In this week’s show, our football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall discuss the appointment of German Thomas Tuchel as the new England head coach and how it enhances the nation’s chances of landing a first piece of major silverware since 1966.
Elsewhere, we look at League Two and the respective promotion chances of second-placed Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City, who moved into the play-off positions over the weekend.
Also, Stuart plumps for his Team of the Week, with Leon picking out a Player of the Week.
Elsewhere, we look at League Two and the respective promotion chances of second-placed Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City, who moved into the play-off positions over the weekend.
Also, Stuart plumps for his Team of the Week, with Leon picking out a Player of the Week.
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SportsTranscript
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
00:21Writer 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
00:32by logging onto our website at yp.sportatnationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:38feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
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
00:51or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:55at yp.sportatnationalworld.com.
00:56As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:04the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall.
01:08Good morning, guys.
01:09Morning.
01:10Hello.
01:11Morning. Right, this week was another international break, however we did see action from some
01:15of our Yorkshire clubs. In League One, Rotherham United had to settle for a point in their
01:19very entertaining 3-0 draw with Peterborough United. And in League Two, Harrogate Town
01:25brought their run of no victories in all competitions with a 1-0 victory over Newport
01:28County, thanks to a Toby Simms header.
01:31However, let's start this week's episode with the England team, who fell to a disappointing
01:352-1 defeat when they hosted Greece at Wembley, which was then followed up by a more convincing
01:403-1 victory when they paid a visit to Finland. What did you make of the two performances?
01:44And until yesterday, I was going to ask you about how you felt Lee Karsey's audition
01:49had gone. But now with the breaking news that Thomas Tuchel will take over as England
01:55manager, what are your thoughts, Stuart?
01:58Well, I mean, on the face of it, it looks like an absolutely classic knee-jerk, doesn't
02:04it? England were terrible against Greece, let's be honest about it. They were lucky
02:08to only lose 2-1. But yeah, the team selection, the performance and all the sort of muddled
02:14talk from Lee Karsey afterwards really seems to have kicked the FA into action. And, you
02:20know, less than a week down the line, England have got a new manager. As to his identity,
02:29it feels in a way like a bit of a sellout when England have been banging the drum about
02:34England DNA and all this sort of thing over the last 10 years. But actually, I'm okay
02:41with that because I'm not one of these who believes the England manager has to be an
02:48Englishman. I think if you look at it, it's a very small pool. There's only four English
02:53managers in the Premier League at the moment. Gary O'Neill, Russell Martin, Sean Dyche and
02:59Eddie Howe. There's not many candidates out of work either, Graham Potter. It's not a
03:03big pool to choose from. And just as a principle, I don't really have an issue with foreign
03:09coaches coming in. You know, we've seen it with the likes of Eddie Jones, with the likes
03:12of Duncan Fletcher in other sports and obviously in England in the past. So I don't have a
03:17problem with that. I think where England are at right now, from my perspective, and other
03:21people might disagree with this, they just need to win a trophy. And once they've got
03:27that off their back, then we can worry about playing them both beautiful football or doing
03:32this or doing that. So for me, getting the right man for the job is the most important
03:38thing. Now, whether you think Tuchel's the right man for the job, that's up for debate.
03:44But I remember writing a column actually, more than 20 years ago now, talking about
03:48how the next England manager is always the opposite of the last England manager's faults.
03:53So we've replaced Mr Nice Guy, who never managed at elite level in club football, with Thomas
04:00Tuchel, who I don't think he's going to be accused of being Mr Nice Guy. I think he's
04:04going to be prepared to knock heads together and upset people. And he's got a European
04:08Cup in his back pocket. You know, he's got a Bundesliga and a few Liga titles, German
04:14Cups and that sort of thing. So he clearly isn't a top manager. He clearly is going to
04:19cause them some headaches. And England have been scared of that in the past, most famously
04:23with Brian Clough. But I think it was worth just swallowing, running the gauntlet and
04:30just going for the best available manager out there. I was worried, even at the start
04:38of this week, that they were just going to get sucked into playing this game of waiting
04:41for Pep Guardiola and then Guardiola never come. I think they've been decisive. I think
04:46they've got a good manager. I don't think it's going to be without its problems, but
04:52I think they've made a decent move.
04:53Yeah, I'd totally agree with it. I think most England fans, you take away their nationality
05:00thing, I think they're prepared to roll with it, aren't they really? And that's the sort
05:05of way I associate it. The way I sort of think is, if Spain want a new manager, France, Holland,
05:15whoever the leading European nations, and they brought Tootle in, and you're an England
05:18fan and you need a manager, you'd think, yeah, that's a pretty good appointment. I totally
05:23agree with what Stuart says. I think England sort of, they basically need a finisher, don't
05:28they?
05:29Yes.
