Leeds United close the gap, Sheffield United hanging in and what awaits Middlesbrough and Rotherham United - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Name: Leeds United close the gap, Sheffield United hanging in and what awaits Middlesbrough and Rotherham United - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
Uploaded: 2024-01-26T11:55:54+00:00
Duration: 52 min 47 s
Channel: Yorkshire Post

00:00 [Music]

00:11 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post,

00:14 where we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football

00:17 with members of our football writing team.

00:19 On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner,

00:23 and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall,

00:25 to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs.

00:28 Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond

00:32 by logging onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com,

00:36 as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds, the main one being @ypsport.

00:41 If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook,

00:46 you can find us there as well.

00:47 And if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages,

00:52 or email us directly with a subject matter at the Football Talk podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.

00:59 YorkshirePost.co.uk

01:01 Right, this week we saw Hull City claim an important 1-0 victory over Sunderland

01:06 in their pursuit for the playoffs.

01:08 Huddersfield Town share the point in their 1-0 draw with Blackburn Rovers.

01:13 Sheffield Wednesday fell to a 2-1 defeat when they welcomed Coventry City.

01:17 Barnsley saw their game against Stevenage called off due to a frozen pitch,

01:21 which is the same fate that befell Bradford City and their game against Doncaster Rovers,

01:28 as well as Harrogate Town's fixture with Grimsby Town.

01:31 However, let's start this week at the Riverside Stadium,

01:36 where Middlesbrough had to settle for a point when they welcomed Rotherham United.

01:40 This put Michael Carrick's men at just three points off the playoff spots,

01:44 while the Millers are eight points off safety at the bottom of the table.

01:49 This was then followed up by their visit to Chelsea in the EFL Cup semi-final,

01:55 which saw them exit the competition thanks to a 6-1 defeat on the night.

02:00 Now, what did you make of the games and where do both Middlesbrough and Rotherham go from here

02:08 based on the performance that they had against each other, Stuart?

02:12 Well, I was at the lead game, Leon was at the lead cup game,

02:18 so I'll speak about the lead game first.

02:22 I mean, it was a really good, sort of, typical Rotherham performance at the Riverside

02:32 in terms of them doing the things they do best,

02:35 really digging in and grinding out a result.

02:42 They were a bit disappointed that they conceded a goal so late on, 82 minutes in.

02:50 In fairness, it was probably, well, it was deserved in terms of how much of the game Middlesbrough had,

02:58 but Middlesbrough just lacked that ruthless edge, really.

03:03 I'd say that we know what a good footballing team they are,

03:07 and they played some nice stuff in the first half in particular.

03:11 Marcus Fawcett came on midway through the first half and really raised the standards even in that respect.

03:19 He certainly deserves to score a goal.

03:21 But yeah, it was a good morale boost for Rotherham because we've been talking a lot this season

03:27 and in previous seasons about how Rotherham struggle to transfer their home form away from home.

03:34 There are signs that Liam Richardson is just getting to grips with that

03:39 and they're bringing some of that durability away from home,

03:44 which is obviously going to be massively important if they're going to stay in the division.

03:49 The caveat, I guess, is what we were saying about them and Huddersfield last week,

03:53 battling draws are all well and good, but the position they're in, they need to start picking up wins.

03:59 It certainly didn't solve any of the problems, it was just a bit of a cause for optimism.

04:06 I think for Middlesbrough, it was kind of an indication of the good and the bad there.

04:13 The reason they're on the fringes of the playoff picture and the reason they're not right in it,

04:21 showing the sort of form they were last year, plenty of extenuating circumstances for Middlesbrough.

04:27 We talked before about all the injuries we've had, but ultimately on that day,

04:33 regardless of the people who weren't playing, the people who were made enough chances,

04:39 had enough of the ball to put that game to bed.

04:42 That really, that cutting edge is what they need to find in the transfer market in the last few days of it.

04:52 From a Rotherham perspective, I think it's just about finding a bit more quality really,

05:00 because I say the unglamorous elements of the game they've got,

05:08 and they scored a lovely goal through Carrefour, but that was kind of a pretty isolated moment.

05:15 They need more of that sort of match-winning quality if they're going to pull away.

05:21 It's going to be very hard to find on the budget they're working with, unfortunately.

05:28 They're just at the position at the minute where they're just chipping away at Rotherham, aren't they?

05:33 Yeah.

05:34 Liam Richards has made no bones about it. I think he's heard the start of the win,

05:39 ideally he'd want four or five in, but not for the first time, not under the first manager at Rotherham.

05:44 They're just having to wait for the dominoes to drop, aren't they?

05:48 In terms of the calibre of players that want to, unfortunately they're a little bit down the food chain.

05:55 They're having to wait until there's clarity at other clubs.

06:00 There's other things as well, there's things like the African Cup of Nations and the competition in Asia,

06:06 which is preventing clubs from making some early decisions about players.

06:13 Rotherham are just having to hang in there and wait until hopefully a couple of dominoes drop

06:18 and maybe in the final week, the window.

