On this week’s show, YP football writing duo Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall assess England’s latest international break, one which saw them qualify for Euro 2024 with an international break.
They also discuss the confirmed appointment of Danny Rohl as the successor to the axed Xisco Munoz at Sheffield Wednesday and whether he will succeed in turning the Owls’ poor Championship season around.
And in League Two, they discuss the turnaround in form of Bradford City under caretaker boss Kevin McDonald, while the steady improvement for Doncaster Rovers continues to take shape under Grant McCann.
They also discuss the confirmed appointment of Danny Rohl as the successor to the axed Xisco Munoz at Sheffield Wednesday and whether he will succeed in turning the Owls’ poor Championship season around.
And in League Two, they discuss the turnaround in form of Bradford City under caretaker boss Kevin McDonald, while the steady improvement for Doncaster Rovers continues to take shape under Grant McCann.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:14 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:17 of our football writing team. On this week's episode we are joined by Chief Football Writer
00:21 for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Bjorn
00:24 Woffsdal, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget
00:29 you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
00:32 onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:38 feeds, the main one being @ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:43 Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you
00:47 have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or
00:51 Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:55 at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
00:59 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:04 the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Bjorn Woffsdal.
01:08 Good morning guys.
01:09 Morning.
01:10 Morning.
01:11 Right, this week we didn't have any action in League One as Barnsley's game against
01:15 Portland Wanderers was postponed due to international call-ups. We did however see the second international
01:21 break which we will cover more in this episode. We also saw Harrogate Town Falls with 3-1
01:26 defeat at the hands of Stockport County. But first, let's talk about England, who were
01:33 able to come away with a victory when they welcomed Australia to Wembley. Ollie Watkins'
01:38 goal in the 57th minute of the game was enough for the hosts. This was then followed up by
01:44 a 3-1 victory when they faced Italy, and by doing so, sealed their qualification for next
01:49 year's European Championships. What did you make of the performances, Stuart? And was
01:54 there anything that stood out for you in particular?
01:58 Well, the performance in the Australia friendly wasn't great, frankly. They were a little
02:06 bit lucky to win, but the international break was all about the Italy game. Nothing else
02:14 really mattered. Friendlies are friendlies for a reason. They're there to try things
02:18 out and look at things. Competitive games are about getting the job done, and England
02:22 have won home and away against Italy. People can talk Italy down all they like. They're
02:28 the European champions. England have won the group, qualified with an international break
02:34 to spare. It's been a tremendous international break for them. And just another reminder
02:44 of what an absolutely outstanding player they've got in Jude Bellingham. There's always areas
02:52 you're looking to improve as a team, and I say that's what the friendly is about. But
02:58 you couldn't ask for too much better in terms of the way England have qualified, and generally
03:05 the way they've been ticking over under Gareth Southgate for the last couple of years. I
03:13 think it's, notwithstanding the fact that it wasn't a great performance against Australia,
03:20 it's still been a really good week for them.
03:23 It's almost like you're spent on the Germany teams of years ago, Stuart. They've got the
03:34 game together pretty comfortably. You can see with England, they've got the respect
03:42 of the big tables at European football now, haven't they really? It's just all about the
03:49 next step, but of course the next step is the huge one, isn't it? Actually winning something.
03:54 Stuart's right to say, Bellingham is a player that the rest of Europe, the top teams fear
04:03 to see a match winner in Kane. Just look at what Gareth Southgate's done, and whether
04:11 he chooses to call time next summer after the finals come what may, but he's chalked
04:17 up a fair few milestones, hasn't he? Getting a double over Italy, I think. What was the
04:23 win in Italy the first time since about 1960, wasn't it? It was obviously the 77s, and it's
04:30 the first time he's managed to beat them at home. He's done that, he's chalked up a few
04:37 accomplishments as well, beating Germany in the Euros. Everything's set fair, and I suppose
04:45 I think now with the qualifying and the next international break, he can start to really
04:51 try out a few more things and make sure when he does pick his squad for the finals, there's
04:57 some real intense competition and some really good dilemmas in terms of who actually gets
05:06 in the squad. I don't know how Tony will come back in, so he might get a bit of a chance
05:16 in the new year, the Anthony Gordons, Lewis at Man City. Southgate will be wanting a lot
05:22 more of the younger players to knock on the door, giving problems in terms of his first
05:30 team side and his substitutes, but it's his squad really. There could be some serious
05:35 competition just to get in that squad.