05:30I've had all the sort of cultural makeover and reset. He did a hell of a lot of good
05:34work, Gary Southgate. We've got all the teaming and the DNA running through the teams. Everything's
05:42stable in that regard. They've got a world-class facility in St George's Park. The main thing
05:48is just getting over the line, isn't it? Getting something tangible for your efforts. Tootle
05:56various countries in Germany and France. He's a winner. His track record is up there with
06:03the best, maybe not quite at the top echelon of a Guardiola or a Klopp, but it's really
06:10between the lines. They certainly were interested and are available. So what do you do then?
06:14You go for the next best available candidate. Stuart's right to touch on the fact there's
06:19not an overwhelming supply of domestic candidates who are pulling up any trees. That's not to
06:26say that there aren't people who are capable. You talk about Potter out of Worthis and that.
06:32But yes, I just think all things considered, it's a pretty sensible, decent move. I think
06:44the way of German football and the way Southgate tried to mould it, the set-up there with England,
06:51he's not walking in there blind, is he, Tootle? He knows a lot of the players as well. He's been
06:56credited for giving Harry Kane a boost in particular and it'll be interesting to see
07:03how that one works out. Maybe Kane needs that as well, personally, on the front to get him going
07:09again. But yes, I see a lot of sense in it. I'm prepared to roll with it. In an ideal world,
07:15as Stuart said, there's a lot of talk about pathways and we would really have a standout
07:21English candidate we could turn to. But unfortunately, we're not in that position at the
07:25minute. We've made the two European finals, desperate to get something on the sideboard
07:32and all the talk of 66 this and that. So I just think all things considered, looking at everything,
07:37it's a pretty reasonable and good choice in terms of what's out there.
07:45They need someone hard-headed who's not going to be afraid to upset people. That was the big
07:49lesson of Greece, trying to please all these flair players, trying to squeeze them all in.
07:54It just doesn't work. You've just got to get a balanced team.
07:57Trying to be too quirky, wasn't he?
07:59Trying to be too quirky and probably trying not to upset people. It's almost too good to be frank.
08:04That's not a track record of upsetting people. I don't think this is going to be a long-term
08:09appointment. If it finally gets that monkey off our back over the course of a couple of years,
08:17thank you very much and we move on. You look at Yorkshire football at the moment as well,
08:23by the way, and we've got more German managers amongst our championship clubs than English.
08:28I think there's a good sort of synchronicity at the moment between the way
08:33the Germans think about football and the way we think about football. It's not like you're
08:37planting someone with a completely alien way of thinking into this thing. This is a guy who's
08:43worked at English football. This is a guy who sort of thinks in the modern football way.
08:51It could blow up in their faces. It could be great, but I'm certainly prepared to give it
08:57a chance because, as Leon says, I think he's pretty much the best available option out there.
09:05To me, that's all that matters in terms of who I want to manage my national team.
09:10Tactically, he's very smart. He's hands-on. He can sink in these tournaments. Those sort
09:16of knockout games where it's on the line, that really sort of turns him on, won't it?
09:20At the end of the day, he's beaten Pep Guardiola in a Champions League final.
09:26Of all the things on his CV, that's right up there, if not the best. I see him as a
09:35football person. He's going there for the challenge. If he does manage to pull it off,
09:42it becomes sort of immortal in the English circle as well. The gratitude of a nation.
09:47He's a decent age for an international manager. He's 51. He's not too young, not too old,
09:55you could say, maybe coming into his prime. He's handled a hell of a lot of big players
10:01and big clubs and expectations. He might have a bit of a spiky character and it'll be different
10:10to Southgate in that regard. I don't see too much of a problem with that. It takes a lot
10:17more boxers than negatives for me. It would be interesting to play Germany in a knockout game.
10:24Which they inevitably will that way. Just like Sven always used to play against Sweden.
10:30Indeed, but he's a professional. I'm sure he can handle it. There's a lot of
10:39synchronisation between the football in this country, club football, and club football in
10:43Germany. We've seen the number of managers coming over here. I think culturally as well,
10:49we're pretty close to the Germans as well. I'm interested to see how it played out.
10:58Obviously, an 18-month contract. They just need the sugar rush of a bit of silverware. I think
11:04they've got a lot of things right in the Southgate reign. They've got the Team England, the culture
11:09back. That was one of Southgate's biggest tributes. There was a sense of division. It was
11:19rivalries in club football coming into the international front. There wasn't a real
11:23togetherness and that was one of Southgate's biggest achievements. It's a group that's
11:29together. There's some terrific footballers. The manager in Tuchel, he knows the game and
11:37he knows some talent there. He'll be really wanting to work with them and get his hands on
11:41them. Let's see how it works out. My prediction based on my theory of opposites before is if he
11:48doesn't win a trophy, he'll be replaced with an Englishman. So if you're Graham Potter,
11:53Michael Carrick, Liam Messina, all of these sort of people, get yourself building up a CV.
