Archie Gray's new contract, transfers latest, 'tragic' Cardiff, 55 different ways to be told you're rubbish at your job and Graham's Martin Lewis moment on the Inside Elland Road agenda.
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00:00 Hello, welcome back to the Inside Elland Road podcast. Three, three nails to begin 2024.
00:12 No goals conceded in five and a half hours of football. Ilhan Melihye back, Sam Byron
00:17 back, a new long-term contract for Archie Gray, the hunt for automatic promotion still
00:21 on and still Graham, your replies on Twitter are flooded with people asking when Leeds
00:26 are bringing in a new fullback. It's a hard life for a chief football writer, isn't it?
00:31 Not so much because it's not my responsibility if they don't get one. It's a harder life
00:35 if you then have to answer the questions at the end of January or the start of February
00:40 and you don't have a left back and a right back and a 10. But yeah, my life's fine. Thanks
00:48 very much.
00:49 Very good then. Glad to hear it. No Blue Monday from you?
00:55 No. Blue Monday is a, what would you call it? A capitalist construct. I don't know what
01:01 it is, but there's things to smile about in my life, Joe. Trips to Cardiff, getting to
01:09 see three goals away from home, getting to see arguably the worst performance of a championship
01:14 side this season, get what it deserved as well. And then there's other little things
01:22 as well that you can derive joy from, like Ben Rama's red card last night in the FA Cup
01:27 against Bristol City. That made me laugh. Terrific stuff.
01:32 I quite imagine you like the guy who took the picture of, which it was a Liverpool fan,
01:38 was it?
01:39 It was Gabby Agbon Lahore.
01:40 Gabby Agbon Lahore, who goes over the advertising horny, who sort of goes, "Ooh!" And instead
01:45 of helping him, kind of gets his disposable camera out and then snaps a pic of the Villa
01:49 player writhing around in pain on the floor.
01:51 It's one of the greatest moments in footballing history.
01:54 That's what I imagine you were like watching the FA Cup last night, just seeing that Ben
01:57 Rama stood into the chest. That was the image that I was getting from you.
02:04 It's quite a good game, actually.
02:09 We don't want Bristol City to be playing themselves into too much form.
02:13 I was just going to say, great for them to get a timely boost just before they tackle
02:21 Leeds United at home.
02:25 All seems pretty well. Wins calm things down. They don't quell everything completely because
02:33 there is now a "give me what's next" culture that is just completely entrenched in football.
02:41 The fact that a club can sign a player and the responses can include, "Right, now what
02:47 about a right back?" or "Right, now what about a centre mid?" Everyone just wants the next
02:53 thing.
02:54 I'll tell you what nobody wants to hear. Absolutely nobody wants to hear, Joe, that Leeds United
03:01 will probably finish in the playoffs whether they sign anyone or not in January.
03:07 But that's certainly how I feel about it. I'm not saying they shouldn't. I think they
03:12 should because I think you should be there with a quite greedy, brutal January transfer
03:19 window just to make sure that more or less you have all the options you need.
03:25 You don't know what's going to happen between now and the end of the season. You don't know
03:28 that Sam Byrom and Junior Firbo are going to continue to tag in and out. They are quite
03:35 like a WWE tag team. One of them gets a bit beat up and then hops or limps or crawls to
03:44 the ropes and tags the other one who comes in and then gets a bit beat up. They've been
03:49 swapping in and out. But at some point they might have injuries that are concurrent and
03:56 then you've got a problem at left back.
03:58 Now, you could put Pascal Stroik there and in the championship, I don't know what you
04:03 think but he'd probably be fine, wouldn't he?
04:06 He'd probably be fine but it's not something that you want to do.
04:10 Exactly. Exactly, Joe. The but is.
04:13 I was just thinking there. Is that not something you could ask Daniel Farker this week? Daniel,
04:17 you've asked your players to be, particularly your strikers, to be very greedy and quite
04:21 brutal. Are you not asking the same of your transfers chiefs and the recruitment staff?
04:27 What would I say to that? No, this is not quite my topic. I have been thinking about
04:38 the worst case scenarios for leads and those two left backs getting injured at the same
04:44 time is a worst case scenario. Like I said, you could put Stroik there but you don't want
04:49 to put Stroik there. You want to have Stroik at centre back. You want to have him in the
04:53 role that he's played very, very well this season. Right back, you've got a worst case
05:01 scenario there of Archie Gray, for whatever reason, being unavailable. Jamie Shackleton's
05:06 fitness and availability has been very, very patchy, very hit and miss. So there's potential
05:12 for some peril there.
05:16 All managers, they probably run through with their squad to the nth degree the solutions
05:22 that they have. Maybe Gruev at right back is one that Farker would do, I don't know.
05:28 But I don't see why you wouldn't absolutely bust a gut to ensure that if the worst case
05:36 scenario happens that you are well protected. So Farker continues to tell us they're staying
05:44 awake, they're alert, they're looking for good opportunities. We know that there are
05:48 players that they like but there's this suggestion of we don't want to get a player in who's
05:56 okay this week and then discover that a player who was two or three above him in the list
06:02 becomes available next week. So there's that domino effect that leads are anticipating.
