On this week’s show, YP football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall cast an eye over the first round of the FA Cup and salute Harrogate Town for their victory over League One Wrexham, while also looking at the decision to abandon the option of replays, as Guiseley AFC found to their cost against Stevenage.
Leeds United proved dominant against Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle – later being edged out at Millwall – while it was also a mixed few days for Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsboroguh, walloped 6-2 by Watford in front of their own fans on Saturday before bouncing back with a superb 2-0 triumph over Norwich City three days later.
Huddersfield Town were another Yorkshire team to make the FA Cup headlines, but for all the wrong reasons when they crashed out at Tamworth on Friday night – although their owner Kevin Nagle, rarely slow to criticise his team’s performances in the past, came out in their defence and asked for fans to ease up in their criticisms of the team.
Leeds United proved dominant against Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle – later being edged out at Millwall – while it was also a mixed few days for Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsboroguh, walloped 6-2 by Watford in front of their own fans on Saturday before bouncing back with a superb 2-0 triumph over Norwich City three days later.
Huddersfield Town were another Yorkshire team to make the FA Cup headlines, but for all the wrong reasons when they crashed out at Tamworth on Friday night – although their owner Kevin Nagle, rarely slow to criticise his team’s performances in the past, came out in their defence and asked for fans to ease up in their criticisms of the team.
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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
00:21Writer 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,
00:39the 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 the Football Talk podcast at yp.sport
00:58at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk. As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week
01:04we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football
01:07Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobbshaw. Good morning, guys. Morning. Hello. Morning.
01:12This week was dominated by action from the first round of the FA Cup, from which a couple
01:17of our Yorkshire teams dropped out, but a fair few were able to put themselves into
01:22the second round, which was very nice to see. And we'll be talking about some of the action
01:28in this week's episode. However, there was also some league action, which we'll be taking
01:33a look at as well. But let's start with Harrogate Town, who were able to complete one of the
01:39upsets of the round by getting past Wrexham with a well-fought and determined 1-0 victory,
01:45which now sees them welcoming Gainsborough Trinity for a chance to make it to the third
01:49round. What were your thoughts on the game, and how could they go into their game with
01:53Gainsborough, Leon? Yeah, it was a good time, wasn't it? It made
01:58me laugh a little bit. There's a bit of a narrative going on about Wrexham, and don't
02:04get me wrong, it's a terrific story with all the Hollywood headlines that go with it. It
02:11was certainly a bit of a surprise, I suppose, that Harrogate turned them over. But I don't
02:17think it was this monumental shock that a lot of people in the media sort of perceived
02:25it to be. You sort of look at the record of Harrogate against Wrexham in the few years
02:29they've been in the league, and it's been pretty strong. They've had some good moments.
02:32I think they came from behind to draw to all in a league game in the season when Wrexham
02:41got promoted. They turned them over in the FA Cup almost three years to the day. I put
02:46that in my match report. I think it just showed with Harrogate. We mentioned before that the
02:54big stage seemed to suit them, doesn't it? They obviously beat... I was at the game against
03:00Doncaster earlier this season, and it was similar in some regards. They were quite happy
03:07for Doncaster to have the ball and then pick the moments on the counter and be really regimented
03:15and solid in the defensive duties. They did that to a T against Wrexham. Don't get me
03:24wrong, they had a fair few chances to make some crosses into the box. They did test Harrogate
03:33defensively. They had a couple of big lads up front in Palmer and Mullin. They brought
03:41on Mo Fowle later on and emptied the bench, James McLean as well. But they always looked
03:48reasonably comfortable like that. I thought Harrogate, James Belshaw, he made some good
03:53saves but saves that you would expect a decent keeper to make, and that's what he did. Everybody
04:02did their jobs. I think after some tough moments on Saturday for one or two of the teams, I
04:14think Yorkshire needed something juicy, if you like. That's not disrespecting what Barnsley
04:27and Bradford both did in getting through, but I think it's fair to say that Harrogate
04:34was the headline result. A well-deserved victory for me, if not the sort of seismic shock that
04:42half of the football world perceived it to be. But yeah, that's my take on it, just a
04:50quick one really and probably Stuart will mention it as well. He's a fan of the FA Cup.