12:01Prove that you're capable because there's a lot of people who you think
12:04might be able to do it down the line. But the FA, like the top clubs, aren't willing to take
12:10a risk on a Middlesbrough manager who's not managed in the Premier League. So they've got
12:13to really prove themselves over the next couple of years that they are capable. I think the job
12:19of managing England at home European championships might well go to an Englishman. So if these guys
12:26can continue their positive progress, then they can put themselves in the window for it.
12:31They might have an English guy with them, you just don't know. They might move somebody in
12:35to sort of, he can be their McLaren mentor, if you like, and bring them on. I think there'd be
12:42a fair amount of common sense in that, wouldn't there really? It's difficult to see how it does
12:49work out, but you can't imagine Tuchel being here for seven, eight, nine years. He'll probably want
12:55to do two, three years and then I'm sure he's got designs to get back into another huge job
13:00in club management. He's certainly young enough. So bringing on a domestic candidate or two to
13:07sort of watch him and learn things, that may come into it as well. I mean, it's unfortunate that
13:15no matter what nationality the England manager is going to be, the main goal from the FA won't
13:23change. It'll just be, right, get silverware. That's what we want at this stage. It should be.
13:29You know, it sounds a bit unromantic and unprincipled, but that's what it's about.
13:34And you can't pick and choose when you've not won anything since 1966.
13:38And the thing is, you said so in your recent article, Stuart, you could go down the whole
13:45Liverpool boot room thesis of, okay, English manager, English manager, English manager,
13:50and not look outside England. But when it comes down to it, if they can get you silverware,
13:58why not go out outside of the country? As Leon and I both touched on, you would go down
14:03a Liverpool boot room candidate if there was an outstanding candidate. I mean, in all honesty,
14:08if England had produced a sort of performance against Greece that they performed in the first
14:13two games, we mightn't be having this discussion yet. I mean, it really has been that drastic.
14:18It's possibly done England a bit of a favour that it's brought these things out into the open.
14:23But I think in an ideal world, I think England would have liked to have appointed
14:28Lee Carsley. But the fact that they made him interim just showed that they weren't
14:32fully convinced that this was the guy. And now they are fully convinced, the wrong way around,
14:37that he's not the guy. But yeah, had there been any English manager who was equally as good as
14:44Thomas Tuchel, I'm certain they would have given him everything to give him the job. And I'd have
14:48totally supported that because I would rather have an English manager, but not at the expense
14:54of having the best candidate. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
14:57just quickly, this sort of, you know, foreign managers coming into another country, you know,
15:02it's not, it's something with, not just with England, we've seen it in other countries. I
15:05mean, look at Portugal, they've got, you know, they've got Martínez, who's also been at,
15:10it's also been at Belgium, hasn't it? We had, I was trying to think of the guys,
15:15it was Ray Hargo, wasn't it? The German guy who won it with Greece. So,
15:21you know, this... The next English manager could well be Carlo Ancelotti, you know.
15:25Yeah, absolutely. This demarcation where you've got to, you know, clubs, nations should be managed
15:31by someone who's born there. You know, history has shown in recent decades that, you know,
15:36managers are transferable, aren't they? And it's not just across clubs, it's across countries,
15:40isn't it? And that's just part of the modern football now. So I don't see any issue in that.
15:46It's just getting the best available candidates and, you know, as Stuart said,
15:51ideally it would be somebody who's English, but at this moment in time,
15:56you know, we haven't really got a standout candidate. So, you know, and he's available
16:00too because, you know, there should be no monetary barrier there. So let's see how it plays out.
16:07Yeah, yeah. And next, let's turn to Doncaster Rovers, who shared the points in their one-all
16:13draw with Crew Alexandra. This saw Donnie miss out on top spot and are just one point off leading
16:19the division. What were your thoughts on the performance and how could we see them going into
16:24their game at Swindon Town, Leon? Well, they've got a few away games coming up. It was a good
16:30game of football. I mean, I think I put in my match report that, you know, it looked like two
16:36teams who will certainly be up there at the business end in, you know, in April, May. Top
16:42seven, eight. And yeah, interesting for Doncaster, they haven't drawn in just in over a year at home
16:48as well. You know, it's mainly been feast, hasn't it, this year in terms of the wins. But yeah,
16:55they'll be disappointed with the goal. It was a good goal from Max Conway, the crew player.
17:02First goal in professional football is Slalom. Threw about three or four of them.
17:07But yeah, one or two Rovers defenders committed the cells and it was a good finish. But
17:12I think the thing I sort of like about Doncaster at the minute, they're having some fortune this
17:17time last year, belated fortune really. If you think back to this time last year, they had about
17:2112, 13, 14 players out. I did a game against Sutton, they won 4-1. I think I put in my match,
17:30but they have 14 players out that day. So that, that affects going into league games,
17:36it affects training, doesn't it? You know, to wrap the players up in cotton wool,
17:40you can't train properly. I mean, they've got one or two out Rovers at the minute, but it's
17:44nothing like it was, it was last year. And you look at the benches as well, it was,
17:49they weren't playing, they weren't playing badly. They went behind, but they were playing okay.
