As we near the end of the first month of action in the EFL, football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall assess the story so far for a number of our teams, starting with Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday, whose meeting last weekend produced a comfortable win for the Whites.
They also turn their attention to a tough start to the season for Hull City under Tim Walter, contrasted by the 100 per cent start to life in League One for Huddersfield Town under Michael Duff.
Doncaster Rovers enjoyed a big night out at Goodison Park where they lost 3-0 to Everton in the second round of the Carabao Cup, but they have bigger fish to fry, according to our panel, as do Barnsley one level up, who enjoyed a 1-0 derby win over Sheffield United on the same night.
They also turn their attention to a tough start to the season for Hull City under Tim Walter, contrasted by the 100 per cent start to life in League One for Huddersfield Town under Michael Duff.
Doncaster Rovers enjoyed a big night out at Goodison Park where they lost 3-0 to Everton in the second round of the Carabao Cup, but they have bigger fish to fry, according to our panel, as do Barnsley one level up, who enjoyed a 1-0 derby win over Sheffield United on the same night.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:22we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:25of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we are joined by Chief Football Writer
00:29for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Neil
00:32Moshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you
00:37can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
00:40onto our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:46feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:51Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you
00:55have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or
00:59Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
01:03at yp.sport at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:09As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:12the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Neil Moshall.
01:16Good morning guys.
01:17Morning. Hello.
01:18Morning. Right, now this week we saw Middlesbrough share the points in their 2-1 draw with Portsmouth
01:24thanks to a late Tommy Conway penalty. Sheffield United maintained their unbeaten championship
01:29start with a 1-1 draw when they paid a visit to Norwich City. Barnsley saw three points
01:34slip from their grasp and had to settle for a point when they let a 2-0 lead disappear
01:39against Northampton Town, and we'll be covering both sides later on in the episode. Huddersfield
01:48claimed a 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town to maintain their winning start to the league.
01:54Rotherham United fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Wickham Wanderers. Harrogate
01:58Town claimed a 1-0 victory on the road when they beat Colchester United 1-0, and Doncaster
02:04Rovers returned to winning ways after claiming a 1-0 victory over struggling Morecambe. We'll
02:09be covering both of those teams later on in the episode as well.
02:13However, let's start this week by looking at the clash between Sheffield Wednesday and
02:17Leeds United, which saw the visitors claim all three points with a comfortable 2-0 victory
02:22in a game which seemed fairly one-sided. What did you think of the performances put up by
02:27both sides, Leon?
02:28Yeah, it certainly was in the end one-sided. It's certainly contrasting. I always think
02:35it's better to... I mean, the game's come pretty early in the season, hasn't it, really?
02:39It would have been, I think, in another month or so's time, it would have been a better
02:44barometer in which to gauge the teams. But yeah, a contrast between both sides. I thought
02:50Leeds were excellent on front to back as well. Obviously, they came into it under the microscope
02:58for various reasons. A bit of a perfect storm was brewing, wasn't it? They lost big players
03:04this summer. And obviously, the defensive mask had slipped as well, characteristically
03:11the three goals against Portsmouth, to be fair. I mean, they did a fair bit right going
03:16forward and it was one of those odd sort of games. Leeds should have won that, but they
03:19didn't, you know, because they did three. Then the cup game against Middlesbrough, obviously
03:25they'd gone to West Brom and sort of pulled up the drawbridge and got a bit of defensive
03:31order back. But it just hadn't sort of come together, hadn't it? Sort of at all ends of
03:35the pitch, up front, midfield and at the back. And I mean, Stuart's seen a little bit more
03:41of Leeds than me this calendar year, but I started looking at the performance. It was
03:48fluid. I liked the dropping of Gonto into a deeper role. That caused Wednesday a lot
03:54of problems and I thought that was tactically smart. Aronson's renaissance continued. But
04:01I just think for the confidence of everyone, the supporters, to be fair to Daniel Farquhar,
04:06he's kept calm. He's not panicked, but he'll have known that Leeds needed a result and
04:11it was obviously a big game with the local aspect of it as well. And he didn't just get
04:16a result, he got a really good performance. It was controlled from pretty much the first
04:21few minutes. There was a little bit of a flurry early on from Wednesday and they were getting
04:26the ball out to Massaba. But it was very composed and orderly and very impressive from Leeds.
04:33I thought it was probably the best I've actually seen Leeds. We did the play-off game against
04:38Norwich. Leeds were brilliant but it was just one of those mad games you get every now and
04:43again, wasn't it? But that's the best I've seen Leeds for a good while. They sort of
04:49hobbled at the end of the season and we know what happened at Wembley. So I think all things
04:54considered, a big tick in the box for everyone, Daniel Farquhar. And he just showed to me,
05:01I think I tweeted something, they've had a few knocks of Leeds but they've lost some
05:06big players but they've still got some very, very good players at Championship level there.