05:38 And I think as well it's not just about the personnel, it's about just having slightly
05:43 different ways of playing. I'm not necessarily even talking about different formations and
05:48 things, but just like two right-wingers who do the job in different ways, for example
05:53 Foden plays it differently to Saka, full-backs who can do different things and all that sort
06:00 of thing. And that's the luxury of qualifying early, they can look at these things. To be
06:05 fair, they tried to get a little bit funky with a few things in the Australia game, the
06:11 way they used Trent Alexander-Arnold more in his Liverpool-type role and all that sort
06:16 of thing. And as I say, it wasn't the greatest success on the night, but it didn't matter.
06:23 It was a friendly, it was the right thing to do to look at these things and to decide
06:27 whether it's worth persevering with or worth looking at something else.
06:31 But I just think that's the thing about England under Southgate. There's been times in the
06:38 really top games where they've just looked a little bit short of extra ideas when things
06:45 have been tough, when they've been playing top sides like France and Croatia and things
06:49 like that. But I think Bellingham in himself brings something different in terms of the
06:56 role he's playing for England this season is more attacking than the one he played at
07:00 the World Cup because of what he's doing with Real Madrid. That gives you an extra dimension.
07:04 The fact that Saka's become such a good player at cutting inside and scoring goals, that
07:10 gives you something extra when he can go outside as well. I do feel as though they're progressing
07:16 on the right track. The acid test, as always, will be the major tournaments. It's all well
07:21 and good qualifying well, but if you don't do well in the tournament, it's a waste of
07:26 time. That will be the defining thing for Southgate's legacy if, as Leon says, and I
07:35 think a lot of us expect, it's his last tournament. But I think regardless, what he's achieved
07:41 so far with this team, yes he hasn't won anything, but the strides forward he's taken in terms
07:47 of reaching World Cup semi-finals and Nations League semi-finals and that sort of thing,
07:53 obviously the European Championship final. I think it's been a really, really positive
07:57 period for English football. I think we're all just desperate for them to go one step
08:02 further because it feels like the talent in that squad deserves it. They've got the camaraderie,
08:08 they've got the organisation, they've got the talent. It's an important six months or
08:16 so to just see if they can nudge it on one step further.
08:20 I think Bellingham is the one player we spoke about, teams in Europe, big teams having the
08:28 respect. It's the fear as well. You look at Bellingham, he's played for arguably the biggest
08:35 football club in the world in a prime position. He's scoring goals, he's a top dollar player
08:43 who's only going to get better. He could become a massive player in world football. England
08:49 have got him and they're starting to harvest the best of him. It's just incredible how
08:55 young he still is when you look at him. He just doesn't really have a weakness, does
09:01 he? They've got Kane to back it up and sack him as well, haven't they, Stuart?
09:06 Absolutely. It's incredible as well. I think it was Southgate saying last night, the ability
09:10 is one thing but the mentality to rise to the occasion as well. He grasped that qualifier
09:19 by the scruff of the neck really. Really, a 20-year-old kid should be looking and saying,
09:24 "Harry Kane's there and later on in the game Jordan Henderson's behind me." I'll let them
09:30 take the responsibility. But no, he was like, "I belong on this stage. I should be running
09:36 the show." And he did.