17:54But you look at the options he's got on his bench there, they're serious players, aren't they,
17:58league two level? You know, you've got Joe Ironsides, and I like Sabara, the number 10,
18:05not seeing too much of him, but he's a clever little player. Another player such as Kyle Hurst
18:10as well. So he could, you know, he could change it. He went to a, he went to a three at the back,
18:15he's got two terrific wingers there in Molyneux and Gibson. He was playing them on the preferred
18:23side. Then he sort of went to introverted. So, which is what a lot, you know, a lot of the
18:29managers do at the top level now. So he changed it there. He brought one or two options on and
18:35yeah, they didn't panic. And they scored a fantastic, I don't know who forced you,
18:39I thought it was a tremendous goal. It was, it is a counter-attacking goal of the highest order. I
18:44mean, they were, they were attacking, the move broke down, Oluwutu said, I've got the ball,
18:49he played it to Sabara. Terrific pass out to the left flank where, you know, Molyneux was there on
18:57the counter and a good spot to pick out Hurst and a really good goal. So yeah, at the minute,
19:04I think they're in a, I think they're in a good, they're in a good place in terms of options and
19:08availability. I think, I also like the fact, it was a poor concession, but you look at them,
19:16they've got Richard Wood out at the minute and Tom Anderson with his suspension. They're missing
19:21two big players there. They missed them for the last, was it three games? They've only conceded
19:27one goal. So I think that sort of augurs well as well. He may have actually made a mistake for a
19:34goal, young McGrath, Stewart's seen probably a bit more of him than me, but he looks to have
19:38something about him. He reads the game well, he steps out of defence well, he's committed,
19:48he may, he did go to ground a little bit for the crew goal, but apart from that, he was pretty
19:53exemplary and I like the look of him. So, you know, the fact that they've conceded one goal
20:00in three without those senior players, I think that's good. And then I look at the league table
20:07as well. It looks like it's going to be so tight, doesn't it? This year, there must be only about,
20:14was it four or five points between about the top 12 or something, isn't it? I can't remember off
20:19the top of my head, but it's so close. And even though Rovers drew, they're up to second, aren't
20:25they? And this is a team, you know, they got beaten 3-0 at home, didn't they, by Chesterfield
20:29not so long back. You look at Port Vale, they're at the top. They got walloped by, I think they got
20:354-0 at Barrow, didn't they, early in the season. So, it is early days, but it's, I think it's
20:43there for someone or it could be there for one team really, two or three teams. So, yeah, I think
20:49all things considered and where they were 12 months ago with the injury crisis and this that
20:55and the other, they should be pretty happy about things. Doncaster, not that Grant McCann will be
21:00wholly satisfied because he never truly is. Yeah, it's very different to League One where
21:06a lot of people are always mentally written off the top spot. It isn't that sort of division
21:12yet at least. Every now and then someone can emerge, but it does look like everyone's going
21:17to be taking points off each other. And I think Leon's point about the centre-backs is the point
21:22I was going to make. That's a really big one, I think. I mean, it was compounded at Grimsby when
21:27Joseph Oluwu had a back spasm and they were down to just McGrath as a specialist centre-back. Owen
21:32Bailey had to fit in. I remember saying on this podcast a few weeks ago when they'd gone four
21:37games without a win that it wasn't crisis time, but it had the potential, you know, and they just
21:44seemed to have that resilience. It's amazing when things are going well, you can shrug these things
21:49off in a way that you can't when confidence is more fragile. You know, it's not just Wood and
21:56Anderson's ability as footballers. It's not just the fact there's a first-choice pairing. They are
22:02leaders as well. So it really is a big deal to do without them for, you know, six games, it looks
22:08like it's going to be. But the fact that they managed it fairly seamlessly, I think is a really
22:15good sign. They seem not just a squad, as Leon says, with lots of options and lots of really
22:20good players in it, but lots of mental toughness now, which clearly wasn't there when they were
22:26probably feeling sorry for themselves when all those injuries were happening last season. They're
22:31much tougher cookies now, and I think that will get them through the setbacks that, as Leon's
22:36pointed out, all the top teams, if they haven't had them already, are certainly going to have in
22:42the future. Yeah, it could be one of those where the teams with the strongest jaws are the ones
22:46that, you know, qualify for the top three. And now we turn our focus to Bradford City, who
22:53overcame Tranmere Rovers with a 2-0 victory, with a familiar name claiming both goals, that being
22:59Andy Cook. This now moves the Bantams into the top seven. What were your thoughts on the game,
23:06and what kind of performance could we see when they welcome Gillingham to Valley Parade, Stuart?
