On this week’s show, Harrogate Town hit the rewind button with yet more Yorkshire derby success, this time over League Two rivals, Doncaster Rovers – will the 2-0 win spark their season into life.
In the Championship, our panel of Stuart Rayner, Leon Wobschall and host Mark Singleton assess the contrasting starts to the 24-25 campaign for Sheffield United and Hull City after their derby date, plus the late frustration for Sheffield Wednesday in their meeting at Hillsborough with QPR.
Barnsley suffered bad trips on the road at Stevenage and then, in the League Cup, at Manchester United, leaving Darrell Clarke increasingly frustrated with his team.
In the Championship, our panel of Stuart Rayner, Leon Wobschall and host Mark Singleton assess the contrasting starts to the 24-25 campaign for Sheffield United and Hull City after their derby date, plus the late frustration for Sheffield Wednesday in their meeting at Hillsborough with QPR.
Barnsley suffered bad trips on the road at Stevenage and then, in the League Cup, at Manchester United, leaving Darrell Clarke increasingly frustrated with his team.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:18of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we are joined by Chief Football Writer
00:21for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Ian
00:25Walshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you
00:29can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
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00:44Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:48if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:51or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:56at yp.sportatnationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk.
01:02As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:05the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Liam Walshall.
01:09Good morning, guys.
01:10Morning.
01:11Morning.
01:12Morning. Right, now, this week we saw Middlesbrough claim a point in their one-all draw with Preston
01:16North End, and in League One, Huddersfield Town returned to winning ways with a thumping
01:214-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers. Rotherham United had to settle for a point with a two-all
01:27draw when they hosted Burton Albion. Barnsley had to leave their game against Stevenage
01:32empty-handed after falling to a 3-0 defeat, and in League Two, Bradford City fell to a
01:382-1 defeat at the hands of Walsall.
01:40However, let's start things off this week with Harrogate Town, who claimed a 2-0 victory
01:45over Doncaster Rovers, which also ended the Salfrites' three-game losing streak. It
01:50means that Donnie have now failed to beat Simon Weaver's men in the last five meetings
01:54between the two clubs.
01:56Now, what did you make of the performances shown during the game, and how important could
02:01this be for Harrogate Town? Because we spoke about this on last week's episode, Leon.
02:06Yeah, it showed a liking for Derby, didn't it? They've had some good ones in recent times.
02:13I was there on Thursday, I did the Bradford City game in March, a 3-0, and yeah, there
02:20were terrific. Harrogate, they were intense, they got in the face of Doncaster, they were
02:28very competitive and organised, and scored two great goals on the break in the first
02:34half, and then a fair bit of pressure from Doncaster in the second half, but they defended
02:39for their lives. It was really good to see, and I think everybody at Harrogate needed
02:48that. I mean, the trick now is sort of building on it, really, but there were some excellent
02:54performances. James Belshaw was strong in goal, Anthony O'Connor, he got his head and
03:01body on everything, certainly in the second half. I thought Josh Sims had a really good
03:07game, and yeah, it was a sharp contest, wasn't it? In the previous home game, they'd lost
03:14at home to Barrow, and it was very critical, it was Weaver. I think he described the performance
03:20as dross, didn't he? He had a real goal, his players maybe challenging them a little bit,
03:30and yeah, they delivered. I mean, they hadn't scored a home goal, had they, all season,
03:34let alone a win. So, for all manner of reasons, it was just the boost they needed. Obviously,
03:42historically, they've shown to be strong in the derbies, it brings out the best in
03:46them, and the trick now is building on it, really. I mean, there's some good stuff from
03:52Weaver afterwards. He praised his side, but he said it was a sort of rewind to happier
04:00days of old, almost, at Harrogate, but it's quite interesting what he said. He said, you
04:06know, that's gone now, that's history, we can't just harp on about that, we've got to
04:11try and build something in the here and now, and yeah, I think everybody needed it.
