On this week’s show, host Mark Singleton and YP chief football writer Stuart Rayner are joined by guest pundit and YP football reporter, Tom Coates.
The trio kick off by discussing the latest situation regarding Sheffield Wednesday and their manager Danny Rohl being linked with the job at Premier League Southampton, who sacked Russell Martin at the weekend after a terrible start to life back in the top-flight.
The panel also cast an eye over the start of Ruben Selles’ tenure at Hull City, while also considering Leds United’s promotion credentials after their draw with Preston North End.
Sheffield United maintained their good form ahead of the final weekend before Christmas but are there areas of concern Chris Wilder needs to address.
And how realistic are Bradford City’s chances of promotion from League Two as they hover just below the play-off positions.
The trio kick off by discussing the latest situation regarding Sheffield Wednesday and their manager Danny Rohl being linked with the job at Premier League Southampton, who sacked Russell Martin at the weekend after a terrible start to life back in the top-flight.
The panel also cast an eye over the start of Ruben Selles’ tenure at Hull City, while also considering Leds United’s promotion credentials after their draw with Preston North End.
Sheffield United maintained their good form ahead of the final weekend before Christmas but are there areas of concern Chris Wilder needs to address.
And how realistic are Bradford City’s chances of promotion from League Two as they hover just below the play-off positions.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:21we'll be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:24of our football writing team. On this week's episode we're joined by Chief Football Writer
00:28for the Yorkshire Post Stuart Rayner and Sports Trends Writer for the Yorkshire Post
00:32Tom Coates to discuss all the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't forget you
00:38can keep up to date with all the latest football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging
00:41onto our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com as well as checking out our various Twitter
00:47feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire
00:52Post Football or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook you can find us there as well. If you have
00:56any questions for our writers you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook
01:00pages or email us directly with a subject matter at footballtalkpodcast at yp.sport
01:05at nationalworld.com.
01:10As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for
01:13the Yorkshire Post Stuart Rayner and Sports Trends Writer for the Yorkshire Post Tom Coates.
01:17Good morning guys.
01:18Morning.
01:19Morning.
01:20This week we saw Middlesbrough overcome Millwall with a 1-0 victory and Sheffield Wednesday
01:24claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Oxford United. In League 1 Huddersfield Town had
01:30to settle for a point in their 2-1 draw when they hosted Lincoln City. Barnsley came away
01:35with all three points in their trip to Exeter City and Rotherham United stormed to victory
01:41with a 3-0 victory over Northampton Town. And in League 2 Doncaster Rovers suffered
01:46a slip in their promotion push when they fell to a 1-0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon. Bradford
01:52City recorded their first win in seven league games with a 1-0 victory when they welcomed
01:57Swindon Town to Valley Parade. And Harrogate Town fell to their third consecutive defeat
02:02when they lost 2-1 to Tranmere Rovers.
02:05However, this week I wanted to start with a chat about Sheffield Wednesday who, as I
02:11mentioned earlier, were able to claim a 3-1 victory over Oxford United. However, there
02:16has been a lot of talk surrounding Danny Roll in particular and the fact that he has become
02:21a potential candidate to replace Russell Martin at Southampton. Now, has there been
02:26any development on that recently and how much of an important asset has Danny Roll become
02:31to the Owls, Tom?
