On this week’s FootballTalk Podcast the YP’s Stuart Rayner and Leon Wobschall join host Mark Singleton to focus on several Yorkshire derby encounters plus other news from the White Rose football scene.
They start at the most recent of those derby clashes at Bramall Lane on Monday night when Leeds United walked away with all three points on the back of a 3-1 win that put them five points clear at the top of the table from hosts Sheffield United.
Two days earlier, it was Barnsley who earned Yorkshire bragging rights when they edged out struggling Rotherham United 1-0 at the New York Stadium, while York City and FC Halifax Town shared the points in an action-packed 2-2 draw at the LNER Community Stadium in front of nearly 7,000 fans.
Also, the panel cast their eye over the League One play-off hopes of injury-ravaged Huddersfield Town, before Stuart picks his team of the week and Leon has a tough choice picking out just the one player of the week.
They start at the most recent of those derby clashes at Bramall Lane on Monday night when Leeds United walked away with all three points on the back of a 3-1 win that put them five points clear at the top of the table from hosts Sheffield United.
Two days earlier, it was Barnsley who earned Yorkshire bragging rights when they edged out struggling Rotherham United 1-0 at the New York Stadium, while York City and FC Halifax Town shared the points in an action-packed 2-2 draw at the LNER Community Stadium in front of nearly 7,000 fans.
Also, the panel cast their eye over the League One play-off hopes of injury-ravaged Huddersfield Town, before Stuart picks his team of the week and Leon has a tough choice picking out just the one player of the week.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:15we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:18of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by Chief Football
00:22Writer for the Yorkshire Post, Stuart Rayner, and Football Writer for the Yorkshire Post,
00:25John Wapshall, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our local clubs. Don't
00:29forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire and beyond
00:33by logging on to our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out
00:38our various Twitter feeds, the main one being at ypsport. If you search for Yorkshire Post
00:43Sport, Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook, you can find us there as
00:47well. And if you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those
00:51various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at the
00:55Football Talk podcast at yp.sport at nationalworld.com.
00:59YorkshirePost.co.uk
01:02This week in the Championship, we saw Sheffield Wednesday fall to a bruising 4-0 defeat against
01:07Burnley. Middlesbrough suffered their fifth straight defeat when they lost 2-1 to Bristol
01:11City before playing out a 3-1 victory against Stoke City. And Hull City claimed a vital
01:16three points when they ended Sunderland's unbeaten home record with a 1-0 win, which
01:21was followed by a 1-0 defeat when they travelled to Cardiff City.
01:25In League 1, Huddersfield Town left their game against Peterborough United empty handed
01:30in a 1-0 defeat, and we'll be covering them later on in the show. And in League 2, Doncaster
01:35Rovers continued their steady push for promotion with a 2-1 win over Accrington Stanley. Bradford
01:41City kept pace with those in the automatic spots with a 2-0 win over MK Dons, before
01:47following it up with a 1-0 victory over Bromley, and Harrogate Town fell to a 2-0 defeat at
01:53the hands of Bromley.
01:55However, let's start this week with the Yorkshire clash between Rotherham United and
01:59Barnsley, which saw the Tykes walk away with all three points, thanks to Adam Phillips
02:04converting a penalty. Barnsley then followed this with a 2-1 victory when they travelled
02:10to Northampton Town.
02:12What did you make of Barnsley's two performances, and I saw in your report that Steve Evans'
02:17side received some criticism from those in the stands following that 1-0 defeat. Do you
02:22think that frustration is starting to show a little bit, Leon?
02:26I think so, yeah. In terms of Rotherham, I think myself and Stuart, I'm guessing, we've
02:35probably seen them, what, I dare say half a dozen times this season, and I think they're
02:40thinking about it. They played okay, I did them early in the season against Huddersfield
02:43and they were okay, but the rest of the times, they've been pretty poor, to be honest, and
02:49offered little going forward, just going front to back, playing for set pieces, just a real
02:57lack of method in the play, and they're struggling at the minute, and they're not out of the
03:03woods relegation-wise yet, they've got 38 points, and at the start of the season it
03:09was all about extensive recruitment, well-backed, there was a piece last week saying it was
03:18with Rotherham United's chief executive Paul Douglas, and it's the biggest league-one budget
03:22ever, and they find themselves on 38 points, and effectively in a relegation fight if they
03:28lose a couple more games, and yeah, it's really grim times at Rotherham, and worrying times,
03:36they were poor on Saturday again against Barnsley, I did the game at Oakwell in November
03:43and they really were dreadful that night, and there was a lot of recriminations in the
03:49stand, Tony Stewart, the chairman, he was fed up and he went before the end of Oakwell,
03:55he's actually done that before as well at Oakwell, bizarrely, and I don't think what
04:00he saw on Saturday would have comforted him too much, it wasn't as bad as that performance
04:07at Oakwell earlier in the season, but it didn't really suggest that they'd moved on too much,
04:14I think the worrying thing for me as well, at the end they had five forwards on the pitch
04:18at the end of the game, and there was just no quality, no game plan, you just didn't
04:24really see what they were doing, other than just throwing bodies on the pitch and hoping
04:28for a goal, there was just no method, no creativity, and yeah, it's been a really
04:37poor season for Rotherham, and obviously Evans, he's fighting for his job, he's losing a lot
04:46of friends by the week, and in the stands the fans are not happy, rightly so, you know,
04:53unfortunately for his sake, he has the main, the person who makes the decisions in Tony
04:56Stewart who pushed so much to bring him back, he's backing him at the moment, but you're
05:02just thinking is that patience going to last forever, you know, it's a relegation, it could
05:12be a really stressful end to the season at Rotherham if they're not careful, they played
05:16Bristol Rovers on Saturday, and yeah, the alarm bells will be really ringing if they
05:24lose that, it's just a season that's just not going at all, and you know, Evans' second
05:28come in just hasn't worked so far, and you know, he looked really, I think the thing
05:34about Steve Evans, as you'll probably notice as well, it's all about his persona, his character,
05:41and he looked really flat, I thought, after the game on Saturday, and it's really unlike
05:48him, he was quiet, and he's a bit of a, who motivates the motivator really, but as far