06:10 I guess it's calling for everyone to hold their nerve a little bit because this summer
06:13 obviously we've spoken about before, the summer went late, didn't it, with their transfer
06:17 business. But here we are on the 17th of January and it hasn't been so quiet in terms of outgoings
06:25 and in terms of situations in the squad. It's been very, very, very quiet in terms of incoming
06:30 business or getting close to stuff. So whilst I think that they could come out of January
06:37 and they could well be absolutely fine and still go up, I just think that insurance would
06:47 be the watchword for me this month. Go and get yourself some insurance.
06:51 Do you think we should pack in our dreams, our hopes and dreams of being sponsored by
06:57 Flamingo Land and actually move on to insurance companies then? Maybe market ourselves to
07:04 some of West Yorkshire's best insuring firms because clearly you've got a passion there
07:09 for insurance. I agree with you. I feel as though we're kind of going around in circles
07:17 a little bit with the transfer stuff until something ultimately comes to fruition. I
07:23 remain of the opinion that if anything is going to happen, well, I mean, it is the case
07:27 now because we are at that stage. I was of the opinion at the beginning of the window
07:32 that if anything was going to happen, it would be in the final two weeks because that's when
07:36 predominantly Premier League squads, which Leeds are going to be looking to recruit from,
07:41 they assess their options. They assess who they want to bring in, which squad places
07:45 they want to free up to bring in their own additions in the January window. And ultimately
07:52 that doesn't happen on the 1st of January. That happens midway through the month when
07:56 the deadline gets closer and closer and they think, well, right, if we're going to bring
08:00 somebody in, we have to act now. We have to lose somebody. We have to free up some space.
08:04 And that's, I think the behind closed doors, that is exactly what will be happening right
08:09 now. Those are the conversations that Leeds are waiting on to take place. And then when
08:14 they do and they get noticed that X player or Y player that they have an interest in
08:20 is available on loan or available permanently, then that's when they'll make their move.
08:27 So yeah, I think it's, we're into the stage, the period at which Leeds will do their business
08:34 if they are going to do any. But again, as you say, I think materially it's probably
08:40 bringing in a fullback probably doesn't have, you know, just one player doesn't have a massive,
08:47 massive impact on where you finish in the table. It's a cliche, but it is a team effort
08:53 and the team is strong.
08:54 Yeah. I think what I would be keen to avoid though, is a scenario where you absolutely
09:01 flog Archie Gray into the ground towards the end of the season and he runs out of steam
09:08 or anyone runs out of steam because there was an over-reliance and then you limp to
09:12 the playoffs if that's to be Leeds' fate or you don't end the season in your best form
09:19 because everyone's absolutely battered. I think you need to be careful with Archie Gray.
09:26 You know, he's, he turns 18 in March, still very, very, very young and you need to be
09:34 careful with Ethan Ampadu as well because he has played so much football this season
09:40 and he's so, so important. Yeah, I think just being careful is key and ensuring that
09:49 when it comes to the end of the season, you're sprinting through the finish line because
09:54 if it is the playoffs, there are going to be teams and we can come on to talk about
09:59 this, but there are going to be teams probably like Coventry who could present a real problem.
10:06 Okay, well let's stick with the good news for now and we're going to talk about Archie
10:10 Gray as you just touched on there. He signed a new long-term contract or rather agreed
10:14 a new long-term contract which will come into effect upon turning 18 later this year in
10:19 March as you just mentioned. That will see him at least contracted to the club until
10:25 the summer of 2028. The player himself described it as a dream come true. A boyhood fan of
10:32 Leeds, you know, the familiar links I don't think need to be explained and, you know,
10:38 given how influential and important and integral to Daniel Farker's team selection he has
10:44 been this season, it's such an important piece of business for him now to be on the same
10:49 length of terms as Jorginho Ruta who's the club's record signing and let's not forget
10:56 Jack Harrison as well. He's on terms at Leeds until 2028 but obviously a different situation
11:01 with him being out on loan. How positive is this new contract extension for Leeds United
11:09 as a whole, Graham?
11:12 It's positive. Eight units of positivity. It's very, very, very good news. It's not
11:18 a surprise to me at all. The Gray family, obviously absolutely beloved in Leeds. One
11:27 thing that's always struck me is just how grounded and sensible everything is with the
11:33 Grays. His dad, very, very level-headed, knows the game very, very well. Obviously an agent
11:41 so knows the business side of it and knows the situations that crop up, knows about looking
11:47 after players. So he's coming at it from a parental side and from an agent, a business
11:53 side. But it's always struck me that what seems to come first with them, and this isn't
12:02 just with Archie, I think this is generally an ethos perhaps as an agency as well, that
12:07 where is your best chance of playing? Which club is going to let you play at a time when
12:13 you really need to play? It's a bit of a no-brainer, isn't it, for Archie Gray at Leeds? This is
12:23 the club that he loves. He's obviously really enjoying himself. He's clearly getting on
12:28 very well with Farke and under Farke. He's made himself a very popular member of the
12:34 dressing room. When I went to the school visit earlier this season and he and Rodon were
12:40 there, yes, there was a little bit of that Archie's the young lad. But the way you see
12:49 him interact with his teammates and the way they interact with him, it's interacting as
12:53 peers. He's one of the team. He's not the work experience lad in the corner making the
12:58 T's. They've accepted him as a proper player. That's because he is one on the pitch. If
13:07 things are going this well, I just don't see why you wouldn't want to make it official,
13:14 I suppose, make it more formal with a longer deal. Obviously, Leeds have done everything
13:21 as they could have done. They couldn't have got him on this deal up until he was 18. At
13:27 the first opportunity, getting it done is just very, very sensible. It's all very sensible.
