On this week’s show, YP football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to look forward to Sunday’s Championship play-off final clash between Leeds United and Southampton at Wembley.
They also reflect on the end of Sheffield United’s miserable return to the Premier League, a campaign which saw them suffer an immediate relegation back to the Championship and leaves Chris Wilder with plenty of rebuilding work to do this summer.
A rebuild is already underway at Rotherham United as Steve Evens sets about plotting a swift return to the second tier having taken over a Millers team already-relegated to League One – we assess the several signings made so far.
And, with Euro 2024 fast-approaching, the panel analyse Gareth Southgate’s initial long-list squad for Germany.
They also reflect on the end of Sheffield United’s miserable return to the Premier League, a campaign which saw them suffer an immediate relegation back to the Championship and leaves Chris Wilder with plenty of rebuilding work to do this summer.
A rebuild is already underway at Rotherham United as Steve Evens sets about plotting a swift return to the second tier having taken over a Millers team already-relegated to League One – we assess the several signings made so far.
And, with Euro 2024 fast-approaching, the panel analyse Gareth Southgate’s initial long-list squad for Germany.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:13 we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:16 of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:20 Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:23 Leon Wapshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:28 forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:31 by logging onto our website at yp.sport@nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:37 feeds, the main one being @ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:42 Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:47 if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:50 or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:55 at yp.sport@nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk.
01:00 As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:03 the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wapshall.
01:07 Good morning, guys.
01:08 Morning.
01:09 Morning. Right, this week, we'll be looking ahead to the player final clash between Leeds
01:14 United and Southampton, along with a number of our Yorkshire teams, and along with what
01:21 a number of our Yorkshire teams could be doing this off-season. However, let's start with
01:26 the news that Gareth Southgate has announced his preliminary squad for this year's European
01:31 Championships in Germany. Now, what did you make of the names included and those who were
01:36 left out? And were there any surprises for you, Stuart?
01:39 I didn't think there were that many surprises, really. I mean, what with it being quite a
01:46 big squad, I think the surprises might be to come yet when 33 become 26. I think there
01:51 could be some interesting decisions to be made then. I mean, obviously, Adam Wharton
01:57 has sort of burst onto the scene in the last couple of months, but even he was talked about
02:07 quite a bit and given the sort of lack of midfield alternatives and the size of the
02:14 provisional squad, I don't think it was a great shock that he made it. Likewise, the
02:20 form of Marcus Rashford, I think that was fairly inevitable. I think one of the surprising
02:25 ones was Jordan Henderson being left out because it kind of goes a bit against the sort of
02:31 stereotype of Gareth Southgate sort of clinging loyally onto his old favourites. But, you
02:36 know, Raheem Sterling along the way and Calvin Phillips, obviously their club form made that
02:46 an easy decision for him to make. It does suggest, though, a manager who's actually
02:51 trying to refresh this squad a bit and think beyond the tournament. Nobody knows for sure,
02:59 possibly even Southgate, but there's kind of a feeling that this would be his last tournament
03:04 and you often see it at club level where when a manager's finishing, there's not so much
03:08 thought as to what will come next in terms of getting new players in. It's all about
03:14 one last hurrah. I was a bit surprised that Eric Dier didn't make the squad given all
03:19 the issues in terms of lack of experience and lack of fitness with regards to defenders.
03:29 I think he can consider himself a bit unlucky. I think James Trafford can consider himself
03:35 very lucky, to be honest, and it's a sign of the lack of goalkeeping options that a
03:40 man who basically got dropped to kick start Burnley's sort of serious push to stay in
03:46 the division has made the squad. Likewise, Ivan Toni, a few months ago, looked a very
03:53 good bet but his form has been pretty poor since February, so it'll be interesting to
03:59 see if he makes the cut. Luke Shaw, the only left-back, or specialist left-back, just smacks
04:06 of desperation. It doesn't sound like he's going to make it. I thought as well that maybe
04:15 Gerard Branswaite might have missed the boat when he didn't get on the field in the March
04:20 internationals but I'm pleased he's in consideration after the season he's had. I think the really
04:29 interesting decisions will be who gets cut. Shaw's body might decide it himself but with
04:39 all the competition in the attacking places and with all the injury worries in defensive
04:45 places there might yet be somebody who gets cut who we're not really expecting to.