05:55as Barnesley are concerned, it was, Darryl Clarke, he'd called them out a little bit,
06:00hadn't he really, questioned the character, said they were soft and flaky, and I did the
06:06game against Huddersfield recently, and he was, you know, afterwards, he was very critical
06:12of the players' decision making, and also in the dressing room, he said he was really
06:16angry, and he was sort of saying, well I want to see the anger of the players, it's
06:19not necessarily that they don't care, but they weren't sort of having a go at each other,
06:23there wasn't that sort of, something within them, and yeah, there were some questions
06:30asked and they've, to be fair to them, they've provided some answers, I think the fact that
06:34some big players have come back, has certainly helped them, Mark Roberts was excellent on
06:40Saturday in the heart of defence, it was his sort of game at Rotherham, they were pumping
06:44balls and he was organising the back line, winning everything, and a really good performance
06:50from him, and he backed it up by all accounts, he was really good at Northampton as well,
06:54obviously six points from six, and yeah, it's funny how football is, isn't it, and the modern
06:59they support, everything's doom and gloom, Feast and Famine, they've had a couple of
07:03wins all of a sudden, and everyone's talking about the play-offs again for Barnsley, yeah
07:07I think they, it's been a big week for them, and they can obviously round that off, if
07:12they beat Wigan, Lincoln on Saturday, but yeah, just what the doctor ordered, Adam Phillips
07:19is back as well, he got the penalty at Oakwell, he's a player who's always going to get you
07:26goals, going to get you ten goals a season, Davis Keeler, don't know who, to be fair it
07:32was a big outlay when they brought him in Barnsley, and they probably spent most of
07:36the money on him really, but it's money well spent at the minute, isn't it, there's a good
07:41chance that he can get up to 20 goals, he got another two at Northampton, so yeah, they've
07:48asked a few questions to Barnsley, and the players have shown a bit of a stronger jaw,
07:53very significant for me that Roberts is back, but yeah, all the worries at the minute, you
07:59know, back on the shoulders of Rotherham, it was funny with the derby on Saturday, there
08:03was probably more pressure on Clarke to be quite honest, and it's sort of flipped round,
08:08and it's firmly on Steve Evans, and yeah, it's worrying times for Rotherham, that's
08:16the bottom line thing to say.
08:18Yeah, I mean, Rotherham have got to look at what Barnsley have done in this last week
08:23and replicate it, because as Leon says, Barnsley were pretty low ebb going into that game,
08:27you had a lot of discontent about what's going on at boardroom level, and as Leon says, a
08:34lot of pressure on the manager, yeah, two wins in a week, and suddenly the world looks
08:40a different place for them, but I mean, they've got some difficult fixtures now to back it
08:46up, I mean, as Leon says, it's Lincoln first, and then they've got Charlton and Blackpool,
08:52but if they can continue this momentum, those wins are really going to put them in a good
08:59place mentally as much as anything else, and Rotherham have just got to find similar, and
09:04I think the word that Leon used a few times is the most worrying word, the lack of method
09:10at Rotherham, for a manager who's come in in the summer and brought in a large amount
09:17of that squad, you would expect more of a, especially an experienced manager, you would
09:22expect more of a clear idea of how he's going to go about things, and to be fair, Leon's
09:28seen a lot more of Rotherham than I have this season, so I'm probably not the best place
09:33to talk on that regard, but I mean, we've seen the same sort of game, haven't we?
09:37Well, exactly, exactly, I just mean in terms of seeing the pattern of it, but yeah, there
09:42seems to be a lack of punch up front, you know, they've brought some players with good
09:49calibre in up front, like Sir Johnson, Clark Harris, and Malik Wilkes, and not being able
09:54to get consistent tune out of them, obviously injuries have been a factor with Clark Harris,
09:58but you know, that's why people have medicals, and that's why you do these sort of things,
10:05you know, you look at them and you think, oh, they're a Steve Evans team, they'll be
10:09tough to beat, but they haven't been tough to beat often enough, you know, you often
10:14look at it and you think, oh, there's a lack of width, you know, they sort of hit on that
10:18diamond formation at the start of the year, well obviously there's going to be a lack
10:22of width with that, but they're kind of making it work, and then that's sort of evaporated
10:26very quickly, you know, you were saying when they played well against Birmingham a couple
10:32of times, well they play well against the good teams, but you know, they don't respond
10:37to the lesser matches, and then they have a derby like Barnsley, you know, first time
10:42round absolutely appalling, which made the second derby even more important, and yet
10:47they're still not, you know, as Leon says, it's not as bad, but they're still not able
10:51to, you know, raise themselves for that game, it just seems to be problems throughout, and
10:57let's be honest about it, the most worrying thing from, in terms of Steve Evans' job prospects,
11:05is that Paul Warner's out of work at the moment, you know, that's always a, you know, no fault
11:12of Paul Warner's, no disrespect to Paul Warner, but when he's on the market, that obviously
11:15makes him, you know, that little bit, little bit less secure, it gives the Rotherham fans,
11:21you know, who are unhappy with Steve Evans a bit of a focal point, it's not, it's not
11:26irretrievable, but as Leon says, if they keep, you know, pottering on like this, they could
11:33sleepwalk into a relegation battle, and that was the last thing we were expecting this
11:38season, I certainly thought they would be, at least in the promotion picture, with all
11:42the things they did over the summer, and that's the real disappointment, that expectations
11:48were raised so much by Evans coming back, and as I've sort of alluded to in the past,
11:54there was a sort of mindset at the back end of last season to sort of sort out the structure
11:58of things, and that was sort of up to one side for the short-term kick of, let's just
12:03get back to the championship and worry about it then, well, the problem with cutting corners
12:08like that is you have to make a success of that short-term goal, and that is obviously
12:13not going to happen now, so, yeah, frustrating for them, but for Barnsley, you know, I guess
12:20it's a case of all is not lost, and, you know, I do feel as though they're going to struggle
12:27to make the playoffs on the basis of what we've seen over the course of the season,
12:31but it's definitely there for them if they can focus minds and find some consistency,
12:36and as Leon says, when you've got a goal scorer like Kiela Dunne, that automatically
12:41lifts you up a notch in terms of your ability to make the playoffs, so the next few games
12:46is going to be fascinating to see if this can actually be a turning point for Barnsley
12:51or just a blip.