06:21 I think in the meantime they're just having to, on the pitch, just do what they can,

06:25 just eke out results and maybe hope that some results in terms of the rivals go for them,

06:32 which to be fair, they have done a little bit, haven't they?

06:35 I mean, it's a Sheffield Wednesday, losing at home, and I think lost the last two now, haven't they?

06:41 That's good from a Rotherham perspective.

06:44 Huddersfield, they're drawing a lot of games, but they're not winning and pulling away,

06:50 so they're just about still in the game at Rotherham.

06:55 They've had a little bit of an Indian sign over Middlesbrough, haven't they?

06:58 They obviously beat them on Boxing Day and I think they were unbeaten in about three,

07:05 I think it must be the last three visits to the Riverside as well,

07:08 they had a rough record in Middlesbrough as well before that.

07:12 Yeah, it was a morale-boosting point from their perspective,

07:16 although they were tantalisingly close to the 82-minute end in that long, long run without an away win.

07:25 I think in terms of Middlesbrough, obviously Stuart was at the game,

07:30 I agree with everything that Woody says about that lack of roof,

07:35 they sometimes float like a butterfly and sting like one a little bit,

07:40 but they had to do, just miss out on the play-offs,

07:44 I think if you were a Beckham fan you probably would say that,

07:47 I mean, who knows, the Championship can be unpredictable,

07:50 but they do look a little bit short unless they address bringing in maybe a strike or two

07:57 before the end of the window, although they could lose one in Morgan Rogers.

08:01 But you look at the record against teams at the bottom of the table,

08:05 and obviously got one point against Rotherham, they lost at home to QPR,

08:11 and drew at Sheffield Wednesday, so it's not been the best really,

08:19 and I just wonder if that could hamper them and cause a bit of recriminations

08:27 when the season does end and if they did finish in 9 or 10.

08:32 Yeah, we all know you get a lot of free results in the Championship,

08:37 but that result, that performance from both sides just felt like a good indication

08:42 of where those sides are at the moment in terms of their strengths and their weaknesses,

08:46 and probably the two legs of the League Cup Semi-Final showed that from Middlesbrough

08:54 in that they're good enough on a good day to beat even a side of Chelsea's quality,

09:00 but also they have that self-destructive streak that if they're not quite on it,

09:07 they can really pay for it. I mean, even in the Rotherham game,

09:11 I think it was about eight minutes in, Jordan Hewgill very nearly caught them out

09:16 over playing just curled a shot wide, and obviously we saw countless examples of that

09:21 at Stamford Bridge where Leon was.

09:23 Yeah, it was so good night, Stuart, wasn't it?

09:26 He's had a lot of praise, and I think rightly so in his time at Middlesbrough, Michael Carrick,

09:31 but they do take risks in playing out from the back, and with respect,

09:38 I think you can get away with it more against teams in the Championship,

09:42 but when you go into a team like Chelsea, OK, they've got a few names out,

09:50 but the side that took the field was still worth, I think, £500 million.

09:56 They've still got bags of quality, and I think even the warning should have arrived

10:00 in the first leg, Middlesbrough won that, and Chelsea did still miss quite a few chances,

10:06 Cole Palmer in particular. Middlesbrough just overdoing it playing out from the back.

10:11 I don't know about you, Stuart, I was surprised with the set-up of the team.

10:19 The second leg, it was a side you'd expect in a league game almost,

10:26 the sort of 4-2-3-1. In the first leg on Teesside, they played five at the back,

10:34 two wing-backs and three in the middle, and blocked off some of the passing lanes for Chelsea.

10:42 It was obviously a blow with Isaiah Jones not being available,

10:49 he obviously picked up an injury against Rotherham. They missed his pace on the break and artistry,

10:57 but I just thought it was really naive in the way they set up and the way they tried to

11:06 take on Chelsea in a footballing match. They've shown a few examples this season of being pragmatic,

11:13 they beat Leicester at home, they surrendered a lot of possession and dropped off and stopped

11:21 the passing lanes for Leicester. The set-up was a lot more solid in the first leg against

11:32 Chelsea as well. Some of the goals were just horrendous, especially the second one with

11:41 Jonny Housland didn't track his runner. You could see all night that Engle had a tough night,

11:48 but he was struggling against Sterling, but he had very little help from what I saw.

11:55 The third and fourth goal, Matt Clarke trying to play the ball into a dangerous position.

12:03 The fourth one, the goalkeeper passing it to Barlassa and Hackney were overplaying in the wrong area.

12:10 They just fell into traps in that first half, continually. The game was over.

12:18 They've had a lot of players for the style that they can play and it can work sometimes

12:24 playing out the back, but I think a bit more of a plan B, sometimes mixing it up a little bit.

12:31 It brings me on to the forwards as well. They really do seem to lack a bit of a presence up top for me.

12:42 Lati Lap was injured, Kober is still young and developing. I think in the final end to the market,

12:52 that would be something that you'd ideally want them to address. They probably need a forward or two anyway.

