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On this week’s show, The YP’s football writer, Leon Wobschall, joins host Mark Singleton to preview the 2025-26 season for League One hopefuls Barnsley, Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United as well as our sole League Two representative in League Two, Harrogate Town.
They also assess the news this week that Danny Rohl’s long-expected departure from Sheffield Wednesday was finally confirmed and what needs to happen next at Hillsborough in order to get the club heading in the right direction again.
They also assess the news this week that Danny Rohl’s long-expected departure from Sheffield Wednesday was finally confirmed and what needs to happen next at Hillsborough in order to get the club heading in the right direction again.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to the latest edition of Football Talk from the Yorkshire Post, where
00:16we will be discussing some of the latest talking points from the world of football with members
00:19of our football writing team. On this week's episode, we're joined by football writer
00:23for the Yorkshire Post, Leon Wobshaw, to discuss all of the latest developments affecting our
00:27local clubs. Don't forget you can keep up to date with all the football news across Yorkshire
00:31and beyond by logging onto our website at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, as well as checking out
00:36our various Twitter feeds, the main one being at YPSport. If you search for Yorkshire Post
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00:45well. If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using those various Twitter
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00:55at yp.sport at nationalworld.com, yorkshirepost.co.uk.
01:00As mentioned earlier in the intro, this week we're joined by football writer for the Yorkshire
01:04Post, Leon Wobshaw. Good afternoon, Leon.
01:07After you, Mark. Hope you're well.
01:09Yeah, not too bad, not too bad. Right, this week we'll be taking a more in-depth look at
01:15Leagues 1 and 2 and how things look for our teams in those divisions ahead of the new campaign.
01:20However, before we do jump into those two divisions, I wanted to cover the latest news
01:26to come out of Sheffield Wednesday, which is that the club and Danny Roll have decided
01:31to part ways by mutual consent, which with less than two weeks to go before the start of
01:35the new season, this just adds to the confusion and frustration for the fans.
01:41What are your thoughts on the latest development and where do they go from here in terms of getting
01:47a new head coach, Leon?
01:49Yeah, to be honest, Mark, I mean, there's certainly a little bit of a, not a little bit,
01:53a lot of a back story to this. There's been, I think, probably a speculation since last
01:59Christmas, really, about Roel Heverson. He was linked to the Southampton job. He was
02:05obviously keen on going there, but obviously there was an issue regarding his compensation.
02:10And it's, I mean, it's been a chaotic year for Sheffield Wednesday. I mean, he's obviously
02:15continuing this summer. And it always sort of felt when and not if that Roel will go.
02:23I mean, he effectively said he's departed at the end of last season, the game at Lickridge
02:27Road against Watford. There's been obviously a hell of a lot of tension between himself and
02:32the owner regarding, well, I think principally it was recruitment in January. There were
02:39obviously big concerns there, but I think a lot of issues as well. There's been a breakdown
02:44in communication and in terms of the relationship, really, and a lot of it was aired in public.
02:52So, yeah, I don't think he's necessarily surprised that Roel's gone. It's just the latest development
02:57in a pretty difficult and fraught summer. I mean, it was surprising a few weeks ago when,
03:04you know, to all intents and purposes, everyone thought that was it for Roel. He'd actually
03:08come back after missing the first few weeks of pre-season and he's still under contract.
03:15Most people thought he would have obviously lined up another club. He'd been linked with a
03:20hell of a lot of football clubs in England and in Germany. I mean, he was linked with Middlesbrough,
03:26Leicester, there was the previous links with Southampton and clubs back home as well. So,
03:31you know, the smart money was on him sort of departing in the summer. So he linked with
03:36a lot of jobs, but obviously still on the books of Sheffield Wednesday and hadn't sort of moved
03:42on. So, yeah, he just felt a little bit of a, a little bit of a shirard in sort of coming
03:47back when he plainly sort of, you know, said his farewells at the end of last season.
