On this week’s show, The YP’s football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss the size of the task in front of new Bradford City manager Graham Alexander, as he looks to end a losing run in League Two, one extended to four games with last weekend’s defeat at Notts County.
They also cast their eye over Harrogate Town, who lie just six points off the play-off spots, before turning the spotlight on Barnsley, who have been kicked out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their tie with non-league Horsham. Plus, we bring you the latest on Rotherham United’s search for a new manager.
England came in for criticism for their performances against Malta and North Macedonia, but still qualify as one of the top-seeded teams for Euro 2024. Our panel discuss their chances of success in Germany.
They also cast their eye over Harrogate Town, who lie just six points off the play-off spots, before turning the spotlight on Barnsley, who have been kicked out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their tie with non-league Horsham. Plus, we bring you the latest on Rotherham United’s search for a new manager.
England came in for criticism for their performances against Malta and North Macedonia, but still qualify as one of the top-seeded teams for Euro 2024. Our panel discuss their chances of success in Germany.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:13 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:16 of our football writing team. On this week's episode we are joined by Chief Football Writer
00:20 for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Neil
00:23 Moffrell to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you
00:28 can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
00:31 onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:37 feeds, the main one being @ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:42 Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook you can find us there as well. And if you
00:47 have any questions for our writers you can get in touch using those various Twitter or
00:50 Facebook pages or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast at
00:55 yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
00:58 Now, due to the international break there was not much action from our Yorkshire teams
01:05 with the exception of Bradford City who went head to head with Notts County which we will
01:09 cover later on in this episode and Harrogate Town who played out a one-all draw when they
01:14 welcomed Swindon Town to the Environment Stadium which we'll also be having a look at in more
01:20 detail. But let's actually start, as I mentioned earlier, with Bradford City who are still
01:27 looking for their first league win under new manager Graham Alexander after they fell to
01:34 a disappointing 4-2 defeat away at Notts County which is now their fourth consecutive league
01:39 defeat. The Bantams fell behind inside the first five minutes of the game and were 4-0
01:44 down by half time and even though they were able to stage some sort of fight back in the
01:51 second half it wasn't enough to stop them from missing out on claiming points from the
01:55 fixture. What were your thoughts on the game and where do Bradford City improve ahead of
02:02 their upcoming game against Akington Stanley, Leon?
02:05 Well, it was disappointing is one word but it was just a bit of a strange game all round.
02:12 I mean they were obviously 4-0 down at half time and it was one of those you would be
02:18 sort of sat there watching it as bad as Bradford were and they were all over the place defensively
02:28 in the first half. You know, Notts County were very good, I've seen a few games at this
02:33 level over the years and sort of going forward they were outstanding. Obviously you've got
02:39 Macaulay Langstath, he was banging in the goals as they got promoted from the National
02:45 League, he's carried on where he's left off and just behind him, McGoldrick and Crowley
02:52 were just pulling the strings. Throughout the first half I met Stuart Pulley, Graham
02:57 McGoldrick is far too good for League 2, there's no way he should be operating. They were very
03:04 good in Notts County but he did get it wrong, Graham Alexander, and to his credit he admitted
03:10 that pretty much afterwards. He'd gone with the back four that obviously had been used
03:16 in the games prior to him arriving, I think he'd gone with that against Barrow and they
03:22 were just torn apart. They scored four goals in the first half but to be fair he sort of
03:29 administered the left of the pass if you like, he sort of went 3-5-2 and basically along
03:38 the lines of 'look we're going to get beaten here but let's claw back a bit of pride and
03:44 win the second half'. To be fair I think there was an element of Notts County clocking off
03:51 psychologically and I know their manager was pretty scathing afterwards. Credit to Bradford
04:00 to some degree, they brought Matty Platt on, he played in, Ash Taylor off, brought Matty
04:07 Platt on the right hand side of a three with Sam Stubbs and Kieran Kelly and then went
04:15 to wing backs Halliday and Lewis Richards and he was better. Richards looked rough,
04:24 it's fair to say, at left back and he looked a fair bit more comfortable at wing back.
04:30 They clawed a couple of goals back, the fans who were understandably grumpy in the first
04:37 half and turned a little bit on the owner, Steffen Roo, they brought it to it a bit more,
04:45 quite a lot of chances Bradford and a bit more respectability to the scoreline. I suppose
04:53 the problem is, I know Stuart mentioned it before the game, this sort of punch on conceding
05:01 very early goals flared up again, that's an issue going forward. To be fair, the other
05:09 game was on some level a dead rubber but managers won't say that will they, on Tuesday night
05:16 in the EFL trophy, brought it through to the knockout in the last 32. But he went fairly
05:23 strong against Barnsley, I think it was about 5 or 6 of the players who played at Notts
05:27 County when he started and a nice little morale boost admittedly against the Barnsley side
05:33 who only had about 3 or 4 first teamers if you like. 1-5-1 Andy Cook got a goal, Tyler
05:43 Smith looked decent and they looked decent in the 3-5-2 as well, the pressing was good
05:51 and the intent and it was fun for small acorns really, the big game this week will be the
05:58 home game against Ackrington but he might, just might have dropped onto something with
06:04 that system. I just sort of look at Bradford defensively and without being too cruel I
06:10 don't think they've got an outstanding central defensive pairing so for me I think you're
06:18 better to have 3 than 2 and to be fair in the summer when doing recruiting players it
06:25 was done around doing it to play a 3-5-2 but it was jettisoned pretty early by Mark Hughes,
06:35 the other fans weren't particularly happy with that system but yeah it's had a bit of
06:41 a refit potentially and we'll see how Alexander goes in the weeks ahead but yeah, funny week,
06:50 dreadful first half against Notts County, bit of encouragement afterwards, bit of a
06:57 morale boost against Tuesday but it really is about getting some points on the board
07:02 now you look at Bradford and they're closer to the bottom relegation positions than they
07:08 are the top 7 which is ridiculous and very disappointing.
