On this week’s podcast, Yorkshire Post football writers, Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall, join host Mark Singleton to cast their eye over the latest news and issues surrounding Yorkshire’s leading football clubs.
They look at the fallout for both Harrogate Town and Bradford City following their latest derby meeting, as well as looking at Hull City’s chances of making the Championship play-offs.
Sheffield United’s future outside the Premier League also comes up for consideration, as does this weekend’s Easter programme which sees Championship, League One and League Two clubs play twice in four days.
They look at the fallout for both Harrogate Town and Bradford City following their latest derby meeting, as well as looking at Hull City’s chances of making the Championship play-offs.
Sheffield United’s future outside the Premier League also comes up for consideration, as does this weekend’s Easter programme which sees Championship, League One and League Two clubs play twice in four days.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:16 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:19 of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:23 Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:26 Phil Wopshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:30 forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:34 by logging onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:40 feeds, the main one being @ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:45 Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:49 if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:53 or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcast@yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
01:00 YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:03 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:07 the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wopshall.
01:11 Good morning guys.
01:12 Morning.
01:13 Morning.
01:14 Right, now this week the majority of league action gave way to international fixtures,
01:18 however we still have a number of topics to discuss. So let's start with the Yorkshire
01:23 clash between Harrogate Town and Bradford City. We saw Harrogate Town claim all three
01:27 points on offer, which brought their eight game winless run to an end. However, from
01:32 Bradford City's point of view, this was the fourth successive defeat for Graeme Alexander's
01:37 side. Now, we spoke about Bradford City's troubles last week, but they just seem to
01:43 keep on coming at the moment. What did you make of the game, and how valuable could this
01:48 be for Simon Reeves's side, Leon?
01:50 Yeah, I think I put in my match report, Mark. It's a bit of a perfect storm as far as Bradford
01:57 City are concerned. There was enough weather conditions on the day, that sort of added
02:04 to Bradford's problems really, but it was the same for both teams. It was a really stiff,
02:09 horrible wind. Harrogate had it in their faces in the first half, and they dealt with it
02:15 considerably better than Bradford did in the second. Yeah, there's a lot of things. They've
02:22 just hit a real worrying run of form, Bradford, and there's just a lot of things to contend
02:29 with. There's injuries, there's poor form. Obviously, if you're going back to Valiant
02:34 Parade, there's the stay of the pitch, the mood music with the fans. There was a lot
02:39 of... I think there's a certain amount of apathy, but I think for some of them as well,
02:46 there's quite a lot of anger brewing in the direction of, not necessarily Graham Alexander,
02:51 but the hierarchy at Bradford. Stefan Rood, the owner and chief executive officer. Brian
03:00 Sparks, it's like the sixth season in League Two next season. Yeah, it's not looking good.
03:10 There's a lot of other issues as well. You can point to recruitment's not been terrific.
03:15 They look like they've got some players coming towards the end. They've got some young players
03:20 who are maybe not quite ready as well. And then there's other issues as well. You've
03:25 got to throw into the pot. They're paying a hell of a lot of rent on the ground at Valiant
03:30 Parade. They're paying money on the training ground. So there's the financial aspect. The
03:35 owner clearly wants out as well. But yeah, in the here and now, they've just got to try
03:41 and find a bit of rhythm and confidence. That's not going to be easy. Alex Gilead was the
03:51 latest injury who didn't play at the weekend. From what we can gather, there's one or two
03:56 issues as well ahead of Easter. They play Tram here on Good Friday. It sounds like there's
04:03 going to be some protests from sections of supporters. So yeah, it's just a bit of a
04:09 perfect storm. They were dreadful on the pitch in the second half. It just seems to be with
04:15 Bradford at the minute. As soon as they let a first goal in, then it's... I wouldn't say
04:20 it's white flags and that they're not trying. I think the efforts there, they certainly
04:27 didn't down tools on Saturday. But there's a real hemorrhaging of confidence there, both
04:34 going forward and in defence. Yeah, there just seems to be a lack of belief at times.
