On this week’s episode, our panel of Stuart Rayner, Leon Wobschall and host Mark Singleton zone in on Sheffield United’s promising start to the Championship season, following their 1-0 win over Derby County at Bramall Lane.
But, one tier below, there are frustrations for Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town – the Millers suffering a stop-start campaign so far in 2024-25, while the Terriers have suffered back-to-back defeats at the John Smith’s Stadium.
We also analyse Doncaster Rovers’ performance in the EFL Trophy against Manchester United’s Under-21s.
But, one tier below, there are frustrations for Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town – the Millers suffering a stop-start campaign so far in 2024-25, while the Terriers have suffered back-to-back defeats at the John Smith’s Stadium.
We also analyse Doncaster Rovers’ performance in the EFL Trophy against Manchester United’s Under-21s.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:14we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:17of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:20Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:24Leon Walshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:28forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:31by logging onto our website at yp.sportatnationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:37feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:43Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And
00:47if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:50or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast
00:55at yp.sportatnationalworld.com.
00:58As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:04the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Walshall.
01:07Good morning, guys.
01:08Morning.
01:09Hello.
01:10Morning. Right, this week in the Championship, we saw Hull City claim their first win of
01:14the season with a phenomenal turnaround to complete a 3-1 victory over Stoke City. Middlesbrough
01:19fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat when they visited Sunderland, and Leeds United claimed
01:25a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cardiff City. Sheffield Wednesday then fell to an agonising
01:312-1 defeat at the hands of Luton Town, and in League One, Huddersfield Town claimed no
01:37points in their 3-1 defeat to Northampton Town. Barnsley came away with all three points
01:43in their 2-1 victory away at Burton Albion, and in League Two, Bradford City shared the
01:48points in their 0-0 draw with AFC Wimbledon. Harrogate Town fell to a 3-0 defeat at the
01:53hands of Crewe Alexandra, and Doncaster Rovers drew 1-1 with Milton Keynes Dons, and we'll
01:58be covering them later on in the show.
02:01However, let's kick things off with Sheffield United, who claimed all three points with
02:07their 1-0 victory over Derby County. This win helped the Blades to stay close behind
02:12the division leaders. What did you make of the performance, and how could we see them
02:17going into their game against Portsmouth Stuart?
02:20Another good performance in the terms you're looking at for a team that's been relegated.
02:31The spirit and determination you need to grind out these wins, and the significant bit of
02:41quality as well. That's three clean sheets on the bounce for them, which is decent in
02:49its own right. But when you consider they're without their leading centre-back in Jack
02:54Robinson, and their organiser at the back as well, that's been almost not massively
03:04picked up on because they've been so good without him. But that could have been a significant
03:10blow.
03:11And then, to lose Oliver Ablaster the day before the game, Iwan Sidipec came in and
03:18first league start just looked really comfortable at that level. I think we both said this season
03:26that we'll wait and see on Sheffield United when it comes to their depth. But to be without
03:32your captain and your vice-captain, and to get a result like that against a good Derby
03:38team was a definite tick in the box. As I say, we're talking about these gritty qualities
03:46after the Hull and the Watford wins, but you need a bit of skill as well. They've still
03:54got Gustavo Heiber, who scored a really good goal for them, had a good all-round performance.
04:02There's a nice mixture there between rolling the sleeves up and being able to play. It
04:09played out well for them against Derby County. It was a hard win. Derby pushed them hard
04:17in the first half and both sides hit the woodwork, but it was a win that you always felt was
04:21coming. You always felt that they were better than Derby and that they would get their just
04:25rewards, such was the way they played. So I think it's good signs from Sheffield United
04:31in the early stages of the season.
04:33Yeah, I think I'd agree with what Stuart said there. I think I mentioned it before, not
04:37necessarily just about Sheffield United, but when you've had a hard season coming into
04:42the new season, getting these hard-fought wins where the result's probably on the line
04:48pretty much throughout the game, I think you find out more than you would if you just cruised
04:55to a 3-0, 4-0 victory and everything in the garden is rosy. They obviously took a hell
05:02of a lot of beatings, we've touched on it numerous times, about the amount of goals
05:07that they conceded at Bramall Lane last season. I know the opposition's obviously higher,
05:12but psychologically they took some real heavy blows. Obviously Robinson was one of the few
05:20players whose reputation wasn't particularly solid last season, he stood up well for them
05:25and he's been a miss and they've managed to handle that. From a defensive perspective
05:31as well, the clean sheets against Watford and Derby getting over the line in that aspect,
05:36they obviously had a clean sheet at Hull as well. I think more so as well, I did the first
05:40home game against QPR, they were very good in the first half, Sheffield United, but then
05:49he just fell away from them in the second half and the game management let them down,
05:55so there was probably a little bit of a question there saying, is it old habits, die hard sort
06:01of thing. But yeah, they managed to sort it out, get a couple of hard-fought wins. I think
06:07in terms of the narrative of Sheffield United's season, that really does count for something.
