The midweek derby between Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday at the KCOM Stadium is oikely to have been a significant occasion for the future of Tigers boss Tim Walter – and our podcast panel of Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall give their take on the season so far for the East Yorkshire club and what is likely to happen next.
They also cast their collective eyes over Huddersfield Town’s promising form which is gradually turning them into a genuine play-off contender in League One.
Back in the Championship, Leeds United’s ability to bounce back from a lte equaliser by Swansea City and reply to post s 4-3 win in South Wales shows a resilience not seen perhaps enough times this season.
Elsewhere, promotion rivals Sheffield United enhanced their hopes of a top-two finish with a clinical 3-0 midweek win over Oxford United.
They also cast their collective eyes over Huddersfield Town’s promising form which is gradually turning them into a genuine play-off contender in League One.
Back in the Championship, Leeds United’s ability to bounce back from a lte equaliser by Swansea City and reply to post s 4-3 win in South Wales shows a resilience not seen perhaps enough times this season.
Elsewhere, promotion rivals Sheffield United enhanced their hopes of a top-two finish with a clinical 3-0 midweek win over Oxford United.
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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,
00:26to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs.
00:29Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:32by logging onto our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out
00:38our various Twitter feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport,
00:44Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well.
00:48And if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
00:52or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter as Football Talk Podcast at
00:56yp.sport at nationalworld.com. YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:02As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the
01:06Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Lil Mobshaw.
01:09Good morning, guys. Morning.
01:11Morning. Morning.
01:12Right, this week saw the return of league action during which Sheffield United had to settle for
01:17a point in their two-all draw with managerless Coventry City. Sheffield Wednesday also shared
01:22the points in their one-all draw with Cardiff City, and we'll be covering them more later on
01:26in the episode. Hull City fell to a frustrating 1-0 defeat to Luton Town, and we'll be covering
01:32them a little bit later on as well. Middlesbrough produced an astonishing 6-2 victory over Oxford
01:38United in League 1, sorry, and in League 1, Barnsley saw their decent run of form suffer a
01:45when they lost 1-0 to Wigan Athletic, which was followed by a two-all draw when they welcomed
01:50Reading. Rotherham United fell to a fourth defeat in five games after falling to a 1-0
01:56defeat against Crawley Town, and in League 2, Bradford City saw their game with Accrington
02:00Stanley called off due to the adverse weather conditions. Doncaster Rovers recorded their
02:05third consecutive draw when they clashed with Carlisle United, and Harrogate Town claimed
02:11with a 2-1 victory over Gillingham. But let's start this week's episode by looking at the
02:17clash between Huddersfield Town and Charlton Athletic, which saw the Terriers claim all
02:21three points with a 2-1 victory over the Visitors. This is now their third win in the last five
02:28games. This was then followed up by a 2-0 victory when they travelled to Leyton Orient.
02:35What did you make of the two performances by Michael Duff's side, Leon?
02:40I think, to be fair to Michael, he hit the nail on the head. They're finding a way. I went to the
02:45game on Saturday. It was an awful day weather-wise, as it was across the country, to be honest.
02:53Storm Burt had the country in its clutches, and yeah, it always looked to be one of those
03:00days where it was really about the result and not performance. Before the game,
03:07it's quite interesting stuff from Duffy spoken about how all right is the enemy,
03:12saying that his team are muddling through a little bit. But in this period of the season,
03:19that's ultimately what you've got to do. I think in Huddersfield's case, especially given the
03:23amount of disruption that they're having, it's almost on a weekly basis, isn't it?
03:29They're in a decent semblance of form, results-wise, but there just seems to always be
03:34a caveat, isn't there, with an injury at two. We had that on Tuesday night, a solid, good away win.
03:44In late November, a long away trip going to Leyton Orient, you'd have taken a 2-0 win all
03:50day long. But another injury issue with Mikkel Miller. Had a couple on Saturday,
03:55Matty Pearson, who scored. He came off with an ankle injury, and as myself and Stuart know,
04:03he's not the sort of lad to go off unless he really has to. And Rhys Healy, who's had no
04:13luck at all, let's be honest, since he came to the club, he popped his calf. So he's having to
04:20contend with a fair bit. Michael Duff, they've obviously got a lot of other big players out,
04:26the likes of Nicholls and Joe Hodge, Sorensen, there's three or four others as well.
04:34So I think given where they were in mid-autumn and all the disruption, they're doing pretty well
04:41in the scheme of things. We'll probably talk about one or two other clubs as well in the region.
04:50There's a lot of players in that squad who are putting their hands up with contributions.