12:52Yeah, it's, I mean, there was obviously aspirations at Barnsley to get in the playoffs, but I
12:58think the main thing looking at the season, I do think it will prove to be a season of
13:04transition, but they've got to take something into next season, haven't they?
13:07The final third of the season, they got in the playoffs last season, but they hobbled
13:11in them, really, didn't they?
13:13They lost momentum, Neil Collins lost his job, I think they won something like two out
13:18of 12, so it wasn't the biggest surprise when they got knocked out of the playoffs, but
13:22I think the Barnsley supporters will, you see, they're wanting to get in the playoffs,
13:27but they just want to take something into the summer, you know, don't let the season
13:32peter out again like it did, sort of, you know, last year, and I think the good thing
13:37for them is that you look at the teams in the mix, obviously, you know, Birmingham are
13:43away in the home and hosed and probably wrecks them to a bit of a lesser extent, but there's
13:49a couple of spots that are available, we'll probably go on and talk about Huddersfield,
13:53they're having a rough time of it for various reasons, there's a couple, you know, the teams
13:59above Barnsley, one or two, look invulnerable, aren't they, so if someone does piece together
14:03that strong run of late form, you know, it could well be there for them, but yeah, for
14:11Rotherham, I just look at them and they've got all their options up front, and they've
14:16got better, sort of, certainly got more, numerically, they've got more options than Barnsley, for
14:23instance, but they're just, it's just as if they're relying on something off the cuff
14:27from Malik Wilkes, or something like that from Clark Harris, and there just doesn't
14:33look to be any method there, and I think the worrying thing as well is they had a full
14:38week to prepare for this game, didn't they, you know, and you know, expecting to, you
14:43know, it's such a huge, yeah, Evan spoke about it being a massive game, spoke about, you
14:48know, how he was, you know, he got home in the early hours of Saturday morning after
14:52the game at Oakwell and, you know, he was almost in tears, all that sort of thing, so
14:56it meant a lot, it meant a lot to him, it meant a lot to everybody at Rotherham, just
15:01to, even if they didn't win, they had to get something, a performance, but they just didn't
15:06get a result, and they never got a performance, and yeah, it was just so flat, and, you know,
15:11I've got sympathy at some levels with Evan, you know, he's lost, he's had a big defender,
15:16a big summer signing in, Ragger, who's not been around all season, he was the defensive
15:22enforcer, but, you know, those things, you know, happen from, you know, from time to
15:26time, losing big players, I mean, look at Uctorsfield, for instance, I mean, crikey,
15:30the amount of players they've had unavailable is incredible, but, you know, Rotherham fans
15:37will have been wanting more this season and, yeah, it's just, it's just not happening at
15:42all and, yeah, we'll have to see what Saturday brings.
15:45Yeah, I think when Leon talks about Barnes, they've got to take something into next season,
15:50I mean, the obvious thing to look at is the home form, you know, they've got to get that
15:54psychological monkey off their back, there's only Burton and Blackpool have won fewer home
15:58games this season, you know, even if they fall short of the play-offs, at least if,
16:03when they kick off at Oakwell next season, there's a bit of belief that, you know, that
16:07they can put on a show and get some results there, then that's huge for them, I'd say
16:12Rotherham fans are sort of clutching at straws at the moment, looking for positives, really.
16:18And next, let's turn to the mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash between Sheffield United
16:23and Leeds United, which saw the Whites stage a late comeback for the second week in a row
16:28and move five points clear at the top of the division. The Blades took the lead 14 minutes
16:33in through an Ila Melier own goal, however the Visitors staged a fine performance in
16:37the second half, which helped them to score three goals within the space of 18 minutes.
16:43Now, what did you make of the game, and what do you think Chris Wilder will take from it?
16:48Yeah, well, I mean, whereas the last derby we talked about was kind of a bit of a desperation
16:53derby, this one there was a lot of positivity going into it, and I think if you spin it
16:59the right way, and you know, I don't say that lightly, I think if you are a manager you
17:04have to spin things the right way, I think there were positives to take out of it for
17:08both sides, but obviously far more for Leeds. I mean, I was thinking earlier, it was quite
17:14funny, a couple of weeks ago, Leon had a phase of watching Leeds back-to-back when they were
17:20in their sort of goal-fest phase, and I've just seen back-to-back matches when they're
17:26in their sort of late comeback phase, and you know, you need all those elements in a
17:30season, but you know, it's probably this more recent one that's the more important, because
17:36you know, I don't know about you, but when I see, you know, particularly a team at the
17:40top of the table win games like that, my first thought is, well, that's what champions do,
17:46you know, it really is the hallmark of it, and you know, they were quite different in
17:52some ways, because you know, the summer game, Leeds were the best team throughout, and they
17:57just had to plug away and plug away, the Sheffield United game, Sheffield United were much the
18:04better team for the first half hour, Leeds looked unusually ragged and panicked, but again,
18:11you know, they got through it, and they found a way, and that's what it's all about, I mean,
18:17you know, ironically, it was Chris Wilder who, in the build-up to the game, I asked him about,
18:21you know, this being a real showcase for the championship, Monday night, no Premier League
18:27football on, no other football on, so a chance to show how good championship football is,
18:32and his response was, quite rightly, it's not about showcasing the championship,
18:37it's about winning, I just want to win, you know, and obviously that will have been the
18:43attitude for Leeds as well, and they got the job done. I don't think it's done and dusted yet,
18:49you know, coming the day after Liverpool-Manchester City, I think probably a few people were looking
18:54to put the crown on Leeds' head, but there's too many games to go, and I think Sheffield
18:59United and Burnley have been too dogged to say it's over, but it did feel really big,
19:07really big psychologically for Leeds, I say on the back of Sunderland as well, to do it
19:14to do it once, one thing, but to do it twice a week, you know, that's a big tick in the box,
19:19and then probably the two are related, possibly Leeds couldn't have done that at Bramall Lane,
19:24had they not just done it at Sunderland and got the belief that they had it in them, but
19:29yeah, some, well, I was going to say some great performances, you know, from the likes of
19:36Junior Firpo in particular, obviously a very, very worrying one from Melier for a while,
19:41it seemed to spread a bit of panic, we're talking about this after the whole game and the howler
19:46there, but as I say, they were tough enough to get through it, and for Sheffield United,
19:54when I was talking about positive spin, I mean, if I was Wilder, I'd be really
19:58hammering home to those players, how good they were in the first half hour, how much panic they
20:04caused amongst the best team in the Championship, I'm adamant they are the best team and the best
20:10squad in the Championship, Leeds United, and yet Sheffield United were better than them for half
20:15an hour, but I think it just emphasises that Sheffield United are a very good team at that
20:19level, but just not quite at Leeds United's level, you know, no matter what the league
20:24table says at any given week, they feel like just one notch below, but I mean, quite frankly,
20:31if they go up in second place behind Leeds, nobody at Sheffield United should shed any tears
20:37about that, that would be a great achievement, and I think they can't take it too hard,
20:45you know, the 3-1 scoreline, it was more like a 2-1 scoreline, the Joel Pirogo goal at the end
20:50was kind of irrelevant, I mean, it didn't even really impact Leeds' goal difference,
20:55because they're so much better in that regard, and it was just a game of small margins,
21:03and Sheffield United picked up, not immediately, they lost to Middlesbrough after they lost
21:09the Leeds last time, but on the back of that, I think they won 9 out of 10,
21:13they've just got to show that strong jaw again, because, you know, they showed a lot of good
21:18things, and just short in the very small margins, the fact that Leeds can find those margins,
21:26just makes me believe that they'll win the league this season.