06:16Eymre as well, he was a terrific goal. I have to do a team of the week for online at
06:23the start of most working weeks. I don't know the exact number, but he must have been in
06:28it already four or five times. He's a quality operator. There probably is some conjecture
06:36about whether he's the best player in the division. I think there's a very, very strong
06:40case to say that he is. For all the business that Sheffield United did in the summer, I
06:47think keeping him, he's right at the top. He's a top-line player. He obviously showed
06:55that in his time at Coventry. He just underlined his importance, yet again, I think we'll be
07:03seeing it a lot more times this season if he stays fit and firing. Yeah, I think really
07:09good signs for Sheffield United. They're obviously establishing relationships in the
07:14team. Suter's come in, he looks a serious sign. There's some strong players there in
07:21the spine. We mentioned Eymre, there's Suter, Kiefer Moore up top. He's obviously a leader
07:30in his own right as well. I like the balance and as Stuart said, a bit has been made about
07:36Sheffield United's squad depth, but one or two are putting their hand up as well. Young
07:41Peck, he's got a good reputation. He's had a good start to the season. He obviously got
07:48the plaudits for the cup game against Wrexham that I think Stuart went to. He got a few
07:55brickbats actually in the game at Derby at Barnsley when they lost. Chris Rowther was
08:03a little bit harsh on one or two of the kids, but yeah, he's shown his mettle and he's obviously
08:09come in for Arnblast, the player who everyone's talking about. He's not looked out of his
08:16depth in a serious championship fixture in front of a near full house and a close, tight
08:24game. So in terms of his broader footballing education, that'll have been a big afternoon
08:29in his career, hopefully.
08:31I just think with Hamer as a team relegated from the Premier League, if you sell him,
08:39a bit like Somerville or Routier, it's very hard to get a player of that quality into
08:44the championship. For starters, to attract them to that division, to be able to pay them
08:50the wages and all that sort of thing. I'd say Leeds saw that when they sold their big
08:55players, they weren't able to replace them with like-for-like quality. I think it was
09:00a big moment for Sheffield United, given how they've been run financially in the last
09:08few years, given all the uncertainty around them and given that Leeds United were very
09:12keen on signing Hamer, that they did stand firm and not sell him. The big thing about
09:23having parachute payments is it does allow you to hang on to some of your key players.
09:27If you can do that, it does make such a difference. If you then add players, as Leon said, the
09:33likes of Souter, Kiefer Moore, who really know the way around the championship, really
09:37got that leadership and that championship quality, then you can have a good balance.
09:45I think Leon's dead right to point out that QPR game, that really could have been the
09:49tipping point. We'll go on to talk about this with other clubs this week. When you've got
09:54relegated, when you've got used to losing, when you have a bit of a calamity like that,
10:00it can prey on your mind. At Sheffield United, Souter came into the side on the back of that.
10:05They went to Norwich, they ground out a one-all draw that some people weren't very happy with
10:10because, frankly, it was a bit dull, a bit defensive. Good draw, stop the draw,
10:19three clean sheets, three wins since. That really shows. Again, we might talk a bit later on about
10:29the expectations on teams and that sort of thing, but sometimes you just need to grit your teeth,
10:34do what needs doing, and then you can build from there into what they're doing.
10:38I don't think there's many Sheffield United fans complaining at the moment about their form. It's
10:45not always been thrill-a-minute football, but it's always been good football. There's still
10:54been positivity to it, but they've done what's needed to be done. I think that says a lot when
10:59you've got quite a young team as well. It's easier for the likes of Souter, Akhmet Hodzic,
11:08sort of thing, to play that way. It kind of goes against the instincts of some of the young
11:12players, but they've clearly bought in and seen that this can work and been humble enough and
11:17sensible enough to be guided by these senior players and by Chris Wilder.
11:21They're going to have to do, obviously, a lot more of it. It's just a start, but
11:25a few signs that Rammell Lane's becoming a place again where you don't get a free lunch in
11:33successful times in recent seasons, whether it's in Wilder in his first spell in charge
11:38under Paul Heckingbottom. That's been the bedrock, hasn't it, of everything.
11:42And the crowd have bought into it. We've spoken about the power that the crowd can harness on
11:49that level. Just to quit on the bat, obviously, you do lose. It's the nature of the beast when
11:56you get relegated. You do lose some leading players, but deep down I think Chris Wilder
12:00had been desperate to keep it, wouldn't he? Him and Arblaster and the Sheffield United
12:04supporters as well. They're two quality players who everyone can relate to.
12:12I think as well with Heyman, if you did lose him, what you're also losing as well is given
12:17the fact that they've bought O'Haring in the summer. It's not like you're losing two players,
12:24but you're losing an innate understanding that those two players obviously dovetailed brilliantly
12:29in their time at Coventry. There is serious potential for them, if they hit the heights,
12:36to do a lot of damage in this division this season. If Heyman had gone, you'd have lost that
12:41as well. It would have probably diminished O'Hare's power as well. The relationship they
12:46have is pretty telepathic, isn't it? They've forged through good times at Coventry, so
12:53I think that's an added bonus of keeping Heyman.