05:11And I think it spoke well of the dressing room as well. They obviously took some early
05:16season blows. As Farquhar constantly says, a very emotional club is Leeds United and bad
05:23moments are magnified. So yeah, a big pat on the back for all concerned with Leeds and just
05:33a bump for Wednesday. There's been a lot of good things going on there
05:37under Danny Rowe. They had some great results at the end of last season.
05:45They had a very good win over West Brom, I remember, at the end of the season but they've
05:48not really beaten one of the superpowers, if you like, of the Championship. If they'd
05:55have managed to turn over Leeds then that would have been a serious statement. But obviously,
06:00Leeds on the night had all the answers. Yeah, I think it was a big character test for
06:05Leeds. We know the ability they've got and as Leon says, they outplayed Portsmouth,
06:12just didn't beat them. So things were never that far wrong but things can just get on top of you
06:20at a club like Leeds and a club like Sheffield Wednesday. Things can be blown out of proportion
06:24for good and for bad. So it needs characters to step up in that situation. There's been a lot
06:32of talk now for 13-14 months about Willy Nonto's future. You do feel sometimes for some of these
06:40players who are playing, Gustavo Heymer being another one, playing for clubs, not quite sure
06:49how long they're going to be playing for them. It's good to see players like that really keep
06:54the focus and deliver. I mean, it's logical. I remember Michael Duff when he was at Barnsley
07:00talking about Callum Stiles. He said, look, if you want to get a move away, the best way of doing
07:05it is playing well for Barnsley. The theory's all well and good but we're dealing with human
07:10beings. These things can be in the back of your mind. So it was good that he stood up. It was
07:15good that Joe Rhodon, who had a shaky first week of the season, responded well and that the team
07:24generally, because Hillsborough's a difficult place to go, Leeds were the last team who had
07:29won there. That's how good Sheffield Wednesday had been at Hillsborough the last few months.
07:35Good that Leeds stood up to it and much needed it, as we were saying in last week's podcast.
07:41It felt like one of those early season games where whilst your brain was telling you,
07:45it's only early in the season, don't get carried away, it still felt really big.
07:50And from a Sheffield Wednesday perspective, to play Sunderland and Leeds in the space of six
07:56days, they won't get too many bigger tests than that. They've obviously got a few things to learn,
08:03a few things to brush up upon, but probably not the worst thing in the world that
08:08that Plymouth win was just put into a bitter perspective and people don't get too carried away,
08:14thinking they're going to do this and do that. Obviously a defeat's never good news, but
08:22just every now and then to just pull people down to the ground and then they go 1-0 down
08:26at Grimsby in the League Cup, but they respond properly. I think Leeds needed that win more than
08:36they probably should have done, if you understand. Sheffield Wednesday can probably take that on the
08:43chin and learn from it, and if they do learn from it, move forward stronger.
08:48I think it could be a good lesson, as you say, Stuart. It's arrived pretty early, hasn't it,
08:54and it just shows what Wednesday have got, or what they're up against. If they want to
09:00be one of those clubs, we've spoken about it quite a lot, you do get one or two surprises,
09:05teams will get in the top six mix, but this is what they're up against. There were some mitigating
09:11factors there as well. They've obviously bought in Ugbo, haven't they, relatively recently,
09:16a big signing for them by the standards this summer. He still hasn't looked a bit rusty,
09:24and they're easing him back into the fray, aren't they, so I think we'll see the best of him
09:28when we get into the autumn. But yeah, full credit to Daniel Farker, I think tactically
09:36he was spot on, and Danny Rollo doesn't get outflanked too often, does he? He acknowledged
09:43that, he had the grace to do that afterwards. Just a little bit of a reminder for Wednesday,
09:50but in the round they've done a hell of a lot of good things this calendar year, and
09:57it was just one of those days, it happens in the Championship, it doesn't go for you,
10:02and the other side are on point, and they outplayed Wednesday on the night,
10:08but still very early days. It's a difficult job for any club that's
10:12not receiving parachute payments in the Championship to make up that gap. We talked
10:16a lot about the big players' needs of loss, but the flip side of it is I think they're
10:21one of the top teams in Europe in terms of the amount of money they've brought into the transfer
10:25phase. They didn't want to, but they have, and we're speaking with a couple of days still left
10:31of the transfer window. If they can spend that money well, it could really shift the mood from
10:39a week ago when things were very downbeat. And as I say, Sheffield Wednesday are very much the
10:48same in that respect. But yeah, that is Leeds United to a T. They've got Solomon and Ramazani
10:55on board now. Hopefully, by the time people are listening to this, there might be one or two more,
11:00and they can just go into that international break in a bit more of a positive feel.
11:06But Burnley losing at Sunderland recently, nothing's done in this first chunk of the season.