23:12Well, in terms of what sort of performance we might see against Gillingham, if you just let me
23:16toss a coin, I'll tell you. That's the sort of season it is for Bradford at the moment. If you'd
23:22seen in the last week, that win against Newport, that win against Tranmere, everything looked right
23:26with the world, you know, really, really good stuff. Tested when Hudlin scored against Newport,
23:34came back strongly. Tested at Tranmere, you know, we talk about resilience when you lose centre-backs.
23:39Their centre-backs have been dropping left, right and centre. Neil Byrne is sick on the morning of
23:45the game, and they have to throw a right-back who, as far as we know, pretty much never played
23:51centre-back, Brad Halladay, into the back three. Seamless, really good, really resilient, really,
23:58you know, all the things you want from away performance. Plus, you've got the goals of
24:02Andy Cook. Leon was writing before the game about how he's a real throwback, proper centre-forward,
24:09great to see players like that and not just his style, the fact that he's very good at it.
24:15So, yeah, on the course of that week, you'd say great, but Bradford's season has been very up and
24:20down. You just don't know from one week to the next what you're going to get. When they're good,
24:25they're very good, and all that we've just been saying about Doncaster Rovers, Bradford are in
24:30that league, so this inconsistency might not hold them back as much as it would do in other years,
24:39if they can just minimise these bad days and recover from them quickly. They can be contenders,
24:47but they are chucking a few of them in. It was important that this Tranmere win was away from
24:51home, because they haven't won away from home since the first game of the season, and had a
24:54clean sheet away from home all season, so that's something off their back. That should give them
24:59a bit more confidence, but everything was there on display at Premsham Park to say this is a team
25:06that can compete, but then if you'd seen them at Harrogate for argument's sake,
25:11you might say the exact opposite. So, it's within them, they've just got to get more of those good
25:15days than bad. I think that, yeah, it's spot on what Stuart said there. I think that it is the
25:22similarities to Doncaster, isn't it? They've had some pockets of disruption. We mentioned the
25:29centre-halves at Doncaster, it's been worse at Bradford, to be fair, hasn't it? They've obviously
25:33had to enter the free-agent market, but sometimes a little bit of adversity at this time in
25:38proceedings. It's not too bad a thing, isn't it? I think it's great that you count it when you
25:43count it. Yeah, I think sometimes it's better than it happening in April, when it can ruin
25:51seasons, can't it really? So, maybe it's just refocused a few minds at Bradford. It's interesting
25:56in that you mentioned Harrogate, and obviously the game at Harrogate towards the end of last
26:02season, they were in a bit of a rut and all things around the club and it was like a drama
26:11was lurching into a crisis a little bit, but they summed up the wherewithal to find a response and
26:16they had that tremendous run at the end of the season. I think if the season had lasted a couple
26:21more weeks, they'd have probably got in, wouldn't they? With the momentum to do well, isn't it?
26:26Yeah, and relatively recently they went to Harrogate. It wasn't as bad on the score sheet
26:33in terms of a result, but it seems like I didn't know the game. It sounds like they were lousy in
26:37the first half and looking at the highlights, but it's been a good reaction since then, hasn't it?
26:42They've got seven points out of nine, showed a bit of character at Morecambe and one of those
26:48sort of Bradford City days in the lower division where you think they're going to get
26:52turned over by a lesser line in front of a bigger wave following. They chiselled out a point there
26:58and they've had two good wins since. I mean, speaking about Andy Cook, his record's there
27:05to be seen, isn't it? In terms of low division scorers over the last few years, there's not been
27:11too many better. He's got 31 goals, he got about 20 goals last season. He's on nine now and if he
27:18keeps clear of injury, he looks nailed on for 25, doesn't he really? Obviously his goal scoring
27:24attributes speak for himself, but I just think he looks fitter, doesn't he, and a bit more at it.