02:34In terms of development, it's all pretty much just reports swirling around at the moment,
02:39which is always going to be the case. It's the nature of the beast when you have a manager
02:42like Danny Roll. It's a double-edged sword because yes, you get to benefit from how terrific
02:47of a manager he is. The impact he's had there over the last year and a bit has been absolutely
02:53unbelievable. If you remember, the position Wednesday were in before he came in had an
02:57absolutely dismal start under Cisco Munoz. Even though they didn't end up securing their
03:04championship safety until very late on in the season, you could see even in the transformation
03:09of individuals, the transformation of the playing style, even when results weren't there,
03:14it was phenomenal what he was doing. He was a very highly rated manager before he went
03:18into that job. He's someone who the Sheffield Wednesday Club, where there's been a lot of
03:22unrest over the last few years and he speaks volumes that over the last year or so, Danny
03:27Roll is almost quiet and some of the protests and some of the dissatisfaction, which a lot
03:34of people and a lot of Sheffield Wednesday fans probably didn't think would happen and
03:37didn't think anyone had the power to do that. In terms of the Southampton link, it's very
03:42difficult to say much on it at this stage because we don't know. The only person you
03:47can really ask is Danny Roll and ask where he's head at. He's a professional guy. If
03:53talks are happening with Southampton, as reports are suggesting from the likes of Sky, you'd
04:01imagine if I'm Danny Roll, it's a free hit at the Premier League. Sheffield Wednesday
04:05fans wouldn't thank me for saying this, but it's a free hit at the Premier League. No
04:08one's going to really criticise him if they went down under his leadership. It's about
04:14next season, really, because I think at this point, it's almost a foregone conclusion that
04:17Southampton are going to drop out of the Premier League. I don't see them fighting back. You
04:22look at it and you say, well, which championship club's going to be in a stronger position
04:25next season, budget-wise, playing squad-wise, Southampton or Wednesday? I think for Roll
04:32to say if there is indeed interest from Southampton, I think there needs to be a real show of ambition
04:39if there's going to be an attempt to keep Roll. Again, if there is indeed a strong interest from
04:45Southampton, Roll will need to be persuaded to stay because, understandably, it's an attractive
04:51offer and I can imagine he would probably fancy it. Events are moving fast. Maybe by the time
04:58this podcast has come out, we'll know one way or the other, but there is Southampton interest.
05:03Tom says maybe Danny Roll's the only person who can answer it. Maybe Sheffield Wednesday
05:07because it might well boil down to competition, how much Sheffield Wednesday demand and how much
05:14Southampton are prepared to pay for him. You can see why he'd be in demand. He's got all the
05:20qualities that Russell Martin lacked. They're both managers with principles. They're both
05:26managers who like to play the game a certain way. What Danny Roll showed at Sheffield Wednesday
05:31is he's intelligent enough to change when things aren't working and that's where Southampton have
05:35gone badly wrong this season, just trying to plough ahead. As we've talked about with
05:40Hull City under Tim Valter, with a style of play that they just didn't have the players for and
05:45just wasn't working. That's why Roll's got this reputation as well as the other clubs he's worked
05:52for. Regardless of who he's manager of, regardless of whether he's still Sheffield Wednesday manager
05:58when people are listening to this podcast, if he is, this is going to come up again.
06:03And again, because he's clearly a high quality manager and Sheffield Wednesday are clearly going
06:09to lose him at some point. The challenge for them is to keep pace with how fast he's developing and
06:16as Tom says, show him that ambition. What certainly will not help Sheffield Wednesday
06:22is for a few weeks now, Roll's been preparing the ground for January by making it clear he
06:28wants funds and making it clear he hasn't had those assurances. Now that could come back to
06:33bite them if he gets an offer put on the table from Southampton. So if Sheffield Wednesday dodge
06:42the bullet, it's absolutely essential that they really get behind him in the January transfer
06:47market. We know Sheffield Wednesday's recent history, they can't throw money that isn't there
06:52at him, that's got them in trouble in the past, but they've got to find everything that is to keep
06:57up with his ambition, to provide him with the quality of players on loan who can take them
07:02to the next level. If he does end up at Southampton, then they've got to really
07:09find a manager who can pick up that momentum. It's going to be a real stretch to find a manager
07:15as good as Danny Roll, but they need to make an appointment at least that is ambitious
07:20and that shows the fans they still mean business. Hopefully from their perspective,
07:27they can do that with Danny Roll at the helm, but it really is all about ambition for them in the
07:32next few weeks regardless of who's manager. I'm looking at both of the clubs that Danny Roll has
07:39now got to make a choice between. You've got Southampton, which, correct me if I'm wrong,
07:44I believe he was assistant manager to Ralph Harsenhutl at the time, but then you look at
07:50Sheffield Wednesday who are still within touching distance of a playoff spot, but like you said,
07:57then it boils down to who's going to make the more attractive offer. Will he be able to get
08:03those funds that he so badly asked for from Sheffield Wednesday, or is the attractive
08:15image of playing in the Premier League enough to get it over the line for him to go over to
08:19Southampton? It's more than just playing in the Premier League, because the way the league sets
08:25up, as Tom says, relegation looks highly likely. Roll's pulled off one miracle, but this would be
08:31difficult. But if Southampton go down next season, they're going to have parachute money,
08:38and that's going to put them ahead of Sheffield Wednesday if they're in the same division. The
08:42fact of the matter is this Sheffield Wednesday squad won't make the playoffs, but it's in a
08:46position where if they get the reinforcements they need, it becomes a possibility. So that's
08:52a decision. We saw in the summer, he was playing hard to get at the end of last season, I remember
08:57at the post-match press conference at Sunderland, but he absolutely would not commit his future to
09:02Sheffield Wednesday. And he was talking about he needs assurances and he needs this and he needs
09:08that. And really, the way the infrastructure is at Sheffield Wednesday, and the way it's been
09:14run for the last few years, if you looked at it in a really cold way, there was an argument for
09:20walking away then. But he clearly does have an attachment to the fan base of Sheffield Wednesday,
09:25which tipped the balance in Wednesday's favour in the summer. But there is going to become a point
09:32where the offer just becomes too attractive and the dial goes the other way and say,
09:37we hope it's not now. We hope it's a long way off, but it is going to come at some point.