04:51 Yeah, it's a very bold squad. I could be wrong but it suggests to me that his typical Southgate,
05:00 if he was to leave England, he'd be queefed with something to look forward to in the future
05:05 with a lot of the players who've been, I mean some of them will miss out from the full team
05:10 but that would smack all about Gareth to me. If he did leave he will leave a legacy. I
05:25 don't think he's been consistent in the fact that when senior players haven't been doing
05:30 it and playing well. Obviously the likes of Calvin Phillips, he's been ruthless when he
05:37 comes in to be and fair play to him for that. I think the big issues are probably defensively.
05:48 Senior players, the Stones, the Maguires have had issues this season. If one of those breaks
05:54 down then you're in a tournament and whoever survives, keeps from the 33 to the 26, they're
06:01 going to be relatively inexperienced at tournament level, aren't they? Good players that they
06:06 are, the likes of Gouy, Kwanzaa and Gomez. I think going forward they look great in England
06:16 in terms of the forward offensive options, as good as anyone. You look at the three-year
06:23 pulley play behind Harry Kane, Saka, Bellingham and Foden, that's as good as anyone in the
06:29 tournament isn't it really? You've got Kane himself, the problems are going to be a bit
06:33 further behind. I'm really pleased he's gone for Watts and I think he's a fantastic player.
06:41 I think the thing with the squad as well, I see a lot of talk about the Premier League,
06:46 this and that, the EFL, it's all power to the EFL isn't it? You look at the amount of
06:51 strong candidates who've had really good upbringings in the EFL. You mentioned Trafford, there's
06:56 Branthwaite, a couple of Cumbrian lads there, plenty of others as well. I'm fine about the
07:04 forward options, I think when push comes to shove that Rashford and Sterling can't have
07:11 too much to quibble about. I suppose there's an argument to say that tournament football
07:15 is different, you maybe would have heard on the side of experience and taken one of them,
07:22 but you're going to have to find out about the likes of the Olly Wockers of this world
07:27 in tournament football aren't you at some point? So I can see what Southgate's thinking.
07:32 I admire him for being bold, personally I don't expect him to carry on beyond this tournament
07:38 whatever happens, but typical Gareth, he's looking at the here and now, the medium and
07:43 the long term and it just smacks of what an outstanding job he's done for me. A fair player
07:51 really, interesting and bold squad. Henderson, plenty of experience but he's not played too
07:59 many games for Ajax since going there so I don't think he can have too many quibbles.
08:05 By the sound of it, he's taken it professionally and properly as Rashford has as well given
08:11 his post on social media. Unfortunately that's the way it goes and whatever happens in this
08:19 tournament England are going to have to, it's going to be a new chapter, whether it's Southgate
08:24 I suspect it won't be, but his successor will be in the autumn and he'll be a big week with
08:30 a lot of young, dynamic and exciting players. Especially attacking players, it's such an
08:35 unbalanced squad, what Leon's just said about Rashford and Sterling, if they'd have been
08:41 defensive players probably one of them would have been taken but Leon mentioned all those
08:47 great attacking players that we fully expect to start and you think there's no Cole Palmer
08:53 in there, there's no Anthony Gordon in there, there's no Eze who's been really exciting.
08:57 It shows there's so much depth of talent in the attacking positions and then you compare
09:02 it and this isn't a criticism of Southgate, this is what he's working with. You've got
09:07 one specialist left back who's really struggling, your number two goalkeeper looks likely to
09:12 be Aaron Ramsdale who's hardly played anything for Arsenal. You're short of defensive midfield
09:21 options, it's a real imbalance but it could be quite an exciting one because it almost
09:28 forces them to play what you hope it will.
09:33 I think the big Cole is Stuart in midfield for me is what you do with Trent Alexander-Arnold
09:38 isn't he? He's a wonderful player, one of the best of his type in world football and
09:45 people can talk about his defensive deficiencies but he can win big games with a moment of
09:52 quality can't he? We've got all those other likes of the Bellinghams and the Fowlans but
09:59 in a tight tournament knockout game it could be one moment of magic, one ball where England
10:05 are on the free and he's got that in his locker, Alexander-Arnold hasn't he? That'll
10:11 be interesting to see how Southgate gets the most of him in a tournament because I think
10:17 he's a player who I think he does, serious opponents will respect him and fear him and
10:26 I think other leading European nations rather than focus on probably what he hasn't got,
10:31 focus on what he has got which is quite a lot isn't it?