04:56It's such a shame, isn't it, that the rules about no first or second round replays because
05:04you've got to feel for Guiseley, haven't you? I think it's four divisions, it might even
05:10be five, I think it's four, below Stevenage. You go to a decent league one club, you level
05:18after 120 minutes and then you lose on penalties. Even if Guiseley had had a replay and lost,
05:26that would have been tough, but at least he would have been in the second round draw,
05:28wouldn't he? Feeling part of it and that sort of bit of a feel-good factor would have at
05:32least gone on for another week. It's not just an isolated example, is it? There were other
05:38clubs as well, Weston-Super-Mare and Braintree and Maidenhead. I thought it was a decent
05:45cup weekend, although not necessarily if you're Huddersfield Town. I forgot to mention that.
05:54It just left a bit of a sour taste, I thought, with some of the achievements of the lesser
05:59lights and not the first and second round. It's their time, isn't it?
06:03Exactly.
06:04And it's been taken away from them, I don't know what you think, Stuart.
06:06I totally agree. I can kind of reluctantly see the argument for scrapping replays later
06:13on when the big boys are involved. You look at how much the teams in this ridiculously
06:18bloated Champions League have to play. Sometimes it's unfashionable to say, but you do feel
06:24a bit sorry for them. But as Leon says, rounds one and two, that's the times for the lower
06:28league clubs. They'd rather have the extra game, in Guy's case, the extra revenue of
06:37a replay, than moan about an extra 90 minutes. Let's be honest, non-league teams, league
06:44one and two teams, they do play a lot of games as well. I mentioned this last week, it feels
06:51almost wrong to talk about money with regards to the FA Cup, but it is important to clubs
06:57like that. It can be so transformative. When you've really earned over the course of 120
07:04minutes, it would be 90 if it was just to replay, then it's sad not to see them get it.
07:11With regards to Harrogate, Leon's bang on. He's seen a lot of Harrogate's big games in
07:17the last couple of years and they really do rise to the occasion. I think the challenge
07:22for them is translating that into consistency when you've got such a small squad and such
07:27small resources. It's easier said than done. Whilst on paper they obviously should beat
07:34Gainsborough in the next round, it's a different challenge and it is a challenge for them to
07:39get up for that sort of game. No disrespect to the opposition, but when you're the favourites,
07:45when the onus is on you, it does change the mindset a bit. They've certainly shown on plenty
07:52of occasions that they can really do damage to bigger clubs with bigger fan bases. There is
08:04quality there. You look at Harrogate and I always look at the Gates and I think it's just a shame
08:12more people don't get on board with what's happening there and get themselves down,
08:16even if it's just to the odd game at Wetherby Road. As Leon can attest better than me,
08:21they play some good stuff and they're good to watch. I think most of the home sections were
08:30sold out on Sunday, but it's getting that more on a regular basis. They're not a big low division
08:46club Harrogate, but why should they just be a little old Harrogate? They can build something
08:53with a few more people investing in them in terms of support. It's a bit of a switch of narrative,
09:01isn't it, the game against Gates, but it's going to be a total Volfas really. It's going to be
09:08Harrogate with a big club. I think it's a great tie personally. I had a little look and I don't
09:16think Gainsborough did get to the third round. It was something like 1885 or something like that.
09:25That's incredible, isn't it? It's a terrific story for Gainsborough.
09:30They're managed by someone we know well in these parts, Russ Wilcox, who managed York and
09:36played for the likes of Doncaster and Hull. He's a good guy, Russ. I've spoken to him quite a few
09:41times. I'm great for him because he's had one or two knocks in the last few years.
09:48It's a fairly local feature. There'll be a lot of their supporters coming along,
09:51hoping to see history. I think for Harrogate as well, they've only reached the third round once,
09:56haven't they? In fairness, that was the time they beat Wrexham before they beat Portsmouth.
10:03With respect to Luton, it was not the most glamorous tie going out there at Kenilworth
10:09when they were a mid-ranking championship team. From Harrogate's perspective, it would be great
10:15if they did get through and got a nice plumb tie somewhere and were part of that third round
10:23weekend. I always think it's the first and the second round. That's mainly when it's the stage
10:31for the non-league teams, isn't it? You obviously get one or two in the third round, but I think
10:36the third round is a bit more about the league one, league two and the odd non-league club.
10:42So that's why it's just left a little bit of a sour taste with the issue with replays.
10:49Next we turn to Leeds United, who claimed an incredibly dominant 3-0 victory over Plymouth
10:54Argyle, which was able to help them maintain pressure on the division leader Sunderland.