09:41So Wednesday have got to do all they can to make themselves as well-run, as ambitious as they can
09:47be, because things like the training facilities, their investment in the squad has just not
09:52been good enough the last few years for a manager of his profile.
09:58And now let's turn our attention to the clash between Hull City and Watford, which saw the Tigers
10:04have to settle for a point in an agonising and late 1-1 draw in Ruben Sellers' first game as new
10:09manager. This was then followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Coventry City. Now, at the time of
10:15this podcast, the gap between Hull City and safety is only two points. However, if something
10:20doesn't change soon, it could very easily grow. What did you make of the two performances and
10:27what does need to change in your eyes, Stuart? Well, I was at the first game, Sellers' first
10:35game, and that was encouraging in the sense that they only got a draw, they were worthy of a win,
10:44but they were quite poor in the first half and sort of incrementally got better. That was a very
10:52good sign when, you know, you've only had a manager come in for two training sessions. So,
10:58there were signs for encouragement. I mean, for them, it's really, you know, talked about January
11:02with regards to Sheffield Wednesday. For them, it's really hanging in there until January,
11:07getting as many points as they can so that the task isn't so big. But I mean, they are a club
11:13who are ambitious. They will make transfers in January. They're handcuffed by
11:18financial fair play, so they can't go absolutely nuts. But I mean, frankly, they do need some
11:25better quality players. They need a bit of TLC given to the back half of the team. They need a
11:31bit more cutting edge on the front half. But this brainless suicidal football we saw in the Tim
11:39Valter was really dialled down. They still had the moments where they, you know, gave the ball
11:44away in a Southampton-esque moment and that sort of thing. But they were playing the ball around
11:51the back a bit further up the field. They were pressing aggressively. They looked like they
11:55could move in the right direction. But, you know, the poor goal they conceded for Watford's
12:04equaliser that night, the way they chucked things away against Coventry, they were reminders that,
12:11you know, there's still a long way to go. And, you know, bearing in mind they've lost two of
12:16their wingers to cruciate ligament injuries for the season, so they've not had much good luck
12:22recently. But the squad is short on quality and that's something they definitely need to address
12:29by shuffling the pack a bit rather than just bringing in numbers. Yeah, I think it's a case
12:33of speed really and how quickly Ruben Seles can get his ideas across. Because like Stu mentioned,
12:38there were sort of signs in that first game and it's, you know, that's promising but it's now got
12:43to be a case of week on week. You've got to see his, you know, his blueprint start to be visible
12:48within the team. You've got to see his philosophy translating across. And one thing I think is
12:53positive from a whole point of view is the timing and when they've chosen to make this managerial
12:57change. One of my bugbears and one thing I will never really get my head around is when clubs
13:02wait until the end of the January window and then make a change. It baffles me and I get that
13:08some are reluctant to often pay out managers from their contracts or, you know, they're
13:13just reluctant to make a change of that significance. But it does always confuse me when you give a
13:17manager sort of, and I know we live in a world where a lot of clubs have directed to football
13:23looking after the transfers nowadays, but certainly at clubs where managers still have a say,
13:27it baffles me that they give them the January window, let them sort of mould the squad in their
13:32image and then give them the boot. And then, because what happens is you then appoint a
13:36manager who's looking after someone else's players, someone else's squad. Obviously the
13:40January window is only a month. It's not obviously as long as the summer one. So it's not going to be
13:44completely his squad, but it allows Hull by the end of January to look like a bit more of a Ruben
13:51Sellers team, which is only going to go in their favour. But again, it just, it's a case of whether
13:57they get the right personnel and it is going to be a tricky window. As we mentioned, Hull have a,
14:00certainly it's not going to be a repeat of last January, I don't think, which I would describe
14:04as a pretty gung-ho January window for Hull with the high profile signings that they brought in.