04:44 Once Graham Alexander got his feet under the table, we saw what they were capable of. They
04:48 had a good run, then tailed off, then another good run. But it just seems like when it gets
04:53 to the real crunch periods, there's a real lack of belief in this group. I don't just
04:59 mean the players, I mean the support. There's a whole club that they can just get it on
05:02 the line. There's many a time over the last few years where they've really teased us.
05:07 We've looked at the league table and we said, "Oh, if they can just win the next two or
05:10 three games, they'll really be in the picture." But they always seem to be just outside.
05:17 Exactly. That's the point, Leon. It's not something we're talking about just about this
05:24 season. It seems to be a sort of deep-rooted psychology around the club. You do feel like
05:31 the size of that club and the advantages they've got, that if somebody can get the ball rolling,
05:37 then they could really do something special. Obviously, Graham Alexander's got a great
05:43 managerial record. We've seen others who've come in and performed at that level as managers
05:49 and they've not been able to do it. We've seen them go down different routes. It's a
05:53 real commandment of crap. As Leon's already alluded to, there's lots of elements to it
05:59 that need looking at. You mentioned the injuries and to be honest, I wouldn't lay it on too
06:06 thick about the injuries because we've seen injuries just so many across the board for
06:11 all football clubs this season. It's something I think really from the top down needs to
06:16 be looked at. But nevertheless, when you talk about the state of the pitch and the state
06:20 of the training facilities, you do have to ask how much they're contributing to these
06:24 injuries and making an already difficult job harder. There's a lot of soul-searching to
06:31 be done. This isn't just a Bradford point, but it's really difficult at any football
06:36 club to address those underlying issues when you've got an owner who doesn't really want
06:42 to be there. You need that energy, that enthusiasm and that money of somebody who wants to come
06:48 in and do it. You only need to look at clubs like Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.
06:54 Well, Sheffield Wednesday, the owner wants to be there, I suppose. It's the others who
06:58 don't. But these clubs where you've got a reluctant owner, it is really difficult to
07:03 get beyond that and achieve your potential.
07:07 I just hope for Bradford's sake, Stuart, and Graham Alexander as well. I think he's a capable
07:12 manager. He speaks extremely well. He speaks good sense. He's been around the block. Obviously
07:20 lost four games in a row. The situation in football now, any manager that sort of loses
07:26 four or five in a row, supporters are calling for his head on social media and this, that
07:31 and the other. But I think he's the least of Bradford's problems, really. You've got
07:38 to factor in as well, he came mid-season. He's not had a pre-season to work with. He's
07:43 not had the time to really forge his squad in his own identity and ethos. Modern football,
07:54 it's full of these scenarios where a manager loses a few and then all of a sudden calls
07:58 for his head. I just do not see scratching my head if that happens for Bradford. I just
08:06 hope it can calm down a little bit. They can somehow manage to drag out a few results between
08:15 now and the end of the season and finish with a little bit of positivity. Because I think
08:20 as much as everything else, there's going to be quite a few ins and outs again at Bradford,
08:25 which is probably part of the problem, really, isn't it? There always seem to be a lot of
08:29 players leaving at the end of the season and then having to bring others in as well. There's
08:35 quite a few out of contracts and there's work to do for Alexander, but I just don't see
08:40 the sense in changing managers in the summer. They've clocked up far too many managers in
08:49 recent seasons, Bradford, and that's part of the problem as well, isn't it, amongst
08:53 quite a few other things?
08:54 Absolutely. As you say, so many managers over the last seven or eight years, the same problems
08:59 occurring. It tells you the manager is not the biggest problem. That's not to give a
09:04 manager a blank cheque. If you've had managers who have done it at this level, and Alexander
09:10 is one of them, they've gone down the young managers route, they've gone down the big
09:13 name managers route, there are more fundamental problems. I think the fans recognise that,
09:19 which is why the anger is more directed against Stefan Rupp and Ryan Sparks than it is against
09:26 the rest.
09:27 I was just going to get all the doom and gloom. It's fair to say, a good Saturday for Harrogate
09:38 for once. We know they've had some toils at home in front of their home supporters. I
09:43 think they're a way record. Is it something like the second or third best in the division
09:47 with the home forms racked? It's pretty much to the bottom, isn't it? A good day for them.
