Sheffield United and Middlesbrough tussle as Doncaster Rovers earn derby bragging rights - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

Name: Sheffield United and Middlesbrough tussle as Doncaster Rovers earn derby bragging rights - The YP FootballTalk Podcast
Uploaded: 2024-10-31T15:07:36+00:00
Duration: 45 min 21 s
Channel: Yorkshire Post

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

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

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

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

00:26discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you can keep

00:30up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website

00:34at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds,

00:40the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football,

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00:58at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk.

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

01:06the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobshaw.

01:09Good morning guys.

01:10Morning.

01:11Morning.

01:12Right, this week we saw Leeds United settle for a 0-0 draw with Bristol City. Sheffield

01:16Wednesday came from behind to beat Portsmouth 2-1. Hull City shared the points in their

01:211-0 draw with Burnley, which was followed up by a 1-0 draw, but this time with Derby

01:27County.

01:28In League 1, Huddersfield Town claimed a 2-0 victory over Exeter City. Barnsley overcame

01:35Shrewsbury Town with a 2-0 victory. Rotherham United walked away with all three points in

01:40their 2-0 victory over Stevenage. And in League 2, Doncaster Rovers claimed the spoils in

01:44their 2-1 victory over Yorkshire rivals Bradford City, which we'll be covering later on in

01:49the show. And Harrogate Town fell to a 1-0 defeat when they paid a visit to Notts County.

01:55However, let's kick this week off with the clash between Middlesbrough and Sheffield

01:59United, which saw Middlesbrough come out on top with a 1-0 victory. That was then followed

02:05up by a 2-0 victory for Sheffield United when they went head-to-head with Stoke City.

02:11What were your thoughts on the two performances from the Blades, and how valuable do you think

02:15that victory was for Middlesbrough, Stuart?

02:19Well, I think the victory was very, very valuable for Middlesbrough. Leon was there on that

02:27night, and they played really well. I mean, Middlesbrough have, so far this season, not

02:33been able to sort of put all the elements together consistently enough. There's been

02:36plenty of games where they've played well, but either they've been let down by finishing

02:41or by, you know, a defensive mistake. And we'll go into talk about that probably a bit

02:47later on. But, you know, Norwich City's game seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity

02:52having played so well to get 3-1 up. But yes, in terms of Middlesbrough and Sheffield United,

03:00I think Middlesbrough really needed that Wednesday. And I think Sheffield United really needed

03:05the Saturday because, you know, for the second away game running, Sheffield United just weren't

03:13up to the standards of high-quality opposition, didn't make that much mark on the game, I

03:18didn't feel. I don't know what Leon feels about that. But yeah, and obviously for Sheffield

03:26United, it was just a huge day for them. First home game since the death of George Bulldog,

03:33a really, really emotional day. And I don't want to make this sound callous or inappropriate

03:41or anything, but they just needed to get that day out of the way and have all the emotion

03:47and not put it to bed because obviously George Bulldog's not going to be forgotten about

03:52once the final whistle blows. But just sort of move on slightly as a club and on the back

03:59of those defeats to Leeds and Middlesbrough, just get back on the horse in terms of winning

04:04football matches as well. Got back to keeping a clean sheet, which is something they did

04:09six games on the track before the international break, before Bulldog's death. And yeah, they

04:15played well. They weren't at their absolute best because they didn't have to be against

04:20Stoke City. You felt they had more gears to give. But what was so good about them before

04:25the international break was the sort of character they'd showed. And that was in evidence again.

04:32And, you know, they really got through it well. And a couple of important goal scorers

04:38for them in Kiefer Moore and Tyrese Campbell. Only Moore's second goal for the club,

04:45it was Campbell's first. They both needed that individually because I say one thing

04:50Middlesbrough and Sheffield United have both lacked to a degree is just that cutting edge

04:56in front of goal, certainly on a consistent basis. Sheffield United have compensated for

05:04it a bit with their defensive record, whereas Middlesbrough, as I said earlier, defensive

05:07slips have sort of contributed to things. But it feels like both the two very good teams

05:13that just aren't quite at the level, the very best we've seen in the division. We were talking

05:17about them last week. Sheffield United just need to add that cutting edge to get into

05:24that category. And I'd say in Middlesbrough's case, it's kind of both ends really, isn't it,

05:29Leo? Yeah, I mean, I'd agree with all that. I've got a little bit of sympathy with Chris

05:34Wilder. I mean, he's effectively rebuilding a new squad and a new team, isn't he? Absolutely.