14:09And I don't think it'll be, it'll be a different type of roll of the dice this time. But I do
14:13think it's positive that the hierarchy of being ruthless in making the change now, rather than
14:19wait until it's too late and relegation is, you know, looking imminent. The only thing I would
14:24say about the timing is we've obviously just talked about Donny Roll and the miraculous job
14:29he did rescuing Sheffield Wednesday last time. They brought him in very early and I think it
14:34was the October transfer window and he had a fortnight to work with the team. Sellers had
14:42two games before his first game and then another game three days later. So he's clearly a coach
14:49who needs a bit of training ground time with the team. You know, the fact that there's no
14:55midweek games this week, just the League Cup, which, you know, Yorkshire very commendably
14:58boycotting the quarterfinals on. And yeah, it gives us a bit of time to at least work with
15:05him and get his ideas across. And that's going to be crucial because, you know, once we get through
15:10this week, we all know how crazy the Christmas period is and how little time there is to get
15:15his ideas across. So they might, I think they might look back on it and wish they'd maybe done
15:21very quickly in the November transfer window. Sorry, keep calling it the transfer window,
15:25the November international break. But at least they've acted quickly. And at least, as Tom said,
15:31they've not gone into a transfer window with a different manager signing players for him. So,
15:37yeah. And as you've said, only two points to make up. It's a lot
15:41better situation than Sheffield Wednesday are worrying, I should say.
15:46Yeah. And now we turn to Leeds United, who shared the points in their one-all draw with
15:51Preston North End, thanks to a late Jack Whatmore own goal, which helped the Whites keep pace at the
15:57top of the division. Now, with a visit from Oxford United on the horizon for Daniel Farker's side,
16:03how do you think the team will go into that game, Tom?
16:07With confidence, I'd assume, because it's a home first and foremost. Obviously,
16:11things have gone pretty swimmingly for Leeds most of this season. The sort of only blips have
16:15been when they've been on the road. It remains a real sticking point, but going into Oxford at home,
16:24it seems fairly simplistic in terms of you've got a team that have just sacked their manager,
16:30Dez Buckingham no longer in charge at Oxford, a popular manager at that.
16:33The reaction from Oxford fans wasn't one of glee and relief. A lot of them were just confused and
16:39baffled as to why it had been made. And you'd think, you know, regardless of Leeds' blips on
16:44the road, high-flying team, second in the league table against an Oxford side, down near the bottom,
16:50just lost their manager, who did an absolutely fantastic job. You look at that and think it
16:55has potential to be a bit of a landslide. But again, you've always got to exercise caution
17:01when you're coming up against a side that have just made a managerial change, because you never
17:05really know what reaction it's going to provoke from the players. It can go so many different
17:10ways. You can either galvanise them, you never know what's going on behind the scenes. You could
17:14have a really spirited Oxford side, the most determined side you've seen in a long time.
17:19Or equally, you could have a really disheartened and disillusioned Oxford squad. You don't really
17:24know what you're coming up against. There's all the talk about new manager balance. Obviously,
17:28they haven't actually got a new manager in place yet. I know Gary Rowlett's been linked and I guess
17:32a lot will hinge on whether there is a new manager in place before the weekend. But yeah,
17:38from a Leeds point of view, you look at the embarrassment and riches they've got in the
17:41final third, particularly how wide, and you look at an Oxford side who are one of the
17:46leakiest defences in the division. Again, on paper, speaking from a purely simplistic view,
17:52it looks very straightforward. I think it'll be interesting for me, from a Leeds perspective,
17:59to see who starts up front. It does seem like one of the big debates around the club at the moment.
18:06I always say, obviously Bamford and Gelhardt are pretty much out of the picture at this point.