21:29Yeah, I think Stuart's spot on there, it's not the fact it happened once, it's happened twice,
21:33hasn't it? It's not just happened against one of the Mills teams, it's happened against the
21:38two teams who were, you know, two of the teams who were really battling out with you, I mean,
21:43psychologically, it's just such a huge moment, and we've said it a few times, there's a hell
21:49of a lot to be admired about Leeds this season, but I think the fact that they've won games in
21:57different ways, haven't they? They've batted teams, and then they've come at the end, and
22:03you know, a big sign of a champion team is, you know, late goals, goals in the second half,
22:12I just jotted a few things down, they've scored 43 goals in the second half of games,
22:17in the second half of Leeds, and they've only conceded eight, I mean, that's remarkable,
22:22isn't it? Incredible, yeah. In the last 15 minutes of games, they've scored 20 goals,
22:27conceded six, you know, 20 goals in the last 15 minutes of games, that's just,
22:34you know, it's staggering really, and yeah, I think if Leeds United don't finish in the top two,
22:40the only thing that could, for me, that could stop Leeds United, with respect to the others,
22:44is Leeds United, isn't it really? If they throw in a curveball somewhere, which has happened
22:51before, you know, I remember last season, off the top of my head, didn't they lose to Blackburn,
22:55didn't they, late in the season? One of those sort of games that Helen Roe, where, you know,
23:00a team comes and, you know, two banks of four sit in and nick a win, and whether one of those
23:08manages to spook a fan base, really, but there's no real sign of it at the minute, isn't it? You
23:13know, they haven't been beaten, what is it, 17 games now? It's since the end of November, isn't
23:19it? The Blackburn game, you know, they're in magnificent form, I think Farke is the sort of
23:27guy as well, he's not going to get carried away in any shape or form, he'll keep pushing and driving
23:32his players, you know, and quietly, I think, in the corridors of power, there must be a feeling
23:37that if they carry on, they've got a good chance of getting to 100 points, and that's got to be a
23:41motivation, it's a good motivation, isn't it? And, yeah, and they'll just be feeling so good,
23:48Leeds, won't they? They're not, Farke won't be shouting it from the rooftops, but he'll have
23:52looked at these games, he'll have looked at them a bit further back, he'll have thought, you know,
23:57Sunderland, then Sheffield United, if we can get, you know, four points out of six,
24:03we sort of set fair, but, you know, six points out of six, they're in a hell of a place,
24:09funny things happen in the Championship, but it'll take some, you know, with respect to the
24:15other teams that will find it out, I think it'll take some drop off for Leeds not to finish in the
24:22top two, I agree with what Stuart said about Sheffield, you know, they've got to accentuate
24:27the positives, they did play well in the first half and gave Leeds a fair few problems, and
24:35they've shown a strong draw before, as you said, Stuart, you know, the Leeds and Middlesbrough
24:39games in the autumn, they had a big run after that, and even relatively recently, they had a
24:46bit of a dodgy Christmas, didn't they? And I think they lost to Burnley and it was Sunderland,
24:53wasn't it? And they sort of came back with, I think it was three wins in a row,
24:58then they had another defeat, and the whole defeat, wasn't it? They got four in a row after
25:02that, so I think part of knowing Chris Wilder a little bit, I think part of them will sort of
25:10relish Sheffield United being written off a little bit, and the backs against the wall,
25:15he'll be able to fit that narrative in the way he wants, and they've not just got a good group
25:24of players, they've got a strong dressing room again, which is something that we've spoken about
25:28quite a lot, you know, in successful Sheffield United eras, that's what it's all about, so
25:34disappointing on the night, but they'll be back, Sheffield United, don't worry about that,
25:40um, you know, they're still writing it, and you know, I'd expect them, wouldn't surprise me if
25:46they went on another winning run after this, but yeah, Leeds, it does look Leeds is to lose,
25:53I mean, don't forget as well that Burnley and Sheffield United have still got to play each
25:58other, haven't they? I think it's Easter Monday, something like that. Yeah, it's like three games
26:03from the end of the season, isn't it? So someone's gonna, there's little things, someone's gonna
26:08sort of drop points there as well, but yeah, disappointing night for Sheffield United,
26:13but there were some good things within it as well, a bit of a blow this week, but
26:20you know, I'd back them to get back on the horse, and they've got another big game in a couple of
26:25weeks just down the road that's, they're not too long distance horizons, so yeah, they'll be fine,
26:33Sheffield United. Yeah, I mean, it was quite funny watching Chris Wilder wrestle with it before
26:38and after the game, because he was talking Leeds up all the time, and he kept saying,
26:43this is not spin, this is not spin, and I genuinely believe him, I think he was just speaking
26:48of his admiration of Leeds, and I think the reason he kept making that point was, if it was spin,
26:53that's the way he would have spun it, because as Leon says, you know, he quite likes that underdog
26:58tag, I think a lot of managers, a lot of groups do that sort of, we're up against it here tag,
27:05and a little bit of that has been dissipated, because the card he was playing in the first
27:09half of the season was, we don't have the squad they've got, then he had to admit at the start
27:15of February, didn't he, well, we've kind of got parity now, so that psychological weapon was taken
27:20out of his armoury, but yeah, they will relish that, and as I say, it's not really, even though
27:30the gap's perfectly bridgeable at five points, I don't think they should be looking at it in
27:34terms of them against Leeds, it's them against Burnley, isn't it, and you know, Leeds and Hull
27:40between them have kind of almost knocked Sunderland out of the picture in terms of getting second
27:47place, it's all about matching Burnley side, who are incredible as well, I mean, you know,
27:55speaking to Leon earlier in the week, as he was going through the numbers, and they were just
27:59astonishing what Burnley have done defensively, you know, I mean, how they managed to beat
28:04Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 on Friday, I will never know, because Sheffield Wednesday were really,
28:09really much the better team in the first half, but again, it's what we were saying about Leeds,
28:14United versus Leeds, these teams just find a way, and Burnley have clearly got that in them,
28:18so it's not going to be easy, I mean, you know, even for Leeds, we wait to hear, as we speak,
28:24the full extent of Ethan Ampadu's injury, but that, you know, that's a blow losing your captain,
28:28and again, they've just managed to shrug it off, you know, it's not just that the teams win these
28:34games, and how they win these games, it's who wins the games for them, you know, you think
28:38these four wins are sick, and you kind of knock Joel Perrault's goal off, because it was just
28:42the cherry on the top of the cake, but you've got two goals from the centre-back, you've got
28:48one goal from the left-back, and then you've got this incredibly precise header from a midfielder,
28:53when he scores a couple of goals a season, sort of thing.
