In this week’s podcast, YP football writers Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to discuss the latest on the Yorkshire football scene, starting with Leeds United marching on together at the top of the Championship and free to do so following their FA Cup exit at the hands of Millwall.
Sheffield United are not particularly fluid at the moment but they are finding a way to stay in touch with their Yorkshire rivals at the top – will that be enough?
The promotion ambitions of Rotherham United have taken a hit recently but they stopped the rot with a hard-fought draw at Blackpool – but have their chances of making the play-offs gone?
And in League Two, the panel look at the automatic promotion credentials of Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers and whether both teams can secure a top-three finish.
Sheffield United are not particularly fluid at the moment but they are finding a way to stay in touch with their Yorkshire rivals at the top – will that be enough?
The promotion ambitions of Rotherham United have taken a hit recently but they stopped the rot with a hard-fought draw at Blackpool – but have their chances of making the play-offs gone?
And in League Two, the panel look at the automatic promotion credentials of Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers and whether both teams can secure a top-three finish.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:14we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:17of 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,
00:24Neil Marshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:29keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond by logging onto our website
00:33at yp.sportatnationalworld.com, as well as checking out our various Twitter feeds,
00:38the main one being at YPSport. If you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football,
00:44or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as well. And if you have any questions
00:48for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter or Facebook pages,
00:52or email us directly with a subject matter at the Football Talk podcast at yp.sportatnationalworld.com.
00:58YorkshirePost.co.uk. As mentioned earlier in the intro,
01:02this week we're joined by Chief Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner,
01:06and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobbshaw. Good morning, guys.
01:09Morning. Hello.
01:10Morning. This week saw a mixture of both league and FA Cup action, so we'll be looking at how
01:15our teams performed in both competitions in this episode. In the Championship, Sheffield
01:19Wednesday fell to an agonising 2-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion, and Hull City suffered a 2-1
01:24defeat at the hands of Stoke City. In League 1, Huddersfield Town had to settle for a point
01:30in their 0-0 draw with Reading, and Barnsley suffered a 2-1 defeat when they clashed with
01:36Stockport County. Rotherham United suffered a second successive league defeat when they welcomed
01:42Shrewsbury Town to the New York Stadium, and we'll be covering them later on in the show.
01:46And in League 2, Doncaster Rovers suffered another bump in the road for their push for promotion
01:52when they lost 5-2 to Chesterfield, and we'll be covering them later on in the show as well.
01:58However, let's start this week with Leeds United, who exited the FA Cup in the fourth
02:03round of the competition when they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Millwall.
02:07This was then followed by a very convincing 4-0 win when they returned to league action
02:12against Watford. Now, what did you make of the game, or the two performances, and do you see
02:18a positive for Leeds United as they can now focus solely on the league?
02:48I always worry, it's one of life's worries. When a team's in good form,
02:54chucking in a defeat like that will disrupt your momentum. But I suppose when you've got
02:59the reservoir of confidence that Leeds have got at the moment, it probably takes more than one
03:03bad day to throw you off. The fact that they were straight back on the horse on a Tuesday night and
03:13were able to win 4-0, I think hugely reassuring for the Leeds United fans. If you offered any of
03:20them at the start of the season, if you said you'll go out at the third round but you'll go
03:28up, they'd absolutely take that. We've said it before, it's not news to anybody, it's all about
03:34promotion for Leeds United this season. Much as I love the FA Cup, frustrated as I am that we
03:43haven't got a single Yorkshire team in the fifth round, you have to look at it pragmatically and
03:47say well actually, in the grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal for Leeds to go out to that
03:55stage. It is a big deal to win 4-0 on a Tuesday night, put pressure on the rest of the contenders.
04:03In terms of their league form, what we're up to now, that must be what, 13 goals without
04:09reply in the last three games, that's pretty formidable stuff and just cranking up the
04:14pressure really. They just stopped any noise, didn't they? We've spoken long and hard about
04:20Leeds United, every defeat, even if it's in a cup competition, there's a lot of noise from it. I
04:26remember early in the season when they'd lost at home to Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup, the
04:34Nazis were a little bit restless. But in the greater scheme of things, Leeds had a big game
04:39coming up just over 72 hours later. As Stuart said, the priority this season is promotion,
04:48it's the be-all and end-all. Leeds got it out of the system at the first available opportunity,
04:54there's all good sides to it. It would have been nice if Farka had spoken about it before,
05:01using his squad and getting them match minutes, that could help them in the running, they might
05:06be needed coming off the bench. Injuries, this, that and the other, but it's not a perfect world.
05:12But Leeds' performance at Watford was pretty perfect by the sound of it, extremely clinical,
05:19another clean sheet. I think I spoke last week, I sort of think that the big games almost,
05:28we'll have to see how they go, but they'll sort of take care of themselves a little bit.