10:35 I think that applies for the squad as a whole, they're quite short defensively but there's
10:40 so much attacking talent. Obviously Alexander-Arnold's selection would typify that. You can really
10:47 go probably one of three ways as to who partners right in that holding midfield, you could
10:52 probably go with Mainou, you could probably go with Alexander-Arnold or you could try
10:56 and fudge things, push Bellingham a bit deeper which obviously he's comfortable with to
11:01 get another of those attacking players in and it probably might be the friendlies and
11:06 who really grasps the nettle that decides that. You really do feel if Alexander-Arnold
11:11 puts in two man of the match performances he'll start but likewise, Mainou probably
11:17 won't play in the first game because of the FA Cup fan but if he were to have an absolute
11:21 stormer maybe it might be his. If Cole Powell were to then you'd have a reason for where
11:29 that is.
11:30 You know a lot more about England than me Stuart but that seems to be the big decision
11:35 doesn't it in the middle of the park? I think that Southgate will be keeping his fingers
11:40 crossed for only in this, they've obviously got this week at Middlesbrough in these couple
11:43 of games that his leaders at the back just get fit and stay fit because it's a big call
11:53 isn't it to have a couple of good players at the arl, Goy and Concert. Would you really
12:00 fancy them in a high level knockout game of tournament football? So he will be relying
12:08 on Stones and Maguire pulling through and I'd imagine he'll probably go with Chip here
12:12 at left back as well. I suppose he talked a little bit of a fudge but he's served England
12:19 pretty well and this is likely to be his last tournament so I think he'll go with what he
12:25 knows won't he in defence.
12:26 I think so, I mean even Goy and Trippier have had their injury problems, it's a constant
12:32 theme with England, you know major tournaments you go back to '82 with Francis and Keegan
12:38 you know, Robson's dislocated shoulder in '86, we've had meta-tarsals with Rooney and
12:45 Beckham, there always seems to be this balancing act about how many not fully fit players can
12:55 you take, how many is too risky and that's really, judging by Southgate's press conference
13:02 yesterday, that's kind of the assessment he's got to make in the next week or so, just how
13:07 fit are these people. I mean even Stones, he's not been injured but he's going to be
13:14 rusty so if Stones is going to be rusty, is it more of a risk to put a Maguire who's not
13:20 fully fit alongside him, these are the difficult decisions but as Leon says, we know his character
13:27 and I don't think it's the flaw that it's often made out to be, he does like to rely
13:32 on people who've lived him well in the past and you suspect that's the way he'll go in
13:38 the future and I'll be honest, I had massive reservations about Harry Maguire before the
13:42 last Euros because I think he went into it having not played for a long time, missed
13:48 the first couple of games and was great in the tournament, same with Kyle Walker in the
13:52 last World Cup so you know, there's so much medical, nouse and scientific back-up that
13:59 obviously we don't have access to. I think there's a big degree of putting trust in Southgate
14:06 who not only has access to all of this but has been there and done it in tournaments
14:10 and has found the right solutions in terms of those injured players so fingers crossed
14:16 this will be another tournament like that.
14:20 And next we turn our attention to Shuffled United who ended their Premier League campaign
14:25 with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur. Now, what was your assessment of
14:29 the game and with a number of well-known players set to leave the club with the likes of Chris
14:33 Basham, Josh Baldock and Wes Fodringham departing the Blades, do you think that we could see
14:41 a fair amount of change during this off-season Stuart?