13:33 What a season he's having on the pitch. There have been periods where you've looked and
13:37 thought is he a right back? Then there's been other games where you think actually he's
13:42 probably going to be one of these who could do a job no matter where you put him because
13:47 he's just a good footballer. He's good on the ball. He's good in tight situations. He's
13:52 good at retaining possession. He's good at winning it back. He's good at running with
13:57 the ball and dribbling and moving it forward. That little pass round the corner and over
14:02 the top for Dan James on Saturday in Cardiff was absolutely superb football. It just feels
14:10 like he's learning and growing at the minute. Good news for both parties, I think. Not just
14:17 for Leeds because obviously it protects them. You'll see bits and pieces in the national
14:23 press about so-and-so are preparing a bid.
14:26 I love monitoring as a term. As if the biggest and richest clubs in world football aren't
14:34 monitoring someone who's 17 playing 2000 minutes in the championship. Of course they are.
14:39 It's like saying that I'm monitoring the vegan chocolate almonds that are in the cupboard.
14:48 Of course I am. Of course I'm aware of their existence. You completely made me lose my
14:55 train of thought. All I can think about is vegan chocolate almonds. The ball over the
15:01 top round the corner for Dan James was very, very good. Oh yes, what I was going to say
15:06 was some football clubs, Premier League clubs, have this weird thing where their website
15:11 is also used as a content aggregator to bring in traffic. It picks up news stories and from
15:20 time to time it has this glorious juxtaposition of a story involving that club that has clearly
15:28 not come from the club and is not endorsed by the club but is on their website. Liverpool
15:32 FC had one with them being linked with a move for Archie Gray which just came across as
15:42 incredibly hopeful or incredibly stupid to have it on there. It did make me laugh. But
15:51 yes, they are going to be monitoring. They are going to be hovering and him having this
15:57 longer deal is good business sense for Leeds. Also I think it's quite reassuring that he
16:06 and his camp were happy for it to be that length. They were not saying, "We'll give
16:13 it a year and then we'll see where we are." You could see scenarios where, I don't really
16:19 like the phrase "wonder kids" but I suppose he embodies that for Leeds at least, their
16:25 agents and their people will be saying, "Let's not do anything rash here. Let's give them
16:29 a year and then see where you are." Because there's all these other clubs that are looking
16:35 and in a year's time it would more easily facilitate a move if you had a short-term
16:43 contract whereas this, it looks after Leeds doesn't it, the length of the deal?
16:51 Absolutely it does. I think that was very much needed positive news from a Leeds perspective
16:59 this month. Obviously the disappointment of losing, people will view it one of two ways.
17:05 Some will support the decision to send Jed Spence back to Spurs. Others will think, "Well,
17:13 attitude or whatever was insinuated by Varka aside, it would be better to have him as a
17:19 body, as insurance." Then obviously the disappointment, the massive disappointment of losing Luke
17:24 Ehrling from the football club. I think the only thing that really could have matched
17:32 sort of the strength of feeling but sort of the opposite way is a new contract for Archie.
17:37 So for them to get it done is really positive, as you say, very sensible. He's very much
17:44 not the worst experience kid, is he? He's one of the first names on the team sheet,
17:49 whether that be in central midfield or right back. Do you still see me as the work experience
17:55 kid when you're in your little press huddles with Phil, Popey, Baron and co? Or am I making
18:03 28 appearances in the Championship, over 2,000 league minutes in half a season?
18:08 I would say you're certainly growing. It's definitely a learning experience for you.
18:17 I'm not going to be dancing on any tables yet. What you've got to do is put together
18:23 a good first season in the Championship, Joe. Because that's what it's about. It's not about
18:33 individual accolades after half a season.
18:36 All I can say to that is I've got the knife between my teeth. I'm really going to dig
18:44 in. There's going to be no accusations of a lack of focus or not feeling like I'm all
18:53 in. So that's very positive from my side of things. Just me and Archie, we're basically
19:01 the same, is what I'm trying to say.
19:06 Speaking of being basically the same, should we discuss all three of Leeds' results already
19:13 this season? This calendar year, 3-0 against Birmingham, 3-0 against Peterborough, 3-0
19:19 against Cardiff. The Cardiff game, what was your reading of that outing for Daniel Farker's
19:26 team? Because it seemed very, very routine.
19:31 It did, didn't it? Cardiff, absolutely tragic. Just woeful. Pretty shameful performance actually
19:39 because when you go a goal down at home early and you'd set out your stall to park the bus.