05:34They have shown a little bit of, I think it's Achilles' heel, putting it the wrong term,
05:38really giving Leeds a season. But those sort of games can be a bit sticky, they lost to Millwall,
05:44lost to Blackburn, obviously Watford are one of a host of clubs who were in the mix for the final
05:51two play-off places. A little bit of a dangerous game, I suppose, is the phrase. For the second
06:00week in a row, Leeds have really shown their, I don't think just their promotion credentials,
06:09but the title-winning credentials really. I think a lot of the, well specifically,
06:15Sheffield United supporters, Sunderland, Burnley, would have been looking at those games thinking,
06:21that's a tough one that is for Leeds, it's going to test them. Obviously, there's a travel going
06:27to Watford as well on the back of the defeat, even though it was using squad players, it's still a
06:32test. Coventry as well, Coventry, was it four in a row? They were getting their act together
06:40under Frank Lampard, two difficult faces and they've negotiated them very well and ticked
06:46them off and sent the rivals over to you. Obviously, we'll be out after the Sheffield United
06:54play on Wednesday night and the other two, but Leeds, all they can do is concentrate on their
07:01side of the bargain. They're doing it extremely well, 69 points, it's over two points a game.
07:07They're clocking up the goals for fun and also the clean sheets. To be fair,
07:15they're having to aren't they because it's a serious race for the top two, but as far as
07:21Leeds are concerned, they've got Sunderland on Monday, 69 points, win that, they're over 70
07:26points by the middle of February and certainly if they win that, regardless of what happens
07:35in the Sunderland fixture on Wednesday, they've dealt a big blow to Sunderland in particular in
07:43terms of their push for the top two. So, yeah, Leeds taking care of business.
07:49Yeah, I think it's only a couple of weeks ago really we were saying about Leeds,
07:53great at home, a little bit short away from home. So, as Leon says, particularly the quality of the
08:00opposition to go to Coventry and Watford and get those results is big. I do think it's probably
08:05not coincidence that Ilya Gruev is fit again and I just think it probably gives him a bit better
08:10balance away from home in terms of that extra solidity. I think they're hitting a really good
08:16formula with Rockwell and Tanaka in terms of home form, but that perhaps explain why they just
08:23weren't quite at the same level away from home. That little bit of extra defensive quality has
08:28maybe just tipped the balance and it just shows the value and the squad depth that Leeds United
08:34have. I think it's important as well going into March, April, when there's pressure now,
08:39it'll probably crank up a little bit even further a few notches. There's going to be teams going
08:44into that, if you like, first. Leeds have had two pressure games, there will be more pressure games
08:53and they've handled it and that's a good sign for them going forward. Definitely.
08:58Next we turn to Shuffled United who picked up all three points when they edged struggling
09:03Portsmouth in a 2-1 victory. This means that Chris Wilder's side keeps pace with those at the top of
09:09the division and with the upcoming run of fixtures, do you think it's the right time for
09:15them to get back into that winning vein of form, Stuart? It was a real glass half full or glass
09:23half empty performance from them. They weren't very good, they won. We say a lot that that's
09:30the sign of a good side. The flip side is they were more than not very good against Hull.
09:40You know, they weren't at their best against Derby, who were obviously struggling at the time,
09:45that was Paul Warnes' last game. So you worry that it becomes a bit of a pattern.
09:50The thing about Sheffield United on Saturday really points to what both Theo and I were
09:55banging on about during the transfer window, about making too many changes in the transfer window.
10:02Now Sheffield United needed to because they needed the depth. Leeds United perhaps didn't
10:08and the reason that Leeds United perhaps didn't was you could see on Saturday, it felt certainly
10:13from the stands as though a few of those players were still getting used to each other in terms of
10:18how X plays that position a bit differently. That was the danger for Leeds United in bringing in
10:24too many players. As I say, Sheffield United needed to do it but they're going to have to,
10:28well, they're sucking it up a bit at the moment. There's a bit of a getting to know you phase
10:33before they get back on track. I guess the skill, the key now for the Sheffield United
10:40coaching staff is to just make that period as short as possible. I've mentioned on here before,
10:45I've been very impressed with how quickly Hull City have made that transition, having brought
10:50in players. I think they had three players running scored on their full debut. It really smacked of
10:55good preparation. Ruben Saez kept saying it was about the right recruitment and getting people
11:01who could absolutely do the job. Sheffield United just didn't look there yet. You look at all the
11:06players individually and they're good players. It's not a worry that they've signed a load of
11:11duds. Tom Cannon clearly needs his first goal, every striker does, especially one who's come
11:17for a big prize tag. People like Hamza Choudhury just need to get used to the balance. Some other
11:24players have had their own jobs changed ever so slightly. The existing players have had their
11:30jobs changed ever so slightly by the players around them. As Leon says, we're speaking before
11:35the Middlesbrough game, so that will change the context of things a little bit one way or the
11:39other. But yeah, they just looked in a little phase that they've got to get through in that
11:46respect. I'm sure if they can get out of it quickly, they will be stronger for it. But at this
11:52moment in time, it's just about clinging on to the coattails and not letting the leads and others,
11:57the cause, pull away from them. I think it's just about finding a way at this time. They've
12:02made a lot of new signings, they needed to. The points that Wilder made about his squad were
12:09valid ones. A lot of academy players, but they weren't ready for the cut and thrust and
12:15muck and knuckles of the Championship. And one or two have obviously headed out on loan. I just
12:20think this period, as Stuart said, probably until the next international break really.