14:43 Yeah, we'll absolutely have to and this first game just, I was going to say, reminded us
14:50 why I don't think any Shuffled United fan had ever forgotten because it's been week
14:54 after week and we just saw the same failings. First 15 minutes, some really good chances
15:05 but as at Everton the other week when Liam was there, as against Newcastle recently,
15:10 those chances go begging and then you have a string of defensive mistakes, get punished
15:15 by a really good cooler as you finish and then the old Shuffled United classic from
15:20 this season, concede one, concede another in a couple of minutes. We've talked about
15:27 it so often, there's nothing really new to say but it just points to a lack of leadership
15:33 and there's been a lot of leadership at Bramall Lane this season but it's been off the field
15:40 and half of it's been injured. What they would have given to have had a Basham on the field,
15:47 to have had an Egan, to have had a younger Norwood, to just get this team together and
15:56 just really show that leadership. It's not been completely absent, we've seen it from
16:01 people like Jack Robinson but this is the best league in the world, you can't get by
16:07 with one or two leaders, one or two good players. You can't get by with taking one chance in
16:14 five or making a couple of bad defensive errors in a game when you're playing players like
16:22 in the case of last week, the quality of Stalin, Kulishevsky, Maddison, Johnson and so on and
16:28 so forth. That's just where they've been cut short and obviously next season those standards
16:34 aren't going to be so high, you are going to be able to get away with a bit more but
16:40 that leadership is still going to be needed. Chris Wilder is very aware of this, he's going
16:47 to have to really look deep at the personalities of the players he's bringing into the squad
16:53 to replace those, you'd almost call them non-footballing qualities of these guys who are leaving.
17:01 I think they've taken that much punishment this season that in the final third they're
17:11 just bruised and broken in some respects. It's going to be a new chapter in the history
17:17 of the club, there's been some great players who've served the club supremely well who
17:23 have come into the end of their careers, there's a natural turnover in that regard. It's going
17:32 to be fascinating as well as very difficult for what Chris Wilder wants to do. It doesn't
17:39 smack to me that it's going to be a one-winder job this. I think if you were a pragmatist
17:49 you'd have two or three windows there to do what he really wants. Stuart said it's a turnaround
17:57 in quality but it's also character, it's durability, they're going to have to respect the division
18:04 they're in. It's going to be a strong championship again next season. It just looked like a bit
18:11 of a microcosm of the season on the afternoon against Spurs, as soon as they went behind
18:17 that was pretty much it and Spurs scored a game. It's just a huge summer in the modern
18:24 day history of Sheffield United because it does need a reset and an overhaul but it's
18:32 not going to be easy is it? No, because they're not going to have huge amounts of money to
18:37 throw at it because of the mistakes of the past and the debts built up. A big chunk of
18:42 that parachute money which the relegated clubs rely on has already been spoken for and that's
18:48 another thing. Wilder's talked quite a bit recently and understandably so about taking
18:54 inspiration not just from Leeds but also Southampton and Leicester and the way those clubs have
19:01 pulled themselves off the floor. Leeds had a fairly big overhaul this season and again
19:09 identifying the right characters was a part of it and they did manage to get it done in
19:13 time not to make automatic promotion but to make the play-offs. It feels to me like it's
19:20 an even bigger job at Sheffield United. The resources are even tighter. I fully agree
19:28 with Leon. I think it's going to be a case of showing a bit of patience and as I alluded
19:34 to the other week, I'm all in favour of them bringing in some young players from the academy
19:40 to help that along but that in itself is going to need a bit of patience but I think it will
19:45 be worth the patience. It's the hardest thing in football. We were talking before we started
19:50 about Chelsea's impatience and you see it across the divisions. Sheffield United fans
19:56 have been really good at sticking by their team this season but next season is possibly
20:03 going to test them even more really because expectations will be higher. They will need
20:10 that patience. I wouldn't say they're lucky because it's by design but they're fortunate
20:16 that they've got a manager in Chris Wyler with that trust already built in because he's
20:20 probably going to need to dip into those reserves at some point.
20:27 I think it's a solid point you've made Stuart. It is similar to what Leeds faced in the close
20:34 season last year. I would say with respect, I don't think the Sheffield United dressing
20:38 room is probably quite as toxic as the Leeds one was when they got renegaded when it was
20:44 basically the cue for a lot of players to tip their agents off and there were some very
20:49 public pronouncements last summer of 'I want to leave, I'm not sticking around'. I don't
20:55 think it will be anything to that degree but when Farka came in sensibly he wanted to find
21:01 out who wanted to be here and he understood the need to get the dressing room stronger
21:07 and to just rebuild the character in a lot of respects. That's what Chris Wyler has got
21:13 to do there as well. You talk about players, players are big personalities isn't it? It
21:21 looks like they've been in for Luke Aylin by all accounts, he's going to go to Middlesbrough
21:29 and I think that's probably another problem, I touched on it last week, they're going to
21:32 have Sheffield United. They haven't got lots of money to spend. The pool of players they're
21:38 after, there's going to be some, well it's not necessarily teams who have been renegaded,
21:43 it might be one or two, but there's going to be some decent hitters at Championship
21:47 level who can offer a decent package, who will maybe be trying to sign them as well,
21:52 the Coventry's of this world, maybe Middlesbrough's, one or two others. So it's not going to be
21:57 straightforward getting the calibre of player that he wants but he's certainly hungry and
22:05 driven and determined to do it isn't he? Sheffield United are his club, he'll be considered
22:16 to be a great Sheffield United manager if he can turn this around maybe in a year or
22:20 two and get another promotion on his CV, that's what marks the special ones from the very
22:25 good ones but he's going to take every ounce of his acumen experience and he'll probably
22:31 need a little bit of luck along the way as well.