03:52And then, you know, by all accounts, you know, it didn't, it didn't actually go down well
03:57with some of the players who actually remained at the club. It was sort of more, well, sort
04:03of upheaval, really, to be honest. Obviously, Henrik Pettersson had taken over, um, the first
04:09team preparations and then suddenly Roel comes back. So, yeah, there's been a bit of, um,
04:13obviously discussions behind the scenes and then finally provide a little bit of clarity
04:19regarding his future with Roel, Roel departing, which, you know, it was a bit of an, it wasn't,
04:24it wasn't an open secret that, that he would be moving on. So, um, yeah, we'll just have
04:29to see what the next development is. I mean, there's all sorts of developments at Sheffield
04:32Wednesday, sort of, um, you know, off the pitch, especially, I mean, obviously broken as
04:38well, that's potentially the North stand might not be open at the start of the season due
04:42to safety concerns. And it just seems to be one thing, uh, after another. I mean, I think
04:48both on one level that there is at least clarity now regarding Roel and his, his future is going
04:54to be elsewhere. And I think that's probably the best for every, everyone concerned. I mean,
04:59it's been a really messy time at Sheffield Wednesday this year, you know, got a lot of sympathy
05:04for Roel, but he's also not sort of helped himself at times with some of his sort of
05:10behaviour and some of the things he's dropped into, into the press. And it just seems best
05:14for everybody concerned that's, that he, that he, that he does move on. Obviously, he'll be
05:19remembered only for what happened a couple of, um, seasons ago with the, with the great
05:24escape season, which was, you know, one of the remarkable stories in, in the EFL. But obviously
05:30last season, you know, the fortunes of, of, of Wednesday sort of on and off, off the pitch
05:36started to unravel and, uh, uh, really wrought and, and, uh, pretty sad summer really. And
05:43it, and it's continuing and, uh, yeah, it's no real surprise that's, that Roel's, Roel's
05:48gone. And, um, yeah, I think that at the minute, the, the big concerns for the Sheffield Wednesday
05:54and speaking to Wednesday ice, is it, is it, you know, a whole change of, of ownership
05:59really? That's the big issue at Wednesday. Obviously, you know, chance series, you know,
06:04increasingly reviled and he's, you know, there's a, a, a wealth of, uh, a pressure on
06:10him and the supporters want him, you know, to leave, leave the club and get a green break
06:14and, and, uh, new owners in. And that seems to be the big fight at Sheffield Wednesday
06:18going forward in the weeks and months ahead.
06:22Yeah. Yeah. So, uh, basically there's a lot to unpack at, uh, Sheffield Wednesday and
06:28we have to wait and see what happens.
06:30Yeah. I mean, it, it, it's sad. It's, it's been pretty unedifying, Mark, hasn't it, really?
06:34You know, one of English football's grand old clubs who were making the headlines for, for
06:39all the wrong, wrong reasons, you know, all manner of, of financial issues there, transfer
06:45embargoes, obviously, you know, the issue with the, um, safety concerns with the, with
06:48the stand and, you know, it just looks at a really chaotic and a, and a depressing picture
06:53really. And, um, obviously it's the headlines with, with role going, but in the grander scheme
06:59of things, you know, there's, there's wider issues there with Sheffield Wednesday that's,
07:03uh, that need to be addressed.
07:05And let's now turn to Huddersfield Town who will want to have a better season than they
07:10did last year. Um, but for that to happen, what does the club still have to do before
07:15the season kicks off? And what have you heard from the club in terms of their preparations,
07:20Leon?
07:21Well, yeah, I went down to the game on, on Saturday, a mark against Burnley. You couldn't
07:27really read too much into, into pre-season and friendlies. And then, you know, in fairness,
07:31Huddersfield were playing a side newly promoted to, uh, to the Premier League. And it was a
07:37stiff test and I've seen a lot of friendlies and a lot of them sort of follow the same
07:42path. It's, you know, it's about fitness and developing understandings. Burnley deserves
07:46to win on the day 2-0. There was, there was some promising signs for town. Quite a few of
07:51the new signings, uh, started. I was impressed by Owen Goodman in, in goal. There was a fair bit
07:55of competition to, to get into Huddersfield and he, uh, he, he showed his wares really
08:01well. He made, you know, three or four excellent saves. His reflexes look really sharp and it's
08:07obviously going to be the number one in the, you know, in the season ahead. I thought Joe
08:13Lowe looked good at centre-half, a really big, imposing central defender. And, uh, I thought
08:19he, he looked the part and he's arrived off a good season at Wickham and Lyndon Gooch as well
08:25at, uh, right wing back. Looked, uh, experienced, uh, knew his position and looked, he looks a really
08:33steady player. So there was some good sticks there. There's been a lot of, a lot of, uh,
08:37recruitments at Huddersfield this summer that brought 11 players in. Uh, I think they're all,
08:43all but done. Maybe another, perhaps another number 10, 10 option. And then it'll be a case
08:48of maybe thinning the squad a little bit. They're a little bit top heavy in, in some
08:53areas. They've got quite a few forwards and you might expect one or two of the fringe
08:56ones maybe to, maybe to move on there. But yeah, I mean, the, the, the recruitment's
09:02been, it's been pretty headlined there. Obviously Alfie May, they've got him at the second time
09:07of asking. He was, he was all but done last year and it looked like he was, he was coming
09:12to Huddersfield, but they got kazumped by, by Birmingham, but they've maintained their
09:16interest and he's, he's actually come to the Huddersfield with a proven track record
09:21of goals at this level. Yeah. They made a few headlines with the signage. I just think