12:24At Sheffield United, they've just got to try and negotiate the fixtures in
12:28any way they can really. And some big fixtures as well. Obviously,
12:31Middlesbrough looks after itself. There's obviously the aspect with Chris Wilder as well.
12:36And a little bit further down the track, obviously the huge game with Leeds at Bramall
12:41Lane. So I wouldn't be expecting too much of Sheffield United at the minute. But they're
12:46showing, as you said, all season, they're showing a strong jaw, aren't they? They're durable,
12:51they're getting the job done. It sounded like they were a little bit surprised by the
12:56pressing tactics of Portsmouth. It brought them out a little bit. But no harm done and they got
13:05over the line. And it was interesting from what Wilder said in his pre-match press conference
13:09to Middlesbrough. He felt it was a little bit harsh on them at the time. But with reflection,
13:14he's thinking, well, I'm trying to assimilate all these new players in. And it takes time to
13:18build understanding, doesn't it, between each other, between teammates in different areas of
13:25the pitch. And he sort of gently reprimanded himself and told himself to chill out a little
13:30bit. So, yeah, that's the wise manager in Wilder. And they find that they've got a good winning
13:39mentality. And, you know, considering where they were, it's a new side, isn't it? And they've
13:45travelled some way, they've travelled a distance in a decent amount of time. So,
13:51I just think if they can just get it, if they can stay in the game, get to the next international
13:56break, I know they'll have one or two players going away, but hopefully have a bit more time
13:59together on the training ground. And probably to get to know each other as well. I know it
14:04sounds a little bit daft, but they've obviously signed quite a few players there. I think that'll
14:11hopefully set them up for the run home. It was just little things, Mark. Like I say,
14:17Hamza Chowdhury is a good player. You know, Leon and I have both seen that over the years.
14:22But he likes to drop a bit deeper for the ball than Sidi Pek does. And then all of those things
14:27have a little knock on effect for other people. Not a bad thing in itself. You've just got to get
14:32your head around it and adjust to it. And I think Leon's dead right to talk about the international
14:38break. I think from Leeds' perspective, it's about having that cushion going into the international
14:43break, setting the pressure. For Sheffield United, it's just about being in the picture and with
14:47memories of Easter 2019 and how Sheffield United really kicked to the line then. So long as they're
14:55in the conversation, they should fancy their chances. One thing you absolutely cannot knock
15:01about Sheffield United is they've got some mental fortitude about them, which is why they win games
15:07like Portsmouth. And therefore, if you're in and amongst it at that time of year, that can be an
15:13even bigger advantage than it is now. So it's not about necessarily even being in the top two or
15:20certainly not being over the hills and out of distance. It's just about being within touching
15:25distance and then backing yourself to really put the pressure on teams like, obviously,
15:31Burnley Leeds and Sunderland. And yeah, as Leon says, it's kind of getting through this
15:38phase in that position, really. Yeah, I think that mental fortitude is massive. I mean, there's
15:42going to be games all over the place, isn't there, in March, April with the televised schedule. And
15:49with that brings pressure. I think the Leeds, they probably won't say as much. But he'll be
15:55looking at this month, February, looking at the big game. They've got the Sunderland game and
15:59they've got the Sheffield United game. And they're heading into both of them in the perfect
16:06vein and form, mentality, mindset, call it what you will. So they've got their issues there and
16:17prize at the end of the month if they get some good results there. But yeah, mentality is massive
16:23for Sheffield United. It was interesting stuff from Chris Wilder in his presser. He didn't refer
16:30to his former club middlesman, but in a way he was. And it was fair enough. I thought it was
16:35fair comment. He described, you know, how having a winning mentality and first and foremost,
16:43end of the conversation. That's the main thing he's interested in rather than being a soft and
16:47milky side. They were easy on the eye and knock it around and look nice. And he wasn't referring
16:53to middlesman by name, but he sort of was in a way, wasn't he really? And he was totally bang
17:04on as well. I think it's something that anyone connected with middlesmen wouldn't disagree with.
17:09And that's what it's all about at the end of the day, isn't it? You've got to have that balance
17:14between playing well and hopefully entertaining the spectators and looking good, but also getting
17:20points and the hard currency of going for promotion. It's a grind, isn't it? It's a nine-month slog and
17:30survival of the fittest really, isn't it? And Sheffield United, they're right in the mix.