07:16 It was a really difficult week to judge because there was good and there was bad and the bad
07:23 was very bad but yeah it did feel as though that change of formation might have got them
07:32 onto something but as Leon says it is hard to judge because it is true to say that Notts
07:37 County clocked off in that second half and it is true to say that the midweek win was
07:41 a dead rubber so we'll have to reserve a bit of judgement but I agree with Leon, I think
07:46 just the safety in numbers when they need to clearly build a platform at the moment
07:55 you know it could be the way to go for them and I just feel as though sometimes you get
08:02 the new manager bounce and it can disguise a few problems that are there, well this time
08:09 the problems were all laid out on national television in that first half at Meadow Lane
08:14 you know it wasn't just the quantity of the goals it was the manner of them as well, the
08:20 way they sat off Notts County and let them play around them, that wasn't anything to
08:25 do with formations that was a real mindset issue but there were positives, Andy Cook missed
08:33 a great chance that could have made it 4-3, it could have been very interesting then,
08:39 I thought the way Brad Halliday really fought in the second half, I thought that marked
08:44 him out as somebody who Alexander will have thought I could work with him here and having
08:55 said that about Cook's miss and there were a few others in that game, the fact that he
08:59 got one in midweek regardless of who they were playing, what competition they were playing
09:04 in or anything like that, the fact that he's got a goal, hopefully that will just kick
09:08 start him because they do need his goals, they were obviously very reliant on them last
09:14 season and they've struggled without so many of them this season, he's got seven, he's
09:18 not exactly doing terribly but it's certainly not at the standard he was. So yeah, hopefully
09:26 this has brought some of the issues out into the open early for Graham Alexander and he
09:31 does certainly seem like the sort of manager who will try and confront them head on so
09:37 it might be grasping at straws a bit after what was a terrible defeat but it could be
09:44 that in the long run, getting this out of the way early actually does Bradford some
09:49 good. I say we won't be saying that if they then lose against Ackrington, lose against
09:55 Forest Green, it has to be the start of something but it does feel as though there's the potential
10:02 for this to actually not have been as bad a week as it really felt at half-time in that
10:09 last counter game. Yeah, he's seen the problems early hasn't he Stuart, which I think there's
10:16 an argument to say that's not necessarily a bad thing, he's certainly got a lot of work
10:22 to do, there's obviously an intense schedule between now and the end of the year but I
10:30 think the overall squad evaluation as well, that's going to come into it, not for the
10:36 first time, it just looks a big squad raft doesn't it, I know there's one or two players
10:42 to come back as well, you can throw Oliver back in the mix and Chapman and then there's
10:48 Alex Patterson as well, he'll be an important player when he comes back but you look at
10:53 some of the players who weren't in the squad, he doesn't look particularly good for one
10:57 or two of the loan players for sure, Tulloch and Fofoca have not featured in any of his
11:04 matchday squads so far so you would have thought that they'll be going back in January, you
11:10 would have thought the situation with Jake Young, so there's going to be a certain amount
11:17 of realignment and trimming and he'll be assessing the players all the time to see who he can
11:25 trust and fits into the way that he wants to do things, when Graham was unveiled he
11:30 spoke about being adaptable in his systems and looking at the personnel he's got and
11:38 which way it'll go formation wise, time will tell and Stuart made a good point that we've
11:46 been here before, we've had, you get a decent result here and there and there's a tendency
11:54 to go overboard and then they go and throw a couple of bad results in so they need to
11:59 get back on track in the league, big game against Ackerton on Saturday and getting some
12:07 points on the board.
12:09 Yeah, they need to get a clear idea of where they're going, this squad has been reshaped
12:17 to play three at the back so if it turns out he is happy with three at the back it makes
12:23 things a bit easier but if not then he does need to think, if he ultimately decides he's
12:29 more comfortable with a back four he needs to find a partner for Sam Stubbs, he needs
12:35 to look at certain areas of the field and balancing things up.