12:58 Morgan Rodgers ends up going to Aston Villa, which he seems to be keen on.

13:04 There's a lot of talk, I don't know what you would think, but everyone's saying the gap's widening between the Championship and the Premier League.

13:12 But I actually think the result had more to do with Middlesbrough's failings really.

13:19 It was naive and at times some of the play was just can't be cancelled.

13:25 Let's be honest with you, you draw Chelsea in the Cup 75 and that's the Championship Club.

13:31 You don't expect to win, but we've talked before about taking something out of games you don't win.

13:36 They need to learn from this, they really do need to learn from this.

13:41 We've seen it a lot this season across the board. Hull are probably the biggest culprits, along with Middlesbrough and Yorkshire,

13:49 in terms of being caught out over playing. Brighton are probably the standard bearers in the Premier League.

13:55 There seem to be so many goals given away that way. I just think there comes a time in a game like Middlesbrough's on Tuesday

14:04 where you just have to have that humility and say 20, 30 minutes in, "Look, this isn't working.

14:10 We need to just play it safe, even just to get to half-time."

14:15 I feel like sometimes some of the new breed of managers are just really stubborn in that way.

14:21 Don't get me wrong, some of the older breed of managers are stubborn in different ways as well.

14:25 There just seems to be a stubbornness that this is the way we play and we'll do it come hell or high water.

14:31 I'll take the blame as manager and it will benefit us more often than not.

14:36 I guess there's some good principles in there, but all the time with all of these principles,

14:43 you have to be pragmatic as to the circumstances on the day.

14:47 When you're facing that early onslaught from Chelsea and you've made a few of those mistakes,

14:53 it's just the time to say, "Look, we just need to shut things down a bit."

14:57 Even in terms of this role Johnny Howson had where he was part midfielder, part centre-back,

15:03 it just needed them to say, "Look, we'll just stick with three centre-backs for the rest of the half."

15:09 Whether it be Howson or some sort of re-jig, don't worry about the midfield part of the job.

15:18 We'll just try and lock things down until half-time and have a bit of a rethink.

15:23 I think sometimes coaches get a bit caught up in just trying to do things "the right way" and all that sort of thing.

15:32 Sometimes you just have to be more aware of the circumstances on the ground, the circumstances in the stadium.

15:38 I think the big job for Middlesbrough, if you looked at it before kick-off, was to go there

15:43 and to frustrate the hell out of Stamford Bridge so that it played in your favour.

15:47 The way Chelsea started obviously had the absolute opposite effect in terms of getting the ground,

15:53 which certainly seen watching on the TV, it seemed like it was quite a noisy ground but only in the Middlesbrough end.

15:58 It seemed as though it got that crowd into the game and more supportive when it could have been

16:07 Middlesbrough's biggest weapon, it actually failed to be one.

16:11 I just think it's a game management and it's a humility thing at times.

16:16 I hope Middlesbrough and Carrick learn that lesson.

16:20 That's not to say never play out from the back, just realising when today's the day to do it

16:26 or this circumstance is the time to do it and this isn't.

16:30 Yeah, I totally agree. I think there's a lot to be said for them and there's some good merits about passing out from the back.

16:38 You've just got a two-legged tiger, a topside from the division above.

16:43 You've just really got to respect your opponent, haven't you?

16:45 I think he had options there to play fire at the back.

16:49 I actually think Van den Berg would have been better in a three with obviously wing-backs either side.

16:57 He could have played Dykstiel as the wing-back. Paddy Macnair was an option as well.

17:03 In terms of the options and the tactics he had, it wasn't a good night for Michael Carrick.

17:11 But Stuart's right to say he's still a young coach learning his craft.

17:16 He thinks a lot about the game, he's conscientious and I think hopefully it can be a good lesson for him.

17:28 I think young managers should remember the bad nights as much as the good nights in terms of evolution.

17:40 Carrick certainly won't forget Tuesday night in a hurry. He was playing a career, a decorated career and he didn't have too many nights like that in the colours of Manchester United.

17:50 He spoke well afterwards and he didn't throw any players under the bus, which I liked.

17:59 I'm sure he'll learn the lessons on occasion.

18:05 Middlesbrough are by no means the finished article. You've just got to be pragmatic and respect the tie.

18:12 I think the only way Middlesbrough were going to get through would have been to nick it or perhaps take it to penalties.

18:18 If they had gone through and ended up playing Liverpool in the final, it could have been probably doubled.

18:26 Next our attention turned to Leeds United, who thanks to a Joel Pirro extra time penalty were able to claim all three points in their 2-1 victory when they welcomed Preston North End.

18:41 Which was then followed by a 1-0 victory when they welcomed Norwich City to Ellen Road.

18:46 Thanks to that result, the Whites have now won five consecutive matches at the start of a calendar year for the first time in the club's history.

18:55 What were your thoughts on the two performances and how positive will the team be feeling at the moment, Leon?

19:03 I think very positive, obviously myself and Shua have both done a game each this week.