05:40It's like anything, isn't it? When you're addressing things, I think most managers would

05:44look, first of all, you've got to sort the foundations out, haven't you? Yes. It was

05:48obviously a largely different personnel, but the amount of goals they conceded last

05:55season was frightening, wasn't it? And some of the batterings that they took. We've spoken

05:59about that many times on here. I mean, there's still some players there, aren't there? The

06:03Armoured Hodges and Jack Robinson's players in the building. But I think the first port

06:09of call for Wilder sensibly was just getting that side of it right, wasn't he? Obviously,

06:14he clearly had an issue at goalkeeper. He's made what I think will prove to be one of

06:20the most shrewdest signings of the season at any club in Michael Cooper, we've spoken

06:26about him as well, for a lot of reasons. His age, his capability and how well he was regarded

06:33by everyone who I'm sure that Wilder spoke, canvassed his opinion about. So, yeah, I think

06:42you're doing exactly what most managers would do, to get that side of it sort of first.

06:46But going forward in the final third midfield as well, those connections take time. You can

06:54get a back four, a back five, a defensive structure organised in quicker time than you can,

07:00getting the links going forward. And I think that's where there has to be a little bit of

07:05patience regarding Sheffield United. And obviously, they'll have to do some,

07:11it'll be one or two bits of work in the next window. So, yeah, I think they're pretty well

07:18on message really. I mean, the clean sheets is remarkable really, isn't it? For a new looking

07:25side. I mean, Cooper's kept seven clean sheets now, hasn't he? Something like that.

07:28I think that's right, yeah.

07:29Yeah, it's tremendous. And yeah, they had a really, really hard few weeks, haven't they,

07:35given obviously the tragic circumstances we had with Baldock. And, you know, then factor

07:41in two away games that on paper looked as hard as it gets really, isn't it?

07:46Yeah.

07:47I think Wilder could see them coming a mile off as well, wasn't he? He was, you know,

07:51going to Leeds and then Middlesbrough. So, they flew through this sticky period,

07:58did the job by the sound of it against Stoke. Not particularly earth-shattering performance,

08:04but very business-like. And as Stuart's right to say, I think it's nice that those two scorers

08:11managed to find the net. They've been getting a bit of noise, I think, unfairly as well. We're

08:15talking about connections and things with Keith and more bit of noise about his performances.

08:22So, that'll do him good, that sort of goal, I think. It was funny, I went to the press

08:27conference on Friday for Sheffield United and I meant to ask him about Tyrese Campbell,

08:32just to sort of... So, I wasn't that surprised when he scored really, you know, the lure of the

08:38exit and all that. I thought at some point he might have an involvement there. So, that'll

08:43be good for him. He's had some really tough times, hasn't he? With his father, with injuries as well,

08:51you know, he needed a bit of a catalyst to get him going. And it was a day of commemoration as

09:02well. And I think on and off the pitch, I think Stuart's right, I think they can

09:08try and sort of move on now as a club. But it was a day which painted Sheffield United in a good

09:14light. I just think there needs to be a little bit of, in terms of the team, just a bit of patience.

09:20And, you know, Wilder, like I said, he's sorted out the foundations first and foremost, which I

09:26think you've got to do when you're in his position. So, now hopefully in this autumn,

09:33early winter period, some of the connections can grow. We know all about O'Hare and Hamer from

09:41their time at Coventry. They've got a bit of a natural chemistry. It's just some of those other

09:47connections as well. I think Middlesbrough, yeah, he's got a habit, Michael Carrick. He's had it

09:53last year as well. Just when things are sort of looking a little bit rocky, he seems to grab a

09:59win from somewhere. Yeah, some managers are good at that, aren't they? He did, and there was noise.

10:05I mean, it just shows modern football, doesn't it? They were in the home game before against

10:09Bristol City, they got booed off by all accounts. And having seen the highlights, they played pretty

10:15well again. And then seeing the game against Sheffield United, they ended up giving a former

10:22manager stick at the end. I thought that was a bit harsh, personally, and they should really be

10:27concentrating on enjoying the win rather than baiting a former manager. But that's the old

10:34grumpy old man in me, I think, really. But yeah, going back to my point, I think Carrick, he did

10:41it last season. I remember the beat at Southampton. It was in the autumn. They'd had a poor start to

10:46the season, tough opposition in the beat at Southampton. They did it to a bit of a lesser

10:51extent. They went to Leicester as well last season. It was about February-March time, wasn't it?

10:57They'd been hammered about a month or so before at Chelsea, and then they had a bit of a bad run.

