Having come head-to-head at the Riverside Stadium last week, The YP’s football writing team of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall assess the season so far for Middlesbrough and Sheffield United – Boro wprevailing 1-0 in midweek over the Blades, who then responded with a confident 2-0 win over Stoke City at Bramall Lane.
There was another Yorkshire derby taking pace over the last few days, too, this time Doncaster Rovers prevailing over host Bradford City to enhance their hopes of automatic promotion, while delivering a slight blow to the Bantams’ own hopes of getting out of League Two.
Lastly, host Mark Singleton asks the team for their thoughts on the signing of midfielder Joshua Guilavogui by Leeds United, as well as their respective thoughts on their player and team of the week.
There was another Yorkshire derby taking pace over the last few days, too, this time Doncaster Rovers prevailing over host Bradford City to enhance their hopes of automatic promotion, while delivering a slight blow to the Bantams’ own hopes of getting out of League Two.
Lastly, host Mark Singleton asks the team for their thoughts on the signing of midfielder Joshua Guilavogui by Leeds United, as well as their respective thoughts on their player and team of the week.
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SportsTranscript
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,
00:45or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you have any
00:49questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook
00:52pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcast at yp.sport
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