09:55 They beat Doncaster, another Yorkshire club, earlier in the season. They've had some good
10:00 moments against Yorkshire teams and they tend to do well against Harrogate. They've got
10:07 a good chance of being... I know Doncaster are having a great run at the minute, but
10:11 Harrogate are the top dogs in Yorkshire at the minute. It's not mathematically impossible
10:17 for them to have an absolutely steaming run to somehow nick seven players. Having is very
10:22 unlikely, but they can have a little bit of fun, can't they? They've had a couple of good
10:26 results away. They drew at Wrexham and Barrow and they backed it up with a big win on Derby
10:33 Day. A record crowd as well. They were just up to 4,000 there. There were some good contributions
10:39 on the pitch, most notably probably added to the issues for Bradford, really. Sod's
10:47 law that a few of the best players in Harrogate jerseys used to play for Harrogate. I think
10:51 Levi Sutton, for me, was the best player on the pitch. Anthony O'Connor wasn't far behind.
10:56 They can look forward to a nice end to the season, hopefully, Harrogate. I think in the
11:01 round it's been a pretty good season for them. They've had a few ups and downs, but I think
11:06 it's been a decent season, all things considered. It feels like they're making progress. I think
11:11 that attendance number is significant as well, because that's one thing they need to do to
11:17 build up their fan base. If we talk about Bradford should be doing better for the support
11:23 they've got and the history, well, obviously Harrogate don't have those advantages. For
11:28 them to be moving forward is really good to see. Often when a big club loses to a club
11:38 of lesser stature, we kind of ignore the achievement of the smaller club. It's important that we
11:45 do praise Harrogate for what's been a really good season for them.
11:48 Yeah, it's a club comfortable in its own skin, isn't it, Stuart? It's been about managers
11:54 with longevity. They've got the longest serving manager in the Football League. It's a well-run
12:03 club and it's been a good story for a few years now.
12:06 Yeah, and as you rightly pointed out with regards to Graham Alexander, there's been
12:10 runs which Simon Weaver's had as manager, which had he been Bradford manager, he undoubtedly
12:15 would have been sacked for. So, that patience really is a virtue for Harrogate.
12:21 And next I wanted to turn our focus to Hull City, who have been away for a spot of warm
12:26 weather training during the international break. Now, Stuart, you were with Hull City
12:30 at the training camp and I wanted to ask you, based on their recent run of form and from
12:35 what you've seen whilst being over there, do you see them continuing their push for
12:40 the play-off strongly this season?
12:41 Yeah, I do. I mean, I think it's going to be ties. Three-point gap to a Norwich team
12:48 in decent form and with Norwich's goal difference, it's effectively four. Hull have got a game
12:53 in hand in that. So, there's not much in it either way. And there's definitely still
13:00 issues for Hull to iron out. They're missing Liam De Lappe and not just Liam De Lappe,
13:09 but the presence of a real orthodox No. 9, I think, is significant for them. Other people
13:16 haven't really taken their chances, but they're hopeful De Lappe will be back in the middle
13:20 of April and that should give them a big psychological boost as much as anything. But certainly from
13:26 what I saw last week out in Turkey, they've used the break really well. It wasn't sort
13:34 of a full throttle, flogged them into the ground training camp by any stretch of the
13:39 imagination it was much about. About team bonding and that sort of thing, but also bonding
13:45 with the supporters. They took 100 fans out, really treated them well, really felt as one
13:51 club and I think that's going to be important. They're hoping to sell out the last four games
13:56 of the season, which let's be honest has been pretty rare in Hull's recent history to be
14:02 filling the ground. Just the positivity they're generating around the place could make a real
14:08 difference in home games. They need to get them over the line because they're another
14:15 club who have caught the eye more away from home than at home this season. So anything
14:20 that can just make the difference is important. They feel like a club in a good place. They
14:25 feel like a club trying to do things the right way. They are throwing a lot of money about
14:29 after it, which is obviously a big talking point with financial fair play, but they do
14:35 seem to be doing it in a way to bring the supporters on board to try and play what they
14:40 see as the right type of football. I think they're in a good way and I think they'll
14:47 come back from this international break refreshed and in a good mindset. They'll need to be
14:53 because they come back with two big games straight away. They're playing a stoke team
14:58 in the relegation zone and then they're at Ellenrode. We've talked enough times on this
15:02 podcast about how difficult that is. As I say, with those small margins, it's not just
15:09 Norwich, they've got Coventry and Preston very close behind as well. They'll need to
15:15 be on it in the last games of the season. I think they'll go into it with a bit of confidence
15:21 and a bit of positivity.