12:39 I think you would assume that they would recall Jake Young in mid-season, there is a recall
12:49 clause in there I believe and he's got 13 goals this season so it seems like a bit of
12:53 a no-brainer so that will instantly make things a lot more promising, hopefully he can then
13:02 strike up a good partnership with Andy Cook and off we go but as Leon's already alluded
13:07 to there's a lot of games before we get to January and Bradford can't just afford to
13:13 tread water, they really need to nail things down at the back and then build from there
13:20 because the play-offs are very rarely out of reach in the Football League just because
13:27 of the system but right now they don't need to be thinking about that, they need to be
13:33 shutting the back door and making sure that they don't get sucked closer to the relegation
13:38 picture because at the moment it's not panic stations but if they allow things to drift
13:43 things could get a lot more uncomfortable.
13:47 And next we turn our attention to Harrogate Town who had to settle for a point when they
13:51 played out a 1-0 draw when they welcomed Swindon Town.
13:55 This now leaves Harrogate Town in 14th place, just six points off the play-off spots.
14:00 What was your assessment of the game and how do you feel that things are going for our
14:05 Yorkshire teams as a whole in this division Stuart?
14:08 Well I mean from a Harrogate Town perspective it was a step forward, a draw was the first
14:16 point they'd taken at home since August, they've been very good away from home but it's the
14:24 former Wetherby Road that's been letting them down so to take a point against Swindon that
14:31 was definitely a step in the right direction.
14:33 It seems like they've finally drawn a line under the Luke Armstrong situation, it doesn't
14:39 seem like he's going to be playing any more football for them until the January transfer
14:44 window opens.
14:45 I mean that's been a really damaging situation for them, Wrexham's inability to get what
14:52 should have been quite a straightforward deal from their perspective done with a month's
14:57 notice has really done some harm to Harrogate it feels anyway looking from the outside.
15:07 So I hope things can be resolved in January, I hope he can move early in the window for
15:13 his sake, he'll need the football and for Harrogate's sake so they can move on.
15:18 I hope if it is Wrexham who come back in for him then the disruption they've caused is
15:24 reflected in the new price for him.
15:27 But yeah generally things seem to be moving in the right direction, Simon Weaver was talking
15:32 very positively after the game.
15:36 We often talk about some of the teams in Yorkshire about what's realistic for them with their
15:42 budgets and for Harrogate to be sat in 14th place at the moment above Bradford and Doncaster
15:49 is a big tick in the box as you say to be only six points outside the playoffs.
15:57 Things are moving in the right direction, things are positive and they're just as they
16:02 usually do at Harrogate, they're showing the value of just holding their nerve when things
16:08 get a little bit sticky.
16:09 They've got a manager who they obviously trust massively having been there so long and whereas
16:16 other clubs you'll see the knee-jerk reaction where they go in a bad run.
16:21 Harrogate have got into the habit of riding these things out and hopefully it will work
16:29 to their advantage this season.
16:31 Yeah I agree with what Stuart said, they have took a few knocks and had some bumps in the
16:38 road not just this season but the last couple as well.
16:42 They're still a relatively new football league club but they have shown the character, obviously
16:49 stopped the rot if you like with a draw at home after the run of home defeats.
16:55 It's just getting the home form back on an even keel in the here and now.
17:03 I think they've only got seven points at home this season and they've got over double that
17:07 away from home.
17:08 So they've certainly been in that area of the season.
17:15 They're certainly getting right and it's just been a little bit, Weaver was speaking about
17:20 it the other week, a bit more proactive in the final third and positive.
17:25 So there is mitigation in the fact that Armstrong under usual circumstances is a big player
17:34 for Harrogate isn't he?
17:35 But he's been a bit of a backdrop to the season hasn't he?
17:40 Obviously it all started on the opening day when they thought he wasn't capable of taking
17:46 the field at Doncaster because of all the speculation regarding his future.
17:52 Rexham and Stewart's right to say that it needs to be sorted out sooner rather than
17:56 later and ideally right at the start of the window.
18:00 So with a bit of luck Bradford Harrogate will be spoken about it before Weaver, getting
18:08 a replacement in before he allows him to go.
18:11 Hopefully they'll line somebody up so when Armstrong goes wherever he goes they've got
18:18 a shoe in for a replacement.
18:21 So I think that'll be important.
18:23 She showed the character in the metal and against Swindon and by all accounts it was
18:33 a bit more encouraging.
18:38 Harrogate got a replacement in when Armstrong went but because of the rushed nature of it
18:44 and the fact they were forced into it, they brought Josh Martian when he's clearly not
18:48 been fully fit and as a result they've only had three starts out of him this season.
18:54 They've only had six out of Luke Armstrong and one league goal between them.
18:58 So clearly Leon's right, they do need to bring in another striker but it's just a consequence
19:05 really and it's really annoying when this happens whether it's your club behind it or
19:12 your club on the receiving end.
19:15 There's transfers, there's excuses, we're in a chain and we're waiting for this and
19:19 we're waiting for that.
19:20 There you had a club who knew who they wanted, they had the money to buy him, they knew who
19:24 the price was and they did it and they did it and they did it and they left it not just
19:29 to the last minute but to a couple of minutes after the last minute.