11:02What were your thoughts on the performance? Do you think it's fair to say that Daniel Farker
11:06has sort of found his base squad structure, taking into consideration the injuries that
11:12they've had to contend with, Stuart? Yeah, I definitely do think that, Mark.
11:17I've said before that in a sort of perverse kind of a way, those two big injuries have helped them
11:21in some respects. You can't say they were good things to happen to them. They've lost two quality
11:25players, but it does force others to step up, take a bit more responsibility and it's just changed
11:32the balance of the side slightly. They're just on a roll at the moment. Every club in the league
11:40has their little tribulations all the way through the season, some more than others at different
11:47times. But when you've got a team on a roll as Leeds United are, you can tend to just shake them
11:52off quite well. They were really dominant against Plymouth. They were 3-0 up inside, I think it was
11:5938 minutes. They could have really gone for the jugular after that, but with a midweek game
12:06and with Plymouth really sitting in, they were content just to pick the moments. But
12:13it was a really good day for them in the sense that they were able to give a debut from the
12:17bench to Ginovacci, the 34-year-old free agent they've signed, also to a couple of young lads,
12:24Sam Chambers and Charlie Crewe. So that was good. It immediately gives you a couple more squad
12:30options for the game going forward. But yeah, they're just playing really good football,
12:35a good tempo. They understand each other's games and they're just in a really good rhythm.
12:41In the same way that I think the October break was really good for them in terms of just thinking
12:47through the problems of being without Ampadu and Gruev, the November break could be an absolute
12:51pain in the backside because if you're playing the way they are right now, you just want to keep
12:55going. But as I say, they've had these minor obstacles in the way and they've been able to
13:00shove them off. I'm not saying it will derail them, I'm just saying that if I were them,
13:05I'd rather keep going. I've just been impressed by the way they've just shared the load, haven't
13:10they? They obviously had the injuries to the likes of Gruev and Ampadu, but no panic from Daniel
13:19Tharker. The only real wobble was at the start of the season, wasn't it? If you're going to have a
13:24little bit of a wobble, have it in the first couple of weeks and get it out of your system,
13:28really. But I've just been impressed by the way that everyone, the squad's putting their hand up.
13:34Dan James had a great game on Saturday. The two new lads have come into midfield in Rothwell and
13:41Tanaka and they've been terrific and provided a new dimension, almost, as Stuart's right to say.
13:50Joe Perrault took a little bit of stick, but he's getting his form together. We know about Gonto,
13:56obviously, with his new deal and the fillip of that a few months ago. It's a classic trait for
14:05a successful promotion side as you're getting contributions from across the board. Not always
14:14brilliant, but it's just showing some wonderful consistency at Leeds. It's pretty much two points
14:19a game at the minute. I think the thing that will be fascinating to observe will be this international
14:27break. Then you have that busy schedule to the end of the calendar year. It's fair to say Leeds
14:35were well-seasoned from last season. They were pretty strong, weren't they, in the run-in to the
14:39end of the year. How will Sunderland, for instance, cope with that? Leeds have, I know you can't
14:47totally compare light for light seasons, but Leeds have been there. They've been around the block in
14:55this respect. They've handled the heat, they've handled the pressure, they've handled three game
15:00weeks and potentially short turnarounds. That'll be fascinating to see how that develops. I just
15:08think Leeds are in a really good place. Obviously, there's last season's disappointments that are
15:18driving them on, but I think they're actually probably a little bit better, aren't they,
15:21points-wise, at this stage of this season to last season. I think there's a few Leeds getting
15:31the ducks in a row at a good time. Looking at their fixtures, I don't think the division is
15:39quite as strong as it probably was at the top end last year, barring one or two teams. I think
15:46Leeds are in a good place and they just need to keep their focus.
15:51I think Leon's bang on with what he said about contributions from everywhere as well.
15:55Even with these injuries, you mentioned the form of Pirro, which has been excellent.
15:59It will dip off at some time, but they've got Matteo Joseph to come in. They've had
16:03Dad James out for six and a half weeks, he's back now, Ramazani's injured, but they've still got
16:08Solomon on the bench. I mentioned the midfielders who came on. They've got options. They've had
16:15both full-backs suspended, fortunately for them, in different games in the last couple of games.
16:20Sam Byron's been able to come in. They still haven't used Isaac Schmidt much at all.