09:25it will take a little bit of, a little bit of time. And I think there's got to be a little
09:30bit of perspective there. I mean, when you consider, we sort of mentioned, uh, I think
09:35we mentioned last week, didn't we? They sort of drop off in the, the second half of last
09:40season. Yeah. The form just went off a cliff, didn't it really? They lost eight the last
09:44nine. They, um, I think it was 12 of 15 and it was, it was a really demoralising and depressing
09:52run of form and, um, some of the worst the club, the club's having in, uh, in recent years
09:57really. And it'll take, it'll take a bit of time to sort of say establish, build a new
10:03spine of the team. When you look at the players who left Mark, there was some, you know, some
10:07players who've been there for a good period of time, obviously the Jonathan Hoggs, the
10:12Matthew Pearson's, uh, Tom Lees, Danny Ward, they were all sort of senior players, you
10:18know, big players in the dressing room. And, and it will take some time to, to sort
10:23of, to sort of rebuild. I just hope there's a little bit of patience there. I mean, it
10:27would be nice from a Huddersfield perspective if they can get some, some early wins to boost
10:32that morale. I mean, I mean, the first game will be interesting, won't it, as well? They
10:35ended last season at home to Leighton Orient and got a good, a good hiding. You know,
10:40it's obviously the quirks of fix your fate, other than the play, the play Orient in the
10:45first, you know, the next league game and the next game at, at home. So there'll be,
10:50psychologically, there'll be hoping for a better outcome there. But I just think it
10:55will take a little bit of, of time to matter. A lot of new, a lot of new recruits. He's
10:59basically building, building a new, new team almost. And I hope there's a little bit
11:04of patience there because it could be one of those seasons where it'll be the second
11:08half of the season where things may hopefully really click into gear and they really get
11:14those understandings and they get that momentum. But, yeah, I mean, they've, in terms of the
11:20calibre of recruits, they look very good. They've signed, not just players of League One pedigree,
11:27but quite a number who sort of played in the, in the championship. You know, Ryan Ledson,
11:31who's incidentally been appointed as a new captain. He's had a, had a good career with,
11:37with Preston. There'll be a fair amount on his, on his shoulders. He's a new, new on-pitch
11:41leader. Jack Watmore as well. He's, he's, he's got decent championship experience and also
11:48in, also in League One. May's a headline recruit. So, yeah, they've got, in terms of,
11:54kind of like a good player and you look at the names on paper, they look some good ones
11:58there, but they'll take, they'll take some time to gel and, and establish those, those
12:03relationships. And a new manager as well. Don't forget that. Well, I mean, he's a very
12:07good, you know, very good sort of reputation coaching wise, Lee Grant. But now he's the number
12:13one. He's the one making the decisions. He's the one who's going to be kept awake at night
12:16if, you know, results don't go well. And, you know, there's no, the book stops at him
12:21now. He's, he's the number one. So along with the, the new signings, having to assimilate,
12:29you know, Grant's the number one, you know, he's, he's going to be, he's going to have to
12:33take the heat if, if things don't go well, you know, the book, the book stops at him.
12:38So yeah, there's, there's, it's going to be an interesting sort of a start to the season
12:44for Huddersfield to see how it all goes. But I just hope initially there's a few,
12:49get a few morale boosting results relatively early in the piece to, to settle things down
12:53there. And then they can sort of grow into, into the season.
12:57And next we turn to Barnsley who had a season, which let's be honest, wasn't much to write
13:02home about. And they will be wanting to achieve far more and hopefully even try for the playoffs.
13:08What do you think the Tykes will need for that to sort of become possible for them, Leon?
13:14I think they're in a little bit of a similar boat to, to Huddersfield, Mark. I mean,
13:18it's important to, you, you obviously don't want a season like they had in, in, in, in,
13:23especially in the second half of the season, there were, there were some similarities really.
13:28I mean, Barnsley were, they were steady enough in the opening half of the season.
13:32And then, then they, they sort of formed those guys, but they've had some, you look at their
13:38sort of numbers last season, they have some, certainly had some problems defensively.
13:42They, they considered 73 goals, which, you know, you're going to get nowhere near the
13:46playoffs really with those sort of concessions. And a lot of goals in the second half, over
13:5150 concessions there. And I think on the basic level, they've just got to try and, you know,
13:58just get stronger defensively first and foremost and build a foundation. You know, if they can
14:03sort of achieve that, that gives you a decent platform to go on and, um, and try and win
14:08games, I think they'll still have to do a, maybe a little bit of work defensively in
14:13terms of, in terms of recruitment. I see Jack Shepard's come back, he had an excellent
14:17season at Bradford City on loan. They've got Mark Roberts, who was one of the steadier
14:23players last year, but, you know, at least one or two more additions there would, uh, ease
14:29the concerns of Barnsley supporters. And, um, I just hope they don't expect things sort of
14:34too, too soon there, but you also hope, like, as at Huddersfield, they can have a
14:38few morale-boosting wins early on. So, supporters sort of stick with them, really, because
14:44obviously they didn't have much to sing about it, especially at home, last season
14:47at Barnsley. They only ended up, um, winning, um, six games. And I had a look at
14:53Barnsley's pictures, funnily enough. I mean, they've got some, you know, they've got
14:57some, um, toughish, toughish early game. They'll be starting at Plymouth as well.