22:33 You feel like Luton in particular, whilst fighting to stay up, have done a good job
22:40 of preparing to YoYo almost. Sheffield United, I think there's always been that realism that
22:47 they were going to be in a renegation battle, they had to be mentally ready for it but because
22:52 there's been so much work needed on the team, they've not been able to lay that groundwork
22:57 anywhere near as deep. They've obviously bloodied people like Harb Laster and Brook, so it's
23:02 not a complete case of starting again but you do feel like in particular Luton are further
23:11 on. You've got teams, you mentioned Middlesbrough, who are building up at championship level.
23:18 I don't think it'll be as strong a championship as last season, or sorry, the season, whatever
23:24 you call it, 2023/24. But that's not to say it's not going to be strong and it's not going
23:30 to be hard work to get out of. It is. There's going to be a lot of clubs, a lot of ambitious
23:35 clubs, a lot of clubs with one way or another Premier League money or chairman's money sloshing
23:41 around really pushing for this. They need to try and hit the ground running as quickly
23:48 as they can because in the final analysis, totally understandably, that's what cost Leeds
23:53 United an automatic promotion. At least Wilder came in in December as opposed to July and
24:01 the process is already underway.
24:05 And our next stop this week is Rotherham United, who have also announced a number of new arrivals
24:10 as well as departures, with the likes of goalkeeper Victor Johansson set to leave the Millers
24:14 whilst Portsmouth defender Joe Rafferty and Northampton midfielder Sean McWilliams are
24:19 set to make the New York stadium their new home. Do you think Steve Evans could see a
24:24 fair amount of activity during this off-season, Leon?
24:27 In a word, yes. I mean, it's typical Steve. I mean, I remember that the first season,
24:34 he actually came to Rotherham very similar to the season that's just gone. He came right
24:41 at the tail end. There was a few games left. Then he had a close season to really hit the
24:47 market in 2012/13. It was the first season at the New York stadium and he made some big
24:56 bowl signings and he didn't mess about. He got a few in May. I seem to remember there's
25:00 the Chiodi, the Jays, Ian Sharpe. They were good players for Rotherham in that League
25:06 Two season when they went up. They brought in Carey Arneson as well, who was a huge player
25:11 for them. I remember him, a real classic player. And you just felt that given that the season
25:16 they had, a desperate season, all sorts of horrendous figures, not winning an away game
25:22 all season. This time, well, it's longer, isn't it? It's probably 18 months. All sorts
25:27 of flak and stuff thrown at them. They had to do something to sort of revive spirits
25:33 almost. The showman side, it might be a little bit harsh, but that sort of side of Steve
25:39 Evans, picking up a club and lifting spirits, I think he knew instinctively that, as obviously
25:45 season ticket sales as well, he's going to have to do a bit of something early to help
25:52 start the process of this club getting its mojo back. It was obviously a very entertaining
25:59 press conference with himself and Tony Stewart. There was a lot of talk about the club having
26:06 its mojo back, but they had to back it up and they've done that with the deals so far.
26:12 I think St. John's and Clark Harris, his pedigree in League One speaks for itself, even though
26:17 he had a funny old season at Peterborough, didn't he, last season? He didn't necessarily
26:22 start that many games, but I think he still scored 13 or 14 goals. I did a piece interview
26:32 with him last week and he's as hungry as ever. It really feels like he's got unfinished business
26:37 at Rotherham. He had a bad injury early in his career there and he wants to write a positive
26:44 chapter there. He's very driven in terms of his own personal targets as well. He's spoken
26:51 openly about getting the League One, the Golden Boot and giving the record. It's hard. Fair
26:57 play to him. He's not just speaking off the cuff, he's got the numbers to back it up.