16:24So there's depth there for when those games come in, as well as the nows, even with these injuries.
16:33I think if I was anyone else in the Championship, or certainly anyone else with
16:37promotion pretensions, I'd be thinking Leeds are really starting to look ominous now.
16:41Again, Leon mentioned last season. It felt like, to me anyway, last season, it was kind of
16:49Christmas time when Stroke's injury came and when Reuter played a bit deeper, that they found their
16:55right balance and they really got on a run. It feels like possibly that point has happened a bit
17:00earlier this season, as I say, with those forced by those injuries to grow up at Amperdoo.
17:05And if they can get on the same run again, they could really set a fierce pace for the likes of
17:11Sunderland, who, as Ryan said, will feel the pressure because they've not done it before.
17:15And clubs like Burnley, who are different to Sunderland in the sense that they have done it
17:19before, but they're expected to do it because they're a parachute club, because they've come
17:24down, because they've done it before. So you can really put pressure on those clubs as well,
17:28if you can set the pace. So yeah, I think Leeds really are starting to look ominous.
17:35Whenever you're a team in this form, it's just a case of keeping it going for absolutely as
17:39long as you can, because it'll not last all season, but if you can get a good couple of
17:43months out of it, you can really tip the balance in a title race.
17:46I think the defence as well, Stuart. I've spoken many times, the old maxim, forwards
17:52win your games, defences win your titles. And was it A-Clean-Cheese, head of the
18:00midweek game against Millwall. For all the flack that was thrown in the direction of
18:06Mesley after his awful moment against Sunderland, he's still kept A-Clean-Cheese, hasn't he?
18:12Even though he's put in that much to do in some of the games,
18:17the statistics are out there, aren't they? That could be an interesting battle in the
18:22old Golden Gloves state, there's him and Michael Cooper at Sheffield United.
18:27Touching on them, they've been excellent defensively as well, haven't they? That's
18:31been the cornerstone of their very impressive work at the start of the season.
18:37That's why I found some of the criticism of Chris Wilder a little bit baffling, to be
18:43honest, at the start of the season. In the summer, the first thing he was always going
18:47to fix was the defence, wasn't he? It's like anything, you fix a house, you get the
18:50foundations right and then you fit the other things around it. I really do think in that
18:56regard, in terms of that defensive solidity, that's why it all goes well for both Leeds
19:04and Sheffield United. They've obviously had two terrific, if contrasting, away wins,
19:10haven't they? You don't really want to say going up is all at this stage of the season,
19:18but it's one that augurs massively well, doesn't it? Going to Bristol City, they haven't
19:23been beaten in something like eight months at home. You don't play at your best. The
19:29home side going from one of those days, it's going to be a 1-0. You need to summon up the
19:35wherewithal and the character to not only equalise and just think that's a good point,
19:41go for the throat and get a win. What a win that was at Ashton game.
19:47Obviously, defensive skill is a massive part of it, but I think the team mindset
19:52of both those teams is essential to it. If we were talking immediately after the Norwich
19:56game and you said, well, it's going to be Tanaka and Rothwell in the Leeds midfield for the next
19:59couple of months, you might have thought, well, they might score a few more goals,
20:02but they'd be more vulnerable defensively. But because of that sort of collective mindset,
20:06having taken out the two midfield bodyguards hasn't really cost them too much defensively,
20:12because A, those lads have really rolled up their sleeves and done their defensive jobs,
20:16but B, the guys around them, and it's similar at Sheffield United. They've
20:20been without Souza through suspension. They deal with it. They've been without
20:26Achmed Hozic through suspension. They just deal with it. It's a real collective.
20:30Granted, if you lose two or three of those, it's a big issue, but you can lose one or two at any
20:35one time and the group as a whole will stay strong. I think that's the real success between
20:41both those sides. As Leon says, we all like to see teams score goals and be flamboyant and all
20:47that sort of thing, but the first thing you have to do as a manager is get that right. Daniel
20:52Farker earlier this season, Chris Wilder, you might get flack for it, but if you've got that
20:56self-confidence that you know this is the right thing to do and it will come good, then that's
21:02the beauty of having an experienced and strong-minded manager. They've both laid the platform
21:07for really good seasons. They're both the sort of esprit de corps and the strong mentality.