15:01You know, long trip away from home, one of Connor Horan's former clubs. They've got
15:06a new manager as well in, in, in Tom, in Tom Cleverley. Yep. So, you, you just hope
15:12I, I just, I think, get a, get a point there. It would be a good result. I think
15:17with Barnsley, hopefully just getting a couple of wins, especially at home early on
15:20and, uh, and getting to the end of the window and getting a couple of the recruits
15:26that they, they obviously need. And I think a big thing will be, you know, that David
15:30Keeler remains at Barnsley by the time that the, that the window closes. I think
15:35that'll, that'll carry significance for, for Barnsley. He's one of those players. I
15:39mean, he was, you know, had an excellent season. Didn't he last year? He got almost
15:42sort of 20 goals. And, um, Barnsley in a good position contractually with him. He's,
15:48he's got a couple of years left, but he's, he's the sort of player that, who you might
15:53expect to attract a bit of late, late window interest, maybe from some, some
15:58championship teams above it. They haven't sort of completed the business, but it's
16:02known for Barnsley to say that he can, he can remain on deck because I mean, that's
16:07the thing as well, isn't it? If you lose someone late in the window, you know, in a
16:11really big play like that, it's difficult to get, potentially get someone in, in a
16:15short space of time. So keeping Keeler going to be significant for me. There's
16:20obviously a bit of speculation about Luke O'Connell and, uh, the likes of Adam Phillips.
16:25Um, so perhaps a departure there could be, uh, could be a possibility, but yeah, a little
16:32bit of incoming bits of business to do for Barnsley. Uh, it's just going to be, yeah,
16:38the first month of the season, I don't think it's get a few, get a few early wins. Obviously
16:42it was difficult for, for Connor Hurrahan when he came, came in, in terms of getting, getting
16:47immediate results. He did a lot of good work on the training ground and on a day to day
16:52level. And you know, he, he, he, he went, he came across really well with the players,
16:57but you know, supporters want to see wins, don't they? And, um, a few wins early on would
17:03sort of make everyone feel a little bit better about themselves. And then hopefully bringing
17:09in a couple of signings that, that bars you need, you look, maybe another winger and a right
17:12back as well and keeping Keeler done. And if they can, if those sort of three things
17:18happen, then they should be very happy with, with things by, by the time. I think it really
17:23does start in earnest in, in September because it's always a little bit disruptive, disruptive
17:28in August.
17:29Yeah. Yeah. And let's now turn our attention to Bradford City who will want to build upon
17:36their success of gaining promotion last season. Um, but do you think that their goal for this
17:41season should be to just remain in league one and what should the Bantams do to achieve
17:46that?
17:47Yeah, I think, I think consolidation is probably the sort of first port of call. And then obviously
17:54if things are going well, they can grow into the season and get a bit more optimism and belief.
18:00And then, then you thought, never know, maybe I have a little bit of an outside put for the
18:04playoffs. But I think first things third, first having worked so hard to get back to the,
18:09for the second tier after what, six, six years in, in league two, it's sort of, first of all,
18:15it's about, it's about staying there, isn't it, Mark? And, uh, I think there's a few things
18:20that I think they've recruited reasonably well. And like a few of the Yorkshire sides, certainly
18:25alongside, you know, Doncaster and Huddersfield, they'd be nice and early as well in terms of
18:30the recruitment, which I think always helps in, you know, in helping the relationship develop
18:34between players and, and players just getting to know each other, really on a, on a sort
18:39of daily basis in, in training and the training ground. And obviously in the preseason as well,
18:44I think it always, it always helps. And yeah, I think the recruitment's been, been reasonably
18:50steady, obviously, obviously, he elected not to give a contract to Ricky Smallwood. He's gone
18:55to the Passers and you've gone to, you've had me a huge player for the Bradford, obviously,
18:59last year, but we've almost had a sort of like-for-like in bringing in Max Power. He's
19:04another, he's another senior pro who's won promotions in the low divisions and very highly
19:11respected. So, you know, that's got a little bit, little bit of a like-for-like look. They've
19:17obviously lost, well, Jack Senior's gone back after a very good, a long season at the club,
19:22but they've sort of brought in some, some seniority at the, at the back at centre-half. Joe Wright,
19:29who had a period at, at Doncaster really in his career, he did well in Scottish football,
19:34they did kill Marnock, Curtis Tilt and Matthew Pennington. They've all got sort of pedigree
19:40at that level. And yeah, that sort of suggests to me that, you know, the first, the first thing
19:46for Bradford is, you know, they're going to be pragmatic about things and obviously they're
19:51hoping to continue the momentum from, from last season. But, you know, first things first,
19:55let's just consolidate and, and, and remain in the division. And if things are going well
20:00and in a decent position, you know, say Christmas, they can look at things in the, in the January
20:05window perhaps. But, you know, I think it's, um, it's one, one step at a, at a time really.
