Championship race hots up as Blades slash Leeds’ lead at top – Football Weekly podcast

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Hello and welcome to the Guardian Football Weekly and EFL pod.

If I was to ask any of the panel what end of the season we're approaching, the answer we'd all hope for would be the business one.

It's still a three-way race at the top of of the championship.

Leeds just top, but Chris tells it like it is wilder.

And a very mean Scott Parker are steering Sheffield United and Burnley just behind them.

Frank Lampard's Coventry are flying into the playoffs and we'll discuss an incredibly moving interview with the Bristol City manager Liam Manning.

It's very tight at the bottom, a big win for Derby over Plymouth, the pick of the results.

In League One, plucky, low-spending Birmingham are tearing clear and there's a huge win for plucky low-spending Wrexham over Wickham just below them while Charlton are just a curbishly away from breaking into the automatic picture.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of League One, I'm sorry, we seem to have lost your connection with your Guardian podcast.

Please wait while we try to connect you.

And in League Two, no one wants to go up while Carlisle and Morgan really want to go down.

We'll do that, answer your questions.

And that's today's Guardian Football Weekly.

On the panel today, Ben Fisher, welcome.

Hi, Max.

Hello, Sanny Ridravadula.

Hello.

And from Not the Top 20, George Elek.

Hello.

Hello, Max.

Let's begin at the top of the championship.

The title race is great.

Leeds played 38, 80 points.

Sheffield United played 38, 80 points.

Burnley played 38, 78 points.

Leeds have a 26-goal better goal difference than Sheffield United, which is quite something.

They've only got one win in their last four, though, George.

They were 2-0 down at QPR, including a header from Steve Cook.

Nice to know where he is.

But we're level just into the second half.

Probably should have won it.

Are they still your favourites?

I mean, they are still the bookmakers' favourites.

They're still my favourites.

Interestingly, the not the top 20s sponsor, AK Betts, paid out on leads winning the league before this run of one win in four, which I'm now wondering if they might be regretting slightly, given that they're suddenly not even clear at the top of the table by only on goal difference.

But

I think there's

basically, and this is sure to upset some people, probably including Chris Wilder, but I don't think there's any question as to who the best team in the championship is or are, It's leads.

You know, that's been shown, I think, pretty consistently.

And, you know, their wins against Sheffield United in Sunderland, albeit late, I think, further cemented that.

But Sheffield United have this incredible capacity to win games that are very, very tight.

Burnley, you know, their defensive record this season has been very good, and they've in January added attacking talent in Marcus Edwards, and they're looking the best they've looked all season from an attacking perspective.

And I think leads are now probably paying for not making that superiority count earlier in in the season.

They are very, very dominant at home, but away from home, they often come unstuck.

And in the 2-1 draw against QPR last time out, they'll be relieved that they got a point because they were 2-0 down relatively early in the game.

It was also the stage and the scene where their automatic promotion challenge last season really kind of tailed off into a tailspin.

And they were able to come back from that position to draw the game 2-all.

But at 2-all, it was QPR rather than Leeds that had the better chances to go on and win the game.

They are helped by the fact that the sheffield united and and burnie play each other in a couple of weeks which means that of course one of them or both of them will drop points and and their fixtures look relatively uh relatively easy i kind of had to keep reminding myself though with this that when you're covering the championship and you're talking about this i in my mind you're always thinking about the title and who's going to win the league and everything else but like realistically for these three teams Until they actually secure a classic promotion, they don't care about that.

It's just finishing in the top two.

Sure, of course.

And then getting promoted.

And at this stage, you know, even though Leeds' title challenge may have,

which looked so secure after the Sheffield United win, may not look like that now, they're still in an unbelievably commanding position to go ahead and win promotion.

Did that upset either of you, Ben, Sally, or you

go along with that, Ben, to you?

No, I'm feeling okay with that.

No, I've actually written down here, you know, relatively kind running, but then

for leads.