17:36And next, we turn to the Yorkshire clash between Bradford City and Harrogate Town,
17:40which saw the Bantams claim all three points and help strengthen their push for promotion
17:44with a 1-0 victory, which was their seventh consecutive home victory. This was then followed
17:49up by their eighth consecutive home victory with a 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley. Now,
17:55what did you make of the performances from both sides when the two met? And let's be honest,
18:01they've had very contrasting seasons so far, Leon. Yeah, Harrogate, yeah, they've usually got a bit of
18:06an Indian side over Bradford, haven't you? Something like seven wins in the previous
18:13ten games, so a bit of a banana skin. And we've spoken about it before, how they tend to do well
18:20against better sides, if you like, and not just the local ones in Doncaster and Bradford, but
18:28the games against Wrexham in the cup and a good performance at Leeds in the FA Cup as well. So,
18:35yeah, it was a sticky game on paper for Bradford, but yeah, they negotiated it
18:41pretty well and Harrogate, they had a go in the second half. I thought they were a little bit
18:45disappointing in the first half, Harrogate. They were a little bit passive and yeah,
18:51a wonder goal to win it. It's funny enough, their only previous win, Bradford against Harrogate,
18:57was a 1-0 win and I think they scored in the first couple of minutes in that one as well a few years
19:02ago. So, it was a bit of déjà vu there. Brilliant goal from Antony Sasevich. I mean, I've sort of
19:10got clips of his career before he came to Bradford and that sort of long-range goals free kick sort
19:17of spring into my mind, but I didn't realise how good he was in the air and to be fair, Graham
19:23Alexander pointed to that afterwards. It was a centre-forwards header. He's a midfielder and
19:32like I said in my match report, if you'd have sort of just looked at the Clarence Amber shirt and not
19:41the number, you'd have thought it was Andy Cook who was back in the saddle. It was a splendid goal,
19:46good move and yeah, they've had to show both sides of it. They've won three or four 1-0 wins at home
19:58so they're finding a way. I think the good thing for Bradford is obviously the home form is
20:03outstanding, best in the division. 39 points, 12 wins from 16. They've shown they can turn on the
20:10style and obviously coping with, you mentioned before about Cook not being there, they can turn
20:15on the style. They did it against Walsall and Grimsby but they're also grinding it out as well
20:22and Harrogate had a bit of a go in the second half. They had a few chances but Sam Walker
20:31wasn't really forcing to make a save. They had a couple of opportunities. Ollie Sanderson hit
20:36a chance over the top against a side he'd just left on loan and Josh Marshew, I thought he was
20:43decent in the second half. He was full of running and posed a bit of a threat. He went close but
20:50yeah, they ticked that one off and then obviously on the Tuesday night, awful weather conditions.
20:56I don't know what it was like for Stuart at Blackpool but it was pretty dreadful in West
21:03Yorkshire. It was another night where it was just about getting the job done and in fairness,
21:10I thought Accrington especially, second half again, they were a tidy little football side and
21:18I don't think they'll have any problems staying up if they can continue that performance. So they
21:23did ask questions. They had a big scare where Bradford went. I think the young lad, I think
21:29it was End Henderson, the subber was good for Accrington. He hit the bar with a deflected shot
21:35so a little bit of a look that you need but a wonderful goal to win it from Bradford for the
21:43second game in a row. I mean the first goal was a classic centre forwards header even though it
21:47wasn't a centre forward. This one was an absolute howitzer. It did half a hurtling from
21:54Alex Patterson who's been tremendous hasn't he this year. I mean he scored a brilliant goal
22:00against Walsall, wasn't it? He's so quick from a standing start. That's the thing I noticed.
22:08He's got real athleticism. That was a great goal. He ran at the defence, brilliant finish. This was
22:15an absolute out of this world. Postage stamp top corner job and on a dreadful night it really lit
22:25things up. Eight home wins in a row, first time since 1954. Before you were born Mark, long before
22:34me so even me as well. They're going great guns psychologically. He downplayed it afterwards,
22:44Alexander which you would do as a manager. They've gone into third place, they've gone above
22:50Doncaster Rovers. Doesn't mean that much at the minute but psychologically it adds to the good
22:56feeling. I think the thing for Bradford now is they're away from them and in fairness they're
23:01showing one or two signs of it being on the turn. We're talking about clean sheets at home.
23:09You know they've had a couple in, albeit one was in the trophy wasn't it in Rotherham.
23:14They also dug out three points in a clean sheet at Carlisle. I think they've got four out of five now
23:20away from home if you take in the cup semi-final, the trophy semi-final at Birmingham. So I think
23:28that's the little mission for them isn't it in the next two, three, four weeks.
23:36You know they're very, very strong at home. They've been very consistent. The way forward
23:41has been a little bit up and down but showing signs of turning in the right direction and
23:47I think that's probably the next step in development. I think what I like about
23:53Bradford is that obviously they have the blow with Cook and they've took it on the chin haven't
23:59they really. They're finding different ways to win games but there's a lot of contributions
24:05coming from across that squad. I've done the last two Bradford games. You can see the value in
24:13signing Paul Huntingdon all day long. He's obviously in the winch of his career but he's
24:20still got a big role to play. He's come on for the last sort of half an hour in both those games,
24:25tight games and Bradford have been under pressure. He's come into the middle of the
24:30back three and he's organised everyone and that's exactly the job that he's been
24:36signed for. But other contributions as well and they're going to have to manage workloads.
24:41Starcevic got the goal on Saturday but they were mindful a bit of his workload so he didn't
24:48start against Accrington. You look at the bench against Accrington there's some good
24:55options there. There's the lad Keller who they signed from Birmingham, a young lad with a good
25:00reputation. There's Jamie Walker who I still think has got a role to play in the final quarter of
25:06the season. There's Huntingdon and there's others too. So I think the good thing for Bradford as
25:13well is that the squad is being utilised and they're putting their hands up when need be.