11:02There was noise again. I mean, it's a good habit to have, isn't it, as a manager? You have this ability

11:07to grab a win out. But yeah, I mean, they should have won at Norwich, let's be honest. I mean,

11:13I saw that game. There's a phrase regarding Middlesbrough called typical borough,

11:19and it refers to sort of grabbing a draw or a defeat from the Chelsea victory.

11:28Years and years ago, they played Norwich. It shows how old they are as well. I remember

11:31it. They were 4-1 up against Norwich with 10 minutes to go, and they drew. So it wasn't quite

11:38as bad as that, but there were some similarities. I mean, there were two worldie goals, to be fair,

11:46from signs for Norwich. I mean, I think the less said about the third goal, the better. But

11:52Middlesbrough played two good sides in the play. I think if you look at it in the round,

11:55I think they would have taken a draw at Norwich beforehand, in fairness.

12:00Yeah, Norwich is currently a tremendous team.

12:03Yeah, it is. It is. So disappointing in the way how the game worked out, but they'd have taken

12:09that and two pretty good performances. They've been playing well for most of the season, haven't

12:13they? I think some of their play going forward is as good as anyone in the division, arguably.

12:19We're talking about the forward connections with Sheffield United. Middlesbrough have got that

12:26continuity, midfield to forwards, there's players interchanging. They look as polished as anything

12:33in that regard. It's just that sharp end, isn't it? It was a clinical goal from Latiklaf

12:40when he came off the bench to see off Sheffield United.

12:45Again, and probably a strike who needed it as well.

12:47Yeah, yeah. It's one of those, I think, when you're like, he'd not scored from open play all

12:51season, hadn't he? You look at him, you wonder if he'd been subconsciously... He was a big target

12:59for Ipswich, wasn't he? Just before the window closed, there was a bit of noise. It was, I think,

13:06for half a day or so, it was a bit unsettled. There was talk of him not going to play at Cardiff

13:11and I think they had a little bit of a heart-to-heart, sorted his head out.

13:15But yeah, it's been a difficult start to the season for him, but it was a great

13:21goal. I think they would have won 4-1 if Conway had scored the penalty.

13:27Yeah.

13:27But it was a poor penalty and it took away the shine of a good performance from him. He obviously

13:33joined relatively recently, scored two goals. But yeah, I think just to settle down from the

13:39disappointment, they can take a bit from those two performances. This has been the time of year,

13:47last season and the year before, where they've started to make the move a little bit, haven't

13:50they? And I think they've got four of the next six at home, so from a Middlesbrough perspective,

13:57they'll be hoping that history repeats itself. Because I'm sure they'll be looking

14:01at the top end of the table and they've got 18 points at Sunderland, a fair play at Sunderland,

14:07they've got 28 points, so there's little gaps starting to appear. But I think they're both in

14:17decent places, aren't they? Sheffield and Middlesbrough, that's the top and bottom of it.

14:25I think the final thing I'd say about Middlesbrough is, last season they showed they could

14:31against and beat the top teams in the division. They doubled over Leicester, they beat Southampton,

14:38they got edged out by Leeds twice, but they played really well. And I think they deserved a little

14:42bit more than that, really. It was the teams at the bottom to struggle with. And there's been

14:47some signs of that this year as well, hasn't there? Some of the results draw into Portsmouth,

14:56but then you beat Sheffield United. So it's just finishing off, getting that record right

15:01against some of the teams at the bottom will be a tick in the box for them if they're going to

15:08really harden their credentials and be in and around that top six all season.

15:14You can overdo it, but I think when you're in a position like Middlesbrough where you're doing

15:18a lot of things right, I think you've got to hold your nerve, haven't you? You've just got

15:24to stick with it and be confident that actually, if this kick starts last year, for example,

15:31that could make all the difference and start that sort of run that they always talk about,

15:34that they had last year. So there's no need to panic for Middlesbrough. Obviously,

15:40if we're still talking about this in a month's time, two months' time, there's a limit to how

15:43long you can do it. They do a lot right, don't they? Well, you're right, Stuart, they do a lot

15:46right, but it's... Yeah, exactly. And Sheffield United, I think, are a very good team.

15:55They just need that little bit extra. But again, when you talk about realism, to me, I just look

16:00at how Luton Town have started the season. Really well-run club with a really good manager.