But I suppose the obvious caveat with that is actually, you know, you're looking at teams towards the bottom of the table, and is that relatively kind when those guys have so much to play for at this stage as well, you know, rather than just sort of looking at oh, you know, Plymouth, Stoke, and Oxford are not at the top of the league, therefore, um, that's an easier game.

And I'm not sure it necessarily is when they're sort of fighting for their lives and fighting to stay up.

Yeah, I agree with George.

I think leads

are just so dangerous.

They've got so much kind of so many threats.

I mean, they've got a lot of players, I think, still.

I mean, you could put Chef Hugh in Burnley in this category as well.

They've still definitely got some players who are capable of, or maybe they might think they should be in the Premier League.

So it's no sort of huge huge surprise in that sense.

But

it will be interesting.

I do think it's the goalkeeper situation is interesting because

Elaine Melier can make some sort of otherworldly saves, but he has made some big errors and he has costly some points.

And I'm sure we'll come on to it to Sheffield United and Burnley in a second.

And certainly Burnley, you know, conceding 11 goals.

I do wonder if that could be a significant kind of factor here, just because it's so tight, you know, every mistake is going to count from here.

And I just think maybe that certainly the defence of Burnley, James Trafford, obviously in the England squad, and Cooper at Sheffield, maybe will make less errors than Melier to put it really brutally, but

all three have an amazing chance of doing it.

Just on leads, I do think there are some alarm bells.

Like in this game, late on, Manor Solomon got subbed off and then had a few histrionics on the sidelines.

Like the silly mistakes, the goals, you know, the goal from Steve Cook, he was completely unmarked.

And And the first goal for QPR, they just gave the ball away.

Aaronson just gave it away to Saito inside the area.

Last year, like before the last window, I did a shoot with Skye with all the leads players and Luke Humphreys, the darts player.

And the one thing that came away from it was what a nice guy Luke Ayling was.

And how he wasn't quite in the team, but he was like just bringing everyone together and being like this guy that getting everyone really like focused and stuff.

And just also bringing a bit of levity as well.

He went off to Borough and now he's there.

And I wonder how many senior players they've got.

I know, you know, where's the experience and all that?

Sounds a bit of a cliche.

But they are missing a bit of that.

It's quite a young squad.

And I wonder whether.

They've got no leaders.

They've got no leaders.

Well, do you know what?

When you see stuff like Solomon going off and having a bit of a hissy fit, when they've got such quality and talent coming off the bench as well, William Yonto, for example, I do wonder where that's coming from.

The other major thing I think for them is although Joel Pirou is topping the goal scoring charts, he's not a traditional number nine.

He's not a physical presence.

And their plan B of recently has been Pascal Stroud, the centre half, popping up with some goals.

So I do think they are a bit limited in what they can do.

And I wonder whether having that experience, having something else, having a quintessential English striker like Michael Frey, who's actually Swiss, would have been a great option for them for QPR.

Yeah, they're kind of missing that other option.

And I think that is a bit of a worry for them in the kind of running that's coming in now.

I can't believe I just heard that this Leeds team are limited.

Like I would say that they're like unlimited in terms of the ways that they can hurt you.

Yeah, I mean, I agree that Peru is someone who isn't your natural striker, but the fact he talks a goal scoring chart shows that scoring goals is obviously no issue.

And then, to add to that, they've got Solomon and Dan James.

I think there's a fair chance that Dan James will at least be shortlisted for player of the season.

And Aotanaka, they've got it's one of the best signings I think any championship cover made for a long time, along with Wilson Issidor, a player that signed from Fortuna Dusseldorf for next to nothing, who is probably the best centre-midfielder in the championship, who, in terms of his on-ball quality and also his goal scoring threat, has been a massive success.

And then players like Ramazzani, Matteo Joseph, Willie Nanto coming off the bench.

Like,

they are, in my mind, so far clearer in terms of pure quality than the rest of the division.

