Barnsley's shock sacking of Neill Collins, Huddersfield Town's worst nightmare and Sheffield Wednesday's bid for The Great Escape - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Name: Barnsley's shock sacking of Neill Collins, Huddersfield Town's worst nightmare and Sheffield Wednesday's bid for The Great Escape - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
Uploaded: 2024-04-26T07:28:49+00:00
Duration: 55 min 33 s
Channel: Yorkshire Post

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

00:15 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members

00:18 of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we are joined by Chief Football Writer

00:22 for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon

00:25 Walshall to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you

00:30 can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging

00:33 onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter

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00:44 Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you

00:49 have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or

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00:57 at yp.sport@nationalworld.com.

00:59 YorkshirePost.co.uk

01:02 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for

01:05 the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall.

01:09 Good morning guys.

01:10 Morning.

01:11 Hello.

01:12 Morning. Right, this week we saw Hull City draw 0-0 with Watford, which dealt the Tigers

01:17 playoff hopes a significant blow. Middlesbrough recorded their third draw in five games with

01:24 a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town. Rotherham United also claimed a point when they drew 0-0 with

01:29 Birmingham City. Barnsley fell to a narrow and frustrating 3-2 defeat at the hands of

01:34 fellow playoff hopefuls Blackpool. We'll be covering them later on in the show. Doncaster

01:41 Rovers bounced back from being 2-0 down to win 4-2 over Barrow and claim an impressive

01:46 ninth successive victory, which was then followed by a comprehensive 4-1 victory when

01:51 they visited Colchester United, which now sees them enter the playoff spots as well.

01:57 Bradford City claimed their fourth victory from five games with a 3-2 victory over Walsall,

02:03 which saw Andy Cook come back to haunt his old club by scoring twice for the Bantams

02:07 before recording a 2-1 victory against Barrow. Harrogate Town's playoff hopes were ultimately

02:13 extinguished when they fell to a thrilling 5-3 defeat when they welcomed Milton Keynes.

02:19 But let's start in League One with Barnsley, who as I mentioned earlier fell to a narrow

02:23 3-2 defeat to Blackpool, which was then followed by the news that the club had parted company

02:29 with manager Neil Collins, with one game remaining in the season.

02:34 What did you make of Neil Collins' time at the club? With the Tikes' chances of

02:38 a playoff spot hanging in the balance, how do you see them going into their game against

02:42 Northampton Town, Leon?

02:45 Yeah, I mean it was a surprise wasn't it? But I think when you look at Barnsley, nothing's

02:52 really a surprise is it? If that makes any sense. There's been all sorts of things that

02:56 have happened there in recent times, on and off the field. Don't forget they've still

03:02 got some EFL charges hanging over them from last summer, so who knows what's going to

03:08 transpire there. The run's been, I mean you look at it from the outside looking in, you've

03:15 seen a club who are in the play-offs still having a decent-ish season in the round on

03:23 paper. It's not so long ago that I think they had the breaking records away from home, one

03:29 of the longest away sequels without a defeat ever in the history. I think they've had the

03:35 most away points as well, but then you flip it around and you say that they've lost the

03:40 last four. Something was, yeah, something had gone off the rails I think it's fair to

03:46 say in terms of the form. They'd won just two in 11 games, not so long ago I think it

03:53 was the game against Bolton wasn't there in March. They were leading 2-1 and they equalised

03:59 right at the death, Bolton's score right at the death and it felt like a big moment. They

04:06 don't seem to have recovered from that. I can't remember if Stuart did that game, he

04:13 might have done, but I know I did the next game against Lincoln and they got absolutely

04:18 hammered 5-1. One or two other little things as well, a significant injury to Donovan Pines

04:24 that seems to have hit them defensively because they started to leak goals all over the place.

04:30 I wasn't there at Blackpool on Saturday, myself and Stuart were otherwise engaged. I'm led

04:38 to believe it was a really, really poor performance. The mood music amongst the supporters, there

04:45 have been some grumbles at Neil Collins, I think that's been all season to be fair. It's

04:50 been about Lincoln in the reverse game against Lincoln in November. There were some songs

04:57 decrying the style of football, this time and the other and it's built up again unfortunately.

05:03 It's just the timing more than anything isn't it, with one game to go. Two wins in 11 is

05:09 dreadful form but then you look at it and Barsley are still in, the Caesars on the line

05:14 are still in the playoffs and in with a chance of promotion. It suggests to me that it's

05:20 keeping very quiet at Barsley this week. There are some reports that they've lined up an

05:27 Austrian coach, Dominic Valhalla, with a view to bringing him in after dispensing with the

05:34 services of Collins. Looking at it and my journalistic antennae, I suggest it looks

05:39 like they have lined somebody up. I know for a fact that Neil Collins was a big surprise

05:49 to him from what I've been told. We'll just have to wait and see. The course of events

05:57 could bypass this podcast but I think the simple thing is that it's a massive game for

06:05 Barsley on Saturday. They do look vulnerable. There are a few variables. There are big players

06:11 who are out of contract at the end of the season. There's Smart Bunny who is on them

06:16 leaving, there's Devante Coles, Jordan Williams, Nicky Cadden and Herbie Kane as well. Big

06:23 players for Barsley. There are a couple of lone players as well and some big ones there.