19:49 I don't say that in a derogatory way because if your team is going to face a team like
19:55 Leeds that has Routier at ten, that has Somerville who's having an unbelievable season, Dan James
20:04 who's a flying machine and is racking up goals and assists, and Patrick Bamford who's just
20:07 coming off the best goal he's ever scored in his career, then going defensive, there's
20:13 no shame in that whatsoever.
20:16 And then what you do is you try and nick a goal from a set-piece probably because that's
20:20 one of their big strengths, and then you just shut them out and frustrate them and you do
20:25 what others have done this season. You do what Stoke managed to do, what Sunderland
20:32 managed to do. Preston was 2-1, wasn't it? But there's a bit of a blueprint there to
20:40 follow so I could understand why Cardiff decided let's go a bit more defensive today and we'll
20:47 sit in.
20:49 When you concede though, it throws up this horrible dynamic for a manager of stick or
20:54 twist because if you go for it, there's the risk that actually you're about to get thumped
21:02 like really, really badly turned over at home. And if you persist, what you're saying to
21:10 your fans is, yeah, we might be able to nick an equaliser at home here but sometimes it's
21:16 going to look like we're settling for a 1-0 defeat on home turf.
21:19 So I was really interested in how it would play and when leads get the first goal in
21:26 a game like that, you almost think this should be it, done really. But that wasn't the way
21:33 of it at Rotherham, was it? So these teams have to be beaten, they have to be put to
21:38 the sword and sometimes it's not easy but leads made it look very, very easy. That's
21:43 the kind of argument to how bad Cardiff were, was how good leads were and how many chances
21:49 they made and how many goals they probably should have scored in that first half. They
21:53 really opened them up and I felt like Cardiff, they decided to stick to the defensive plan
21:59 even when it was 2-0 but their application was off as well. For a team that was sitting
22:08 so deep and trying to defend, the space that they left leads to operating in the final
22:15 third and the amount of times they let themselves be cut open, they were dreadful, really, really
22:20 dreadful. But the ball had to be put in the back of the net and leads did that three times.
22:26 So they avoided that kind of narrative cropping up again of tricky away days and three 3-0
22:32 wins. That is quite literally the perfect start, isn't it, to a calendar year?
22:39 Absolutely, yeah. Three different scores as well. Dan James getting back amongst the goals,
22:44 Patrick Bamford continuing his scoring run, 3-3 now and Jorginho Ruta getting his fifth
22:48 of the season. You couldn't really have picked three better scorers, could you?
22:55 No. What was interesting as well is that Somerville didn't have his best game for me and yet he
23:04 came out with a couple of assists. He probably could have had a goal had Dan James let that
23:09 one run across his body but how much of a mug would he have looked if he let the ball
23:14 roll across his body, it had come off the post and then he wasn't able to scramble it
23:18 in or a defender had managed to get back. So I would always advocate sticking the ball
23:22 in the net regardless of whether you think it's going in or not.
23:25 As long as you're onside.
23:27 As long as you're onside.
23:29 Because then you look like an even bigger mug.
23:31 Yeah, didn't we have a goal recently where Patrick Bamford jumped out of the way to ensure
23:35 that the goal was scored because he thought he might have been in an offside position?
23:40 That's the kind of awareness you need in situations like that.
23:45 I was thinking actually when you mentioned that there, when Patrick Bamford jumped into
23:48 the path of the ball at Rotherham to then nudge it onto Jadon Anthony and jump back
23:54 from an offside position.
23:56 Which is maybe why more recently he took such lengths to get out of the road of the ball.
24:02 I can't remember who scored a goal but he removed himself.
24:07 Somerville at home I believe it was. I can't remember who it was against because obviously
24:11 there's been so many instances. Was it Coventry?
24:16 Or was it Birmingham?
24:18 I don't know.
24:20 Maybe Birmingham.
24:21 Birmingham would make sense because Bamford hasn't been on the pitch when a lot of goals
24:25 have been scored during his substitute phase of the season.
24:29 And he has maybe long-term memory issues as well.
24:33 But yeah, Cardiff were appealing for offside with Dan James and it was tight wasn't it?
24:37 But he was on mercifully and stuck that one away.
24:41 Bamford, they all can't, even the ones from your backside at the second attempt that are
24:47 kind of scuffed or swept home from a few yards.
24:52 And that came from...
24:57 I'm trying to think how that goal was scored.
24:58 Was it Junior Firpo down the left?
25:00 Yeah. Junior Firpo managed to find himself almost on Bamford's toes, didn't he?
25:07 In the six-yard area.
25:11 But what was interesting was that Somerville didn't have his best game, still managed to make a big
25:18 contribution, but others stepped up where Somerville wasn't there with goals.
25:25 James again in the right place.
25:27 James could have had another goal.
25:29 He hit the bar in the second half.
25:32 Bamford gets another goal and then Routier, which I think is the most pleasing one.
25:36 I think the most important one for me was that Routier scored because I almost feel like he needs to get a goal
25:44 every now and then, every couple of weeks or something, just to stop frustration creeping into his game.
25:52 And because he gets himself into so many good positions and his finishing can be wild.
25:57 It can be really hit and miss.
26:01 And yes, he's contributing mightily with what he does, particularly now that he's at 10.
26:05 I think we find a home for him.
26:08 I really do.
26:09 If Bamford can stay fit ahead of him, because the variation they bring together is really, really good.
