On this week’s show, the YP football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton again, starting off with an analysis of what Sheffield Wednesday need to take the next step and make themselves a genuine promotion contender in the Championship.
Leeds were held to a 1-1 draw by West Brom but still maintain their hold on the automatic promotion spots having not lost in the league since November 30.
Hull City’s 2-0 win at home to Plymouth Argyle has created further breathing space between themselves and the bottom three, with Ruben Selles’ team now enjoying a five-point buffer. Can they maintain the kind of form needed to ensure another season of second-tier football?
In League One, Barnsley have thrown themselves back into contention for the play-offs, although they were pegged back again with Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic leaving them six points off the top six with 11 games to play.
Huddersfield Town fell 1-0 at home to Wrexham meaning they remain sixth by just one point and still finding scoring at home a significant problem that will need addressing if they are to remain in contention for the play-offs.
Leeds were held to a 1-1 draw by West Brom but still maintain their hold on the automatic promotion spots having not lost in the league since November 30.
Hull City’s 2-0 win at home to Plymouth Argyle has created further breathing space between themselves and the bottom three, with Ruben Selles’ team now enjoying a five-point buffer. Can they maintain the kind of form needed to ensure another season of second-tier football?
In League One, Barnsley have thrown themselves back into contention for the play-offs, although they were pegged back again with Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic leaving them six points off the top six with 11 games to play.
Huddersfield Town fell 1-0 at home to Wrexham meaning they remain sixth by just one point and still finding scoring at home a significant problem that will need addressing if they are to remain in contention for the play-offs.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:18of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:22Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:26discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you can keep
00:30up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website
00:34at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds,
00:39the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football,
00:45or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you have any
00:49questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook
00:52pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at the Football Talk podcast at yp.sport
00:58at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk.
01:03As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:06the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Mobshaw.
01:10Good morning, guys.
01:11Morning.
01:12Hello.
01:13Morning. Right, this week in the Championship, we saw Sheffield United claim a 2-1 win over
01:17Luton Town, and Middlesbrough claimed all three points in their 1-0 victory over Derby
01:21County. In League 1, Huddersfield Town bounced back from their recent slump in form with
01:26a 2-1 victory over Stevenage. Rotherham United claimed their first win in five league games
01:31with a 3-2 victory over Bristol City, which was followed by a 1-0 victory when they welcomed
01:36Leighton Orient to the New York Stadium. And in League 2, Bradford City claimed a 2-1 victory
01:42over Salford City before playing out a 3-0 win when they faced Cheltenham Town. Doncaster
01:48Rovers claimed all three points in their 3-1 victory over Newport County, which was
01:51then followed up by a 1-0 defeat when they paid a visit to Bromley. And Harrogate Town
01:56claimed all three points with a 2-1 victory over Accrington Stanley before playing out
02:02a 0-0 draw when they welcomed Port Vale.
02:05However, we start this week with Sheffield Wednesday, who fell to their third successive
02:09defeat when they lost 2-1 at the hands of Sunderland. This now sees the Owls seven points
02:15off the play-off spots. What did you make of the game, and what does Danny Roll have
02:20to do to get his side back to winning ways, Stuart?
02:25Probably just keep plugging at it, to be honest with you, and just a bit of training ground
02:29work because it's becoming a very, very familiar story for Sheffield Wednesday and a very annoying
02:36one. They played well against Sunderland, they probably deserve to win the game. But
02:41defensive mistakes at one end, lack of ruthlessness at the other, added up to another defeat.
02:47And as I say, both of those things are becoming real factors this season. Danny Roll made
02:55some interesting comments after the game. They actually chimed with what I said after
03:04they lost to Coventry. He basically said he thought maybe this squad was at its limit
03:12in terms of what it's capable of. And I kind of agree with that. That's what I wrote after
03:18the Coventry game. They've kind of got this glass ceiling of the play-offs. But I think
03:23we've said on this podcast before, they look like a top-half team, not a play-offs team.
03:30Somewhere between about ninth and twelfth is just where they are. I think they're down in
03:34thirteenth right now. So they could be a little bit better, but not massively. I feel like he's,
03:44you can't say he's getting the absolute maximum out of that squad when I've just said they should
03:47have won the last game, but pretty close to it. And it feels like they're at a juncture where
03:56the only way they're going to be able to make the next step is by spending a decent amount
04:01of money. I say that's a difficult one because obviously all Sheffield Wednesday fans will say,
04:06well, you know, Dejan Canseri should be spending that money. But, you know, we have seen in the
04:13past what happens at Sheffield Wednesday when you spend money that's not there. So most likely what
04:20it needs is a new buyer, which is, of course, what all Sheffield Wednesday fans want. But we're
04:24dealing with the reality now. It's just about getting more out of the squad. And there was one
04:34strange bit of the post-match press conference where they got another couple of calf injuries
04:40to add to a couple they'd already had. And he tantalised us. He said, we're getting all these
04:47calf injuries. There's a reason for it. I know what the reason is, but I'm not going to tell you
04:52sort of thing. So I suspect it's something to do with the training facilities, which
04:58are widely acknowledged to not be the best. And, you know, the fact that they've been training on
05:03the, had to train on the Hillsborough pitch at the worst of the winter won't help either. But
05:08that is something that needs addressing. Again, it'll be something that money needs spending on,
05:12but hopefully that is within, you know, their budget and something they're able to do. But
05:18yeah, I feel like they're coming to a bit of a crossroads and I worry that the way it's going
05:25to be resolved is with the manager moving on somewhere else. But, you know, we'll wait and
05:31see on that. Yeah, I think I'd agree with all that. I think he's squeezing the last drop out
05:36of everything that he's got, isn't he? Obviously he did that superbly last season for different
05:43reasons to pull them out of a hell of a spot at the bottom of the table. But yeah, I mean,
05:50he's an intelligent coach, his role, he's a very good coach. But yeah, I think part of him's
05:55thinking, yeah, how much more can I get out of these? And it's obviously variables such as the
06:00pitch, the training facilities, the extent of the January investment. He was back, but you sort of
06:08look at some of the other teams around the playoff mix and they certainly got the checkbook
06:14out more and made some more probably serious signings, if that's the right word. But I think
06:21their home form as well, just per se, I think they've won five out of 18. Yeah, 22nd in the home
06:28table, very good away from home, very well organised and structured. And you back them to go to most
06:35places. And yeah, they've shown it as well. They've won some good games, but given some of
06:42the top size problems, such as the game at Leeds where the score sort of flattered the host a
06:47little bit. But at the end of the day, five home wins out of 18, it's just not going to cut it.