11:15Nobody gets out of reach. Sunderland have obviously started well, Watford have started well,
11:19but nothing to get panicked about. And it needs the calmness of both those managers, to be fair,
11:28to not get carried away in victory or defeat and just block out some of the noise that surrounds
11:33those clubs. Yeah, that's it. I mean, Wednesday have obviously brought young Charles this week,
11:37and he's very highly regarded, isn't he? Down at San Antonio, it'll be good to see
11:43what he's like. It sounds like he could be a big player for them.
11:47Yeah, I mean, I was watching the game and obviously got a lot of raps in the English,
11:53and you did the first game with Stuart, and it sounds like he was outstanding on the day. This
11:59was a bit of a welcome to the championship moment. He was up against a high class midfield
12:06on the day, Ampadu and Gruev, and I think he would have learned more from a Friday night's
12:13game than he would have done on the first day of the season. But it's all good in that regard.
12:20And next we turn to Hull City, who had to settle for a point in a frustrating 0-0 draw with Millwall.
12:26This means the Tigers are still looking for their first league win of the campaign,
12:30and with a trip to Ellum Road next on the cards, what has to change if they're to start getting
12:35wins on the board, Stuart? I don't think anything has to drastically change. Again,
12:41talking before the end of the window, fully expecting there'll be yet more new faces at
12:47Hull. They've got a bit of a wriggle on since the season started. Makes you frustrated that they
12:52didn't beforehand. But I think more than anything, they've just got to keep plugging away
12:56at what they've been trying to do, because where they need to get to is about work on the training
13:03ground. I do think they need to refine it slightly and just have a slightly different risk-reward
13:09balance. But generally, it's about betting in these new signings. I think we're up to 11 as we
13:15speak now. That number's probably out of date by the time people are listening. I don't think any
13:24of them actually have come in and started on the back of just a week's training, so it does show
13:29you that they need time. Chris Wilder likes to refer to the Sheffield United team as a coached
13:36team, and I think Hull City are the same. It's about putting the hard yards in, learning this
13:43way of playing, getting better at it. I have to say, they were better at it against Millwall than
13:49when I'd seen them on the opening day against Bristol City. That was the first clean sheet
13:53they'd had under Tim Walter, even including the pre-season friendlies. So that was a modicum of
13:59progress. There's still a heck of a long way to go, and a lot of things they need to get better
14:07at. But whether we think they need to or not, and I don't, they're not going to rip things up and
14:12start again. That might come down the line, unfortunately, with the way Championship
14:17clubs chop and change managers, but it's certainly not happening now. There's a very clear way about
14:22how they want to go about things, and whether you agree with it or not, that's the way they're
14:26going to plough on. So it's about giving the manager the tools to do that, and cracking on
14:34with it and showing patience more than anything, which is of course the hardest thing to ask people
14:39to do in football, ourselves and the supporters included. Yeah, I think Stuart's right when he
14:47says that. I think you look at it from the glasses half full, they've not been beaten in three league
14:57games so far. They've only conceded a couple of goals, so defensively a tick in the box, I suppose.
15:03But I suppose you look at who they've played as well. Bristol City, Plymouth and Millwall,
15:09with respect. Teams that you'd be hoping to pick up at least a winner to against.
15:18But yeah, it's patience, isn't it? I just think Halder brought that many players in. I think they'll be
15:23very grateful for the time in the international break, obviously the first one and the one
15:30a little bit further in the autumn, to try and really bed things in and build some understandings
15:35between players. But yeah, I think in the sort of near future, look to me a team who just need
15:43that confidence rush of a big win and a good win and a performance really as a catalyst to give
15:51them encouragement going forward. Because it's important not to forget it's practically a new
15:58group, isn't it? They've lost some stellar names and some big figures in the dressing room from
16:02last season and it's going to take time. But you just hope from their point of view, they can get
16:09that result and performance sooner rather than later. It's frustrating from their point of view
16:13because they've changed so much in terms of personnel, coaching and playing-wise. To go from
16:20a team that didn't score enough goals and drew too many matches to become a team that hasn't scored
16:26enough goals and has drawn too many matches. But they're clearly looking at it as one step backwards
16:31to take two forwards sort of thing. They're asking a lot of supporters in terms of their
16:38patience, but ultimately that is what's needed. Like at Olympia, there's not a quick fix to this.
16:47They tried to go down the quick fix route really last season with some of the signings they made,
16:53particularly the loath signings, which are of course the classic quick fix. But it didn't work.
16:57As I said, it's difficult going head-to-head with the parachute regiment when they've got that much
17:03more money. So they are trying to build things a little bit more patiently and I'm afraid
17:12supporters will just have to swallow that. I think Leon said that they need a result and a
17:17performance just to get that belief going amongst the supporters. I think a performance more than
17:23anything. Even that little draw with Watford, they created very little. It wasn't a great
17:29performance, but you take what you get. You've got to grasp onto the positives. It was another
17:34point in a first clean sheet. I think if you look at it quickly, they've probably got four or five
17:39games from the start of the Championship, going after this international window until the next
17:45one. Four or five games. They could have a deal with a couple of very good performances and a
17:51result or two and that would enable the fans to back in and see what Walter's bringing and buying
18:02into it. I think that's what they need. Now let's turn our attention to Huddersfield Town,
18:09who claimed all three points in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town, which meant that the
18:14Terriers have won three league games in a row at the start of the season for the first time in 45
18:19years. Now, what were your thoughts on the game and do you think Michael Duff will use this fact
18:25to his advantage when they go into their game against Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United, Leon?
