James's pace, Somerville's directness,
26:38 Routier's ability and chance creation has all contributed enormously to Leeds being,
26:44 at least at this stage of the season, the most potent counter-attacking team in the championship.
26:49 And since you were so keen to talk about the negatives, I do think we do need to discuss the
26:54 penalty situation from that Stoke game. I'm sure everybody has had their say, whether it's with
27:03 whoever they sit next to at the match on the weekend, days after the Bamford penalty miss,
27:10 who should be taking the penalties, why did Bamford step up to take it? Daniel Farker's had
27:15 his say saying that he prefers not to have substitutes taking spot kicks because they're
27:19 not up to the rhythm of the game. But ultimately Bamford did take it, he skied it and it was just
27:29 another indication that you feel really bad for the guy because the last time that he had a
27:34 meaningful impact, positive or negative, in this Leeds team was a missed penalty against Newcastle
27:39 towards the end of last season. So I know we've discussed it, but certainly not on the podcast,
27:45 what was your reading of the whole situation around that and what could have come of it?
27:50 Look, we all missed penalties last week. I know I did, but mine did hit the target at least. It
27:58 was just a lovely height for the keeper to save. It was a really poor penalty. I was only allowed
28:04 to take one step though, which is the rule in our football on a Monday night. Bamford should have
28:11 been nowhere near it. I understand why he's gone and got the ball. I felt last season when
28:21 they played Arsenal and Bamford took a penalty. I felt it was brave because from memory I don't
28:29 think he was in what you call a great moment. Well, he hasn't been in a great moment for
28:33 quite a while now at Leeds because of injuries and one thing or another. He took that penalty
28:39 at home against Arsenal and he missed the first one, didn't he? But there was encroachment.
28:45 Now Arsenal, I remember raging about the cynicism of the Arsenal players and how
28:51 it was just so childish that they were deliberately delaying and delaying and
28:55 trying to put pressure on and trying to get in his face. Tyler Adams had to come in and
28:58 shove a player away and all that. Just nonsense, cynical nonsense.
29:03 But there was a moment, unless I'm remembering this incorrectly, where Klik might well have said,
29:11 "Are you taking it again? Are you still fancying it?" or whatever. Bamford took the retake and
29:18 didn't score. On that occasion it felt like a bravery thing to step up and take it. Put yourself
29:26 forward and take the responsibility. Against Stoke, for me, it was an error of judgement.
29:33 I could see why he'd want to take it. He needs a goal to get going. As Varka said,
29:39 he wants to prove his daughters wrong. He's a striker. Strikers want to take penalties.
29:43 So those are his reasons. But whilst it might have been the best thing for Patrick Bamford to take
29:50 and subsequently score that penalty, it wasn't the best thing for Leeds United that he took it
29:55 because it was a big risk. He's not a player in form. He's a player that, whilst he is incredibly
30:03 mentally strong, I think, for some of the stuff that's been thrown at him and the way he's bounced
30:08 back from previous disappointments and previous criticism and whatnot on several occasions,
30:15 I don't think he would be in a strong enough frame of mind in that situation that you'd be able to
30:23 really back him and say, "Yeah, he's going to hit the net." Somerville, to me, looked like he wanted
30:28 it. He was making moves towards the ball, towards the situation. Pascal Stroik, it's the perfect
30:34 storm. You've got a senior player, very, very senior player in Patrick Bamford, influential
30:38 player in the dressing room, taking the ball. You've got a 23-year-old captain who's been
30:43 captain now a handful of times, who's an introvert. He's not one of the big voices. He's a player who
30:49 sets examples by what he does rather than barking orders and telling everybody what's what.
30:55 And I probably don't think that Pascal felt he could say to Pat Bamford, "No, give the ball to
31:03 Cree. Cree's having it," without creating a scene. It's a difficult situation, I think, for Stroik to
31:12 deal with. I would maybe have liked Somerville to be a bit more of a bull in a china shop and just
31:22 take the ball off him or say, "No, Pat, I've got this," and force the issue. But in any case,
31:30 Farke has explained there were other players that he would have chosen. Piro should have taken it,
31:35 but he was off the field. And Leeds have found themselves in this position where they've all
31:40 let it happen. There's culpability on quite a few hands that have let the situation develop as it
31:47 is. Bamford did win the penalty, you have to say, and he won it really well. Great run. And he's won
31:53 a penalty fair and square. But he shouldn't have taken it. And the end result was what we all
32:00 feared it would be when he stepped up. And you might think, "Oh, you shouldn't still be banging
32:06 on about it a week on," but I shared a taxi to Elland Road with some Leeds fans on Saturday from
32:11 the train station. And the very first thing... Man of the people.