27:05 So that's a headline marquee signing that everyone at Rotherham has bought into. And
27:11 a couple of solid signings as well. The lad from Portsmouth, Rapperty by all accounts,
27:15 he had a strong season, a promotion season, in helping pump it back to the second tier.
27:24 I don't know much about MacWilliams, who was signed from Northampton, but his figures suggest
27:30 Northampton wanted to keep him. He played a lot of games for them at a relatively young
27:35 age. So yeah, they made a good start at it and I expect a fair bit more to come. Obviously,
27:43 they'll bring another goalkeeper in, Johansson, he was always going to leave, wasn't he? He's
27:48 obviously got the claws there. The rival clubs here, Stoke have been after him for a heck
27:56 of a long time from what I can gather. So another senior established goalkeeper, obviously
28:03 got Dylan Phillips, but they'll probably go for another one as well. But yeah, Evans,
28:08 he's one of his skills, he's very on the button with the markets that Rotherham United will
28:16 be entering into, the lower division market. There's not many operators who know it better
28:20 than Steve and probably even go down to the National League as well. So in a lot of respects,
28:26 this is his forte and I'd expect it to be a busy time at Rotherham, as we mentioned
28:32 with Sheffield United. When you have the sort of season that they've had, there's got to
28:36 be some sort of revamp and realigning because there's a lot of players in there who've taken
28:43 a heck of a lot of punishment. To be fair, quite a few have got to be leaving anyway
28:47 or have recently left at the end of the deals. But yeah, I think Steve will be making his
28:54 mark on that squad for a good piece of the close season, yeah, and it'll have his imprints
29:01 all over it.
29:02 Yeah, I mean, they just feel like textbook signings. We've debated on this podcast in
29:07 recent weeks whether they should look more short-term or long-term, but that's irrelevant
29:11 now. It's been decided. It's all about getting promotions.
29:14 Yeah, it's all janted up, isn't it?
29:17 Exactly. And these are signings exactly to do that. We were talking about Michael Duff at
29:22 Huddersfield last week and how important it was to just get people who knew League One,
29:27 who have experience with League One, who know what's required. John 'The Clark' Harris and
29:33 Rafferty, tick, tick. They don't just know how to play in it, they know how to win promotion
29:39 in it. Absolutely classic. As Leon says, striking straight away while the iron's hot, getting
29:47 them in. It's just everything you want to do and this will go on and on through the
29:53 summer because, as Leon says, there's a lot to do. There's a lot of players that we know
29:59 have already left. There's a lot of players still there who were kind of signed to do
30:05 championship jobs in a lot of cases and need moving on for Hungary. Players that say either
30:13 with League One experience or lower down the divisions with the hunger to really perform
30:20 at this level and be part of something new. I think by the time the season kicks off and
30:27 certainly by the time the transfer window closes, we'll see a completely different
30:31 Rotherham United squad in terms of personnel and spirit. It's sad to see Victor Johansen
30:39 go but let's be honest, we all know he's too good to be playing in that team in League
30:45 One. He's a classic guy. He dealt with it really well. He's got an international career
30:53 to think about. He's put some money in the coffers for Evans to spend. They could have
31:01 got more from him if it hadn't been for this release clause, I'm sure, because I firmly
31:05 believe he's worth more than the million pounds or so they got. But that was the price
31:11 of getting him to stay for another season or so. It was worth it in many respects. He
31:18 was a great servant for them and you don't begrudge him. But now it's a new era and
31:23 it's all about the hero now. It's all about getting players to get them out of League
31:29 One. We'll deal with the rest later. For the job Steve Evans has been handed, he's
31:36 done exactly what you'd expect and what you need to do.
31:39 Yeah, you'd expect the number of incomers to comfortably be into double figures, wouldn't
31:44 you really? With quite a few other decent names, a couple of Sheffield Wednesday lads,
31:51 George Byers and Reece James. I know Evans managed James earlier in his first spell at
31:58 Rotherham. So I think there'll be a balance. I think it'll bring some youngerish players
32:06 but there'll also be some hardened senior nowts in there who've seen it, done it and
32:11 got over the line over the course of a long demanding League One season. I think we mentioned
32:18 last week, make no mistake, there's some intriguing divisions in the EFL next season.