06:28 John McAtee and Liam Roberts. It doesn't feel right, does it? For the club's sake, they've

06:35 just got to try and galvanise themselves. They've got one more chance to finish it off and if

06:38 they can clinch play-off participation on Saturday then things will turn and become

06:43 a little bit positive again. I think there are a few factors in the decision to part

06:49 a company with Collins. There's the form aspect of it. I think things like season tickets

06:55 will come into play as well. We spoke about the robbery last week as well. I think bringing

07:03 back Steve Evans, a big thing about that is they'll lose money from going down. They've

07:07 got to think about season tickets. What do you do to generate interest and get somebody

07:12 into galvanising town who's got Steve Evans in? A lot of factors thrown into the pot there

07:19 for Barsley but whoever takes charge on Saturday, big game in the context of the season. We've

07:24 just got to have the win to create a bit of positivity again.

07:31 It just all feels a bit odd to me. Liam's outlined the reasons why Collins has gone.

07:38 The form poor, the football not great, there's a lot of hostility at Blackpool. In isolation,

07:45 you can see all that. You can make the argument about whether you should have had more time

07:48 or not. It's just the fact that this game against Northampton is a huge, huge game for

07:53 them. To have a caretaker manager in charge, if that's what happens, just seems a massive

08:02 gamble. With the greatest respect to Martin Devaney, he's done the job before, he did

08:07 it after Poirot's pocket but only for three games, all loss sort of thing. If they were

08:13 going to go down the caretaker route, you'd think they'd pick up the phone. They've got

08:16 Paul Hickingbottom on the doorstep, Danny Wilson on the doorstep, Mick McCarthy on the

08:23 back. There are people there who could come in with a bit of experience and just set the

08:29 team up for this game. As Liam says, it smacks of they've got somebody else lined up. We

08:35 know in this post-Brexit era, it takes a long time just to get visas and that sort of thing

08:41 sorted out. To sack somebody on a Monday and have a foreign coach come in by the Saturday

08:47 – and let's be honest, you don't want a foreign coach in by Saturday for a Saturday

08:51 game, you want them in by Wednesday, Thursday at least – that seems really ambitious for

08:58 me. To ask somebody who's new to the league to come in under those circumstances as well,

09:05 we've seen how long it took Danny Rowe to find his feet, Andre Breitenreiter, it's

09:11 natural. It all just seems a bit odd, the timing of it and just a really big gamble.

09:20 It's not that it can't work, but you're gambling with pretty high odds here and it

09:28 seems to me too important a game to do that. Obviously, the counter-argument is that things

09:33 weren't working under Neil Collins, they were losing games if he'd stayed in charge,

09:39 they wouldn't make the play-offs on the final day. To go down quite the route that

09:46 they have just seems odd. As Leon says, it's not like this discontent about Neil Collins

09:52 has suddenly appeared. We know the Barnsley fans have been happy for a few weeks, this

09:58 decision must have been ticking around in people's heads in the weeks leading up to

10:03 it. Leon and I talk a lot on this podcast about teams not panicking at this stage of

10:09 the season. It feels like Barnsley's board have panicked.

10:14 It feels to me almost indirectly, to me it represents a bit of a team talk to the chasing

10:22 clubs as well. You've got Lincoln, you've got Blackpool still who have a minor chance.

10:29 Their supporters and the clubs are going to be looking at events in Barnsley thinking

10:35 something's not quite right there. It wouldn't constitute a massive shock if they did lose

10:43 on Saturday even though they're playing a team who have nothing to play for. The mood

10:48 music there just isn't right. I feel for Martin Devane in some respects, it's a bit

10:54 of a hospital pass for him really isn't it? It's like there you go, you sort of get on

11:00 with it. Reading the statement, it does imply that they've got someone lined up. It's

11:08 talking about updating the supporters in the coming days and crucial season conclusion

11:14 ahead. It suggests to me they've got someone lined up but you've got to get all your ducks

11:20 in a row haven't you? This is something that Barnsley are no strangers to. That was the

11:27 infamous episode a few years ago when, without even first going into the details of the quality

11:32 of the signings in Olari and Larry Sacker, there was a huge red tape issue regarding

11:41 them coming in and there was a bit of notoriety for the Barnsley board then. You think as

11:47 well this is a big moment for Barnsley, the people in the corridors of power at Barnsley.

11:52 There's been some big changes there earlier this year. They've brought a new sporting

11:57 director in, Mladen. It's the first time Barnsley have actually had somebody in that

12:05 role. It's a newly created role and there's the Chief Executive Officer, John Flackman

12:09 as well. If this goes wrong, if they don't manage to get this guy who they're reportedly

12:19 chasing, they're going to get the comeback from that. Another episode where the club

12:25 are in the spotlight again. You think they'd have them in for the playoffs but the way

12:30 things are going, we don't know if Barnsley are going to be in the playoffs. That's the

12:34 point. If they're just giving themselves a couple more weeks, then it might have made

12:39 a bit more sense. Either keep Neil Collins on or pick up the phone to someone like Heckin

12:44 Blossom. You need Martin De Baby's input because he knows the squad but somebody who

12:50 has some management experience. With the best will in the world, if everyone listening to

12:56 this podcast thinks about the first time you did your first job, you're not on it in

13:01 week one. It takes you weeks to feel your way in. As Leon says, it's a real hospital

13:07 pass to Martin De Baby to do that. You're basically relying on new manager bounce, players'

13:16 mental reaction rather than anything technical or coaching-wise. That's not a dig at Martin

13:24 De Baby. He's a very good coach and given time could do things but there's a big limit

13:31 to what you can do in such a short period. As Leon says, this attempt to get someone

13:39 else in, I very much doubt they've even been able to tell Martin De Baby, "You're in charge

