Sheffield United's stunning start and Leeds United's ability to catch them PLUS an upturn for Huddersfield and Rotherham - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
On this week's show, YP football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss the reasons behind Sheffield United’s stunning start to the Championship season and how close they and Yorkshire rivals Leeds United will push each other this season – the two sides face each other after the international break on Friday, October 18, with the second-placed Blades ahead of Daniel Farke’s team by just three points.
In League One, we assess the upturn in fortunes for Huddersfield Town – twice victors over Barnsley in the past week – and Rotherham United, who are now unbeaten in four games.
Finally, we look at what lies ahead for Bradford City after snapping their recent losing streak, while Leon picks out his Team of the Week and Stuart his Player of the Week, based on recent performances.
In League One, we assess the upturn in fortunes for Huddersfield Town – twice victors over Barnsley in the past week – and Rotherham United, who are now unbeaten in four games.
Finally, we look at what lies ahead for Bradford City after snapping their recent losing streak, while Leon picks out his Team of the Week and Stuart his Player of the Week, based on recent performances.
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SportTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:14we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:17of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:20Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:24Leon Walshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:28forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:31by logging on to our website at yp.sportatnationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
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00:43Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:47if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:50or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:55at yp.sportatnationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk.
01:01As 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, Leon Walshall.
01:08Good morning, guys.
01:09Morning. Hello.
01:10Right. This week in the championship, we saw Sheffield Wednesday share the points in their
01:14goalless draw with Bristol City, which was followed up by a 2-1 victory over Coventry
01:19City. Middlesbrough fell to a late 2-1 defeat at the hands of Watford. Hull City saw their
01:24winning streak ended when they were defeated 4-0 by Norwich City. And in League 2, Doncaster
01:30Rovers claimed an impressive 3-0 victory over Grimsby Town.
01:34However, let's start this week with Sheffield United, who maintained their pace at the top
01:39of the table by claiming all three points in their 1-0 victory over Swansea City, which
01:43was then followed by a convincing 2-0 victory over struggling Luton Town.
01:47Now, what did you make of the two performances and the way that Chris Wilder has managed to
01:52ensure that his side keep pressure on the likes of Sunderland at the top of the division, Stuart?
01:57Well, I suppose that's the key phrase, the way Chris Wilder has managed things. I mean,
02:03we've had three clubs relegated this season and Huddersfield and Rotherham have certainly
02:08showed it's difficult to make that transition to get out of that losing habit. Sheffield
02:14United have done it remarkably well under the circumstances. I mean, you think if they
02:18haven't got the points deduction, they'd be top of the table now. I certainly wouldn't
02:23have expected that at this stage of the season. I'm not sure how many Sheffield United fans
02:28would have done. They've done some really good transfer dealings. They've made some
02:34really good signings who understand the division and I think that's always important when you're
02:41moving between the divisions. They've sort of managed to manage the exits in terms of
02:49them hanging on to the likes of Gus Hamer. They've obviously lost some key players as
02:53well and they seem to have got really good spirit as well. You know, the fact that they've
02:59gone this entire block of games since the last international break without conceding
03:07a goal is remarkable really. I'd say the more so when you consider that one of their key
03:16players, Jack Robinson, hasn't missed those games for injury. He's just getting back fit
03:20now and you look at it and you think he's got a fight on his hands to be in the team.
03:24But, you know, it could come in handy for them against Leeds with Harry Souter being
03:30away with Australia. It's nice to have that option. I wouldn't say the downside, but the
03:38sort of other side of it is they've probably been less potent attackingly than you'd want.
03:44But for Jeser and Raksaki to score a couple of goals at the weekend, that'll hopefully
03:49kickstart him. I think in the round it's just been a really good start to the season from
03:56Sheffield United. They've played some good football, they've shown some good spirit,
04:00some good organisation. They've ticked a lot of boxes.
04:04I think with Watliffe, yeah, I'd agree with all that. Yeah, I mean, he's probably not
04:09been as showy in terms of attacking combination. But I think given where they were, I mean,
04:14some of the defensive statistics were horrendous, weren't they? And we've spoken many times
04:20about the sort of psychological aspects of some of these beatings I've had at home. You
04:25know, what was it? 8-9 against Newcastle and Aston Villa, Arsenal, several more really.
04:33Yeah. But anything, isn't it? Getting the foundations right,
04:36anything on a new project, that's going to be sort of the first port of call really,
04:41isn't it? And it's remarkable how they've sort of forged that defensive stability and
04:47those impressive numbers. When he considered one away, is it Cooper's only considered one
04:51goal, hasn't he? That was at Norwich and it was obviously two at home and that was in
04:58one game. It was one half of football, wasn't it? League-wise anyway, against QPR. Some,
05:04you know, really impressive defensive statistics and building relationships as well quickly.
05:11And obviously, Su has come in and I think he already looks like he's been there for
05:16God knows how long. Cooper, an excellent keeper and I know Wilder's spoken before about his
05:23mentality and his sense of calm and that's shone through. So that's been, amongst everything,
05:29the most impressive thing for me, how that defensive stability has come quickly,
05:37those relationships being forged. So there'll be a test when it starts again after the break,
05:43but a good test for Sheffield United. They're in a good place, they've got back-to-back games at
05:49Leeds and Middlesbrough too, high profile and proper games. And if Sheffield United can come
05:58through that, we'd say 4.0, maybe more. But that'll really harden their credentials and
06:06yeah, it's been really impressive. When you factor in the backdrop of what happened last
06:12season, I know there's been a big change around but home form was horrible. We've spoken enough
06:18times on this podcast about getting, I suppose, getting Bramall Lane's mojo back really and
06:26and showing it in all its ferocity and power. And yeah, amongst everything else,
06:32I think Sheffield United have re-established relationships with their home supporters,
06:35haven't they? They have some pretty consistent form, they're not letting in goals.