28:57You always find people discovering their locality, don't you? I mean, I think the last time Liverpool
29:02won the league, wasn't there a game where Alisson, I can't remember if it was a last-minute equaliser
29:05or winner, when he came up the corner, you know, those teams that are going to have success can
29:11always find these sort of moments, and Leeds are certainly finding them right now.
29:17Steve Bruce moment, wasn't it?
29:18Steve Bruce moment, exactly, and you look at the fixtures that Leeds have got to come,
29:24and people say, well, you know, they've got most of the best teams out of the way,
29:29blah, blah, blah, you know, it's easy for them, but I think once it gets to this stage of the
29:33season for everyone, it's not so much about the team you're facing, it's about what's going on
29:37between your ears, and I think even if they do have that one defeat that Leon talked about,
29:45I think they can overcome that. If one follows the other, you know, Blackburn was quickly on the
29:50back of Coventry and then followed by QPR, that's when really, you know, the real nerve-setting,
29:57but Leeds look, and you know, this might blow up in my face, you know, really difficult time,
30:03but at the moment, Leeds just look tougher than that.
30:07They've got some good time here, just quickly glance at some of the away games,
30:12in particular, they've got to go to Portsmouth, and okay, the form book would suggest it'd probably
30:16be an easy win that, but going down to Portsmouth, it's a really good atmosphere down there,
30:21they drew against Sheffield United, they beat Middlesbrough, that'll be a good test for them,
30:26Leeds have got QPR as well, a little bit further down the track, Leeds have always had demons there
30:32from as long as I can remember, going to Luton as well, they're fighting for their lives,
30:37the crowd get on top of you there, so they're a good test for Leeds, aren't they, but you know,
30:40you'd certainly, you'd certainly back them with the way that things are going, but
30:45Farker will be, you know, alive to all the, all the potential pitfalls in any of those games,
30:53games for sure, but yeah, it's looking, you know, it's looking great, isn't it, what is it, 75,
30:59what are they on, 75 points now, and we're not even at the end of,
31:04end of February, which, you know, that's got to, you know, when Leeds players,
31:08they see the league table, and you know, they'll be pushing and driving each other in training,
31:14and yeah, they're almost, it's just sort of like the final, the final push now for them,
31:19isn't it, really, they've done so much good work this winter, and now it's about finishing it off
31:24in the spring. Yeah, I mean, Farker hates talking Leeds United up as much as Chris Wilder loves
31:28talking them up right now, because he's desperate to keep them grounded, you know,
31:33in the pre-match press conference he was asked about Brendan Aronson, and you know,
31:36immediately responded with, well, he needs to do this better, he needs to do that better,
31:39and then I asked him about Jadon Bogle, and he's, well, he's got nine yellow cards,
31:43he hasn't scored enough goals, he hasn't had enough assists, there's no, he's very, very
31:48conscious of not getting carried away, not dancing on the table, as he likes to say,
31:53so that there is, there is little danger that Leeds will get carried away with themselves,
31:59I guess the question is, when they have the wobble, if they can just sort of,
32:04there'll be a game, obviously, if they can just, you know, respond in the right way,
32:10but all the signs are that they can. Yeah, I mean, the good thing, quickly,
32:14is if they can get promoted as early as they can, it gives them extra planning time, doesn't it,
32:18you know, you're thinking about next season, you're thinking about next season targets,
32:21they start in the order, and trying to get there in a row recruitment-wise,
32:27you know, that, for me, is another, another aspect of it, but obviously, first of all,
32:32it's about getting over the line, isn't it? Yeah, exactly, exactly, and now we look at
32:36Huddersfield Town, who clashed with Wigan Athletic and produced a 2-1 defeat, which
32:41was their second successive league defeat, and also slows their progress in solidifying their
32:45place in the play-off spots. Now, what did you make of the game, and do you think,
32:51what do you think the team will go about, or what do you think the team will do in trying to
32:57calm any possible concerns, Leon? They're looking vulnerable, Huddersfield, it's,
33:03it's sort of brewing up to be a bit of a, a bit of a perfect storm, and it's just so much
33:10disruption injury-wise, and, you know, managers do go on about injuries, but you can't do anything
33:17but, can you, Michael Duff? It seems to be after every game there's something, isn't there? I mean,
33:22did the game at Wigan on, on Tuesday night, David Kusumu came off with potentially a
33:28hamstring issue there, Jonathan Hogg missed the game because he'd, they were doing some
33:36preparation in training, and he, and he hurt his toe. They can't actually do that much in training,
33:40they've got that many players out, and, you know, that's the conundrum for a manager, you've got all
33:45the, all these players out, senior players as well, he's got, he's got three, three, basically
33:50his three main senior centre, centre-halves. How do you prepare for a game? The schedule hasn't
33:55held, they're having another three-game week, there was a three-game week last week, and it,
34:00it must just be, you know, a real nightmare for, for a manager, really. You know, you rest and
34:05recover, you, then you've got to try and prepare for games, and you haven't got, you know, you're
34:09working with a, a small, small group of players, given the, the amount of players who were,
34:16who were out, really, but, I mean, that said, I've, I've, they've still got a decent squad,
34:22Huddersfield, and the, the performance in the first half at Wigan was, was pretty alarming,
34:26I, I thought they just didn't get going, going at all, they looked, they looked a team of,
34:33of strangers, almost, they were, they were very hesitant in, in defence, there was,
34:38there was not a great deal in midfield, and there was no combinations up front, and,