13:44 for this week." It's really a take it day by day, training session by training session

13:51 by training session. It's a really difficult position for all concerned because we don't

13:56 know who's going to be in charge, therefore we don't know what formation we're going to

13:59 play with. We don't know what players are going to be picked. We're talking here, we're

14:07 actually talking on Wednesday morning, the prep should be well underway by this stage

14:12 of things. You are relying on winging it quite a lot and it's a really big day for Basley

14:17 Football. You think if they'd made the decision, you would have thought at the time they would

14:25 have done it, they had 13 days in March. They didn't play from the 15th to the 16th until

14:34 Good Friday. So, it's basically a couple of weeks there, isn't it? You have concerns about

14:39 the future, the direction of the club, the playing side of the club in the short to medium

14:44 term. That's when you make a change, isn't it? You bring somebody in who's allowed an

14:50 acclimatisation period but it's the opposite of what's happened, isn't it?

14:56 Next, let's turn our attention to the Championship and start with Huddersfield Town who fell

15:03 to a 4-0 thrashing against Swansea City which dealt their survival hopes a heavy blow. Now

15:08 with the Terriers still in the bottom three and seeing the effect that this result has

15:12 had on their goal difference, could we see their fight for survival go down to the final

15:17 day, Leon?

15:18 I think heavy blows put in it. Mildly marked to be honest. It was just a catastrophic blow.

15:25 It had to be one of those games where it had to be seen to be believed. I did the Huddersfield

15:31 - Sheffield Wednesday game and it felt a little bit like that really. A bit of a nothing game,

15:37 nil-nil. Sheffield Wednesday went to pieces on that day in February and the same thing

15:43 arrived with Bells on Saturday for Huddersfield. You have to think of big moments in seasons.

15:51 It was nil-nil and Huddersfield had a chance. Delano Bergson did very well to be perceptive

16:00 and he spotted a short back pass from one of the Swansea centre-halves. Got in there

16:07 before the Swansea keeper Rushworth. He's got two teammates there to square it to. One

16:12 nil and the mood of the stadium is lifted but he went for glory and it was blocked. It was

16:19 just such a huge moment in Huddersfield's season. Straight away the fans booed Bergson

16:27 and a couple of minutes later he was part of the triple substitution. Swansea made three

16:32 substitutes not so long after and Lowe gets the first goal and then Huddersfield totally

16:40 went to pieces. The second goal was the sort of goal you see in a Cubs match to be honest.

16:49 The goalkeeper got the ball and he literally booted it to the left flank. There was no

16:54 one there. Then it was two nil and just game over. The thing about Huddersfield, I think

17:00 we've mentioned it before, you look at the game they've got on Saturday and in some respects

17:05 it's the best possible game they could have. They're playing a rival just above them, two

17:09 points above them. They win that, they can reel them in and they've got a little bit

17:14 of a chance going into the final day but they've obviously got Ipswich and there's a good chance

17:21 they could be fighting for something totally different. It's one of the fixes you certainly

17:25 wouldn't choose to go on the last day. I just worry that Huddersfield, you know we're talking

17:30 about the variables of Barzini thrown into the frame thinking it doesn't look good for

17:36 them. It's even worse for Huddersfield really. I think the mood music there is dreadful.

17:43 There were chances you're not fit to wear the shirt at the end of the game. There were

17:47 one or two players chirping back, the comments of I think he's trying his best, Andre Brighton,

17:53 right? He was basically saying I can do all I can do, I can set up the team. We did it

18:02 tactically against Bristol. The follow up messages were pressing as groups. It was critical

18:08 of the decision making. I think that's been a key aspect in Huddersfield's season. You

18:14 look at the results of the season, I think they must have conceded seven or eight times

18:18 or four goals or more haven't they? Goals in clusters and clumps and that suggests to

18:24 me that the group togetherness and organisation just isn't there and it certainly wasn't on

18:34 a Saturday. Brighton was saying it's alright me teaching them and all this but what about

18:40 the will of the players to work it out themselves? He was questioning that. I just think on a

18:46 simple level they've just taken so much punishment this season haven't they? You think about

18:52 hammering the tub to Leeds. There's quite a few more that got a big beating at Birmingham.

19:01 There were one-one against Preston a few weeks ago. They conceded three goals at the deaf.

19:08 When they do look back this will be a huge moment. The events that happened at Ashland

19:13 Gate with a dreadful penalty awarded against them. How much more psychologically do you

19:20 think they can take? That's my fear for Huddersfield amongst the many fears. It just doesn't smell

19:29 right and we'll probably go on to talk about Sheffield Wednesday later. You look at them

19:35 and survival fights and they've just got so much more ticks in the box going for them.

19:41 They've got a crowd there who are all together. They're all on the same page. The glass is

19:46 half full. They went to Blackburn with 7,500 fans and got the win that they wanted. Huddersfield

19:55 made a big drum roll to try and fill out the stadium on Saturday. There were big gaps in

20:02 areas of that stadium. There's a certain amount of apathy there. They've got one chance. They've

20:06 got one cup final. I think they're swimming against the tide a little bit if I'm all honest.

20:12 If they do manage to do it, hats off. It's an amazing escape but you just don't get that

20:18 feel at the minute. Hopefully I'm wrong.