26:16 But even when he's creating it and making chances and getting assists, you can see he is visibly aching to score himself.
26:25 And the later it goes in games, the more he's sprinting to try and get into positions on the edge of the box where he can finish.
26:32 And the more angst you can see in him whenever he doesn't.
26:36 And he had a few chances in that game and it felt like it might just be one of those where the goal eluded him and he'd come off the pitch,
26:42 like happy that they won, but probably also thinking, I really need to score.
26:46 And you don't want it to become a weight on him, you know, like it probably became with Bamford before he got that goal against Birmingham.
26:54 So the fact that Routier scored, the fact that it was such a great goal.
26:58 I mean, Routier starts it in his own area, curling the ball forward.
27:03 And the way Leeds swept forward and the unselfishness of Somerville to pass the ball back instead of having to go from there, of Bamford to dummy it.
27:16 And the composure, I suppose, that Routier showed, despite those missed chances, I just felt it was an excellent, excellent team goal.
27:23 And really, really important that he just ticks that box and just kind of calms that any kind of anxiety or frustration about not scoring goals.
27:34 Some celebration as well. Peels off towards the fans in the away end.
27:38 Does the air guitar. Doesn't quite have the hair to let it run free like a certain ex-Leeds United player.
27:46 But yeah, I think that went down really well, didn't it, as well with the fans and certainly with Luke Aylian as well.
27:52 He shared Jorginho's Instagram story on his own Instagram platform, which was a nice touch, I think.
28:00 Yeah, it would have been nice if he'd mimed the release of the hair.
28:03 That would have been that would have been funny. That would have been very funny.
28:07 But yeah, a lovely tribute to Ayling. I feel like as well with that, you know,
28:12 Jorginho probably didn't know very much about Leeds when that goal was scored.
28:16 I mean, that was how many years ago now? Four? Just coming up four years.
28:20 Obviously nowhere near being a Leeds player at that time.
28:24 And yet he knows of it. He thought of it in the instance that he scored.
28:28 Like the first thing that he thought to do is I'm going to do a tribute to Bill.
28:34 I don't know. It just it looks as though a player who gets it, you know,
28:38 is really engaged with what is important to the fan base and clearly somebody who is engaged with somebody who has been very important and integral to the squad.
28:48 And I think as a football supporter, you always want to you want to see that from from players who represent your team.
28:54 You want to see them invested, don't you? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Luke Ayling had shown him that goal.
29:01 I wouldn't be surprised if Luke Ayling had shown every new signing since the goal was scored that goal.
29:07 And equally, I wouldn't be surprised if Ayling had insisted that that goal was in like their welcome video,
29:13 you know, on week one when they're when they're doing their health and safety training and stuff like that.
29:18 I wouldn't be surprised if that goal formed part of their initial welcome to the club.
29:24 It was really nice to see him do it. Fans love stuff like that.
29:28 I don't think Ruta could get much more popular with Leeds fans.
29:31 And it's such a far cry from where we were. I don't want to say, oh, you can't say a year ago because he's a year ago.
29:40 He signed a year ago. He signed a year ago, but it wasn't long after that that people started to think,
29:46 oh, actually, this guy isn't because they're being told this guy and they were being shown this guy isn't one for now.
29:53 He's one for later because of the scant usage he had under Garcia when he came in.
29:59 And then, of course, allergise what he said about him.
30:02 Things have really turned around for him in a massive way, haven't they?
30:06 Oh, absolutely. And it's difficult to not be pleased about it because it just makes you think,
30:13 what on earth were they seeing in training or rather not seeing in training at that time with a squad full of players
30:19 who maybe had one eye on the summer, whereas you had Ruta, who now very evidently appears to be very invested.
30:28 And you can't imagine that his training level will be that much higher now than it was six months ago.
30:34 Well, eight months, eight, nine months ago. But hey, that's the past.
30:37 As he said in a recent interview, that's the past. We're just thinking about the future and looking forward.
30:43 And speaking of the future, looking forward and good performances.
30:46 Do you know who else had a good game on Saturday at the Cardiff City Stadium?
30:50 Ilya Gruev, which again was nice to see.
30:54 It was. God, wasn't he lucky to stay on the pitch, Joe, after that two-footed lunge?
31:00 I knew you were going to bring that up immediately.
31:02 I did. Look, look, look, I've said my apologies.
31:06 I've said my apologies on Twitter. That's all you're getting.
31:09 This is my opportunity to absolve myself of any blame.
31:14 But I did very much enjoy not knowing that there are 55 different ways for people to tell you you're absolutely rubbish at your job
31:23 when it comes to getting what ultimately amounts to a minor detail in a pretty routine 3-0 win wrong.
31:31 I have clipped up a few of my favourite responses.
31:34 So if you're listening to this and you recognise some of the words that were used, or rather some of the insults,
31:41 then pat yourself on the back because it gave myself and Graeme a very, very, I don't know, a very good chuckle after the game,
31:50 after all was said and done, of course.
31:52 And if any of our bosses are listening, this was only, the enjoyment was only had after we'd finished all of our work for the day.
32:00 This one was actually as I was getting on the train.