18:31Yeah, I mean, it's just what was needed on paper for Town. In fairness, they've got two opponents
18:37who, if you're a relegated club and Huddersfield are a pretty big club at this level, who the
18:43supporters would have been disappointed. I think they'd have looked at it, four points minimum
18:48with respect to who they were playing, Steven Hitch and Shrewsbury. Obviously,
18:53they're better than that. They got six, a great win on the opening day at Peterborough.
18:59I think the interesting thing that I think they've got the hallmarks of a Michael Duff side,
19:05they certainly fit. And from what I've gathered with some of the players, I think
19:11it's probably the hardest they've probably ever been running in their careers is some of the
19:16feedback I've heard. So, he's got them organised and extremely fit, a discipline without the ball,
19:23which is taken as read with Michael Duff's side, he does like that order. I think the interesting
19:29thing for me, I did a piece earlier in the week, I mean, last season you looked at Huddersfield,
19:33amongst the sort of striking numbers was the lack of possession they had pretty much all season.
19:39I mean, don't get me wrong, they managed to get one or two wins with sort of 30% possession,
19:44even at home, and battled away and got a few points with even less. But it's a different kettle
19:50of fish in League One. A lot of the teams are going to go to Huddersfield and they're just
19:54going to sit in and not particularly try and make it a basketball match and take them on.
20:01Although in fairness, Shrewsbury, they actually brought a little bit more to the table than I
20:05thought they would do really. But for key parts as well, they made it frustrating.
20:10Town got a goal, you thought, oh yeah, great, they'll kick on and maybe get a couple more. But
20:17it proved to be difficult and it was a bit of a stodgy watch in the second half. And
20:23as Duff said, he's going to have to find Huddersfield different ways to solve the puzzle.
20:29He got the goal early and it was enough. But there's no point really lumping it up to
20:35a big man really when they've got Marshall up front. It took a bit of patience and it
20:43was a bit of an arm wrestle. So it's interesting to see how Huddersfield fare going forward at home
20:48and coping with that higher possession that they're going to have in home games. I think it
20:53was something like 62% on Saturday. So yeah, with a lot of clubs, a fair amount of patience is
21:03needed. But I think they're coming along nicely. I've been impressed by the business in the window.
21:10They've addressed key areas of the team. Sorensen looks a great signing. Mickle Miller,
21:15who played well on Saturday on the left, he's a pretty useful player. Evans as well,
21:21a little bit of a blow with Herbie Kane. Kane's injury and they've obviously got a couple of
21:25lads in from Wolves on loan as well. And obviously, by the time we've come out, they
21:33may add a striker as well. I know they're very keen on Joe Taylor at Luton. So yeah, it's coming
21:39along nicely. But I actually think they've got a very hard game on Saturday at Rotherham.
21:44Rotherham have started off pretty poorly. They're sort of gaining chances in quite a few games,
21:53but they're just not finishing them off. But I'm sure Steve Evans will be banging his chest and
21:57getting the old us against the world thing going on on Saturday. So I think it has them,
22:03even though Rotherham have struggled, it's the makings of, for me, a difficult game for Huddersfield.
22:07And we'll probably know a fair bit more about them after the game on Saturday. If they win that,
22:15even get a draw, yeah, that's impressive. But yeah, a good start for Huddersfield,
22:20but they're going to have to contend with things at home. I think away from home, they'll be orderly,
22:29triggers in the pressing game and organised. And they're a little bit like Michael Duffside
22:34at Barnsley. But at home, they may have to contend with one or two puzzles to solve.
22:42And I think in many ways, it's been an ideal start for Huddersfield. I get the impression that
22:48results have been slightly better than performances, slightly better. And then they
22:55had the sort of jolt of defeat in midweek in the League Cup. Well, let's be honest,
23:00when you're a league one side, it doesn't really matter. So I think that gives the opportunity for
23:08Michael Duff to do some things we talk about with regard to Danny Roald, to just pick up on the
23:14faults with the protection of actually already having nine points on the board. And Michael Duff
23:19will lap that up because we know full well from his time at Barnsley, he's never a manager to get
23:27carried away and brush things under the carpet just because he's won a game. I mean this as a
23:35massive compliment, he's got a very simple mindset when it comes to how he goes about the game. He's
23:42very honest, he's very clear in what he wants. There's a lot of, whether it be the transfer
23:49market, whether it be defending or whatever, there's a lot of, it is what it is, go out and
23:53do your job sort of thing. So to have that sort of shelter of those points in the bag and still be
24:01able to point to things and say, look, you need to improve here, you need to improve here. They'll
24:07have the benefit after Rotherham as well, which is unusual for, well, not that unusual for a
24:11League One club, but they will have an international break because of call-ups. There'll be time to
24:17really drill down into those details. But I think when you're any relegated club, and we've got
24:23quite a few on this patch this season, I think there's always the worry about that hangover
24:28and getting off to a slow start. So to hit the ground running in terms of results and still have
24:33things, you know, you can improve, it's a good place to be.