18:11Bamford comes on a sub, Gelhardt barely even next to the bench. You've got Joseph and Peru,
18:16who I've always said, if you combine their abilities, they're a £50m player. But Joseph
18:22works out of possession and is pressing in his awareness with Peru's killer instinct.
18:28Absolutely perfect £50m centre forward. It'll be interesting to see who gets the nod.
18:35I think there's massive elements of the Leeds team that's picking itself at the moment.
18:40Even with Ampadu back fit, I wouldn't envisage a change with Rothwell and Tanaka in the middle
18:44of midfield. Brendan Aronson, again, someone who divides opinion amongst the fanbase, but
18:50Fark seems to really like what he does out of possession. Dan James has made that wing a slot
18:55his own. Then you've got Nonto, Sotlum and Ramazzani on the other side. But again, even the
19:01names I'm reeling off, the debates that you have, and these are the debates that Oxford would love
19:05to have. Again, no disrespect to Watford, I think playing a team like that at home is an ideal way
19:12to get your confidence back and get your football flowing again after a tricky away trip, which
19:17obviously Leeds have just had. Yeah, I think it feels a lot like Sheffield United, who we're
19:22going to talk about in a minute, last week when they were playing Plymouth. Plymouth, absolutely
19:28awful away from home this season. And there was a bit of talk from Chris Wilder in the pre-match
19:34press conference about complacency. We can't have any complacency amongst the players, amongst the
19:38fans. That's the biggest danger for Leeds at the moment, because at home in this game, because as
19:44Tom says on paper, it looks an absolute walkover. Sheffield United could have lost that game
19:51against Plymouth, despite everything we've said. It just shows if you're not on it, even if you've
19:57got the qualities that Leeds United have got, even if you're in the mess that Oxford are in,
20:04things can still happen. Because as Tom says, anything's possible when a manager changes in
20:09terms of the reaction you get from the team. If Oxford react and Leeds play at their best,
20:15Leeds will still win. But if Leeds don't play at their best, they've just got to be careful.
20:20We've said this a few times on the podcast this season, I don't really worry about Leeds at home,
20:26it's the next couple of games from their point of view. Stoke and Derby away to finish off the year,
20:31that's when we really need to keep a close eye on them. But yeah, they've just got to be on it,
20:39they've just got to show their professionalism and their determination that Sheffield United
20:45are showing at the top of the table now. And next, let's turn to Sheffield United,
20:52who return to the top of the Championship with a 2-0 victory over Plymouth. Now, I must be honest,
20:57I have been very impressed with how Chris Wilder's side have kept up this momentum.
21:03And if they do have a good December period, they look really good for promotion in my eyes.
21:09What were your thoughts, Stuart?
21:11Well, I've kind of got split thoughts on them at the moment. On the one hand,
21:17and the overwhelming thought is just admiration for what I've just talked about, this mentality
21:21around them, this determination. Because if you think back to the last four games,
21:28Sunderland should have beaten them. Michael Cooper saved the penalty,
21:32Tom Davies popped up with an equaliser, West Bromwich Albion should have beaten them,
21:38Sheffield United managed to get a 2-2 draw out of that. The midweek game, Millwall hit the
21:43woodwork a couple of times, Sheffield United managed to win 1-0. They're really grinding
21:48things out in the way that we always say, that's the sign of a good side. They've definitely got
21:55a lot of those qualities at the moment. And when you think they've been missing Akhmed
21:59Hodic for five games, they're missing Suter at West Brom, they're missing Al Blaster for the
22:04rest of the season. They're missing Souza against Plymouth, and that showed as well.
22:10They've been missing Tyrese Campbell since he scored his sixth goal in eight games.
22:14Kiefer Moores played the last couple as a sub, but wild as adamant, he's not really fit enough
22:19to start. Rhian Brewster scored the only goal against Millwall, but he was only fit enough for
22:25the bench, you know, as he's building his fitness back up. So they had a lot of significant
22:30absentees. I talked a bit about Femi Sariki on the podcast this year, that they could have done
22:35with him on the day because Gilchrist was having a difficult day at right back, they could have done
22:40with that option. But they're powering through irrespective of that, and that's a really good
22:45sign. The slight nagging doubt in my miserable, pessimistic mind is the fact that they're making
22:52a pattern of these poorer performances. You don't want to do it too often, you don't want to go to
22:57the well too often. And the nagging worry is that at some point it will come back to bite them.