27:36That sort of correlates with what Alexander said about him really coming out flying in pre-season
27:43looking the part. He looks a player who's determined to play on for as long as he can and
27:51he's going to do everything that he can to make that happen and hopefully play on until his mid
27:59to late 30s. He's an overused term, talisman, but that's exactly what he is for Bradford City,
28:10and he's had a flying start to the season goals-wise, but I think he's an all-round
28:17player as well. His leadership, his stature and the way he's leading the line, there's probably
28:24few better at the minute in the lower divisions. It feels like Alexander's got more all-round
28:30football around him without losing goals, doesn't he? It looks like he's contributed more in terms
28:36of hold-up play and things like that. He's a man of few words, Andy Cook, he's hard work after
28:41games, but I get the impression that he should be very driven because, let's face it, with his
28:48goal record, he could easily have stepped into League One. He stayed with Bradford for a reason,
28:53he won't want it to go to waste by not winning promotion this season. I hope anyway that that's
29:02giving him that little bit of extra drive. As I said in the match report, it just felt like one
29:09of those days, it was bitterly cold by the end, he was chucking it down with hailstones. It was
29:15just a hard win. We had a monsoon at Doncaster a few weeks ago. Exactly, I was under a roof,
29:22I was fine. Those are the sort of games when you're on the bus back home, that's what builds
29:27team spirit to come through days like that, especially in an away game. Hopefully,
29:35this will be a turning of Bradford's fortunes away from home because they've actually really
29:41done a good job of winning games at Valley Parade now. Rafa Benitez always used to talk about a
29:47short blanket, it's like they've pulled it up and they've sorted that half of the equation and then
29:51they've left themselves exposed away from home. Hopefully, this is them putting all the pieces
29:57or another piece of the jigsaw together. They're the games that matter, I think. I think Michael
30:02Dove said something along the lines of when he was at Barnsley, it always stuck in my head, he said
30:07I think there's seven or eight games a season where you're brilliant, there's seven or eight
30:12games where you're terrible. It's about the 30-odd others in between, that's what sort of
30:17disguise season is. It sounded like Bradford weren't particularly terrific at Trammere but
30:24they dug in, they were organised, they took the chances when they came and it was a proper away
30:30professional performance and that's what you need to do. Maybe you could accuse Bradford in the time
30:38in Leeds of not doing enough off almost. In fairness, they played reasonably well but
30:44they were just put under a lot of pressure by circumstances by Trammere and again, those are
30:49the days you've got to dig out and get a few results that are better than your performances,
31:00that's what it's all about. He's obviously got his own aspirations in terms of how many goals he
31:06wants to hit and why wouldn't he given his credentials and he's won a Golden Boot.
31:11I think he'll know within himself, he can become a Bradford City legend can't he? If he's the guy
31:18who gets 25 goals and they get promoted and he'll come back to Bradford in 10-15 years and
31:26everyone will have a smile and pat him on the back and hold him in reverence.
31:37I'm sure he's got to have something in his head along those lines and there's the potential for
31:44it isn't there? Fingers crossed. Now we stay at Valley Parade as it played host to the draw for
31:52the first round of the FA Cup also because this year marks the 10-year anniversary of Bradford
31:57City's amazing run in this very competition where they made it to the quarterfinals of
32:04the competition. Were there any sort of fixtures that jumped out to you and do you feel that this
32:11competition is still relevant Stuart? Yeah well I personally feel it's very relevant particularly
32:19to clubs at that level. I mean the FA have done a good job in the last couple of years of increasing
32:24the prize money so that it makes a material difference to clubs like Guiseley for example
32:30to get into the first round and to progress in it. I think that's really good. I still think
32:35as I've thought for decades now that the big thing that competition needs is a Champions
32:39League place to make the really big boys take it seriously and that more than anything
32:45is what is undermining this competition not to mention decisions about scrapping replays and
32:50that sort of thing. Yeah I'm a bit unhappy with that. Exactly but you know I was there for the
32:56draw and you could see to everyone in the room it really mattered. I mean the fact that it was
33:00it was packed out and people wanted to be there just to see the balls pulled out of
33:05the bag. We could easily sit at home and find out the same information but the FA Cup still has that
33:10magic certainly to me. I imagine to Leon as well and it's good to see it turning into old
33:20fogey mode. It's good to see younger generations of players talking about it in those sort of
33:25reverential terms because for us it really was and still is a big deal that you could present
33:32me with the same fixture in a League One game or in an FA Cup game and I'm far more excited about
33:39about the FA Cup game because there's just something special about it. It was a fairly
33:45underwhelming draw really from a Yorkshire perspective but you know Harrogate Town versus
33:50Wrexham is one to really leap out. I mean let's be honest Wrexham and Birmingham and probably
33:57Bolton were the draws that probably all the clubs in the draw wanted and it was
34:03Harrogate who got them at home. So we've talked in the past, Leon alluded to it a little bit earlier
34:08I think about how Harrogate are really if they're not careful they get themselves a bit of a
34:13reputation as big game charlies because they really do turn up for these certainly for the
34:17Yorkshire derbies. They've had a few pretty bad pastings in the Cup as well so
34:22or the various Cups so they'll want to put that right but if they can bring that big game
34:27mentality to the game there'll be a lot of attention on it certainly and yeah they could
34:33do some damage there. Yeah I mean looking at Harrogate's sort of Cup history they've
34:39sort of gone to the third round once or twice haven't they? I mean I think they played
34:43Luton, no disrespect to Luton but I think they had Luton away one year on a Sunday which doesn't
34:49set everyone's pulses going does it really with respect to them. I remember once they
34:57played Hastings and if they won that then they got I think they got Middlesbrough.