19:12 They just grinded it out and for me they're doing what you have to do.

19:18 A lot of the talk at the minute has been Leicester v Sadamson, who were on an absolutely fantastic run.

19:27 I quite like Leeds, it's just a little bit away in the shadows, chipping away.

19:33 Doing what they had to do, it was a difficult game on Sunday against Preston, who obviously beat them in the reverse fixture at Deakdale over Christmas.

19:45 Especially in the second half, the players were going down at regular opportunities.

19:50 It was niggly, it was good game management for a team coming to Ellen Road.

19:55 They were doing everything to try and stymie Leeds' rhythm, but they kept persisting Leeds.

20:03 They came back well after conceding a goal inside the first 65 seconds, a sloppy goal as well by Leeds' standards.

20:11 They were hit back straight away like they did in the home games with Swansea and Middlesbrough.

20:17 They danged James into double figures for the season and I think that's worthy of commenting on a winger to do that.

20:25 Pretty impressive. It turned out to be one of those frustrating games for Leeds.

20:32 Their home record's outstanding not being beaten this season.

20:37 The way it's going with the other teams, who are just churning out results, a draw is two points dropped, isn't it?

20:45 They did that against Coventry last month.

20:49 They found a way, it was a penalty.

20:54 If you're neutral, you felt for the lad a little bit, but he did make a movement with his arm towards the ball.

21:01 Great moment for Joe Perreault. It's funny, I saw the tweet about half way, I'm not taking anybody's credit for it.

21:09 I just thought to myself that he was warming up, it might be time to throw him on, it might be his day.

21:17 If anyone needed a boost, it was probably him really.

21:22 He's found himself out the side, a very coolly taken penalty.

21:27 Obviously, Stuart did the game against Norwich, another one where they did what they had to do.

21:34 What I like about them is, I think I put it in a piece the other day,

21:39 in the second half they've been really strong defensively.

21:43 They've only conceded four at Ellen Road this season.

21:47 I think their overall record in the division is the best as well, they've conceded ten.

21:52 That smacks of organisation, hard work on the training ground, some really good pros in there,

21:59 and spirit to manage games and see them out.

22:05 We've spoken before about Joe Rodan, I think he's arguably one of the championship defenders of the season,

22:12 and what a player he's been for Leeds.

22:15 Reassuringly consistent in that regard, Leeds are in a nice position just tucked away.

22:24 I think the interesting thing will be, Southampton are on a fantastic run, but it's not going to last forever.

22:30 They're going to have a little stumble, it'll be interesting to see how they react.

22:34 Ipswich have had one, and to be fair to Ipswich, they're in a period where they seem to be grinding it out as well,

22:40 which is all power to them.

22:42 So, a long way to go, but Leeds have just got to carry on as they're doing,

22:46 and I'm sure Daniel Farker will be delighted about the last two games.

22:50 One thing Daniel Farker constantly gets asked about, and I really don't think he likes being asked about,

22:56 is the league position. Does it matter that you're not in the players' place?

23:01 He's constantly and quite rightly bats it away, 'I don't care about the league table in certain aim of month here,

23:08 I'm only bothered about it in May', and it's all common sense and so on and so forth.

23:14 But, the way the fixtures are falling, with Leeds playing on Friday night against Bristol City next week,

23:22 it does give them an opportunity to get into the top two, albeit they'll have played a couple more games in Southampton and Ipswich,

23:29 and just apply that little bit more pressure to those clubs and see what they're made of.

23:35 When you talk about the pressure, I think that's a lot of the things that Leon talked about with regards to the Presta game,

23:42 but what stood out for me in the Norwich game as well, that calmness, that game management about them.

23:48 There were times when the crowd got frustrated because Leeds weren't really forcing the issue,

23:56 and I totally understood that at the time, but the flip side of it is that they never really felt under much pressure.

24:07 Norwich missed a very good chance at the end of the first half just to make it 1-1, but that's a part.

24:14 In the second half, particularly the first 20 minutes of the second half, Norwich had all of the ball,

24:22 but very little to show for it. Leeds just allowed them to play in front of them,

24:27 didn't really get in the faces as the fans wanted them to, it must be said,

24:32 but equally didn't have anything for Ilam Elieh to do.

24:37 There seemed to come a point midway through the half where they realised now's the time to step up to get more in their faces,

24:45 and whilst Norwich still probably had more of the ball for the rest of the half,

24:49 Leeds suddenly looked extremely dangerous on the counter-attack and really should have scored a few more goals.

24:58 It was a good indication of the qualities that Daniel Farker brings to that football club in terms of not getting too carried away,

25:07 positive or negatively, doing the necessary, understanding what's needed and just doing it.

25:13 It sounds by all accounts that the way they won the Presta game was similar in that respect,

25:21 and their patience and their common sense took right until the very last minute to pay off, but did pay off.

25:30 You do feel, when it gets a bit nip and tuck in that title race, or promotion race I should say,

25:39 you do feel as though Leeds won't panic. We wait to see about some of the other clubs.