And in my mind, the reason why, frankly, this promotion battle is so tight, and it seems very basic, but a lot of it is to do with the goalkeepers.

I think in Mike Cooper and James Trafford, Sheffield United and Burnley have the two best keepers in the league along with Victoria Hanson at Stoke.

Yet Trafford's in the England squads and I think there's a fair chance that he's going to have an opportunity to stake his claim to England's number one in the next couple of weeks, despite being a championship player.

And Mike Cooper, whether it's for Blades or another team, is a Premier League keeper in waiting.

Whereas Elain Melier has made a number of high-profile mistakes.

Like in my mind, if you put Cooper or Trafford in goal for Leeds over the course of the season and put Melier in goal for the other one, there would be probably a 10-point gap between them.

It's that stark.

So, yeah, I mean, it's easy after a couple of, you know, a a run of four games with just one win to to look for holes in leads.

But

when you consider their their amazing winning run prior to that, and you know, I think their proficiency from set pieces is one of their massive strengths really rather than something to knock them with.

I I'd be I'd be really surprised if we see leads, leads falling apart again.

Perhaps Sanny just thinks every team is limited in the EFL.

It's actually massive.

There's a truth in that as well.

Now look, Sanny, you were you were you were at the the Sheffield Derby and you mentioned Michael Cooper made like a couple of great saves in that game that Sheffield United won 1-0.

And Chris Wilder was very bullish afterwards, wasn't it?

Yeah, he was very bullish before and after.

Before, he talked about he went on a run and nearly got run over,

which he blamed on maybe a Sheffield Wednesday fan or two.

Yeah, I mean, he's done a...

What I would say, by the way, BBC Radio Sheffield are excellent when it comes to the coverage here.

They even had Billy Sharp, who's still playing.

He's still at Doncaster Rovers.

He was next to me, actually, in the press area.

It's not really a box.

It's a huge stadium, Hillsborough.

And they really threw everything at it.

And Chris Wilder also did in his post-match interview, 16 minutes long, I think with three questions asked of him.

And

he really did go through the entire gamut from 2016 onwards.

But yeah,

on the pitch, the Sheffield Derby is never really a good game.

It's always just a bit of a battle, as much as you kind of want it to be something else.

And Wednesday started very brightly, really brightly, and should have been ahead until Michael Cuba has pulled out this brilliant flying palm say from Michael Smith.

And then they were able to grow into it and eventually nicked the goal in the second half through Rhian Brewster.

By the way, he's got over 100 games with Sheffield United, but it's over nearly four years.

He's had a lot of injuries, but he's always got this now.

He'll always be that guy who scored that goal.

So he's always got that at least.

That's nice for him.

But yeah,

Wilder,

it's cliche to say he gets it.

And at full time, in amongst it all, he did have a Sheffield United shirt with Baldock on the back, George Baldock, and he held it up to the Lappings Lane end where the Sheffield United fans were in the higher tier and then twirled it round his head as well.

And by the way, that was all when he was on his own.

Like the players had all gone and he was just there on his own.

And after the first game that Cheff United won, he was singing Sausage Roll instead of Danny Rawl to the tune of Boney M.

And again, like he just lives and breathes it.

He loves it.

He knows exactly what he wants from the club.

He talks at length how he's changed the whole club, how their academy and the setup of getting young players through has been completely revolutionising.

You see that because Ollie R Blaster has been brilliant this season until he got injured.

Siddy Pet comes in, does so well, he gets into the England under 21 setup.

So overall, they've got a very exciting team.

Bit of a battle, bit of a war, but they've got a lot of quality there.

And by the way, on leads, I meant more of a plan B than being limited.

Chef United do have a plan B.

It's too late now.

It's too late now.

I'm cancelled now.

Chef United do have a plan B, and that is very good.

Then you wanted to make a point about Daddy Roll and the job he's done at Cheffy Wednesday because Chris Wilder was quite sort of dismissive of what he's done.

Yeah, I was just going to say there's obviously no love loss there.