06:42Yeah, he's an experienced operator, Chris Wilder. He's not the sort of guy who
06:48goes around banging his chest and shouting what his side are going to do. But I think
06:55quietly, him and his experienced coaching team will be delighted by what's happened in this
07:02first part of the season. And all credit to them, considering where they were. And
07:07he obviously spoke as well, didn't he? He said, I don't think there's any other championships,
07:11I don't probably have as much change around in the squad. I think probably Hull City had
07:18to be honest. But you know, a lot of players left the building.
07:22Quite a few have come in and all power to them so far. And like I said, two terrific tests coming
07:29up. Yeah, and as Leon says, they've not been showy, but it's not cost them, you know, they've
07:35scored enough goals to win five out of the six games. So it's not, it's certainly not panic
07:41stations at that end of the field. You'd obviously like to see Rhian Brewster get up and get
07:46scoring again and a few of them. But yeah, two difficult tests, but you're going to get those
07:51tests over the course of the season. So you want them when you're in this sort of form, you know,
07:55they'll be really looking forward to it. And Leeds and Middlesbrough are possibly a bit lesser.
08:02I think his squad as well, Stuart. I looked at his line-up the other day, you know, on the bench,
08:06he's been a bit set about, well, Sheffield United's first 11 are as good as anything,
08:10but what's sort of underneath? But I looked at his squad the other day, he mixed it up a little
08:15bit for the two home games, didn't he? He had Robinson and Davis were unused substitutes. He
08:20had Burrows as well. Pex obviously put his hand up this season. So, you know, that's decent quality
08:28and he was still able to sort of mix it up a little bit, wasn't he? Give minutes, spread the
08:33minutes out, if you like, in the two home games. So I think that's an important development and
08:39sort of going forward when you've got the Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday or the, you know,
08:43the Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, whatever, that's going to be, it's going to come a point
08:49where it will be tested Sheffield United's numbers. You know, it's the time of year as well.
08:55Players are getting, they're not too far away off of suspensions, aren't they? With the bookings
08:59accumulated. That'll come into it for Sheffield United. Yeah, pretty good sign so far.
09:05Yeah, I mean, we've talked about it on this podcast all season that that was our worry,
09:09but, you know, you've got Sam McCollum's pushing very hard. He obviously did start on Saturday.
09:14He's pushing very hard to play more often. I mentioned Jack Robinson. As Leon says, you can't
09:21endure the slog of a championship season without having that ability to change things around.
09:29Yeah, credit to the players who've stepped up because we did ask questions of them,
09:33but so far so good. Yeah, they've earned a break, haven't they?
09:36Yeah. And next, our attention turns to the Stadium of Light where Leeds United visited
09:41tabletop in Sunderland and shared the points in a frustrating two-all draw. This sees the
09:47Whites stay within the playoff spots with just three points separating themselves and the top
09:52two. Now, what was your assessment of the game and how do you see them going into that game
09:57against Sheffield United when they return from the international break, Stuart?
10:01Um, well, it's a real sort of glass half full, glass half empty situation with them because,
10:09you know, sometimes depending on what suits them, managers will talk about performances being more
10:14important or results being more important. And for 96 minutes, that was a really good
10:20away performance by Leeds United. Under difficult circumstances, having lost
10:26Ampadu the previous weekend, we think he won't play again this year.
10:30And having lost Groove in midweek, again, we think he's going to be out for at least three months or
10:36so. To beat, well, to outplay is a bit strong, but to deal with Sunderland the way they did,
10:48they really managed the game well once they got in front. They were the better team over the
10:54course of the 96 minutes. There was a lot to take real pride from. And then, of course,
11:01that horrendous mistake by Elan Mellier at the end cost them two points. But, you know,
11:07in the cold light of day, you'd have taken a draw at Sunderland under those circumstances.
11:12You'd have taken them under most circumstances, to be honest with you.
11:16Those sort of mistakes do happen. The best goalkeepers make mistakes,
11:21you know, bad mistakes. They just make them less often than the rest, really. And it's down to
11:27Mellier and how he reacts. We just talked about squad depth. Leeds have got Karl Darlow as an
11:32option if Mellier were to lose his confidence over this. So, from a personal point of view,
11:39it's important he comes back strongly. But, yeah, I think there are lots of good things.
11:45They showed that they could find a way without this midfield protection or recognised midfield
11:51protection that Daniel Farkas really craves by having two more attacking midfielders. They were
11:57still able to be solid. They had some really good attacking players. And, yeah, I think
12:05it's a results business. You can't ignore the result. You can't ignore the mistake at the end.
12:09But I think you can probably take more positive than negative out of it, certainly.
12:15Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, it was a bizarre goal, wasn't it? I mean,
12:20I remember years ago, I went to a game. This is a long time ago. I did a Leeds-Middlesbrough game
12:26and it was actually a goal for Leeds. It was a back pass from the Middlesbrough defender and
12:32it hit a divot and it went over the Stephen Pearson goal that day. And it was a real comedy
12:38moment. It was in the last minute as well. It was another one of those. And I think that was
12:43the incident with Milly. It was probably the most crazy one I've seen since. Yeah, a desperate
12:50moment for the lad, wasn't it? Such is social media that it's been replayed God knows how many
12:56times and everyone's had a little bit of fun this and that. But I think the final analysis,
13:01Leeds would have taken a point there, wouldn't they, at Sunderland? And let's not forget how
13:05strong Sunderland have started the season. They've been excellent. They've beaten Middlesbrough.