04:57David Cosumo found the net on Saturday. He's just signed a new deal, a bit of an unsung hero in
05:05there. Herbie Kane's starting to look like the player that we all knew he was when he left
05:12Barnsley and came to Huddersfield. They've clearly got issues up front, they've had it in terms of
05:22we've touched on the injuries to the likes of Healy, Josh Karomo had a bit of an injury as well
05:28not so long ago. But Fulham as well, they just don't seem to have that forward you can really
05:36hang your hat on. Duff's tried quite a few things but I think what I would say there,
05:41I think Duff's an intelligent manager. He'll want to navigate this busy period in the season and
05:48then I'm sure he'll be working behind the scenes with the club and speaking to agents because
05:54they're not far away, Huddersfield. They look to me that if they could get a player in who
05:59could hopefully maybe get them nine, ten goals from January to May, they'd have a fair chance,
06:08certainly look a play-off team at least this season. But they desperately need
06:16a bit of a, someone to rally around a bit of a focal point, a goal scorer up front here.
06:23We know they were so close to getting Alfie May and it was pretty much done by all accounts in
06:27the summer, only to get gazumped by Birmingham. They obviously like the lad at Luton in Taylor.
06:35So I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out what the thrust of January will be for
06:42Huddersfield. I think if they get at least one forward of pedigree, they've got a chance of
06:49having a successful season. The frustrating thing, as Leon says, is they have got one already but
06:56they just can't keep Healey fit. It does push them in that direction. I think if you look at
07:04Huddersfield as a whole, it's quite similar to Duff's time at Barnsley in that they have that
07:13flying start for the first few weeks. But if you look at the start of the season as a whole,
07:17it took a while for his ideas to bed in. Some managers are good, quick, fixed managers. Neil
07:25Warner being the prime example, the kind of manager you ring up in February. Someone like
07:29Michael Duff is so into the mentality of the group and the culture, it takes a bit of time to
07:38implement those ideas. But when you do, that group's got real resilience, which means you can
07:46cope more easily with these injuries that Leon's been listing. When you have days when
07:54it's just not happening for you in front of goal, you at least make sure you don't lose.
07:59They do seem to be in a good shape in that way. You can't be any other way if you want to compete
08:07at the top end of a league table because you just can't hit the heights every week. As we've said
08:13before, it's about being good enough, ironically, despite what Michael Duff says, when things don't
08:21fall into place. Tamworth was obviously an absolute shocker, but if you take that out of
08:29the equation, they just look in a good, steady way. They might not be the most spectacular,
08:35the most eye-catching team in the division, but they look like they've got what it takes
08:41to be genuine promotion contenders. As Leon says, it kind of puts it on the chairman now,
08:47can you find something down the back of the sofa to give them that extra push in January? As we
08:53always say about this division, it is going to be really competitive. If they do stand still in the
08:59transfer market, they will struggle to make the pace, but if they do make that push, even just one
09:09quality striker might tip the balance. In the meantime, they need to work on the bits that they
09:17can control and they need to look really hard to try and work out why these injuries are happening
09:23and if there's anything they can do to reduce them. Possibly it's just bad luck, but I think
09:31they need to look at every possible angle to see if there's anything they can do to get some of
09:36these players on the park more often. I think to be fair, they're having a lot of impact injuries,
09:40aren't they? The one with Pearson, he was a Charlton player who actually stood on his ankle
09:50from a corner. It sounds like the one with Miller was an impact one as well, so they're just not
09:58getting any luck. You'd just like to think that all things being equal, they will get a little
10:05bit more in the new year, but they've got some big players that have come back, haven't they?
10:08They've got Nicholls, they've got Sorensen. I think that's what makes it all the more impressive.
10:14People putting their hand up, the likes of Jacob Chapman. I was there on Saturday and
10:22not too many people noticed it, but right at the end, Charlton had a three kick. Huddersfield switched
10:27off in fairness and they played it through the channel and the lad would have been in if it
10:34wasn't for the fact that Chapman flew out and made a terrific save, showed really good anticipation
10:40and thought it was a big moment. He's growing into the shirt and I think that's the encouraging
10:48thing with Huddersfield. They have got a good squad depth, fortunately, but people are putting
10:55their hands up. We've spoken about January and I think it'll be like in a lot of divisions, won't
11:01it? If you're at the top end of the division, what sort of players you go for? You go for the
11:06striker, the one who can attack in midfield or the striker who can really make a difference and
11:11maybe turn some of those draws into wins. I dare say there'll be other clubs at the top end of
11:17League One looking for the same as well. It's big in a league season and I don't see it being
11:27any different this time around, certainly for Huddersfield.
11:33We talked, as Grant McCann did a lot last season with Doncaster and backed it up with actions,
11:38it's about what happens over the course of 46 games when you've got a transfer window plonk in
11:43the middle. If you're trying to twist the chairman's arm to get a few more credits,
11:49it's a lot easier if you're fifth in the table than if you're 14th or whatever.