A bit of, you know, understandably, lots of needle.

As I say, a bit of needle, lots of needle.

You know, Wilder afterwards this time, in November, we saw him singing in the pub with his friends and fans.

And, you know, that's great.

And this time he had him, I think, in the hotel, say, you know, know singing mind the gap chef you're Wednesday but um

you know I think both things sort of can be true here I think Chris Wilder has done a really good job he was very irked at Danny Rawl seemingly logging on to transfer market and looking at the the value or the spend around the squad but um I think Rawl has done a really good job to get Wednesday into position into the position they are Wilder seemed to well he insisted that Wednesday season's over Blades isn't but I'm not so sure that is the case six points outside the playoffs Yeah, they're going to need a good run, but it's not impossible.

I think if Danny Royal does lead Wednesday to a top half finish, that's quite the season itself, to be honest.

Given kind of, you know, they are working with totally different resources.

I take Wilder's point that they've not just thrown loads of money at it, but their wage bill will be high.

They have spent some money, you know, some of it very smartly.

But yeah, I just think both sort of things here can be true.

We don't have to just maybe take Wilder's view that Sheffield Wednesday's season is cooked.

And, you

As he said,

stick your data where you want it in terms of Danny Rawles' vision.

But I think both managers have done a great job.

Obviously, there's

a lot of heat in the derby.

Look, below those three, Sunderland are in the sort of

one-team slot in fourth on 69 points.

Then it is pretty tight.

Coventry, 59, West Bromford, 57, Bristol City, 57.

Middles were 54.

Blackburn had 52.

Same as Watford.

Mill Wall and Sheffield Wednesday on 51.

Ben Coventry smashed Sunderland 3-0.

Had you right hat-trick, who looked sort of unplayable.

And actually, the story is like Sunderland were interesting at the start of the season, right?

We know about them a bit, but Frank Lampard and the job he's done.

What has he actually done?

Because I think, like a lot of people, I just sort of dismissed him as not very good.

And

he's been absolutely brilliant at Coventry.

Yeah, he's done amazing.

I mean, six wins and seven.

You know, it's quite the way to get back on track.

Sunderland, as you say, really impressive team, some great young players, many of whom, obviously, Bellingham, some of those guys we know about.

But yeah,

it's a weird one with Coventry because I think at the start of the season, you would have said, obviously, with Robbins, you'd have thought, yeah, they're going to be there again in terms of the playoffs.

But I remember going to Lampard's sort of unveiling, if you like, when he took over, and

there was that big sort of sense of scepticism around him, around the appointment, certainly around the timing.

Obviously, Robbins, a club legend, sort of going out the door.

And actually Lampard is kind of just carried on where they left off.

There's a decent pool of players there.

Hadji Wright and you know Sakamoto I really like and they've added to it in January getting Matt Grimes probably one of the best sort of most consistent players at least in the championship for a number of years

getting him from Swansea.

They've got a really nice blend three at the back.

They're quite kind of direct, but I mean that in a positive way.

They sort of have a go.

They get at you.

And yeah, I think he's done an amazing job.

And it's actually quite, it's quite, it's nice to see because you see now the fans, there's that amazing connection between Lampard and the fans.

Obviously, he's a very sort of clever, charismatic guy.

You know, he knows that side of it.

He knows how that works.

But he's actually done a really good job.

Some of those players, some of those additions, they've been able to do because, well, they've sold Harmer and Let O'Hare go, you know, a couple of those guys to Sheffield United, Yokarez.

So I don't think we should sort of make out this as kind of a sort of a budget fairy tale, but equally, we have to kind of doff our cap and say Lampard has done a great job, especially when there was so much noise and kind of, oh, I'm not sure about that, sort of jobs for the boys.

And he said, I remember at the unveiling, he was like, look, everyone keeps saying to me, you know, why do you want to do this?

But he was like, I don't want to just sit at home and play golf.

I want to work.

I want to show I can do it.