09:37 It will be a tough final. We've obviously got France now and they're all about France
09:48 and they've been an outstanding side for a good while now. Spain are getting themselves
09:52 into gear again and the Portuguese as well. They're half decent. There are some serious
10:00 sides there but no-one should be more serious than England. They've got what they've got
10:04 in their armoury and Southgate will be praying in the running for an injury-free run so his
10:14 big players all go into it in the right condition. They're not too jaded and they're right at
10:23 it. As I mentioned before, there are some other selection problems for his squad as
10:27 well but he's got another outstanding job in terms of getting his safety through and
10:36 qualified. To be fair, Italy and, to a lesser extent, Ukraine are half decent as well. The
10:44 qualification has been pretty much a cakewalk. Even that win last night, beating Italy 3-1.
10:52 Italy don't go through the ages. They've not many times conceded three goals in a qualifier,
11:00 let alone get beaten twice by the same team in qualifying. That's not a serious statement.
11:09 Now we turn our attention to the Championship. Even though there was no action in the Championship,
11:15 there was news that Sheffield Wednesday have appointed 34-year-old Danny Rowell as their
11:20 new head coach. Danny Rowell is no stranger to English football having served under Ralph
11:25 Hassenhutl at Southampton. However, this is his first managerial role. With the Owls rooted
11:32 at the bottom of the table, what do you think will be the first tasks in his in-tray, Leon?
11:39 He's got a lot, hasn't he? Providing a bit of hope from somewhere. Club records start
11:46 to the season in a bad way. Spirits are bound to be sagging after the short-range tenure
11:54 of Magisca. He's just craving a bit of coherence and something to buy into. He made Rowell
12:03 made all the right noises in his press conference on Friday. He's only 34 but in terms of his
12:14 CV and being an assistant, he can't get much better really. Look at the people he's worked
12:21 with. Ralph Brandwick, Hassenhutl at Southampton, Hansi Blitt. Even though he's young, he's
12:30 been in and around coaching for a good while. He seems ready for this step. He spoke about
12:37 it being 10 years in the waiting for this moment. The proof will be in the pudding.
12:44 It will be interesting to see how he sets about and does things. He's got his coaching
12:53 principles but he's not necessarily welded to the system in a formation. He'll be working
13:00 it out this week. There have been one or two players in out of the cold such as Marvin
13:07 Johnson. His first selection and team sheet at Wampedale will also be interesting. He's
13:17 got three out of four away from home. I think sometimes a new manager, that might not necessarily
13:23 be too bad. The away games, find out a bit about the players, get them jelling a little
13:33 bit. If they can just somehow dig out a win from somewhere, whether it's at Watford or
13:40 at Plymouth on Wednesday, it's to give them that transfusion of hope and aid in that growth
13:49 under Rowland and togetherness. The players can buy into something that is just massively
13:54 made up.
13:55 I think it's important as well that he makes everyone feel involved. We're a bit critical
14:02 of Chiscombe Munoz about the fact that he didn't make full use of some of the key players
14:09 from last season. Neil Thompson as caretaker manager came in and pretty much only used
14:15 the players from last season, which was the right thing to do for a one-off game. But
14:20 going forward, he's got to make both of those groups, the new additions and the old heads,
14:26 both feel involved. Can't afford for it to be two cliques. Everyone's got to feel they
14:33 have a chance, which to be fair is normally the case when a new manager comes in. They're
14:37 normally sensible enough not to close the door on anyone who's not been involved before.
14:43 But they really need to get a blend of that experience and that new vitality to get a
14:52 good blend. I think his backroom appointments will be important as well. I was encouraged
15:01 when Leon was there at his first press conference when Leon said he's looking to bring in an
15:10 English coach with experience of common sense. Likewise, I think the one appointment he's
15:17 made so far, Sascha Lenzer, who's got some experience of English football but also knows
15:25 a fair bit by all accounts about psychology, I think that's important. We all saw what
15:32 psychology did for them in turning around the play-off semi-final against Peterborough.