04:18And I think the good thing about Harrogate as a football club, you know, historically,
04:22talking about the time under Weaver, as Leo mentioned, you know, no home goal,
04:28no home goal all season, therefore no home win. You know, they had the big setback at
04:33Preston in the Cup, but they're not a club that gets carried away with themselves, that gets
04:37overboard with this. You know, at the end of the day, it feels like the season's been
04:44going on an eternity, but we are still only a few weeks in, and you know, so long as they
04:51don't get things out of proportion, they always seem to be able to write themselves and get
04:56themselves on track. You know, the resources they work with, they're never going to be one
05:02of these teams that's going to run away on, you know, massive winning runs, so it's really
05:08important. I mean, it's important for all clubs, but particularly for a club like Harrogate,
05:11that you deal with defeats in the right way and you don't get overly carried away with them,
05:16and I think that's also what Doncaster will have to do after this defeat. But yeah, we do see too
05:23many knee-jerk reactions and too much overreaction to one bad result, or even two or three bad
05:30results. It was probably decent management thinking about it from Weaver. He obviously
05:36called his side out, and you know, he said his team lacked bottle, didn't he, after the Barrow
05:43game, but he's probably been in the job long enough to know that they had Doncaster on the
05:46horizon, and then the next home game is Bradford, isn't it? Again, in front of the camera, so I
05:52think that was quite good management in the circumstances. I just think for Doncaster, it was
06:00just a little bit of a reminder really, a shot across the bowels. I mean, their form has been
06:05excellent, hasn't it, this calendar year, and it's important to remember, I think it was only,
06:09is it the third away? They lost to Harrogate in January, and that was only the second or third
06:15league defeat away on the travel since, so it shows how far they've come. Yeah, I wouldn't
06:22have said beforehand that I expected Harrogate to win, but there was just a little bit of feeling
06:28in my water. I mean, Doncaster came there, there was an air of say triumphalism, but
06:37a little bit of an air of the, you know, from the supporters that if we play well,
06:41we'll win this, we'll be okay sort of thing, and there was a good turnout. I think they had
06:451,000 supporters there in the 3,000 crowd, and Harrogate just got in there in the faces really,
06:53just didn't let them settle, and Doncaster's big players just couldn't get going really,
06:58Luke Molyneux, he's obviously got the player of the month for August, he was shackled well.
07:06Yeah, I mean, afterwards, Grant McKay, he was quick to say, he felt Rovers dominated. I would
07:13sort of beg to differ a little bit, really. I think I would have probably taken it on the
07:17chin a bit more and just said, you know, fair play to Harrogate. You know, they out-battled us and
07:22out-infused us on the day, but yeah, there's no real cause for alarm as such at Doncaster. They
07:31did a hell of a lot of good things, but this was just a reminder that, you know, they're certainly
07:36not the finished article yet, and you have to deal with these sort of days. They're not going
07:41to out-football everyone, and sometimes it's about finding a way, and it was Harrogate who had the
07:48answers on the day. Yeah, in fairness, if you listen back to last week's podcast,
07:52we did both have a sneaky suspicion that Harrogate might do something, just because
07:56it really does bring the best out of them, these derbies. But yeah, from a Doncaster point of view,
08:01that's two now they've thrown in this season, Newport and Harrogate. It's just how you respond
08:06to them. The brutal reality is, if you're a player at League Two, you're just not going to be
08:13capable of that Manchester City-style consistency. There are going to be these days, and as I said
08:19with regards to Harrogate, it's about how you deal with them, how you move on from them,
08:24and certainly the Newport game, the reaction was very good, so hopefully that's going to be the
08:29same again. Yeah, and now let's turn our attention to another Yorkshire clash, this time between
08:35Hull City and Sheffield United, which saw the visiting Sheffield United side walk away as 2-0
08:40victors of the fixture. This means that Chris Wilder's side maintain their unbeaten start to
08:44the season, and fortunately, this means that Tim Walter's side fell to their second successive
08:50league defeat. What were your thoughts on the game, and where do Hull City have to improve
08:55to turn things around, Stuart? Well, they've got to improve a lot. I feel like there's a big,
09:00big gap between these clubs, when you think that both of them had disappointing ends to last
09:05season, well, in Sheffield United's case, the entire season, have had a big revamp.
09:12And Sheffield United just felt so much further ahead than Hull City in the work that they've
09:19done. I mean, it helped them a lot that they, I think it was 15 minutes in that they scored,
09:26they pounced on a mistake from a Hull corner, and Gustavo Heymann put them ahead. And once
09:33they were 1-0 up, they were just able to really control the game. And although they only won 2-0,
09:40you felt like they had more gears in them if they needed to. It was a really good away
09:46performance. They didn't go out to boss their possession statistics, or to do this or to do
09:53that. They basically just more or less waited for the opportunities to arise and took advantage of
10:02them quite clinically. And the thing about playing Hull City at the moment is, that is a tactic that
10:08will succeed. They're playing this very expansive style, and we've talked about it a lot on this
10:17podcast already. But I was just looking at the numbers and obviously, when the season started,
10:27I think I said on here, I was kind of expecting some Aussie idealist style results from Hull.