32:02 So it was like four and a bit hours after the game and it was, "Joe, you got this so wrong."
32:09 Thank you. Thanks very much.
32:11 And Graeme, you'll notice that they get more and more offensive as they go on.
32:15 This one I quite liked. "Wasn't even a foul, Joe, you're welly."
32:20 Good insult, you know, harmless.
32:22 My favourite one wasn't expletive, wasn't really that offensive, but it was hilarious.
32:28 "Are your eyes painted on?"
32:32 That's excellent.
32:33 And again, I feel like we should stress for anyone who isn't understanding where we're going with this,
32:38 this was because I suggested in the 75th minute or whatever it was that Gruev,
32:43 who did make a bit of a lunging tackle on one of the Cardiff players, did also get the ball.
32:50 I suggested that he might have been lucky to stay on the pitch because he was shown a yellow card.
32:55 I thought it was maybe orange and, yeah, replays, which I saw after the game,
33:01 showed that it was actually quite a good tackle.
33:03 And it was the championship officiating, which I should have been saying needed to be improved.
33:08 But yeah, moving on.
33:11 No, no, no, no, no, we're not moving on.
33:13 No, yes we are.
33:14 No, we're really not.
33:16 What I will say for you in your defence is that you're live tweeting things that you've seen once, right?
33:23 And from our vantage point, Gruev lunged, looked like it was off his feet, out of control.
33:31 The Cardiff player goes down and the referee is right there on the scene.
33:35 Now, your first take on that was fairly similar to mine, like, oh dear.
33:42 And then people who are watching at home on a screen and very quickly get a replay,
33:49 to my mind, they take a little bit of a liberty now and again with how much of a right they feel they have
33:56 to castigate someone who's seen it once live in the flesh from a hundred yards.
34:04 And people want your kind of raw reaction to things.
34:10 There would be very little point in us live tweeting from watching it on a screen,
34:15 you know, or from watching it from replays, because it's all very sterile then.
34:20 I felt like it was a bit of a, I felt like it was a risk that I didn't feel like he needed to take,
34:25 particularly at that stage in the game with the scoreline as it was.
34:29 I very much enjoyed the reaction.
34:30 However, I really do enjoy it when it's somebody else and not myself.
34:35 But just do remember that if you've seen it twice or three times,
34:40 you can't get that angry at someone who's seen it once live.
34:45 Oh, but the insults suggest that, yes, you absolutely can.
34:48 Keep the insults coming in, though. Keep up the good work.
34:51 Make them as creative as possible, you know, really go after the substance of my character.
34:57 Yeah, agreed.
34:59 Again, this one, they actually tagged Specsavers and said, "Any appointments for Joe?"
35:05 Which again, top marks for creativity. It's a classic. Very good.
35:10 "Joe, please have another look. Good God, wasn't even a foul."
35:14 I mean, you know, it's a subjective decision when you're talking about refereeing.
35:22 This one was really good because it didn't @ me, it didn't tag me.
35:24 It was in sort of the replies further down.
35:27 And it was, "Some of our journalists are huge clowns."
35:30 So that's you taking flak on that one there, Roderick.
35:34 "Also, our journalists." Okay, I'll remember that.
35:37 I'll come to yours for me pay packet next time, anonymous account.
35:41 "Mad that you get to pay to report on football, Joe. Wasn't even a foul."
35:48 Believe me, I'm still pinching myself as well.
35:50 It is mad.
35:52 And here's where the expletives start to come in.
35:54 "Clearly won the ball, you're talking," and then let's just say, "It rhymes with padlocks."
36:00 Oh, actually, no, it doesn't rhyme with padlocks.
36:02 Nothing rhymes with padlocks.
36:04 God's sakes.
36:06 I'm pretty sure the more creative amongst you will know which term,
36:10 which ends in locks or looks they said there.
36:15 This one was particularly funny.
36:17 "Not a foul, not a card or anything as if I was the one who brandished the yellow.
36:21 You ugly four-letter word, what you on about?"
36:26 Ugly? That's so unnecessary.
36:30 That's all superb.
36:32 The level of anger, like the sheer fury in that response,
36:40 that they feel that they need to castigate your physical appearance.
36:43 Oh, actually superb.
36:45 Immediate as well.
36:46 Just brilliant.
36:47 Gruev.
36:49 Yes, Gruev, Gruev performance.
36:51 Yeah, best we've seen so far of him.
36:55 Farke highlighted after the game that, yeah,
36:59 he might have been a bit underwhelming in his previous starts at eight,
37:05 but this was him playing at six.
37:07 This was him doing the Ampadu role where he's the deep lion one,
37:12 and it's a bit more of a natural fit for him.
37:16 He did look like a natural fit.
37:19 Everything's caveated with, yeah, Cardiff were awful,
37:21 but Gruev, I thought, was just...
37:24 He and Camara were always there.
37:28 There was only maybe one or two scenarios in the entire game
37:33 where Leeds looked in any way exposed to a counter
37:37 or in any way out of shape.
37:40 Camara just seems to have that in his game,
37:43 that he reads it and knows where he needs to be next.
37:46 If the move breaks down,
37:48 if the ball comes out to the edge of the box,
37:50 if an opponent gets a foot in,
37:52 Camara just always seems to be around.