21:14It does seem to be there with those two. I think the next time to gauge it is probably after the
21:21start of the new year. You've had the pile-up of games before the end of the year. That'll test
21:27minds and bodies. Touchwood will both be in a similar place by the time the new year starts,
21:36but Wilder and Farker are huge on that sort of thing, aren't they? That sort of unity and group
21:42ethos. No-one's bigger than the group. That's another thing why I think it augurs well at the
21:48minute of the day. They could both write you a long list of excuses for why things won't go wrong
21:53at the moment, but they're both managers who just don't settle for that. Just get on with it. Just
21:58deal with these things. That's what I mean about Leeds and Sheffield United. I've had their little
22:03setbacks. Losing your entire midfield is a fairly big deal. There's plenty more on top of that,
22:09but so long as they don't feel sorry for themselves and they just get on with it,
22:13that's what those clubs do.
22:16Now, let's have a look at Sheffield Wednesday, who fell to a heavy 6-2 defeat when they faced
22:21Watford, which was then followed up by a 2-0 victory when they welcomed Norwich City to
22:25Hillsborough. What did you make of the two performances by Danny Roll's men, Leon?
22:30Well, I didn't see much from what I saw in the game against Watford. That was a bit of a weird
22:36one. They played quite well in the first half and then they just fell off a cliff in the second
22:43half. Five unanswered goals in some respects. It was good that there was a home game coming so
22:52quickly on a Tuesday night as well. Coming after that to try and sort it out, I think the thing
23:02that impressed me about Wednesday and the Norwich game, I think they had a little
23:09bit of fortune in the respect that Norwich had got quite a few injuries. Obviously,
23:15Sargent was out, one of their main players, and six or seven of them out. But they played pretty
23:21well in the first half and they were really smart. Norwich were a good pleasing on the
23:28eye side. They played lots of pretty pitches going forward but they didn't really hurt
23:34Wednesday. They were happy to surrender possession in a lot of respects and wait for the moment on
23:43the counter. As easy on the eyes Norwich were, they weren't the best without the ball.
23:50They picked the moment and they scored a couple of good goals and a real moment of quality from
23:58Marvin Johnson for the opener from Josh Wynne. That's a brilliant pass. Split the two central
24:06defenders and just before that he'd laid a brilliant cross and I still don't know how
24:13Ogbo didn't score it. It was almost like he was a defender and not a striker but that seems to
24:20be the way it's going for him at the minute. The quality was excellent. They picked the moment and
24:28yeah, I like the fact they didn't get giddy in the second half either. They played well in the
24:33first half against Watford and then went to pieces but they sort of seemed to decide against Norwich
24:39we were 2-0 up. We don't have to go and chase the game. We'll just sit in and be disciplined
24:45without the ball and wait for the odd moment to counter. They managed it pretty well in the
24:54second half and I think they needed that really didn't they after what happened against Watford.
25:00Yeah and handy preparation for the derby. Fair play to Wednesday, you sort of look at them
25:08since you've been there Danny Rowland. They've taken some whacks on the nose haven't they but
25:14they've got a decent jaw because I think of the games. Last season they got walloped at
25:20Huddersfield, they got walloped at Ipswich wasn't it and they sort of hit back relatively quickly
25:27and in the Championship that's a real good skill set to have but we'll wait to see what
25:36Sheffield Wednesday turns up on Sunday. And that's the thing about Sheffield Wednesday,
25:40they are such an up and down team it must be really frustrating but up and down teams can
25:47be very dangerous on a big day like a derby day. We pray Sheffield United to high heaven,
25:51they're the better team of the two over the course of a season but on the day Sheffield
25:58Wednesday are capable of anything. They're capable of getting thumped, they're capable of winning as
26:04well and yeah it must be frustrating for Danny Rowland because he's obviously a very level guy
26:10so you would expect a team of his to be quite consistent and to be steadier than they are but
26:17as Leon says you've got to admire the way they do take these beatings and they're straight back on
26:21the feet and into it. Obviously a lot in the city is going to be sort of viewed in the prism of
26:30Sunday particularly probably for Sheffield Wednesday at the moment and I'm really looking
26:35forward to it because I just don't know what's going to happen and that's what you want on the
26:40derby isn't it? The last thing you want is a one-sided game. I think my thing about Sheffield
26:49Wednesday is as I say when you do back them into a corner you do get a response, you just wish they
26:56didn't have to be backed into a corner so often to actually play like that. When you see them on
27:01those days you know when they're like to wind us and ban on their own form and running a game
27:07there's a lot of quality there and there's a lot for Sheffield United to think about at the weekend.