34:45it, you know, Duff as well, he's, he's having to switch formations, and he's not got a settled
34:50back four, it's, it's, it's just not a settled team across the pitch, isn't it, really, and they
34:55really are, they really are biting the injuries, and, you know, I've got some, I've got sympathy
35:01for him in, in that regard, but they still had a decent side out in the first half at, at Wigan,
35:08and that was, that was the worry, he wanted a bit more, and, yeah, the fans are, they're still in,
35:14obviously, they're still in the play-offs, still in fifth spot, but the, you know, the
35:18mood music there isn't, isn't particularly good at the minute, and they're, they're gonna have to,
35:25they're gonna have to try and, try and close ranks, and chip away and get a couple of results,
35:30but as ever, when a team's struggling, the schedule doesn't particularly help them,
35:34they've got, you know, they've got three main centre-halves out, the big centre-halves,
35:38they've got Lees Bolker, who's gonna be out for a, I think he's gonna be out two for four,
35:43to four weeks, he's got a, a thigh issue, Lees can't do anything for the next three or four
35:49weeks with a knee problem, that just needs rest, first of all, Matty Pearson, I think he's a
35:54couple of weeks into a, I think he's somewhere like six weeks out with a, with a calf injury,
35:59they play Stevenage on Saturday, who, who are one of the most, sort of, direct teams in the division,
36:05so they're gonna launch it straight on, straight on top of them, and then,
36:09on the next Tuesday, they've got Wrexham, who are probably, I'm not, I've not seen too much
36:13of Stevenage, but I'd imagine Wrexham are probably a, a more of a refined version of,
36:18of Stevenage, they're just gonna get, they're gonna get crosses in from the wing-backs,
36:22it's gonna be a real physical examination, and it, you know, desperate luck that your three big
36:27centre-halves aren't, aren't available for that, so, yeah, I've got sympathy for Doug, but it's
36:32just gotta, it's not to get much sympathy from, from the supporters, and it's just gotta somehow,
36:38somehow find a way, I mean, they, they managed to do that at Barnsley the other week, didn't they,
36:44there was a, a bit of heat on there, and they weren't great in the first half there, but
36:48they managed to turn it around in the second half, and, and backed it up with the win at,
36:54at Srewsbury, but yeah, they, they look vulnerable at the minute, Huddersfield, and,
36:58you know, it's given, given the sort of disruption that they've had, it's been, it's been all season
37:03really, hasn't it, they've, I think the player who's probably played the most games in a season
37:08will, it'll probably end up being Ben Wilds, and he'll, he's probably still missed five, six, seven
37:13games, you know, they've just had so much, so much thrown at them, and, yeah, they're, they're
37:21struggling at the minute. Yeah, they must be, they must be absolutely cursing Oxford United,
37:26putting a bid in for a league up, I call it Michel Herlig, yeah, absolutely, yeah, I mean,
37:31I think they kind of had to sell him because they did, you know, they promised him that somebody
37:35came in for him, so it's not, it's not a criticism of Huddersfield for, for selling him, but yeah,
37:39they could really have done without that, I mean, who knows, the way, the way they look is he'd
37:43have probably pulled his hamstring after, after the league, but, yeah, they could certainly do
37:47with him now, and, and again, I feel sorry for them, the fact that they, they recognised they
37:52had this problem up front, they went out and got two strikers, and then almost immediately,
37:56Joe Taylor, who started the better of the two, gets injured, but, you know, there's
38:02top stories for every, every team in the league, pretty much, you know, up and, up and down the
38:0792, and they just can't feel sorry for themselves, I mean, I don't think Duff's the sort of personality
38:12he will, he's, you would hope that that sort of mentality is entrenched in, in the squad now,
38:18but, you know, the longer this, the longer this, you know, poor run of form goes on, you do,
38:24you do worry about sort of how it's affecting them, how it's affecting them mentally, I mean,
38:29it's only the start of the year, I remember when they beat Wickham, you know, we were talking about
38:33when maybe, you know, barging their way into the automatics, and now all of a sudden, you know,
38:37you, you, you're worrying about the playoffs, but, you know, if they can, better to be having this
38:44run now than, you know, there's, there's, there's time to put it right, there's time to get it
38:50sorted, but I think, I think it's got to be, and I think it will be anyway, because Michael Duff's
38:55in charge, it's got to be, you know, battling down the hatches at the back, and working from
38:59there, you know, we thought, we thought, you know, this February was going to be about working more
39:05on the other end of the field, getting those strikers in, and making them more potent,
39:09but the reality is they've just been dragged back to, they've just got to find a way, I mean,
39:13it was Saturday, wasn't it, Leon, they finished the game without a centre-back on the,
39:17on the pitch, especially centre-back, yeah, Michael Duff's very good at coaching sides
39:23defensively, and he's, he's just got to get that, that hard-to-beat element back into them,
39:29and work from there, really, it's, it's the, it's the only part of the season,
39:34but it's certainly the part that's got to be done. Yeah, it was, it was funny on Saturday,
39:39um, Lombard could only just come back from injury, hadn't he, so,
39:44because he's, he's so shorn of options, Duff was thinking, well, I'm gonna have,
39:48he doesn't want him cramping up right at the end of the game, so he brought him up,
39:51but in fairness, they did have a young centre-half on the, on the bench, um,
39:55Loic Aina, who, he was on the bench as well at, at Wigan, so you would have thought he's gonna
40:01have to get a chance sooner or later, isn't he, and he, you know, he's had experience in the,
40:07in the, uh, in the SPL, so maybe we'll have to be seeing him at, um, at, at some point sooner.