10:32They'd win 4-3 one week and then lose the next two games 5-3. Well, it's just not panning out
10:38like that. They haven't scored in the last three games. I think they've only scored three goals
10:43all season. And I was just looking at the chances created, and I think they're 20th in the division
10:50for the number of chances created, and fifth in the division for the number conceded. So this
10:56style of play, I mean, the first goal came from one of the few Valterbal moves that actually
11:02created a really good chance at the Sheffield United end, but they didn't take it. And this
11:09whole mindset just leaves them wide open to a counter-attack and they concede. I'm really not
11:15buying this style at this club with these players at this time. I just don't feel like
11:22it's happening for them. And I don't feel like there is or will be any willingness from the coach
11:29to compromise. And I think that's the key thing. Sheffield United also tried to play the ball
11:35around nicely and tried to be patient and careful in their build-up. But when push came to shove
11:45and they needed to do it, Michael Cooper was prepared to throw the ball on. People were
11:48prepared to hit the ball for the counter-attacks. And that's the point. Whatever your style of play,
11:53you need to be able to mix it up. And Hull City just don't seem prepared to do that. Sheffield
11:59United have brought in a few players, you know, you think of Harry Suter, you think of Kiefer Moore,
12:06and then they'd already got Anil Akhmedhodzic, who got a great reception from the away fans,
12:11by the way, that was a real feature of the day. But in those three, you've got players who know
12:15how to win championship football matches. Hull City haven't signed that many players from English
12:21football, and those that they have are generally at the inexperienced end of the range, who don't
12:26have that experience. And that difference in know-how really showed. And it just suggested to
12:33me that on a much tighter budget, because obviously Hull brought in a lot more money,
12:38Sheffield United's signings have been a little bit quicker, not that much quicker, but
12:44better and more targeted. And that their approach is more nuanced and clever, frankly,
12:52than what Hull City have done. And that's why I think Sheffield United are going to have probably
12:57a better season than I was expecting at the start. And Hull City just look like they're
13:02really going to struggle until they have the inevitable rethink, which I'm afraid,
13:08you know, could be quite brutal. It's almost too much too soon, wasn't it,
13:12at Hull? They obviously lost a lot of players from the end of last season. It's also important
13:17to remember they only just missed out on the players, but they've just gone totally for a
13:21revolution, a huge difference in playing style and obviously building a new team. And you've
13:30got to respect the division, haven't you, really, and be pragmatic. I mean, two rebuilds at Hull
13:36and Sheffield United, but as Stuart said, they've just been a lot more savvy, haven't they?
13:42At Sheffield United, they've got some, you know, some real top championship, you know, ready players
13:48who are proven operators at this level. The likes of Soutar, even Cooper in goal, even though he's
13:54relatively young. Kiefer Moore as well. You know what you're going to get with those players,
13:59you know, they've seen it, worn it, so they've got the T-shirt almost. And, you know, Hull
14:04have brought in a number of sort of project signings, if you like, who have probably got
14:09individual talent, but unproven at this level. And obviously the manager's come in, he's trying
14:13to build a new philosophy, but they've got to build a new team quickly and sort of find some
14:20points along the way. I look at that game against Cardiff on Saturday week and that, it is early
14:26season, but that looks to me a big one for Walter, you know, in terms of, you know, he really could
14:33deal with getting a win there or else there certainly are going to be alarm bells. I like
14:39what Chris Wilder has done in terms of his recruitment. I think, as Stuart said, they haven't
14:43had tonnes of money to throw around, but they've been very smart. They've respected the division.
14:49And I look at their first 11, it looks probably as strong as most at that level. I think they've
14:56arguably got the best player in the division in Neymar as well. If you can keep him fit and
15:01firing, I think retaining him was one of the key pieces of business for any club in the
15:07championship in the summer window. And he obviously scored a great goal on Friday night.
15:14My only sort of fear with Sheffield United is if they sort of get a, you know, get three or four
15:19injuries really. They don't seem to have got that much underneath them, some sort of okay sort of
15:26squad players and depth. But if you compare it to some of the, you know, some of the competitors
15:31at the top, who are probably going to be at the top end of the championship, it's pretty thin,
15:35isn't it? So that's my one concern with the Blades, that if they do get three or four injuries,
15:43it's going to stretch them a little bit. I think with them as well, it's not just
15:47because the squad's not where the manager wants it to be. It's not even just the number of injuries,
15:53even a small number of injuries in the wrong position could really do them. For example,
15:58they look really well off at left back. They've got some three or four options there, but
16:02you worry if Kiefer Moore gets injured, you know, just that one injury could seriously derail them.
16:09And, you know, the squad actually looks, or the team particularly, looks quite different to the
16:14last one in the championship in that that was absolutely full of these battle-hardened players
16:19we've talked about. Sheffield United have also made quite a few project signings,
16:24but it's just that smattering of experience that's been enough to carry them through.
16:30And I'm sure, you know, I think Hull should get better because they have got players to gel and
16:36they have got players who are learning the division, but I'm not convinced that they can
16:42make up that gap and, you know, get good enough, particularly with, as with every manager,
16:50the clock's ticking when you're not winning games. And they just don't feel like they've got
16:56enough, maybe even any of those players that Sheffield United have that can drag the inexperienced
17:02players through, teach them a bit about what life's like in the championship. I mean, the coach can't
17:07even do that with the greatest of respect because he's not played in this division before.
17:12And it just seems like a, you know, a real thesis almost in how to and how not to
17:19rebuild a side for a championship season.
17:23Yeah, it's worried us quickly. It's worrying for Walter as well, obviously.