25:47 It may be that they're just as cool-headed, but we haven't really had it tested out yet.

25:54 From a Leeds perspective, it would be obviously nice for them to beat Bristol City and just test the chin of Southampton and Ipswich in that respect.

26:03 Who knows how they'll respond, but I think we can be pretty confident about Leeds' will.

26:09 I think in terms of Farker's will, his league position speaks for itself. He's pretty good.

26:16 The fact that he came into the summer, he's had to rebuild a culture of Leeds, hasn't he?

26:21 They've lost away big time. He's done that. He's created an organisation,

26:27 not just that, a unity and a togetherness there in a pretty short space of time, which is all power to him.

26:33 I don't know what you think Stuart. They go on about not looking at tables, but he tells this and that.

26:40 I remember one manager, I think it might have even been Tony Moby a few years ago, and it's something that chimed with me.

26:46 The managers don't look at league tables until the last ten games, especially if you go into the promotion top six.

26:54 I think that's when things will heat up. We obviously have Steve Bruce when he used to talk about the daffodils coming out.

27:01 That sort of thing. I think Farker will know from his past experience as well with Norwich.

27:07 It's the last ten games, maybe twelve games, when it really starts to matter.

27:12 He'll just be wanting Leeds to be in that position where they're able to strike then.

27:19 I still think he might do something in the window. I don't know what you think Stuart.

27:24 He's keeping his cards very close to his chest. I wouldn't be surprised if things happen before they go to Bristol City.

27:35 That might make a nice psychological boost in itself, but we'll have to wait and see.

27:41 I think in an ideal world he definitely will do. You look at the right-back options in particular.

27:48 Now that Luke Ayling has moved on and Jed Spencer has gone back, they are short there.

27:54 But, feeding into what we said before, you get the impression that within the club, not without,

28:03 but within the club, there won't be any panic and any drama if they don't get what they feel they need.

28:10 Again, that's a big skill. At a club with Leeds with the following it's got, there can be a lot of panic about

28:18 'we desperately need this, we're desperately short of that' and so on and so forth.

28:23 But Farkhan is very much 'look, this is what I've got, I'm going to deal with it'.

28:31 In an ideal world, he would have got a left-back in August, but he came to the realisation during August

28:40 that 'look, this isn't going to happen, I'm not going to make a big deal of it'.

28:44 We've seen other managers go down the opposite route where they moan and moan and moan to try and force

28:49 their chairman to get the chequebook out. We've seen it work and we've seen it not work.

28:54 But Farkhan is very much of the opposite mentality where 'if I do make a big deal of this,

29:01 then it will filter through if we don't get what I'm looking for and it will become a drama'.

29:07 You look at Leeds' team last night and there were lots of things within that team,

29:12 and it was an unchanged team, the same one that Leon saw, that you wouldn't have anticipated at the start of the season.

29:18 If you'd said at the start of the season that midfield axis between Ampadu and Archie Gray

29:24 would be broken up by choice, you'd be saying 'oh, that's crazy, that wouldn't work'.

29:29 And if you'd been saying 'one of your best midfielders, Gray, will be playing at full-back',

29:34 you'd be worried about that. There's quite a few things that you wouldn't really have anticipated

29:40 the team evolving in that way. But Farkhan has just allowed things to happen naturally

29:45 and almost perhaps at times stumbled across solutions that maybe he wasn't even expecting to find.

29:52 The fact that Willy Nonto can't get into the team perhaps falls into a similar category.

29:59 But there's no panicking and wailing about what's not happening.

30:04 It's all about 'let's find the best solution'. And now all of a sudden, you look at Ethan Ampadu

30:10 and you're really happy to see him at centre-back. Same with Archie Gray at right-back.

30:15 Same with Kamara and Kourouef as a midfield partnership.

30:21 Patrick Bamford up front, it's all slotted into place and it'll change again.

30:26 I'm sure Joel Perrault will have a second wind and other players will surprise us.

30:33 But there's just a sereneness about Farkhan which I think should really serve them well.

30:39 Yeah, there's an intelligence about what he's doing. You spot on to say that, Stuart.

30:45 He's brought Gruev into central midfield. He's a real understated figure at the minute

30:55 and gets his work done and he's got tireless performances.

31:00 There was a time when Farkhan had in mind when to use him. He'd been on the bench a lot in the first half of the year.

31:08 Now he's thought, 'This is the time to let him have a run'. He's managed Bamford well in that regard.

31:15 It'd be perfect timing to give him the chance at the start of the new year after things have just tailed off for Perrault.

31:21 Perrault, I'm sure, as you rightly say, Stuart, he'll get back in the running.

31:27 That intelligence in terms of having a look at Ampadu at the back.

31:32 This is a manager who knows what he's doing at this level. I think that's the bottom line.

31:39 I like the fact that when he's talking about adding new bodies, talking about quality,

31:46 but also talking about having the right mentality and personality to fit into the group.