13:03Sometimes it can be the fans you worry about as much as the players when you're in that,
13:06oh no, not again thing. It's just human nature to fear the worst when there are setbacks,
13:13but they've really rallied around the team. The fact that Vinicius Souza was captain
13:19at the weekend, that was significant. A, because of the way he's knuckled down, and B, because of
13:23the way the fans have welcomed him back into the fold and not held a grudge against him.
13:29Frankly, he wasn't good enough last season. They did voice their frustrations, but I think there's
13:35been an attitude that, while there is a fresh start, he has led the way in terms of showing
13:41the right attitude and they have responded to it. Same with Akbar Hozic and others.
13:46I think that's great credit. I don't want to sound too patronising here, but that's
13:51great credit to the supporters because you do have to fight human nature a bit when you've been
13:57let down by these players, by this team. Again, they, more than anyone, have got used to losing,
14:05but they have been a real asset for Sheffield United this season.
14:10The interesting one quickly, there'll be a bit of expectation when they go to the
14:13Portsmouth this week, and a lot of people will have that down as an away win, won't they?
14:17Portsmouth have struggled a little bit early on, but Chris Wilder, knowing Chris, he knows plenty
14:23about football. This is a real attitude game, isn't it? And the Portsmouth fans will get on
14:28top front and pass a terrific venue. We talk about Bramall Lane. If Sheffield United go there and
14:35take care of business and get a good result and show the right sort of character and attitude,
14:41Wilder will know that they'll need it in that game. It will set them up nicely.
14:47Look at the games in October, they've got some juicy ones. They go to Ellum Road,
14:52they go to Middlesbrough and that'll be spicy given the manner of Wilder's departure from
14:58when he left up there. They've got Luton at home as well, so they can get a good result this week
15:04and that'll set them up nicely for an October that's also full of good tests for them.
15:14Next we turn to Rotherham United, who fell to a 2-0 defeat when they welcomed Birmingham City,
15:19which means that Steve Evans' side are currently sat in the relegation spots heading into their
15:24game against Shrewsbury Town. What did you make of the game and what needs to change before that
15:29game against Shrewsbury Town, Leon? It was a
15:33difficult one in some respects. I don't think the result was the fact that Rotherham were beaten by
15:40Birmingham. It constituted a ginormous surprise. Birmingham have not dropped any points have they
15:47since the opening day of the season. I think it was the fifth win on the trot. It was more the
15:54manner of it really. You've got to give credit where it's due first of all. I thought Birmingham
16:00were excellent. You don't want to make predictions but they do look the real deal.
16:07Everyone knows how much they've spent, £25 million, £15 million forward in
16:13stands field but they look like they've spent it really well. I thought they were solid at
16:19the back as well and the two lads in midfield just pretty much ran the game. They just look
16:29top players. It was the fact that Rotherham didn't really lay a glove on them. The first 10 minutes
16:35they got in the faces a little bit and hinted that it might be an afternoon where they could
16:41disrupt them and set about them but as soon as Birmingham settled down and got hold of the game
16:47in midfield there was only one winner and they were top notch on the day. It's been a big summer
16:55of overhaul at Rotherham but I think the one player they really missed for me was Liam Kelly.
17:02I saw him in the Huddersfield game and we'll probably talk about Huddersfield later on and
17:08this and that with their issues in midfield but he really governed the game I thought from
17:14midfield and controlled it and they really missed him I thought in the middle of the park. It's no
17:19disrespect they had Adolphe in there and they had Thierry but they're more to me, they're athletes,
17:26they're disruptors, they get the ball, they don't really conduct a game and control the game with
17:37this sort of passing and sharpness, the one about setting about players. That was the worry for me
17:44and it's been a funny start to the season for Rotherham. I've got some sympathy and respect.
17:51It's not been the easiest start has it? They've gone to Charlton, they've started off very well,
17:56that's a hard away game. They've gone to Wickham, that tends to be difficult at this level.
18:04They've obviously had Huddersfield at home and they've had Birmingham but I think there's one
18:10or two, you look at the next two away games, the teams that haven't started off particularly well,
18:15they've got Shrewsbury, then they've got Cambridge on Tuesday. I think they will,
18:20no one's said anything about getting rid of Manners, nothing like that but
18:24there will be, the angst will certainly creep up if they don't at least get a win in there. You
18:29think that Holly really need four points from Holly's six to sort of steady the ship and get it
18:38back on track but it will take time won't it? They've obviously had a huge makeover of
18:4614 players, something like that. It's certainly more than 10 who they've brought in.