17:27So the second season's begun, but we've had a couple, haven't we? Obviously,
17:31Steve Schumacher's left Stoke and Bullock at Cardiff's on decidedly thin ice, isn't he? And if
17:39I think Leeds go there and get a convincing victory there, I think he could well be on his way.
17:45So there's, I think there's that narrative to consider as well with Walter, you know,
17:51potentially down the line, but, you know, let's hope for his sake he can get a result in the next
17:56game or two. They obviously go to Stoke on Friday, don't they? And then they've got a,
18:01funnily enough, they've got Cardiff haven't they, a week on?
18:05So that might be a game that isn't for the faint-hearted.
18:08Well, you know, if what we think might happen at Cardiff happens, that could be two games up
18:13against the new manager bounce. You just don't know. But I mean, it would be daft to sack a
18:19manager so early in a project, but it happens, you know, it really does happen. And the fact
18:23that they were booed off at half-time and booed off at full-time, you know, this is not a chairman
18:28I don't think who enjoys being unpopular. I think he's very conscious of the need to
18:34provide Hull fans with what they want. And if he hears that booing, I'd say this guy was brought
18:39in to provide entertainment and they're not scoring many goals. They're not conceding that
18:46many goals actually, but it's not entertaining. And, you know, to listen to the way the Sheffield
18:53United fans responded to what they saw, it wasn't the purest football on Friday,
18:59but that mixture, it was entertaining. They really did enjoy themselves and that's what
19:03football's about. That's what this Hull chairman is trying to provide and his team are not doing
19:07it right now. No, he's struggling to get off first base's knees. It's easy to lose the fans
19:13quickly. It's a damn sight harder to win them back and that's what he's finding out is, you know,
19:19it's a bit of a smell the coffee welcome to the championship at the minute for him.
19:24And now let's look at Leeds United who fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat when they hosted Burnley
19:30after dominating a fair portion of the game. This saw the Whites record their first defeat
19:35of the season. Now, what do you think Daniel Farker has to improve before his side go into
19:39their game against Cardiff this weekend, Leon? Yeah, I mean, it was a funny one because Leeds
19:45didn't play that badly. I thought they were decent in the first half, conceded a bit of a
19:53poor goal. It was a good finish from the Burnley player to be fair. It was just, I mean,
19:59Stewart's done a few more of the games than me towards the end of last season. It's just
20:04that ability to break down teams who sort of sit in a low block, get on the edge of the box and
20:10basically say, just break us down. And that's pretty much what Burnley did, to be honest.
20:15I thought the tactics were pretty smart. It was a bit stop-start in the second half and Leeds had a
20:21couple of chances, but the good ones were really on distance, weren't they? Joseph had a shot,
20:28it was a good save from Trafford, but I'd say it was one he was expected to save
20:33and probably the same with the shot from Ampadu, wasn't it? I just wanted to be a little bit more
20:43bolder and quicker in the passing in midfield. They retained possession and that was fine,
20:50but just a bit sharper and a bit braver. That's been the issue that they had at the end of last
20:57season, wasn't it? I did a few of their home games. I think Stewart did the Blackburn game
21:01and they were struggling for ideas in that game. I did the Sunderland game and it was pretty
21:06similar. I can understand what Farka was saying afterwards in terms of mitigating factors. It
21:15must have been hard. Leeds do suffer with international breaks, but more than any side
21:19in that division, there was 12 or 13 away. They've come in on the Friday, they've hardly had any real
21:26work to work on match play ahead of a big game. It was probably the calendar that never helped
21:33them in the respect of playing one of the sides who were expected to be right in the promotions,
21:39shake up one of the favourites, so that didn't go for Leeds. I just think they're still struggling
21:45to get some of their attacking combinations as well, which is understandable. Look at the players
21:49they've lost. We've spoken about this the past few weeks in the podcast. It's a very hard task
21:59to replace the likes of Rutter and Somerville and try and plug the gaps a little bit. I just want
22:06them to be a little bit more bold and quicker in midfield. Even if it means they might lose
22:16the ball once or twice, just be a little bit more proactive and braver. There wasn't too much wrong
22:25with Leeds' performance, but I think that was quite a key aspect in it.