20:10And the other thing for Bradford, they were excellent at home, weren't they, last year? And
20:15they've got some, they've got some big tests early on at Valley Parade, which will be
20:20actually packed out again all season. There'll be a big crowd for the game against Wickham on,
20:26on Saturday. A team, the team have been well backed and they're reasonably well fancied. They've
20:30got Blackpool in early season. They've got Luton as well, who are among, you know, the favourites
20:37to, to win the title. And a lot of people are speaking about, about Luton, you know, Blackpool,
20:42a bit of a dark horse and, and a big derby with Huddersfield Town relatively early in, in the autumn.
20:47So, you know, Bradford can get a few wins there and maybe, you know, nick one or two results
20:53away from home where they will need to improve things from that. That was one of the sort of
20:57bugbears from last season a little bit, wasn't it? They only won five games, you know, away from
21:03home. So that will need to, to improve, I think. And they'll be conscious of that, Graeme Alexander.
21:08But I think they look, they look reasonably well, well served. Bradford made some decent
21:14recruits at wing back as well. Nerville was, was excellent for, for AFC Wimbledon last year.
21:21I think that was a bit of a two sign in him. Thore's got, got a good pedigree as well with,
21:27with Stockport County and other low division success story in recent years. So, Stephen Humphries as well,
21:33a player who I think ideally that Barnsley would have liked to, to have kept. Will Swan as well,
21:40he had his moments for, for Crawley and obviously at some point in the, in the autumn, you'd hope that,
21:46you know, Andy Cook will be, will be back in the fray as well. So yeah, I think there's a fair bit to,
21:53to be reasonably optimistic about for Bradford. But in terms of the priorities, the first one,
21:57the first base camp, if you like, is, is, you know, retaining the status, you know, for the next
22:02season. But we'll, I think it's one of those where we'll, to see how, see how that one goes really,
22:06if they can get some early season momentum thing, you know, things will could potentially,
22:12could potentially snowball there. And I think the one thing you've got to say about Bradford is
22:16the fans will be energized by the actual fixture this month. I mean, with no respect, you know,
22:21no disrespect, sorry, playing the likes of Bolton, Huddersfield, you know, Cardiff is,
22:27is a different kettle of fishers need to play in the likes of Bromley and Accrington. And so,
22:33it'll be, yeah, I think there'll be some high profile occasions at Bradford which you come with
22:38that standing really deserve. Yeah. Yeah. And our next stop is Doncaster Rovers,
22:44who will also want to maintain their progress following their promotion to League One.
22:48And do you feel that Grant McCann's side will have the backing required to achieve that goal?
22:53And what do you think they will need to, well, what else they'll need to do ahead of, uh,
22:59the season, uh, kicking off?
23:02Yeah, I know that. I think the similarities I mentioned between Barnsley and Hudsfield,
23:06and certainly, you know, Doncaster and Bradford, they were, you know, they were desperate to get
23:12promotion. They don't, they're clubs who don't see themselves in League Two. And I think that's,
23:16that's fair comment. I mean, most definitely, you know, Bradford. But, you know, Doncaster as
23:21well, you go back to their, well, their relatively recent history. And a lot of that was played out in,
23:26you know, League One and even the, even the Championship. So, yeah, they'll be, another team
23:31will be excited by, by the fixture list. And you look at the other, some real plum derbies there,
23:37isn't they? And Doncaster play Rotherham, probably the main rivals really, before the end of,
23:43of August. And that'll be a real fillet for Doncaster. They can manage to get,
23:46get three points there. And I think they're recruited pretty well. And Grant McCann, he's,
23:52he's one of those, he's, he doesn't mind, you know, going out there and sort of stating his
23:58targets and being bold. And, you know, I'm sort of all for it in some, in some respects. I mean,
24:03he said, you know, 12 months ago, that obviously the previous season, the real heartbreaking ended
24:08in the playoff semi-final against Crewe when they lost on penalties. And, you know, straight away,
24:14McCann went into the press conference afterwards and said, we're going for the title next year.