And, you know, as much as it'd be easy to not do that, fair play to him for coming back in.

And yeah, he's showing he's a really good manager at the moment.

And he has a golf course at his house, which is, you know, that shows how well he's doing, doesn't it?

Yes, Sanny.

What Lampard has said himself, and we talked about this when he first went to Coventry.

He, as a player, said that he wasn't the best player and had to really work at his game.

And it's something he's been doing a lot with Coventry players.

And he said it at Derby as well.

He actually enjoys playing with or working with players who want to learn.

So the thing about the egos of Premier League players, he hasn't got that at Coventry.

And that's working really well.

And every player keeps stepping up a level.

Jack Radoni's injured at the moment, but he's one that has been out was outstanding for Lampard and a player that Lampard kind of sees a lot of himself in that work rate, that effort.

And every game, a different player seems to be stepping up.

And this time around, Hadji Wright, off the back of four months out with an ankle ligament injury, comes in and puts in performance like that.

So he's able to get so much out of these players and they all want to learn and they're all willing to do so.

And it's kind of

a good kind of model for a player like Lampard, one of those excellent generational players, what they can do if they go down to a lower level.

And they've got players willing to learn.

He's got that at Coventry.

I think it's also worth giving some credit to his assistant Joe Edwards as well.

Previously, Lampard had worked with Jodie Morris, who is his assistant.

I always think with managers like, you know, I can't believe I'm going to package these two together, but Lampard and Gerard, where maybe their management style is quite in terms of managing the culture and quite management heavy.

And they hire a coach who maybe does more of the training ground work.

We saw with Gerard, for example, you know, his success at Rangers came with Mick Beale as his assistant.

And when he lost Beale and Critchley went a villa, that's when things kind of really started to spiral.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if part of the reason why Lampard in the past has maybe not been that convincing and now is doing well is because in Edwards, he's got someone, and Millwall fans may disagree after his ill-fated star there last season, but he's incredibly highly rated as a coach.

And it wouldn't surprise me at all if Edwards's impact and influence at Coventry is a big reason why they're doing so well.

Bristol City, you're seventh on a great run, Ben.

You did a brilliant interview with Liam Manning.

It's incredibly moving.

He lost his baby son recently, didn't know whether to go back to football management.

Tell us about the time that you spent with him.

Quite rural, quite, yeah, as you say, moving,

quite difficult to hear, obviously, for long parts of that interview.

But I thought Liam spoke just incredibly, really, sort of a measurable strength, so powerfully, opening up, obviously, around a really, really difficult subject.

And I'm sure it will help at least one person, which was kind of the aim of doing the piece, to be honest.

But yeah, he um he spoke about the the the sort of you know the reality of when something like that happens in on his world his family's world and um yeah it's difficult to hear because he's got they've got a six-year-old son who he's sort of choked you know is bowling around Ashton Gate knows his way around better than him but you know it's about looking out for him and there was a really touching bit where he said Isaac is his six-year-old was looking out for Robins obviously Bristol City's nickname and stars in the sky which really got me yeah it was there was a few kind of I'm putting the piece, a few lump in the throat moments, a few sort of, you know, gulps, and you try and move on.

And, you know, at times it's very difficult to, you know, almost get a flow, I suppose, because it's really hard.

But, you know, transcribing it is tough as well.

And then writing it, trying to do it justice, if that's the right word or phrase.

So, but in terms of the football, I mean, that was the other thing.

It was like

the premise of the piece was...

you know, let's try and hopefully help somebody here and tell your kind of story opening up for the first time.

But actually, as I put in the piece, it was important to talk football as well because he's doing an amazing job.

Bristol City are in a position they've not been for many, many years,

obviously reached the playoff final 2008 and they're in with a chance in what mid-March of being in the playoffs.

Nobody says they're going to do it, but actually the way the results went at the weekend and their form, whereas there were sort of nine teams maybe chasing two spots, maybe that is already kind of slimmed down to five or six.

Obviously, there's a long way to go.