27:13I just think for their confidence, even though Norwich had a few players out there,
27:19they were pretty good football inside and probably one of the best in that regard
27:25probably in the division really and obviously they got the top striker at the minute in size and
27:31Wednesday kept him quiet and even though Norwich had something like 71% of the ball and
27:37that's got to give you confidence in managing a game like that but yeah I agree with Stuart in
27:45many ways. I think the Sheffield derby is one of the people should know about it if they don't
27:53but if they don't it's a real one of the hidden secrets in English football. It's one of the
28:00the city that you know declares itself the home of football almost in the championship and it'll
28:06be a marvellous occasion. It was funny with 10 minutes to go you know I think most Wednesday
28:15nights they'd sort of boxed off the game and they started to indulge in a little bit of fun and
28:20started singing all the anti-Sheffield United songs this and that and I think they must have
28:26heard of Ashton Gate because a few minutes later Sheffield United conjured an equaliser and
28:34and then it became a little bit more quiet at Hillsborough and it was certainly quieter when
28:39Harrison Burrow stuck that one in right at the end so yeah it was just I remember listening
28:44to the Wednesday fans and I thought to myself well derby day has already begun hasn't it really?
28:49Yeah well it has probably become before those games so just excited about it but again you
28:56know that's credit to both sides that they didn't take their eye off the ball and be
29:00thinking about Sunday when they had a job to do on Tuesday yeah you know I think the Sheffield
29:04United perspective as well you know they really didn't play up that sorry turn up when they played
29:08Leeds a couple of weeks ago and they've got a little bit to prove to themselves that they can
29:12you know really deliver on the big occasion and it would be a big occasion so good good you know
29:18for all that we've for all that we've praised them this will be a good and an important test
29:22for them as well yeah yeah and that might be you know that could be the theme of Chris Weld as
29:26you know he's a savvy operator isn't he in the press and maybe throw something about that you
29:31know they obviously had the Leeds and um to a bit of a lesser extent the Middlesbrough games but
29:37you know urging them to uh to turn up yeah yeah and we now turn to Huddersfield Town who
29:44unfortunately unfortunately got dumped out of the FA Cup when they were defeated 1-0 by Tamworth
29:50now what were your thoughts on the performance and also what did you make of the owner's comments
29:54which were aimed at the fans Stuart? Well in terms of the performance again
29:59sort of what I've said about Sheffield Wednesday but in kind of a different way you never quite
30:03know what you're going to get with Huddersfield they're more streaky than Sheffield Wednesday in
30:07terms of the ups and downs but you know talking to Michael Duff before the game he was sort of
30:11talking about how he felt they got the mentality right in the last five weeks or so and then they
30:16then they go to Tamworth and they don't really perform I mean you know some days we've all seen
30:20FA Cup ties where you know the the higher rank side goes to a non-league side and they
30:26hit the post three times and you know it just doesn't happen for them and the non-league team
30:30wins but no Tamworth really deserved that and Huddersfield just didn't give a good account
30:36to themselves and and the progress they've made recently and that that well you could I was gonna
30:41say it must be so frustrating for Michael Duff I don't even need to speculate you could see it
30:45written all over his face but he he spoke to the cameras afterwards and of course he felt like that
30:50um yeah they just again you know they're kind of showing sort of the inconsistency of a mid-table
30:57team and we know that you know being mid-table this season won't wash it out for Huddersfield
31:03and we know they they aspire to better to certainly you know at the at the least to
31:08be in the in the playoff picture but um they need to sort something out between the years because
31:13they're just they're just not there in terms of um in terms of producing that consistency and
31:19because they are a streaky side now be all eyes on Saturday to see if they do respond or this is
31:26going to be another one of those you know runs like we had either side of the Bolton game so
31:31they've got to they've got to stand up and be counted really and as you know as for the
31:35chairman's comments um chairman criticized that the fans for booing I mean I I would agree with
31:42him that that booing doesn't necessarily help during the game but if I'd been a Huddersfield
31:47fan who traveled all that way on a Friday night giving up all that time giving up all that money
31:51frankly they can they can say and do what they like and it just was it just wasn't good enough
31:57it just wasn't a fair representation representation of that football club and those fans so I I don't
32:04think you can ever criticize fans and you know in that situation so long as you don't cross the line
32:09you know you mentioned a bit of bad language and all that sort of thing but so long as it doesn't