15:40 When you're at a big club, when you're at the bottom of the league, what's between the
15:44 ears is really important, which is part of the reason I was a bit uncomfortable with
15:49 him writing off so many of the players who'd shown their mettle in that respect. But I
15:56 think as always, it starts with optimism and you can have your reservations about this
16:03 or that. But ultimately, the proof's in the pudding. As Leon says, if they get a good
16:10 result in either of those first two away games, it will just bring a bit of optimism. And
16:20 Hillsborough needs to be feeling positive about that game. I think that's the most important
16:26 thing. Rotterdam have bloodied their noses a few times in the last couple of meetings,
16:31 so it certainly isn't going to be straightforward. But it'll be near impossible if the atmosphere
16:36 is as it was for the Sunderland game. If there's a bit of positivity, a bit of encouragement
16:42 as there was for the Huddersfield game when Neil Thompson was in charge, then there's
16:47 a much better chance of that being a really good contest.
16:50 I think there's tools for him to work with. The staff are very poor, obviously three points
16:57 in eleven, but they've still got a good, strong core of senior players. And Roel spoke about
17:05 as much as he was speaking about his approach to football, his philosophy. He was referencing
17:10 mentality and personality. He spoke about the Peterborough game. You look at Wednesday
17:16 and even the second half of last season went on that bad run. A lot of questions, a lot
17:21 of pressure. The players had to stand up and show the mettle, and the senior players did.
17:27 Obviously there's a fair few of them will be hurting it in a minute. Some will be hurting
17:32 it being out of the fray, as Stuart said, with Zysko not playing certain players. There's
17:41 just a professional pride hurting it in terms of it being a desperate start to the season.
17:46 But you look at what they've got, the Bannons, the Byers, Liam Palmer, Michael Smith.
17:53 Joshua Ndesi is the league leader.
17:56 Yeah, a few of us too. It looks like there's a core and a spine that you can mould into
18:00 something. Maybe it's the case on the outside, just fitting some of the other players in.
18:06 But I don't see it as being all this loss for Wednesday at the moment by no means, even
18:14 though it's obviously been a wretched start to the season. There's still just about enough
18:20 time to get their act together and mould themselves into shape. I just think this next block of
18:25 games, they're going to need to give themselves a little bit of a transfusion of hope going
18:31 into the next break. It's pretty much a clear run after that, isn't it, through the winter
18:37 and spring until the end of the season. They won't be making targets publicly. I just think
18:45 that Rotherham game looks huge, doesn't it? But they really do need to get something tangible
18:52 in this next block of games before the November break.
18:58 And Leon's outlined the players from last season there when he talked about the talent.
19:04 I think there's some talent in the players they've brought in, but they've just not been
19:08 brought into a good environment to show it, have they? It's too early to say he's going
19:14 to be a great player and he's going to struggle. But I think some of them that have struggled
19:18 so far, maybe if they had a bit more experience around them, if they were in a team that was
19:23 playing a bit better, if they were playing in front of a crowd that had more cause for
19:28 optimism, we might see a bit more from people like Moussa Abba, who we've seen glimpses
19:33 from so far. We might see a bit more from Paul Valentin, Dijon Bernat at his moments.
19:40 Vasquez has certainly made some mistakes, but he's done some good things as well. So
19:45 yeah, hopefully, I say, there'll be the foundation that those 13 new signings don't all turn
19:55 out to be the write-offs that you might jump to that conclusion about after the first couple
20:00 of months.
20:01 I think just quickly on the first two games, the player Watford side, who Watford have
20:05 struggled a little bit, haven't they? I saw them at Leeds some time back and they were
20:08 really disappointed. I was quite surprised. They'll be under a little bit of pressure
20:14 as well. Their fans will be looking to play in Sheffield Wednesday expecting to win, so
20:18 there'll be a pressure shed in that respect. To a lesser extent, even Plymouth, they had
20:25 a good start to the season, but they've tailed off a little bit and I suppose the reality
20:30 of Championship life has crept in a little bit. So if they don't get a good result on
20:35 Saturday, there'll be pressure from their supporters to beat Wednesday as well and that
20:40 might work for the visitors. We'll just have to wait and see and fingers crossed that Wednesday
20:46 can get the season rolling.