25:19I mean that was the point I was going to make. With Paterson, he's playing so well but because
25:25Starcevic has got fit at the same time as him they can dip them in and out. You think a team
25:31with that clean sheet record, you'd imagine they've probably played in the same goalkeeper
25:35in the same back three every week but actually we've seen Johnson come in, we've seen Huntingdon
25:39come in up front. Already without Cook, Callum Kavanagh goes off injured on Saturday doesn't he?
25:47You know they've got people like Tommy Lee, they've got Jamie Walker too. There's really
25:53a lot of depth to that squad at the moment and not just in terms of their numbers but in terms of
25:59the players on the sidelines are looking fresh and as Leon says they're making contributions,
26:03not just coming on the field and playing minutes. So yeah they're in a really good way at the moment
26:10and obviously it's a good habit in the last couple of games scoring early at Valley Parade
26:16because we know teams come invariably with quite a defensive mindset. Well they have to have a bit
26:21of a rethink if they're suddenly one goal down so that doesn't half help but maybe earlier in
26:28the season or in previous seasons we'd be a bit worried about 1-0 but when the defence is working
26:34so well again it just builds the confidence, it just feels like it's snowballing. They just feel
26:42like Leeds United, I'm sure they won't want to be compared to them but they're just in a really
26:46good vein at the moment and it's just about keeping it going for as long as possible.
26:52Yeah really good to see. Harrogate just need to find something from somewhere that's what
26:57five games now without a win. I mean Simon Weaver's talked about them playing quite well
27:03in the couple of games leading up to the Bradford game but as Leon's alluded to that was kind of one
27:08of the games where even though you probably shouldn't as a Harrogate fan you probably mark
27:12that one down and say we'll pick up some points there because we always do. They need to just
27:17find a few results from somewhere but I read that Leon was very impressed with Ben Fox,
27:23had a look at Bryn Mawrys, they look like they made some good additions to the squad and hopefully
27:29as I was saying about Sheffield United in time that will come to fruition but again they're
27:34just in a bit of a sticky spell at the moment. I don't know if it's about finding the right
27:38chemistry or not but whatever it is they just need to sort of get out of this wrong.
27:44Yeah I think they should, I obviously don't see that much of them but from what I've seen I think
27:49they will have enough and I think the good thing for them as well is the teams behind them are all
27:54in lousy form aren't they? Carlisle have been really struggling, I mean effectively bought a
27:59new side in January, Morecambe as well and the Trammier's form has gone off a total cliff as
28:08well hasn't it so you know the good thing is I think it would be a problem if one of those started
28:12to sort of pick up two, three wins then they would really be looking over the shoulders but
28:20I think for all concerned that you sort of look at the form Harrogate and they've shown the ability
28:24not just sort of this season but in previous seasons they've been in situations a little
28:31bit like this before and they've chipped away they've got a you know maybe an away point when
28:37you didn't expect them to or dug out a win and they're just gonna have to you know they're
28:42reasonably well versed in that and you know hopefully doing that same sort of thing a few
28:48times in the in the running and this should be okay. Yeah yeah and let's now turn to the game
28:54between Blackpool and Rotherham United which saw the Millers have to settle for a point in their
28:58nil-nil draw when they paid a visit to the seaside. This now sees the Millers put an end to their
29:04recent slump in form but do you think it's fair to say that it was a fairly cautious display from
29:09Steve Evans's side Stuart? Well they tried to win it you know I can see why we'd look at a nil-nil
29:16draw and ask that they definitely tried to win it but they weren't really good enough to win it.
29:21Right. I think that's kind of where they are at the moment isn't it? Yeah exactly I mean
29:27Jordan Hugo put in a good performance you know by all accounts he was very good from the bench
29:31on Saturday against Shrewsbury rewarded with a start really worked hard but when Sam Nambé made
29:39a really good chance for him he fluffed it and that was just that's just where they are at the
29:44moment there you know like the result itself it was a decent result but not quite enough they've
29:50left themselves in a position where decent form isn't going to wash you know if they want this
29:56season to have anything on it from from here on in they need to put together the sort of run that
30:02they were threatening at the turn of the year but never quite never quite managed to do I mean
30:08in fairness to them they're suffering badly with injuries I think they only had they only had two
30:13experienced players on the bench Audrey Green and Louis Sibley and they were both on the bench
30:18because the manager wanted to rest them because they've been looking tired recently alongside
30:23them a couple of academy kids so injuries are biting and Steve Evans was saying oh you know
30:29listing all the players he expects to have back in the next week or two but it's kind of been the
30:33story of brother and season there's always been players will be due back in the next week or two
30:38and either they don't get back on on that time scale or by the time they do someone else has
30:43got injured and you know I don't know the answer to this because I'm not seeing what they're doing
30:49but when it's that much of a pattern and this was something that that Liam Richardson was talking
30:54about last season you do feel as though somebody's got to have a real look to see look is this
30:59something we're doing wrong or is it bad luck as I say I genuinely don't know don't know which of
31:04those it is but it's it's it's such a pattern now I mean we talk in a couple of years of this