22:29It feels like they've not yet got out of that rut from Easter really. We were talking the last
22:37couple of weeks after they beat Sheffield Wednesday and Hull back-to-back, as though
22:40this might be them coming out of it, really hoping that that was the case. That's actually
22:45the only time in that period they've won back-to-back games, which is astonishing now when
22:50you think back how long it's been. But I think it's less the results and more the stodginess,
22:56more what Leon's just referring to, that lack of dynamism in midfield. I do have a degree of
23:03sympathy for them in the fact that I get the impression that Tanaka has been the player
23:08assigned to break that bit, provide runs from midfield and all this sort of thing. Because
23:14Leeds didn't sign him till deadline day, and you can argue over whose fault that is, but because
23:19Leeds didn't sign him till deadline day, and then because he spent the next two weeks, or most of
23:24the next two weeks, away with Japan, away with Bahrain and what have you, it's going to be a
23:30while before we can see if Leeds have changed that dynamic. I think regardless of the players sold,
23:36I think that was what they needed to do this summer, just have a bit more of what Leon was
23:41talking about in midfield, a bit more risk-taking, a bit more dynamism. Ampadu and Grover, two very
23:46good midfielders. You could have put Kamara in that bracket last season as well. But they're
23:52very secure midfielders, and ideally you want to use them to be able to take risks in front,
24:00and that's just the balance that they need to find at the moment. And as I say, you can't jump
24:08to conclusions about any player who you've barely seen and has barely played in England, but it
24:14feels like that's what Tanaka's been targeted for at least. So if he can fulfil his potential,
24:20that could be a big game-changer for them, but it's going to take time, and it's only a couple
24:26of weeks before the next international break, and then he's away again. So it might be a degree of
24:34Leeds just stumbling through with a bit of this stodginess until he really gets in, but
24:39I think that's what fans need to see more than anything. There's criticism over Varka's
24:44conservatism with substitutes and that sort of thing, and I think there's a bit of validity to
24:50that. But I don't think there's going to be some eureka moment, and that's going to change
24:56massively. It might improve slightly, but it's not going to change massively. So that's the area
25:01where they've really got to squeeze some improvement out. I say you hope that he
25:10integrates quickly, but we thought... There's a third bit on him and the winger.
25:19That's right, yeah. When you've lost such big players, there's always going to be a lot on
25:23those replacements, but for him as well. It's a bit over the top to say it's changing the style
25:29of play, but it's tweaking it. I think when he arrived on loan, kind of hopeful that Rothwell
25:37might be able to do that, but it does seem that Varka sees him as a backup. So yeah, there's going
25:44to be a lot on the young man's shoulders. I think mixing it up a little bit, Stuart,
25:47as well. Especially to play Joseph as well. He looks in good nick. He looks big and strong,
25:54and he's got a yard of pace. Sometimes mix it up a bit. Definitely, yeah. I'd like to probably
25:59see that. Again, I suppose that's going to come with Bamford's fitness, isn't it? That option?
26:05Yeah, yeah. Again, that's going to take time because we know how many games Bamford's missed
26:11over the last couple of years through injury. He's back fit now, but he wasn't considered fit
26:16enough for the bench on Saturday, was he? Again, you're not going to be able to just drop him in
26:21and suddenly you've got this Nicholas Fulcroft-style target man.
26:27I think, just quickly, the events did go against Leeds on the day. They probably should have had
26:35a penalty. You've certainly seen them giving. Obviously, Worrell challenged Solomon and he got
26:43a bit of the ball, but it was pretty untidy. They've had VAR that could well have given that
26:50one as a penalty. They missed a huge chance early on. I think he should have scored,
26:55Joseph. If he'd have managed to score like that, it would have really changed the narrative of the
27:00game. The worry is teams have sort of cottoned on to the fact that if they can try and get in front
27:08and sit in a low block, you've got a chance of getting something against Leeds and that's what
27:15they're going to have to contend with going forward throughout the season.
27:20Even Burnley, the great dreamers, the great romanticists of the last couple of years,
27:24are coming up and happy to have a quarter of the ball or whatever it was and sit in.
27:29It shows you that Leeds are going to really have to get used to that this season.
27:33It was early for them as well. They've got a hell of a lot of new signings as well. He was quite
27:38pragmatic, wasn't he, Scott Parker? Things to contend with, but hopefully if they can get one
27:45or two of these signings bedded in at Leeds, we'll see a bit more about them as the autumn carries on.
27:53Our attention now turns to Sheffield Wednesday, who saw the points shared in their dramatic
27:57last-minute one-all draw with Queen's Park Rangers, which helped stop their slide of
28:02league defeats, which was then followed by a 1-0 victory when they visited Blackpool in the League
28:07Cup. What was your verdict on the two results, Stuart?
28:12Having seen both games, I think they both told a similar story in a slightly different way,
28:17and that is that Sheffield Wednesday really need more cutting edge at the moment.
28:22In that QPR game, that game really should have been out of sight
28:26before half-time. Sheffield Wednesday played such good football to create chances,
28:33but their finishing was awful. Not just a bit off, it was terrible. They just had one of those
28:40days in front of goal, and when they finally did score the goal in the 93rd minute, one lapse of
28:47concentration and you're done. It just shows you can play as well as you like against any team in
28:56any game. If you're only 1-0 up, anything's possible. The opposition midfielder can hit a
29:03world lead from 35 yards, or you can have the comical goal that QPR scored. If anybody hasn't
29:12seen it yet, have a look on YouTube. It was like a Sunday lead game with the ball stuck in the mud
29:17and 20 players trying to just kick something, whether it was the ball or the opponent.
