Daniel Farke and Leeds United face the conundrum of fitting in players such as Djed Spence and Patrick Bamford into their side, whilst Bradford await their return to action, with York exiting two cup competitions.
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00:00 We start with Leeds United by looking at players Jed Spence and Patrick Bamford.
00:06 Well, I don't think he can be put back in straight away. I mean, I think the thing is when he was on his way back from injury, that was always kind of like the assumption, I think, because we all know how good a player is.
00:15 I mean, even in nine minutes when he came on against Sheffield Wednesday, he looked seriously impressive. I mean, he just stood out. He stood out a mile, by the way, he was bombing up and down that right from right back.
00:24 But Archie Gray has been superb. I mean, Archie Gray is obviously a natural midfielder, we all know that. And it was a little bit of a surprise when he started popping up at right back, even though he has played there in England at a youth international level.
00:36 But bit by bit, he's getting better and better and better there. And all right, you know, it was possibly at fault a little bit for the first Middlesbrough goal.
00:43 But other than that, it was a really, really good performance from him. And I think it was a lot of people's idea of man of the match. And obviously at 17, he's only going to get better and better as well.
00:50 So, and that's the obvious thing. If Jed Spence is going to come back into the team, then basically Archie Gray has to come out of it, unless Archie Gray goes into midfield.
00:58 But if Archie Gray is going to go into midfield, then one out of Ethan Ampadu or Glenn Kamara has got to come out. And you certainly can't see it with Ampadu and the way Kamara is going, pretty much the same with him as well.
01:08 So, yeah, I think at the moment it stays as it is. It's a massive challenge for Jed Spence. As I say, he's obviously a superbly talented player, but so is Archie Gray.
01:16 That's the thing. And Archie isn't going to want to come out of the team. Yeah, I think he's done it before, obviously, hasn't he? He's part of a promotion winning team already.
01:24 And obviously the goals he scored in the Premier League, obviously injuries since then, and obviously he's got a bit older since.
01:30 But I think he's going to be key, I really do. I mean, I think at the moment, obviously, just look at the team, a full-strength Leeds XI, he doesn't get in it, obviously, because Georgini Router and Joel Perrault have put together such a great partnership up front.
01:42 But I still think if one of those was absent, certainly if Router was absent, then Bamford would probably start purely because of his hold up play and he is a natural number nine.
01:52 And I think that's probably someone that Daniel Farke would want up front.
01:56 For the most part, November was a successful month for Bradford City. Despite starting the month with three defeats to Wickham, Barrow and Nutts County,
02:07 they soon turned things around with a 5-1 win against Barnsley in the EFL Trophy, before defeating Akron Constanley and Forest Green Rovers in the League.
02:16 However, then in December, they have not played a league match so far, with their game against Salford being postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
02:25 This has seen them slip down to 14th place in League 2, at no fault really of their own. They sit on 26 points, having played 20 matches. Some teams have played more and some teams have played less.
02:39 They are only five points from the playoffs, however.
02:42 December has been a disappointing month for York City, going out of both the FA Cup and FA Trophy to Wigan Athletic first and then semi-professional outfit Nantwich Town in the Trophy.
02:55 They have games against Rochdale, Ebbsfleet and Gateshead to come in the league in the rest of December.
03:02 the river.
03:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]