24:39And next we head to Doncaster Rovers, who exited the EFL Cup after falling to a 3-0 defeat at the
24:45hands of Everton. Now, what do you think went wrong for Donny on the night? But do you also
24:50think that they can now concentrate their efforts on the league and their upcoming game against
24:55Port Vale, Stuart?
24:57Well, obviously, they can fall back on that, on the old cliche about concentrating on the league.
25:02What went wrong? Not a lot. What went wrong? They came up against the Premier League side,
25:06it was the long and the short of it. And, you know, when you see those games, you just put
25:11things in perspective because you look at Everton as a struggling Premier League side. And, you know,
25:17a couple of the players who came in were, you know, haven't been considered good enough to start
25:22the first couple of Premier League games of the season when they took a bit of a hammering. But
25:26they're still Premier League quality players. They've still got that extra bit of class about
25:32them. And it just told, really, you know, in the classic way that it normally does in a cup tie
25:39between two teams that far apart. The first half, Everton had a lot of the ball, not much cutting
25:45edge. But when you looked at it at the end of the game, you realised that actually they'd been
25:50giving Doncaster the runaround for those 45 minutes. They'd worn them down. And eventually,
25:56Doncaster broke. You know, Grant McCann talked about them giving the ball away too often.
26:01And I think he was right. But I think he was possibly a little bit harsh in maybe not
26:06acknowledging that actually that was the result of the tiredness that Everton had caused with all
26:12the pressure they'd put on them. And it's worth pointing out that Doncaster made changes too.
26:19This wasn't Doncaster's first choice side. You know, they had a goalkeeper in Ian Lawlor playing
26:24his first game of the season, changed the full backs, changed things up front. So I think it was
26:29a day of a lot of positives for Doncaster. You know, the big thing for them going forward is
26:35that Richard Wood, in classic Richard Wood style, had been playing with a fractured ankle for a bit.
26:40He's now had an operation and he's out for a couple of months. So there's a spot for Grant as
26:44well. You know, Jamie McGrath, who'd only played League Cup football, or has only played League
26:49Cup football so far this season, made a very good account of himself. Joseph Valot had a couple of
26:55mix-ups with Lawlor, but generally played quite well as well. So the competition for that place
27:01looks good. And again, you know, I think it's one of those days, like I've just said about
27:06Huddersfield, where you can come away from it and you can learn a lot from it. And the price of that
27:12lesson was not very high in the sense that, you know, they got knocked out of the competition,
27:17which Grant McCann said was fourth on their list of priorities, you know, behind League FA Cup and
27:23EFL trophies. So, you know, a lot of good things they'll get from it. Individuals should get a lot
27:30of confidence from the way they perform on that stage. And, you know, I think there's a lot to be
27:39learned, there's a lot to be gained from it. They just need to be a little bit more consistent,
27:43cut out those Newport County days. But generally, it's been a very positive time for Doncaster,
27:50really, ever since that playoff defeat. And it's just a case of keeping things going.
27:55Yeah, coping with that was going to be important. I mean, we all know he's a leader, he's an
28:01organiser, he's vocal. And he was a key part in that renaissance that they had, you know,
28:09late season when he came back from injury in late winter. I think Doncaster on the day going
28:17forward football-wise can be as good as anyone, you know, when it comes to taking on teams
28:25in a football match. It's just, you know, when you're handling that pressure and
28:31obviously against Newport, they got found wanting in that second half and one or two
28:36alarm bells. And they are a bit of a, and we talked about League Two, there's no wrecks,
28:42and you know, Notts County, one or two others. You know, Doncaster are one of the bigger fish
28:48in that league and they're going to be a scout for a lot of the teams who they're playing at
28:53league level. And they've obviously got that to contend with as well. And also given what they
28:57did in the second half, well, the final third of last season, which was one of the stories of
29:03the campaign. So, yeah, I just hope they can handle Woody not being around for a few months
29:10and if they can navigate that fairly well, because obviously got blessed with leaders
29:16in other parts of the pitch. So, you know, Ironside and Billy Sharp. And even though
29:22Bailey's not particularly old, he looks a bit of a leader to me as well. They can just,
29:27just a little bit of a concern with Woody not being around at the back.
29:31But obviously, they still have people with reasonable amounts of experience in the likes of
29:36Anderson and, you know, even Oliver Woolley, he's not a kid anymore, is he? So,
29:40just hope we can handle that. Yeah, I mean, you know, we always, you always talk about young
29:44players stepping up in this situation. That's kind of your default position. But in Anderson,
29:49they've got an experienced player who needs to step up. He has to be that leader, you know.