16:06They're struggling with this transition. That could easily have been Sheffield United this

16:10season. So the fact that, as Leon says, they've done the most important bit, they've locked the

16:14door, the back door, that is the sort of foundation you want. And yeah, I think both clubs,

16:23all things considered, are not in bad places. Obviously, the greediness, you always want to

16:29be in a better place, but I think they've both started reasonably well. And I think they'll

16:34want to get all the one-match suspensions out of the way before the big game they're having

16:40in a couple of weeks' time as well. Well, they're certainly doing a good job of getting them out

16:43of the way, aren't they? That's three games running now where someone's picked up a fifth

16:46booking. So they do need to sort of concentrate on that, because at least Antoine Hodges was for

16:53a foul the last two, with a pretty daft offence. When it's so easy to pick up bookings nowadays,

17:01the last thing you want to be doing is getting booked for waving an imaginary yellow card or

17:04something. Save it for the tackles you need to make. I just thought, just to quickly on the

17:09final one, on both supporters of the club, just be a bit of patience. I mean, it's difficult in

17:15this day and age, but I was genuinely shocked to have a look at one or two of the Sheffield United

17:21message boards after the Middlesbrough game. And yeah, Middlesbrough were the better side,

17:25they did ultimately deserve to win, but it could have been, you know, Sheffield United had a huge

17:31chance from Rex Saki that Luke Kaelin cleared off the line. I think if they'd have probably scored

17:37that, I think they may have, I could have easily seen them just winning the game, you know, maybe

17:43a 2-0 or something. So they didn't play badly, just, you know, second half, fair play to

17:48Middlesbrough, but there was a hell of a lot of noise afterwards and it was just surprising. You

17:53know, Rome isn't built in a day and in this situation that Sheffield United were in in the

17:58summer, it takes time. But it's, you know, patience in football isn't a quality that's

18:09everywhere, isn't it? But it's, you know, I just wish there'd just be a little bit more for

18:14Sheffield United, really, because it's going to take a little bit of time.

18:17And also, I mean, Leon's dead right talking about the bigger picture, but if you look at the,

18:21you know, the fortnight as well, I mean, you know, I've never been in a position of having to deal

18:26with something like that, you know, to have to do your work in such a public arena as well.

18:31I have a lot of sympathy for everyone involved. It must, you know, it must have been difficult.

18:35Some players probably would have just been able to brush it off, but some would have found it

18:38really difficult. Leon and I have both seen Chris Wilder in person the last couple of weeks. He's

18:43looked really drained by it. You know, it's really affected him and I'm sure it's affected others,

18:49including supporters, by the way, you know, so some of them, you know, maybe some of their

18:54reactions are sometimes a bit those emotions bubbling up as well. But all these things come

18:59into the mix and it's the sort of thing that could easily derail a football club, which is why

19:05that win over Stoke City was so important. And now, as mentioned at the top of the episode,

19:12let's turn our attention to the Yorkshire clash between Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers,

19:17which saw Doncaster come out away with the victory, which now means that they are currently

19:24able to keep up with the teams at the top of the division. What were your thoughts on the

19:29performances by the two teams, Leon? I thought Doncaster were excellent and, to be fair to

19:35Bradford, they started the game in decent order and they finished it well as well, but

19:42there were quite a lot of significant spells in between. Stuart will probably testify as well,

19:48Grant McKennie doesn't give a lot away. He's sort of one of those, he doesn't pop the champagne

19:55corks when they smash someone and he doesn't down the pills when they have a bad result. He

20:04keeps it pretty close with him. But I could see within him, he was really satisfied by what he

20:12saw against Bradford. It had all the makings of a big game beforehand, 18,000 plus crowd,

20:19big away support. Psychologically, a big game for both sides potentially in the season. His side

20:27were excellent and I thought he outflanked Graham Alexander in fairness. That's not a criticism of

20:34Alexander either, I just think the game plan was implemented far better by Doncaster. He played a

20:403-4-1-2. He had Kyle Hurst, he came in as the number 10. He was just behind Billy Sharpe and

20:51Luke Molyneux. The way they got between the lines in the first half and they had a golden patch in

20:57the second was just work to treat and Bradford certainly couldn't live with him for a spell

21:05in the second half. When they made it 2-0, there was a spell of 10-15 minutes. They could have

21:12easily got two or three more Doncaster and they were struggling with Bradford. So yeah, a classy

21:20performance from Rovers. I put him in the match report, I don't know if

21:26the viewers probably noticed it as well. Everyone knows about Billy Sharpe, his goal scoring records

21:33and he scored goals in derbies. This, that and the other, it precedes him. I think there's a lot

21:38more to him these days than just being a goal scorer. Some of his link-up was outstanding.