32:12overstep the mark you you're perfectly entitled to express your dissatisfaction after such a weak
32:19performance as that you know you pay your money it's your it's your club frankly and uh I don't
32:25have any problem with uh with with the Huddersfield fans booing the booing the players um I think you
32:30know there's probably a few in the backroom staff would have liked to have joined it yeah I totally
32:34agree with Stuart it probably it probably made worse by the fact that you know it's just it was
32:40with respect to Tamworth it's not the most salubrious ground in the world and the facilities
32:44and the noise was probably amplified a bit I dare say you know most um most grounds there's that
32:53sort of thing but you maybe don't know the acoustics of it you don't hear you don't hear it
32:56quite as much I think it added something to it and yeah Stuart said fans are entitled to do it
33:03they've paid harder money to travel on a on a Friday night on you know which isn't a bit of a
33:09rough night to travel anyway isn't it with the motorways and negotiate all that and you expect
33:13to see to see better and there were short chains let's be honest and no excuses for Huddersfield
33:18I know they've got a few injuries but it was it was it was a side a lineup that should have offered
33:23a a lot more than practiced on the on the 3G surface at Bradford and in the week so
33:29they can't blame the surface of anything like that they've made all the the right
33:33contingencies and preparations and they just couldn't get they just never seemed to to get
33:39going and it was poor against um you know time where they showed a lot of heart they fought hard
33:45but uh you know they're they're sort of struggling in the conference aren't they and they're not a
33:50full-time team either so that's another reason why with respect the Huddersfield supporters
33:57you know are entitled to be to be pretty angry and um I think the players will expect that as
34:02well Michael Duff took it on the took it on the chin he's been around the block he knew what would
34:07be coming and he had no qualm with it and um you know is that any is the player is is getting booed
34:17in a few years is that as is that as um is that any worse than a chairman going on twitter and
34:22calling you out probably yeah you know so there's different sort of forms of forms of uh of criticism
34:31and you know a lot of a lot of punters who will have been in the Huddersfield and they'll have
34:35been die-hard away supporters you know they'll follow them the length and breadth of the country
34:39um they obviously got Crawley on on Saturday I think he's one of those if if town go to
34:44Crawley get a good convincing victory and a result then you know with with all due respect
34:50to the FA cup it's the league that Huddersfield are going to be gazed at and it'll it'll take
34:54away a lot of the sting from what's happened um at Tamworth but conversely if it doesn't
35:00obviously Crawley have been struggling and you know they're not a huge club in league one if
35:05Huddersfield have a have a rough result there it's going to extend uh the sense of uh of discord so
35:13yeah perhaps an important game for Huddersfield at the weekend yeah yeah I mean you know for all
35:17we talked earlier in this about how I'm such a big fan of the FA cup if you're gonna have an off day
35:23as a league one team have it in the first round of the FA cup yeah by all means but it's it's
35:27about standards isn't it it's not about what competition they were in what Michael Duff is
35:31trying to instill in that club it's about standards it's about consistency it's about
35:35professionalism and it wasn't it wasn't really about the result it was about the performance
35:40that was that was the issue as I say if they if they played well and they and they'd been
35:44unlucky and Tamworth did play very well you know you don't want to sort of talk them down and
35:49and deride them but if if town had done their bit and the result hadn't happened well fair enough
35:56but it's about it's about the professionalism that you need to persevere in a 46 game slog
36:03you know you need to turn up week after week and you can't show your best every week but you can't
36:09drop to such a low level that that's that's the issue really and when and when it does happen
36:14you know you need the leaders on the pitch to really be pulling people around and and saying
36:18this is not acceptable and they just seemed they just seemed too intimidated by Tamworth's long
36:25throw they just seemed too flat they didn't seem up for the challenge that they knew was coming I
36:30mean you know they're not stupid Michael Duffer talked before about what it would be like with
36:35the fans on top of them and he mentioned that they had this lad who could easily outthrow Ben
36:40Tozer who he had at Cheltenham Town there was no there was no surprises but they and as Leon said
36:46they even practiced on the on the artificial pitch but they just they just weren't in the
36:50right mindset they just weren't at it and these days happen but it's just got to be a one-off
36:55yeah yeah yeah it's far too passive wasn't it I mean they had a bit of a throw at the end but
36:59see no one really not enough people grabbed up grabbed the game by the the scruff of the neck