23:06Plymouth certainly in the first half were the better team on Saturday and outplayed them,
23:12and Sheffield United found their way again. So you certainly can't say it's definitely going to
23:18come to an end. This is a really hard team to beat. They remind me of the toy that you two
23:24would be far too young to know about. They used to have a toy called the Weeble, which they said
23:28Weebles wobble but they never fall over. That's where Sheffield United are at at the moment.
23:35And they say it will come to an end one day, but for now it's just about powering on
23:39and just keeping doing it. And you've really got to admire these mental qualities which are
23:44a notch above even Burnley and Leeds and Sunderland who are having really good seasons.
23:50So yeah, fingers crossed they can just keep that going.
23:55To echo what Stu said, I agree completely. There is a theme at the moment with Sheffield United
23:59not delivering particularly vintage performances but grinding out results, which as Stu said is
24:04undeniably very, very important in this league. It's something that we mentioned Leeds, something
24:10I think Leeds need to get better at and could take a leaf out of Sheffield United's book when
24:15Leeds have these difficult performances, particularly away from home. They don't seem to
24:19be able to get that first goal and then they go a goal behind and you're playing against a lot of
24:25men behind the ball. Sheffield United are very, very good at that but you don't want to make it
24:29a habit. And it does feel like as we creep towards Christmas, we're getting to a point now where
24:34there has been a few too many of those performances that just haven't been cutting it. And you do
24:41worry that, especially as you come into January and some teams that haven't been bobbing along
24:46very well this season start to strengthen and a couple of the sides who perhaps haven't been
24:52threats this season start to become them. You do worry that as some teams start to strengthen and
24:58get more quality within the ranks, they could pose Sheffield United some problems if they
25:02don't sharpen up the performances. But again, I think if you'd have asked any Sheffield United
25:07fan in the summer, this is where you'll be a week before Christmas, they'd have absolutely taken it.
25:12Sheffield United have to be one of those teams that strengthen. That's why this
25:17uncertainty at the moment about the takeover is so frustrating for Chris Wilder and for
25:22his fellow Sheffield United fans. But for now, it's just powering through until then and it's
25:27going to be difficult. Cardiff away at the weekend, not an easy game ever. Burnley and
25:34West Brom at home over Christmas, tough opposition, going to test that record of not conceding a goal
25:40under Michael Cooper. And then Sunderland on New Year's Day, they've got some tough games to get
25:45through. But if they can just eke this result out for another couple of weeks and then get the lift,
25:50hopefully, of a couple of signings coming in, they might have the likes of Akhmatovic and Souza
25:59might even be back for Cardiff. The sooner they can get back, that will lift morale and obviously
26:05strengthen the team as well. But at the moment, it's just about gritting the teeth and getting it
26:09done. And with what we're talking about now, 10 points out of 12, they are absolutely doing that
26:15right now. Our next game to analyse is Bradford City versus Swindon Town, which saw Graham
26:22Alexander's side claim their first league victory in seven with a 2-1 win. Now, do you think this
26:28turn in fortunes has come at the right time for the Bantams as they're only three points off a
26:33playoff spot, Tom? I was there at the weekend and I do think that things are starting to change,
26:41but they've got to make sure it's sustained. I'm hesitant to call it and say that it's all
26:47turning around now for Bradford because they won in the EFL Trophy against Stockport last week,
26:52really good win against a strong league one side. And then they beat Swindon at the weekend,
26:56it was a really poor game, really poor. We're very lucky we get to watch football for a living,
27:02but sometimes you do sit there and go, oh, this is painful. It was really, really low on quality.
27:07But again, as we mentioned with Sheffield United, when you need points, you've just got to grind
27:12them out. I spoke to Graham Alexander after the game and you get the sense that there's a bit of
27:18a relief washing over him in terms of the injury list is getting whittled down now. Yes, things
27:23haven't been going well for Bradford. Prior to the win over Swindon at the weekend, winless in
27:28six in the league, really not ideal. But they've had some really big players out injured, some
27:33players that haven't brought in in the summer that haven't been able to make use of some of
27:37their statement signings. And that injury list is getting whittled down massively now. And I
27:42do feel we're starting to see the difference that that's making. And obviously with Alexander as
27:49well, it's difficult when you bring players in in the summer and then you sort of without them
27:54very shortly into the season because settling them into your side and your way of playing,
27:58it's difficult when they're fit. So it's a lot harder when they're not. But yeah, it was like
28:03I said at the weekend, really low on quality, but there were positives. It was one of those,
28:08you didn't come away from it saying no one really, you know, other than the fact that Bradford got
28:12three points, there were no winners from that. It was pretty positive. There were positive signs.