20:20 It's that disunity that really worried me. Reading Leon's report, looking at his tweets

20:26 during the game, that you're not fit to wear the shirt and all this stuff. As Leon's outlined,

20:32 they've had some big defeats this season. They have in fairness picked themselves up

20:36 off the canvas a few times. We talked last week about home disadvantage. At home to Birmingham,

20:43 this should be a really big opportunity but if the crowd are on their backs from the start,

20:49 if they're still angry with Delano Boatsog, if they're still angry with all the players

20:54 from offshore that Will and Leon talked about, that's one big thing in their favour out the

21:04 window straight away. It's not just an advantage taken away, it's a full on disadvantage.

21:09 Apathy is one thing. If they get apathy, that's probably a tick in the box, a kick off if

21:16 it's not outright hostility. They need everyone to pull together and just forget about what

21:23 happened last week. That's going to be a lot easier said than done. We've seen quite

21:32 a few of these results for the team. We've even seen one in their favour against Sheffield

21:35 Wednesday. A lot of these big snowballing defeats. As Leon says, you wonder how many

21:42 times they can go to the well. That one just felt hugely significant and made even more

21:49 significant by what Sheffield Wednesday did the next day. You really do worry about their

21:55 ability to do it. From months out, you were looking at Huddersfield's fixture list thinking

22:02 get it done by game 45. Don't take it to it. That's an impossibility now. Again, as we've

22:11 discussed a lot with regards to Leeds United, that looks like it's going to the last ten.

22:17 It's going to be none of this. If Ipswich are already up and then pass Imogo, or Ipswich

22:23 have already missed out and downbeat, they're going to really need it too. Obviously, they're

22:27 a really good side. You worry about the dressing room, you worry about the terraces. But as

22:36 I say, if they do beat Birmingham, suddenly all the music changes completely. It just

22:42 feels like a really big if now.

22:44 Not a simple thing, but what side does he pick? Brighterides pick Bergzog after the

22:54 stick that happened when he came off. He was the player involved in the game at Preston

23:00 when emotions were running high. They considered three goals at the end of that game. They

23:05 went over to clap the away supporters at Deed Dale. Bergzog, I'm not saying it's a bad

23:11 thing. It shows he's got a heart and cares in some respect. But he was engaging with

23:15 the supporters. It would be a great manager who picked him on Saturday. Issues as well

23:23 at the back. Tom Leeds, the sort of player you think you'd need on Saturday to compound

23:29 things. He came off right at the end with an injury issue against Swansea. I've been

23:37 critical of him a little bit at times this season. But it was a game on Saturday where

23:41 they really missed Jonathan Hogg. After Swansea scored that first goal, in the event, a draw

23:48 wouldn't have been a bad result, would it really, if they'd managed to even get that.

23:52 But it was 1-0. They just needed somebody in there in the middle of the pitch to stir

23:59 and say to the players, 'Look, we don't down tools here. We keep on message.' But the

24:05 opposite applied. Players were just doing their own thing. It just looked like a team

24:10 of individuals, sadly. That's the thing that makes you really worry for Huddersfield. I

24:18 don't know how to do it, but they've got to embrace this game on Saturday. It's a good

24:23 game. If you look at it on a blank piece of paper and look at the table, take everything

24:27 else out. They've played 44 games. They're playing a team who are a direct rival, just

24:34 two points above them. They win that, they go above them and then they take it to the

24:37 last day at least. You never know. It would be some turn up if Huddersfield did turn it

24:45 around, but you just don't know. Somehow they've got to declutter the heads. I think that's

24:54 going to be as big as anything this week, to do that, as much as all the tactical stuff

24:59 is. Just to somehow declutter and let it dissolve to go again.

25:05 You would hope there's been some blazing arguments. I was going to say, hopefully before they

25:12 even got there in the dressing room on Saturday, that air has been cleared and that teams can

25:17 move on. You do sometimes see this, where teams hit an absolute nadir and it does clear

25:25 things out. I agree with Leo. Not to dig him out and pick on one individual, but Bergzog

25:35 does seem to sum up them at the moment. Huddersfield at their best are a real collective. Getting

25:43 the most out of what they have and people like Leeson and Hogg typify that. They have

25:48 their thoughts but they battle their way through and make the most of it. Bergzog, you get

25:53 the impression that if he wants to play on Saturday, his mindset would be 'I'll show

25:58 everyone I'll win this game on my own'. He's a very individual player in a team that really

26:04 can't afford that sort of mindset. But as I say, this is a team failing. It's far from

26:12 just being at his door.

26:14 There's a club failing to do it as well.

26:17 You're absolutely right. As with most teams in relegation battles, it's a listening of

26:23 bad decisions off the field and bad performances on it adding up. We'll be singing a completely

26:31 different tune if they beat Birmingham City but it feels a lot more off right now.

26:35 One thing quickly, the Birmingham fans have been here many, many times. I think even a

26:41 couple of decades ago they might have survived at Huddersfield. This is a familiar sketch

26:47 to Blues fans. They're a really raucous set of fans at this time of year and they will

26:55 provide a lot of petrol for the Birmingham players on Saturday. Part of the ticket on

27:03 Saturday is Huddersfield fans probably feeling sorry for themselves. I get that. But just

27:08 one last afternoon of defiance to really get behind them because I think the crowd is going

27:16 to play a part as well on Saturday.

27:18 Next I'd like to talk about Rotherham United briefly who, as we mentioned earlier, have

27:24 reappointed Steve Evans as manager. What do you make of his return to the club and do

27:29 you think this could be really helpful for the club going into next season in League

27:33 1?

27:34 There are two ways I look at it. With Steve Evans in the door, Rotherham are much more

27:43 likely to get promoted next season. That is the thinking and that is why he's back and

27:50 we know what a great affinity he's got with the club. Even if you take that out of the

27:54 equation, we know what a good operator he is at this level. He will get results. He

27:59 will sort out the team.