11:53You know, the start that you make to the season over that first half can actually make a
11:59disproportionate difference in terms of you getting that extra push you need.
12:04This should be a good club to join, Huddersfield. Unless something catastrophic happens, they'll
12:12be in the top six picture come the new year and considering where they were, it's settled down,
12:20they're building a nice culture, they've got a good managerial team.
12:23Should be a decent club to join, shouldn't it?
12:24Yeah, I mean, it's not just the chairman you're looking to persuade, it's the players. Maybe in
12:28the summer if Huddersfield and Rotherham were going for the same players, maybe those players
12:32might have gone to Rotherham. But certainly now, looking at what Michael Doss is doing,
12:36looking at where Huddersfield are in the table, you'd be saying get me to Huddersfield.
12:41Yeah, sure.
12:43And next we turn to the entertaining and nerve-wracking clash between Swansea City and
12:48Leeds United, which saw Daniel Farker's men claim a last-minute 4-3 victory that then saw them jump
12:54to the top of the table before other results caused them to settle into fourth. Now, what were
13:00your thoughts on the game and what can Daniel Farker take from it, Stuart?
13:04Well, I mean, entertaining certainly hit the nail on the head. It was a cracker of a game, but
13:09I think there's some things to take from it and there's some things probably to ignore from it.
13:15And that's not just sort of dodging the question or what have you. But yeah, Leeds were not very
13:20good defensively. But, you know, Liam and I have seen Leeds often enough this season to know that
13:26Leeds generally are good defensively and possibly put that down to a one-off game. I think if it
13:32becomes part of a pattern, you definitely worry about it. But as I say, we're speaking before
13:38the Luton game. If they're sort of back to normal in the next couple of games, then you can almost
13:44write that off. I think what does fall more into a pattern and is more encouraging and feeds into
13:50exactly what Leon's just been saying about Huddersfield is the spirit they showed. You know,
13:55it can take you so far in a tight title race, playoff race, relegation battle, whatever it is.
14:03It did for Huddersfield under Carlos Coelbrown a couple of seasons ago. You could be here all
14:08day listening to all the examples of it working. Inevitably, when a team equalises as Swansea did
14:19in the 90th minute, you tend to think that's that or you think this team's going to go on and score
14:24another. So for Leeds to respond within a minute and win the game through Nanto, really good
14:30tick in the box for one of the qualities that you need as a team. The other thing that Leeds have,
14:36which is so impressive and we've talked about this season, is just the depth of options.
14:42Maynard Solomon scored his first couple of goals for the club, probably didn't perform amazingly,
14:50but that's obviously going to do him so much good. But at the same time, Dan James was absolutely
14:57outstanding. Willy Nanto scored the winning goal. Again, I think it was his first in nine games or
15:03something like that. So you've got three wingers for two wide positions of real high quality,
15:09which is what you need in these three-game weeks. They're not going to play every game. You've got
15:16to share the workload around and that spirit, again, to go back to what Leon says about
15:24different players putting their hands up. That's what carries along the players who
15:28aren't starting every week and stops them sulking and gets them into a mindset where
15:33when they do get the chance, they give everything they can to take it. I think Leeds are in a
15:38really healthy place at the moment. As you outlined in terms of the league position,
15:43there's lots of other teams fighting for it. They're certainly not over the hills and far away,
15:47but they're right in there because of squad depth, because of team spirit.
15:54I think it looks pretty good for them right now.
15:57I think at this time of year, those qualities that Stuart said, they really do come to the
16:04fore, don't you? That camaraderie, that strength in the dressing room. It's a period in the season
16:09when managers really find out what they've got. In years gone by, certainly at this level, it's
16:18been a memorable time for Leeds, hasn't it? This running to the end of the year, there's been some
16:25really memorable moments. I remember a few years ago, going back to the Bielsa days,
16:31that famous win at Aston Villa and then there was the home win against Blackburn with the crazy
16:39goals at the end. Psychologically, for all manner of reasons, it was potentially a big moment in
16:46Leeds this season. I think they'd gone 4-5 without in a way, before that. They'd drawn at Bristol and
16:55lost at Millwall. The manner of it was obviously memorable. It just felt like a big moment in the
17:07season as well. They'd obviously lost at Millwall, as probably thought about. I think I mentioned
17:13Paul Warren saying, it's okay if you lose a game, but don't lose another one. Leeds lost at Millwall.
17:18That can happen in this division. An awful place to go in midweek. They lost that, but they bounced
17:23back straight away with two victories. They look resolute and solid at home. They're not giving
17:30anything away. They had a little bit of a wobble at the start of the season, but that's the time
17:36to have it. As we mentioned with Huddersfield, people are putting their hands up, aren't they?
17:42Solomon, Pierrot has chipped in. Dan James is showing everybody what he's all about.