21:44He was in his movement and knowing where to be and his awareness of others around him. It was

21:51a joy to watch at times. I can say those three up front were absolutely tremendous. We've spoken

21:59quite a few times about Molyneux. He looks to me like he's nailed on for a team of the year

22:05contender already. If he keeps fit and in this sort of vein of form, when he cuts him from the

22:13right, cuts inside, he looks deadly and he can also obviously operate on the other wing as well.

22:20So yeah, full value for the win. It's a fair play to Bradford, I suppose. They made a bit

22:30of a grandstand finish. They made five substitutions in the 73rd minute. He spoke afterwards, Alexander,

22:38about some players had run out of legs and thrown other players on. But I don't think

22:44you make five substitutions at the same time unless there's a bit of exasperation as well.

22:50His side were getting well beaten. But yeah, he got a response. I thought it was a good cameo from

22:57Lewis Richardson. Particularly, he knocked a great crossover for Andy Cook to do what he does.

23:03He's up to ten for the season now. I think it's probably a theme of today, talking about those

23:10sort of connections. Doncaster had them and going forward and on the day, Bradford didn't really.

23:16The final ball, they got into some handy positions at times in the first half. I thought

23:22the final ball was poor from Tyreke Wright on the left. Ben as well, he was hitting the Rovers

23:29defender. It's not massive criticism, but when you're in a game like that, a quality game against

23:37a quality side, you've got to have that quality from wide position. Or if you're playing through

23:43teams and Doncaster had that and Bradford didn't. I wanted a little bit more out of it. They've

23:48played two number eights. They've played Bobby Poynton and Jamie Walker. They were a little

23:54bit quiet for me. It was ultimately the story of the attacking players really and Doncaster's on

24:03the day were a lot more on message and informant. I think Bradford are still in a good place and

24:11it's a good test, isn't it? They've gone nine unbeaten. They've not been beaten at Valley

24:16Parade since something like the middle of March, wasn't it? It's going to end at some time,

24:22this run and it's for Bradford. Unfortunately, it's ended in one of the biggest games of the

24:27season so far. They're a bit like that at times, Bradford, big games where things are built up a

24:31little bit. They've not always been on point and managed to get a win. But as Graham Alexander

24:37said, you just have to take it on the chin and try and build another run. If you're going to have

24:45this sort of thing happen, it's probably better at this time than it is if it's a key stage of

24:50the season in March or April. So, no real time for concern. Doncaster are looking a good place.

25:01They're away form is strong. I like the fact they've had a couple of dodgy results, if you

25:08like. Obviously, they lost to Bromley before they'd gone to Bradford and a bit earlier in the season,

25:13they lost to Chesterfield, didn't they? That was a fairly big game. They lost to Hull in front of

25:18about 10 or 11,000 and then they won the next game at Grimsby. So, that's a good sign. Players

25:27coming back as well, you've got Richard Woods not far away, there's a Tom Anderson in suspension,

25:31there's one or two others as well. I mean, you look at the bench on Saturday as well,

25:36they had Ironside and Fleming and Jordan Gibson as well. They're in a good place at Rovers.

25:50And I could say he looked very, you could see looking at Grant McCann, he was really sort of

25:57inwardly chuffed and rightly so because it was a very strong performance from his side, I thought,

26:04and he got the tactics spot on as well. Yeah, I think just to go back to something

26:09Leon mentioned earlier as well, I think the way we judge Billy Sharp nowadays probably has to change.

26:15I mean, there are some strikers, possibly Andy Cutt, one of them, certainly a younger Billy

26:19Sharp, where you just waive the goals. But as Leon was saying with regards to Kiefer Moore,

26:24strikers like that, they bring so much more than goals. Billy Sharp's game has sort of evolved

26:32that way over the years now and it's really important to a team like Doncaster when you've got

26:38players like Molyneux off them. If you've got someone that can do that, that's probably giving

26:45him the edge over Joe Ironside in terms of team selections at the moment. So, yeah, I think that's

26:52really important. I think it's fair to say Leon and I are both big fans of Grant McCann and what I

26:57like about Grant McCann, he was talking the other week about how he'd sat the team down and I think

27:03there was possibly second, yeah, I think there was second in the table at that stage and he was saying

27:08you're five or six points short of where you should be, you should be top of the league,

27:13I think I like that side to him, I think you've got to do it at the right moments,

27:17I think you can do that with a team that's doing well to push them to do better, you don't want to

27:22do that with a team that's struggling at the bottom end of the table. But that sort of

27:27determination is really good because they are slightly lacking in consistency. I mean, Leon's

27:34outlined a couple of games, they do chuck in the odd one, but they don't tend to chuck in two

27:38together, you just need to get the response and you do feel, you know, again, like Leon was saying

27:44about Middlesbrough earlier in the season, that they could become that sort of team, we saw them

27:51do it last season, that really puts together that long run. It might click as the season goes on,

27:56it feels like they've got it within them because there's a lot of depth, there's a lot of

28:02unwillingness to settle for second best. They just need to be, again, we've talked about this

28:10with other teams, they just need to be a bit more ruthless, it's a really difficult thing to do.