13:11They've beaten Burnley. They've beaten everyone at home. Yeah, they've shown a lot of pedigree. So
13:18that was in the round. I think Leeds would have taken that. And Farka would have. I agree with
13:24Stuart. I think the fascinating thing in terms of how he manages it and he's a good manager of
13:29situations, Farka, how he does manage his midfield situation, isn't it, really? He's obviously lost
13:35his two defensive-minded players who hold the ground and do the ugly side of it almost and keep
13:46it solid. He's lost that sort of base and screen in front of his defence. How does he actually
13:52manage that? And the signs in that regard were good at Sunderland. Against a good Sunderland
13:58side, he found a way. He obviously brought Rothwell in and he had a good game and Tanaka as
14:04well. It'll be interesting to see how the dynamic between those two, how that evolves and they can
14:11build a relationship because he's going to have to come up with a bit of a different midfield
14:16solution there. He's got different sort of players there, hasn't he? I think Leeds' defence
14:26will always be reasonably solid and consistent. Under Farka, they've obviously had a bit of a
14:32wobble at the start of the season but they've got a back-up message in that regard. I think
14:36the forward players are enough. Individual talent there, obviously, Gonto's had the fillip of the
14:43New Deal and he's had an excellent start to the season. He can cause a lot of damage and
14:50their players at the top end of the pitch have already shown in its early days that they can
14:57have an impact. It's that midfield aspect in losing Grueven and Ampadu, I think that's going
15:06to be certainly big in the shortage term coming up to January. They can perhaps
15:14sell one or two things in that regard. They might look at the free agent market in between,
15:19who knows. But getting through when the winter grind kicks in and there's a lot of games over
15:26Christmas, the start of the other game through this January period and establishing some sort
15:33of midfield access that he can trust and rely on is going to be key for Leeds in this short
15:39period and if they can manage that, I think the season will be in a decent place come the new year.
15:45I mentioned on last week's podcast about how losing Ampadu could be a bit of a blessing
15:50if this guy's changed the midfield balance but that was predicated on them not losing
15:55Grueven for this period of time. Now the balance has gone the other way, hasn't it?
16:00I guess the fan and you would like to see them take a bit more of a slightly riskier approach
16:07but that's not really in Farka's instance, is it? I do wonder if Max Wober were to get back
16:16reasonably quickly, we've had no timescale put on it, but if that were to happen whether he might
16:21look at putting either a Wober or a Stryker or someone alongside one of those two, who knows.
16:28The one frustrating thing for Leeds and it's just a fact of life, there's nothing you can moan about
16:33is that under normal circumstances these two weeks would have been an ideal time to really
16:39thrash that out at Thorp Arch. Rothwell's around but Tanaka's away with Japan so that's a pity for
16:46them. But the fact that they struck something up so quickly was really encouraging and as Leon says,
16:53things are working really well at both extremes of the pitch. Obviously St Melier had that terrible
16:59mistake but he had actually made a really good save, he'd played a part in the second goal and
17:03he's very well protected more to the point by the back four. I like what Ramazani has brought to this
17:11front line in terms of the unpredictability and the fluidity of it. So if they can just
17:16join things up then they could be in very good shape. I don't think there's cause for alarm for
17:25them but they've obviously got lots of things to work on right now. I don't think Farka likes this
17:34situation but he doesn't mind it, he can handle it. Some managers would be moaned a lot about
17:39what's happening. He's a practical manager isn't he Farka? He accepts he's been in the business
17:47long enough to know that these things happen. Sometimes you get an injury and then you get
17:52another one in the same area. Sometimes it's just sod's law isn't it? He'll manage it and he'll
18:00sort of know what to do and he won't panic and he'll look for the practical solutions.
18:07I think it's good that Leeds have someone of his ilk in that regard. He's not going to start doing
18:16sort of daft things almost, he's going to think about it strategically.
18:20He might come into it a bit more on a game-by-game basis in midfield at times depending on
18:25opponents but I think part of Farka actually secretly relishes this sort of thing if he
18:31relishes the right word. He is definitely a manager isn't he? Some people you look at and say
18:36the coach is he's a real manager and that's real strength. I think just on the free agents thing,
18:42obviously we might talk about it again when we come round to Bradford but I think you've got
18:47to be really careful. I think a lot of people look at free agents as kind of the easy solution
18:52and as soon as the transfer window shuts everyone's looking at the list to see who's available but
18:57there's some real risks involved in terms of just the lack of fitness that players come in. Lots of
19:06these players have been on PFA camps or training on their own or that sort of thing but you really
19:12see the difference. You only need to look at the players within squads who haven't had proper
19:16pre-seasons like Patrick Bamford for example and are really struggling for it so I think you've got
19:23to be very careful with what you choose and not pin too much hope to whoever you choose because
19:30particularly if you're going to be running around as the defensive midfielder behind
19:34somebody whose instincts are to get forward a lot more it requires a lot of physical
19:39prowess as much as anything else. So Farka made clear before and after there was a timescale
19:46that he'd be reluctant to get a free agent but he said repeatedly he wouldn't be doing his job if
19:52they didn't at least look at it. You can't rule it out but you've got to be very wary of the fact
19:58that these people haven't played since April, May time and whatever you do on a training ground on
20:05your own or even within a group it doesn't replicate about fitness. And he's the last
20:11manager in the world to throw them in isn't he? Yes exactly. He would have a good look at them for
20:17three four weeks wouldn't he really? He'd assimilate them in wouldn't he? He wouldn't
20:21just say there you go. Yes and you know the situation later in he'd probably take that
20:28long assimilating them that Greweth or someone would be fit by then which obviously you've got
20:31to bear in mind as well. Yeah so basically I think this means that we're going to have to do
20:40what Daniel Farker will be doing which is use sort of December and January as the review period
20:48to see okay what do we do now with regards to okay you've got Rothwell and Tanaka who have
20:53started to link up well. You've got Greweth and Padu on their way back in but
21:06what do we do in terms of free agency because the thing is that the players that are
21:11that are in free agency are there for a reason let's be honest. Exactly yes. So it's a real
21:18balancing act that Daniel Farker's got to manage now. You could point to history there's examples
21:23where it's worked. Yeah. There's just much more examples where it hasn't that's the thing.