06:52It's not going to get you in the top six. In the greater scheme of things, if Wednesday can finish
06:59in the top 10, 12, it's been another season of progress. But that next sort of level that
07:05obviously Rose are aspiring to, to get into that top six, big, big jump. And at the minute,
07:12they don't quite have that class of player to take them in there. Yeah, I mean, I think with
07:18the home form, it's kind of self-perpetuating, isn't it? When you're making those regular mistakes,
07:23how can fans in the stadium have confidence in you? That creates a nervousness, which becomes
07:28difficult to play in. And, you know, things follow you around, injuries follow you around.
07:32They had a couple of bad refereeing decisions against them. You know, there were lots of things
07:37they could point to on Friday and say, we were unlucky. But the point is, there were things that
07:42were in their hands that they didn't do. And, you know, Leon mentions about the investment.
07:47You know, they got Stuart Armstrong in, who looks a good signing. They got Ibrahim Sissoko,
07:51who's quite an exciting winger. But we know he wanted a centre-back and a centre-forward. And
07:55again, they're conceding poor goals. They need a centre-back. They're not ruthless enough with
08:01the chances. They need a quality centre-forward. It's kind of all playing out.
08:05Carl Ferguson and Ed Sheeran have been a common referee, you know,
08:09just sharpening up in this. It's just let them down a bit, hasn't it?
08:13Exactly. You know, and to be fair, I mean, Role pushed hard to get
08:18E.K. Ugo and that hasn't worked this season. You know, so that's, you can't say you can't put it
08:23all against the chairman's door by any stretch of the imagination. But they're just in a position
08:30where they're going to have a good season, you know, in the context of what happened last season.
08:35It's just, you know, how much better do they really want to be? Can they really be in this
08:44setup? And what can they change to push themselves on? Because, you know, Leon and I know a club of
08:51Sheffield Wednesday's heritage and standing and all this sort of stuff shouldn't be aspiring to
08:57be, you know, in the middle of the second division. It's as simple as that. But at the
09:02same time, you can't get carried away with yourself. You've only got the money you've got.
09:06You can only do what you can do. And as Leon says, they're squeezing everything that they
09:10can out of this group of players right now. Yeah, and obviously a huge football club, but
09:15you start talking against some of the teams that they're competing, you know,
09:19Wednesday may be bigger historically than Middlesbrough, even West Brom, but they've got far
09:25more resources, haven't they, to develop it and that's what they're competing against. And
09:30unfortunately, that's what they're up against. It's another service division this season.
09:35Yeah, I mean, history is that, it's history. You know, we're dealing in the present now
09:38on parachute payments and clubs that have been in the Premier League much more regularly than
09:43Sheffield Wednesday. And it just does make such a big difference into how competitive a squad can be.
09:49Yeah, yeah. And next we look to Leeds United, who had to settle for a point in their 1-0 draw
09:54with West Bromwich Albion. This still sees on top of the table and all things considered,
09:59I think that seven points from the last three games is a very good return, wouldn't you say,
10:03Stuart? Yeah, I think that's the point with Leeds. They were not at their best
10:10against West Bromwich Albion. Daniel Farke was getting quite angry in the first half about how
10:14many passes they were misplacing and a couple of bits of dozy defending. But, you know, we say this
10:20about all teams because it's true, particularly in the Football League, when you play four to six
10:24league games a season, you're not going to be at your best all the time. You're going to have
10:29these days. And if you have one of those days against a very good West Bromwich Albion team,
10:34you know, who look, you know, I'm a big fan of Carlos Cobra and having seen what he did at
10:41Huddersfield Town as a coach. Tony Mowbray looks like he's taken West Brom to another level again.
10:46So when you play like that against a team of that quality and you don't lose, it's job done.
10:52And when you've sort of bought yourself the wriggle room of having beaten Sheffield United
10:57and beaten Sunderland as well, you know, you can afford that. You can afford that day. That's
11:0317 games unbeaten. Now that's serious form, you know. And yeah, I think it was just one of those
11:10days to, you know, learn from, move on from and just accept that it happened. They weren't
11:15terrible by any means, but they just weren't. You know, Leeds fans have been spoiled recently by
11:21goal fests and then late wins. You know, as we said last week, it kind of showed all the good
11:26characteristics. To battle out a draw when you're a bit off it is another one to add to the list.
11:33I just think it's that great word at this time of year, perspective, isn't it? And
11:37probably another one, Cairn as well. Potentially they would use something like that, wouldn't they?