18:53I think in the here and now, they do need a result or two to steady the ship. They've had
19:02issues as well with disruption, Raggerts, he's missed a fair part of the start of the season,
19:07Rafferty too. So that's not been particularly straightforward for them but I think for
19:14everyone they could do with some sort of a decent point in the next two away games because
19:22yeah it wasn't the defeat against Birmingham but the fact that they didn't and Birmingham were good
19:26but you know, myself and Stuart have seen enough of Rotherham in the past at this level. You expect
19:32them to set about teams and make life difficult and it was almost as if when Birmingham got the
19:39second goal it was early 21, 22 minutes. They were sort of caught I thought a bit between a
19:45rock and a hard place. I think Evans thought well if we go after them and try and take the game to
19:50them and sort of one or two players more pushing forward they're just going to pick us off and it
19:56was a bit of a passive and a bit of a wary performance and it was almost like
20:04well we might nip one in the second half and we might get back into it but there was no conviction
20:08at all and you sort of felt that Birmingham had, they were happy just to have control, possession
20:13in the second half. You felt they had a couple of gears or two if they needed it
20:21so yeah it was a bit flat from a Rotherham perspective and it's been a
20:26it's been a bit of an off start to the season hasn't it? Well it's probably not unique
20:30though is it? We'll talk about Huddersfield as well so but yeah I think we'll find out
20:35a bit more in the next two games that's probably the top and bottom of it. Yeah I mean I try not
20:40to get too wrapped up in relegation zones at this early stage of the season but
20:47you know Rotherham are 10 points off the automatic places already, they're five points off
20:51Lincoln in the last playoff place. It just feels like, I mean Leon's alluded to the form that
20:58Birmingham have, the consistency that Birmingham have shown this season and you know Rexham are
21:03pretty much you know keeping up with that. It feels like it's going to be a very high points
21:10total needed this season to get automatic and probably to make the playoffs as well
21:16so you are going to need that consistency and you know even two of our clubs in the
21:22playoffs, Barnsley and Huddersfield, it doesn't feel like they're there yet which is understandable
21:26because it's early season and they're you know they're finding their way but Rotherham certainly
21:32do need to find that and particularly in the goal scoring department because you know
21:38it's been remarked a lot they're making chances but they're not taking them
21:42and so that I mean that really points to a confidence thing but I mean you look at the
21:48table already and pretty much the whole of the top half of that league one you'd be thinking
21:55they're all clubs who would at least be aspiring to the playoffs so it's going to be a really
22:01fierce competition this season and you don't want to be giving clubs the head start that
22:07that Rotherham are doing. There's a lot of expectation because of what Rotherham have
22:13done in this division in the past and because of what Steve Evans has done in this division in the
22:17past. I get why but it seems like they're just struggling at the moment whilst they find their
22:24feet to just to just get to that and I say you know for Leon watching that game it was probably
22:31quite a sobering reminder of just what the high standard Birmingham are setting this season and
22:38that everyone else is going to have to aspire to because if Birmingham and Wrexham were to break
22:45away well that's I'm not saying they will but if they were to that's the automatic places boxed
22:49off already and you've got all those teams just just fighting for the playoffs so yeah it's going
22:56to be it's going to be a difficult job for Rotherham to to get up there but they clearly do
23:04have the quality I mean you know we were saying that all summer in terms of the signings they've
23:08they've brought in they do have that experience that know-how of the division that we were just
23:11talking about what an advantage that was for Sheffield United and the pieces are there the
23:17chemistry just doesn't doesn't feel right at the moment and as I say you worry with a lot of teams
23:24even even Manchester City with Rodri you take one one key piece out and it makes such a difference
23:30and Kelly clearly is you know one of those pieces for Rotherham he's such a big he's basically a
23:36championship quality player played in League One isn't he so yeah it's it's always going to be
23:43difficult taking on a team of that ability without without one of you one of your best maybe your
23:49best player yeah I think my worry just quickly on specifically with Birmingham is that they had two
23:56proper defenders almost if you like certainly Beelick who he obviously got sent off stupidly
24:01towards the end of the Wrexham game I thought he was going to be a big miss for Birmingham I
24:05thought that's that's a good sign for Rotherham they'll miss his physicality and leadership and
24:11get about at Birmingham and Sanderson was out as well you know two players who can cope with
24:16that sort of thing but yeah they just didn't they just barely had a chance it's been about the
24:23you know the XG in the in the previous games when they've had all manner of chances against
24:28what was it Bristol Rovers and and I can't remember the other one to be honest it was
24:33someone else wasn't it but they were yeah they were really just weren't ruthless enough but
24:38just didn't have a chance against Birmingham and you just think psychologically for the
24:44supporters as well I mean yeah you're wondering what their sort of moves like I think they've
24:48only seen them win three or four games at home haven't they this year yeah is you know that's
24:54it's pretty pretty depressing stuff and it and it's sort of worse on the road isn't it I mean
24:58obviously they're playing at a different level but they haven't won away from home for for god
25:04knows how long have they so that's why I do think that these given I know Stuart's right to say you
25:09don't necessarily look at league tables too much at this time of year but they're playing two sides
25:15coming up who haven't started particularly well they really could do with at least one win there
25:20just just psychologically to sort of lift everyone or else you know it's going to be a bit of a it's