21:28Exactly. You've just got to be careful and if there's one thing we know about Daniel Farker
21:34is that he's not reckless. He will be careful. As Leon says this situation is kind of played to
21:39his strengths in a lot of regards. Yeah and now we turn to Huddersfield Town who claimed a 2-0
21:46victory over Barnsley before the two sides faced off against each other just three days later in
21:52the EFL trophy which saw Huddersfield Town also crown the victors on the night with another 2-0
21:57victory. What did you make of the two games that the two sides played out Leon? Yeah well I think
22:03Huddersfield will be happy and I think Michael Duff and definitely Herbie Kane will be. Yeah it
22:10was you know come the end of it I mean before it we had a side who had lost seven out of eight.
22:15There was alarm bells you know reverberated regarding Huddersfield but yeah they've got
22:22things on track there. You know the big one you know let's be honest with respect to the trophy
22:30was always Saturday wasn't it? That was the one that both managers would have been you know would
22:38have been anchoring for the result and Huddersfield were they were very good value on the day that it
22:44was a day when they had to be a bit patient. They had some decent chances in the first half
22:51a period of pressure. The Barnsley goalkeeper made some good saves but they sort of didn't
22:59you know they didn't fall away from the game plan or panic and they got the rewards
23:07late on and it was a good pretty much over the 90 minutes. I've done a few Huddersfield home
23:12games. It's probably the best I've seen them over the course of the piece. That was encouraging.
23:17That was what Duff was wanting. We've sort of probably touched on it with a few clubs really.
23:23One or two have been sort of wrestling with this midfield issue isn't it? Who goes where?
23:28Who's best suited where? And that was the sort of I've had to pick out the main encouraging thing
23:33for Huddersfield. I think that was it really. He's got a decent squad as Duff. They've obviously got
23:38a few injuries but the squad's still good. It's like where the pieces sort of went almost and
23:47say on on Saturday he had Joe Hodge. He's actually got injured now so he can have to
23:54I suppose he's got Jonathan Hodge to go there. Hodge was deep. David Kuzma was deep
24:02and Ben Wiles was pushed further forward. He had a bit more freedom and you know on the day
24:08Barnsley struggled to keep hold of him really. He was able to show his energy in his drive
24:13as I suppose a number eight really and obviously had two number sixes behind. So that midfield
24:19balance really worked and obviously Wiles got his goal and yeah in the trophy game it was
24:28a bit of a similar thing really. He had Hodge and Kane who were deep but he brought in Evans
24:35and he had him further forward so that could be the sort of I suspect that might be the way for
24:42Huddersfield you know having one of the central midfielders who's pushed on with a couple
24:49behind but yeah it was two sort of similar sort of results and sort of the way the sort of game
24:59went really as well. I mean Huddersfield had chances in both in the first half. It didn't
25:03quite happen in terms of a goal. They didn't panic. They sort of persevered and they got the rewards
25:11but yeah I think it's impressive as well because you sort of look at you know the adversity that
25:18Huddersfield have had. They've had injuries all over the place I think. I remember when you know
25:23Duff at Barnsley and one of the things I sort of recall from that season was they didn't have too
25:29many injuries did they? You know they had one or two here and there but you look at Huddersfield
25:35now and they've obviously got Helix out for a fair while. Jos Caroma's done his back so he's
25:41going to need a period of rest. Lee Nicholls is out for a good spell with his shoulder. They've
25:47had Kasuma out. They've had Herbie Kane at the start of the season out. They've had a fair bit
25:52to contend with and there's been a bit of noise as well obviously on the back of what happened last
25:57season and yeah they you know Michael Duff as is his want. He's just not panicked has he really and
26:05but you sort of felt that they you felt that they needed this you know this boost and
26:12especially two home games. Yeah I mean obviously the the league game was they
26:16took pre-eminence but you know they've got two into the bargain but I think the worry I mean well
26:22Stuart will probably you know talk about this well there's a I'm starting to get a little bit
26:26worried with Barnsley I've got to say I mean it's not necessarily these two games in isolation but
26:32in the last four games they've been pretty poor. They've obviously had the the two home games
26:37against Stockport and Wickham and obviously they were sort of pegged back towards the end in both
26:45of those games but they didn't play particularly well and you know nearly after every game as well
26:53Darryl Clarke I'm not just having a go at him because I think he's got a fair bit to contend
26:57with. He's sort of starting to say the same thing isn't he really. He's searching for answers.