40:14I think the thing is, it's just, they've had a lot thrown at them, I think this is the biggest
40:17test, isn't it? Yeah. They, they've sort of been through rough moments in the autumn, but they seem
40:24to have intensified, and obviously it's a more critical time of the season now, isn't it? The
40:28games are running out, and, you know, every, every bad result is magnified, so, so yeah,
40:34I think they've, they've come through a lot this season and enjoyed a lot of Huddersfield, but
40:38this next period for me is, you know, I've sort of highlighted who they're playing as well,
40:43it won't be easy going into Stevenage and, and Rexham at home as well, this to me is the,
40:48is the, is the real sort of tough, the tough test and period in the season for them to,
40:55to somehow get through and chip away and, um, do what they did earlier this winter and just,
41:00just try and chip away and get a few results, because that's all they can really,
41:04really do at the minute. I suppose one little positive is that, there's talk of Joe Taylor,
41:08might be back on the, on the bench on Saturday, but, you know, with, with given the extent of
41:15injury, they're going to have to be so careful with workload, aren't they, in match minutes, and
41:19to bring someone, to get it wrong, bring someone back, and he, and, and he breaks down and he's
41:23out again for, for a period of time, and that's happened with one or two players earlier this
41:28season, then, you know, they've got a difficult, when you're in tough, tough shoes, you're the
41:35ones making, making the decisions, you've got to, you've got to get it right, because if you get it
41:39wrong, there's, there's serious consequences, isn't there? And we know what people like, you
41:43know, for example, Tom Leeds and Matthew Pearson and the like, we've seen them all bandaged up,
41:47you know, playing when they shouldn't be playing, um, they have to be sort of responsible and not,
41:53not come back a week or two earlier than they should as well, which is a really difficult
41:57thing to ask, because they, they really want to help, you know, Jonathan Hogg's obviously hewn
42:01for the same, same stone, but I think the longer a football season goes on, the less it's about
42:06talent and the more it's about character, and this is the real character bit for, for Huddersfield
42:10to get through. Absolutely, yeah, and now we turn to the thrilling encounter between York City and
42:16Halifax Town, which ended in a two-all draw, which saw a 95th minute red card for York City's
42:22Ashley Nathaniel George and an equaliser in the 10th minute of added time.
42:27Now, what was your assessment of the entertaining game and can you help us try and make sense of it?
42:33Yeah, well, I've had a fair week of it, being in that game in between those two Leeds games we
42:37talked about. I've certainly had a few, a few late, late rewrites, but again, you know, um,
42:42York are another team going for a title and showed, showed some of the, some of the qualities
42:47you need. I mean, just to, just to talk you through the sort of basic outline of the game,
42:52Halifax went 2-0 up inside three minutes, you know, um, and if, if somebody had turned up after
42:59four minutes, they've said it was a really good performance by York because, you know, it kind of,
43:03it kind of forced the shape of the game. Naturally, when you're 2-0 up, you don't really go hell for
43:08leather. York had no choice but to, so it let them build, build up some momentum. Um, Olly
43:14Pearce got a goal back with a penalty after 15 minutes, but, um, we ended up playing, uh, 21
43:19minutes of stoppage time in the end. We're 11 added to the first half because, uh, Ryan Falafel
43:25got knocked unconscious. Uh, fortunately it sounds like he's, uh, in a much better way now. And then,
43:32uh, there were meant to be nine, nine added to the second half, but with the sending off of the
43:37goal, we got, we got, we got a bonus minute and, um, and York just went to the end, you know, and
43:45even, even getting a man sent off, as you said, five minutes into, into stoppage time,
43:49they managed to, uh, to get an equaliser 10 minutes into stoppage time with the captain
43:54centre, centre back again to go about what, what you said about Leeds United up for a corner,
43:59uh, gets the goal. And, you know, I know, I know for a fact that there'll have been one, uh,
44:04one unhappy shaman in the, uh, in the Wabshaw household because that's the second time this
44:10season that, um, you know, two, two late goals to win two one in the, uh, in the reverse game.
44:19But again, you know, like Sheffield United, there were lots of positives for Halifax to take.
44:23I think they should just be looking at how, how well they played, how well they pushed aside.
44:29I think if you take the emotion out of it, I think a draw was a fair result. And to be, to be,
44:34to be drawing with York is no, uh, is no bad thing when you were a team away to York. It's
44:38no bad thing when you're a team going for the playoffs, but, you know, from York's perspective,
44:43they'd lost to Barnet in midweek. Had they then lost again, um, I think the gap would have been
44:4910 points, I think, off the top of my head with a game in hand. It could, you know, it,
44:53sorry, with two games in hand, it could have been a real turning point of the season. The hope
44:57now, I'll, Adam Hinshelwood was talking about, you know, this could be a galvanising point in
45:01the season. They won again in midweek. It could just be the moment that, that puts Ben back on
45:07track after a little wobble. But like I said about the Leeds-Sheffield United one, it was
45:11kind of a derby that you came out of kind of feeling positive for both sides, even though
45:17at the final whistle, if you were Halifax and you were Sheffield United, you were absolutely gutted
45:22with the way those games panned out. It'd just be great to see them back in the football league,
45:26the pair of them, wasn't it? Obviously, York are very close. They just seem to be a bit like Leeds
45:31with the late goals, don't they? They just go into the end and their own home record is really
45:37strong. I think Halifax, they've had a problem for a few seasons, haven't they? Their away form
45:43has been great. I think it's the best in the league, I think, yeah. But you look at the home
45:49form and it's probably, what, 15th, 16th and it's a bit of a, it's a bit of a, coming a bit of an
45:55age-old problem and obviously the problem with the postponements and the state of the share,
45:59we've spoken about that. It just seems to be they're better equipped to settle, to go away
46:04from home and be solid and, you know, nick a goal maybe on the counter, attack set plays and
46:09just this sort of conundrum at home. But yes, I think my lad, who's a big Halifax
46:18Town supporter, will be glad to see the back of York this season. Absolutely.