31:10being a real issue that we do worry and say I remember Richardson talking about how he felt
31:16the quality of the training pitches was contributing and all that sort of thing it just we were talking
31:22at the start of the season back in the last season so okay you know they've they've brought
31:28in Steve Evans they'll be in the promotion picture but at the sacrifice of long-term
31:34you know development as a football club well if they're not going to be in the promotion
31:37picture either it's a bit of a wasted season you know they've they've they've took some some
31:44money out of it that's it with no reward they've kind of put off some some of looking into some of
31:50the longer term problems I think um so hopefully they don't look back on this as a bit you know
31:57with with a few regrets but yeah they were they weren't awful they weren't unambitious
32:02they were just what they are right now a sort of you know lower mid-table team that just
32:11doesn't quite have the quality to to make that next step partly because some of the quality
32:15players like Malik Wilkes are on the on the sidelines and partly because they said they're
32:20just not not at that level you know they're not at that level financially of some of the teams in
32:25the division and it's kind of reflected in the in the quality of the field so it's sad to say but
32:30it does it does feel already you know we're barely into February as though this is a season that's
32:35just going to go to Peter out you know they've got they've got enough of a cushion that they
32:40I don't I'm not too concerned about them going down but I can't see them forcing
32:43them way into the playoffs either yeah they're just a club who I think are realigning themselves
32:48that's going to be the the thing this season they've obviously spent a bit in the in the summer
32:54but it's you know it's frankly it's not worked has it really they've shown nothing like the
32:58consistency to to be in the top six picture and um I think you know worryingly the you know
33:05our other other two clubs as well are in a bit of a bit of a hole at the minute I mean I had a
33:09little look at the form table to be fair to Rotherham there's his 11th which is it's okay
33:14without being earth-shattering Barnsley's um four-man in the last eight games 14th league one
33:22that's not going to get you in the top six and Huddersfield is even worse 20th so you know
33:28they've had um you know these injury issues they're just not going away for them this um this
33:33season so you know that that's that's worrying as well and obviously they they um they meet this
33:39weekend at uh at Oakwell so yeah I think I think was always an outside shot wasn't it for the
33:47playoffs for um for Rotherham you know it was pretty slim and um but you look at some of the
33:54other teams sort of in in that sort of top six area they're the teams that were really in form
33:59and making a push sort of thing that Rotherham had to do to get themselves in the picture you
34:04know Bolton are going great guns after they that they've they've changed the manager Charlton as
34:08well and um and Stockport they're showing the consistency that uh that you need to be you know
34:15if you're going to be up there at the end of the season so that's a that's a worry for more in
34:19terms of Huddersfield and um and Barnsley I'm obviously Barnsley find themselves out of the top
34:24six at the minute and and with work to do they're gonna have to go on a run if they're going to
34:28extend the season and and Huddersfield starting to get um worried as well they've hit a you know
34:34a bad patch struggling to score to score goals um I think they've only scored two in in the last
34:41four haven't they they haven't scored in the last three at at home so yeah you just hope that for
34:46Barnsley and Huddersfield's sakes they're having this sort of bad run of it now and they can
34:51hopefully get back on the back up back on the horse for you know late February March April when
34:57it really does have you know every result is magnified then isn't it really you know if you're
35:01not picking up points and your rivals are so yeah work for the work to do for those two um Rotherham
35:08as Stuart said I really have to be looking at uh trying to finish the season with a bit of bit of
35:14encouragement to go into the uh summer because I think there's a lot to do there yeah I mean just
35:19looking at Huddersfield on paper Leon's seen far more of them on grass so I'll certainly defer to
35:24him on that but I have more confidence in them of the three that this is a this is a blip and they
35:30and they can they can turn it round and you know if it is a blip it's not certainly not an ideal
35:35time but at least there's at least there's plenty of games left to make up for it Barnsley and and
35:40Rotherham I mean we were talking earlier in the week it feels like they're they're just drifting
35:45a bit as football clubs right now and they just need to it's it's a you know we've we've said it
35:49a lot on this podcast it's a really difficult division league one to you know um throw the
35:56gauntlet down and really really attack you know there's no there's no guarantees but they just
36:01they just feel like they're playing along at the moment and and they're in danger of of becoming
36:06sort of institutionalized in the mid table of that division yeah I think they'll just feel they
36:11can just show a bit more of an advantage they grind it out and um they've not been smashing
36:15teams have they for most of the season you know one or two results aside the you know the Bolton
36:20game away and um who was the other one Cambridge wasn't it I think they've banged four past them
36:26but by and large it's been finding a way and sort of grinding it out a bit and and uh they're gonna
36:31have to do that in the last third of this season yeah yeah and now as I mentioned at the top of
36:36the episode we turn to Doncaster Rovers who fell to that 5-2 defeat at Chesterfield uh before
36:42following it up with their 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup
36:47now what did you make of the FA Cup fixture as well as their recent run of form overall Stuart?