11:41They've won five in a row. If this division has taught anyone anything, it's not going to be
11:47sunshine and roses all the time, isn't it? But look at their home form over the course of the
11:53season and it's remarkable, isn't it? 45 points, you know, already at home and we're only just in
12:00early March. There's a few games to go and, yeah, just about keeping calm. You'd back Leeds
12:07with a sort of side to get back on the winning trail straight away. Interesting game for them
12:15at Portsmouth, for me. I think they're struggling a little bit at Portsmouth, but they've caused
12:21some big teams some issues down there. They beat Middlesbrough and they drew against
12:28Sheffield United. I think they drew against, I can't quite remember, I think they drew against
12:31Burnley as well. So an interesting test in that regard, but you'd back Leeds against
12:37in terms of tests being put in front of them and, yeah, just no need to panic really.
12:41You know, Stuart said 17 games unbeaten, unbeaten since, was it the end of November?
12:46End of November, yeah.
12:47Which is, you know, remarkably consistent and, you know, it has to be really, doesn't it? We've
12:53spoken enough times about the form shown by Sheffield United, the best away form in the
12:58division and, you know, lo and behold, something remarkable happened on Tuesday. Burnley conceded
13:04a goal, the third since, what was it, December the 21st. So all manner of staggering statistics
13:12from the teams at the top and, you know, I know it's been a couple of, you know, Sunderland as
13:18well. They're showing, they've got a strong jaw, they've shown an ability to bounce back from
13:23defeat. So, yeah, it's a great fight at the top there, but, you know, Leeds United are in the
13:28position where everyone currently wants to be.
13:30Yeah, as Leon says, Portsmouth is, you know, Portsmouth at 12 o'clock on a Sunday away is
13:38one of those big tests, but because Leeds have come through a couple of very different big tests
13:44recently, you kind of fancy them at the moment, you know. We, I guess we wait and see how they
13:51react when it gets to the real crunch time, as Daniel Farke likes to call it, but all the signs
13:56are good so far that when you throw challenges in front of this team, they respond really well to it.
14:01Yeah, I think as Chris Wilder said, he said before the game at QPR, it's not going to,
14:08I can't see a case that there's 12 games left, the team's not going to win all 12 games either,
14:13you're going to have a little bump or two, a draw here, a draw here and there,
14:17you know, but if you do win sort of eight or nine out of 12, you've got a very good chance,
14:21aren't you? But yeah, it's just a question about holding your nerve, we're still pretty early in
14:28the running and, you know, you look at Farke's record, he's been here many times over and the
14:34last thing he'll be doing is panicking.
14:35Yeah, yeah. And now we turn to Barnsley, who claimed a dramatic 4-3 victory over
14:41Lincoln City before following it up with a 1-0 defeat when they visited Charlton Athletic.
14:46Now, what did you make of the two fixtures? I mean, the fact that they are still in the
14:50hunt for a playoff spot is surely a positive for Tykes fans, wouldn't you say, Leon?
14:56Yeah, they've got a slim chance, Mark, they're doing the best they can really, unfortunately,
15:04at this time of year, they're one of two clubs in the area that injuries and suspensions are
15:09starting to catch up with them a little bit, but they've generated a little bit of hope.
15:14You know, let's not forget that just a couple of weeks ago, you know, they went into the South
15:19Yorkshire derby at Rotherham and there was a lot of noise about, you know, Darrell Clarke's
15:25position after a bit of a tough losing run, but, you know, it's a decent fight back, isn't it,
15:30to win three in a row, got a win at Rotherham, beat Northampton and the game against Lincoln was
15:37just infuriating, exasperating, but it was just very Barnsley. I've seen games like that before,
15:46it was all over, it was 3-0, they were looking home and hosed and so Lincoln pulled one back and
15:55a good goal from Max Watters, who's back, fit and available, you know, you thought 4-1,
16:01they'll just see this out, but the big thing at Barnsley this season, amongst other things,
16:08you know, their second half numbers are just dreadful and the amount of goals,
16:11I think they conceded over 20 goals in the final 15 or so minutes of the game.