29:22Or the goalkeeper's head.
29:25Or the goalkeeper's head, exactly. As you say, somebody sat on the goalkeeper's head. There
29:32were things in there that as a Sheffield Wednesday fan you would wish the referee had seen, but
29:37I couldn't blame him because it took me four or five replays after the event just to try and get
29:43some sense of what had happened. It was that chaotic in there. That's the point. These things
29:49can happen, something like that, for a bizarre own goal or a great goal. You need to give yourself
29:54the security of putting games to bed. Tuesday at Blackpool was similar in many ways in that they
30:03had so much of the ball. In that case, it was more of the lack of the final ball than the actual
30:10finishing. But really, that game should have been a lot more comfortable. When the fourth official
30:17is sticking up the board for six minutes and you've conceded a 96-minute equaliser on a Saturday
30:22and the score's only 1-0, it doesn't matter how well Blackpool have played up to that point.
30:27You do get nervous, especially when Jordan Rhodes and people are floating about. It's all there for
30:33things to go wrong. They just need to do that. It's been a big step forward for them because
30:39obviously this was on the back of three defeats where they hadn't scored. Again, you can't just
30:46expect a magic wand to be waved and everything to be different. But yeah, it does feel like they
30:54need to be more clinical. Of course, when you're a club that doesn't have the benefit of parachute
31:00payments money, it's hard to get in a striker of that real calibre. So maybe for Sheffield Wednesday,
31:08if we're brutally honest about it, Leeds United didn't really have one of those last season
31:12and they got 90 points. So it might be a case of just finding new goals from other places.
31:18In Leeds' case, it was the wide line mainly. They had 11 corners against QPR and not only did they
31:25not score, they never looked like scoring. They just brought in a new analyst.
31:30Not scoring at Leeds as well, isn't it?
31:32Exactly. They just brought in a new analyst who apparently is going to focus on set pieces
31:37and that's something both of those clubs need to make more of. If you've got teams defending
31:43in a low block at Ellen Road, if you've got loads of possession and you're not putting it away,
31:48set pieces are a great way around it. Dishon Bernard, Sheffield Wednesday centre-back,
31:54scored a great goal at Blackpool having had a goal disallowed. They've got defenders
32:01with goals in them and Svante Ingelsund's deliveries were very good on Tuesday but
32:09he wasn't playing on the weekend. They just never looked like scoring.
32:17One big positive for them was they had a few young players playing.
32:22Oggebayo was excellent at centre-half. He's only 20, I think. Faziri, midfield, 19.
32:30Piers Charles, 19. So there's some good young players there. The League Cup at this stage can be
32:38a bit of a dredge sometimes but it makes it worthwhile sometimes if you can see some of
32:43these young players, like Siddy Peck at Sheffield United, J Lo and Yonge Nathan at Barnsley,
32:51getting their opportunity. You just hope that it's not just a cup thing and like Oliver Arblaster,
32:59it translates into League appearances. A step forward for Sheffield Wednesday but more steps
33:05to make. I think that would help both Sheffield Wednesday and League. Get one or two more
33:10goals from second place. That'll change the narrative of the game, won't it? Change the
33:14tactics of the opposition, free up more space, this and that. I think an obvious tip was Sheffield
33:22Wednesday. They conceded nine in three games before. They were beaten comfortably by Leeds
33:28and got two good hidings at Millwall and Sunderland. So disappointing, obviously,
33:36what happened at the end there. A bit of a freakish goal. Defensively, they obviously seemed
33:42a bit more solid. Unfortunately, they've been a bit of a pain in the backside QPR, haven't they?
33:46They've had two visits to Sheffield so far this season and they've spoiled the party almost,
33:54haven't they, later on. It would be glad to see the back of them. Looking at Sheffield
34:00Wednesday's fixtures going forward, they've got three out of four away, haven't they?
34:06We've talked about this, God knows how many times on the podcast, about getting it right at both
34:11ends of the pitch. Getting that clinical edge and being ruthless in the defending in the back.
34:20Three out of four away, hopefully Sheffield Wednesday can get a good result or two and
34:25improve their overall game management at both ends of the pitch. Then they should be fine.
34:34It's not just the venues either. They've got West Brom at home but three of those four,
34:38Luton, West Brom and Coventry, we know Luton have had a poor start. We know there's underlying
34:43quality there. West Brom have had a great start and we see season after season what Coventry do.
34:55Yeah, it's not an easy run for them but it's not the worst thing in the world for that
35:01club to have a bit of a reality check. I'd count myself in that camp. Some people got
35:06a bit carried away probably by the results at Plymouth on the opening day. Joshua Indas was
35:13very forceful after the game in reminding us that this is a team that only avoids relegation on the
35:18last day of last season. We're not real Madrid. You've got to be realistic in what you expect
35:23from us. I think that's the case with Sheffield Wednesday. They are a work in progress but you do
35:30feel like they've got a coach there and some good young players who can progress.