35:02Middlesbrough might have been in the Premier League I seem to remember but yeah it'd be nice for
35:07Harrogate to get a decent sized fish and get to round three. I think for North Yorkshire
35:13as well and I know it's something that's close to your heart Stuart that you know it's one of
35:19those clubs there you know York or Scarborough you know get a bit of excitement and talk about
35:23them and maybe one of those get into the get into the third round. That'd be tremendous
35:27wouldn't it? We all know about the you know the proud history of York City in the competition
35:32but Scarborough as well. I remember what they played Chelsea one year didn't they many moons
35:37ago and look there's hopefully not jumping the gun there's a hell of a lot to happen
35:43before then but they were very close weren't they last season when they played Forest Green
35:47they were they were a bit unlucky and you know Burton away yeah okay Burton will be favourites
35:52but you've seen it countless times in this competition in relatively recent years
35:59you know there's always one or two two or three of non-league teams going to a league club
36:06in the first second round and getting through so fingers crossed I mean what York have got
36:11Wickham away so you mentioned Scarborough and Burton even Guiseley as well they're going to
36:19to Stevenage there'll be a story or two somewhere yeah and you just hope that obviously it's one of
36:25those clubs to that it can fall to I remember Guiseley I did a cup game a few did apply I
36:33think it was Cambridge it was about five or six years ago maybe a little less the 143 they got
36:39Mansfield in the main history by getting to the second round made a bit of money they went
36:44to Mansfield and they lost that day so they didn't get to the third round so I know
36:50from memories of that game you know getting to the third round would be a massive achievement for
36:57the Guiseley but just just quickly looking a bit further I thought there was some great
37:01little ties I mean anyone who is in doubt about the FA Cup look at the draw when Northampton drew
37:08against Kettering yeah yeah obviously they separated by about what 10-15 miles in Northamptonshire
37:15of the the cameras in the Kettering it must have been their social club sure that it was a great
37:21bit a great bit of theatre is what's what the cup's all about and obviously when Northamptonshire
37:26Kettering all the Kettering supporters were up and you know they were young and old there I thought
37:31that was I thought that was brilliant and um so we'll look some other nice little ties as well
37:36you know Wimbledon that's a good one yeah I've got a friend who's a Wimbledon fan and he said
37:42he's not a derby so I have to be I have to sort of be a tippy and I think if you were there
37:49I think a few of their fans um don't go either they sort of you know bound themselves from going
37:55but yeah that's that's a spicy game to do it isn't it there's Bristol Roads, Weston, there's
38:01Alfred and Notts County there's there's a few of those isn't it quite nice I mean to go back to
38:06what I was saying before for a fan and club like Wimbledon um £45,000 if they win that game plus
38:12then there's then money even for losing in the second round you know for a club that's just had
38:17to practically rebuild its pitch yeah that makes a big difference you know for a club like Isley
38:23you know that can that can you know do a season's worth of planning for you in terms of putting in
38:28a bit of extra in the transfer budget putting a bit extra away you know in case God forbid you
38:33get hit by flooding or who knows what um it really it really is important um that you know you don't
38:40like to talk about money it's a bit grubby when we talk about the advance of the FA Cup but it does
38:44it does matter to these clubs it really does yeah yeah I've just still got a little bit of an issue
38:49with the replays thing especially the second yeah you know if you're if you're a you know a non-league
38:54team and you draw you know a Man United or ever a Premier League club and um you know you're not
38:59allowed a replay you get to one all and you've got a penalty you lose that's that's hard isn't it
39:03really absolutely well to me the issue is that the elite players are playing too many games but the
39:11elite players don't come into this competition until at least let the first and second round
39:15have it that's what that's what they want I think that's what the fans want um it's it's a real it's
39:21a real pity and I think that that's what that that's where your suggestion comes into place
39:27Stuart with regards to um the more elite players and teams trying to take this seriously again
39:33they basically have a buy until the third round yeah um then they get brought in but then you see
39:40that they end up playing second string teams exactly and you think guys come on put put a
39:47little effort in for the fans eh um but but then like you said if you throw in something like I
39:53don't know I mean it is a pipe dream at the moment a a Champions League spot you you throw that in
40:00um I I'm sure you'll see so many like first team players but but then again we
40:07knowing the FA Cup we could see Curzon Ashton in the in the Champions League if that happens
40:11um so I'm up for that
40:16no problem with that um yeah so yeah we just yeah I mean to me my solution would be
40:23you just say you just say there'll be a replay unless both teams agree that there shouldn't be
40:27so if Man United play Man City they could get their heads together and say we don't have the
40:32space for replay we both agree but you know you wouldn't you wouldn't have you wouldn't have
40:37Guiseley saying to Stevenage oh actually we we don't want you back at our place
40:41no we want that day and and so they should of course this is special you know especially the
40:46third round it's a special moment isn't it and and in football it's it's the moment in the
40:53where the lower division teams have really have their place in in the sun and it's a it's a
40:57wonderful weekend at the start of the new year everyone's feeling a bit you know down after