19:34 It's just really frustrating when clubs can't get their business done in time and it's really
19:40 hurt Harrogate this time but that is the nature of it.
19:45 You've just got to get on with it.
19:46 Unfortunately when you are a club like Harrogate you're not able to dictate terms like clubs
19:51 like Wrexham can.
19:53 You have to patiently wait your time and they've been bitten by it but for all of that, as
19:59 we've just said, they're 14th in the table, they're coming through this, they're getting
20:04 the best out of Sam Vilar and they're continuing to get goals out of Jack Muldoon.
20:11 They're finding ways through it and that's what you've got to do.
20:18 That's the nature of it sometimes.
20:19 As I say, you do have these sticky spells and you've just got to battle your way through
20:25 them.
20:26 When you talk about the division generally, obviously we've mentioned Bradford, our other
20:31 club Doncaster, they're just having a slightly sticky time of it at the moment in the league,
20:36 partly just because they're not having many fixtures at the moment.
20:41 Lots of cup games disrupting the rhythm and things like that.
20:46 It just feels as though a season that was threatening to get going a while ago still
20:52 hasn't really got up and running in the way it should be.
20:59 But again, there's mitigating circumstances, they've had a lot of injuries, there's things
21:04 to be positive about.
21:05 I mean, Leon and I have both seen Doncaster this season and been very impressed, I think
21:10 it's fair to say, by Joe Ironside and Mo Fowle and the partnership they've got up front.
21:16 They've still this season got to get George Miller on the field and up and running.
21:23 Hopefully if either of those two strikers have a dip, it comes at a time when Miller
21:27 is up and running and backing the goals.
21:31 But yeah, I think although the league position is troubling and it's certainly, you know,
21:38 19th at this stage of the season is way below where most fans would have hoped they would
21:44 be at the start of the season.
21:46 Again I don't think it's cause for panic, as I said earlier, it takes an awful lot to
21:52 be out of the play-off picture in the football league.
21:56 They will have to put a good run together to get there, but it's still within their
22:02 grasp.
22:03 So I think, like I just said about Harrogate, it's the same really with Doncaster.
22:07 Keep your nerve, get through it, there is enough talent there I think to get closer
22:14 to the season they were expecting this year.
22:16 Yeah, I mean you look at, it's not just been three or four players who have been out at
22:21 times at Doncaster.
22:22 You know you've been talking to Douglas Fares haven't you, which is, you know, that's the
22:27 barometer of what he's had to contend with, Grant McCann.
22:31 Yeah, I mean, I think it would be nice if Doncaster's well-being, you look at the last
22:37 two or three years, and the second half of the season has been absolutely atrocious and
22:45 sometimes going into free-falls.
22:47 So hopefully it's squared the circle a little bit where they can actually have a bit more
22:52 of a positive run, which it sort of goes against the grain for Grant McCann.
22:56 He's usually the sort of, all the way, so his teams usually make strong starts.
23:02 It's been a bit of a tricky first half of the season for Doncaster, but I agree with
23:07 what Stuart said.
23:08 I mean, I think the actual system, you know, you go in League Two where you can finish
23:15 seventh place and sneak into the playoffs and still have a chance.
23:19 You know, that can sort of encourage some teams.
23:22 I remember, oh Doncaster years ago now, when Bradford made a late charge in the spring
23:29 and ended up going up.
23:31 So you know, there's usually, in a season, in that division, there's one or two who can
23:39 make a late run and sneak into the playoffs.
23:41 And that's what Doncaster will be hoping, you know, players to come back.
23:46 Stuart's mentioned George Miller and those two, Tommy Rose out at the minute.
23:54 Steri the right-back as well at the start of the season.
23:57 Hopefully one or two players coming into form as well, which I wouldn't discount at Doncaster
24:04 at the minute.
24:05 They've had that bit of disruption with the fixtures, but there's some ticks in the box
24:11 as well.
24:12 And you know, Ironside have a part up front.
24:14 They've looked the part for spells and there's some decent players to work with there.
24:20 So I don't think all is lost there yet.
24:23 And now we head to Barnsley, who even though weren't in action over the weekend, they have
24:29 been in the news following their expulsion from this season's FA Cup after fielding an
24:35 ineligible player during their game against Horsham.
24:38 I wanted to get your thoughts on the situation and how their season has been so far.
24:44 They currently sit in sixth, eight points off the top two, and their next game is a
24:49 trip to Lincoln City.
24:52 How have you found the tikes so far this season, Leon?
24:55 Yeah, I think it's important first of all to mention the fact that they've been kicked
25:03 out of the FA Cup, fielding an ineligible player.
25:05 And yeah, it's just headlines that a club can do without.
25:09 And certainly supporters, you look at Barnsley over the past few years and they've had a
25:17 lot of clubs within the spotlight, a lot of untable headlines.
25:23 Earlier this season, they were the EFL charging with breaches regarding ownership shareholdings.
25:33 That case hasn't been finalised yet, we don't know what's going to happen there yet.
25:39 We've obviously got the latest thing with the ineligible player.