15:22 They've got some great games, haven't they? Like you said, Stuart, that Coventry game
15:28 was huge towards the end of April. Leeds as well, Hull City supporters. I suppose if
15:36 they're going to pick a club that they'd like to be, it'd probably be Leeds for most of
15:41 them and Preston as well. They've got Ipswich as well, haven't they?
15:45 Yes.
15:46 Then at the other end, they're going to have a lot of support from rival Yorkshire clubs,
15:51 haven't they? They had a lot the other day. They've got Plymouth QPR and someone else.
15:56 Stoke on Friday.
15:58 Yes, they'll have a lot of support there. It's all there for them, isn't it? They're
16:06 going to have to be wary of Norwich. As we've said a few times on this podcast, this time
16:13 last year they were just playing out of the season, weren't they? To be fair, this senior
16:18 year it's done the first job that it was brought in to do instead of the ship and keeping
16:24 the club up. There wasn't really much on a lot of the games but total contrast this time.
16:32 There's a real vibe there and the people of Hull are buying into it. It's a rewind to
16:41 better times for the club.
16:44 It's just good to see after we know how difficult things were the longer the Allums family's
16:53 time went on and how disenchanted people got with things. It was great to see fans out
16:58 there just loving watching open training and mingling with the players. Of course, they'll
17:03 all go back home and tell their other mates what's going on at that football club. When
17:11 we contrast it to the disenchantment of places like Bradford, it's really good to see a club
17:17 just vibrant and going places. Hopefully, I don't want to be the divvier but the margins
17:24 are so tight, hopefully if they do miss out in the playoffs, there is something there
17:30 to build on for future. This isn't just a one-hit shot at promotion. They've got a young
17:38 squad, a young manager, an owner who genuinely seems really committed to things. Wherever
17:45 they are next season, you feel like the mindset and the planning around the club should be
17:50 able to progress from there.
17:52 I think a quick one with supporters as well, especially with this Eastern in mind, is if
17:55 you do have a bump, don't panic too much. It could be one of those. I don't expect Hull
18:01 to be stoked when they do something like that. It's about keeping calm and not panicking.
18:07 I think that applies for quite a few Yorkshire teams. You've got a few in the mix towards
18:13 the top ends of the division and also at the bottom. Just keep calm if need be as well.
18:22 As you rightly said earlier, it's the context as well. Enjoy it because when you think what
18:26 the last couple of seasons have been like, to just be in contention for this. It's not
18:33 just for Hull, for clubs like Ipswich. When you look at the parachute payments of some
18:37 of the other clubs, it is going to be difficult to get promotion out of the championship without
18:43 a parachute payment. Just to be in that company is a big achievement. But of course, once
18:50 you get to this stage, you don't want to just settle for that. You want to keep going.
18:55 It's easy to think they've only been in a couple of years at Hull, haven't they?
18:59 It's not been long enough.
19:02 Next on the list, we turn to Sheffield United. I think the main question we should be asking
19:07 ourselves when it comes to the Blades is where do they go next season following this campaign
19:11 in the Premier League? I also gather that you had a chat with the CEO of the club, Stephen
19:17 Bettis. Did he give an indication of where the club is looking to strengthen or improve
19:22 next season, Leon?
19:23 Yes, and I'm not too worried. It was good to speak with him. He did. I think there's
19:29 a natural fallout from relegation. There's going to be, obviously, lone players, but
19:33 there's going to be one or two players who go. They've protected themselves with the
19:38 players who have got relegation clauses. There's one or two other deals as well. I think Villa
19:44 have got to buy back on Cameron Archer. They're going to get relegated to Sheffield United.