24:18And he proved as good as his, as good as his word, didn't he? That's exactly, that's exactly what,
24:24what they did. And, you know, even this season, you know, relatively recently, he's been asked about,
24:30you know, what are the aims for Doncaster this year? And he's, you know,
24:32he's openly saying that we're going to have a push for promotion. If all things come soon,
24:36we'll have to, we'll have to wait and see if that, if that transpires. But, you know,
24:41certainly looking at it, there's, there's always a, a team or two who, who go from
24:47League Two, who managed to harness that momentum, if you look at it in recent seasons. And, uh,
24:51you know, McCann will be thinking, why not, why not Doncaster? And he's got a little bit of
24:56previous as well. I mean, in his first spell at Doncaster, they went very close to, uh,
25:01reaching the playoff final. They got to the semi, the semi-finals, excellent away leg against,
25:07against Charleston. And unfortunately they were, they got, they got picked on, on penalties. So
25:13knowing McCann, he will use that as sort of motivational feel, it's his second time around
25:18at Doncaster. And, you know, you look at their, I think the thing that encourages me about Doncaster,
25:24they've got players who were sort of, uh, certainly, uh, obviously they made some signings as well,
25:29but a sort of decent core of players who were, who were a good age, sort of 25, going up 27, 28,
25:36you know, heading towards the peak, who are at, who are at the peak, who will be hungry for this
25:42challenging League One. And, um, and it really sits well with them at this part of their career. I mean,
25:47the likes of Owen Bailey, who's been an excellent captain for, for Doncaster last season. He fits
25:53into that bracket. There's others too. Jordan Gibson, Harry, Harry Clifton, players who were keen
25:59to make the mark in, in League One, and it comes at the right time. And probably the duel in the crown
26:04as well in, in Luke, uh, Molyneux, he was, Slim McCann rightly labeled him the best player in his
26:09position last season. Um, you know, on the wing, I mean, in terms of his goals, output and assists,
26:18you know, he had the numbers to, to back it up. And, you know, I think this, this comes at the
26:22right time, this challenge of, of asserting himself at, at League One level. So, um, I'm going to be,
26:30you know, it's going to be fascinating to see how, how those players step up. They've certainly got the,
26:35you know, the capability to do that. And it's the ally to the signings that, that McCann has made.
26:42He's, he's made them nice and early. They've managed to integrate, um, in good time as well.
26:48You know, yeah, they should, they should, you think that they should have a, a decent season.
26:52They've got a chance to continue the momentum that they, that they gained last year. I mean,
26:56I think looking at them, maybe another, maybe another striker, maybe at some point, Mark, that might be,
27:02that might be something to, uh, that's worth kicking off. They lost Rob Street as well.
27:09Mm-hmm. He was excellent in the second half of last season on loan with his goals and his,
27:13and his pace and how he stretched defenses. You know, I think he will be a miss. So maybe,
27:18maybe another, another forward option there before the end of, of the window. But I think
27:24they've got a fair bit to, to look forward to, Doncaster.
27:26Yeah. And Rotherham United is where we look to next. And the Millers will begin the new season
27:33with a new man at the helm. And with it, do you think there's possibly some renewed hope that they
27:39can gain promotion either through the playoffs or directly, or just have a better season, really?
27:44Yeah, I think to be honest, Mark, the thing with, with Rotherham, I mean, they've, they've obviously,
27:49they look at their relatively recent record and, you know, they're a team who don't stay down in
27:53league one for too long. They've had some, some quick fire promotions, but I think there's a wider
27:58issue in terms of re, just rebuilding a club, the, the playing side of the, of the club at Rotherham.
28:04And obviously there was a lot of expectation this time last year. Steve Evans had brought a lot of
28:10players in and it just never worked. It's, they were fancied to be among the, the sort of move,
28:16the boomers and shakers in league one. And, uh, it didn't happen for Rotherham. And, um,
28:21you know, it was quite expensive. It was quite a big budget at Rotherham for, for that level,
28:26probably the biggest they've had. And, and it was, it was ultimately a failure and, you know,
28:30there's not too much money around for Matt Hampshire. He's had to sort of pick up the pieces,
28:35really a real demoralizing sort of season last year. And, um, you know, it was, you know,
28:42there were, there were sort of clear, clear issues there and he just, his first protocol is just,
28:47just galvanizing the playing group after, you know, after such a lousy season. And obviously fans were,
28:53the, the, the, the fans weren't happy at development. So I think there's a, just a wider,
28:59wider look at Rotherham. They need to sort of find their mojo and this sort of identity again,
29:04as a, as a football club and, um, and try and rewind the clock really to, you know,
29:09obviously the, the times on the, on the poor one where Rotherham were very well organized,
29:13they were hard to beat. They, they played in the Rotherham United way,
29:16they got into teams faces. There were, there was a real strong, uh, togetherness there.