41:01Christmas to start the other and instead we've just got Premier League clubs getting the violins
41:05out all the time and everything's about that rather than you know the other teams in the
41:10pyramid having a bit of a moment and you know for once and they don't ask for much but um
41:15yeah I I agree with you I think you know giving it some you know sort of Champions League
41:20spot would would certainly you know help in terms of you know the strength that
41:27um top flight teams to eat the FA Cup because it'll always be special from you know like
41:34myself and Stuart and countless other football supporters but yeah like I said the scenes in
41:38scenes in the social club at Kettering you know there were young kids there jumping up and
41:42tremendous yeah yeah and you know so much of modern football it's not just an FA Cup thing
41:47it just ignores the fact that you know in case the FA Cup you've got over over 500 teams enter
41:53and yet it's run for the convenience of eight to ten really you know same goes for you know the
41:58way the rules changed around VAR you could you could go on forever you've got to remember that
42:03this is a competition for the whole of the game justiness yeah and you can't you know just because
42:08something doesn't suit Manchester City or Chelsea or whoever you can't you can't change the rules
42:12for that when there's 40, 50, 60, 70 clubs who would rather it be done differently I think a lot
42:18of football sports as well you know they'll be screening one of the two other games the BBC and
42:22yeah you know I always look for you you know not working on the on the the Friday before the
42:28before the Saturday in the main bulk of the fixtures there's been some terrific games over
42:32the years on the on the Friday night on mainstream television and you know hopefully with it with the
42:38selections as well I hope that yeah you know I hope they just don't go you know let's watch
42:43let's watch Birmingham or let's watch Portland I hope there's a little bit of ingenuity in terms
42:48of who the who they choose and a little bit of charm as well yeah yeah and finally for this week
42:54I turn to Stuart for his team of the week before looking to Leon for his player of the week so
42:58Stuart who has caught your eye for this week's standout team yeah well obviously we've not we've
43:04not had many many games this week not so many to choose from I say I can't emphasize enough how
43:10impressed I was I was with with Bradford at Tranmere and and the way the way they performed
43:16really you know really good really good win for them if I'd had to make the decision at
43:22halftime I'd have probably been probably been thinking about Rotherham with the way they
43:28yeah they they started against Peterborough but unfortunately managed to turn a 3-1 lead into a
43:34into a 3-0 draw as Leon says in you know not not not glamorous but important point for
43:41for Doncaster against against really good opposition but in the spirit of what we've just
43:46been talking about I think I'm uh I'm gonna go for for Guiseley and tremendous achievement for
43:51them to to go to Kidderminster Harriers who themselves have got quite a decent cup pedigree
43:56when it comes to the early rounds and get a 1-0 win and um set up an FA Cup first round tie
44:03at Stevenage so yeah for for any Northern Premier League team to be to be in the first round draw is
44:09it is is a really good achievement and uh yeah they're they're my team of the week and uh Leon
44:14uh who has stood out as your player of the week this week well I think I think I probably built
44:19him up haven't I about five five minutes ago and uh yeah it's impossible to to ignore Andy Cook
44:25really isn't it you know all the other people have outlined nine goals if he keeps fit he's
44:30going to get 25 goals this season and he likes going to Trammey doesn't he I think he scored
44:35there last year he I think the one there a couple of years ago and he and he got both goals as
44:40well five in four games since he left yeah yeah he scored against Carlisle this year he scored
44:46against um Grimsby yeah we've got one or two others to cheer of the play Barrow Barrow yeah
44:53he's probably looking to choke choke that one off and a few others but yeah he's you know and
45:01the word is a revamped Andy Cook a refreshed Andy Cook yeah he's a serious player at this level and
45:08one or two others I think you know Anthony O'Connor at um Arrogate he's been good Nick
45:12for most of the season he I keep checking out the teams teams of the weeks and he and his name keeps
45:17appearing in that um the fullback sims as well he got the winner and he I've seen him once or twice
45:22he looks he looks uh useful McGrath yeah I mean he made a little bit of a rick for the goal but I
45:29was impressed by him and you know it's worth mentioning how much of a good season he's having
45:34so I mentioned him in dispatches but yeah it's hard to uh ignore the claims of Andy Cook this
45:40week I think yeah he's so uncomplicated in the nicest way and you know I asked him I asked him
45:45after the game did you wake up this morning knowing you were going to be playing trammie
45:49and think I've got to score today and he said oh I just wake up every morning and think I've
45:53got a game I want to score and I want to win that's that's all he's about and and you know
45:58all power to him um that's that's exactly exactly the right attitude I think he's one
46:03of those as well he like he doesn't mind getting a bit of stick either doesn't he
46:07that's probably why he's got such a good record against his own yeah he enjoys it if I was a
46:11Barrow fan I'd be keeping stump for that yeah yeah he's he's shown that many times hasn't he and uh
46:16yeah fair play to him he's a he's a he's a nice fullback on a lot of levels isn't he
46:21yorkshirepost.co.uk
46:35Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
46:39discussions on the Yorkshire football scene but don't forget you can keep up to date with all the
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47:00the subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport at national world.com as ever many
47:06thanks for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.