31:51 I think that's all power to him as well. He's wanting to sign people who add something to the group with the character as well,

32:03 which I think is tremendous. I think Leeds are in good hands under Danny Farkhan.

32:10 Our next stop is Bramall Lane where Shuffled United were able to snatch a point from West Ham

32:16 thanks to Olly McBurnie's 103rd minute penalty in a game which had late drama at both ends of the pitch.

32:22 It also saw Rhian Brewster sent off for a high and late tackle late into the second half.

32:27 Despite this point, the Blades remain rooted at the foot of the table and seven points off safety.

32:33 Can Chris Wilder's side be proud of their performance and how do they approach their game against Crystal Palace?

32:40 Yes, they can be proud of their performance. They're showing character, which Wilder will always say is the bare minimum.

32:49 But you don't have to think back too far this season to the games where it wasn't there. That is important.

32:56 They were lucky in the manner of the penalty, but they certainly deserved the results over the course of the game.

33:08 In terms of Crystal Palace, they're vulnerable at the moment. I think a lot of us saw the banners at Selhurst Park the other day.

33:17 There's unhappiness at the direction of the club. They're in a poor run of form.

33:26 They've got the makings of a team that can be dragged into that battle.

33:32 And from Sheffield United's perspective, as for Luton and Burnley, it's just about dragging as many teams in as possible.

33:40 And again, like I've said with Leeds, just testing out their characters.

33:44 In terms of the Premier League, of course it's not just down to the football.

33:47 It might be down to the independent commissions deciding about points deductions and things.

33:52 But the more teams they can drag into it, the more hope they've got.

33:57 From their perspective, of course, first of all, there's an FA Cup tie against Brighton.

34:03 And that's an opportunity in itself. We've seen how erratic Brighton have been at times in terms of their team selections.

34:10 They try and juggle playing in Europe for the first time.

34:14 If they rest one too many players and take their eye off the ball, even though we know they're a very good team,

34:20 if they come up to Bramall Lane not 100% on it, I'm pretty sure Sheffield United will play a strong team.

34:28 We saw what they did against Gillingham in the third round.

34:30 So there's no reason to think they won't against a Premier League team.

34:33 If Sheffield United can get a win there, they're not going to win the FA Cup.

34:40 But anything they can do to build some positivity and build some momentum is clearly going to help.

34:46 Because as I say, the character is there if things get tough.

34:49 As I said with Rotherham earlier, the question mark really is whether they've got the quality to make that character count.

34:58 But certainly that first element is within their own hands and they are looking after it right now, which is good to see.

35:06 I agree with what Stuart said. I think there has been evolution and development at Sheffield United since Chris Wilder's come back in.

35:17 He's done some positive work, as we mentioned earlier with Liam Richardson, he's just taking it now to that next step.

35:28 By all accounts it was more of a traditional Sheffield United performance, especially in the first half against West Ham.

35:37 It was trumped up, quite aggressive and the fans were getting behind it.

35:43 You look at the games coming up away from home, especially they've got Palace, they've got to go to Luton in February.

35:53 Then they've got Wolves and Bournemouth a little bit further down the line.

35:57 I think any win in the Premier League when you're down amongst the dead men is gold, isn't it?

36:04 But away wins, even more so really, if they can get a win or two.

36:16 They are under pressure against Palace, as Stuart's right to say. They obviously got hammered at Arsenal last week.

36:25 I think it was it one win in about 10 or 11, something like that, maybe more.

36:30 He's going to be under the pump, Roy Hodgson is obviously experienced, I've seen him in football.

36:35 You're not sure if he could survive not beating Sheffield United at home on Tuesday.

36:40 So if things aren't going well during that game, there's going to be a lot of pressure on those home players.

36:48 Sheffield United players have just got to be waiting to pounce and do something in that regard.

36:55 They've made some decent strides under Chris Wardley, it's just about those next steps as well.

37:01 It's good to see Brayton Diaz get his goal as well against West Ham to get him off the mark.

37:09 And a really good performance as well, it's worth saying from Andre Brooks.

37:13 Regardless of what happens this season, that's going to serve them well in the longer term.

37:19 It was really good to see him so confident on the ball, so brave to take the ball in difficult circumstances.

37:27 There's a player there, as Paul Heckingbottom always used to say, whether he'd be a leading Sheffield United player for the next five, six, seven, eight years,

37:37 or they end up selling him for good money and reinvesting, either way it's good news for Sheffield United.

37:44 We certainly hope, as a local lad who's shown that quality, it's the former.

37:50 He does stay with that club for a long time. That was a really good thing to see.

37:55 The negative, which is something we've touched on a lot, is still giving away sloppy goals.

38:01 That ultimately is possibly what costs them doing even better against West Ham.

38:08 They really do need to knuckle down and try and deal with that.

38:14 We know they've got limitations as a group. It's inevitable when you're working with the sort of budgets they are.

38:22 But it really is important that they give everything they've got.

38:27 At the moment, I think they can look themselves in the mirror and say they're doing that.