19:49 So they'll buy him back a cup price fee. He spoke reasonably positively, really. He did
20:02 allude to the developments off the field. Obviously, they're in the process of buying
20:10 the training ground at Doar, although there will be a couple of seasons before they get
20:15 in there. I think they've exchanged contracts, but there's a few planning permission issues.
20:21 So they're looking at a couple of seasons down the line there. So that's a positive
20:25 in terms of off the field, because we know that the training ground has been an issue
20:30 at Sheffield United. But I think there was a reasonable amount of positivity. They've
20:36 obviously announced a decent loss in the financial accounts, about £30 million. But
20:42 I suppose that doesn't factor in that they've obviously got the sales of Berg and who's
20:47 the other one? That will hopefully put a different skew on it next season. But yeah, there'll
20:56 be a few players that leave, but he was talking about having a balance between they've got
21:00 some good young players coming through who get some wool on the backs in the Championship
21:06 and giving them the stage in Asula and possibly Art Blaster. They're in the process of speaking
21:14 to Daniel Jebbeson, who's had an awful time with illness and injury this season, getting
21:20 him wrapped up to a new deal. I think there'll be some funds there for Chris Wilder, but
21:27 I think he will have to wheel and deal a little bit. Betis were speaking about having different
21:32 budgets for if they don't go up next season, and if they do, he didn't seem to suggest
21:39 that they have to go up next season as such. But I think there was confidence on his part
21:47 that they should have a chance of being competitive and finishing in the top six area. So we'll
21:57 have to wait and see on that count.
22:00 I think we preach a lot today about the virtues of stability, but I think in the case of Sheffield
22:06 United in terms of the playing squad, I do think it needs ripping up and starting again
22:12 to an extent. If you look at the squad that Paul Hackingbottom brought up last season,
22:19 it still felt too heavily reliant on that core of players who had taken the team to
22:25 ninth under Chris Wilder. It just feels like a lack of investment and a lack of refreshing
22:32 that squad has just caught up with them. I found it quite interesting, I spoke to Neil
22:38 Collins, former Sheffield United player, a couple of weeks ago and he was saying you
22:44 can essentially go down the route of a Leicester and basically keep your squad together when
22:50 you get relegated or you can start again. His phrase was, "I feel there's too many
22:55 players who climb the mountain." What they actually needed was hunger. But I think within
23:03 that they do need the stability of keeping the manager because he knows the club. He's
23:10 had a good few months to get another view of what's beneath the surface in terms of
23:17 those young players Leon was talking about and more to come. I think they're going to
23:22 be what this rebuild is based on. Because of that process, I think it might take a couple
23:31 of years to do that. It could be difficult for Sheffield United if we were to have Leeds,
23:37 Leicester and Southampton all go up this season. There could be a lot of expectation on the
23:42 three teams to go down to bounce back straight away. But every circumstance is different
23:47 and with Sheffield United's rebuild, yes, it's possible that they might be able to get
23:52 up in the space of that one year of it. But it might take a bit more time. I just think
23:58 they have to be patient. But for me, it's really key that they keep the manager on board
24:03 and with that in mind, when you think of their recent home performances in the last couple
24:09 of months, they can't afford to be backed into a corner by performances and results
24:14 where they even have a decision to make over Chris Wilder. I do think it's really important
24:20 they're not starting again with a new manager as well. But again, as Leon alluded to earlier,
24:26 sometimes a bad run of results can just really bring intolerable amounts of pressure. So
24:32 hopefully they can avoid that. Some better home performances that fans can actually take
24:40 some pride in between now and the end of the season.
24:42 Yeah, he spoke with good sense, Stephen Bettis, about Chris Wilder. I sort of got his point.