37:04and they got what they deserved ultimately and finally for this week I will turn to Leon for
37:10his team of the week before looking to Stewart for his player of the week so Leon who has done
37:15enough to become your nomination for team of the week well I mean probably an honorable shout for
37:21for Harrogate what they did against against Rector obviously equal in what they did three years
37:26before and I haven't mentioned having myself and Stewart but it'd be great great to see Harrogate
37:32get get to the third round and get a yeah get a nice juicy draw and a little bit of the limelight
37:37because I know a few years you know a few years ago they played Luton and you know it was a game
37:40it was shoved away on a Sunday wasn't it and a bit of an afterthought really and they got a big
37:46they got a good hiding there as well so that was that was good to good to see fair play to
37:51Doncaster they did the job at Barrow didn't they they're having a decent time of it on the road at
37:58the minute they still won the derby at Bradford a trophy winner at Barnsley even though that's
38:06probably a bit more small beer to be fair with Barnsley already out but yeah they're they're
38:11three to the second round and they've got a sticky time at Kettering that beer I mean
38:17that'd be an interesting one could be a television contender that one but yeah you can't really look
38:23any any further than Sheffield United you know they've negotiated two you know fairly tough
38:31away games on paper we mentioned you know Bristol City's home record and they've been a real
38:38foremost of late haven't they and you know it's all all the more admirable given what's happened
38:43to obviously with the circumstances of Liam Manning so that was you know midweek as well
38:48that's a hard fix you're going to Ashton Gate and you know the circumstances of the game
38:53you know getting going behind then having the wherewithal to to not only draw but push on and
38:59kick on for the for the for the win and you know there were some some special scenes weren't they
39:04in the in the away end and with the players after that and you know rightly so really you know it's
39:09one of those if they if Sheffield United do somehow go all the way they'll remember that
39:15you know a November night you know in the west country and obviously backed up by you know a
39:21different sort of win they were pretty dominant at Blackburn in front of a big away support
39:26that so I've got to say Sheffield United more so you consider a little bit of the history as well
39:31they've lost it lost the previous two away games they've been humbled at Leeds and well beaten and
39:37you know Middlesbrough deserve to beat them as well in the next away game so given everything
39:42it's hard to look past that yeah yeah and you know I think I think I'd echo all of that and
39:47it sort of bleeds into choosing a player of the week because Sheffield United are so
39:53you know you look at you look at Middlesbrough for example in the week they've had the extremes
39:57obviously shaped by a red card of losing three nil at Coventry and then winning four well you know
40:02you see a lot of that in the championship Saturday to Tuesday it's very difficult to show that
40:08consistency the more so when you're on buses to you know Bristol and what have you and you and
40:13you've got that that reduced preparation time so you know as a result sometimes you know you'll
40:20have players who played well in one of the games but not being able to back it up in in the other
40:25and that sort of narrows the field a bit but yeah I mean in terms of the FA Cup games Leon's
40:29mentioned James Valshaw obviously had a great game for Harrogate, Jack Muldoon continuing to
40:34knock goals in for them I think it was a really important win for Barnsley because
40:39you know Port Vale you know obviously in the lower division but you thought that had all the
40:45makings with the form Port Vale are in you know the unpredictable... yeah exactly and you know
40:52Adam Phillips back and scoring a penalty Mark Roberts scoring another goal for them they've
40:56been two big players for them this season so they're you know they definitely came into the
41:01thinking but you know great performance by Daniel James the other day but I'm sort of loathe to pick
41:09any Leeds player purely because we're speaking before the Millwall game and as I've said
41:13it could amplify things or things could go wrong you just don't know but so I'm going to go with
41:18Sheffield United I'm going to play it safe in that respect I think Vinny Souza's been a big
41:23player for them all season and you know the sort of midfield performance he put in those two games
41:28really important obviously you know the kind of obvious one the kind of no-brainer one speaking
41:33as someone with no brain I'm going to go for Harrison Burrows for those dramatic and
41:39decisive goals and you know what Liam was saying... What I was doing there teeing you up mate
41:45what's that sorry? I was saying I was teeing you up there you see you certainly were you certainly
41:50were yeah a great for him you know Liam was mentioning earlier about everybody chipping in
41:58yeah absolutely you know good to see him you know doing the decisive job and
42:04yeah he's my player of the week.
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