46:22So they really, I mean, there's all sorts of uncertainty about the future of the Shea,
46:27full stop, but they really need to get to grips with the pitch because their whole sort of
46:31strategy is about getting technical footballers and trying to play football and it's difficult
46:37on that pitch, you know, so therefore when you do go away, even if it's to York City,
46:43you know, if you're 2-1 up after 90 minutes, you want to be coming home with maximum points because
46:49it really does put the pressure on them at home every time they drop points away.
46:53I think even getting players quickly to do it, if they're wanting to get loan players in from
46:56good young players from football league clubs, there's three or four clubs in for them and
47:02they're sort of thinking about Halifax and it's a good club but there's the other surface of the
47:07Shea and things like that come into it, don't they? Definitely. But, you know, there's a lot
47:11there to work with in terms of the type of Shea on the day. So if they can find a way of
47:18around these problems then, yeah, they definitely looked a team capable of making the players which
47:25would certainly represent a good season for Halifax. Yeah. And finally for this week,
47:30I will look to Stuart for his team of the week before turning to Leon for
47:34what I'm guessing is going to be quite a difficult player of the week this week.
47:40Well, I mean, in terms of the team of the week, there's two outstanding candidates and
47:44we've banged on enough about Leeds United so there's no need to talk too much more about them.
47:49I think on the toss of a coin, I'm going to go with Bradford City. You know, nine home wins on
47:55the trot, equal in the club record. That's incredible consistency at Leeds 2 level. You
48:00know, the clean sheets to back that up, amazing as well. And then, you know, they go to Bromley
48:06in midweek, you know, you're looking at the score about 70 minutes in and you think, oh,
48:10is this going to be their undoing? I think they've only won three at home in the league
48:15this season. It's been their real Achilles heel and, you know, the fixture list has been a bit
48:19skewed towards Valley Parade games recently to give it a bit of a slightly unrealistic feel,
48:25but it just feels like that's a club with a lot of momentum. And, you know, the same as with Leeds,
48:32the same as with Sheffield Wednesday, clubs like this with big fan bases, when the momentum's going
48:37one way or the other, it can be hard to stop. And I think, I think just, you know, the name,
48:41the crowds all up the history of Bradford City. If you're, you know, Don Caster, you know, an
48:47MK Don's and Notts County or what have you, you're going to be that bit more worried when a team like
48:53Bradford gets on a roll. And they really do seem like they're on a roll at the moment. Like
48:59we said about Daniel Farker, I think Graeme Alexander's the right kind of personality to
49:03not let that roll get carried away with themselves. But, you know, they have certainly
49:07hit in a really good form at the moment and they're doing exceptionally well. So they're
49:12my team of the week. And Leon, who have you gone for your player of the week this week?
49:18Yeah, you were right there, Mark. There is a hell of a lot of candidates and,
49:23you know, you go back to the week and what a win for Hull, who have not really spoken much
49:26about them. Unfortunately for them, they obviously couldn't back it up at Cardiff,
49:32but that was a terrific win for them at Sunderland. Obviously, they got the win against
49:38Sheffield United not too long back. And, you know, sometimes when you're at the bottom,
49:42you need those sort of curveball results, don't you? And you just hope that Hull, it'll be enough,
49:49a few more of those can keep Hull out of trouble. They've got a massive game, obviously, next week
49:53against Plymouth. Some good defensive contributions. McLaughlin, Charlie Hughes, who was back,
50:00Alfie Jones, who's been reasonably consistent this season. But, you know, you look at the teams,
50:06it's difficult to go away from the teams that are flying at the minute. You know, Leeds United,
50:11Bradford. Obviously, with Bradford, we've spoken before, obviously, massive blow with Andy Cook.
50:18We need others to chip in and take the strain. And obviously, with the two, number 10s, if you
50:25like, with Sarsovic, you know, he's popping up with some key goal-scoring moments. I did the
50:31game against Harrogate recently and I got another couple as well last weekend. Bobby Poynton as
50:37well, he's having a whale of a time at the minute, isn't he? Local lad playing for his
50:42hometown club. Graham Alexander speaks really well of him, you know, really wanting to learn
50:48and develop his career. Got a big goal at Birmingham and got the glory at Bromley.
50:55You know, the defenders as well, Paul Huntingdon, show why the club have brought him in. You know,
51:02Sam Walker, experienced goalkeeper. Barnsley as well. I mean, I mentioned Mark Roberts,
51:11Barnsley have been missing that sort of gritty side, that defensive leader. You know,
51:16it's no coincidence he's come back in and they've had back-to-back wins at Rotherham and
51:21Northampton. We've spoken about Keeler Dunne as well. But yeah, I think when push comes to shove,
51:27given the sort of magnitude of the night and the last couple of wins, he's got to be a
51:31Leeds United player. Yeah, I'm drawn to Junior Firpo. He's had his trials and tribulations at
51:41Leeds, hasn't he? I suppose many might have thought he'd have gone away for past his New
51:47Year a year or so ago, but he's still there. He's become a bit of a cult hero almost, hasn't he,
51:53really? He pops up everywhere, doesn't he? He's roving all over the place and, you know,
52:00lo and behold, he was there in the box and he scored a header that a centre-forward would be
52:04proud of, wouldn't he, really? And he had to be a good header to beat Michael Cooper, who
52:10as Stuart said in his ratings, it's rare to give a goalkeeper an eight out of ten when you concede
52:17three goals, but he was very good on the night. But he couldn't keep that header out from Firpo.
52:23So one or two candidates from Leeds have shared the load. This run, that's been a really impressive
52:30thing for me. People all over the place putting their hand up. But yeah, I'm going to go for
52:35I'm going to go for Junior Firpo and the Leeds supporters listening can sing a song.
52:41Yeah, I mean, Lionel appreciates Chris Wilder's analogy. You'll have to ask your dad about it,
52:45Mark. But he compared Junior Firpo's goal to Bob Latchford or Joe Jordan with the way he hung in
52:51the air. That was a real throwback one. But yeah, I mean, Firpo, I think he's a top defender in the
52:57Championship for assists. We all know about the attacking side of his game. It was a brilliant
53:01tackle to stop Callum O'Hare making it 2-0 as well. You know, he did both sides of the game.
53:06And I think it's a couple of weeks in quick succession. Leon's picked him out,
53:11which shows he's in really good form for Leeds right now.