25:45 The club aren't saying anything, but from what we understand, it came as a result of
25:53 the fact that they brought back Aidan Marsh from York City on the 6th of November, which
26:02 was the Monday.
26:03 He actually played the first game against Horsham on the Friday, the 3rd.
26:08 Obviously, Marsh was still at York, and to be eligible to play in the replay, you've
26:19 got to be available for the first game.
26:21 But technically, he was still on loan at York.
26:25 So obviously, a big and regrettable mistake from Barnsley in an elementary run, to be
26:31 fair.
26:32 But yeah, I just feel for the supporters there.
26:36 We've had the stuff about the last season, when the controversial closing of the West
26:42 Stand, there was all the stuff with the cryptocurrency sponsor.
26:48 The negative headlines regarding that, there were some allegations of discriminatory language.
26:56 So yeah, it's headlines that Barnsley could have done without in that regard.
27:02 On the pitch, it's been a bit of a mixed bag really, hasn't it?
27:07 They've been pretty strong away from home.
27:11 Only lost one game in League One on the road at Derby.
27:17 Only five or six wins on the trot away from home at one point.
27:22 And it's been looking okay, but they have struggled against some of the leading sides
27:27 at home, beaten to the likes of Portsmouth, Peterborough and Oxford.
27:34 So they're sort of in the playoff mix.
27:38 But I wonder if that's maybe more to do with the fact that, I would mention this before
27:44 myself and Stuart, that I don't think it's the strongest Division League One this season.
27:49 Certainly not as strong as the last two campaigns.
27:54 So I think it's going to be this run of games for a lot of clubs between now and the end
28:00 of the calendar year, sort a few teams out.
28:04 I'll be interested to see how Barnsley fare, because I think they've still got one or two
28:09 issues at the back.
28:11 And I just wonder, in January, it can be a critical time at Barnsley.
28:20 And you would expect, you look at some of the players.
28:22 Devante calls out a contract in the summer, he's not got his future sorted yet.
28:28 He's been outstanding really for the last year or so.
28:31 There was interest in him at the end of the summer window.
28:34 And I'm pretty sure there'll be some in January as well.
28:39 The plot's ticking on some other players as well.
28:41 Herbie Kane, another key player for Barnsley, he's up next summer.
28:47 Captain Jordan Williams as well.
28:49 So obviously, in the likes of Callum Stiles, he's a Hungary international.
28:56 They've obviously got into a tournament next summer.
29:01 Will he want to be sticking around in League One all season?
29:04 Nicky Cavan as well, he's out of contract in the summer.
29:07 Another big player for Barnsley.
29:10 I think the thing with Barnsley is probably, I've asked myself and Stuart at the end of January.
29:17 I think Barnsley obviously had an excellent coach last season.
29:22 Neil Collins has made a decent start this season.
29:26 They need to raise the standards off the field to match them on it.
29:31 The whole FA Cup thing, it's an embarrassment, but it's an expensive one as well.
29:38 You see it a lot in the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup with teams being thrown out for this sort of thing.
29:44 But they're teams run by volunteers.
29:48 This is a professional outfit.
29:50 And they clearly are very embarrassed by it. They should be.
29:53 But there's more than just that.
29:57 There's also the fact that they're drawn to play Sutton United away in the next round.
30:03 You only need to look at the league table to see they would have been the favourites in that tie
30:08 to go through to the third round.
30:11 And the third round is the big one in terms of finances.
30:15 That would no doubt have a knock-on effect in terms of Neil Collins' budget for January.
30:20 So, yeah, it's been an embarrassing time for Barclay.
30:28 And in terms of on the field, it just feels as though...
30:32 Obviously, they'd been so good away from home, as Leon mentioned, until that Derby County defeat.
30:37 But the fact that it was Derby County, another one of those teams who we expect to be contending for promotion,
30:44 it just kind of fits into this pattern.
30:46 If they can beat the teams, I won't say below them, because Derby are just about still below them.
30:53 But the teams in the next tier down, it's the teams that they should be competing with.
30:58 They're not quite up to that level yet.
31:01 And so the next couple of games are going to be interesting because Lincoln are within striking distance of them.
31:07 They've got a new manager in, in Michael Skibala.
31:09 So we'll wait to see if that has an effect.
31:12 They beat Lake Norrie in the week.
31:16 So will they be a more sort of confidently considered than they were earlier?
31:22 Although to be fair, it wasn't the results that were the issue under Michael Kennedy, by all accounts.
31:27 And then they've got Wickham, who again are another team, who I think are 12th at the moment.
31:31 But you'd expect them to be in and around it.
31:33 So two teams who will be a real test of balance.
31:36 They're one away, one at home, to just see where exactly this team is.
31:41 But I don't think they're a million miles away on the field.
31:45 But as Leon sort of reeled off numerous examples there, they do keep shooting themselves in the foot off the field.
31:53 And, you know, it's off the field where they really have to play a strong part in January in terms of keeping that squad together,
32:04 you know, reinforcing it where necessary and making sure that they go into the second half of the season stronger.
32:09 Because clearly, as they are right now, they're just about where they need to be.