25:28going to be a grim mood that it could be a grim mood this time next week if if they haven't sort
25:35of arrested that a little bit yeah I think the nature of the division not just this season but
25:41particularly this season it's almost in two blocks and you've really got to make hay against the
25:45teams in that couple of years hasn't it yeah exactly it has and I say so they've got games
25:52coming up against two of those teams you can't afford to be dropping too many of those points
25:56because they're going to be so hard hard won against the the teams in there in the upper
26:01block as it were yeah it is a have and have nots isn't it it really is yeah yeah and now we turn
26:07to Huddersfield Town who played out a 2-0 defeat in their rearrangement against Blackpool which
26:13meant that this was their second league defeat in a row now what did you make of the game and how do
26:18you see them going into their league fixture against Reading this weekend Stuart well what did
26:23I make of the game worrying really um worrying because just looking at the highlights and speaking
26:31to people and just the nature of the goals they conceded it's clearly a really poor performance
26:37poor day against Northampton Town at home um and you know there's a lot of talk as there always is
26:43after these about oh we need to show a reaction in the next game blah blah blah and they came out
26:49and and were bad again it doesn't sound like they were quite as bad but but it was alarming you know
26:55there was a real there seemed to be a real lack of confidence about them um they again conceded
27:01two really poor goals and they didn't seem to be quite thinking straight in in in difficult
27:08situations um and they carried and they carried no threat you know really they had absolutely
27:14nothing going for them that day and it it just pointed to the things we've just been talking
27:20about with a positive side with Sheffield United and a negative side with Rotherham
27:25this hangover of teams who are used to losing yeah getting into that cycle and and you know
27:31Michael Duff said afterwards he said it's very telling that two of their best performances
27:36of their two best performances away from home exactly um you know that just feels like
27:45he talked about it before the game that it feels like that if if one thing goes wrong early on
27:51Michael Halleck's own goal the other week conceding a poor opening goal on Tuesday night
27:56that it it almost creates more more problems you know rather than you know you could see
28:03Sheffield United in the mood they're in at the moment it's sort of focusing minds like we said
28:07the QPR did game did and sort of setting them back on track at Huddersfield you get the impression
28:14right now in the terraces and on the pitch it's it's kind of oh no here we go again we know how
28:21this plays out we know how it's going to end you know we we talk about Rotherham and Sheffield
28:25United but there's you know Sheffield United are on the back of one bad season Rotherham with their
28:32sort of yo-yo existence are on the back of one bad season really for Huddersfield you take out
28:39the Carlos Corbaran playoff season it's been year after year of fighting relegation and it just
28:46it just requires a different a different mindset um you know now that Tom Lee's talked before the
28:53game about the expectations and it took a bit of criticism for that but I think I think some people
28:59maybe took it a bit the wrong way I don't think Tom was complaining about it um but you know the
29:05owners you know you you look at you look at Huddersfield under Neil Warnock for example where
29:11I remember watching the Blackburn game where they had about I don't know it felt like about
29:1525 percent of the ball and most of it you know they won the game and that was acceptable
29:22suddenly you know you're down a division you're expected to win promotion that that isn't
29:27acceptable they're expected to dominate the game they're expected to to win the game and they
29:32they can't just write off you know the odd defeat here and there is it it's a bad day
29:38and that's something the players have got to get their minds around and what particularly hurt them
29:43against Blackpool was um Mikhail Helik went off early on with a hamstring injury now I mean if
29:49that's a bad one that's a that's a big blow for them um but also um Jonathan Hogg was unable to
29:56come off the bench because he injured his groin in the warm-up so there's a big shortage there of
30:03leadership um on the field and it and it did it did show it just felt I wouldn't say there was
30:10there was an acceptance but say Brodie Spencer came on who in fairness last season showed himself
30:15to be one of those leaders and despite his young age but he had he had a shocker on the night so
30:21that that doesn't help and they just didn't seem to be those characters those suitor type characters
30:27there's more type characters who could you know grab people by the scruff of the collar and and
30:32drag them through and you know there's real there's real doubt in the stands about I think
30:38it's probably fair to say that the methods you know the the individuals the players um all this
30:45sort of thing and it just I'm not absolutely not having to go at supporters for this because
30:52I'm sure I'd be the same if you're in that position of seeing a team we're losing every week
30:57I say it's it's human nature to think here we go again but you need to be a strong personality to
31:03fight it and the signs in the last couple of games at least are that Huddersfield don't have those
31:09strong personalities they have the quality to be fair they've got one on the bench haven't they
31:14yeah it was only the week after last they were our team of the week you know they're capable of
31:20good performances there's good players there and as you say Pearson's a leader, Lees is a leader,
31:28Helican Hogg a leader, Nicholls is they have they have players there but the the mix just isn't
31:35right and the mental strength isn't there at this moment in time and and turning that around is it's
31:41going to be important because Duff described them a few times last night as consistently
31:45inconsistent but given what we've just said about what Rotherham need to do in this division being
31:51inconsistent isn't isn't going to cut it um for what Huddersfield expect of themselves this season
31:58yeah I mean they obviously won the first two two games I did the I did the game against
32:04Shrewsbury and they won 1-0 they were they were all right in the first half I thought they played