28:16But if they can crack that, they'll really go up another level and they'll be a real

28:21threat to Port Vale. But if you look at where they were this time last year, the strides forward

28:27they've made are great. And so too, by the way, for Bradford City, because they had found that

28:36consistency at home, nine games unbeaten, wasn't it, which was a real problem for them. They feel

28:42to me in a much better place than they were 12 months ago and in both cases, it's huge credit

28:47to the managers, I think. Yeah, that was a top three performance from Doncaster to me, that was,

28:52if they could maintain those levels and avoid getting hit by injuries and keep consistency over

29:04this sort of start of the season, period of the season when league tables sort of

29:10crystallise, I suppose. They've got to produce this and get to this level

29:17relatively consistently enough, they look a top three side to me.

29:23And now I just want to quickly focus on Leeds United briefly, following the news that they

29:28have acquired 34-year-old defensive midfielder Joshua Ghilavoglu as a free agent. What did you

29:36make of his arrival and what do you think he could bring to the club, especially in that position,

29:40Stuart? Well, yeah, I mean, you're obviously right to ask, but I think it probably goes beyond,

29:48especially in that position. When Daniel Farker was talking about him, he was talking about how

29:55he could be a mentor in the dressing room, how he speaks four or five different languages,

30:00how he was very understanding and accepting of just his role in the team. He even sort of

30:08mentioned in a sort of throwaway comment, we almost hope he doesn't play that much.

30:16And then on top of that, you've got a French international who's played a lot of

30:21Bundesliga, a lot of Ligue 1. He's clearly no mug, which all sort of raised the obvious question,

30:28what was he doing out of work? To listen to him, he sounded like an absolutely tremendous signing.

30:36And you just did wonder, well, what's the catch there? I mean,

30:41Farker basically said he thought it was the fact that he was, A, 34 years old, so

30:47not that many clubs were, you know, clubs were a bit holding off him and B, he said he was very

30:51picky. So he was perhaps holding off some clubs because he wanted to join the right one. But yeah,

30:56I think more than anything, it just provides that reassurance. I mean, we were talking on the last

31:01podcast about how that midfield balance was great, but very delicate, just one injury away. Well,

31:07just to know that you've got that in the background, that just puts minds at rest.

31:11I also think, you know, Bradford are another club that have done it with Paul Huntington and

31:16Corey Evans. If you can have players who can contribute off the field, then it just means

31:24that they'll be able to contribute, even if, because, you know, with a player who hasn't

31:28had that much training, they could easily get a niggle, they could break down early on and you

31:33might not get many games out of them. But if you've got a player who will contribute regardless of

31:37whether he plays, like a Corey Evans, like a Huntington, then you just get that bit extra.

31:45And that's something I remember Farquhar talking a lot after the playoff final at Wembley about

31:52his team lacking experience. And since then, they've obviously gone on to lose Liam Cooper.

31:58I think in the dressing room, particularly, they've lost a bit of that since the departure

32:03of Cooper, since the departure earlier in the last season of failing. I think they just need

32:09that steadiness, that experience in the dressing room. And if he can contribute on the pitch as

32:14well, great. But, I mean, Farquhar was talking about it in the lead up to this signing. It is

32:21always a gamble when you sign players who just haven't had a full pre-season. You see it with

32:27players who are on the staff, how much they can struggle sometimes. But psychologically, as well

32:35as from a football perspective, it feels like they're in a better place. It's good that we see

32:40a lot of managers talk a lot about their principles and their philosophies and they're so wedded to

32:46them. So when you see a 4-2-3 world manager like Grant McCann switch to a back three, when you see

32:53Daniel Farquhar bringing a player he ordinarily wouldn't like to sign, sometimes you just need

32:58that flexibility and you can be too stubborn as a manager. And it's good that Leeds haven't fallen

33:05into that trap. I think it's just that we praise Farquhar quite a lot on this podcast. He doesn't

33:13miss much, does he? He knows the level and he's conscious of periods in the season as well.