20:50 We talk about the home crowds and whether it's better to be home and away and all this
20:54 sort of thing, but I don't know the numbers of the tickets they've sold, but frankly Sheffield
20:58 Wednesday could play on the moon and they'd have a bigger way following. So I say if the
21:04 Watford crowd is a bit nervous, you will hear a lot from the away end. Likewise at Plymouth,
21:12 despite the distances involved and despite the fact it's a midweek night, I'm absolutely
21:16 sure they'll have a good following there and hopefully that'll create the right sort of
21:22 'us against the world', 'backs to the wall' atmosphere where they can pull something out.
21:29 I think they've sold out for Watford as well, so they'll be a good 11-1200, a decent following
21:40 down in Devon. It could be a coming together moment.
21:46 Now we turn our attention to League Two and Bradford City who claimed a 1-0 victory over
21:51 Wimbledon thanks to Emmanuel Ossedabi's goal with just under half an hour of the game to
21:57 go. This is the Bantams' second victory under caretaker player manager Kevin MacDonald and
22:03 has seen them climb to 11th in the table and just three points shy of the play-off spots.
22:09 Now what were your thoughts on the performance from the team and have you got any news on
22:13 their search for a new permanent manager, Stuart?
22:15 Well, my immediate thought is Kevin MacDonald had better be pretty careful because he was
22:20 talking a week or so ago about not really wanting to go into management just yet because
22:27 he's not finished with playing. Well, if he carries on like this, he might find he has
22:31 to. I mean, you talk about two wins, that's not counting the Football League trophy which
22:38 we all ignore when it doesn't suit us and count when it does. If you took that in, it's
22:42 three wins out of three in a week. It wasn't an amazing performance at Wimbledon. I was
22:49 down there and they sort of had to hang in during the first half. They needed a couple
22:55 of good Harry Lewis saves and then a substitution MacDonald made bringing on Ossa Deby. He scored
23:03 within four minutes I think it was and just gave Bradford a bit more pep going forward.
23:10 I say these are all good signs to win a game like that where you are up against it in the
23:16 first half. You struggle to do that when you've got a manager like Mark Hughes towards the
23:23 end, Chisco towards the end at Sheffield Wednesday where the faith in the manager is a bit weak.
23:30 If you've got a manager that you believe in, it does a lot for the spirit of the group
23:36 and it's clear that the Bradford City players are really playing for Kevin MacDonald. They
23:41 all talk about how much they enjoy playing for them and you might say, well of course
23:46 they would and they would. But you do get the sense that it's genuine and they really
23:51 do enjoy working with him. There's a novelty value that can always wear off but for now
23:57 certainly they seem to be really enjoying working for him, really enjoying having some
24:02 different ideas. He speaks very well. He does come across as a future manager. I say the
24:09 question for him and for Bradford is how far in the future but I think in terms of their
24:16 managerial search, I think it's just taken the pressure off a bit. I think not only does
24:22 it give them an excuse to take their time, I think they'll actually really want to take
24:27 their time over this whilst MacDonald is continuing to perform like that so that they can assess
24:33 really whether they've already got the right man in place. I say it would be a difficult
24:39 one for him because you always find with player managers, or almost always anyway, that they
24:44 underplay themselves. MacDonald is still a really good player at League Two level, a
24:53 really good midfielder. It's a bit of a waste that in both those league games he's not been
24:57 involved in the matchday squad but then the other side of it is it's so hard to be a player
25:03 and a manager for any sustained period of time. I think there'll be some difficult
25:09 choices ahead but at the moment kicking the can down the road is probably actually the
25:15 best thing for that football club. I think it's just a case of we'll see where the next
25:20 few weeks take us really. Yeah, I think it's a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
25:26 There's been a bit of a bounce. The players are bought into what MacDonald's said in terms
25:35 of his approach on the training ground and the day-to-day environment. Results have shown
25:43 that things have been lifted and they're buying into what he's preaching. It's great to see
25:51 and the interesting one is they've got a huge game against Wrexham on Saturday for different
25:58 reasons. Obviously they're the talk of the division in what respects Wrexham is a field
26:03 that Parkinson's perhaps are coming back. They're also on a pretty good side in the
26:08 play-offs there. If City can get another positive result there, then I think they've got a bit
26:15 of a key week haven't they? They've got two long trips, they've got a midweek trip to
26:18 Milton Keynes and then they've got a London on. If they can negotiate that and get four
26:27 points, I think this could be a telling part of the season and maybe for MacDonald as well.