32:08okay but I thought they were pretty poor in the in the second half and you know by all accounts
32:14it was a little bit similar against Stevenage you know we're talking about you know I suppose
32:20halves and halves not teams you get you'd expect to win but you know hopefully win at home and
32:26show a bit more about um yourselves I think I think one of the you look at Huddersfield
32:32the problems I think when when they play the better sides at home the better side and I
32:37you can count Blackpool can't you in in that respect it's one of those yeah they'll take
32:41they'll take them on and have a go at them and and sort of back themselves and then there'll be the
32:47the lesser teams if you like and they'll just sitting in a low block and say break break us
32:51down and obviously Huddersfield haven't got haven't found the haven't found the formula
32:58yet have they and I think they will be happy to be away from home won't they in the next
33:02two games they've obviously got Reading and then we've been about Birmingham they've got
33:07it they've got to go there in midweek and you know that's that's not a fix that you particularly want
33:12in this sort of form and um yeah I think as well Stuart's touching the style of play as well it's
33:20difficult to change overnight from a side who have no possession that they haven't had much
33:25possession for the last few years haven't they well I know it's a change of personnel isn't
33:29and they've won games to be fair haven't they yeah with 30 percent 32 percent this and that
33:35but then they go into sort of some of the figures in the first few games were sort of 60 were they
33:4162 so yeah but uh and it's still not quite happening from that that is sort of that's
33:47difficult to sort of do in a yeah I'm a possession based team even though you probably change
33:53personnel to do that really quickly and um and to be fair they've had they've obviously lost one or
33:59two they've had a few issues with injuries and things haven't they Kane Kane has been out I know
34:03he played last night and Kasumi's been out one or two others as well so yeah it's difficult I'd say
34:09at the minute I think you look at I think I mentioned messaged you last night Stuart you
34:14looked at Duff at Barnsley and it's it's upset that it's sort of success there wasn't particularly
34:20based on sort of possession was it really they they weren't particularly wanting the ball or the
34:27they would it was more a case of when we do have the ball we want to be
34:32clinical and um and productive with it so I think among among the other things
34:39it's a bit of a style makeover at Huddersfield and it's just not resonating at the minute and
34:44any facts of things like you know the the home the home forms not been particularly good they've had
34:50a few injuries and fans are a bit grumpy that we've got the situation that we're we're sort of
34:56in at the minute and uh you know and to be fair perform I think they they did have one or two
35:02bits of bad luck in earlier you know in August when they lost a few games a few refereeing calls
35:08and injuries this and that but you look at it now they've lost five is it five out of six in all
35:12competitions yeah and it's only really the Bolton game that's been the outlier in it all hasn't it
35:17really so you know it's it's they're not in they're not in good good nick they've had disruption this
35:24and that but this sort of run five out of six it shows that there are there are issues to to
35:30contend with and they're having to grapple with yeah but the but the fifth which maybe undermines
35:36my point about consistency but now you know um it all is not lost it's it's just going to really
35:42test the patience I mean I was I was looking at the stats yesterday and Huddersfield were bottom
35:47of the championship last season for possession and one from bottom the season before so that
35:51completely backs up what what Liam was just saying and you know I talked to them before the
35:56game about the Michael Michael Hellick own goal which quite a few people jumped on as a example
36:05of this is another example of teams overdoing playing from the back and you know I think that
36:09was a I think that was a bit justified but he was not prickly about it but he was keen to point out
36:16look I'm not a possession for the sake of possession coach you know I want my team to
36:20mix it up but nevertheless um there is definitely a notable effort to play the ball out more from
36:29the back and to play through midfield they actually played it probably too long too often against
36:35Blackpool that was perhaps another sign of maybe a bit of lack of confidence in what they're doing
36:42but yeah it's it's a culture shift and and these things take time and you know the thing about
36:49possession based teams is that they they do test your patience as a supporter in it in a different
36:55way yeah you know it's not it's it's never it's never chance after chance it's about patiently
37:02waiting for openings and yeah you know everyone just has to sort of uh has to has to get their
37:10head around it and and it's going to take time and you know you worry about all of these clubs
37:15chasing in league one uh how much how much time people are going to get you know we've we've seen
37:22we've seen how uh frustrated Kevin Nagel can get and see him get trigger happy a couple of times
37:31I think I think they are going to believe I mean I I look at it and probably Leon too looks at it
37:36from the eyes of someone who's seen what Michael Duff has done at Barnsley at Barnsley so that
37:42gives him a bit more credit in my mind it gives me more belief that he can do it but obviously
37:47you know not all Huddersfield fans are familiar with that they're just looking at this fresh and
37:52seeing it it's not working and you know they're they're understandably worried because nowadays
38:00unfortunately with the with the gaps between the divisions you you have a fairly small window to
38:06get back to the division you were in before it becomes more and more difficult we're talking
38:10about losing key players before and that's that's you know we can criticize it all we like but
38:17that's part of where this impatience comes from you know when there's a six seven million pound
38:21gap between league one and the championship you can't take too many seasons to get back up but if
38:27if you look at the history of of big clubs dropping down into that division they very