29:22And I think it all, you know, just getting, getting the club's mojo back in that regard is,
29:28it, you know, it's, it's probably as important as anything really. And, you know,
29:32I think it's important not to sort of pin talk about promotion and, um, we're going to do this,
29:36that, and it's just rebuilding. You know, I'm sure he's, he's a, he's a Rotherham lad. He watched
29:43them as a boy. He knows, he knows what players that the football, the sort of players the football
29:47club need and what, and what supporters will expect from those players and sort of getting,
29:53getting a Rotherham United in, in the image that obviously he sees, he sees fit. And he knows that
29:59supporters will accept. And I think that's the thing. I mean, you, there's not so much money
30:05to spend. They've still got to do a few pieces of business before you look, they look at a little
30:10bit light in certain areas, certainly another striker or two, they look fit, they look thinner,
30:15you know, in the, in the attacking department at the minute, maybe another seven and a half
30:19as well. So I think there's one or two bits to, to kick off. I mean, you know, it's difficult for,
30:23you know, for Hampshire, you know, bringing in a new striker or two, the strikers cost money,
30:28don't they really? You know, and every team wants a new striker or two. So yeah, it's a bit of a
30:33baptism of fire, but, you know, I think it's important that everyone at Rotherham looks at the,
30:38looks at the wider picture. It's not, it's, you know, promotion is not the be all and end all.
30:43I think supporters just want to, deep down, they want a season where the club sort of gets its soul
30:50back almost and then almost, you know, just to get the sort of right mentality and hopefully that will
30:57lead into sort of wins as the season goes on because it was a real, a real sort of forgettable
31:03season, wasn't it? Wasn't it last year and they need to start reconnecting with the public?
31:09Yeah. Cause I mean, we, we covered that, I think it was last week or something where,
31:13um, well, Rotherham along with another, a number of other teams just need to, to find that identity
31:20and that team spirit again. Um, and I mean, if that's possibly going to have to be, as you said,
31:28uh, number one port of call for Matt Hamshaw this year. So, um, yeah, yeah. We'll see how that happens.
31:34Totally agree, Matt. No, these things, these things take time though, don't they?
31:37Yeah. I mean, it was, it was the case when Paul Warren first took over and obviously
31:40Hamshaw was part of his, part of his backroom staff. There's, I think there's some supporters
31:45as a, I think it's exposed by social media as well. It's like we want everything now and,
31:51you know, you know, if there's a couple of bad results, you know, it's peace or famine,
31:56isn't it? You get a, you get a couple of results, you're great, you're going for promotion.
31:59And if you lose a few, and you know, it's like, um, the end is now almost. I just think
32:04there needs to be an even keel on things that's, at Rotherham. And I think to be fair, a lot of
32:08the supporters or a fair, a fair few of them, Robert's sort of mindset, really, the club needs
32:15to sort of build something sort of substantive and stable, stable again. You know, they need to,
32:21they need to start bringing more young players through. They, they need to sort of not, not just
32:25joined up in terms of recruitment as well. So it's not just sort of scattergun, which you can
32:31probably say, you know, it certainly was last, you know, over the last, last few years, to be
32:36quite honest, get some, some, some joined up thinking in terms of recruitment, try and bring
32:41some of the younger players through and, and get more of an identity kit, um, Robert and United
32:46play, you know, the sort of players who, who have served them well, well in the past. And
32:51Hampshire knows those sort of players. So it's going to be, it's, I think for Rotherham, there's
32:57a, there's a sort of medium and a longer term picture, but obviously you don't want to lose
33:02sight of the short term as well and getting some, getting some results to keep everybody on board,
33:06but it just looks to be a, certainly a building job at Rotherham in this coming season and, um,
33:13and getting smiles back on faces, really.
33:15Yeah, definitely. Definitely. And finally for this week, we go to Harrogate Town, who
33:19will most definitely be wanting a better season this year, having narrowly avoided relegation
33:24last time out. Um, but to, to do that and hopefully have an easier time of it this year,
33:30what will Simon Weaver need to do with his side?
33:35Well, I think if you'd look at it on the, you know, at the most simplest level,
33:39the Harrogate, Harrogate's issue is goals, isn't it?
33:41Yeah. And even you sort of look at pre-season as well. I mean, you, you, you shouldn't read
33:47that much into pre-season, but then you look at, at Harrogate's sort of numbers have only scored
33:52one goal in pre-season. I think they'd be, they'd be guided, didn't they? And, um, I know,
33:58I know Simon Weaver was very unhappy with, with the performance, you know, in the, in the final
34:02friendly against, against Carlisle last week. And he really did call out some of his players.
34:08And sometimes that, that's not too bad a thing in pre-season, if that doesn't sound too strange,
34:12you know, to get it out in the open and maybe fire a broadside in the, in the, in the direction
34:17of some players and call them out a little bit. Funnily enough, we've just been talking about
34:21Roserham and, uh, uh, Matt Hamsfield did something similar. They had a, they had a difficult afternoon
34:27at, at Accrington by all accounts, but going back to Harrogate, I just think it's, you know, it is,
34:32it is goals. I mean, 43 league goals that they managed last season. We've said it before on this podcast,
34:38Mark, they've, they've shown periodically they can beat the best team in league two.