But they're definitely, they're sort of primed there.

They're just outside the playoffs and goal difference.

And he's got a young team.

Naki Wells is the only player over 30.

Jason Knight, the captain, is one of four outfield players to play every minute in the championship.

This season's been absolutely superb.

And it feels like they're onto something.

I mean, it's a funny one because, you know, the whole city of Bristol is sort of pining for Premier League football, red and blue, I suppose.

But city last in the top flight in 79-80.

But they've got destiny in their own hands.

And yeah,

I think Manning has done a really impressive job.

And obviously, there's so much going on.

It's hard to

remember, I suppose, sometimes as he sort of stressed, you know, this sense of perspective, the bigger picture, the reality of, yeah, it's disappointing to, I don't know, throw away a last-minute lead, but actually,

let's remember what's going on and what's bigger than football.

It's hard as that is.

Yeah, well, that's a great piece, and I'd recommend anyone seeks it out.

At the bottom of the championship, Plymouth, 33 points, Luton, 35, Derby, 38, above them, Cardiff and Stoke on 39, Hullhouse 41, Oxford and Portsmouth, 42.

I guess you could go to Swansea on 44 and QPR on 45.

That Derby-Plymouth game was pretty important at the bottom, George.

Derby were two up.

Plymouth got it back to 2-2.

88th minute winner by Marcus Harness.

I mean, appropriate if a harness keeps you safe.

I thought.

Thank you very much.

But like John Eustace as well.

Sorry, yeah, I know.

It was terrible.

But a massive win for them.

Yeah, huge win and a third win on the bounce.

And, you know, despite the fact that John Eustace is a very good manager for the level, and I think we're seeing, given especially how Blackburn's form has tailed off since he left them,

you know,

he's someone who's a very canny operator.

But no Derby fans really saw this coming.

It felt like Derby had almost given up after the initial form after Eustace came in.

It wasn't particularly good, but three wins in a row, two of them at home and then away at Argyle.

And doing so in this manner has put them right back in the picture in terms of trying to survive.

It feels, you know, I'm living this relegation battle because I support one of the teams in it in Oxford.

It felt a couple of weeks ago that basically Argyll, Luton, and Derby were all so bad that a points tally in kind of the low 40s was probably going to be enough to be safe because they just weren't picking up any points.

But that's changed now, which is frustrating.

Luton have won two of their last, well, two of their last four games and were very, very good in the first half against Barrow on Saturday, but weren't able to find a way through.

Even our Guyle went away, um, who basically never went away from home or even score away from home, they went away to Portsmouth and beat them.

Um, and Cardiff would go away to Blackburn and beat them too.

Suddenly, all these teams picking up points, and it means that teams like Portsmouth, who would have thought they were safe after beating Leeds at Fratton Park just over a week ago, they then lose two games in a row.

Swansea, who won a couple of games after sacking Luke Williams, you know, fans of these clubs, they were heading for for the beach.

They thought they were done.

They thought they were safe.

But the likes of Derby and Cardiff and Luton getting these wins means it's suddenly now looking like it could be a high 40s points tally needed at the very least to stay up, which is slightly frustrating.

But yeah, Eustace doing a great job.

I think it's pretty hard to see a way out for Argyle now, despite that win at Pompey, to lose at home to Derby.

That was such an important game to get a win from.

And despite their incredible efforts in the FA Cup, you kind of wonder if possibly, Mira Muslich was very keen to say that those performances against Liverpool and Manchester City gave them belief and momentum, but the lead performances still haven't been great.

And it's hard to see them getting out.

Luton, a very interesting one, though, where obviously there's no way they should be in this position.

Matt Bloomfield's come in and hasn't really made them any better, I wouldn't say.

But we've seen in the flashes, certainly the first half against Borough, the first half in the game.

They lost against Jefferson United a couple of weeks ago.