17:52When he's banged at it in full pelt, he's one of the best players in the division for sure.
17:58Lots of contributions come in. It looks like the groups are getting tighter and stronger.
18:06Yes, it just looks classic Leeds at the minute in this division. They get into a nice head of
18:11steam in the run-up to the end of the year. They've got some big games coming up. A big away
18:18game at Blackburn where there were 6,000-7,000 Leeds fans that got pressed a bit further down
18:25the road, haven't they? In December, that'll be another full away end, 5,000-6,000.
18:34That's a massive driver to those Leeds players as well when they're playing in front of that support.
18:39You just get the feeling that Leeds mentioned other people chipping in.
18:42Bamford hasn't yet because of fitness issues. Joseph hasn't really had a spell. You get a
18:47feeling that they both will. It might only be a five or a six-game run, but it could make all
18:53the difference. Certainly Bamford made a big contribution when he was fit last season.
19:00I think if you're looking as an opposition manager, you're just looking at all the
19:05options Daniel Farr has got and thinking, how can we compete with this? But as I say,
19:13it's all well and good in theory. You've got to do it in practice. The trouble with those
19:18big squads is people can get upset and frustrated and all this sort of thing.
19:25So you need that team spirit to carry you along and they do seem like they've got that.
19:30It's about how you manage it, isn't it? It's all the managers at that top end, isn't it? Whether
19:38it's Chris Wilder, Scott Parker, Sunderland as well and probably Middlesbrough as well. It's just
19:45how you're going to get injuries, bits of disruption. It's how you manage it and it's
19:50about your squad depth, isn't it? And as Stuart said, keeping everybody sort of on board as well.
19:59I go back to this phrase quite often. It's sort of a nice headache for Daniel Farker to have to
20:05a degree when he's got someone like Ampadu and Gruev who are still on their way back from injury,
20:13but he's already got a really settled squad and he's thinking,
20:18okay, in case something were to happen, I've got this lot in reserve. However, as you said,
20:25it's sort of how do you keep them all happy?
20:29Well, yeah. A, you sort of make sure they're all focused on the bigger picture and B,
20:36if you speak to Daniel Farker at the start of a three-game week about how you're going to rotate
20:40this and all this sort of thing. You used to hear about Alex Ferguson would plan three,
20:45four weeks in advance. Mark Horton would do it three or four days in advance because he knows
20:51you can make all the plans in the world and suddenly your centre-back gets injured or this
20:55happens or that happens. Life has a way of opening up opportunities as it has for Leeds this year,
21:01for Roswell and Tanaka. If you drum into those quality players that look, it's not happening
21:07for you right now, but you just don't know what's around the corner. That's what you've
21:13got to do to keep people sharp. And of course, the goal at the end of it is if you play your
21:20bit, if you don't upset the apple cart, we could be in the Premier League and you could be playing
21:24Premier League football next season. So it's not the hardest message. Oh, it doesn't sound like
21:29the hardest message to sell, but of course every footballer wants to play and there will be spells
21:33when everyone's frankly not happy with Daniel Farkas. So they just need to understand, but also
21:42they need to see that he's actually working because that message won't wash if the team's
21:47losing every week, obviously. Next, let's focus our attention on Hull City, who went up against
21:54Sheffield Wednesday. The game saw the Owls leave victorious with a 2-0 victory, which also consigned
22:00Hull City to their fourth defeat in a row. And with that, they now drop into the bottom three.
22:06What did you make of the game? And with Hull City in particular, surely this has to be
22:12sort of worrying times for those all connected with the Tigers, Stuart?
22:18Absolutely, yeah. I mean, before I talk about Hull City, we should definitely give some credit
22:23to Sheffield Wednesday. It was a really good away performance. You felt that they were
22:30always in control of the game, whether they had the ball or they didn't have the ball. I mean,
22:34that said, Hull had two really good chances where James Beedle needed to make good saves.
22:40You know, you always wonder about the ifs, buts and maybes. But again, that's why you have
22:46a quality goalkeeper when you talk about people needing to make a contribution after not doing
22:52anything for a while. It's the same for particularly the case for goalkeepers when
22:56your team's on top of a game. Beedle was good. Sheffield Wednesday were good. Danny Rowe had
23:01one big criticism of his team, which is the big criticism of Sheffield Wednesday I think are very
23:06valid. And that's that two goals was a poor return for all the dominance they have. But
23:13a lot of the rest of what they're doing is good. I mean, they clearly need to be better at set
23:18pieces. They clearly need to be more consistent. But the biggest thing for them, again, we talk
23:23about January and strikers, one way or another, they do need to get more clinical in front of
23:29goal. But generally, it was a really impressive game from Sheffield Wednesday. For Hull City,
23:36you just despair, frankly. Often on this podcast, when managers get sacked, I'll be
23:44saying, oh, you know, he needed more time. They should have showed a bit more patience.