28:15Lewis Richards in particular really impressed me, provided an outlook down the left constantly.
28:19Corey Evans, obviously someone they brought in from the free agent market, a lot of experience,
28:25really, really good until he had to come off. Callum Cavanaugh, someone who's had
28:28a bit of stick from Bradford fans over the last sort of couple of weeks. I don't know if you saw
28:33he scored, did the old fingers in the ears celebration. And you know, stuff like that,
28:39there's been discontent bubbling at Bradford. And I mean, that's over the last few years. And
28:45I think the important thing is that this isn't just another false dawn because I mean, Bradford
28:49fans will tell you there's been a lot of them over the last few years where it's looked as if
28:53they're turning a corner and then it's sort of fizzled out or it's gone to pot.
28:58That has to be sustained now. This can't be just a little back to back wins and then that's it.
29:05There's got to be sustained improvement. There's got to be results, yes, but there's also got to
29:10be an improvement in performances because as much as the win over Swindon was important,
29:15it wasn't a performance that sort of made you stand up and take notice. The clubs above them
29:19won't have been worrying about that performance. They've got to start turning in the type of
29:23displays that will get the sides above them worrying. But yeah, like I say, it's a promising
29:28start. As I said in my story at the weekend, I think that sort of the Windsor change is starting
29:35to blow. But I think they need a couple more positive results until people can actually say,
29:41right, things are turning around now. Yeah. But as Tom says, there were at least a few
29:47things to cling to. That's the important thing. I mean, for starters, they won a game and Andy
29:52Cook didn't score. I mean, you know, that's progress. They need more goals out of Calum
29:58Kavanagh and plenty of others, by the way. But, you know, him getting that is important.
30:02Sarcevic coming back is huge for them. I think, you know, Baldwin as well at the back. I think
30:10the thing with them, particularly Sarcevic, Daniel Farker was talking the other day about Ethan
30:15Ampadu and he was saying that the general rule of thumb is however many weeks you've been out,
30:20it'll take you that many weeks to get back up to the level you were. So, you know, we can't
30:26go overboard about 30 minutes from Sarcevic, the first he's played since August. It's going to
30:31take a while till we see the real player there. But I think when he signed in the summer, I think,
30:36you know, with everything he's done in the past, I think we were all, well, I think a lot of people
30:40were quite excited about the potential of what he could bring to that team. So if they can finally,
30:47you know, see the best of him in 2025, that's going to be huge. And as Tom says, you know,
30:53just to get that injury list down, to get those defensive reinforcements in particular,
30:57things are definitely moving in the right direction. But as Tom says, we've all been
31:02suckered in in the past by false dawns at Bradford. One game, two games aren't going to change anything.
31:08It's got to be a sustained run now. But I think they've got it in them if they can have anything
31:14like their full strength squad. Yeah. Yeah. And finally for this week, I will look to Stuart for
31:20his team of the week before turning to Tom for his player of the week. So Stuart, who has made
31:26your team of the week nomination this week? Well, obviously, we've been talking about Sheffield
31:33United and, you know, our admiration for them. And they've definitely, you know, as they are
31:38most weeks, they've definitely got to be sort of high in the thinking for that. You know,
31:44we saw some good spirit by Huddersfield Town struggling away, struggling home to Lincoln
31:53City to get a result there. Bradford important, as Tom's outlined. But the one that jumps out for
31:59me, and I think we talked about them a couple of weeks ago, but for Rotherham United to make it
32:04three home wins on the trot, absolutely massive, massive for them. A couple of goals for Johnson
32:12Clark Harris, again, massive for him. And I think it just shows, I mean, you've got a manager there,
32:20you know, we're well into sacking season now, but you've got a manager there who the chairman
32:26believes in, you know, who's shown in the past what he can do. They've shown a bit of patience.