28:00 The other side of it is what Liam and I were talking about a couple of weeks ago as to

28:05 whether that should actually be the priority this season. It feels to me, Rotherham were

28:14 very clear when they appointed Steve Evans, they brought him in because promotion is our

28:18 overriding priority. We were debating the other week whether they actually need to take

28:24 a hit for a season and sort out the structure of things. Rob Scott's job as director of

28:31 football has become more important than the manager, the coach's job. Rotherham have clearly

28:39 decided that's not the case and I don't think you can ever be too critical of a football

28:44 team for trying to win as many games as possible and finish as high up the table. It does feel

28:49 a little bit short-sighted. It feels a little bit like a sticky plaster where major surgery

28:55 is needed. Nobody will be complaining if Steve Evans wins promotion next summer. I think

29:03 there's a very good chance he will. But it's keep the can down the road in terms of the

29:09 other things that they need to sort out at that football club. It won't be impossible

29:14 to do both in parallel but obviously every time there's a decision to be made, the first

29:19 team and the short-term future is going to take priority. That's the decision they've

29:24 made, they're perfectly entitled to make it but I just feel like that's maybe the wrong

29:28 decision at this point in time.

29:30 I think it's the jam today argument, jam tomorrow. Tony Stewart's been running the club for a

29:38 long time and he did save Rotherham United. Part of it is this is my way, we've had the

29:44 sort of new age coaches, if you like, they start on the other end. Let's be frank about

29:50 it, I know for a fact that Stewart had to be talked about going for bringing Evans back

29:56 in even earlier and part of him thinks that if Rotherham had done that last December,

30:03 they'd have had a chance of staying up in the division and he was keen to do that. He's

30:14 brought Evans back and I'm sure that Rotherham will be in the free for promotion next season.

30:21 I just look at Tony as well, I may be wrong, he's of a senior age, you probably can't imagine

30:32 him running Rotherham United in 10 years' time with all due respect. A little bit of

30:42 a last throw of the dice sort of aspect to this, bring Evans back and maintain a good

30:47 relationship, a friendship. Evans spoke about Tony Stewart and his family coming to his

30:53 daughter's wedding for instance so that they've kept in touch. Evans always going to jump

31:01 at the chance, he's spoken about this, this is where he's been happiest as a manager in

31:06 football. It's his club along with Glasgow Celtic. When he was asked if he was interested

31:14 in coming back to Rotherham he couldn't get up here fast enough, he spoke about coming

31:19 home. I think entertainment and football will be back on the menu at Rotherham United and

31:27 that's no bad thing after the season they've had. Only four wins which is totally unacceptable

31:34 and ridiculous. I agree with Stewart, will it solve out the long term structural issues

31:40 with Rotherham United in terms of the identity of the club, sorting out the youth side of

31:50 it, bringing in players through the academy, all those sort of things. But then part of

31:55 you think, well Rotherham are just thinking to themselves, be true, let's focus on what

32:00 we are and not what we should be. There are a lot of good aspects with Rotherham United,

32:08 you look at them in the last few decades, they're the best that have had a clear, plain

32:13 identity and defiance whether that's under Steve Evans or Paul Warne or Ronnie Moore.

32:20 Yes, there's been things that are questionable about the infrastructure and various aspects

32:25 of the club but ultimately fans want to be entertained don't they on a Saturday and they

32:31 want to see 11 players giving their all for the club and the town. Steve Evans' side will

32:36 do that for Rotherham United and the first thing he's done is he's made his mark already,

32:40 he's switched the dugouts so he can be closer to the Rotherham fans in the Tivoli end and

32:47 so being the heir of the fourth official. So he's already doing it his way but I agree

32:52 with Stuart, I think in the long term evolution of the club I'm not quite sure what this will

32:57 achieve but if you want in a sugar rush of fun, results, performances, players who want

33:04 to wear the shirt then it's a good appointment.

33:07 Yes, I agree with you.

33:09 And next we look at Sheffield Wednesday who were able to climb out of the bottom three

33:13 for the first time since the opening day of the season when they claimed a valuable 3-1

33:17 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Now I think it's fair to say that the Owls were somewhat

33:22 fortuitous seeing as the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper was at fault for two of their goals

33:27 but what was your assessment of the game and could we also see their fight for survival

33:31 go down to the final day Stuart?

33:33 We'll just take everything Leon said a few minutes ago about Alvarez Field and reverse

33:41 it and that's about right really. They did have luck in terms of two of those goals but

33:48 on the flip side they had two centre-backs go off injured inside an hour. There was a

33:53 lot of adversity to overcome, there were a lot of opportunities for them to feel sorry

33:58 for themselves which they refused to take and there is a real unity about them. I say

34:04 to see Dom Eyoffer be told 'we're not picking you in the back three today and when Michael

34:11 Heckley goes off injured we're going to go with Bambo Diaby instead' and then when Bambo

34:16 Diaby busts his nose 'oh go on then, you're going on' he could have a real strop about

34:23 that 'oh well I'm only fifth choice centre-back' or whatever it is. No, he did a really good

34:30 job, as you'd expect Dom Eyoffer to do, he's a professional, he loves Sheffield Wednesday.