29:54And he's, you know, he's worn the armband plenty of times in the past. He can, he can do that
30:00Wood job and he needs to do that. But what I really liked about the response to Wood's injury,
30:07I mean, you know, a lot of it was probably just, just pragmatism come in, come into play. But
30:12you'll often see, see a player ruled out for two months, three months, and the sort of this
30:18reflex action to go into the transfer market. Well, yeah, I say a lot of it probably boils
30:23down to the fact that Doncaster can't afford to, you know, dip in and make a signing of that type.
30:29And nevertheless, it was good to hear Grant McCann say, no, we're going to trust in these
30:33players. We've got, you know, we can't, we can't just have all these players around and not give
30:38them opportunities. It's time for the likes of McGrath, Oliver Woolley, the younger players
30:42below them to, you know, just to step up and say that, that night at Goodison, McGrath in particular
30:49made a couple of blocks early on and really did look like somebody who was really, you know,
30:54ready to step up and say, I won that responsibility of, you know, filling the hole left by Richard
31:02Wood. He'll have competition in Oliver and Anderson, but it was good to see the response.
31:07Yeah, yeah. And our next stop is Barnsley, who progressed to the next round of the EFL Cup
31:13after overcoming South Yorkshire rivals, Sheffield United in their 1-0 victory.
31:18What did you make of the performances and how do you see the two teams going into their upcoming
31:22league fixtures, Leon? I think it was important for Barnsley, the first home win in all competitions
31:29since February the 24th. And Daryl Clarke had spoken about them having a bit of a
31:35soft underbelly defensively. They, I think, they were 2-0 up against Northampton,
31:40then they got pegged back. Again, they really, you know, should have won, to be quite honest,
31:45and obviously had the EFL trophy game against, you know, Manchester United's kids and 2-0 up
31:52there and lost that. So, seeing as one of those, they were actually closing in on a club record
31:57of 12 without a win at Oakwood, it crept up to 10. And, you know, psychologically, that's,
32:06you know, for the players, not necessarily the new signings who come in the summer, but,
32:11you know, things can get into your head a little bit and the supporters as well. I mean,
32:17the Sheffield United game, there weren't too many massive crowds all around the country,
32:23were there? I mean, it's a funny time of year with holidays and you can watch games on Sky Plus.
32:28But, you know, half the crowd were from, it was Sheffield United supporters, you know,
32:34there were a crowd of just under 11,000. And I suppose under normal circumstances,
32:38you'd have probably got a crowd of about 15,000. So maybe there's a little bit of,
32:42you know, supporters getting, you know, getting a little bit dissatisfied and not coming along.
32:48In terms of performance, I think it was probably the only way that Barnsley were going to win,
32:55but it was a good way, if you like, and just what they needed. They've obviously got clear
32:59issues up front. He wasn't risked, Sam Cosgrove, he got a slight injury, niggled by all accounts.
33:07He started Max Watters and young Aidan Marsh. I think part of, even if he was probably fit,
33:15Cosgrove, fully fit, would you have actually risked him in that game when you know how light
33:20you are in terms of forwards? Obviously, as it stands and as we speak, they're trying to bring
33:25in, he doesn't want just one forward, he wants two or three. And that's hard going, isn't it?
33:30Right at the end of a window and they've left it to, you know, hopefully for their sakes to do,
33:35but they've left it late and very, very late, worryingly late. And they've obviously had a
33:40knock back on Thursday morning as well with a striker from Dutch football, Ed Varsen, who's
33:49actually been capped by Sweden a year or two ago. They thought he was going to provide one solution,
33:56he was at the training ground and had a medical on Wednesday, there were pictures of him.
34:01Unfortunately, he's had a change of heart and for family reasons he's not going to be at
34:07Barnsley. So that's added to the frustration of supporters. So they're desperate to get a few in,
34:12time will tell if they manage to do that. But yeah, the fact that they rolled up the sleeves,
34:20they nicked a goal, they showed urgency early in the second half in particular.
34:24The senior players on deck were good, Adam Phillips and Luke O'Connell. And I just think
34:30for the defence as well, it's a relatively new defence, isn't it really? They got Joshua early
34:36in January, they've brought Mark Roberts back, they've got Mael Degirivna, he's only been there
34:42for a year. So they'll understand it'll take time and I think especially for the defensive
34:48unit, getting that clean sheet coupled by a win is big and they've obviously got a huge draw in
34:55the next round against Manchester United. So yeah, a clear tick in the box for Barnsley
35:01in a big way. They've got to do business in the window. But they've obviously got a home game
35:09a week on Saturday in the league against Bristol Rovers and they need to get the sort of monkey
35:15off the back and that first home league win at home and obviously that's something that
35:20Daryl Clarke will need to do. With United, I mean it was probably a little bit of a funny one for
35:27Chris Wilder. He went a bit stronger than he did in the game against Wrexham that Stewart did.