24:50 He did harken back to when Wilder first came to Bramall Lane in 2016. Probably a similar
25:01 scenario where a team needing to be, a squad needing to be overhauled, a lot of players
25:09 coming to the end and rebuilding it. It's sort of marked to a little bit in that regard,
25:17 isn't it? There will be players leaving. He has got one or two young academy players,
25:23 but he knows the transfer market extremely well in the EFL, Chris Wilder. They're obviously
25:31 going to bring in another head of recruitment. They're not going to bother with the sporting
25:36 director going down that route. They're bringing in another recruitment supremo with Paul Mitchell
25:44 leaving and from the sound of it, Wilder will have a bit of an impact in putting that in
25:51 terms of interviewing candidates. Hopefully they're on the same page in that regard because
25:57 recruitment has been a little bit scratchy, hasn't it, in Sheffield United for the last
26:03 few years. But yeah, I agree with Stuart. I think they're in good hands. They need somebody
26:08 who knows the club and who has maybe been in this situation before, which Chris has.
26:17 I don't see the point in just going for a total revolution and bringing somebody in
26:24 from the outside. They did that with Joukanovic a few years ago when they went down here.
26:29 It just didn't work at all. They've got a safe hand on the tiller. Yeah, they might
26:36 take a little bit of pain, as Stuart said, more pain between now and the end of the season.
26:42 But in the broadest scheme of things, we talk about Alexander at Bradford needing to build
26:50 a sign of his own image. Wilder will know that one cycle of players is coming to the
26:55 end at Sheffield United and it's about a big rebuild. He's shown himself capable in that
27:01 regard before.
27:04 And finally for this week, I wanted us to have a look at the upcoming Easter programmes
27:09 for our Yorkshire sides. Are there any fixtures that jump out at you both in particular, seeing
27:15 as this could be a very crucial point in the season, Leon?
27:18 Ooh, let's have a look. There's one or two. There's a big one that doesn't involve Yorkshire
27:23 teams that caught my eye on Easter Monday. I don't know if it's Stuart Hitch with Southampton.
27:29 That's a real standout for me. I mean, there's some big ones on Easter Monday. Stuart mentioned
27:37 Hull against Stoke. As much as Hull will be wanting to win that, they'll be having plenty
27:42 of support from Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesdays. I think an interesting dynamic
27:49 is and I think it will play, especially at the top end of the championship, the order
27:55 of play, if you like. I had a little bit of a look on Good Friday and I think Isak Lester
28:03 go first at 12.30. It might be Ipswich, I'm not entirely sure. But I think there's games
28:09 at 12.33, something like 5.30, then Leeds, they go into bat right at the end against
28:16 Watford and it's a little bit similar on Easter Monday. Obviously, Ipswich plays Southampton.
28:23 That's the late, that's the tea time game.
28:26 Leicester are actually kicking the day off as well, isn't it?
28:29 It is, yeah. I think it's one of those, I think that there's once or twice that Leeds
28:35 are going to have to go last, haven't they? I think they've got the mid-afternoon game
28:38 as well. There's another one, if memory serves, they play, is it Blackburn at home or Coventry
28:44 at home? And then they go on the 12.30 kick-off. So that's going to be fascinating, all that.
28:49 I mean, the psychology within that, who can handle the pressure if there's a bad result,
28:56 a good result, then you're going out to play. It was pretty similar when, I remember when
29:01 Sheffield United and Leeds were going for it a few years ago. I remember doing a, I
29:07 think I was in Sheffield United and they played, I think they played Millwall and Millwall equalised
29:12 right at the end. It was a three o'clock kick-off and there was huge, on social media,
29:21 there was huge mileage at the Leeds and when that happened, I think I put a tweet out,
29:25 God knows how many likes I suppose, and then Leeds, I think Leeds beat, I think Leeds,
29:33 I think they won the next game. So there's all that and that's part of it at this time of year.
29:39 Yeah, I mean, certainly I made a big deal of Leeds going top right before the international
29:47 break, with Leicester kicking off first. Any result for Leicester at Bristol City,
29:51 they'll be back top of the table, but if Leicester were to only draw, that gives some encouragement.
29:57 Leon's right to point out that it's a Southampton game coming before Leeds play Hull.