26:35 He's had the euphoria of the wins against Swindon and another good win at Wimbledon.
26:42 This is a good test for him really isn't it? There's been a bit of expectation generated
26:50 and these two games will be difficult but if they can get some results from these then
26:59 the season has really turned around hasn't it? I think at the minute they don't have
27:04 to particularly do anything to Bradford hierarchy. The sense of just keeping the distance, he's
27:11 doing a good job in the interim. It remains to be seen what happens a bit further down
27:16 the line but if he can get some good results in the next couple of weeks, he's given himself
27:24 a half decent chance to have a shot at it permanently.
27:31 One of the few things I think he did get wrong at Wimbledon, he was asked after the match
27:34 he said "do you think if this carries on you'll find yourself under pressure to take the job?"
27:40 and he said "no, no, of course I won't, no, not at all". Well I think he's wrong on that
27:45 one. I think if they beat Wrexham there will be pressure from outside for him to take the
27:51 job but I think in all honesty it's pressure that Bradford should resist because as Leon
27:57 says "it ain't broke, don't fix it". If they beat Wrexham just carry on in the same vein
28:03 and if he ends up being caretaker manager for six weeks, eight weeks, till Christmas
28:08 or whatever and these results keep coming then it's in everyone's best interest not
28:14 to change things. I genuinely get the impression that behind the scenes he's not banging on
28:20 the door saying "I really want this job, can we get my future sorted out?" sort of thing
28:25 so I think it suits him as well to just get a bit more of a feel for what would be involved,
28:32 whether he really does want to take the plunge now or whether he'd rather go back to being
28:35 a player and as Leon says there's just no need to change anything right now. As long
28:43 as these results and this mood carry on then that will be the case and if it does change
28:49 or if McDonnell does come to the conclusion that "look this is just too much work for
28:53 me" or whatever it is then they've got a long list of candidates who've applied for
29:00 the job. I'm sure they're sounding them out now but they can sort of intensify that
29:06 a bit more and hopefully narrow it down to the right man but as I said it might be that
29:11 the right man is already there. Yeah I mean if he carries on in this vein things will
29:17 take care of themselves down the line but yeah I think Stuart's right to say that. I
29:21 remember a few years ago when Paul Hegginbottom replaced Lee Johnson, it was a little bit
29:27 further on in the season but Hegginbottom was a caretaker, he met with Serge LeBesse
29:34 I think he was with three or four of them, his situation got resolved in the end and
29:41 it was the case of what I said there, if you're aim broke don't fix it, Barsley were on a
29:46 decent run and they just carried it through and potentially that's what Bradford will
29:51 be looking at as well if McDonnell continues to get results, the players buy into him and
29:58 the working environment is good and the comments from the players that I've read so far, it's
30:06 all genuine enthusiasm for what he's brought to the role and how he's lifted spirits and
30:11 how he's changed things a little bit to get the best out of the players. I think it was
30:18 by common consent, obviously Mark Hughes, it was a real possession orientated game and
30:26 keeping hold of the ball and we tweeted a little bit, Bradford a bit more dynamic and
30:32 threatening and by all accounts the players are glad to see that sort of change of approach
30:39 and buying into it. No need to look too far ahead and wreck some on Saturday and see what
30:49 that brings.