34:35 He showed it, he demonstrated it in his performance. What I like about Sheffield Wednesday in this

34:42 phase of the season, I alluded to it after the Norwich game, Blackburn for the first

34:49 45 minutes passed the ball around really nicely. To quote one of Leon's favourite phrases,

34:59 'plenty like a butterfly but stun like one' as well. There was no substance to it. I think

35:06 they had as many shots as Sheffield Wednesday for a huge amount of possession. It seems

35:11 that as Danny Rowles evolves this season he's become a bit more pragmatic and he's not thrown

35:16 his principles out the window by any means but there's a bit more cannyness, a bit more

35:23 playing the right football at the right time and that's what Sheffield Wednesday did at

35:28 Blackburn and failed to do on Sunday. It was by no means long-ball football or anything

35:36 like that but there was just a bit more substance to it, a bit more cannyness. Again, to compare

35:42 them to Huddersfield, because it's a valid comparison when they're in there, you feel

35:47 like there's more goals in this Sheffield Wednesday squad. Josh Windas scored a brilliant

35:54 opportunist goal to open the scoring but you look at players like Masaba and Gassama,

36:04 those two in particular, can you depend on them every game in a 4-6 game season? No,

36:08 you can't. They're your stereotypical young wingers who have flashes of brilliance and

36:14 other times when they absolutely do your head in. But when they're on it, they can provide

36:20 that bit of magic. You're adding Ugbo, you're adding Michael Smith's goals, you're adding

36:26 Windas, they just feel like they've got more places they can find the gold from than Huddersfield

36:33 and probably Birmingham as well. Plymouth and Blackburn are very dependent on one person

36:40 more than Whittaker and Sami Smodic. Again, as Leon alluded to earlier, when you've got

36:47 7,231 fans, including George Byers who was in there despite being on loan at Blackburn

36:56 at the moment, really behind you, really believing in you, that makes such a difference. I've

37:03 said on this podcast a number of times over the weeks that I'm worried that they had a

37:07 mental block about getting out of the relegation zone. Well, they've ended that now, they're

37:12 out of the relegation zone. They've got West Brom at the weekend, so who knows, they could

37:17 be back in sooner rather than later. It just felt significant psychologically that they've

37:22 done it. What I really liked about Danny Rowe afterwards was there was no talk about consolidating

37:30 this, we've got to hang on to this now. No, he was talking about catching the three or

37:36 four teams above them and that's a really good mentality to have at this stage of the

37:42 season. I was really impressed by Sheffield Wednesday on and off the field on Sunday.

37:46 Not surprised, but impressed.

37:48 I totally echo that. I couldn't agree more with what Stuart said there. Really clever

37:55 from Rowe. Can you imagine the question saying, 'Well, you're not the hunter anymore, you're

38:03 the hunter?' He's totally trumped that question with a brilliant and clever answer. He's put

38:10 a seed of doubt in the minds of Blackburn and Plymouth in the process, so that was really

38:16 smart. Spoken about it a number of times, this strong jaw that Sheffield Wednesday seem

38:23 to have. I did the game against Stoke the previous week and there's a real sense of

38:29 an opportunity lost. Rowe spoke about it straight afterwards and said, 'I'm really disappointed,

38:36 I'm flat, but come Monday morning we'll get over this and we'll go again.' Which is what

38:40 I just thought they've got to do. It started this week, well even more so. Sheffield Wednesday

38:47 have talked the talk and they've walked the walk. Obviously got a huge game against West

38:53 Brom, who knows, there could be more swings but there certainly won't be lacking in terms

38:58 of the support there at Full House at Hillsborough. You just see that togetherness among the fans,

39:05 we mentioned that with Huddersfield. I did the Middlesbrough game on Easter Monday and

39:10 Sheffield Wednesday were dreadful that day. The supporters, you can think about how important

39:16 they are, they could have beat it out, 'You're not fit to wear the shirt' for the last 25

39:22 minutes of the game, but they didn't. They just sang even louder, they were loud and

39:26 proud. This isn't getting at Huddersfield fans by the way, but it's total opposite to

39:31 what transpired at Huddersfield on Saturday. The Sheffield Wednesday players will know

39:37 that that group of supporters who are among the best in the business will have their backs

39:43 for these final two games, these final two hills to climb. Very clever from Rowe in what

39:51 he said afterwards as well. Who knows what will happen but they're in a decent place

39:58 at the minute.

39:59 There's been a lot of talk within the Sheffield Wednesday supporters this season, a lot of

40:04 internal debate about how and if and when they should protest about the owner because

40:09 we know they're not very happy with that. But again, they've struck a good balance in

40:14 terms of trying to make their voice heard but not making Hillsborough or the away venues

40:21 too negative a place. In some of these games it could have been all about 'we want the

40:26 chairman out' and all that sort of thing, but they've really focused on getting behind

40:30 teams. We talk a lot and perhaps sometimes a bit casually about the importance of fans

40:38 and support but I think that's a really good example of a fan base which has really done

40:44 what this team needed. Sheffield Wednesday wouldn't be where they are right now without

40:50 that fan base.

40:52 Next, let's turn our attention to the clash between Middlesbrough and Leeds United which

40:57 saw the visitors claim all three points in a nerve-wracking 4-3 victory which also sees

41:02 them return to second in the table. What did you make of Leeds United's performance? From

41:07 Middlesbrough's side of things, can they be proud of their performance and seeing as

41:10 their chances for the playoffs this season are effectively over, how would you say is

41:15 the best way for them to prepare before going again next season, Leon?