38:31 I think we've wired as well quickly, obviously it's the Aron now.

38:35 Everyone's hoping they can have a great escape, but he's got to look at the bigger picture, hasn't he?

38:40 It's about next season. We've got some talented players there.

38:43 We mentioned Brooks, Asul has made his mark. Part of it will be wired to have a look at them and see if he can trust them for next season.

38:52 It's a job on several levels there, isn't it? It's not just about trying to stay up this season.

39:00 As mentioned earlier, a number of lower league games were postponed due to frozen pitches.

39:06 Some of them quite late as well.

39:08 Leon, you were fairly vocal on social media about it.

39:12 What were you primarily unhappy about when it came to it?

39:21 I think the thing I can't understand. It was ridiculous.

39:26 They had a pitch inspection at 11 o'clock and then decided to have another one at 1 o'clock.

39:37 It just seems to be all over the place.

39:41 There were one or two games the previous night. It might have been something like Walsall-Atherton.

39:50 It might have been some other team further south. I'm not entirely sure.

39:56 It was called off the night before.

39:58 It seems to be some clubs are thinking about a way to support us.

40:04 They've been freezing temperatures all week.

40:08 There's a good chance it's not going to recover. We'll call it off early.

40:13 There just doesn't seem to be any consistency in these announcements.

40:18 I just can't see how they make rule changes.

40:22 The EFL announced them in the summer before the start of the new season.

40:26 Why can't there be some sort of sliding scale in terms of time to do with the distances away fans travel?

40:37 Stevenage to Barnesley would be something like three and a half hours.

40:44 Maybe factor in another hour if there's traffic or something like that.

40:49 Factor in the distance and then maybe think there has to be a decision on that particular game.

40:57 If there's a pitch inspection, four and a half hours before kick-off.

41:02 If the pitch is not fit to play on then just call the game off.

41:08 In theory they could have called the game off at 9.30 or 10 o'clock.

41:14 It would have stopped a lot of the Barnesley supporters travelling.

41:17 A lot of them would have been travelling on the East Coast mainline.

41:21 It would have enabled them to get travel reimbursement.

41:28 You did feel for Barnesley because it happened last year at Exeter as well.

41:32 There was a couple of pitch inspections and then they had one at 4.30pm when there were supporters down there at South West.

41:40 It must have been a four or five hour drive from Barnesley.

41:47 They just wasted their day.

41:51 The EFL should be relatively straightforward to do if you accommodate travelled times and distances.

42:03 To have some sort of sliding scale and when to make decisions when there's a pitch inspection.

42:10 I don't know what you would fix, Stuart, but I think that's a feasible way.

42:14 People with more brains than I have in that regard can come up with something to stop this situation happening.

42:24 It's just happening time and time again.

42:26 It's not just for Barnesley as well.

42:28 It's a hell of a lot of other teams that have experienced it as well.

42:32 I think it was at Oldsingham they had a game at South Edmonton.

42:38 They caught off something like 10.30pm and it's just not good enough.

42:44 To me it's just about showing respect to the most important people in football.

42:50 People who pay the bills, the supporters.

42:53 Sometimes you do get some sort of free biblical downpour that nobody saw coming and you do have to make a decision late.

43:03 In terms of Barnesley's game at Stevenage, I think it was about 2.30pm on the Friday that they announced there would be an 11pm pitch inspection.

43:13 We all know what the weather was like last week.

43:16 It was set in during the week.

43:18 It was fine.

43:20 Nothing took us by surprise.

43:23 Barnesley's game against Doncaster, obviously the travelling was far less onerous for the away fans.

43:32 I think the decision was made on that at 1.30pm on the Friday.

43:37 Even talking to Graham Alexander the previous day, it was clear that the groundsman was already thinking that things were going that way.

43:46 You don't like to see, particularly weekend games, called off too hastily and unnecessarily.

43:52 So perhaps had Barnesley been playing Rotherham in the FA Cup, you might have given it a bit more time.

44:02 But as Leon says, that's the issue.

44:05 Exactly.

44:08 They called off Harrogate against Grimsby.

44:13 I think they called it off at about 12pm or something like that.

44:17 There's a short travel time between Grimsby and Harrogate, isn't there?

44:22 It's considerably shorter than Stevenage to Barnsley.

44:27 As Leon says, you just need to factor in where the away fans are coming from.

44:32 It's not difficult.

44:34 It shouldn't even need a Football League rule.

44:38 The officials themselves should be thinking that way independently.

44:43 But it clearly does need a rule, because as Leon says, these things keep happening.

44:48 To just factor in, this ground is that far away from that ground, you need to give X number of hours notice, unless something unforeseen happens in the meantime.

45:02 As I say, it's just respect for supporters.

45:05 There's too little of it shown.

45:07 We see it all the time with games changed late for television and really unnecessarily so.

45:14 You've just got to remember that ultimately, without supporters, there's no professional football.

45:21 Because one way or another, they pay for the thing.

45:24 So to just continue treating them with content like this is just not on.