32:22 None more so than League One. You've got Huddersfield, you've got Birmingham, you've got Bolton.
32:28 Obviously they haven't got promoted. Some ambitious clubs from League Two as well. Wrexham
32:34 Stockport, probably others in the mix too. Charlton will probably do a bit better. It'll
32:38 be an extremely competitive division. Evans will know that and he'll be hoping to, well
32:44 he will, he'll cover his bases across the board. It sounds like he's getting the backing
32:50 that he wants off Tony Stewart. I'd imagine that getting Clark Harris will be a fair investment.
32:58 He won't have come cheap in terms of wages given his goal record. So yeah, it looks like
33:06 they're pushing the boat out a little bit.
33:11 And finally for this week we turn to the Championship Playoff Final which will see Leeds United
33:15 and Southampton battle it out under the Wembley arch for a place in the Premier League next
33:20 season. Now based on the Whites last performance when they faced Norwich City, how do you see
33:25 Daniel Farker's side going into the fixture Stewart?
33:28 Based on the last performance I see them winning it. But what we wait to see is was that last
33:34 performance a brilliant one off or was this kickstarting their confidence? Hopefully the
33:41 latter because they look back to their pre-March international break held by a hugely passionate
33:52 crowd. You just saw all the qualities that you saw before me. The thing that really stuck
33:59 in my mind was about four minutes in, Jorginho Ruta who's been really out of form recently
34:06 plays a lovely flick down the line to Crescentia Somerville and you just think yes he's on
34:11 it today and that's so important to Leeds United that he is happy and confident because
34:18 the number 10 in any team is really important in setting the tone for him, particularly
34:23 in this Leeds United team. Everyone just seemed to rise to the levels that the crowd had set.
34:31 We always talk about the importance of crowd support but sometimes it can be a bit intimidating
34:37 and it can hammer home to you the magnitude of what's ahead of you when you see how desperate
34:41 that crowd were. But the Leeds players really rose to that and that gives you confidence
34:46 on Sunday as well because again there's going to be those pressures, there's going to be
34:51 those expectations, there's going to be that history. On Thursday night it was about never
34:56 having won a home play-off since they played Southampton in the 80s, this time it's going
35:01 to be about never having won a play-off final. But if the team dealt with the first one they
35:06 can deal with the second one. I just feel it's a 50/50 game because you can say a lot
35:11 of these things about Southampton as well. They were so impressive in that second half
35:16 of the second leg and again they were a team who had not had the best of finishes to the
35:22 season and probably needed that. That picked me up as well. They'd been through a cagey
35:28 first leg but to see Adam Armstrong scoring, finding the net and to see the football they
35:36 played with Smallbone cropping up with a goal. Obviously they've got the fact that they've
35:42 beaten Leeds a couple of times this season. I think you can make really good arguments
35:46 for either team winning this game. But from a Leeds perspective you really hope that what
35:54 they did on Thursday night just gives them the confidence to play at their best because
36:00 if Southampton are at their best Leeds are going to need to be as well and if they both
36:04 are we're going to get a really good final because they are two very good teams on their day.