41:19 I think in terms of Leeds United, myself and Stuart have done the two home games between

41:27 us against Sunderland and Blackburn and they've just been so flat and out of ideas in an attacking

41:34 sense and I think that had a fair bit to do with the tactics of the opponents which were

41:39 good. They block out the spaters, fire at the back, make it really frustrating. That's

41:46 what both of those teams did. I think it suited Leeds in the respect that Middlesbrough, it

41:52 was an interesting one beforehand, would Middlesbrough go, they did it against Leicester, they went

41:56 fire at the back, surrendered the possession a little bit against their own instincts really

42:03 but it worked for them, they did a double over Leicester. Would they go down that route

42:07 and block off the space a little bit, hit on the break or would they have a go, would

42:10 they slug it out toe to toe? To be fair, this Middlesbrough have done that in recent games

42:15 against Ipswich and Hull and have a real go and that's what they did and I think it suited

42:22 Leeds. It was a real brilliant entertainment, a great spectacle wasn't it? I think in fairness

42:31 Borough probably deserved a point didn't they in the greater scheme of things but at

42:35 this time of the season Leeds got the win and fair play to them. It was a real basketball

42:40 match as the game was at Ellon Road and I was lucky enough to do that one as well with

42:45 five goals in that. I think Middlesbrough's approach suited Leeds, suited their attacking

42:53 players. I think the last leaving present that Luke Hale has probably given to Leeds

42:59 is the fact that he was ineligible for that particular game. Without picking on his replacement

43:05 and Fernie Dykstiel, he didn't have the best of games. I think it was his first start for

43:10 about four months as well and he didn't have a good game in the reverse fixture, he actually

43:14 got sent off. He obviously gave away a penalty which was silly really wasn't it? He got on

43:20 the wrong side of Routa and yes the goal was offside the third goal but he was ball watching

43:28 as well and he let Gonto get round the back of him. I think if Hayling was in a Middlesbrough

43:37 jersey it might not have been as easy for Leeds. I thought Luke Thomas was okay going

43:42 forward, he struggled a little bit defensively as well. I think that worked for Leeds and

43:46 their players were so subdued in those games. We've talked about getting to the party again.

43:52 It was a big call from Daniel Farker as well, not necessarily, everybody agreed with him

43:58 in going for Patrick Bamford. He was a school of four, he gave young Joseph a go but he

44:04 didn't, he stuck to his guns and it worked. Bamford was good, he was responsible. He got

44:09 a goal so that worked as well. It just felt that fourth goal from Somerville to make it

44:15 4-2. Obviously Middlesbrough came back near the end and made it 4-3 and it was just crazy

44:20 wasn't it, the last few minutes there. Anything could have happened, there were fills and

44:24 spills. I wasn't massively convinced by Leeds defensively. I didn't think Mesley had a great

44:30 game but they got over the line and how big a moment in the season could that goal from

44:36 Somerville be? We talk about big moments in seasons. I remember Pablo Hernandez' goal

44:42 against Swansea a few years ago which effectively took Leeds up. Look, it's probably not in

44:46 that category but still, I think if Leeds do get over the line that will be a moment

44:52 that will be remembered when Somerville scored. There were obviously the scenes with the supporters

44:57 at the end. It set them up well for the QPR game. You have to win that, a four clear of

45:05 Ipswich and they really do pile on the pressure even though it's still in Ipswich's hands.

45:10 They've got to go to Hull and they've got to go to Coventry. A really significant result

45:17 for Leeds. I don't want to steal things but I think the results are the be all and end

45:23 all but I think Leeds needed a performance as well just to believe in themselves again

45:28 attacking wise and they got that and it's on to Loftus Road. Don't forget they went

45:37 into the game with a nine match unbeaten run. They've kept to their true instincts and gave

45:42 it a really good go and it was a terrific football match and they showed aspects why

45:48 they're certainly among the best championship teams. I think going forward, you look at

45:54 them and just getting that balance right between attack and defence. They've conceded six goals

45:58 this season. Do they go ahead next season thinking well, are we a little bit tight to

46:03 maybe have three centre-halves? I don't know. In fairness, they've got a few players out.

46:07 They've got Smith out, they've got Lennart who would probably be, certainly Lennart going

46:11 to be in the team you would have thought. Just thinking that approach. I think there's

46:15 been a lot to admire in the last few months from Middlesbrough in terms of the performance.

46:23 They've not turned the door on the playoffs but you think with some screwed additions

46:28 and a few key players in key areas, they could have a decent season next year.

46:34 I think for Leeds, I mentioned last week how Somerville hadn't really been on his game

46:42 since the international break and it was a real 'this is why I'm Championship Player

46:46 of the Year' performance. It's all well and good being the best player in the league from

46:53 August to February but it's at this time of year that you really need your top players

46:58 to step up. He did that in spades. Big penalty, big second goal from him. As Leon said, it

47:08 was exactly what Leeds needed. That defensive security that's been such a hallmark went

47:15 out the window for one game but what they gained from it was far greater. From a morale

47:24 point of view and everything, it was just what they wanted. From a Middlesbrough perspective,

47:31 just really, a bit like I said about Sheffield Wednesday, just evolving a little bit. Michael

47:37 Carrick's principles will never change. I can guarantee you if Michael Carrick's a manager

47:42 for 30 years' time, his team will still be playing roughly the same way. It's just, as

47:47 Leon said, just refining that balance a bit. Knowing the right time to play out, the right

47:54 time to just lock things down. I think generally from their perspective, they're going in the

48:00 right direction. It's just a case of being better at it and striking a better balance.

48:06 If they continue in that vein for the last couple of games, I think that will set them

48:12 up well for next season.