36:53Well I mean in terms of the in terms of the 5-2 defeat at Chesterfield it's just one of those
36:57results that Doncaster had seemed to have too many of for the for the for the ability they've got I
37:03mean that's that's twice this season now they lost by three goal margins to Chesterfield they're
37:07one of those you know dangerous mid-table teams but they're not you know they're not talking about
37:11Notts County or Walsall here or something like that so that was that was frustrating the flip
37:17side of it was the FA Cup tie was hugely encouraging I mean Crystal Palace deserved
37:23deserved to win that game you know they were the better team but Crystal Palace are one of the
37:27better teams in the Premier League right now in terms of the form they're in the form you know
37:32Mateta and other players are in and they did Doncaster the huge compliment of playing a really
37:39strong team I think there were eight of the team that beat Manchester United you know and if you
37:43look at it from a Doncaster point of view you've got one of the best England players at the last
37:49European Championship, Gaye, playing at centre-back you know you've got Wharton who was one of the
37:55best players in the second half last season's Premier League you know forced his way into that
38:00squad as well you know you got Will Hughes who was a real quality player but Teter I've mentioned
38:04has been in great form you know they really did send out some a really strong team and
38:10and Doncaster caused them some problems and if you know if Doncaster had had the same ruthlessness
38:15as Crystal Palace it could have been an even more interesting encounter but of course they don't
38:20because that's why those players are at League 2 level and the others are at Premier League level
38:25but Luke Molyneux was outstanding you know did not look out of place in that company
38:31and you know you just you just came away from that thinking if Doncaster Rovers play like this
38:37every week it's almost in the bag you know they they were they were they were more than good enough
38:44to you know reel in Walsall never mind get get promotion from from League 2 playing like that
38:50but but that's the point they've got to find that they've got to find that consistency they've got
38:56to cut out those those Chesterfield games but yeah as a Rovers fan I could only imagine that
39:03that game really gave you an uplift you know to see the to see the stadium full to see the fans
39:08really getting behind the players the players really rewarding it to see the effort to see
39:12the quality from that team um you know they're they're good good players contributing from the
39:17bench um just more of the same please really because as Leon's outlined Bradford and others
39:24are really you know setting down quite a challenge for them and they've got to they've got to match
39:30Bradford's consistency um if you know as we as we hope they both go up automatically it's certainly
39:36on if they if they can do that yeah they've just got to reset they've had a nice a nice
39:42cut run haven't they obviously the good good results at all they've had some kudos and a
39:47and a few quid as well from the from the Palace game and no pain to the cells in a in a in a good
39:53light in front of um you know nationwide um viewers but now it's just about you know resetting and
40:00going again they've got a big game against uh um sort of if it's really a derby but it's certainly
40:06a local game in in Grimsby at home uh at the weekend and then they've got a run of
40:12had a little look they've got five out of seven away from home and um you know got to go to
40:19Morecambe, Accrington, Crewe uh first ever trip to Bromley as well some of the midweek so that's
40:24gonna that's gonna test the mentality of um of Rovers they've got a good they've got a good squad
40:30and good options but you know all the teams as well have probably seen what they've what they've
40:34done as well obviously getting to the the fourth round of the cup and the sort of lowest ranked
40:40team standing and uh you know they're a little bit of a scalp I suppose it's uh at uh league
40:46league two level but now you know now's the time to to get serious and kick on with some
40:52with some serious form to you know get the cells right in that top three picture which you know
40:59speak of all all the divisions is an element of fascination and there certainly is in
41:03in uh in uh you know league two some you know strong sides you know we mentioned you know the
41:08Bradfords you know Notts County Wimbledon don't you know hardly concede a goal um Doncaster a few
41:15others as well so yeah and they've obviously got the experience of of last season when on when they
41:20went on that um that bonkers run so yeah I even yeah obviously the eliminated eliminated from the
41:27cup but um they've earned some justified pats on the back and and now they've got to now they've
41:34got to go again yeah I feel like Doncaster and Bradford both should be in there but you know
41:39Leon's rolled reeled off enough teams there didn't even didn't you know didn't even mention
41:45Walsall yeah you are you know who will also be saying the same and and only three of them are
41:49going to go up automatically so as I say Bradford have kind of shown the way in terms of of hitting
41:55that consistency you know that solid base defensively and that that all-around consistency
42:00that's that's just where Doncaster got to be and they've got it in them and I'm convinced that
42:05they're capable of it but just every now you know every now and then you they do keep throwing in
42:10these results and they've really got to cut them out yeah yeah I mean a little uh I mean about a
42:15little little look further further down the track as well and there's I mean we'll you know we may
42:21be talking about this and um and at the uh this season it'd be probably good if we did in a way
42:26that some of the fixtures at the end of the division wow I mean uh if you're looking looking
42:31into April Bradford got to play they've got to play Notts County they've got to go to Doncaster
42:37um they've got to go to Chesterfield um Donnie have also got to play Notts County as well so
42:45potentially there could be some huge six six-pointers right in the um
42:49right at the death of that season and uh yeah it's uh it certainly whets that whets the appetite
42:55let's hope that um Bradford and Donnie are right in the thick of it yeah a lot better than last
43:00season six points is where too many of them were at the other end of the particular championship
43:04so yeah as Leon says want to really look forward to that exactly exactly and finally for this week
43:10I will turn to Leon for his team of the week before going to Stuart for his player of the