30:50 Yeah and you only need to look to Bradford's fairly recent history and without having the
30:55 numbers in front of me I think I'm right in saying that Mark Truman and Conor Sellers
30:59 were caretaker managers longer than they were permanent managers so to speak. It felt like
31:07 the club was almost pushed into that decision by how well the caretakers had done and maybe
31:14 on reflection they should have held the nerve and taken a bit longer with that but it's
31:20 nice to have these elements, let's put it that way. You talk about it being a difficult
31:24 decision for the club or for McDonald's or whatever, it's a lot nicer a difficult decision
31:28 than whether to sack Mark Hughes or to get rid of people. It's looking positive for Bradford
31:37 City at the moment and it's just nice to see so many smiles on faces there.
31:43 And finally for this week we finish with Doncaster Rovers who claimed an impressive and valuable
31:48 4-1 victory over Sutton United. This victory was Donny's fourth straight league victory
31:53 at home and this now means that they are currently 19th with 14 points. What was your assessment
32:02 of the game and with a trip to Tranmere Rovers coming up next I was wondering how Doncaster
32:07 Rovers could use this going into that game Leon?
32:09 Yeah I mean it was a terrific afternoon for Doncaster, 14 players out injured. Beforehand
32:18 you sort of thought obviously looking where Sutton were in the table as well, a little
32:23 bit below Doncaster in the relegation positions. Psychologically you sort of thought with Doncaster
32:28 do lose this one, a lot of the green shoots if we cover it up it will be back to square
32:40 one. I thought it would be an afternoon where they might have to dig deep and roll up their
32:45 sleeves but in the event, especially in the second half, they were outstanding and looked
32:51 a real proper team even accounting for the fact they have so many players injured. Yeah
33:00 there were some good performances across the pitch, the front two looked very good and
33:06 a handy partnership. We know about Joe Ironside when he got brought in in the summer it looked
33:12 even though he has actually just turned 30 this week, it looked, age didn't come into
33:20 it, he's a good operator at lower division level, he's proved that at the likes of Cambridge.
33:27 He leads the line well, he got two goals on Saturday and showed what he brings to the
33:32 party. Mo Fahl, I thought he was the man of the match next to him, a young lad who started
33:36 out his first loan spell in the English Football League for West Brom. He's quick, he's strong,
33:45 he didn't give Sutton's defenders a moment's peace in the game, ran himself into the ground,
33:51 scored a goal, got a penalty. He looked good but across the pitch really, midfield close
33:59 and Tommy Rowe, I thought Oliver at the back was good. Yeah it was a handsome victory in
34:07 the end and you just felt everybody at the club had been waiting for that by common consent.
34:13 The performances have been getting better even earlier at the start of the season. I
34:17 think they were unlucky to lose at Wrexham and MK Dons, the performances weren't being
34:26 matched by results but they've won a few on the trot at home now, I think they've won
34:30 four out of six. You sort of sense that things are on the turn but they needed that sort
34:35 of, the supporters perhaps more than anything needed to witness a bit of a statement which
34:41 is what they saw on Saturday. Hopefully the treatment room will start to clear, I don't
34:50 think it's going to be particularly quick but I think it will be gradually, they'll
34:54 hopefully get one or two players back. Harrison Biggins, he came back from the bench on Saturday
35:02 and if they can sort of harness the form that they're showing at the moment, getting one
35:07 or two players back, they can really start to look upwards. They've got obviously Tran
35:15 Mere next and then they've got three out of four after that at home. If they can sort
35:22 of string a few more home results together then they'll be onto something there and the
35:28 eco power will be a place that opposing teams will start to head to with a bit of trepidation
35:36 but yeah, he's starting to, after a pretty tough opening quarter of the season, a little
35:43 bit more positive about Doncaster. It'll be interesting to see what Grant McCann spoke
35:49 about in the past, his teams have sort of flown out of the blocks and this is more of
35:54 a slow burner and he sees his team coming good in the second half of the season. I think
36:02 at the time being, I don't think Rovers should look too far ahead of themselves. There's
36:06 been a bit of damage in the first part of the season, it's sort of remedying that and
36:12 sort of steadying the ship and hopefully getting a few players back, getting some consistent
36:17 form to hopefully set them up to get them up into a decent-ish position for the second
36:23 half of the season.