35:33There were a few kids in there but he sort of beefed it up a little bit with one or two other
35:38senior players and the bench was stacked and it was a night when the young players would
35:44have learnt one or two things. They've had a few pats on the back in the previous round,
35:49the likes of Sidney Peck and Louis Marsh, one or two others as well. But it was a bit harder for
35:55them at Barnsley who showed good game management and got about them. But I think also for Wilder,
36:02he's in the position where he's got a lot of players who he's not willing to give, you know,
36:06the minute they can't do 90 minutes. He's just brought the lad from Crystal Palace,
36:11Rex Saki and he's not ready to do 90 minutes. Quite a few other players as well.
36:17Sam McCallum's just come back so he had to sort of, I don't know, fudge it a little bit with minutes
36:23and yeah, disappointing in the respect they had. A big following at Barnsley midweek but
36:31I think the main course for them is league business, isn't it? They've obviously got
36:35Watford on Sunday and speaking of teams who need home wins on home soil,
36:44Sheffield United fall into that bracket. We know how they struggled at Bramall Lane last season so
36:49they'll be wanting to tick that one off.
36:53Yeah, it feels like Barnsley definitely needed that shot in the arm of a home win and, you know,
36:59in a derby at that. The added bonus of it being a derby, the added bonus of it setting up a
37:04glamour trip in the third round. But I do think it won't count for that much if they don't then
37:11follow it up, as Leon says, with that first home league win with a positive end to the transfer
37:16window. It doesn't feel like this is going to cure all ills for them. It's certainly a step in
37:21the right direction and nothing to turn your nose up about. But yeah, there's been this frustration
37:29about Barnsley, you know, ever since they didn't kick on really from that Championship play-off
37:34and probably before, to be honest, about lack of ambition from the very top of the club, you know,
37:41lack of really pushing the boat out with signings and that sort of thing. The next 48 hours will
37:49tell us a lot in that regard and do a lot for the mood of the Barnsley public, whether it's
37:53positive or negative. So fingers crossed they are able to get a bit of positivity to build on
38:01on Tuesday night and really kick on from there. Yeah, as Leon says, it's a bit of an eye-opener
38:07for some of those young lads. You know, it's one thing to play well in a home league cup tie. It's
38:13another thing away from home, even when you have that many fans there, you know, in a derby of
38:20players who really want to pull you down a peg or two. I mean, I'm sure Wrexham's did as well. But
38:27yeah, just a reminder to those players that they need to keep working away and there's a long way
38:33for them to go. But I think it's good with any club, you know, sort of touching it slightly there
38:38with Doncaster, to see them giving opportunities to the young players. It's been a depressing
38:43summer nationwide when you see how many clubs have had to sell homegrown talents because of
38:49FFP. It's good to see whether, you know, whether it be through choice or circumstances,
38:55young players getting their chance and hopefully the likes of Siddy Peck and Louis Marsh will be
39:00stronger, you know, for what they've learned that day and go on to play important parts for
39:06the players this season. They've obviously seen our blaster as well, haven't they? So they've got
39:10a little bit of a carrot if they are performing well in training and maybe they will get
39:18chances in league games, you know, from the bench as well. I think it depends on who Sheffield
39:23United bring in because they're still, in terms of the squad, they're still light a little bit,
39:27aren't they? Obviously desperate, which other than Window, desperate to keep
39:31Hamer as well. I mean, he came on for 20 minutes and he was the best player on the pitch straight
39:37away. He almost scored after about, it must have been about 30 seconds. So if you're discussing
39:44Window issues with Sheffield United, a huge thing for me is them keeping Hamer because
39:49I think he's, you know, he's certainly one of the best players in that division and I count all
39:55sides in that bracket. Yeah, and, you know, Sheffield United fans know their football.
40:01That blow will hit them hard if it were to happen. Likewise, if he's still running out against
40:07Watford, that'll be a huge lift for everyone at the club because that's, you know, that's going
40:11to be a tough game. Watford are one of those clubs that made a big start. As Leon says, there's a
40:16psychological element of getting that home win. So, yeah, it could go either way for that club
40:23over the course of the next few days. Fingers crossed it goes very positively.