33:21The signing will cover bases, not just in defensive midfield, but potentially, if they had a few

33:28centre-halves injured. I'm thinking in there as well. So I think that's something that's probably

33:34worth mentioning as well. We've got a few weeks now, the final international break of the year.

33:42Who knows what could happen in that. They might get one, hopefully not from a Leeds perspective,

33:47but one or two players might come back with issues from there. You never know, do you?

33:51They're in action against Swansea on the Sunday and had a little look. They've basically got 10

33:57games in about five weeks, haven't they? There's loads up until New Year's Day.

34:04So it's going to be an intense period in December especially. Having someone of the calibre of the

34:14signing could be periods where he slots in for a game or two, doesn't he? Or comes on and shows

34:20up a tight game for half an hour, that sort of thing. As with most things with Daniel Farquhar,

34:28there's a lot of sense and pragmatism to this signing in a key part of the season as well.

34:37So yes, just good senses ever from the Leeds manager.

34:42Yes, I'm a firm believer in Sod's law and that if they hadn't made the signing,

34:46they would have got the injury. Now they have, they probably won't. But I think as well,

34:53I think it's important that he's come in and everybody's been straight with each other.

34:58You might not play very much. This is your role, sort of thing. It's something Danny

35:02Rowell talks about a lot. He tries to be very honest with his players about, look,

35:07this is where I see you in the pecking order and all this sort of thing. So nobody's there

35:11on false pretenses. Nobody can have a salt that, you know, I always sold this and this is what's

35:16happened. And that's another area where Daniel Farquhar's realism and common sense is just

35:23important. When you're trying to get a signing, sometimes you can sell them a dream that's just

35:30never attainable. I think if you're just upfront with someone like that, you get the respect back

35:35and that will make a big difference as well. Yeah. I think if you just look at Leeds' itinerary as

35:39well, they've got a few Saturday, Wednesday, Saturdays, haven't they? So that presents

35:46potential issues in itself in terms of players recovering and maybe making one or two

35:50changes. There's all the thing we've spoken about with suspensions. It's the time of the year when

35:55there's one or two of those that creep into play. There's the FA Cup at the start of January as

36:01well. That's when historically a lot of the, even the bigger players in the championship,

36:08that's when they sort of look to the squad almost, isn't it? There's a quick turnaround between

36:13the Boxing Day game and the sort of game between Christmas and New Year, if you like. So there's

36:18a few variables in that respect where managers do look to sort of change things, don't they?

36:25Whether it's a three-game meet with a tight turnaround, the Christmas games,

36:29then the FA Cup as well. So you can see that there'll be times when Farker will definitely

36:37use his squad. I'm sorry, it just jumped into my head then as well. You can't underestimate the

36:43value of having an extra good player in training to keep the standards up there as well. All of

36:48these things come into the mix and it's just, it's always a case between having enough players

36:53and having too many players. But I'd say if you've been honest with him in the first place

36:57and he's not coming in expecting to play every week, then you can manage that a lot better.

37:04And finally for this week, I will turn to Stuart for his team of the week before looking to Leon

37:09for his player of the week. Now, unfortunately, we don't have a goal of the week section on this

37:14podcast because I know, which I would go for as my candidate, which is that absolute stunner

37:23by Sheffield Wednesday's Michael Smith. However, Stuart, who are you making your team of the week

37:29this week? Well, with respect to Sheffield Wednesday, that was a big, big win for them

37:35at Plymouth. With respect to Doncaster for that excellent performance we've been talking about,

37:41to Huddersfield who were keeping the ball rolling nicely and to Rotherham who got a really big win.

37:47I'm going to go slightly rogue and I'm going to go for York City, who scored two stoppage time

37:53goals at Halifax Town to go top of the conference and they seem to be in a club in really good

38:00shape at the moment. They've brought in Tony McMahon as director of football, they've had a

38:04really good summer, they've had a manager who came in late last season and saved them from

38:10relegation. I think it was the second season running where they survived on the last day of

38:14the season and it's really got to grips with that squad and got them performing really

38:20consistently well. So, obviously next week's FA Cup weekend there'll be a bit more spotlight on

38:26some of the non-league teams perhaps but I think it's a good week to just shine a light on York

38:32City and the things that are going right at that club right now. Having a fantastic run Stuart,

38:40although my son is a long-suffering Halifax Town supporter so he wasn't as amused with

38:45developments as 2,000 York fans were. Fair play for York, there's something building there

38:52and it's good to see after some tough times in recent seasons.