35:37We now turn to Barnsley who fell to a 7-0 thumping when they faced Manchester United
35:43in the League Cup. What did you make of their performance against the Premier League outfit,
35:47Leon? I think it's fair to say that Barnsley took 6,500 fans. There probably wasn't one of
35:56them I expected them to win, even the most optimistic one. They should expect a level of
36:04competence defensively and making life difficult. Don't get me wrong, United was a fairly strong
36:12side, wasn't it? They've got players who can hurt teams in the Premier League. You go through the
36:19goals and I think if you go through every one you can pick out at least one mistake, whether it's
36:26the goalkeeper for the penalty. The first one, Mark Roberts, he gave, I'm not necessarily picking
36:33on him either because I could probably pick on four or five others, but he gave Rashford too
36:36much space. There was one with Corey O'Keefe, there was one with Josh Earle, a loose pass from
36:42Matt Craig that cost one of the goals. It's just the manner of the goals that they conceded.
36:48There was a lot of noise, probably from me as well, everyone was talking about Barnsley
36:55getting forwards in, but sort of forgot about the other side of the equation, the defence, and
37:01gone on about it long enough, 63 goals they conceded last season. They just haven't
37:07really got to grips with things defensively since the end of the previous season, have they, when
37:11they lost the likes of Anderson and Liam Kitchen went early last season, Bobby Thomas ended his
37:19loan spell. They just haven't got it right at the back. They've obviously brought in a young
37:27goalkeeper who looks talented, Solihina, but he still looks a little bit green in terms of
37:37decision-making, coming out for crosses, the sort of bread-and-butter things, if you like.
37:41That's the concern for me, Barnsley. The scoreline's bad, but it's more the sort of
37:49manner that they conceded. They just give away so many goals, it was real buffet defending.
37:56You know, 10 goals in two games now, isn't it? They conceded three at Stevenage in the second
38:01half. Game and a half, really, isn't it? Well, yeah, game and a half, yeah, because it was
38:06the second half and 20 goals in 10 games this season. That's not a good look. I look at the
38:15midfield on paper and they've shown some evidence of this already, that I think it's among the
38:22strongest in League One, if not the strongest. They've got some more options up front as well,
38:28with Keela Dunne. He was cooked out, he didn't play in midweek, but he's a quality operator.
38:33They're trying to get Humphies up to speed, but it looks to be at the back where the issues are
38:42with Barnsley at the minute. The balance just doesn't seem right and you just wonder how much
38:50events this week, psychologically, have affected them. I suppose we'll find out at Burton, won't
38:55we, really, on Saturday. But yeah, it's a concern, even accounting for the opposition.
39:03Our levels above Barnsley, it was disturbing in terms of the goals that they conceded.
39:09Yeah, not the repeat of 97-98 we were all talking about before.
39:14It was for the league game, wasn't it?
39:16It was the wrong repeat, wasn't it? It was obviously a big deal for them
39:24at Stevenage. They lost Donovan Pines through a concussion. Given the way that Stevenage play,
39:30they're such an aggressive physical team, to be without your big centre-back for that game was
39:35really crucial. But to be honest, talking about it with a few colleagues before the game,
39:41you kind of thought Manchester United wasn't the worst place to be without him because they're not
39:46going to play that physical style. Other centre-back qualities might come to the fore.
39:54Yeah, as Leon says, when you get that sort of litany of mistakes, it smacks of them having
40:01lost a bit of confidence in themselves and as a unit, really. That's really what they've got to
40:07get back. Again, we've talked about it this season, but you look at the success they had
40:13under Michael Duff. It wasn't by any means purely down to that, but it was based on that solid
40:21foundation and they need to really get back to that. As Leon outlined, they've got all these
40:26good attacking players and attacking midfield players who can really hurt teams in this
40:33division, but you need to give them that platform. They can't constantly be chasing back to their own
40:39goals. So, somehow they've got to find a solution. I think they switched to a back four in the second
40:46half at Stevenage. It's not that they're not trying anything, it's not that they're not
40:53thinking about it, but they haven't found that solution yet.
40:57I was just going to say, Stuart, they haven't got that many options either, really.
41:01If you think about it, they let La Paz go out on loan to Scotland. They also let Jack Sheppard go to
41:10Bradford. Okay, they're not the sort of finished articles at League One level, but they're young
41:17lads who can hopefully develop and there would have been an option or two, wouldn't there?
41:23Yes.
41:24Looking at Barnsley as well, a little bit of a worry if they do get one or two injuries in the
41:29autumn-winter slog. There's not too much below that, is there really? They're going to have to
41:37make do and mend in that regard, potentially, until January if they do get one or two injuries
41:43at the back. So, I think Daryl Clarke will be touching wood on that account.