48:14 I just think a couple of bad spells and untimely injuries, that's what's finished the season.

48:21 If they had dropped a little bit, the Cardiff would have dropped a bit better in that regard

48:26 and possibly steeped in the play-offs. I suppose a lot of teams talk about if only at this

48:31 time of year, don't they?

48:34 Next, we turn to the Premier League briefly, where Sheffield United were pushed further

48:38 towards relegation when they fell to a 4-1 defeat against fellow strugglers Burnley.

48:42 What did you make of the performance by the Blades? Following this result, what do Chris

48:47 Wilder and his men focus on for the remainder of the season, Stuart?

48:51 What do I make of the performance? Worrying and depressing. We've been talking since the

48:58 Arsenal game about how they'd secured things a bit better, they'd got a bit stronger mentally.

49:04 This was a real flashback game. This was like Arsenal at home, this was like Aston Villa

49:09 at home, like Brighton at home. This conceding goal in clusters, this sloppy defensive play.

49:15 Wilder said for the last 25 minutes, half an hour, he felt like they were players who

49:22 just didn't want to be on the pitch. He was very pointed in saying that Jane Bogle and

49:29 Oliver Arblaster really showed the mentality he wanted from Sheffield United players. He

49:34 used 14 players and he could only name-check two for that. That's the problems they're

49:39 in. We had the goalkeeper being booed, even in the first half, after he let a bad goal

49:46 in and was too weak on the second goal. We had Vinicius Souza, we had ironic tears when

49:51 he was substituted. He just wasn't good enough, frankly. What they have to concentrate on

49:57 for the game is showing the right mentality, showing the pride in the shirt. There are

50:04 players playing themselves out of Bramall Lane at the moment and I have little doubt

50:09 that Chris Wilder will not bat an eyelid about binning these players who don't show the attitude

50:14 he wants. Judging by his comments on Saturday night, that's 12 out of 14 who played well

50:20 on Saturday and who could be expected to be playing elsewhere next season.

50:24 Yeah, if there's ever one or two contenders, it's unbelievable what's happened at Doncaster.

50:42 Ten wins in a row. I've seen some runs in the second half of the season and this one

50:48 is right up there. Third from bottom in the first weekend of February. Now fifth, so yeah,

50:55 I would be remiss not to mention a few of those names. Harrison Biggins, I think he's

50:59 one of those who's out of contract as well. He scored a big, big goal against Barrow on

51:05 Saturday and he obviously followed up with an encore against Colchester. Joe Ironside,

51:11 he's really stepped up to the plate. I gave him the award last week, didn't I? So, I'd

51:16 probably be wrong to give that him again but he's really stepped up as senior professionals

51:23 and big players should do and he has done. I think Richie Smallwood as well, I'll mention

51:31 to him, he's had some stick. Another player who's playing for his future. He's shown leadership

51:39 of late. Spoke about Bradford with a game against Harrogate where it was a dreadful

51:46 run. He's led the fight back. City have got a chance going into the last day. They needed

51:52 quite a few things to drop for them but it's a heck of an achievement that, isn't it? He's

51:57 shown leadership at Walsall and Barrow. I'm going to mention quickly, Luke Summerfield

52:04 at Halifax. I think we should mention Halifax. We'll know their state when the podcast could

52:13 be superseded by events. What a great season they're in. Some great performances. He's

52:17 been terrific. But I think the player I'm going to go for quickly is Will Vaux. You need

52:23 players, you need leaders. At this time of year when fakes are on the line to show direction

52:32 and draft the nettle. I did the Stoke game, difficult afternoon with a result. Vaux was

52:37 very good and I know Stewart did the game on a blackburn. He led the way and showed

52:44 authority again. When's he going to need him in these next two games and a few others as

52:49 well. So I'm going to go for Will Vaux because he's the sort of player who's seen it, done

52:52 it this time of the season. That's what he's all about.

52:55 Excellent choice. Football League recognised the other day what a good bloke he is off

53:01 the field. Team of the week. Pleasingly spoilt for choice. Right to praise Halifax for making

53:12 a playoff. Giving everything that's been against them with the problems with the pitch and

53:17 all of that. Hopefully by the time people are hearing this they're still in them. Bradford

53:24 to take it to the last weekend, I certainly didn't see that coming. I think the whole

53:28 club was at a real low point after that Harrogate defeat. The way they've rallied together,

53:33 it might be too late, it might not. The fact that it's even a question going into the last

53:39 weekend, great credit to them. Massive win for Leeds obviously and for Sheffield Wednesday

53:45 but I just cannot look past Don Castorovas. They've come from behind twice in a week,

53:51 won 10 on the drop, they're fifth in the play-offs for goodness sake. It's just ridiculous.

54:00 It's a great reward for the fans and the board sticking with Graeme McCann. It's a great

54:07 reward for some true January signings like Hakeem Adelkant, it's made a big difference

54:13 for them. It's a great reward for the perseverance of Joe Ironside as Leon's mentioned, for the

54:18 performances of big professionals like Richard Wood and Tom Anderson. I cannot praise them

54:25 enough. I really hope they get the job over the line on the final weekend of the season

54:31 but they've been outstanding since February, absolutely outstanding.

54:35 yorkshirepost.co.uk

54:38 yp.sport@nationalworld.com

55:08 yp.sport@nationalworld.com

55:22 yp.sport@nationalworld.com

Barnsley's shock sacking of Neill Collins, Huddersfield Town's worst nightmare and Sheffield Wednesday's bid for The Great Escape - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

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