32:14 Literally the only reason why I said that. The very first thing that was discussed was, "Well,
32:25 do you think Patrick will be taking any penalties today?" What a mess that was.
32:29 It was still being spoken about before the Huddersfield game. I don't think the situation
32:36 will arise again, though, because I think Bamford needed saving from himself in that situation. And
32:42 I think Farke will ensure that he's not put in that scenario again. And I think all you can hope
32:50 for, really, is that Bamford gets a goal, ideally an important goal, a big goal soon, one that
32:59 matters, and he can start to just put it all behind him and put last season behind him.
33:03 It does feel... This is all said without speaking to Bamford and without knowing his mind,
33:08 but it feels to me, and you watch his body language from time to time, it just feels to me like
33:14 there's still a bit hanging over him. He probably does want to go out and stick two fingers up to
33:20 the people that were abusive on social media and took things way too far with some deplorable
33:28 messages. He probably wants nothing more than to go out and to prove them wrong and to stick
33:33 the fingers up. But it feels like he's in need of really moving on. Like him, the crowd,
33:42 Leeds are in need of moving on from two difficult years. And whether that's through goals
33:48 or whether it's through, at the end of the season, a parting of company, I don't know
33:55 how it's going to happen. But I think it needs to happen for the player and for everyone. Everyone
34:00 needs to put the difficulties of the last two years behind them. And the best way, of course,
34:06 for that to happen is for Bamford to start sticking the ball in the net. But it's hard to argue that
34:12 he should be in the team from the start to be able to do that, because if Routier is going to be the
34:17 nine, then Routier has to play right now. Yeah, absolutely. I think you're right. I think
34:22 most Leeds fans would agree with that. I don't think you'd have many people saying that Bamford
34:28 should be in ahead of Routier or anyone in that sort of front four, not that he'd be able to play
34:33 the other roles. But yeah, it's one where over the course of the season, Bamford will score goals.
34:40 Coming off the bench, starting games, it doesn't matter. He will score at this level. As Farke
34:45 said, he has the pedigree. He's done it at a higher level. It will come. It's just a case of
34:51 you really want it to happen sooner rather than later. It'd be great to see it happen this weekend
34:56 if he was coming off the bench. He does have a knack of scoring those late goals off, I was
35:03 going to say an elbow or something, but not an elbow. Oh, actually, maybe an elbow.
35:07 Be fine, no B-A-R. Absolutely fine. We are fine with elbows. Do you remember the goal he scored
35:14 for Bielsa at Leicester where Stroik jumped up into the play, made a pass and it might have been
35:22 Raphinha who played the ball first time to Bamford. I remember the ball spinning as he hit it and he
35:30 just uncorked this strike into the far top corner. For me, probably his best goal as a midfielder.
35:39 I think I remember saying something like 'square it to Harrison' because Harrison had made a great
35:43 run and was breaking his neck to get up there. Obviously, it was free, centre of the goal,
35:47 but as soon as it left his boot, you were like 'oh wait, that's good, right for the top corner'.
35:52 The way the ball moved and everything, it was superb.
35:56 So there is that. If it came this weekend, it would be fantastic.
36:02 Shall we talk about Pirro?
36:06 We can if you like, but would you like to take on hosting duties as well?
36:12 I'm just trying to move you on. Everyone is almost a bit nervous to bring it up because
36:22 it's not the topic for Farka right now or ever again. I fear it will be, though. Not so much
36:32 the 'should he play at nine or should he play at ten' debate because I think Routier is doing so
36:38 much in that position that we can see why it's happening. But I think there have now been too
36:46 many games where Pirro hasn't had enough of an impact. I think you could say that some of his
36:53 movement and the runs he made that took defenders away helped in the first half against Huddersfield.
36:59 I think some of his link-up play was good. He used the ball well. But there are large stretches
37:05 of games where you think, what was the last big thing that Pirro did? Where is Pirro when it comes
37:13 to these chances and goals? He's got a few already this season, which is great. It's very early days.
37:20 He did an interview with the Matchday Programme where he said they're working on it with him and
37:26 Routier and it's still very early. He's right, it is very early. But I feel like Leeds…I
37:33 asked Farquhar about this. Do Leeds need to be doing more to get him into the game? Farquhar,
37:38 he wasn't too concerned. He said there will be games when it's not quite the game for him
37:42 to make the biggest impact. What do you think needs to happen?