16:17He got it a little bit wrong, Darrell Clarke, I could understand what he was
16:22sort of doing, trying to, he's got a few injuries, you've got a three goal lead,
16:26just protect one or two of your players, but without picking out one or two of the players
16:33who come on, and I won't particularly name them, but they did struggle, including a Debiton and
16:41yeah, it was really alarm bells time when Lincoln got the third goal and a really poor concession
16:47at the score from close range. So, you know, he looked like he'd been around the block,
16:53he'd been in the ring with Mohamed Ali, I think afterwards, Darrell Clarke,
16:57with a great picture from one of our photographers at the game with his head in his hands
17:03shortly before the end and, you know, if a picture could paint a thousand words,
17:08that was it. But they managed to get over the line and, you know, three wins in a row,
17:16it's a good position, but I just felt that the game at Charlton would probably be a little bit
17:21of a game too far. Charlton have got a good squad, they're strong and organised and they
17:26don't concede too many goals and I think that's how it panned out, although the goal was a bit
17:31of a mistake by all accounts from Varsity's perspective, the goalkeeper, but the result
17:39didn't surprise me. Unfortunately, they're doing it tough at the minute with a lot of players being
17:44out, one or two concerns as well on the night. Josh Hill came off with an issue and Adam Phillips
17:52as well and I think the problem is it was, it's fair to say, it was problematic, the recruitment
17:58in January for Barnsley and they haven't got sort of League One ready players to sort of come in
18:04and sort of step into the breach of this title. They've got one or two kids and probably unproven
18:11players and, yeah, it's hurting them a little bit and they're just going to have to sort of
18:18summon up the strength to go again and I think when you've got the issues with they didn't buy
18:23particularly well in January, they've got one or two injuries, that can really be hard in these
18:28three-game blocks for teams like Barnsley and, yeah, but they've still got a slight hope
18:39for the play-offs but I look at some of the contenders around them who are starting to get
18:44serious, it looks like they'll, they just won't have enough at Barnsley but at least, you know,
18:51a little bit of a morale boost in terms of the three wins in the four matches and, you know,
18:56let's see how they go on Saturday and basically what side he can pick as well,
19:01Clark, because his bench is looking thin at the minute. Yeah, I feel like Barnsley are a little
19:08bit similar to Sheffield Wednesday in regards to some of the things I've said before. They're
19:14definitely a top-half team but how badly do they want to make that next step? As Leon says,
19:22that recruitment was just not quite at the level they wanted and Daryl Clark had talked a bit like
19:27Danny Rolfe for so long, you know, in the months leading up about, I need to make changes, I want
19:34to make changes, it was clear that the desire was there from the manager's office to shake things up
19:41a bit and whilst they didn't do nothing, it just felt like it was a little bit half-hearted and
19:49just not quite the full level. And, you know, again, similar to Sheffield Wednesday,
19:55it's really tough competition to make those playoff spots because you've got some clubs
20:01with decent amounts of money thrown at it, you know, you've got clubs who, you know,
20:06bobbed around the Championship even more recently than Barnsley. It's tough competition but
20:12I don't know, you get the feeling that in some quarters, some quarters of that club,
20:17there's kind of an acceptance of being a sort of mid-table league one side,
20:25not all by any stretch of the imagination but just some and again, you kind of wonder what
20:30they need to do to take that next level. I mean, I think this week has sort of shown it up,
20:35you know, they're good enough to get 3-0 up and 4-1 up against Lincoln City but then they're not
20:41quite good enough in terms of the squad depth, as Leon was saying, to just see it out comfortably
20:47and then to back it up at Charlton Athletic. I don't think they're, you know, well, they're not
20:53a terrible side, the league table tells you that but they did and, you know, because of the playoff
21:00system, they're still in the hunt but you feel like they're outsiders and they're just not quite
21:05at that level to make that and again, you kind of feel like Barnsley with their recent history
21:13of having been in the championship, certainly should be aspiring for the playoffs pretty much
21:19every season at the moment and they just look a bit short of that to me. I think Half Hearted is
21:26fair analysis there, Stuart, they've gone in and they've signed an unproven, I'm not sort of
21:31picking on Clement Rodriguez but they've signed, it's basically a project, signing a bit of a punt,
21:36not someone to come in who you think, well, he can get, they've got a good chance this guy can
21:41get the six or seven goals that we need to, you know, finish sixth as opposed to finishing eighth
21:48really and I think there was a school of thought at looking at the sort of league table, you know,
21:56Birmingham are running away with it and you've got Rexham who are spending money, Huddersfield,
22:00do we keep our powder dry a little bit for the summer, January isn't it, obviously it's not a
22:06particularly great window to buy in and, you know, as well you look at who they've bought in
22:12the summer, Davies Keeler Dunham's been a really good buy hasn't he, he's 14 goals and it was a
22:19fair old outlay, you're sort of looking at, you know, £750,000, £800,000, so there was reticence
22:25to, you know, they've spent most of the lion's share of the budget on a marquee signing in the
22:33summer as opposed to January and to be fair to them it's worked hasn't it really, but yeah he
22:40just wanted a little bit more ambition didn't he, we're not saying sort of throw the kitchen
22:44sort of sinker to it but just think they've got the balance slightly wrong and I think the fear
22:50as well going forward is that, you know, Keeler Dunham's got 14 goals, I just wonder down the
22:55line if somebody at the bottom end of the sort of championship or maybe it could be wrong but
23:00maybe a team will get promoted to the second team, might have a little sort of look around
23:06and think he could be a player who could come in to some use for them, so he's, you know,
23:11he's 27, he's come into his prime, for me you're getting sort of two players in one, he's a very
23:16intelligent player, he can drop off and attack a midfielder but also got those striking instincts
23:21and that's, say there's a little bit of a fear going forward, they've still got two or three
23:25players, Barnsley who, you know, very good players at this level, Adam Phillips is into
23:30double figures for the third successive season since he joined Barnsley, think in the summer
23:36somebody, you know, clubs will be interested in potentially taking him, he's got Luka Connell
23:41as well but I think top of the list will be Keeler Dunham, it's fear for Barnsley, if they do lose one or two