34:43You look at them last season against, against Doncaster, you know, they've done it against,
34:47against Bradford. I think the game against Wrexham in the cup, and it was a fairly strong
34:51Wrexham team. So they've got it within them, you know, it's just that consistency and that,
34:56that sort of ruthless edge really. And, um, but yeah, the signings have made, they made some
35:02interesting ones. I think Mason Bennett, he was a bit of a, a bit of a wonder kid,
35:06wasn't he? When he, when he started out at Derby, that's, you know, he's probably a senior player
35:12now, isn't he? Probably mid to late twenties. So that's the bit of a name signing for Harrogate
35:18if they can get him going again, get him going. He's, you know, he's, he's got clear pedigree,
35:22hasn't he played a lot of games in the championship for, um, uh, he's played some for Derby, but more
35:27especially for, for Millwall. I like the signing of, uh, Bobby Fulton as well. He's a, he's a young
35:32lad at Doncaster Rovers, who's a lot of people still think a fair bit about, but he needs some,
35:38he needs some league experience, a bit of wool on his back and, you know, a season long loan at, at
35:44Harrogate's, uh, should provide that. There's some, some fairly decent signings on paper and
35:49they've kept one or two other important players as well, the likes of Anthony O'Connor. But yeah,
35:56it's just that it's not just last season as well, just being a bit more ruthless in the,
36:01in the final, in the final third, that's going to be a big thing for, for Harrogate. And obviously
36:06they're going to go into the season with a bit of a fleeting bit between their ears after, after
36:11getting rollered after they, after the, the final game of preseason. But, uh, it's, it's one of those
36:17isn't it? You know, managers would rather it happen in preseason than when it, when it really counts in
36:22in the season. So, um, you know, sometimes it's better to chastise your players in preseason than
36:28it certainly is when it, you know, the amount of teams who, who have great preseasons and then can,
36:34you know, start, start the season badly. Yeah. There's a lot, a lot of examples of those sort of teams,
36:39but, um, yeah, they'll, uh, it's certainly a difficult first, first weekend trip, isn't it?
36:45Going to Bristol Rovers. Obviously Darryl, we know a lot about Darryl from his, from his time at
36:49Barnsley. He's, he's gone back for a second spell in, in charge there and there'll be a big crowd there,
36:54but maybe it'll suit Harrogate going there with a bit of a, between their ears and a big stage. And,
37:01you know, they've, like I said, they've shown that they can be the best at this level,
37:04but it's about piecing it together and being more, more ruthless and consistent.
37:08Hmm. Cause I mean, we, we, we, we spoke about that basically saying it's all well and good with
37:12them being able to, uh, get the odd result over the likes of Doncaster and Bradford and all this stuff.
37:19Yeah.
37:19But if you can't beat those in and around you, um,
37:23Yeah.
37:24What hope have you got?
37:24Oh, absolutely. And, uh, I, I think the one thing, I had a little look at League 2, um,
37:30um, the other day, Mark, and you know, with, with respect, it will be competitive. I mean,
37:35the last few years, if you look at it, it's been almost half of the division has been in contention
37:40to, to finish in, you know, around the top seven and certainly the playoff spots. They've lost a few,
37:46a bit, a few of the bigger sides, you know, the, the Bradfords and the, and the Doncasters aren't
37:50going to be there, uh, next season. And obviously the season before you had the likes of Stockport
37:55and Wrexham. So maybe there's an opportunity for one or two teams to come from the pack and,
37:59you know, you can perhaps include Harrogate in, you know, in that equation, but they've got to
38:06get, they've got to get, um, smart and ruthless. And, um, you know, if, if they're gonna, if they're
38:13gonna do that, they've been a league club now for five or six years. They're not sort of new kids
38:17on the block. They should know what it's about. So, you know, they, and you know, who's to say
38:23things come together. I think, I think they, they could have us, have us, but it's the biggest.
38:28YorkshirePost.co.uk
38:30Many thanks to Leon Wobshaw, who will doubtless join us again soon for more discussions on the
38:40Yorkshire football scene. But don't forget, you can keep up to date with all the football news
38:43across Yorkshire and beyond by logging on to our website at yp.sport.nationalworld.com,
38:48or if you search for Yorkshire Post Sport, Yorkshire Post Football, or even Sheffield Sport on Facebook,
38:52you can find us there as well. If you have any questions for our writers, you can get in touch using
38:56those various Twitter or Facebook pages, or email us directly with a subject matter at
39:00sportballtalkpodcast at yp.sport.nationalworld.com. As ever, many thanks for listening, look after
39:07yourselves, and bye for now.
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