45:31 It's really unfortunate and regrettable that, as Leon says, it's happened to Barnsley a couple of times now.

45:40 It would make you think twice about going to follow your football team sometimes.

45:45 That's a really sad state of affairs to be in. No one wants that.

45:50 I just think it's got to the time, Stuart, hasn't it, where the league will have to do something.

45:54 They'll have to get it in black and white when they do the debrief at the end of the season.

46:00 They'll look at what's gone right and what's gone wrong.

46:03 This should be, for me, amongst the topics on the agenda.

46:09 Don't get me wrong, you could have cases where a game could be called off at half past ten or ten o'clock

46:18 because of a fair travelling time for the away team going there.

46:22 Things could improve and the pitch could be playable by lunchtime.

46:28 I think that's tough in many respects.

46:33 I think the fans, even if it is postponed, will understand the decision in what it's done.

46:40 They'd rather that than schlep all the way up and it be called off.

46:45 I think that's a price probably worth paying in that regard and there probably will be too many of them anyway.

46:54 It's disappointing to see the frequency of this sort of thing happening, isn't it?

47:00 Well, I'll have some better news for Barnes.

47:15 I'll actually say Barnes, I've been talking about him for the last five minutes or so.

47:21 Unfortunately, there were some unfortunate headlines.

47:24 They did manage to get back on the field against Oxford on Tuesday.

47:30 A fair bit has been made this season about Barnes in the record against sides in the top six not being very good.

47:39 They did what they had to do by the sound of it, a rotten night weather-wise.

47:44 There were some in-game incidents they were having to contend with as well.

47:52 I think they lost Adam Phillips at half-time.

47:55 Herbie Kane, a big player for Barnes, went off as well later.

47:59 Luke O'Connell was poorly and didn't feature.

48:03 So they had a few things to contend with, with the weather and players coming off and some not being available.

48:09 They rolled up their sleeves. It didn't sound like it was a classic contest, but they did what they had to do.

48:15 They're ten unbeaten now.

48:17 We spoke last week about Neil Collins getting a bit of stick at Warren, in mine and Stuart's eyes, at the end of the autumn.

48:29 They had a difficult November with the FA Cup being kicked out of that and dissed that and the other.

48:35 They've shown a strong jaw and a good mentality.

48:39 They turn it around and you look at the top of that table and it looks like anything is possible.

48:44 There's six sides at the top who aren't separated by very much.

48:50 Opportunity knocks for Barnsley.

48:54 It would be nice if they'd had a couple more to what they've got before the end of the window.

49:00 We'll have to see about that.

49:03 They're going strong and finding a way.

49:06 They didn't play particularly well against Carlisle by all accounts, but they've got to win.

49:11 That's what you've got to do at this time of year.

49:16 Courage in the sides for Barnsley.

49:19 Absolutely. Just quietly getting on with their business, which is good to see.

49:23 Stuart, which player has stood out for you this week?

49:27 I'm leaning towards Leeds United this week purely because most of their players have played twice as much as most of the other Yorkshire teams.

49:35 The fact that they won both those games as well.

49:40 Archie Gray was excellent against Norwich.

49:43 I was really impressed with the way he played both going forward and defensively.

49:49 He made a really big tackle towards the end.

49:52 Joe Rodon is just Joe Rodon really. In any given week, you pretty much know what you're going to get with him.

49:59 He's the sort of centre-back that every successful team needs.

50:04 He isn't flash, but you can just rely on him all the time.

50:09 Junior Firpo is having a bit of a renaissance now.

50:13 He's finally fit. We know he's got limitations, let's put it that way, as a left-back.

50:20 As I've said with regards to other clubs and other people, it's about making the most of what you can do and not worrying so much about what you can't.

50:28 Cisfer was in the Preston game and generally in good shape.

50:34 I'd probably go for Dan James, as Leon mentioned.

50:38 A big deal for him personally to get into double figures.

50:42 I can't think of a season of his career where I felt so confident about his finishing in terms of the calmness he's showing in front of goal.

50:52 A really good cross for Patrick Bamford's goal against Norwich City.

50:59 He picked up an injury, which means he's going to miss the FA Cup tie against Plymouth.

51:03 It does sound like a bit of a FA Cup injury in one way.

51:07 He'll be back once the Leeds programme gets up and running. Leeds fans will certainly be hoping that's the case.

51:13 As I mentioned with him, in keeping Nonto out of the side, he's having a really strong season.

51:19 Leeds are so good on the counter-attack and he's such a big reason for it.

51:24 He's just become a really big, really confident, really reliable member of that team.

51:29 So I'd go for Dan James.

51:31 Yeah, I think that's a good choice, Stuart. You look at Leeds, they're probably pushing it to think the amount of a player who gets, say, 25 goals at the end of the season.

51:39 But this should happen to be a follow-up, he'll get into double figures.

51:42 yorkshirepost.co.uk

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Leeds United close the gap, Sheffield United hanging in and what awaits Middlesbrough and Rotherham United - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

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