Every so often they put in the kind of 30-minute, 35-minute display that would have them being a top-half championship side, side but they can't seem to do it not even in back-to-back games but to last a whole 90 minutes and that's where they're coming unstuck and i i think there's been an assumption alpha alfie dowty gave an interview a couple of months ago saying there was no way they get relegated there's been an assumption i think within the club and outside that eventually luton will turn it around but there aren't many games to go now and and that the gap is is only growing bigger there was a lovely moment the Plymouth winner when they cut to the fans to see an old man flicking the Vs to the home fans and then hugging his wife.

I mean I presume his wife.

Be an odd place if you were having an affair.

I mean that's not what you do is it.

I mean I don't I don't know.

I'm not having an affair.

I'm far too tired more than anything.

It's not relevant but if I was to book a hotel room it would be for me alone to sleep.

Anyway that'll do for the championship.

We'll do league one in part two.

HiPod fans of America, Max here.

Barry's here too.

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Welcome to part two of the Guardian Football Weekly.

So, League 1, Birmingham have 83 points from 36, Wrexham, 71 from 37, Wickham, 68 from 36, and I guess you could include Charlton, 66 from 37, and Stockport, 65 from 37 for the Automatics.

So, look, Birmingham is so far clear.

Perhaps more interesting is below them.

Wrexham, three points clear of Wickham, thanks to a 1-0 win over them this weekend.

A tight game won by Sam Smith, who I know scored some brilliant goals for Cambridge.

Reading fans will know as well.

Does this mean Paul Mullin is now available?

I don't know, but that's a massive result for Wrexham, isn't it, Sammy?

Huge result, yeah.

Since Matt Bloomfield left Wickham, there's been a question mark over whether they can carry on what they're doing.

The new man hasn't quite really, really done it at all.

I mean, Wrexham is such a strange one because sometimes it kind of feels like Vibes football.

You know, they bring in all these players and then they put in all these crosses constantly.

And there's always someone you remember from 10 years ago able to get on the end.

And they've done it pretty much throughout the season.

So they're coming into form at the perfect time.

And yeah, this was a bit of a strange game.

There's a medical emergency as well.

So the game got delayed for quite a while.

So credit to the players

for being able to carry on.

And I hope that the person who was unwell is okay.

But yeah, I mean, it's a great run for them.

I mean, one defeat in six now for Wrexham.

That's what's pushed them up there.

And Wickham have had a couple of difficult games as well.

But that was only the second defeat at home in 17 games now.

So it's a real kind of marker for Wrexham if they can push on.

And I am worried a bit for Wickham.

And Richard Kone as well, who's been the like star striker.

And he's still got 20.

20 goals in all competitions, but he's been injured for a really long time.

And then, I don't know, it felt like

he's linked away and he didn't go away.

and there was talk of a massive bid that they turned down, and then he's not managed to come back in, and then he's finally come back in, and he's not quite hit the form, and all of a sudden, it's not quite working for them.

So, yeah, worrying time to Wickham.

George, would you put it between Rexman and Wickham, or would you give, and especially Charlton, on a great form, a sniff?

Definitely.

I mean, there's that, you know, they're very much in it.

I'd say, as Sandy alluded to, you know, the Wickham form had started kind of turning a little bit before Mike Dodds came in, so I wouldn't necessarily lay it all at his door, but but he's right in that they're not the side that they were earlier in the season at the moment.

Um, and he's going to have to improve them immensely, I think, to get them back to being the best, the second best side in the league.

Wrexham, you know, really impressed with what they're doing, that they are, they've become in the last six months.

They've gone from being, you know, the the Hollywood side, the the high drama, the ridiculous high scoring games at home, they're now a proper Phil Parkinson side.

You know, it feels like he's sucked that out of them now and they are resolute, they're dogged, they're defensive.

they have players like sam smith and ollie rathbone who are just absolute terriers snapping at heels the whole time um and he's he's kind of built this team in in in his image which is the right thing to do you know you look back at his his his um bolton team that won promotion out of league one despite massive off-field issues you know he is very very good it hasn't been the remit for the last two years but he's very good at you know taking a group of players and getting them to perform above their level and despite all the noise around Wrexton's high spending, which is obviously true, it's still absolutely dwarfed by what Birmingham were able to do, even what Huddersfield Huddersfield have done in terms of spend over the last year or so.