37:54 He's got great mobility as well to put himself there,
37:57 but Gruev had that as well at Cardiff.
38:01 I thought we started to see a bit more of an expansive
38:05 passing game from him than we've seen previously as well.
38:07 Previously, it's been very short passes,
38:11 not a great deal of adventure,
38:13 mostly sideways and back, retaining the ball,
38:15 but not particularly progressing it.
38:17 At Cardiff, I thought he was a lot more progressive.
38:21 I'm not going to look into the statistics in case they don't
38:23 bear me out, in case they contradict me.
38:26 I'm just going to have that thought and run with it.
38:30 He definitely played the ball forwards longer a few times
38:32 than he has previously, but he was good.
38:35 He was just very good.
38:36 And it's reassuring, isn't it?
38:42 Because you could have been forgiven for thinking,
38:44 "Farkes had a look at this guy and decided,
38:46 'No, he's not quite my tempo'
38:50 because of the way he's used Ampadu.'
38:53 But I don't know whether the FA Cup game allowed Farke
38:58 to take a look in maybe a less pressured environment
39:01 and thought, "Actually, yes, this guy can fill in."
39:04 I wonder if we might see him a little bit more,
39:06 therefore, in the second half of the season.
39:09 I wonder if Ampadu will maybe come off in games
39:12 a little bit more now that Gruev has kind of stepped in
39:15 and shown that I can do this six-roll.
39:19 Potentially. I still think that, obviously,
39:21 Ampadu is the premium choice in that role,
39:24 considering that we have termed it the Ampadu role.
39:28 But it's good to have options in reserve, isn't it?
39:29 It's very, very good to have an alternate in that role,
39:34 one of whom you can rely on.
39:37 And I just think on the topic of Kamara and Gruev,
39:40 all of the midfield options, all four of them,
39:42 including Ampadu and Gray as well,
39:44 they cover the space really well,
39:46 which you can't say was always the case last season.
39:49 You had players who maybe didn't get up and down the pitch
39:54 as well as the current options do.
39:57 I'm thinking maybe Mark Roca,
39:58 who is maybe more of an on-ball midfield,
40:01 deep-line midfield player.
40:03 But I feel like the current four,
40:05 and yes, the caveat is they're playing in a lesser division,
40:07 but the current four, their quality that they have,
40:11 I do think is very much out of possession
40:14 as much as it is in.
40:15 So, yeah, and with Gruev,
40:18 he completed 68 of his 70 passes against Cardiff.
40:23 And given that he did open up a bit more with his passing,
40:27 you know, that makes that stat more pleasing, doesn't it?
40:31 Because if he's just passing it backwards and sideways
40:33 to the centre-backs, then, you know,
40:36 you or I could stand there and make 68 of something passes,
40:41 maybe not 70.
40:42 I'm not sure I'd make 68 of 680 passes in a professional game.
40:47 Yeah, I also have a question.
40:49 Why on earth the team was constantly going through me,
40:52 trying to make...
40:54 Haven't you learned? Have you learned nothing?
40:57 Ampadu at centre-back as well, thought, good again.
41:01 It's not like he's playing an alien role.
41:05 I mean, I don't know if it'll be this season or next season
41:10 that he'll surpass his centre-back appearances
41:13 with his centre-midfield appearances.
41:15 But as of right now,
41:16 he's played more times as a centre-back
41:17 than he has in midfield.
41:19 - Farkeh loves to tell everyone that.
41:21 - He does. That's one of his favourites.
41:24 But he, yeah, he looked absolutely fine.
41:27 And Rodon, I think that without Stroik,
41:32 Rodon has taken it upon himself to be a bit more of a leader.
41:38 I feel like he's probably relishing that,
41:43 of this centre-back pairing,
41:44 I am the more natural under Farkeh.
41:47 At least I'm the first choice centre-back in this pairing.
41:50 I'll always be in this position.
41:52 So he's adopting a bit of a leadership role.
41:55 And then you've got Ampadu,
41:56 who's wearing the armband next to him as well.
41:57 So it just felt like you had a really solid base,
42:01 lots of physicality, very, very good on the ball,
42:04 the pair of them.
42:06 Rodon stepped out and ran it a couple of times.
42:08 Ampadu tried that once down the left flank
42:10 and then passed it into the middle,
42:11 straight to a blue shirt
42:12 and got a bit of a rollick in from his manager.
42:14 So he didn't try that again,
42:16 but they just looked so comfortable, didn't they?
42:20 And maybe that is partly to do with
42:22 what they were up against.
42:24 But they've had two games at it now.
42:26 And if Stroik isn't back for the weekend,
42:29 then you would have no qualms really
42:30 about putting Ampadu next to Rodon, would you?
42:33 - No, no. I think that's, again,
42:35 another option to have that Leeds didn't have
42:37 at the beginning of the season,
42:38 or at least wasn't tried.
42:40 They've come through a period
42:41 in which they've had to adapt,
42:43 you know, with, you've got to think about
42:45 not having Byram, not having Melier,
42:48 you know, Charlie Cresswell not being an option.
42:52 And they've done reasonably well.