23:49This one feels like it's gone on too far already, even though Tim Veltzer's only 18 games in.
23:55The fans are just not having it. And frankly, I can see why, you know, talked about Michael
24:03Dauphin about the need for patience to embed your style of play and all this sort of thing. But
24:08I just don't see anything in this style of play that's going to get them to where they want to
24:13be. They pass the ball so ineffectually, so often, you know, they don't have that.
24:20They also don't have that cutting edge in terms of the strikers who can
24:24just take a chance out of nowhere. And that's obviously what you need when your football's
24:29not there. I think they've only got one clean sheet all season. So it's not like it's working
24:34at the other end. You know, he was brought in to provide entertainment. Well, you know,
24:38they passed the ball a lot, but not in an entertaining way. It was pretty dreary and
24:44pretty flat for about an hour, 70 minutes at the stadium. And the only thing that changed the
24:50atmosphere was it really getting toxic in terms of people going for the coach. And, you know, he
24:58chucked some more fuel on the fire, as he has a few times this season, by pointedly ignoring the
25:05fans and heading straight down the tunnel after his handshakes at the end. It just all started to
25:13look really untenable. And, you know, you feel for Tim Valter because, you know, his family were
25:18there and they wouldn't have enjoyed hearing him getting all that abuse. You know, he's an
25:23experienced coach. He's a big boy. He can probably deal with it, but it's not like nice for his wife
25:31and kids. But you just feel like it's better for everyone if they draw a line under this and move
25:37on. But people seem so entrenched at the moment. You know, as you know, Agile did a radio interview
25:43just before kickoff where he basically said, regardless, well, he did say regardless of the
25:46result, Valter will still be in place. And, you know, he's all about giving the fans what they
25:53want. Well, it's very clear on this issue what the fans want. And, you know, when you're trying to
25:59play this energetic style of football that Valter talks about, we don't really see. You need a
26:06stadium on your side. You can't have that apathy and you can't have that anger that it developed
26:12into and progress. And, you know, it's sad to say because they were a club really moving in the
26:18right direction last season. And, you know, it's been difficult for Valter with all the players
26:23that they lost and, you know, how late they got players in. But as I say, I just with the best
26:30will in the world, I just can't see where how they're going to get out of it using these methods.
26:36And I can't see him changing those methods. They just look like they're taking a hell of a lot of
26:41a lot of punishment, really. And, you know, it just seems to me once they've got one behind,
26:45there's a you wonder about the sort of psychological state of the players. But,
26:49you know, the fans around them as well, you know, there's a deep sense of despair. You know,
26:57was it nine games without a win? They've had six losses. You know, the stat about Sheffield
27:02Wednesday winning more games than them at home ground is frightening, really, isn't it? And,
27:10you know, if you sort of look at it and if you take away about, was it about 10 days?
27:16Was it the end of September and the start of October and they won three games? They've had
27:22no wins, haven't they? So, you know, it was sort of almost four months into the season and, you
27:29know, even, you know, accounting for letting the manager, you know, bed in, get his style across
27:38to the players and, you know, players did arrive, you know, quite a few arrived late as well that,
27:44you know, there's just been not enough there really, hasn't he? And ultimately the
27:50fans just aren't having him home for him. It's been really lousy and it's difficult to
27:59find a case to see how he survives rather than just, I know the Championship is unpredictable,
28:05but, you know, pulling out a rabbit, a couple of rabbits out of the hat extremely quickly,
28:11it just looks like this is only going to go one way, doesn't it?
28:14And when you look at the fixture list, I mean, the next games at Middlesbrough,
28:17the best team in the Championship at the moment, I think it's probably fair to say over the last
28:21couple of weeks, they then got Blackburn and Watford at home, you know, two playoff contenders.
28:28Coventry away, well, you know, who knows what state Coventry will be in with their managerial
28:33situation. Swansea, we've just seen score three against Leeds. Preston Blackburn,
28:37Middlesbrough, Leeds. It doesn't get any easier for them and it just feels like every game they
28:43kick the can down the road is a game wasted and probably another three points that the new manager
28:48ultimately will have to make up. You never like to be arguing for people to lose their job, but
28:59it feels like it would be the best thing for Tim Veltzer. I can't see how he's possibly
29:03enjoying himself right now. It was just a miserable place to be on Tuesday night,
29:11from a Hull City perspective. Great for Sheffield Wednesday, good night for them,
29:15don't want to take anything away from them, but they really did take advantage of a club
29:20who just look in a mess right now. We mentioned it a few times, Stuart,
29:24as well. It's the time of the season when the tables do crystallise, this sort of
29:30end-of-the-year period. The other way as well, if you have a bad time of it, if Hull leave it
29:36too long and get to the start of January, then they are right in the thick of it, aren't they?