36:24 And I think it just shows, we were just talking before we recorded, before they got that first
36:31 win of the season against Forest Green in mid-September, it was all doom and gloom.
36:37 But the way the Football League is with the play-off system, you can really panic too
36:44 early can't you? We've seen quite a few Football League managers sacked by now but there's
36:53 a lot you can still do after a slow start if you just hold your nerve. We talked about
37:01 psychology with regards to Sheffield Wednesday for example. I think Doncaster's has been
37:07 spot on, they've not panicked in that initial start to the season and I think most importantly,
37:14 Leon's already mentioned, they had 14 players missing at the weekend. That is a huge number
37:20 for a League 2 squad. They've not felt sorry for themselves, they've not used it as an
37:24 excuse, they've just got on with the job and I think that's really admirable.
37:29 As Leon says, given how good they've been at home in particular and given this run of
37:36 home matches they've got, you took in FA Cup and EFL Trophy games and they've got four
37:45 on the trot now and five out of six at home, there really is the opportunity to build some
37:58 momentum and get other teams worrying. I think before the season started, a lot of
38:04 us were looking at Doncaster thinking there'll be contenders and I think probably too many
38:09 and possibly I'd fit into this category as well. I'd sort of written them off a bit
38:18 before they got that first win in terms of being promotion contenders but it really doesn't
38:22 take that much to turn your season around. Look at Middlesbrough last season for example
38:28 with the head start, they gave everyone in the Championship and were pushing for automatic
38:33 promotion in March time. It's really pleasing and not surprising from Grant McCann but pleasing
38:44 the way he's infused that into the squad that they've just got on with the job and not sought
38:51 the very obvious excuses that were there for them.
38:54 Yeah, he's not panicked either has he really? No.
38:57 Actually they had some tough results early season but we're seeing signs in the performances
39:04 that things will turn and recent evidence has shown that and it sort of whets the appetite
39:09 as well when Rovers do get some of the players back into the mix. It could be a real force
39:20 in the reckoning, you've got people like George Millers of this world and Kyle Hurst.
39:25 There'll be a fair bit in their armoury and they've gone through that early season adversity
39:33 and a character test especially for those players who've been there for a while and
39:40 obviously were part of it at the end of last season which was pretty grim wasn't it really?
39:47 They've had to show the mettle and go again and fair play to McCann and the players that
39:54 were there. They've dug deep and closed ranks to some degree and they're getting some rewards
40:03 now.
40:04 Can I just say before we finish Mark as well, I think we should pay congratulations to Whitby
40:09 Town for getting in the FA Cup first round proper for the first time in 20 years and
40:14 Scarborough Athletic have made it for the first time in their short history as a Phoenix
40:19 club. Really good to see those two non-league sides of ours doing well. York City won their
40:25 replay as well so there's not been that much positive news from our teams this season but
40:31 it was a really good Tuesday night to see the results of those replays and see all those
40:38 teams involved in the best cup competition there is.
40:44 Very good luck to all of them and hopefully they'll have a decent run in the competition.
40:51 Thank you.
40:58 Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobtrell who will doubtless join us again soon for
41:07 more discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to
41:10 date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at
41:13 yp.sport@nationalworld.com or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football
41:19 or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook you can find us there as well. If you have any questions
41:23 for our writers you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or
41:27 email us directly with a subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.
41:34 As ever many thanks for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.
41:37 [Music]
41:48 (upbeat music)