23:47of these players in the summer, where do you go from here, you know, and yeah there's a good chance
23:53it'll be, you know, you could probably finish what eight, nine, ten, something like that,
23:58how they're going to go again next year when one or two of the players will potentially not be
24:03around, so but that's for the future really. I think that's always the danger of
24:08Barnsley though, the way they run the club, it's how you reinvest it, I mean project signings
24:13are good signings but Leon mentioned the word balance, it's about having the right
24:19structure around them and, you know, they made a really good signing in that regard in
24:23Mark Roberts, you know, just the kind of player you need these project signings around but then,
24:29you know, they signed Conor Horahan as a player coach and he's turned out just to be a coach
24:33rather than a player coach, you know, they just didn't have enough of that structure and that
24:37solidity to allow more of these project signings to really flourish or, you know, to allow
24:44the gamble to take place sort of thing and that seems to be where they've fallen short,
24:50so if they do get good money for Keylor Dunne, for example, who, let's be honest,
24:56looks like he's earned a shot at the championship, whether that be with Barnsley or someone else,
25:02they've got to think cleverly about how they bring their money in and not just put it all
25:06into one basket of, you know, these are signings we hope we're going to be able to sell them into
25:10the future, they need a few more, these are players who can guide them and sort of give them
25:15the on-field leadership and as I say, it's really about where do we want to be, do we want to be
25:25challenging for promotion or are we just happily toddling along where we are right now and I'm sure
25:29most Barnsley fans won't be and shouldn't be. Now, I mean, that's the thing with league,
25:34well, I mean, there's a lot of noise about, you know, how much, rightly so, how much money
25:38Birmingham has spent, how much money that Wrexham has spent, Huddersfield as well, they
25:43paid out extensively in charity but I think there's a lot of other clubs as well having a
25:48bit of a nibble whose budgets have raised and it's, you know, I don't think it's necessarily
25:54the best division in the world but it's certainly competitive, isn't it? Their budgets are going up
25:59and Barnsley fans are looking at it, I think historically we've had a fair amount of time
26:03in the championship in the last, you know, couple of decades, you know, where are we as a football
26:09club and wanting some genuine hope and ambition, not, you know, wanting ambition but a bit of hope
26:18going forward. Yeah, it's always that balance, isn't it, between being ambitious and being
26:22ridiculous and nobody wants to see Barnsley or anyone else spent into oblivion so there do,
26:28there does have to be limits on it and realism but it's always frustrating when you feel that
26:33there's more to give, yeah. Yeah, yeah and let's now turn to Huddersfield Town who clashed with
26:39Wrexham and played out a late 1-0 defeat. This sees them remain in the playoff positions however
26:45it is such a close race for the top six. Now, what were your thoughts on the game, Leon?
26:52They played pretty well in Huddersfield but it's just the way it's, it's the way it's going for
26:57them at, at home. It's, I think I mentioned after the Wigan game away, it was a bit of a perfect
27:04storm and that's how it's sort of feeling for them at home and, you know, without a goal in,
27:10in, I think it's, it's just December 29th now, it's approaching 10 hours and they just need,
27:17they just needed a bit of luck. They really found it difficult to score in the first half of
27:22of games at home, you know, crazily the last player who scored, Huddersfield player who scored
27:28at home in the first half was, I think it was Matty Pearson back on November the 23rd,
27:33which is remarkable, isn't it? I mean, the, the only goal of score, scored since was an own goal
27:39in the game against, against Stockport but yeah, they just, you just really need, really need a
27:46break. They're, they're doing it tough and, you know, I do feel for, for Michael Duff. I know he's
27:53getting some criticism from supporters but he's had so much disruption, it's just endless. It's,
27:57it's in the lead up to games, it's during a game and, you know, on Tuesday night,
28:02Josh Kuroma came off with a, with a calf problem. He'd actually started, started pretty well and
28:09so he obviously just disrupts his game plan. He brought in Dion Charles and
28:13yeah, there's just, just a lot of, just a lot of, a lot of issues at home. I think the good thing was
28:20the, never a good thing when you lose at home and you're on the sort of run that town are on and it
28:26is, it is in danger of sort of really derailing things, this home fault. You just need to,
28:33you need a bit of confidence and you need, you need to sort of score when you're on top but
28:37at the end the supporters did, they're obviously feeling a bit sore but they did,
28:41it was appreciative of the efforts at the final whistle and they clapped them off and I thought
28:45that was good. You know, you compare it to the previous home game against Peterborough when they
28:50were, when they were booed off. It may have had something to do with the manner of the opponent
28:55they were playing in terms of reps and they were all right up there but you just, you just want
29:00something to, something to, to go for them really. They, they played some nice one-touch football,
29:07the tempo was good but huge chance for Dion, Dion Charles. He, he's one of the few players
29:12who hasn't suffered from injury since he's, since he's actually come to Huddersfield but
29:17his confidence just looks totally shot. He was, he was played in at nil-nil just before the break,
29:23plenty of time to sort of see what he was doing and compose himself but it was a really wild
29:28finish and, and you felt sorry for the lad. He's an honest lad, his work rate is, is tremendous but
29:35he's, it's clearly on his mind, he's desperate for a, for a goal as you would be, you've gone to a
29:40new club, it's a decent chance of feet around his neck but you know, he ballooned his chance and
29:48you really did feel for them and it was one of those games, I mean, Stuart's probably,
29:53we've been around the block and we've, we've seen these sorts of games involving a lot of clubs
29:58over the years. I just thought, well, Rexham will just hang around and, and nick a goal,
30:04a team at the top end of the table going for promotion. It was a scruffy goal,
30:07a controversial goal as well, it looked like Stephen Fletcher on the goal line and he was
30:12slightly offside but as soon as, you know, Rexham have got four, you know, four or five serious
30:18players on the bench and he's a, he's a great go-to, he's Fletcher to bring on in the last sort
30:23of 20 minutes of a game when it's in the balance to nick a goal, he's done that so many times
30:29already this season and, you know, that's what's happened and, you know, another, another goalless
30:34game for Huddersfield, another game without, without scoring, they've only scored 18 goals
30:39at home this season and even though they played really well and they were, they were unlucky on