29:39Then you start to hear him saying we've got 30 games left, but you get to early mid-January,
29:46then it starts to tick down, doesn't it? This is the time of year where there's so many games,
29:54a couple of weeks, massively eats into that, isn't it? Before you know it, you're down to…
30:02Sheffield Wednesday fair play to them. I think looking at them, you've probably seen a bit
30:09more of them than I have, Stuart. I think they seem to be getting it together away from home,
30:14aren't they? They're not going out there and taking the better teams on blow for blow,
30:21but there's a certain intelligence to the set-up. They're adapting well to opponents.
30:29Even though it was a disappointing day in the Derby, they were only just edged out,
30:32really, weren't they? Sheffield United have blown away a lot of teams at home.
30:37They're looking okay away from home. They got a point at Bristol City, they had a good win
30:43at the end at Coventry and obviously did the job at Hull. For me, it's a little bit more
30:50at home, really, where I worry about Sheffield Wednesday, but maybe they've just got to do
30:55a little bit more. Certainly a good result for them and they're looking okay on the road at the
31:03minute. Intelligence is the word, Leon. When Danny Robb first came in, given that it was his first
31:09job, we didn't know what we were expecting. You weren't quite sure if he was going to be one of
31:14these stubborn, oh, I only play one-way managers, which is what Tim Peltzer has shown himself to be.
31:21But he has shown a pragmatism and a realism. He's got an interesting dilemma at the moment,
31:30because he's got Ike Ugo, who is the centre-forward, who really plays his plan A football.
31:37And then he's got Michael Smith, his plan B striker, who's the one scoring the goals and
31:41in confidence. So I asked him about it on Tuesday night, if it would sort of force his hand a little
31:47bit. He dodged the question a bit, but it does almost push them in the direction of slightly
31:54more direct football. But football management is all about making best use of what you've got and
32:00not getting too wrapped up in philosophies and principles and all this rubbish that they talk
32:05about. It's all well and good, but ultimately you've got to find a way and Sheffield Wednesday,
32:09if Leon says away from home, at least they're doing that. The next challenge is to do it at
32:13Hillsborough. Yeah, I mean, it's just classic. You've got two managers there. One's got to grips
32:19with the division and showed it due respect. And I'm afraid with Walter, it's just not happening.
32:28The division, quite frankly, is starting to eat him up, isn't it? Yeah.
32:32And now we turn to the clash between Sheffield United and Oxford United. The Blades claimed a
32:38dominant 3-0 victory, which helped them claim the top spot in the division with five wins from the
32:44last six games. The confidence levels of Chris Wilder's side must be sky high at the moment.
32:50Wouldn't you say, Leon? Yeah, I think it's all the more impressive given that
32:54they'd obviously lost the back-to-back games at Leeds and Middlesbrough. You know,
33:01they're two of the better sides in the division, so to speak. And, you know, they were well beaten
33:07really and there were a few questions asked. And, yeah, they're showing that they've got a
33:13strong jaw. They obviously had the bad news about Oli Arblaster and, you know, he's going to be out
33:18for the season. But, you know, Wilder, if Payne's to point out, he's not going to derail the season.
33:24It's a chance for others. The young pecs got the nod in the last few games. You know, obviously,
33:31it's a chance for Tom Davies to come back in. I think he's done a remarkable job in a short
33:38space of time there at Sheffield United. We've spoken about how they needed to get those
33:45defensive foundations and structures in place as a first port of call. He's done that. I mean,
33:50the home record's remarkable, isn't it? You know, seven wins on the trot without conceding.
33:57They haven't conceded a goal since, what was it, August the 17th. So, if they manage to go
34:02without conceding a goal at home to Sunderland on Friday night, Stuart's hoping to give them some
34:11luck in that regard. That's an entire season of a year, if you like, autumn, where they haven't
34:17conceded a goal at home, in theory, which is... God, it's crazy that, isn't it, really? And,
34:23you know, Drabble Lane's got its mojo back. It's a hard, tough place to go and get anything.
34:31Yeah, they were comfortable against Oxford. I don't think, I know, the Championship does
34:38surprise you, doesn't it, from time to time. But not many people had that one down as an away win.
34:46And, yeah, it was pretty comfortable. Good for Wilder in the respect they could bring off some
34:53of his key men with, obviously, a big game coming up against Sunderland. You know, the game was over,
34:58really, at half-time. And, yeah, I mean, it was probably a bit of a theme for this podcast,
35:05speaking about, you know, squads and players putting their hands up. And, you know, you look
35:11at Tyrese Campbell, you know, again, shows Wilder's eye for a player. He's liked him for a few years
35:17and, you know, he's probably lost his way a little bit. But there's always been a good player in
35:22there, certainly at Championship level. He's fit and flying. He's got, was it, five in six.