37:46 Which I think is fine. I think it's fine when others are taking the mantle on themselves.
37:50 I'd be more concerned when it's a game like Stoke where nobody is and you're looking to your
37:54 centre-forward or your number 10 or that nine-and-a-half hybrid type player to get a
38:00 half chance and convert it. It's not as if…he's missed chances that I think if Bamford had missed,
38:10 it would be the same old Bamford and it would flare up again and there'd be all the criticism
38:16 and some people would take it too far. Pero's missed a few when Routier's played him in where
38:24 you'd really have backed him to score big, really good chances. He's not been flawless.
38:30 He's the 20-goal man, isn't he? He's the one that's going to need to score 20 goals.
38:39 I don't want to say that I'm feeling underwhelmed because he has scored
38:47 what? Four or five? Four, he's got? Five. He's scored five goals already and there have been
38:53 times when you've thought he's been really good but there's been other times when you've thought
38:58 he's just not there. A little bit anonymous I felt against Huddersfield at times
39:04 and in the end it didn't matter because they won 4-1. But against Leicester, you're not going to
39:09 be able to say…well, I don't think you're going to be able to say Pero was anonymous today but
39:14 it didn't matter. I think it will matter against Leicester. You wouldn't think that this team's
39:20 on a great run of form listening to you this week, would you, Graeme?
39:23 Listen, Joe, you're only as good as your last 45 minutes. Nearly said game and then you say
39:32 we'll be one not going 4-1. Speaking of which, of your last 45 minutes, you were talking about
39:38 who scored and those sorts of ratings before. What would you give yourself for your Monday
39:42 night performance? Out of 10? Last night, probably a three, a four.
39:48 A three?
39:50 I was very bad. I got into some good positions and then to play one-twos and my return ball
39:56 on a number of occasions was sadly lacking. I missed a good chance as well.
40:00 My performance on Monday evening, I'd just like to stress that myself and Graeme, we don't play
40:07 on the same team but we both do play on a Monday night. My performance individually was better
40:12 and I do have a lot of sympathy for Dan James because there were a few occasions where I was
40:18 able to travel with the ball but got to the final third and ran into trouble. I didn't really have
40:24 anything to show for it. Individual performance was certainly better than the week before but
40:29 again, just not quite there. While we've been recording this, I'd just like to give a shout
40:34 out to the Holbeck Hustler because that person on that account has tagged the pair of us and said,
40:41 "I need your voices. When's the next ep?" So I've replied with a picture of my microphone here.
40:48 So if anybody watching on Shots TV, where you can watch this podcast now, saw me get my phone
40:55 camera up ever so slightly about 10 minutes ago, that was what I was doing. I wasn't just...
41:01 "I need your voices" is a bit much. For me, that's like a character in a Luther series that wants
41:08 people's voice boxes and collects them, like something really macabre.
41:12 That's only you would come up with that. How is that the first place your brain goes?
41:17 I'm a child of the troubled.
41:20 Voice box killer. Yeah, that's it.
41:23 The voice box killer. There's your episode title. Yeah, what were we talking about? Oh yeah,
41:32 I know you're going to say I'm terribly negative, but Leicester are coming up and everything...
41:38 you need to raise your performance levels significantly, even from that first half
41:41 against Huddersfield, because Huddersfield did get a couple of sniffs.
41:44 That needs to be benchmarked, doesn't it?
41:46 Yeah, Rodon flew in with that great defensive challenge. Otherwise, I think
41:51 Boyo probably scores. Bergzag, I think he probably sticks it in the net, doesn't he?
42:00 Or at least Troubles, Mellie, tests him.
42:04 So, yeah, it wasn't... as Farke said, it was close to perfect that first half, but it wasn't
42:10 entirely perfect. But even that might not be enough against Leicester.
42:15 You're going to have to... they're going to have to raise it significantly.
42:18 And they can't play anything like they played against Stoke, which was only a week ago.
42:22 So in the space of a week, we've seen something really poor from Leeds and something really good.
42:28 And I think they're going to have to be even better on Friday night.
42:33 So I just want to make sure everyone does their bit, Joe, that nobody thinks,
42:37 "Oh, well, we beat Huddersfield 4-1, so we can go out and steamroll Leicester."
42:42 If they go out and steamroll Leicester, Joe, I will be the first to be
42:45 all balloons and dolphins on social media and on the podcast.
42:50 OK, well, that's a nice promise that we have there.
42:54 And I'll be looking forward to that recording.
42:57 But yeah, before we finish, obviously, today is the 31st of October.