40:28And finally for this week, I will turn to Leon for his team of the week before looking to Stuart
40:35for his player of the week. So, Leon, who has caught your eye this week? In terms of teams,
40:44it was a bit of a mixed bag, wasn't it, in truth? There were some rough results in midweek,
40:49weren't there, as well? I mean, a headline by Middlesbrough's implosion. But I think in terms
40:55of teams in the week, you've got to pat Huddersfield on the back in respect of the league
41:02start. Obviously, myself and Stuart have pointed it out. Three wins out of three, the first time
41:07since 79-80. No mean feat and certainly for a new manager as well. I know, you know, some of the
41:13oppositions at home probably weren't the best and clubs Huddersfield might expect to beat,
41:20but you've still got to beat the teams put in front of you. So, a pretty, well, a very good
41:25start league-wise for Huddersfield. Yeah, I've got to go for Leeds, really. I just think everything
41:29that was on top of them before that game at Hillsborough, there was a lot of noise and
41:36kept calm, as Daniel Parker did in his customary fashion. And they delivered not just a win,
41:44but an excellent performance from front to back. So, in the circumstances, I'd probably say the
41:49team in the week is Leeds. Yeah, I mean, it was as bad a League Cup second round as it was as good
41:56a first round for us, really. So, you know, looking at player of the week, I've focused more on the
42:03weekend, particularly with all the changes. And it was very striking, you know, Liam, as usual,
42:09picked his 11 players of the week on the Yorkshire Post website. And it was very striking.
42:17Yeah, but only two of the 11 were actually new signings. You know, I'm sort of discounting
42:24Joe Rodon, whose loan got extended. So, it just shows you, you know, there's a lot of talk this
42:29time of year about new signings and what they'll bring and all this sort of thing. But it's as much
42:34about other players stepping up. You know, it's good to see Lee Nicholls' start to the season
42:41continuing. I don't think Saturday was a one-off. I think he's been very good for
42:46Huddersfield this season. You know, likewise, Oli Arblaster with the captain's armband back on again,
42:53leading from the front. But I think, you know, another heartening one has been
43:00Brendan Aronson, you know, because, you know, Leeds United are going to have to replace Georgina
43:05Arruta one way or another, but maybe not in the transfer market. Leon's already touched on
43:11Willy Nonto playing more centrally and Aronson could do that too, given that they've brought
43:18a couple of wingers in. That might be the way for them to go. And, you know, I think it was clear
43:25that Aronson looked a bit lightweight for the Premier League in his first season there,
43:31and he is going to get some rough treatment in the Championship. Routier got kicked from
43:35pillar to post routinely, but the lad does have some quality about him. And, you know, hopefully
43:42just stepping down a level will allow him to bring a bit of that to the party. You know,
43:48it makes such a difference when you make a good start to the season personally and get a couple
43:54of goals that he has done. So I'm going to pick Brendan Aronson, hopefully not for the last time
43:59this season. Yeah, good choice. He needs to get his career back on track and why not at Leeds?
44:04I'd agree with that call. And I mean, one name that I just want to quickly throw in,
44:09again from Leeds, was Matteo Joseph and the shift that he put in against Sheffield Wednesday.
44:16He did, yeah, he did. Because, again, it's like you said, Stuart, he is also one of those players
44:23who I think has finally found sort of that gap where he's able to say, right, I'm going to put
44:28myself forward. Because we didn't really speak much about him last season or the season before,
44:34but now he's, I think he's finally got that chance to really put his name forward
44:41and make a name for himself and that position especially.
44:45Well, there's always a temptation, isn't there? We've lost Richard Wood to injury,
44:49let's go out and buy someone, you know. You know, Patrick Bamford injured, let's go out and get a
44:55big name sent to forward. And you know, sometimes it is the right thing to do. But sometimes you've
45:00just got to look at what you've already got on the books, you know, as Sheffield United have done
45:06with the likes of Al Blaster and say, let's use what we have. We've got good young players
45:11in the club. We've spent a lot of years and a lot of resources coaching them. You know,
45:17it's good to see them get the opportunity and even better to see them grasp it. So, yeah,
45:24well done to Leeds. Let's hope that he's not about to get swept away by some new signing and he's not
45:29one of these young players who his chance comes in August and disappears in September. But I think
45:35from what Daniel Farker showed last season, you know, with the likes of Archie Gray and others,
45:40I think this is a club where he will get his opportunity and then it's down to him.
45:44He seems to have got his trust, doesn't he? And I think once you get Farker's trust,
45:48he'll sort of watch you back. He's started him for a few league games. Okay, he hasn't scored,
45:53but he's looked the part. He had a brilliant pass for Dan James' goal at Hillsborough and
46:00he was up and at it. He was in the faces of the centre-halves. Some very good hold-up play,
46:06centre-forward play. And he did that against Portsmouth as well, even though he didn't score.
46:11So I think that was, even though he hasn't scored, I think that's as encouraging as
46:16anything really. He's a young lad. He's got to show he can meet the challenge and take it in front
46:22of defenders and pose them a problem. He's done that and the way he's playing, the goals will
46:27come. He's sort of watched him early season. He's not been scratching around, being on the fringes.
46:35He's been involved and he's still learning and he's got an appetite, a bit of pace about him.
46:44And he looks like he's relishing it. So even though he hasn't scored, I'm sure the way he's
46:50playing, they'll certainly come and the young man's made a good start to the season.
47:20If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook,
47:24you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch
47:28using those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as
47:32football talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com. As ever, many thanks for listening.
47:38Look after yourselves and bye for now.
47:50Transcribed by https://otter.ai