35:28It was good to see Calum O'Hare get off the mark, you know, in the Championship for
35:35Sheffield United after coming in the summer. Yeah, dominant performers. I like Michael Cooper
35:42in goal. I don't think there's many better keepers for me at this level. You know, I like the fact
35:47he was, you know, we've won the game, but I'm keeping my clean sheet, come hell or high water.
35:53He made a couple of really good saves in the second half, tipping away a couple of long-range
35:57shots. So, that really matters to him and, obviously, matters to Wilder and the defence as
36:02well. They haven't conceded in, I think it's about, might be over 11 hours or something now.
36:08So, yeah, it's looking good. I like young Seriki. I thought he had a great game in attack and
36:15defence. So, he came into the side and, you know, that's one thing that Wilder can do. He can sort
36:22of rotate his sort of full-backs a little bit, can't he? And, you know, it's a position in the
36:26pitch where, you know, it does take a lot out of you. So, he did that against Oxford. So, yeah,
36:33I think all things considered, we're having a terrific season. You know, anyone who will cast
36:40any aspersions about Chris Wilder, he's shown, you know, he's shown so far this season that he's a,
36:45certainly, especially at Championship level, he's a damn good manager and there's not too many
36:49better than him around and we'll probably talk about it in future weeks. The big,
36:55there's obviously the takeover situation now, you know, Wilder wanting clarity in regard to
37:01January and January could be so big for Sheffield United because they look to me like they can go
37:07seriously long this season but there's a bit of a but. They're going to need, I think, to get
37:13two or three serious players in January just to sort of augment what they've got, perhaps another
37:18forward and I think if they do that, you know, Wilder can get in, you know, the two or three
37:25who he wants that, you know, could be a couple of loans, who knows. They really do look the real
37:30deal along with Leeds. Yeah, I think they need it psychologically as much as physically, don't
37:35they, just to show that push we're going for it because as I've referred to with Leeds, it's going
37:40to be tight and, you know, you would think that Sunderland, for example, would dip into that,
37:46dip into the market, Burnley as well. Yeah. But just to pick up on one of the players Leon
37:52mentioned, Leon will have probably seen a little bit last season as I did of Femi Sariki at Rotherham
37:59where he was alone last season. He really struggled in a really struggling team,
38:06you know, and if you'd said to me then, you know, he's going to be holding his own in a
38:10championship squad, I'd never believe you but, you know, it shows how you can judge players
38:15too early. It shows a lot for his strength of character that he's learnt the right lessons
38:21for that and come back strongly, you know, and a lot for Chris Wilder and Alan Hill and everyone
38:26else's man management that they've got the best out of him and I think, you know, as Leon says,
38:31Cooper's probably the best goalkeeper in the championship, you know, certainly one of the
38:36best signings of the last transfer window. Harry Soot is a, you know, a rival to that but we kind
38:44of knew they were good players. I think the way someone like Sariki has really dug deep and got
38:49the best out of himself is a tremendous story, you know, and the fact that Sidi Pek has just come in
38:55seamlessly, you know, seems to have jumped above Shackleton and Brookes in the pecking order and
39:00just made like what was a really big psychological blow to Sheffield United in
39:07losing Oli Arblaster. So, they're just another club like Leeds where they just seem to have
39:13got this right mentality and it's amazing how things just follow on from that and, you know,
39:19even your bad luck sort of turns into good luck in terms of, you know, losing Arblaster and
39:25Pek really stepping forward. They're looking a really good place but
39:30there's too many clubs looking in a good place for those two promotion
39:35spots for you to take anything for granted. As Leon says, January's going to be big for them.
39:39Yeah, looks a good chemistry there, doesn't it, at Sheffield United? You know, that balance between,
39:44you know, the senior pros, you know, the Suitors, the Kiefer Moors, the Gulsamers, but you've got
39:50these, you know, really talented young players come through. There's Siriquiz and Pek and
39:57Arblaster and, yeah, he looked good, did Siriquiz. He looks a big, powerful athlete, doesn't he?
40:02Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it's my mind playing tricks but he looks a lot bigger and stronger than
40:06he did last season. He does, yeah, and it just seems to me that Chris Wilder and Alan Nill have
40:13got hold of him and they certainly like him, what they're seeing and they're getting
40:20the potential out of him and, yeah, he just adds to the recipe there that,
40:28you know, he looks good at Sheffield United at the minute but, obviously, as I've said,
40:32I think, and I think Wilder knows it as well, January's going to be so big on several levels,
40:38and it really would be a waste if they didn't give him what he wants.