43:01 We're recording on Halloween. I believe last year on the pod,
43:04 we came up with a few creative suggestions of who would suit what as a Halloween costume.
43:11 What is your worst and best dress up that you've ever done? And keep it PG.
43:17 What is my... you know, I'm not a big Halloween person.
43:25 I'm already on the countdown to Christmas, so Halloween for me is a bit of a distraction.
43:28 And honestly, I'd be quite happy if we just did away with it.
43:34 I'm not into gore.
43:35 I like grim television and television that, you know, keeps you on the edge of your seat.
43:43 But I don't like anything gratuitous.
43:45 So for me, a lot of Halloween costumes, they go a bit too far.
43:50 I did one year have a mask of Chewbacca that was good.
43:56 And what else have I dressed up as?
44:01 I'm really struggling to think.
44:06 I've never really made a big effort for Halloween.
44:08 Even as a child, I don't think I was particularly into it.
44:10 So it's just not...
44:13 Nothing to smile about in my life.
44:16 It's just, it's not my topic, Joe.
44:18 This is not my topic.
44:20 Honestly, the one time that Daniel Farker does accidentally stumble across the Inside
44:24 Alan Road podcast and he hears you, you know, taking the mickey out of his Farkisms.
44:29 No, taking inspiration from his Farkisms.
44:33 But what I will do is I'll throw a suggestion your way that if I was Dan James,
44:39 I would go as a speedboat with no driver this year to Halloween.
44:44 No, no, because everyone would...
44:45 Yeah, okay, that's good.
44:48 It is good because it does, you know, go on, take the mickey out of everybody.
44:52 But I believe he's called Dash.
44:54 Do the team, do the players not call him Dash?
44:57 Yeah, I think that might have been a nickname.
44:59 Yeah, so he should dress up as Dash from The Incredibles.
45:03 You know, the young lad who is incredibly fast.
45:06 Yeah, that's fine.
45:08 Yeah, that's absolutely fine.
45:11 And Daniel Farker can go as the Fark Knight, you know, Batman.
45:14 And Rutair can go as a quilt.
45:18 A quilt.
45:18 You're not right.
45:19 It's one of the most matches, to be honest, isn't it?
45:21 Do you remember that outfit he wore last season when he was pictured in a furniture shop or
45:27 something?
45:27 It looked like he'd stripped some of the material off of some furniture and turned it into clothing.
45:33 Yeah, he's into his fashion.
45:34 And so is Crescencio Somerville, who celebrated his birthday by going in a high-vis vest.
45:38 If anyone's seen the pictures of that.
45:42 A very Dutch, wasn't it?
45:45 Bright orange.
45:46 Yeah, the t-shirt.
45:47 Maybe it's a signal to the Dutch manager.
45:50 Who's the Dutch boss at the moment?
45:51 I know he sounded Dutch then.
45:53 Who's the Dutch boss at the moment?
45:55 Sounded like Steve McClaren.
45:57 Is it Ronald Koeman again?
46:00 I was going to say, is it Ronald Koeman?
46:02 This is again one of the classic points where everyone...
46:07 It is Ronald Koeman.
46:08 Okay, maybe it's a hint towards him that he wants to be called up to the senior squad
46:12 now that he's no longer eligible for the 21s.
46:14 So who knows?
46:16 He's definitely going the right way about it.
46:17 He is, but he probably needs to be in the Premier League, doesn't he?
46:20 He does.
46:22 But so, you know, I appreciate that you'll probably be touting him for a move to the
46:26 Premier League with your negativity before we finish.
46:30 Absolutely the opposite.
46:32 I would say if I could advise Crescencio Somerville, it would be stay at Leeds because the moves
46:40 that you might be able to get in January are likely to those clubs that need a spark and
46:46 they're not going to be mid-table comfort or above.
46:51 They're going to be below mid-table comfort.
46:54 So you might find yourself trading places with Leeds in the summer.
46:57 And in any case, you tear up the championship the way you're doing, you're going to be in
47:02 the Premier League next season with Leeds or without Leeds.
47:05 You know, it's a Calvin Phillips situation, you know, when he, in 2019, when he was being
47:11 courted so romantically by Dean Smith.
47:15 Now there's an image for you.
47:16 And it's that kind of scenario.
47:21 You either go in January, don't be a part of a potential promotion and you might not
47:28 get the best move or a really good move.
47:33 Or you stay, you be a promotion hero, you get one on your CV, you go up with Leeds or
47:39 you come close to it and then you go in the summer to a Premier League team, to a good
47:43 Premier League team.
47:44 That would be my advice.
47:47 [MUSIC]