32:16 And you never want to be just about where you need to be.
32:19 You know, you want that comfort of being that bit stronger and have that bit more insurance when things inevitably go wrong.
32:29 I think you'll just find out how serious they are about getting promotion, Stuart, won't you, really?
32:34 Yeah.
32:35 At the end of the day, take a rocket scientist. If Barnsley lose two or three of their leading players,
32:45 it's going to be a hell of a struggle to get into the top six, isn't it?
32:48 And I sort of mentioned earlier that, with respect to the division, I don't think it's quite as strong as it was last season.
32:58 So there should be an opportunity for one or two teams.
33:03 And yeah, we're just going to have to see how it pans out for Barnsley.
33:10 And I'll take a penny for the thoughts of Neil Collins when he obviously found out about getting kicked out of the FA Cup.
33:21 I mean, Stuart's right to say that as well. I think it's something like, just have a look.
33:25 It's £67,000 if you win in the second round.
33:29 But if you do get a big fish, if you get a draw at Old Trafford or Anfield, you're talking about a nice little six-figure sum there.
33:39 So yeah, they'll be a little bit of anger, I would have thought, if the winners of the Horsham Sutton tie draw one of the big fish in the new year.
33:50 And I think as well, if you do do that as a club, it can sort of inspire league form, can't it?
33:58 You know, Barnsley had sit in the Cup, they'd gone to Sutton, won that, got a draw against a big team in the Premier League.
34:06 It can sort of drive on league form as well. But unfortunately, Barnsley have lost that side of it as well.
34:12 Yeah, I mean, we were talking about Doncaster earlier.
34:15 We're in kind of a phase of the season for those clubs who were losing matches to, who lost matches to the international break, where it is just very bitty in league terms.
34:25 If you look at Barnsley's last four games, draw against Horsham in the Cup, then that defeat at Derby.
34:31 Yes, they beat Horsham in the replay. And then to lose in that trophy game, which, as we've already said, dead rubber and all that sort of thing.
34:39 But it just chips away at that momentum. And it just feels like Barnsley, a bit like Doncaster, from obviously a much more comfortable position,
34:46 need to just build up a bit of momentum again, and certainly capable of it.
34:51 But it's just that phase of the season where it could go either way for them. Either this bittiness could continue, or this could be a moment that sort of gets them back on track.
35:03 Yeah, I mean, I think one slight positive is Luke O'Connell getting back into the mix.
35:09 I think it'll take him a little while to get up to, totally up to speed again.
35:13 But yeah, he was a huge player for Barnsley last season. He got in the PFA League One Team of the Year.
35:19 He's back from a debilitating illness. He's started the last two games, featuring just over an hour,
35:26 you know, captaining both of them as well. So, that is one positive for Barnsley at the minute.
35:34 But they could, you know, they could deal with a few more. Sam Cosgrove still has a frustrating time, not able to get off the mark yet.
35:42 And I've still got one or two issues as well about them at the back. Not just because of the other day, but, you know,
35:52 they've shown a bit of a propensity to give away some daft goals this season.
35:56 So, I think that's a side of it that Collins will be hoping to sort out sooner rather than later.
36:03 And now we turn to the England men's team, who recorded a 2-0 victory against Malta and a 1-0 draw against North Macedonia.
36:12 This now sees the Three Lions qualify as one of the top seeded teams for Euro 2024 in Germany next year.
36:20 What did you think of the two performances and what do you think Gareth Southgate will have learned from his team's performances in those two games, Stuart?
36:29 Well, I mean, the two performances, frankly, were pretty poor. But you've got to look at the bigger picture and the whole qualifying picture.
36:39 And as you say, they've qualified as one of the top seeds. They did play poorly, but they won one of those games, they drew the other.
36:47 But for a few debatable decisions, they might have won both of them. It's hardly end of the world stuff.
36:54 And, you know, I do think we've seen Gareth Southgate experiment a little bit in these two games, which I think was really important.
37:02 Because, you know, we always talk when international tournaments come around about how little time and how little preparation time there is.
37:13 You know, two friendlies before Southgate has to name his squad for the tournament.
37:19 So I think it was important he looked at a few different things. And, you know, even the things that didn't work, it's good to know that they didn't work.
37:27 You know, I didn't think Tamori at left back was a particularly successful experiment. But I think Alexander-Arnold in midfield worked reasonably well, certainly worked well against Malta.
37:40 I think the majority of that team is pretty clear cut. I think there's only a few places up for grabs, really, if everyone stays fit.
37:50 Clearly Jude Bellingham was a big loss. But if you look at the nature of England's squad, brilliant player though Bellingham is, that is one position that they should be able to cover.
38:03 So that was a disappointment, really, that Foden and people like that didn't really step up and grasp that opportunity.
38:11 But let's be honest, the issue with England hasn't been struggling against the lesser teams. It's been how they lift themselves against the very best.
38:20 So, you know, you can't get too upset about them making heavy weather of beating Malta because we've seen them blow Malta away in Malta.