43:14week nomination so Leon who have you decided deserves the player the team of the week uh nod
43:22yeah I mean obviously Don who just mentioned Doncaster even though they they sort of got
43:27knocked out you know they took a lot of pudos from from the performance and you know it was a
43:34it was a good a good performance albeit in a in a defeat Stuart said against some you know some
43:40players who were in the England um the squad and Gay as well it was a regular uh last summer so
43:45that's done them no harm um Sheffield United found a way uh but it's difficult to it's difficult to
43:52split um Leeds and Bradford really obviously Bradford have won eight in a row at home um
43:58first time since I don't know someone was it Churchill was in his second spell as prime
44:04minister or something like that or Eden I'm not even sure to be honest but uh remarkable 70
44:09nearly 70 71 years eight home wins on the spin um moving up into into third place but I think
44:18I think we just gotta um I'm probably gonna get a clip off some Bradford fans no doubt but um
44:24you gotta go with Leeds United more for the um you know the the manner of the uh the manner
44:30and the scoreline as well you know tremendous midweek away win four nil away at Watford a team
44:37who were sort of pushing for for the top six and as I mentioned before I felt it had a little bit
44:42of a banana skin element and so they backed it up from the previous league game away at Coventry
44:48really serious stuff and um you know at both ends of the pitch they're really looking sharp
44:54and ruthless so I'll I'll go with Leeds United with um apologies just to one or two uh Bradford
45:01supporters that I know and uh Stuart who have you decided for your player of the week
45:08well in a desperate attempt to curry favour then I'll start by talking about the Bradford
45:12performance individual performances um yeah I mean you know Alex Paterson just just for that
45:18goal alone you you wouldn't have thought if I'd have said to Leon on on Saturday uh evening
45:24Anthony Sasovich's would be the worst goal Bradford uh score in the in the two games you'd
45:28look to be like even more than usual like I was a lunatic but yeah fantastic goal from Paterson
45:34who's in who's in really good form as we've said um I think it's always difficult when a team's
45:39keeping clean sheets to single out individuals because it's such a such a team effort but I know
45:45that Leon was very impressed with with Jack Sheppard and I certainly have yeah with the way
45:50recently it's also mentioned Paul Huntington that's not to be underestimated so I think they
45:55all they all deserve plaudits certainly needs to deserve lots of plaudits uh Rodon by all
46:00accounts very good at Vicarage Road obviously Dan James scoring a couple of goals yeah so many times
46:07and and I know Leon's the same with big fans of his that's you know the one figure goals for the
46:12season which is not not bad at all for a for a winger and when he makes a lot of goals so
46:17um definitely good for them um Gustavo Heymann was was very good for Sheppard United on a day
46:23when as I said a lot of his teammates weren't up to that level again he's he's a player with
46:29both big fans obviously he's he's a real he's a real quality quality player at that level and
46:35it'd be nice to see him back in the Premier League next season but there's one way to go for that I
46:40I'm gonna go ultimately though I'm gonna turn to Dom Castorovas you know partly because I was at
46:45that game worth mentioning Jamie Sturry I thought he was he was very good for them at right back but
46:51Luke Mullen you I mean my overriding thought as that game came to an end was thank goodness for
46:56Dom Castor the transfer window shut because they'd be crawling all over Luke Mullen you
47:01now if they'd seen how he played against Premier League quality Grant McCann said you know he was
47:05on a par with the players on the pitch it was hard to argue played the first half in the hole where
47:10he doesn't normally play brilliant there um you know up against some Wharton and Hughes second
47:15half moves to inside right so he's up against Gay brilliant there as well um you know straight you
47:21know went close a couple of times to scoring made a made a couple of chances he's a really really
47:27good player and and you know I've yeah I've little doubt that um he's going to be Doncaster's player
47:33of the season if he keeps this form on and I think if Doncaster go up I think there's a very good
47:38chance he might get the the League Two player of the season award I think he's just he's he's worthy
47:45of a higher level and to be honest probably probably a higher level than than League One I
47:50think there might be championship clubs looking after him next season but certainly enjoy him for
47:54the next couple of months of the season Doncaster fans because he's a he's a really good player and
47:58a really important player to them too yeah yeah I think that's a fair chime he was in McCann said
48:03he was the best we knew in the division didn't he by a country mile the other yeah I know a few
48:09opposition managers are saying the same Simon Weaver said the same a couple of weeks ago it's
48:13not just uh not just the bias of Graham McCann he really is the real deal I think the thing is
48:18if they don't go up I don't think they're gonna I just don't think they're gonna be able to uh
48:22to keep him just to quit sorry I'm just gonna say I think even if they do they might struggle
48:27because I think his level might be one higher than that but yeah worry about that nearer the
48:31time sorry yeah I was just gonna mention Sheppard I mean I think the thing that's
48:36also impressive is that he's played in two different positions in albeit in a in a box three
48:43he was he was the middle man which I think to be fair to what Graham Alexander said it
48:48makes sense that sort of suits him a bit more and um he was very good against um Harrogate
48:54but he switched into the um switched into the uh to the left against um against Ackerinton and he
49:03also did the job as well albeit I think he's probably I think he's more naturally suited to
49:07the centre but you know that's another string string to his bow you know a good defender but
49:12also a versatile one and for those that don't know on loan from Barnsley and and someone who's
49:17learned his trade playing in the lower leagues with you know likes the Pontefracts and some of
49:22the and some of the other Yorkshire clubs so yeah a real a real feel-good story and I say
49:27hopefully one that will benefit Barnsley as well as Bradford Yorkshirepost.co.uk
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