27:02He doesn't know his sort of best start in XI, formation, sloppiness in possession,
27:10mistakes at the back and yeah they are I just think there's if they're not careful Barnsley
27:17there's a bit of a of a storm sort of gathering in the in the background. They've got a bit of
27:21a hangover from last season haven't they. They've won two in 14. They're limped into the playoffs
27:26and obviously lost in the playoffs. You've got the home form they've probably since January well
27:33I think since the end of February they've only won one home game haven't they in the league
27:37so that's sort of fallen off a cliff. There's a bit of grumpiness among the fan base. There's
27:45questions about recruitment as well and they're conceding a lot of late goals as well so there's
27:53a lot of there's a lot of negatives at the minute at Barnsley and I sort of look at the
27:59you know the game's coming up as well the next game's Blackpool and we know what happened there
28:04last season. I'm not saying it will happen again with with Daryl Clarke but it's one of those
28:09games Blackpool isn't it and Barnsley will take a lot of fans there. They'll go for the weekend
28:15and if Barnsley get good there there's going to be a lot of noise around that's the way it ended
28:21on social media so it's one of those danger games isn't it. Then they've got Charlton and
28:27they've just beaten Birmingham so it just feels like things are going against Barnsley at the
28:34minute and they're gonna have to for everybody's sakes to sort of get some hope and change the
28:44sort of narrative which appears to be growing they're gonna have to get a winner too pretty
28:49soon for me. I think when you look at what's happened at Huddersfield and you know hopefully
28:56to happen at Barnsley it's kind of a it's kind of football management in a nutshell isn't it.
29:01You can have all the all the best plans in the world but you never quite know how things are
29:05going to work out and it's just about sometimes just stumbling across the right way of doing
29:13things. I mean you know Dorf seems so set on the idea of having one deep midfielder and two in
29:20front and then all of a sudden one week of good results have kind of shown the way ahead and
29:27they've sort of I wouldn't say cracked it because it could easily be made to look stupid in a week
29:32or two but there's cause for hope. Barnsley just don't feel as though they've got to that place
29:37yet you know we've talked a lot this season about how they've got a lot of good midfield players but
29:42they just don't seem to have the right balance, the right chemistry and you know it's difficult
29:47for managers who were in place last season to do it with a change group. You know you look at
29:53people like Rob Edwards at Luton you know a very good manager who's just struggling to find this
30:00season's chemistry so for a new one it's obviously going to be difficult, it's obviously going to
30:05take a bit of time but it's frustrating if you're a Barnsley fan because you look on paper what's
30:10there and okay it's not it's not the best balance squad in some areas we've talked about that but
30:16there's enough there to be doing better than they are and you know hopefully down the line we'll be
30:23saying it's a bit of a godsend that the Reading game's being postponed and they've had a bit of
30:28time to just think this through and work on it because that's where Daryl Clarke is at the
30:33moment the problems have all been laid out in front of him and it's just down to him to find
30:38solutions in terms of getting the right balance really and yeah you do worry for him because
30:46whenever a new manager comes in or normally at least when a new manager comes in
30:50you don't have that credit in the bank with supporters they are sort of waiting to see
30:55what you've got and you know you need to inspire that confidence in supporters because
31:03you know it does it does make a difference and it's not you can't just ask supporters to suddenly
31:09be optimistic to believe in something you've got to give them something to cling to and Barnsley
31:15you know there's been the odd game here and there obviously Bolt and the Way sticks out in
31:19everyone's mind but um sorry um Bolt and the Way was Huddersfield wasn't it sorry um there's
31:27yes there's been it there's been the odd good performance but there hasn't there hasn't been
31:32enough consistently to make you think they have cracked it this is this is uh this is the right
31:38formula going forward and and they they really do need to find that and find that quickly and
31:43you know it's difficult to do it when you're constantly having to deal with the shorter
31:47term and just preparing for the next game yeah I mean they've got unfortunately they've got issues
31:53in every department almost yes and uh I think after Saturday he had to Clarke had to sort of
31:59make a lot of changes and sort of almost say over to you in terms of you know the players in the
32:04squad who well they needed games as well you know the play you know the John John Russell's of this
32:09world he was actually cancelled on the night um Josh Benson and a few others as well and
32:16you know as luck as luck would have it when you when things are going wrong things get compounded
32:22don't they Benson was Benson was only on there for half an hour he got another injury issue by the
32:27looks of it with his hamstring so yeah it was one of those before the game he if he'd had a really
32:32good game he could have played his way into contention for the for the next league game
32:37but obviously that wasn't to be I mean there's one little clump of um comfort it was probably um
32:45Nouakali who started his you know his first first game since arriving in August there's been a lot
32:51of talk about him being behind in fitness levels this and that he got some sort of miles on the
32:56clock there and he actually showed some decent touches and passes in isolation there was a couple
33:02of um you know really perceptive passes to get Barnsley on on the front foot so that was probably
33:09the only thing that I think that could really really take from that whether he'll be ready for
33:15you know potentially start at Blackpool who knows but yeah that was the one thing that
33:21he could perhaps sort of take Clark but yeah there's issues up front isn't there they
33:27he may he started well on his debut Kiel had done but um and he sort of played him up front I think
33:33he's a number 10 to be quite honest that's where he did really well at Mansfield got to find a way
33:39of getting the best out of him in that position there's obviously Stewart's touched on it there
33:44with this midfield balance it doesn't it's not really worked has it put in sort of Connell and
33:51Craig together maybe one of them perhaps you know Craig drops out Connell goes back to the six
33:59they play a couple of eights then you you sort of look at them defensively and