30:05 All of these results will affect the mood of the other teams and it's about, if you're
30:11 Leeds or Hull, it's about putting pressure on the other teams. If they're getting results,
30:18 it's about blocking it out and just going out and playing your game because all the managers will
30:23 say, well, it makes no difference if we play 46 games, it doesn't matter if we go first or second,
30:28 but it really does. It's not just the players, it's the mood in the stadium, isn't it? If Leeds
30:36 kick off at eight o'clock on Easter Monday, knowing that they need a certain result to stay in the top
30:42 two, Ella Road's going to be really nervous. If they go in knowing that come what may, they're
30:49 going to be top of the table, Ella Road's going to be absolutely bouncing. The same goes for the
30:53 MKM and Portland Road and all of these places. Everybody's going to be looking at what did
30:58 Norwich do, what did Coventry do, what did Ipswich do, what did Leicester do? It's part of the nature
31:03 of it. As Leon points out, in recent years, the television has made such a big impact with all
31:10 these staggered kick-offs and people having a game in hand here and a game in hand there. We've got
31:17 the added confusion this year with regards to the play-offs of Coventry's FA Cup run,
31:22 taking game and fixture list and that whole game getting rearranged to late. It should be
31:27 fascinating. The thing about Easter, playing Friday and Monday, when you think about it,
31:33 it's only the same as playing Saturday and Tuesday like they do all the time,
31:36 but it just feels significant. I don't know if it's an age thing, I don't know if it's more
31:41 old-timers like me and Leon, but Easter is just always such a big time in the calendar.
31:47 Christmas and Easter is when you start seeing some teams start to go down, don't they?
31:51 Exactly. The fact that we've had this two-week, in some cases three-week lead into it has just
31:59 built up the anticipation even more. I think if you're a team involved in something, whether that
32:06 be relegation or promotion, whoever you're playing over Easter is just hugely significant.
32:13 The opposition aren't irrelevant, but there's nobody Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield
32:17 can't play, can play who it's an unimportant game. But because there's so many teams involved in
32:25 something, you look at Huddersfield versus Coventry on Good Friday, that really matters
32:30 to Coventry as well, trying to chase down. I think there's just lots of really fascinating
32:39 games. Given what we were saying before, I think Bradford versus Tramie is going to be
32:44 really significant. It's going to have very little bearing on Bradford's season in terms
32:50 of what division they're playing in next season, but just the mood at Valley Parade is going to be
32:54 a real gauge. Whether they can end this run and get a bit of positivity in the play, or whether
33:02 this negativity snowballs. I think it's going to be a fascinating Easter weekend. They almost
33:10 always are. Leo mentioned that classic one when Leeds and Sheffield United were chasing promotion
33:16 and people were swapping places left, right and centre. You look at how tight the top three
33:22 particularly and the top four is when you factor inside Arms' heads against, there's going to be
33:26 a lot of that. The last weekend before the international break, Leeds at some point were
33:35 third, second and first in the table. It'll probably be like that on Good Friday, it'll
33:40 probably be like that on Easter Monday and it'll be the same for Huddersfield and Sheffield
33:43 Wednesday. In the relegation zone one moment, out of the relegation zone another. As Leo says,
33:49 it's about holding your nerve and not getting too...
33:52 There's just loads of subplots to it. If you're a Leeds supporter looking at St Ampton you'll
33:59 think they've got to go to Leeds, they've got to go to Winchurch, they've got to go to Leicester.
34:02 I had a little look the other day and they've got three home games on the track, haven't they?