40:45Yeah, and finally for this week, I will turn to Leon for his Team of the Week before looking
40:50to Stuart for his Player of the Week. So, Leon, who has done enough to earn your Team
40:55of the Week nomination? Yeah, I mean, there's a few really, isn't there? I mean, we mentioned,
41:00you know, Sheffield United, great reaction from those couple of away defeats and
41:08you know, I even think it was a decent point for them on Saturday, all things considered,
41:14you know, things went against them with the Armadon shit sending off and he was right,
41:20what he said, I thought Chris Wilder as well. It's funny how Coventry really did sort of turn
41:25it on, didn't they? Were you thinking, where's that been for most of this season? You know,
41:28they showed it against Middlesbrough a few weeks ago and they showed it on Saturday but,
41:33you know, fair play to him there sticking up for Mark Robbins. You know, it was a good thing to say
41:41from a fellow manager but that was a decent point, I thought, and they've obviously backed that up.
41:48You know, Leeds, what a terrific win that was. You know, obviously they lost their away game
41:53before that at Millwall, a real helter-skelter game and terrific for them, you know, getting
42:00the blow of 3-3 and then just having the wherewithal to go the other end of the pitch and
42:05win the game but I think I'm probably going to say Huddersfield Town, you know, I think along
42:12with Wickham they're the form side in League One, I think they've lost, they've sort of unbeaten in
42:21seven now, aren't they, in the league and I think they've lost, is it, one in ten in all competitions
42:25and, you know, given where they were in mid-September and, as we've spoken about, given
42:31all the manner of disruption they've had with, you know, injuries seem to be arriving on a weekly
42:37basis and still are, you know, to pull themselves through in the second half of the autumn, they've
42:45won six on the trot in all competitions at home, a tick in the box going to Orient in midweek and
42:54getting an away win, haven't they, they've won away since, I think it was a couple, probably just
42:59over a couple of months so, yeah, all things considered, I think he's doing a pretty good
43:05job, Michael Duff, there and, yeah, there you get the nod this week. And Stuart? Yeah, again, you
43:12know, it's one of those pleasant weeks where there's actually plenty of candidates to choose
43:17from, you know, Middlesbrough are obviously in a real purple patch at the moment and, you know,
43:22you can't fail to look at their forward line when you're trying to choose a player of the week,
43:28you know, Finnezaz is on great form at the moment, Ben Doak is sort of the flavour of the month and
43:34with good reason, you know, he's a really good loan signing, the type that can make a real
43:41difference if you're a Championship Cup, particularly one without parachute money,
43:44and obviously Emmanuel Atilas scoring a hat-trick, he's in his groove now and suddenly,
43:50you know, with these players clicking, it looks like things are coming together for Middlesbrough
43:54and the longer they can sort of prolong this spell of form, the more we'll look at them as
44:00serious promotion contenders. So, yeah, they all sort of came into my thoughts when we're
44:10looking at who to pick, you know, I think Leon's mentioned Huddersfield and he mentioned earlier
44:16in the podcast about Herbie Kane's form, you know, that's really important for Huddersfield
44:25right now, again, we've seen in other Yorkshire clubs what a quality player he is and it's just
44:32a case of bedding him in and getting the right players around him and it looks like that's
44:38that's coming to fruition. Yeah, you know, Barnsley are doing well at the moment, so,
44:44you know, you look at people like Ben Killip who's coming to the side having not started the
44:50season as first-choice goalkeeper and really nailing that down, but I think both of us are
44:57always influenced by the games we've been at and for me, I was at Swansea at the weekend and,
45:04oh sorry, I should mention as well, I did mention earlier James Beedle's performance
45:09for Sheffield Wednesday, you know, considering they were so dominant, you don't normally pick
45:13out a goalkeeper as one of the star players, but he was excellent. But yeah, I say I'm swayed by
45:18having been at Swansea where Leeds were so good, I mean, you know, Solomon sort of, Solomon and
45:25Nonto as the match winners sort of grabbed headlines with the goals, but Dan James was just
45:31outstanding, you know, set up three of the goals, he's just, you know, there's a few of them
45:37scattered around the top end of the championship, premier league quality players who've just found
45:41themselves in the wrong division normally because their club's been relegated and Dan James is one
45:46of them, you know, and he's always had frightening pace, but it just seems to me that the last couple
45:52of seasons he's just got a bit more composure when he gets into the positions that pace puts him in
45:59now and he's such a quality performer, you know, if Leeds can keep him fit for the rest of the
46:06season, I think he's going to be a real difference maker for them. So yeah, he's my player of the week.
46:13yorkshirepost.co.uk
46:26Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobbshall who will doubtless join us again soon for more
46:30discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. Don't forget you can keep up to date with all
46:34the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at yp.sport at
46:38nationalworld.com or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football or even
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46:47you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages or email us directly with the
46:52subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com. As ever,
46:57many thanks for listening, look after yourselves, and bye for now.