34:06the minute they're sort of giving teams giving teams a chance so yeah a lot a lot to work on
34:12and some say some big games some big games coming up and I think for you know for everyone concerned
34:19they just need a win or two to to sort of steady to steady the ship a little bit and sort of turn
34:26this narrative a bit because you know if it carries on it's going to get a it's going to
34:30get a bit airy I think yeah I mean Clark knows a lot more about management than us too but yeah
34:37absolutely but I just wonder if it if it's time to to take a risk with Naokali just to
34:42yeah just to spark the away end at Blackpool and give them something to cling to and say
34:47he's he's much better place to make that uh yeah make that decision than us but you do wonder if
34:52something like that even if even if it doesn't come to that much in terms of his performances
34:59down the line it might just kick start things and and give people something to cling to who knows
35:04they need a good performance at Blackpool though exactly even if you know look let's
35:08hope it doesn't happen but even even if they just say get edged out we'll play play very well that
35:14will be something because the last four performances not just the two games at
35:18Huddersfield have been pretty poor in fairness and unsatisfactory so you know they've got to
35:24get something from this from this um Blackpool game whether it whether it's a point or two or
35:29performance yeah yeah and let's now turn to Rotherham United who claimed a 2-1 victory over
35:35Reading to make it back to back league victories for the Millers um this now sees them with a good
35:40amount of space between themselves and the drop zone but what were your thoughts on the performance
35:44from Steve Evans's side and how do you see them heading into their game at Peterbury United sure
35:50yeah I mean they they won't be um they won't probably be looking at it in in terms of the
35:56difference between them and the drop zone they'll be looking at the fact while they
36:00were looking at the fact after the game that although they're 17th in the table there
36:05there are only three points of the playoff places so it just shows you how how mad that
36:12all the divisions are at this early stage of the season but to me it was a lot to do with
36:18the sort of psychological things we've been talking about with regards to Barclay then
36:22with regards to Huddersfield and Leeds um they started the game much the better team
36:30team and then Lewis Wing scores with um with Reading's first shot of the game and you could
36:37just feel the confidence suck out of the out of the stadium um and and and frankly why wouldn't it
36:44you know I was looking at Rotherham had lost 55 times since the start of the what was it 22-23
36:52season these are fans who've seen this film before and it's only human nature that you go behind you
36:58on I know I know how this is going to finish sort of thing so Rotherham were booed off at
37:04halftime they were they'd been really poor in the second half of of the first half if that makes
37:10sense um but they found something from somewhere and as soon as Sam Nambé scored a goal 50 minutes
37:17in really good really good cross from Joe Powell really good near post finish from Nambé you could
37:22see the fans just jump on it they just want something to get behind same as Barnsley fans
37:26yeah well same as Huddersfield fans against Barnsley you you've just got to give them something
37:32and if you give them it I say they won't they will jump on it and they will get behind that
37:36their team and Rotherham Rotherham grew from there and very quickly scored a second and to be honest
37:42really should have scored a third and a fourth and and put it to bed rather than having a nervy
37:47finish but to me that's that's the place quite a few of our clubs are in I mean you've got you've
37:53got Huddersfield and Sheffield United uh and Rotherham who are sort of dealing with the
37:57fallouts of relegation but um even with even with Barnsley and Leeds you've got you've got the way
38:04last season ended and and you know in Barnsley's case particularly the way this season has started
38:09and just that that frustration and that that lack of lack of belief amongst the supporters and I
38:17think you know looking from afar certainly I think that was probably a big factor at
38:22I say was it's not it's not like it's finished here and now but it felt like that was a big
38:27factor at Rotherham and the fact that they won the first away game you know you say if they if
38:33they've gone and lost then it's almost like all that good work is undone but the fact that they've
38:37built on it and they've built on it in that way you look at those two games you think that could
38:42could be you know the start of them really sorting themselves out because frankly when you look at
38:48what they've got available in terms of ability and experience they've punched well below their
38:54weight so far this season but you know only if only a few games in time to sort things out
39:01if this could be the start you know the start of them sorting them out sorting themselves out
39:06it could be the start of them getting up there and making themselves putting themselves in the
39:11mix for promotion which really in a division like this unless you unless you're Birmingham and you
39:15can just defend everyone that's that's the most you can ask for it yeah they just needed a couple
39:21of moments Stuart didn't they they obviously had one um everyone knows about the other epic run
39:26without the way when what was it November 2022 I think if it was gonna happen it was probably
39:33Sod's lorry it happened like that wasn't it really it came in the last minute when it comes
39:38you know it's a scruffy goal off you know some part of a striker's anatomy isn't it that's
39:43that's football and how many times has that happened and yeah it's a cliche isn't it oh
39:49yeah all right all right and uh you know on Saturday as well you know they they weren't
39:54playing well they needed a moment didn't they they needed that moment from Nombé and
39:58obviously we've I think I did it in the preview and I know you mentioned it as well you know
40:02back to back to back wins for the first time in about two years wasn't it and uh yes Nombé as
40:09I think Nombé getting the second goals as big as anything as well he came he came in he cost
40:14he cost a million quid he got what you know he was thrusting to a side who were pretty much
40:21doomed to relegation from from um late autumn on was last season his confidence took a tank in
40:27he only got probably two or three goals didn't he so I just think for him I've watched Rotherham a
40:31couple of times this season he's not scored but he's absolutely worked his worked his socks off
40:37and a really good refreshing attitude he did the um I did the Birmingham game a few weeks back