38:29 We saw them hammer North Macedonia at Old Trafford. You know, we've seen them carry out some really big beatings against the lesser teams.
38:36 So I don't think in the long run that that is an issue. I do think Southgate needs to work out who's going to be that midfielder between Rice and Bellingham.
38:49 I would suggest Alexander-Arnold is the best bet, but we'll have to wait and see. I think other than that, I think the left side of the attack, that's still to be nailed down, but there's plenty of options.
39:03 And then other than that, I think, you know, if Luke Shaw gets his fitness back and gets back to where he is, I think that position's dealt with.
39:12 A bit of concern about the cover, but the position itself is fine. And, you know, we wait to see how much football Calvin Phillips gets if he moves in January and puts himself more firmly in contention by playing more games.
39:26 And if Harry Maguire can stay in the Manchester United team, because obviously that's been, has been a concern about him.
39:32 But this is the first window in a long time where he's actually got into it with a decent amount of football.
39:38 I just think it was a bit of a bit of a funny one this break, wasn't it?
39:42 I mean, quite a lot of players pulled out with injury, you know, Bellingham's and, you know, there's all these likes of Stones and Madison.
39:49 And, you know, you mentioned Shaw as well, and, you know, the fact that they'd actually qualified, the main job was done.
39:57 You know, it was just a case of Southgate looking at a few things and whether they worked or not, or, you know, looking at certain players and some ticks in the box.
40:06 Obviously, I'd look at Cole Palmer, you know, Lewis as well, and Alexander-Arnold in midfield.
40:12 And, you know, if you're going to have a few, a few issues in an international season, you want them in November, really, don't you?
40:19 Yes, before the spring.
40:21 Before the spring when that matters.
40:23 So I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be too hard on England, even though it wasn't particularly great watchers, let's be honest.
40:32 But yeah, I think look at the players who weren't available, some of the real sort of big, big hitters as well.
40:39 You know, certainly, you know, Stones, Shaw and 1 million percent Bellingham, you know, will be, you know, will be in the England team in Germany.
40:52 Yeah, I think it's just going to be interesting going forward, looking at, you know, Southgate's got some decisions to make, you know, there's Jordan Henderson, will he get on the plane?
41:01 There's the Raheem Sterling situation. I'll be, you know, interested to see how, you know, Ivan Toni will come back into the, into the faith.
41:11 He starts getting some, some goals.
41:14 Can he sort of put his hand up as well?
41:16 So, yeah, I wouldn't be too, too hard on England, even though it was, it was disappointing.
41:22 But let's see what the, you know, what the new, new year brings and then, you know, we'll really start the countdown to the tournament then.
41:29 Yeah, I think an encouraging thing as well, you know, Ezri Conzer didn't get on the pitch, but the, the way Rico Lewis, for all that he conceded that penalty, I mean, I think it was a very soft penalty.
41:40 I don't think I'd, I don't think I'd hold that against him.
41:43 But, you know, the debuts that him and, and Copalma against Mota made were encouraging.
41:49 You know, the fact that they, they seem to slip quite comfortably into, into international football.
41:54 They both give good options. I mean, Lewis is incredibly versatile.
41:59 Palmer is in an attacking sense.
42:01 So it's nice to know that there's, that there's, there's those options there.
42:04 And we have to remember as well, you know, we saw 180 minutes of, of those players, but we know how Southgate operates.
42:13 A lot of it is about seeing how these guys do in training, how they interact with each other.
42:19 Obviously, we've no real idea how, how that went, but he'll have, he'll have learned a lot for that.
42:23 You know, he'll have, he'll have seen a lot from just how sharp Henderson and Phillips were in training.
42:30 You know, one for having played in the UAE, one for not having played at all sort of thing.
42:35 And I do think there are big decisions over those two.
42:37 And personally, I think, you know, if their situations don't change, I'm pretty certain Henderson's won't.
42:44 I don't, I don't think they're players you can rely on, you know, if there's, if there's others pushing.
42:51 But, you know, there's always injuries to buddy the water as well.
42:54 At the, you know, at the moment, you know, Leon's reeled off all those players who are absolutely nailed on to play if they're fit.
43:02 But, you know, we know what it's like.
43:03 Somebody's metatarsal could go and suddenly you have to find a replacement for John Stone.
43:08 So, you know, Mark Gay's performance was, was encouraging in that, in that respect.
43:14 And, you know, or maybe Kyle Walker gets injured and suddenly you're glad that Rico Lewis has come in so well.
43:20 So, yeah, it's just about keeping your own physicality.
43:23 It takes a chance on the injured players as well, Stuart, isn't it?
43:25 You know, we've done that before.
43:26 It is.
43:27 So that's, that's going to be one to consider.
43:30 Yeah, I found it encouraging from my point of view, as someone who's quite risk averse when it comes to this sort of thing about him saying that he will probably take fewer risks because he'll have three fewer players.
43:41 I do, I do think sometimes you can, you can get away, you can always get away with a gamble or two.
43:47 But I think if you've got good players underneath, I think, I think why do it?