30:44the night, certainly deserved something from the game, couldn't argue with it, they could have
30:48nicked it as well but, you know, those statistics don't lie, they've had all sorts of injuries,
30:53disruptions to contend with but you're just not fancying them in front of goal at the minute and,
30:58you know, 18 goals, I think there's only three teams who've scored less in the entire division
31:03and if you're trying to get in the, you know, finishing the playoffs and it, you know,
31:08listening to Kevin Nagel, that's a, that's a bare minute, isn't it? Those, those numbers are
31:13going to have to improve drastically, I think, between now and the end of the season, certainly
31:20at home else it's putting a hell of a lot of pressure on their, on their away form which,
31:23you know, thankfully is decent but, yeah, it was a good performance from Huddersfield, they're having
31:29no luck at all, another injury issue or two, Nigel Longwhite came off at the break,
31:35hopefully not something, something with him, he came back a few weeks ago with a hamstring issue,
31:41he said, Dove said afterwards it might be a bit of, bit of cramp and he might be okay but
31:46there's a lot of crossing of fingers going on there and, yeah, they're doing it tough at the
31:51minute at home. Yeah, it's amazing how lucky all the successful teams get and how unlucky you are
32:00when things go against you, you know, we were talking about this with Leeds the other week that
32:04both sides just find a way and obviously it helps when you've got a striker like Stephen Fletcher
32:10on the bench and Huddersfield are struggling to get goals out of their, their starting strikers
32:16but, you know, obviously if you, if you've got, if you're ever given the choice between picking up
32:22your points at home and away you'd obviously much rather do it at home where you've got more of your,
32:26more of your fans paying, paying to watch and just, I mean, all, all season long even when
32:31things have been going well for Huddersfield there's a, there was kind of a feeling that,
32:37you know, it was a bit austere, not, not the most entertaining stuff and, you know,
32:45ultimately it's about getting the job done and if you're getting the job done that, that's all
32:48that matters but once results start to drop off it's, if you haven't got that to fall back on as
32:55well it can become a bit difficult. Again, it's another club where there's sort of questions
32:59about the hierarchy and, you know, Mark Cartwright's getting a lot of, a lot of stick for the recruitment
33:05and that sort of thing. I mean, I would say in his defence that he'd go out and get two centre
33:09forwards and I'd say one of them, as Leon's outlined, it just hasn't happened for him and
33:13the other one gets injured, you know, pretty much straight away. They've got another two injured as
33:18well. They've got another two injured as well and it's just, it's just following them around and,
33:22you know, Kevin Nagel mentioned this week that injuries are such a big factor across the game
33:28at the moment and I do think on a, on a, on a wider level it's something that needs looking
33:32at because it really is hampering so many clubs and therefore, you know, reducing the quality
33:38of football that everyone's paying to watch but that's, that's for other people. Huddersfield
33:42have just got to deal with, with what they've got to deal with and they've, they've just got to,
33:47they've just got to find a way really and it's, you know, it's, it's difficult because
33:52they really have got a, you know, a negative momentum at the moment and, you know, as they
33:57stand at the moment, they're in the playoff places but if, if Bolton win the game in hand then
34:02they're dropping out of it. That's, that's quite a far cry from a couple of months ago when they
34:05were really looking, you know, quite settled in the, in the, in the playoff positions and quite
34:11safe so it's, it's, you know, it's a test of, it's a test of Michael Duff and his players and it's,
34:16it's a real test of character more than anything else. You know, there were,
34:20obviously the squad's changed quite a bit but there were question marks about the character
34:23of that group last season. You know, for those who were, for those who have survived the,
34:30the cult, it's important that they step forward and really show that they are,
34:35they are leaders, they are prepared to roll the sleeves but I do believe Huddersfield have got
34:38players like that but, you know, we can say all the nice things we want. Ultimately, they've got
34:44to get winning points, they've got to get scoring goals at home, they've just got to get their head
34:48down and get on with it. Yeah, I mean, they did, they gave, they gave everything. There's nothing
34:53wrong with the spirit there, plainly and, you know, to be fair to them, they have dug out a result or
34:58two lately, haven't they? They were, obviously, when I did the game at Barnsley, they were 1-0
35:01down. They got a whole load of stick from the, a big away contingent at half-time and
35:06I think you've got to have something about you to come out in the second half and turn it around.
35:11They did that and they dug out a result at Shrewsbury, as they did at Stevenage as well,
35:17so there's, I don't, there's nothing wrong with the, with the spirit and the togetherness there
35:22but it's just, you know, certainly a lack of confidence at home in the, in the final third,
35:29the constant disruption they're getting and I don't think the itinerary, it sounds like I'm
35:34making excuses all the time but it is a fact, isn't it? I think they're in the third, in the
35:39third week of a three-game week and when you've got players out, not just one or two players,
35:45when you, you know, you've got six, seven, eight, nine players out through injury, suspension comes
35:51in as well, that's, that is, that is tough, isn't it, at this stage of the season when you're doing
35:56these sort of three-game weeks, you know, two or three times in a row, so I think they'll be
36:01grateful at least that next week they've got, it's a Saturday, it's a Saturday turnaround.
36:06I think the week after is as well, although there's some question marks about whether the,
36:11the home game against, against Wickham will, will be, will be played because it's in the
36:17international break and there could be one or two, potentially one or two call-ups which could put
36:22that in, in jeopardy and I suppose from a Huddersfield perspective, if they didn't play,
36:26it'll give them a chance to give them another week to, to maybe get one or two back or a bit
36:31more work on the training ground because, yeah, amongst, amongst all the things that
36:37they're having to contend with, the, you know, the, the lack of, the lack of training time,
36:43you know, it's been, it's been rest, recovery, play and then they've had problems with how many
36:48players can, can actually train, so at least a clear few, few weeks will, you know, it should
36:55help Dufferley's squad from that perspective at least, but they need to turn it around
36:59pretty quickly at home. They've got a big home game coming up against,
37:03against Crawley, isn't it? And that looks a must-win one for me.