40:44and I don't think there'll be many Rotherham players wanting to talk to the press afterwards
40:48it's only a little thing who puts his hand up Sam Nombé comes in and speaks to the press
40:55suggested to me that's a player who's who's passionate about his game he's desperate to
41:01get things right at Rotherham so I was really chuffed for him in that regard that he got the
41:05goal against um against Cambridge and he's backed it up and you know good on him as well
41:10you know that's what Rotherham need to get out of this situation you know players and characters
41:15characters like that so yeah I think Rotherham needed those tools as well when you look at who
41:21they've got you know they've got Peterborough which you know they're a team on the day if
41:26they hit their straps they can you know they can post a fair few goals against any opposition in
41:32this in this league especially at home and then they've got Wrexham as well so they've got two
41:39pretty huge games in the context of the season and given where Rotherham were before they really
41:44needed to go into it with a with a few a few points in the bank didn't they and a bit of
41:50confidence cursing through the veins again and um I think Nombé as well he got he's got a couple
41:55of goals I think as well with Hugel in midweek he got a couple in there it's only the trophy
42:01I suppose but that'll boost his that'll boost his confidence he's done pretty well in that
42:06competition so you know Clark Harris a few weeks ago he's got up and running with a couple of goals
42:12Nombé's got a couple now um Hugel as well albeit in the in the trophy you know they'll be feeling
42:19better about themselves won't they and we you know we spoke at the start of the season Rotherham
42:23playing well creating chances all over the job xg sky high but not scoring so at least in that
42:29regard things are looking a little bit better going into two games that will that will really
42:36test them and you know by the end of these two games I think we'll know a fair bit more about
42:41Rotherham in terms of where they're at this season yeah I just echo particularly what Leon said about
42:47about Sam Nombé there you know you see you see similar things at Sheffield United with
42:51Brewster a striker who's really working hard not getting the reward and you know as Leon says
42:58who comes and speaks to the press is a bit of a window into who are the characters in the
43:02dressing room um I say you might think we're making too much of it because obviously it matters
43:08to us it doesn't so much matter to the to the ordinary supporter but it does tell you you know
43:14every club has its sort of go-to characters who will who will always front up when Barry Bannon
43:20that's one exactly you know um Chris Basham and Oliver Norwood would often do it at Sheffield
43:26United and it is it just tells you and say who are the people who actually have something about
43:34them and are not just prepared to get their head down and let things happen so from our perspective
43:39whenever you see someone like that working hard off the field yeah making responsibility of it
43:44you're just really pleased to see them do well regardless of who they're playing for and what
43:48the circumstances are yeah absolutely exactly and next our attention turns to Bradford City
43:54who claimed all three points and ended their run of four games without a win in their 3-1 victory
43:59over Newport County Andy Cook gave the Bantams the lead in the 39th minute before the visitors
44:05equalized midway through the second half however Bradford City used this as a way to encourage
44:10themselves to get the two goals they needed to get over the line and claim the victory
44:15um what were your thoughts on the performance Leon yeah it was a good night I thought they
44:20I thought they played pretty well in the in the first half and you know fair play to Newport I
44:27thought they were they were very good at the start of the second half they they turned it around and
44:31you know it became a proper football match and um they obviously equalized it with the two
44:37in terms of looking at the the goals in the game you know two magnificent headers from each side
44:42wasn't it I mean the the power the power that Andy Cook got from pretty much the standing start he
44:47was so um battling with the centre half and you know a tremendous looping header you know if you
44:56if you like header goals have a look at that one and you know the one from Kyle Huddlin as well
45:00he's obviously on loan at Newport from um from Huddersfield he scored a terrific header as well
45:08so you know they were real eye catchers you know I think the fact that you know Newport came into
45:14it there was a bit of I suppose a little bit of adversity that Bradford were having to having to
45:19contend with um and they they say Huddersfield didn't panic in their you know in their game
45:25against Barnsley when they didn't go for them Bradford the same really made a couple of good
45:30substitutions um a really good cameo from Bobby Pointe and he a neat um a neat bit of play for
45:37the for the second goal from Jamie Walker and um and then he got the score he got the third
45:44so yeah it was a good night overall for for Bradford I um I like young Ben at right back
45:50he's obviously used uh Brad Halliday who was you know obviously got all the wraps last year didn't
45:56he in the team of the year this and that and player of the year votes all over the place but
46:00you know Ben's come in and he looks he looks a player and um yeah it was it was a good performance
46:08we we're going back to midfield balance it's a bit of a theme isn't it really but
46:13this week it'll be something else next week we um Richie Smallwood sat in there as the six and
46:20he was also two players further forward in in um Charlie Cook Charlie Cook was now it was uh who
46:29was it I can't I can't remember now but it'll come to me in a minute but the balance you know
46:33it it was sort of there in the Jamie Walker he was definitely once he got the second goal he uh
46:37he looked happier sort of rather than on the wing he was a little bit in infield as
46:42as a number eight and um Clark Cador was it Clark Cador that was it yeah yeah
46:47there was a nice little bit of balance there so uh yeah yeah they needed it didn't they Bradford
46:55they'd gone four without a win and um yeah they showed so some good good aspects in front of a
47:01televised audience and they're looking they're looking all right at home I don't think they've
47:04been beat have they till since about was it mid-March March yeah right sort of consistency
47:10I think they were behind in the game against Carlisle weren't they as well a bit back and they
47:13they sort of took that round so I think they're good signs for managers you know not just winning
47:18comfortably at home but when you sort of when you sort of get pegged back and you get back in front