34:07 St Ampton in mid-April. It's one of those, isn't it? It looks bad having to go to the three
34:18 contenders away. I wouldn't say that they're totally out of it at St Ampton because if they
34:26 can win three of those home games on the spin, when they've obviously got the games in hand,
34:31 they could be back in it. Just subplots everywhere. A huge game that I think you'll be going to on
34:38 Monday, isn't it? Is it Stoke against Huddersfield? I look at Huddersfield running and it's a bit of
34:47 a foolish thing to do I suppose. I should know better really. It doesn't look too bad but it
34:51 just looks like three games for me leap out. It's not necessarily going to Winchurch on the last day
34:58 because hopefully Winchurch might be settled for the play-offs for the Leeds have nipped in but
35:04 who knows. They've got Stoke away, they've got Millwall at home and then they've got Birmingham
35:11 at home. They're three huge, huge games for Huddersfield. I know a lot of people were talking
35:16 about the Rotherham game. I probably mentioned that before. My theory was, I could be wrong,
35:24 that I just think Brighton Riders thought with 10 men we just can't lose this game. Maybe you
35:30 played them a little bit too much respect but I sort of got it in a way. I think if Huddersfield
35:35 had lost that, they'd have really struggled to get over that. But yeah, that's an intriguing
35:41 one. I think Sheffield Wednesday as well, I think they've got to play Stoke, QPR and Blackburn as
35:48 well. So their ether doesn't look too bad but it looks a little bit of calm before the storm
35:54 doesn't it? Swansea and Middles but they're not too bad games I would say this time of year.
36:00 But then they've got three huge games Wednesday. But the interesting one for me down there is
36:07 Blackburn. I had a little look and I think they've got to play the top four and they've
36:12 got to play Coventry. So I think they've got eight games left. Four of them against the top
36:19 four and then there's another team that were going for promotion as well. It's so fascinating
36:26 isn't it? The bottom of that division, I think is it five points separate eight teams? Yeah.
36:32 It could be one of those even with Easter, if Swansea have a bad Easter or even Sunderland.
36:38 He could in theory get a couple more, as daft as it sounds. But I think most of them at the
36:45 bottom will be thinking, "Oof, if..." I think probably 50-51. But who knows?
36:53 I think that's the thing, Daniel Parker always talks about points rather than...
36:58 And I think you've got to look at it bigger picture, but it's just human nature. You just
37:01 look at the fixture list. And if you look at, for example, you mentioned Sadamson going to
37:07 Edgewitch and you look at that and you think as a Leeds fan, "Oh, that's a real good opportunity."
37:12 Sadamson and Banter drop points there and then they win. That's an absolute killer, isn't it?
37:18 If you look at it as a Huddersfield fan and you've got Birmingham marked down, "That's a game we've
37:22 got to win," and then you don't get something from it, that's a real blow. But then there'll
37:28 be other games where you've just got no right to expect a point. Blackburn could well go to one of
37:34 those top four teams because of the pressure they're under. It's so hard to second guess,
37:41 but we all try to and that's part of the fascination and the psychology of it.
37:49 If you're not involved, it's really good fun to watch from afar. If you're involved in it,
37:53 obviously it's absolutely horrendous.
37:55 I think another big one, just quickly on League One, Barnsley have got on paper again,
38:02 it's a horrible phrase that, isn't it? They've got Cambridge and Burton,
38:08 two struggling sides against relegation. The big game, you mentioned Ipswich against
38:14 Southampton, the big game in League One on Tuesday, I think it's Derby play Portsmouth.
38:20 So that's going to be another interesting one. There's quite a few
38:26 match-ups at the top as well. I think one or two of the teams have still got to play each other.
38:32 So it's unlikely that Barnsley are going to get a crash second place, but it's still just about
38:40 a part. If they get six points this Easter, but yeah, we'll have to see in reconvene next week.
38:47 Anyone who gets six points this Easter, whatever end, it just builds a real momentum. And likewise,
38:54 anyone who gets no points, it can really have you nervous. So as I say, it's no different to
39:00 a normal week, really, Friday, Monday night. It just feels different because it's a long weekend.
39:05 Obviously we'll have afternoon kickoffs with, in a lot of cases anyway, when TV don't interfere,
39:11 afternoon kickoffs with big crowds as well. It's a really big deal. And because of this
39:17 international break, it will really feel as though it's set you up.
39:20 YorkshirePost.co.uk
39:23 YorkshirePost.co.uk
39:34 Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbsall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
39:38 discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget, you can keep up to date with all
39:42 the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com
39:48 or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport
39:51 on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers,
39:55 you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a
40:00 subject matter as Football Talk Podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com. As ever,
40:05 many thanks for listening, look after yourselves, and bye for now.
40:19 [Music]