37:08Yeah, and our next stop this week is Hull City who welcomed Plymouth Argyle and the game resulted in
37:14a valuable 2-0 victory for the Tigers and in the process helped them create some more breathing
37:19space between themselves and the drop zone. What were your thoughts on the performance
37:24by Hull City, Stuart? Well, it wasn't, it wasn't sparkling. It wasn't, you know, it wasn't the
37:31greatest football performance I've seen all season, but it was, it was, and Plymouth were
37:37really poor, I mean, disappointingly poor when you think what they've shown they're capable of
37:42in the FA Cup recently, even away from home. But, you know, the fact of the matter is,
37:48all have had home games against, you know, teams not as good as them this season and not done the
37:54job. They did the job. You know, there was a ruthlessness about them. There was a brightness
37:58about them. To go back to what we've been saying about teams like Huddersfield, there was some
38:05luck about them. You know, the second goal, almost certainly Jao Pedro was offside, the flag didn't
38:11go up. You need those things. You need those, you need those bits and bobs. They've had no luck with
38:16injuries. You know, three players whose seasons ended by ACLs and all sorts of injuries too.
38:24So, you've got to, you've got to grab every bit of luck that comes your way, you know.
38:29And yeah, that breathing space that you mentioned, really important. I mean, I haven't checked,
38:34but I would imagine, I would imagine 19th is probably the highest they've been this season
38:40since the league table actually meant anything meaningful. You know, so that's a big psychological
38:48tick in the box, even though they're only above two teams on goal difference. But I think the
38:52biggest thing is that they won at home again. They needed that so badly. I mean, Plymouth had got the
38:58worst away record in the division. Even now, Hull have still got the worst home record. It's that
39:03bad. But, you know, you look at what they've got coming up, they've got one, two, three, four,
39:09five home games left, including Oxford, Luton and Derby. So, you know, to go into those games,
39:17not believing they can win at home would be, you know, a real handicap. If they can,
39:23if they can pick up some results in those games, then that's going to be massive.
39:28And yeah, I feel like, you know, it's hard for Liam and I, in the sense that we dip in and out
39:35of teams, and sometimes you can get a false impression if you catch a team a few times on
39:40a bad day or a few times on a good day. But I feel like there's good things happening at Hull,
39:45and they're moving in the right direction, I have to say. And if they can just get through this
39:49season and have a bit more luck with injuries next season, I think they've got the potential
39:54to kick on if they recruit well. They look as though they've got the makings of a decent team.
40:02Poeta was excellent in midfield. Joe Galehart alone from Leeds was terrific the other night,
40:08and they'll be very keen to see if they can have him back next season, because he makes a big
40:14difference for them. Yeah, I feel like things are moving in the right direction. But of course,
40:20the next big stumbling block for Hull is just winning back to bad games. Still haven't done
40:26that since that crazy three wins on the trot with Tim Balter, which were just so deceptive,
40:33and such a freak in their season. If they can just do that, and it's a big, big if because
40:40they were at Bristol City the other weekend, which is a really tough game for them. But
40:45if they could just get over that hurdle, that would do so much for their belief, because too
40:50often with them it's one step forward and one step back. But as far as the step forward goes,
40:54it was a good one, and I hope it'll lead to more. Yeah, I think psychologically Stuart's
41:01seen a lot more of Hull than I have this season, but you just sort of wondered where it'd lead
41:06them psychologically if they didn't win that. So it just felt such a big night in this season,
41:10and one of those games where if you win with a bit of style, great, but primarily it's just about
41:17getting over the line and doing the job. That's what Hull have done, and it's the usual preparation
41:24for the teams who are around them, and they've got to play the likes of Luton and Oxford, and
41:30looking at the league table, they're sort of dragging one or two more teams into it,
41:33aren't they really? Which is always a good thing, and I think the thing with Hull is that
41:39they've shown, actually they've won loads of games lately, but they're chipping away,
41:44aren't they? They'll have a three or four game spell, then they'll get a win, and one or two
41:48curveball wins almost, going up to Sunderland, going up to Sheffield United. Tremendous performances
41:56and results, and a little bit, I think Stuart's mentioned it, and I have about the time that
42:02Liam Messina came in, and the first thing he did, he made them more resolute and organised,
42:08and I think there's a bit of that going on with Salah's as well. Like I said, I haven't seen too
42:12much of them, but they seem harder to beat, and their defensive numbers, I mean they had
42:18the crazy game with Leeds, but to be fair, they were playing Leeds, and they conceded three goals,
42:23but they've been reasonably consistent, haven't they? For a team at the bottom, they haven't
42:26had too many sort of shallockings, have they? And it's been decent in that regard, and
42:32even though the main theme of the recruitment in January was probably signing players in the
42:37final third, but he's clearly a hands-on coach, and he's obviously big on the detail,
42:44and they've got their act together defensively in that regard. You've got to be organised to
42:51go away to Sheffield United and Sunderland and pick up victories this season, so that reflects
42:55well on them. But yeah, it's the next one to tick off, as Stuart said, getting those back-to-back
43:02wins, and winning a few more games that are going to matter for them this season, if they're not
43:06going to have a tense final few weeks. But yeah, it's looking a little bit more positive, which is
43:12a good thing, because it's been a really difficult season at all. Yeah, I mean, it's the hope that
43:17kills you, and you see some of those games, and you think brilliant, but the overall picture is
43:23that they are moving forward in the right direction. There's a lot of stumbles on the path,
43:28but the general direction of movement is a good one, and when you think that they were bottom of
43:33the table when Sayers came in, yeah, I feel like they're getting there, and nights like when they
43:42win at Bramall Lane in the stadium just encourage you that there's that much further to keep going.