41:50Yes, I mean, it's never hard and fast numbers with concussion goals, but you would assume that
41:57Pines isn't going to be fit for Burton either or isn't going to be allowed to be risked.
42:02So, yes, those issues are going to continue and it's just about finding a way and maybe
42:08just grinding out a couple of clean sheets. Almost ignore how many goals you've scored as
42:12long as you can get them and then build from there. Then sort of build it back in the attacking
42:18side of it. But, yes, it might need a couple of midfield players to just rein themselves in a bit,
42:23give a bit more support to Matty Craig and just play ugly for a week or two just to settle things
42:30down. I mean, that's the thing though, wing-back, isn't it? With respect to the likes of Cotter,
42:38he's a lot better going forward than he is defensively, isn't he? Their wing-backs are
42:42quite dynamic and they give you a fair bit going forward, but when you're in a bit of a trough and
42:50you're conceding a lot of goals, if you're going to play that, you could just do with being a
42:54little bit more solid, couldn't you? They might just have to play as full-backs for a week,
42:58might they, and not wing-backs. Yes, yes, at that point.
43:02And finally for this week, I will look to Stuart for his team of the week before going to Leon for
43:07his player of the week. So, Stuart, who's caught your eye this week? Well, it's a nice and easy
43:11one for me this week. I think there's only one choice for that. I mean, Huddersfield are down
43:17the back of, what, three defeats in all competitions. We know Bolton aren't in the best of
43:21form. We know they were playing them at a good time, blah, blah, blah. But to go there and to
43:25win 4-0, biggest away win for 12 years, wasn't it, Leon, in the league? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, really good.
43:33Good to see Josh Kuroma scoring goals. Just good to see a team so quickly finding its feet again
43:40after relegation. And I'm a big fan of Michael Duff. I was very impressed by what he did at
43:45Barnsley. He just seems like the right man for that situation. And yeah, so as a result of that,
43:52he certainly won't be getting carried away by a 4-0 win at Bolton. Those recent defeats will be
43:58in the back of his mind, but they are in good hands. And it's just good to see them continuing
44:07in that vein. Yeah, and given the fact they've got a few injuries as well, you know. Exactly, yeah.
44:12That in, you know, there's Kane, Kizumu, Healy as well. So, yeah, all power to them. And
44:19even more meaningful, isn't it, after what happened before? There was a bit of noise
44:23with the chairman, which we could have done without, frankly, and losing three in a row. So,
44:29yeah, terrific stuff from Huddersfield. Yeah. And Leon, who has made your Player of the Week
44:35nomination? Yeah, well, taking up the theme of Huddersfield from Stuart, there's one or two,
44:42you know, contenders there. It obviously wasn't in the game, but it sounded like
44:47the loanee, Nigel Longwick, had his best game for the club. And I think he probably needed that,
44:51because he's obviously come in, his first few games have ended in defeat. And, you know,
44:56that's never easy, is it, as a loanee coming into the club. And he played the first few games
45:04as well. So, yeah, when I've seen him once or twice at Plymouth on loan, he looks quite a,
45:12had the feel of quite a good signing, quite an accomplished defender. So that will do his
45:15confidence good. He had a good game by all accounts. Anthony Evans as well, he's one of
45:20those, he'd taken a little bit of heat along with one or two others. Ben Wiles, you know,
45:26for their sort of performances in the previous few weeks, but a strong performance by him, crowned
45:33by a goal. So that was good to see. Stewart's touched on Josh Kuroma. He's a player who can
45:43bring quite a bit to the party when he's sort of firing and a couple of goals for him. He's had a
45:49decent start to the season. Gus Seymour, yeah, we'll talk about him for God knows how long,
45:54and we will do in countless podcasts. Great goal from him. But Barry Bannon as well,
45:59Stewart was there. Terrific goal and by all accounts, it was a good performance.
46:04But I'm probably going to have to go for a Harrogate player, to be quite honest. There
46:08were quite a few good performances. Josh Simms was great on the right-hand side of defence.
46:14I thought the two wide-sided forwards had really good games as well in Taylor and James Daly. But
46:21I've just got to go for Anthony O'Connor. He looks a real leader at the back for
46:25Harrogate, his experience, and he just looks so integral to their cause. He really held it
46:31together at the back for them on a big game for them in early season. So I'll give him my vote
46:41this week. Yeah, you know, players like that don't often get the spotlight that they deserve,
46:46but they're so important to every team, aren't they? You mentioned Suter before, and he's
46:51probably a Sheffield United equivalent. Players like Rodon and Strootman, they don't get the
46:59headlines, but you can't have a successful team without them.
47:22Don't forget, you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by
47:26logging on to our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, or if you search for Yorkshire
47:31Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us
47:34there as well. If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various
47:39Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
47:44at yp.sport at nationalworld.com. As ever, many thanks for listening. Look after yourselves and
47:50bye for now.