47:23and you're asked a little bit and Bradford have been perhaps the last you know ask questions a
47:29little bit in a few home games so yeah good in good in that regard and I think a smart bit of
47:35work as well in getting the two older heads in as well just to sort of see them through until
47:40January they've obviously had a lot of issues at at the back um you know one one two three
47:46central defenders being out and you have some real problems there and young players having to learn
47:50on the job Paul Huntington's coming coming there that's that's a decent option until
47:56um January and Corey Evans as well in the middle of the park they've got obviously had issues there
48:01with with um with Patterson and Adams going back to to Wigan so yeah I did a piece in the paper
48:10this week that suggests to me they're pretty serious about things that you know this season and
48:14you know trying to get over the line get promoted not to say that Bradford aren't you know desperate
48:20to get out of the division but uh yeah it shows to me they're gonna they're gonna push this season
48:25and uh yeah two good pieces of uh of business for me there yeah I mean we talked before about
48:31how much extra you get at Sheffield United with having Haber and O'Hare well yeah um Corey Evans
48:37and Smallwood have got that relationship as well it's just just leads things along you know and
48:42yeah two two players a great experience Graham Alexander loves a player who's won a promotion
48:48and obviously those two bring a lot of a lot of that now but yeah you know as Leon says
48:54unbeaten run since mid-March you kind of you kind of almost take that as red with Bradford but the
48:59issue historically is turning is not not losing at home it's winning at home isn't it and and
49:07and that's that's what they've done well this season they've not been many of those frustrating
49:12draws which they need because obviously their away form hasn't been uh hasn't been great lately
49:17that's the next thing isn't it yeah exactly but as you as you say you know as one of those uh
49:22television viewers you're watching at the end of the first half and you're thinking oh this is
49:27this is going to turn the wrong way you know a bit like that bit like I was just saying that
49:31Rotherham game they just found a way to a way to turn it around that's a really good tick in the
49:36box for the for the character of that group and as I say it just it does feel to me as though
49:43Alexander has recruited quite heavily on that character and that experience that that you need
49:49it well I mean let's be honest you need it every club but you particularly need it at a club
49:53yeah the expectations Bradford have got yeah yeah I mean they just did just quickly those
49:58sort of games they've not won enough of those games haven't they they've gone in front they've
50:02gone they've gone 1-1 or they've gone behind everyone's gone here we go and they've not
50:07won them so that's a really positive thing for me in that regard Bradford if they're going to
50:11do well this season and get out of this division that's the sort of thing they've got to do on a
50:16pretty regular basis yeah and everyone every home fan loves to see a couple of local lads doing well
50:23Bradfordian like Ben yeah you know and and Poynton doing so well again it's just win-win isn't it
50:30exactly yeah yeah and finally for this week I look to Leon for his team of the week before
50:35heading to Stuart for his player of the week so Leon who have you chosen as your outstanding team
50:41this week well there's to be fair there's a few contenders most of them in South Yorkshire to be
50:46honest you know we touched on Rotherham they've not won two in a row since it's about two years
50:51ago isn't it really so they've got the monkey off the back in that regard and well done to them
50:56Sheffield Wednesday got a you know really good win at Coventry and obviously Shea Charles is
51:02continuing to win friends and influence people four points from two away games that had taken
51:07that all day long considering you know they've been battered at Millwall and Sunderland so
51:13big steps there for Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield United as well you can't ignore them
51:18considered you know just two goals at home keeping clean sheets for fun did what I had to do against
51:24Luton and Swansea but I'm gonna have to go and think in the circumstances where Huddersfield
51:29were seven losses out of eight you know injury issues get him get him thrown in before the game
51:37and well after as well after the first one as well you know everything as well Michael Duff
51:44facing his former club bit of pressure you know they've done the job twice but like I said earlier
51:50the first one was the one that really mattered and yeah everyone needed that at Huddersfield and
51:57it you know an impressive and a big afternoon in the season so I'll go for Huddersfield time
52:04And Stuart who have you chosen as your player of the week?
52:08Well again you know quite a few contenders we mentioned a few of them already you know we've
52:12mentioned Nombé, we've mentioned Raksaki, Leon briefly touched on David Kosuma who's made an
52:19important return and yeah I think that Sheffield Wednesday the week they've had really significant
52:29and Bido pulled off some big saves for them so that he definitely deserves a mention but I think
52:36you know and Luke Molyneux's quality you almost take for granted now he looks like a player who
52:43should be playing in a higher division next season and I'm just gonna hope that Doncaster
52:48keep up with him and are that team but yeah I think the man I'm gonna go to we've talked
52:55about the problems Leeds have had we all know about the attacking players they've sold
53:00Willy Nonto has really really stepped up to the plate and Leon mentioned his new contract
53:05and you know he kind of owes them one in that respect and he's really come through
53:12he's really you know we talk a lot in football about different types of leaders he's kind of
53:18led through his performances a couple of assists in that game against
53:25Sunderland he's just really on top of his game and exactly what they need in these difficult
53:31circumstances. Yeah I'd agree with that I mean he's been given the stage and he's taking it
53:37yorkshirepost.co.uk
53:49Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobtrell who will doubtless join us again soon for more
53:53discussions on the Yorkshire football scene but don't forget you can keep up to date with all the
53:56football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com
54:02or if you search for Yorkshire Post sport Yorkshire Post football or even Sheffield
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54:14the subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com as ever many
54:20thanks for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.