38:31rarely do bounce back at the first time yeah I'm asking it does take time I think it's important
38:37George a bit of perspective as well isn't it as rough as it's been Huddersfield is still in the
38:41top six aren't you yeah oh it's not it's it's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination that
38:48the run that that they've been on but it's some of the others and the last thing Huddersfield
38:54need is another is another change the managerial change a bit further down the line I mean it's
38:59they've had so so many haven't they and uh yeah if some do look at the the sort of history if
39:05you like at Barnsley I remember you know in the second half of the season when under Dove they
39:11got to the they got to the playoffs the home form was was really strong they beat some big size but
39:16I remember in the in the first bit of the season the opening third they lost they lost a few
39:21few games at home I remember that they lost I think it was Wickham beat them three nil pretty
39:25early they lost to Exeter as well so they did have some some bumps in the road and so they
39:30managed to regroup and then then they got the home form back on a back on an even keel so
39:38as tough as it's been there's been disruption there's there's grumpiness in the crowd there's
39:42got to be some there's got to be some patience there surely yeah yeah I mean you know they lost
39:48a few games full stop didn't they it took it took those sort of mid-September late October for
39:53things to really click there and they ended up you know having a really good season and you don't
39:57want to you don't want to lecture supporters that's the last thing we know they're the people
40:04who pay the wages but um there is there does have to be an understanding that things do take time
40:12if they you know if they're going to be if they're going to be worthwhile and you know it it is going
40:18to it is going to test the patience I think and it you know it may be it may it may be that it
40:24takes a couple of years to to sort this out because of the because of the standards in the division
40:29but um I do I do believe Duff is is the man to get there and if if people can uh could just get
40:38behind him obviously it's it's up to the players to to earn that trust it's not it's not a freebie
40:43but um yeah I think it I think it's I think it's going to test the patience and I think that's I
40:49think you hit the nail on the head I mean we're getting earlier as well Stuart given the historically
40:55you look at Huddersfield and you you take the the Cobra on season out of it you know it's been
41:01that's five or six years it's been hard hasn't it really they had a little bit of a that was a bit
41:05of an opposite in a desert wasn't it so that even back to the Seabird season yeah in the Premier
41:10League well I mean obviously the Wagner season in the Premier League was still a relegation battle
41:14albeit a successful one you know it's been it's been year after year in different divisions and
41:19and it's a big it's a big turnaround so to pull off so quickly yeah yeah and let's now turn our
41:27attention to Doncaster Rovers who played out a three-all draw when they clashed with Manchester
41:33United under 21s before losing 5-3 on penalties now what were your thoughts on the game and the
41:39performance from the Doncaster side Leon yeah well they had the game pretty much won they were
41:45three one up it was a fair you know pretty a pretty strong side really Billy Billy Sharp
41:51was the captain it sort of made me laugh I put it in the in the match report that
41:55they're all talking about this competition being about development and we had a 38 year old up front
42:00and he was marked by a by someone who was celebrating his 36th birthday in in Tommy
42:06Rowe he's he's now one of these uh I don't know what the phrase is it hybrid coach Stuart I don't
42:11know it's something like that I don't know what the buzzword is he's been brought in as a as a
42:16player stroke mentor to bring on some of these younger players at Manchester United and uh
42:21yeah I think it's quite an interesting role isn't it obviously Tom Huddleston
42:25did it before and Paul McShane and uh yeah so in the development competition we had
42:30two players who's combined ages ages about 70 75 so that was that was interesting but yeah
42:37they had um it looked like they had the game won it was it was 3-1 and um I've got to give
42:43credit to the young Manchester United lads you you look to um you know the previous month at
42:49Hopewell they were they were two nil down weren't they after I think it was 80 minutes and then
42:53they won 3-2 they scored three goals late on and they clearly um they clearly don't give an
43:01up and the you know fair play to the supporters as well there was a decent core among the United
43:05supporters and they were singing all night singing we'll never die and they certainly
43:10didn't in the last um 20 minutes of that game fair dues but from you know a rover's perspective it
43:17was it was sloppy really and Graeme McCann he was a bit a bit unhappy obviously seventh minute
43:23of stoppage time they conceded the third goal and United went to win went on to win
43:30well get the extra point if you like on penalties yeah just just a little bit um sloppy they should
43:37have they should have seen the game out and um it might not be a massive thing and there's
43:42probably a case to say well if you're gonna if you're gonna draw at home that let's do it in
43:49this sort of of competition but he's he's got pretty high standards Graeme McCann if they'd
43:55have won that it continued the 100% home record this season if you're looking at
44:00all competitions they obviously beat they beat a strong Huddersfield talked about Huddersfield
44:05they beat a strong Huddersfield lineup on the on the night in this competition recently
44:11so uh yeah that was that was disappointing but they there was plenty of other stuff that they
44:17that they did that was that was good going forward um Yeboah the young winger got another goal Joe
44:24he took him a little time to to sort of um have lift off he's got his first goal and with
44:32with um is it Harry Clifton he's suspended on Saturday so he might get a go in the in the home
44:38game against um Chesterfield not too much to whinge and rail about in the greater scheme of
44:45things but you know we have myself and Stuart know about the high standards Graeme McCann's got
44:51he won't have been happy by the way that they have the game pretty much it should have been