36:09 Yeah I'm totally with Stuart there. Totally a 50-50 game. I can't call it at all. I really
36:14 can't. Obviously Leeds were tremendous. Norwich were lousy but it was more that Leeds were
36:21 outstanding and they got the mojo back. A terrific night. Part of me thought to myself
36:27 well Southampton haven't just got to win they've got to produce a little bit of a statement
36:32 as well and maybe not as emphatic as Leeds the previous night but I'd probably venture
36:38 to suggest that West Brom were a little bit more tactically stronger than Norwich and
36:43 probably a little bit better so it was still a statement of sorts wasn't it. Obviously
36:47 Leeds won 4-0 Southampton. They were 3-0 up at the end but that was a pretty decent response
36:55 as well. I just hope the final they did a couple of years ago when Huddersfield played
37:01 Forest I hope it isn't spoiled by the officials because ultimately let's be honest it was
37:06 wasn't it. Two huge calls that went against Huddersfield on the day. It would be a shame
37:13 if something like that happened again because Leeds and Southampton are at the best of two
37:20 terrific sides to watch from football and it could be an absolute barnstormer couldn't
37:26 it on the day at Wembley. It's got the makings for one of those classic sort of encounters
37:31 and you hope that is who obviously Leeds from our perspective come out on the right side
37:37 but let's just hope football is a winner on the day. Everyone knows it's a huge game in
37:43 the football calendar. I think arguably amongst football supporters it's probably more interesting
37:49 than even something like the FA Cup now really isn't it because that's just become a little
37:54 bit too predictable. I'm struggling to think of the key areas. I think maybe central midfield
38:02 who gets the best of that battle. You've got Smallwood who's a fine player. Flynn Downs
38:09 as well I've liked him since when he was at Swansea who can get the best of that battle
38:14 with Puli Kumar and Grewith as well. It looks like Puli Archie Gray who was brilliant against
38:22 Norwich Watson-Lee. On the day who can grasp the net and get hold of that game
38:28 in the middle of the pitch at Wembley a big service who can dictate.
38:33 They've got weapons galore in the final third it was good to see Ruti and get back on
38:45 message. Adam Armstrong who's a serious player at that level.
38:52 One thing they have got right is the preparation. They're not messing around with going to
39:04 two hotels in London are they really. It's a normal pre-match build up.
39:13 That's what Daniel Farker likes. One last hill to climb.
39:17 I just hope we see a game like the second legs from both of those teams. It could go either way,
39:27 it could be really cagey. Historically play-off finals more often than not are quite explosive,
39:34 particularly the championship one. Particularly late 90s early 00s we saw some real high scoring,
39:41 real thrilling games. From a neutral perspective it would be lovely to see something like that
39:49 because they are two really good teams and have the potential to put on a really good
39:53 advert for the Football League. It would be nice to see that. I imagine both managers probably won't
40:01 be thinking that way. They'll be thinking a bit more shrewdly than me in my romantic way.
40:11 You do feel that Leeds and Southampton, from a Leeds perspective, tick so many boxes in that
40:17 second leg of things they really needed to do to go into the final in the right shape,
40:22 mentally as much as anything else. I think that's the biggest thing with any cup final. You want to
40:31 see two teams at their best. I think what happened in the last week has increased the chances of
40:38 that happening really. I think defence is the quick one as well. Central defence,
40:42 I think that would be an interesting one. We know all about Rodon and Ampadu. They've
40:49 obviously got the disappointment, a huge disappointment won't it, in losing the
40:53 play-offs against Poland in Cardiff. They're not going to be doing much this summer. This is the
40:59 huge game for them to get something really tangible and positive out of the season.
41:07 I've watched a fair bit of Southampton this season when they played Yorkshire Club. Terrific
41:11 going forward. I think they always give you a bit of a chance out the back. Howard Bellis,
41:17 a very good young player but I'm not totally sold on him. I think he's still got a little bit of a
41:22 lapse in his arm in concentration with him. Is it Bednar next year? He's the senior man.
41:35 I'm not totally convinced by Southampton defensively but I think they're a very good
41:41 side going the other way. From Lew's perspective, it's up to the two Welsh lads to keep order.
41:48 Again, that's why those two clean sheets across the semi-final were so important.
41:55 To just build some confidence in the defensive unit. We talk about confidence all the time with
42:02 regards to players like Routier and attacking players but it matters so much defensively too.
42:07 Leeds were excellent on the night but I did think Watnow and Norwich were poor.
42:13 They were very, very disappointed. I'd imagine if you were a Hull City supporter you would have
42:20 really been thinking, if only because Hull would have given Leeds a lot better test over two legs
42:27 I'm sure and I'm sure Coventry would have done as well. That's going on to other things isn't it?
42:32 I think the FA Cup run probably did for Coventry ultimately. So I would just temper a little bit
42:38 that as excellent as Leeds were on the night, Norwich were pretty poor. But I think in hindsight
42:46 it was a good team to play them back in the form they were supposed to be. That's a fair point.
42:51 YorkshirePost.co.uk
42:53 Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
43:09 discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to date with all the
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43:31 subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport@nationalworld.com. As ever many thanks
43:37 for listening, look after yourselves and bye for now.
43:44 [Music]