38:59Leon, who are you making your player of the week?

39:05A lot of candidates. Stuart's touched on some of the clubs. It was a relatively

39:10good weekend, wasn't it? Barnsley looked in the park, away from home. Huddersfield

39:18have got their act together after a sticky time in the first half of

39:25the autumn. Various others as well. Quite a few contenders. I was at the

39:30Bradford Doncaster. I've touched upon Luke Molyneux. He's up to nine for the season now.

39:38He's looked different class for the first third of the season. Billy Sharpe, more than a goal

39:44scorer, we've hit upon him as well. Kyle Hurst was tremendous as the 10 and

39:52really smart call from Grant McCann. Andy Cook's now up to double figures so it's probably worth

39:59mentioning him as well. I've jotted down a few contenders. Nigel Longwhite, he looks

40:07like he's settling down in the heart of defence at Huddersfield. A good story with Matty Pearson.

40:13He didn't bang on the door of the manager when he was out at the side and probably feeling a

40:17bit sorry for himself earlier in the season. He's waiting for his chance and just got his head down

40:22and a real top character and the sort of player that every side at that level needs. He's up to

40:31three goals already now which isn't bad considering he didn't really feature in the first month of

40:36the season. Ben Wiles as well. He scored another goal. I've been impressed by Doak at Middlesbrough.

40:45I thought he was Buddha's best player against Sheffield United and he carried on that

40:51dominance against Norwich and probably a little bit of a turning point as well when he came off.

40:56As well, that was the sort of prelude to Norwich having that strong spell and getting a bit of help

41:05backed up as well with Conway missing his penalty. Malik Wilt scored a great goal for

41:11Rotterdam. He's one of those players, probably the phrase mercurial isn't it really. Some days

41:19he can look like a million lira and other days he looks like a million dollars doesn't he.

41:25But he scored a great goal. You've got to mention Michael Smith's goal. What a strike that was as

41:31well. He was probably getting a bit of the bird from some of the Portsmouth fans. He had a spell

41:36there earlier in his career where it didn't go right. We were just debating beforehand whether

41:43that shot was out of pure anger and he just thought I'll just give this one a crack or was

41:49it just pure brilliance. I'm tempted to say it was pure brilliance because technically it was just

41:53sublime wasn't it. It was perfect. So I'm going on a little bit but I'll get to my point. I think

42:02the one I'll give it to is, it was a tassel really. A couple of bars they play so it's not always gone

42:09particularly well for Max Watters and John Russell. Watters found the net, he's come back

42:16from injury and he's got a couple of goals but I'm actually going to nudge him out and go for

42:22John Russell. He's been waiting for his moment to make an impact on this Barnsley side and he came

42:29in against Blackpool and looked the part. He's followed up with another strong performance in

42:37the middle of the park and a goal against Shrewsbury. He's one of those players, on his

42:43game he can look, he's a really good watch and a nice footballer. He's got a lot of poise in there,

42:52can see a pass. He just wants more of it consistently because when he does hit those

42:57heights there's a real player in there as he's shown in the last two games. So I'm going to give

43:04it to a lot of competition this week and apologies if I've missed anybody out, I probably have, but

43:11I'll go for John Russell this week. And another great goal as well, we've really been spoiled

43:16this week. You're quite right Mark to mention Michael Smith's goal but there's been some real

43:22high quality goals this season. Yes, the Cromwell weekend was good. But on Russell,

43:28as Leon said, he frustrates you because he's so good but you feel like there's more there.

43:35But I just feel you need to get the right players around him, don't you, to sort of compensate for

43:39his shortcomings and get the best out of him. But there is definitely a player there and we've

43:45banged on all season about the quality of midfielders they have there. So it's no mean

43:52feat to be nailing down a place in that team but he's certainly worthy of it when he's on his day.

43:58I think Daryl Clarke has been wrestling with a few issues as well in his midfield,

44:02getting that right. And obviously it's early days but it does point to a lot of painstaking work on

44:08the training ground these last few games with Barnsley and trying to find getting the right

44:13chemistry and solution and he's slotted Russell in there. So, you know, fair play to the coach

44:20in that respect.

44:51you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch

44:55using those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as

44:59football talk podcast at yp.sport at national world.com. As ever, many thanks for listening.

45:06Look after yourselves and bye for now.

45:20Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Sheffield United and Middlesbrough tussle as Doncaster Rovers earn derby bragging rights - The YP FootballTalk Podcast

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