44:57nailed down 3-1 that it um that it fell away from them a little bit but um yeah I mean if they if
45:05they get a if they get a win against Chesterfield on on Saturday they'll be a big crowd at Doncaster
45:10for that one I think Chesterfield has sold about 3,000 then I think McCann will be a bit happier
45:16and he won't really think about hugely too much yeah I think I think they're at an interesting
45:21point um Doncaster at the moment because you know Saturday drew at Milton Keynes Dawn's
45:28Graeme McCann as as as yeah Leon says because of his high standards wasn't happy but when you've
45:34got when you have Clifton sent off I think it was after 10 minutes you know you take a point
45:39on the road all day yeah and obviously Leon's just outlined the sort of uh positives and
45:45negatives of the the trophy game and let's be honest it was only the trophy but for those two
45:50games on the back of the Harrogate defeat yeah you know they then play Chesterfield which as
45:55we say is going to be a great atmosphere with all the Chesterfield fans coming yeah yeah then
45:59they're at home again but it's Barrow who've had a great start to the season you know they they just
46:04need they just need to get back on track momentum wise I think I think the results are possibly a
46:10bit I say the last couple of results are slightly deceptive you can read too much into them yeah if
46:16they then become a sequence of three four five four five six that's that's when it becomes an
46:21issue so they've just got to they've just got to stamp it down there's no there's no reason for
46:26panic you know they're a good team and a good squad which would be important when Clifton's
46:30missing with a sensible manager but uh they just they just need to I say they just need to make
46:37the most of these couple of home games just to stop anything sort of getting out of control in
46:42terms of uh in terms of losing momentum exactly yeah yeah and finally for this week I will turn
46:48to Leon for his team of the week before going to Stuart for his player of the week so Leon which
46:53team has caught your eye this week yeah there's been some decent performances hasn't he leads
47:00obviously got a bit of there was a bit of noise after the Burnley game and Daniel Farkas is his
47:07one he just keeps calm doesn't he he points to the bigger picture he's totally unflappable
47:12which is which is what Leeds United need really isn't it someone who just doesn't
47:17I'm not saying he doesn't take on board what's said but he's he's confident in his in his own
47:24vision and he's got sort of blinkers on him in some regards hasn't he he knows he knows what
47:29he wants he didn't panic they've obviously gone to a club who who've been really feeling it and
47:36a manager under serious pressure obviously they've now dispensed with and you would have
47:43you know it's no surprise that Leeds won but they had to go there and and do the business
47:47off the back of a of a home defeat and they are showing some reasonable defensive consistency
47:54um obviously we were a little bit alarmed earlier in the season the three goals against Pompey
47:59the three goals against um in the cup game against Borough but they've been they've sort of got back
48:04on messaging in that regard because you've got to mention Hull City as well it was a big
48:11fixture for them going to Stoke they just got the new manager in they were you know desperate for a
48:17sugar rush of a victory and also not to pile on even more pressure before this game against Cardiff
48:24so you know they obviously went one nil behind uh and and turned it around in the second half
48:29good to see Casey Palmer get a couple of goals he's he's made a lot of signings Hull and you
48:35wonder about some of them in terms of how they'll handle the championship but you know he's
48:39championship ready he'll he'll make an an impact um but I've got to say Sheffield United really I
48:46know it's not the most glamorous win but you know they were facing a derby side who the start of the
48:52season in reasonable fashion we know about Paul Warne his team's a fit and athletic and they're
48:57quite hard to break down and and beat so obviously three wins on the top and you know clean sheets
49:06the right sort of consistency so with respect to Pauly Hull probably one or two of the fans
49:12might listen to this and grumble and say well we should have picked us sort of thing but
49:15I'm gonna go for Sheffield United. And Stuart which player has caught your eye this week?
49:22Yeah well I say on on the Sheffield United team I mentioned uh Hamer and Souza they were they were
49:27big players for them at the weekend the Leeds the Leeds performance it felt more like a
49:34a team performance rather than one for individuals but obviously Ramazani getting his first goal was
49:39was very important I think at Bradford two really good defensive
49:43uh performances by young players in Sheppard and Diabate
49:47most important yeah um you know not the result we wanted but an important clean sheet
49:54but um yeah um Leon's got his own back on me after um countless times of stealing his thunder
50:01I'm gonna go for uh for Casey Palmer as a player that was a massive win for Hull you know we've
50:08been quite I've certainly been quite critical of them on on this podcast but they really showed
50:12good character there after a you know first half they weren't really in uh to come back and Palmer
50:18was a was a big part of that um you know playing an important part in in two of the goals he he is
50:26the sort sort of signing that you know you really want someone someone who knows the course and
50:32distance and it feels to me that that Hull haven't made enough enough of those signings but if if
50:38someone like him can can push himself to the floor he can maybe drag one of
50:42one or two through and sort of fast track them in their in their education and championship
50:47football so so well done to him and well done to Hull he's my player of the week.
50:54Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
50:59discussions on the Yorkshire football scene but don't forget you can keep up to date with all
51:03the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport at
51:07nationalworld.com or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even
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51:24If you have any questions for our writers you can get in touch using those various
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51:32at yp.sport at nationalworld.com as ever many thanks for listening look after yourselves and
51:38bye for now.