32:30Hopefully, this is the start of that finally being repaid because it's been a really difficult
32:36and a really disappointing first half of the season for Rotherham. They've had injuries too, but
32:42I mean, to be honest, it's probably not even worth mentioning the exclusive injuries because when all
32:4692 clubs in the league have got them, it's just a fact of life, unfortunately. But Rotherham have
32:54lost quite a few leaders and what have you in this period. Yeah, I think we made them team of the
33:02week after the first of these three wins, with a bit of a caveat. Well, now they've won three on
33:08the trot and particularly at home where obviously they needed to, you know, win over some of the
33:13supporters who were becoming, understandably, a bit frustrated, a bit worried. Big old win that
33:18for Rotherham United. So, yeah, they're my team of the week. Yeah, yeah. And Tom, who has made
33:24your player of the week nomination this week? That leads me quite nicely onto my choice, which is
33:29Andre Green. It felt like a pretty straightforward choice for me. He's been through absolute hell
33:32with injuries, really long layoff and spoke very candidly about his time, you know, on the sideline,
33:40a really difficult period for him. And bear in mind, and I think it's easy to forget with Andre
33:44Green, this is an ex-England youth international, made his Premier League debut for Aston Millard
33:48as a teenager, clearly a very talented player. And I think, you know, when players have these
33:54periods in their career where they, maybe they go abroad, maybe they tumble down the leagues a bit,
33:57both of which Andre Green has done, and they get injuries, I think it's very easy for fans to
34:03write them off. And unfortunately, a lot of them, on a lot of occasions, the right to do so. A lot
34:06of these players don't tend to bounce back. It's very tough when you've had long periods in your
34:12career where you can't stay fit and you're jumping between short-term contracts. But Green, by all
34:19accounts, since coming back from injury, has really impressed. Steve Evans, a goal and an assist for
34:23him at the weekend against Northampton. Evans, full of praise for him after the game, said he was a
34:28real game changer for them. And I think, you know, the sort of the mental toughness and resilience
34:34that it takes to come back from a layoff like that and then immediately give your team a boost
34:40upon your return, I think really deserves some credit. And, you know, Rodler and March, Stu
34:45mentioned, have had a really tough season so far. Very much, you know, leading into the Christmas
34:50period, coming up to the January window, very much in need of some attacking inspiration, just a bit
34:55of a bright spark to lighten up what's been a pretty dull environment for fans in recent months.
35:01And Andre Green is very cliché to say, but he could be like a new signing for them. He's not
35:07someone that going into the season, particularly with the amount that Rodler and Buck brought in
35:10over the summer, a lot of people won't have sort of earmarked Andre Green as someone who was going
35:15to come in and make an impact, especially with the time he'd had off. They probably thought he
35:19might come back and make a couple of appearances. But the fact that he's coming back and really
35:23staking a claim to be an important part of Steve Evans' squad, he's taken his opportunity. And,
35:27yeah, I think he deserves the Player of the Week for this week.
35:32I deliberately didn't mention him when I mentioned the goalscorers,
35:34because if Tom hadn't picked him as Player of the Week, I certainly would have been forcing my way
35:38in there. I spoke to him a couple of weeks ago. They tried to get him doing a bit of media just
35:46to make him feel a bit involved. And, you know, he's talking about all the difficulties he's been
35:51through, the fact he's had to see a psychologist and all this sort of thing. I think we kind of
35:55forget, you know, put these players, once they're out of sight, they're out of mind. And it's so
35:59difficult. It's so difficult when your whole world revolves around football and you have that taken
36:05away from you for 14 months. It takes a lot of mental fortitude. And, you know, he probably will
36:10have a dip to come, but I think he's quite a popular lad on the training ground as well.
36:15So that will help as well. That will just make his teammates feel a bit better.
36:18And it's just a good news story all round and long may it continue.
36:25It's just a good news story all round and long may it continue.
36:37Many thanks to Stuart Rayner and Tom Coates, who will doubtless join us again soon for more
36:41discussions on the Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget you can keep up to date with
36:45all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website at
36:48yp.sport at nationalworld.com. Or if you search for Yorkshire Post sport, Yorkshire Post football,
36:54or even Sheffield sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for
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37:03directly with a subject matter as football talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com.
37:09As ever, many thanks for listening. Look after yourselves and bye for now.