43:52 You know, why, why take a risk with Calvin Phillips if you've got a player of James Ward-Prowse's quality just for argument's sake to come in?
43:59 Or, you know, if, let's say if John Stone, if Jude Bellingham's having a problem, you know, why take a risk if you've got Phil Foden there and that sort of thing?
44:09 But these are all things he's going to have to weigh up.
44:12 I say it was really, it was, it was just about getting as much out of that, that fortnight as you could.
44:19 And I think the circumstances they probably, they probably did.
44:22 I couldn't really care less what the results were, as long as they finished as the top seeds, which they did.
44:28 Absolutely.
44:28 Yeah, definitely.
44:30 And finally for this week, we turn to Rotherham United, who at the time of recording are still searching for a new manager since they decided to bring Matt Taylor's tenure to an end.
44:41 Leon, has there been any updates on who could be in the frame for the job?
44:46 In a word, no, Mark.
44:48 We're obviously speaking before the Leeds United game.
44:53 They've been compiling a shortlist, I've understood it's in the region of five or six of the candidates.
44:59 I spoke to Tony Stewart last week.
45:03 You know, he was enthused by the quality of the candidates, good quality.
45:08 And, you know, the chairman, as is the what, they're going to say things like that sometimes, aren't they?
45:14 But yeah, I think he was, he was genuine in what he was, in what he was saying.
45:20 And from what I understand, there's some, you know, there's some good senior, you know, championship ready operators who have thrown the hat into the ring and, you know, have expressed interest in taking over Rotherham.
45:34 So, yeah, he's made no bones about the fact that Tony Stewart, that he wants to bring in, is somebody who sort of wore the walk at this level as a senior operator.
45:46 So, yeah, one or two names in the mix who've sort of been mentioned in dispatches already.
45:52 Gary Rowett, he's obviously got plenty of experience with the likes of Millwall, Leland Richardson, who's been linked with the Rotherham job before.
46:01 He's experienced there from, not as much as Rowett, obviously, but from his time at Wigan.
46:09 Plenty of other candidates as well who haven't been mentioned.
46:14 But yeah, it's a huge decision for Rotherham, isn't it?
46:18 Obviously, we've spoken a hell of a lot at length about, you know, the dreadful waveform that they've had and it's, you know, bedeviling them, not just this season, but previous seasons at this level.
46:31 But yeah, the clock's certainly ticking.
46:32 I mean, they've got the Leeds game on Friday.
46:37 Then it's a relatively short turnaround to play Hull in midweek next week.
46:42 Then they've got another game on the Saturday.
46:44 So, they really need to be, you know, after the Leeds game, I don't know which way it goes, they really need to start, you know, whittling it down and seeing who they want, really.
46:57 Because, you know, they want the manager sort of in with a fair spell of December still to go.
47:05 So, there's quite a few games for everyone in the EFL.
47:09 And this is the thing, obviously, assessing players as well ahead of January.
47:15 Yeah, I mean, I can see why they're taking their time because I think we remember what happened last season when, you know, they thought they got Mark Bonner in as Paul Warn's replacement and then having to sort of change tack over that.
47:28 So, I can understand why they're being careful about this.
47:31 And obviously, as with any job at this level, you do get a lot of applicants.
47:36 So, you know, apart from anything else, you've got to sift through them all.
47:38 But it does feel a bit of a waste when you sack a manager right at the start of an international break and not have anybody in by the end of it.
47:47 It just feels like either they should have held fire and done a bit more sounding out or they just should have moved more quickly because that is a big time.
47:58 I mean, I remember talking about this the last international break, sort of chastising Sheffield Wednesday for only giving Danny Roll a week of the fortnight.
48:08 And here they've had none of it at all.
48:12 And as Leon says, you know, we're very quickly into a busy period and a really important period in terms of what we're talking about with regards to Bradford and teams like that in terms of assessing what you need in the January transfer window.
48:26 So, it would be nice to get somebody in early.
48:28 I mean, certainly somebody of the quality of Gary Rowett, Liam Richardson.
48:32 I think they'd be good choices.
48:36 So, you know, you hope they can just press on quickly and get things done because, you know, they're not in a terrible position by any stretch of the imagination.
48:49 You know, the four points of drift of Huddersfield Town and safety.
48:53 But, you know, as Leon said, it's the away form they really need to get their heads around and get addressing.
49:00 And I do think they've got some work to do in January because, you know, one of the things that let Matt Taylor down as well as the away form, the other big issue was injuries.
49:10 You know, they clearly need some, frankly, some more robust players in to deal with that.
49:17 So, the sooner a manager is able to see exactly what he needs and what's available in the market, the better.
49:24 And I do hope, I say that this doesn't drag on and become a bit of a saga as it felt like it did.
49:31 It probably didn't take as long as it felt, but it felt like it did when Matt Taylor came in.
49:36 YorkshirePost.co.uk
49:38 YorkshirePost.co.uk
49:48 Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more discussions on the Yorkshire football scene.
49:54 But don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com
50:02 Or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well.
50:08 If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com
50:19 As ever, many thanks for listening, look after yourselves, and bye for now.
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