43:48And finally for this week, I will look to Leon for his Team of the Week before turning to Stuart
43:53for his Player of the Week. So, Leon, who have you decided deserves the title of Team
43:58of the Week this week? Yeah, well, there's one or two contenders. I mean, it was remarkable on
44:03Saturday. I mean, Leeds United are still doing great. They obviously dropped points against
44:08West Brom, and they're the only team in action on the Saturday from Yorkshire who never won.
44:13Everybody else won, so there's been some rough moments this season for a lot of our clubs, so
44:20that was a pretty noteworthy feather in the cap for a few teams there. One or two teams going
44:26through them, mention to Harrogate, really. I know they're down there, they've been scrapping
44:32for their lives, and they've had this sort of show on this side, haven't they, over a few years,
44:37you think they're getting into trouble, then they'll chip away and get a couple of results.
44:42Big game for them against Accrington, they won that. Not only win that, they backed it up and
44:46getting a great point at Port Vale, so seven points out of the last 12 for them. They've
44:52just got a little bit of a buffer there, because it looks quite a tense fight at the bottom of
44:58League Two. Rotherham United, we've spoken a bit about them. I did the recent game against
45:06Barnsley, and they were really poor, I thought, and a little bit too close to the bottom of the
45:11table for comfort. A few questions asked for them, but they produced back-to-back
45:18wins at just the right time against Bristol Rovers and Orient, so they'll be sleeping a
45:23little bit easier now. It's a huge win for Hull. Middlesbrough, back in the game of sorts,
45:29aren't they? A couple of wins, a much-needed win at Stoke, and then they managed to find a way past
45:37John Eustace's team for, I think it must be the first time ever, I think, to get three points.
45:43Finazar's coming into his own again, which is good to see. A big player for Budda,
45:47when they had their little harvest in November. There's been some decent... I keep probably
45:56mentioning it, like a broken record, you can't get away from Bradford City. Ten in a row at home
46:03for the first time ever, and that win at Salford on Saturday, that just looked to be a team that
46:10are going up for me. They went behind, had a lot of issues. I like the fact when Halliday scored,
46:19he got an equaliser. A lot of teams just thought, right, we've got a point and
46:24take it. But as soon as he scored, he grabbed the ball straight back,
46:27let's go and win it. Obviously, they won it at the end through the goal from
46:32Mellon. Obviously, backed up with a midweek win. They were missing big players as well on
46:37Tuesday night. They were missing Sarsevic, Paterson and Bobby Poyne's got a bit of a foot
46:45issue as well. Everyone knows about Andy Cook being not there, but they're just finding a way
46:50and they're on an absolute crest of a wave. I've probably said this a few times, and Stuart has,
46:57I can't avoid Bradford City at the minute. Stuart, who have you decided deserves Player
47:02of the Week? Well, again, spoilt for choice and coming to similar conclusions to Leo.
47:09Just to mention a few of the others, I mean, Leezy's full-backs continue to show great form.
47:15I mean, Junior Firpo was a little bit tired in some of his defensive work, but the pair of them
47:21attacked so well on a day when their team weren't playing great. So, certainly a mention for Jadon
47:26Bogle and Junior Firpo. Davis Kilo done just for the goal alone, that was a terrific goal
47:31at the weekend, wasn't it? And Leon highlighted last week, well, as mentioned again today,
47:36what a good job he's doing for them. Ruben Ruskin, really good to see him, you know,
47:41finally finding his feet. He obviously had a terrible start to life at Huddersfield Town.
47:48Rob Street didn't score in midweek, but I think that's five in his last seven league games.
47:55Yeah, I mean, that's so important. Leon mentioned the flip side of it with Leon Charles. You know,
47:59you look at players like Tom Cannon, that first goal when you join the club is so important and
48:06can set you on a run like that. So, Michael Mellon's goal for Bradford again was huge.
48:11But I think there's a couple of statistics which are just incredible about Bradford at the moment.
48:20One goal conceded in the calendar year is just bonkers, you know, in 11 games. But what makes
48:28even more impressive for me is what Leon alluded to. They've used, in terms of players starting the
48:36game, not even subs, just in the league, not talking about the trophy, they've used 23 players
48:41already this year at 13 games. So, there's a constant chopping and changing. And, you know,
48:46Leon quite rightly pointed out how difficult that is for Huddersfield Town at the moment,
48:51but they've kind of got this, they've got to this point where they've got this structure
48:55where people can come in and out and it just doesn't make a big difference. So, I'm always
49:01loathed, you know, we have the Golden Gloves and all this and the goalkeeper gets all the reward
49:08for the clean sheets. But given how much the back three has been changing in front of him
49:13and the midfield as well, I mean, players like Jack Sheppard have been doing a great job,
49:18lots of players have been doing a great job. But the fact that Sam Walker in goal has been
49:22a constant throughout this and kept another clean sheet in an important home win, I'm going
49:28to go for him for the player of the week because I think he's been so important and the whole
49:33defensive set-up has been so important for Bradford recently. Yeah, I think that's a good
49:38call. It just reflects well on the culture there that he's built, Graham Alexander. And if they do
49:44get over the line, it's going to be, everyone's going to put their hand up there pretty much,
49:48won't they?
50:18If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or
50:22Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcast.yp.sport
50:27at nationalworld.com. As ever, many thanks for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.