42:53 I mean, they've done extremely well
42:55 if you want to speak in hyperbole,
42:58 because they haven't conceded in the five and a half hours.
43:01 So, you know, that's, I mean,
43:03 I've clearly jinxed it now
43:04 and it'll be a 30 second concession against Preston
43:08 at the weekend, won't it?
43:08 But no, it's been good to watch
43:12 and it's been effective and it's been convincing.
43:15 So, yeah.
43:17 Yeah. I'm going to stop praising them now
43:19 just in case there is some sort of curse
43:21 that I'm running the risk of.
43:25 - I have a question for you.
43:28 - Go on.
43:30 - Do you think that Joel Pirro has much chance at all
43:35 of getting back into the starting lineup against Preston
43:38 if both Routier and Bamford are fit?
43:40 - No, I don't think there's a good chance
43:42 because why change something that is clearly working?
43:45 - I feel like Pirro's moment
43:49 will probably come again this season.
43:52 - If Bamford gets an injury.
43:54 - Yeah, I don't foresee,
43:55 I just don't foresee a situation
43:57 where Bamford suddenly plays every game
44:00 between now and the end of the season
44:01 and is in perfect physical condition.
44:04 That would be, certainly be an ideal scenario
44:07 if it's working the way it is with Routier right now.
44:09 But there may well be a dip in form that comes along.
44:12 There may be a little niggle that comes along.
44:14 It may be that he's tired at some point and needs a break.
44:16 Yeah, I think Pirro will definitely have a part to play.
44:22 Just in the way that we maybe didn't acknowledge enough
44:27 in the first half of the season
44:28 that Bamford would have more of a role to play
44:31 than the one he was having.
44:32 I think it would be silly to write Pirro off
44:36 as a late 2023 man and not a man for the first half of 2024.
44:41 I think he'll definitely have-
44:45 - Everything changes so quickly in football, doesn't it?
44:47 That's essentially what you're trying to say.
44:49 - Yeah, it is.
44:50 I could have just said that.
44:52 I'll say that next time.
44:53 - Brevity is the word of today.
44:57 The nine and 10 dynamic at the minute,
45:00 there's a lot to like about it.
45:02 And it feels like it might just be key
45:06 for those games against opponents
45:07 that would just want to sit deep.
45:10 Because Routier is so good with a player at his back
45:13 and players around him.
45:14 You know, his passing is so good and so insightful.
45:17 And his dribbling is so good
45:20 that I feel like it's given Leeds a lot more creativity
45:23 in games where they would have struggled
45:24 to create clear cut chances against resolute teams.
45:28 And Bamford is helping to create a bit of space for Routier
45:32 by playing on the last man.
45:33 And if the ball goes up there
45:36 and he's on the defender's shoulder,
45:38 the defender has got his hands full
45:40 because Bamford might well win it.
45:42 He'll certainly put pressure on the defender.
45:44 So the defenders have to stay with him
45:45 and they have to drop.
45:46 And that means that there's a little bit more room
45:48 for Routier to operate in.
45:49 So they've got variation.
45:52 They can go long and hit Bamford and he makes those runs
45:55 that he times quite well in behind.
45:57 Or they can go short and go into Jorginho's feet
46:01 with his back to goal and try and work off him.
46:03 I mean, it's been three games now
46:07 and they've scored nine goals and won all three.
46:12 So yeah, I think you're absolutely right.
46:14 The only way it changes at this minute
46:17 is if for some reason one of the two of them gets injured.
46:21 - Can I ask you a question in return?
46:24 - Yeah, absolutely.
46:25 - If you were to get away for some winter sun,
46:27 where would it be?
46:28 - It wouldn't be somewhere where there's snow.
46:32 If I was given a few days off
46:35 and I was given a footballer's resources,
46:40 then I would be somewhere very hot indeed,
46:42 wherever that is right now in the world.
46:45 - But would you not want to maybe stay a bit closer to home
46:48 because you don't want to be travelling,
46:49 you don't want to be jet lagged
46:50 for when you inevitably get back
46:51 after three or four days off
46:53 and you have to be ready, you have to be there
46:56 with a quite brutal training session.
46:59 - Where is the warmest place I can get to
47:03 within a four hour or five hour flight?
47:06 - Malta.
47:07 - Greece.
47:11 - You can probably go a little bit beyond Malta.
47:12 - Greece isn't warm at this time of year.
47:14 - No.
47:15 - North Africa.
47:18 - Then maybe that's where you'd find me.
47:20 - I'd love to see you in Marrakesh,
47:22 just ambling around the bazaars.
47:26 - With a knotted handkerchief atop my head
47:28 to protect the exposed scalp.
47:32 - It would be like, what was that thing
47:33 that Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington
47:36 did a couple of years ago,
47:38 it was probably about 15 years ago now.
47:40 What was it called?
47:41 - The Office.
47:42 - No, An Idiot Abroad.
47:44 - Yeah, I didn't watch it.
47:46 - Why this?
47:49 - 'Cause then it's something that you're gonna
47:50 probably use against me now.
47:52 - Why the link then?
47:53 - Do you remember when you called me an idiot?
47:54 No, it wasn't that.
47:55 (upbeat music)
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