Charlton are absolutely flying.

Um, Nathan Jones's decision to ban his players from going to Costa Coffee and the uh local shopping centre, Blue Water, is obviously paying off.

And it's just, I think it's a reminder to football.

You know, this is a guy in Nathan, you know, Nathan Jones did, I'd say, alongside Chris Wilder, one of the best jobs at a club in the last decade, where, you know, yes, he only actually won one promotion with Luton because he jumped ship once, um, or jumped ship twice, but he, you know, taking over Luton as a league two side and leaving them twice, but both times, you know, the second time, um, you know, primed to be a Premier League team.

And then he has basically a couple of bad months at Southampton and he had a couple of bad months at Stoke, and people basically write him off as some kind of joke figure.

You don't do what he did at Luton without being very, very capable.

And yeah, in a similar way to maybe someone like Gareth Ainsworth, it feels like he needs buy-in.

Like there are going to be some players and some fans and some clubs who just look at what his methods and look at his character and say, nope, that's not for me.

But now that he's got his teeth into Charlton and it feels like Charlton are basically becoming Nathan Jones FC, I think with a lot of managers, that can be a bad thing.

With him, it's absolutely ideal.

Like when he gets buy-in from his players, they become just winning machines.

And that's exactly what they are now.

And if history tells us anything, it's that you know, this isn't a streak, this isn't a good moment.

This is now what Nathan Jones does.

And Wrexham and Wickham do drop off in any way, they'll absolutely hold them to account and keep them going.

Same can be said of Stockport, who have, you know, in some ways have actually probably improved as a team since Louis Barry left.

I think the reliance on him on the left-hand side,

he was so good at it that it yielded points.

But now they're a better functioning side.

And again, you know, a huge win for them away at Bolton last time.

And yeah, I expect at least one of Charlton or Stockport to be very much in with a shout of automatic promotion come the end of the season.

Yeah, you're referring to to Nathan Jones' post-match rant about his players doing nothing on rest days, insisting they should not move.

They certainly shouldn't be going to Blue Water and high-fiving fans.

He's good value, isn't he?

I mean, his box-off is not quite the right word, is it?

But just like he's, he's just, it's just a funny thing to say.

Just to imagine these poor people sort of getting out of bed and, you know, their wife saying, could you possibly put the bins out?

And just lying in stasis, not being able to do a thing.

Elsewhere in the playoff hunt, Ben, what you've got, Huddersfield, Bolton, and Reading, I guess, pushing those guys.

Who do you expect?

Who would you fancy?

Maybe Huddersfield, I think.

I mean, there's more expectation around there.

And they've made quite a kind of brave decision, I suppose, in dispensing with Michael Duff, who I really like, to be honest.

Really amazing job at Cheltenham and Barnsley.

And the timing of that decision to get rid of him, interesting, but they've spent some money and ultimately they were on a dreadful run or sort of worrying run.

But yeah, they smashed Crawley 5-1 at the weekend.

John Worthington, the Academy coach, has been given the job to the end of the season, so not going to get another face in until then.

And obviously, it's now his job to try and lead them to promotion through the playoffs.

Joe Taylor scored in the weekend, somebody who they signed.

I think George alluded to earlier in terms of the sort of recruitment and some of the spend there, but he's somebody I really like when they got him out of Luton.

He scored a lot of goals at Lincoln.

And yeah, I thought that's a great signing.

It almost felt like a bit of a Stansfield sort of one at Huddersfield.

And he got injured.

It's not been quite as

sort of brilliant as maybe everyone expected it to be.

But yeah, I think Huddersfield, Redding obviously got Noel Hunt in charge now, which feels very sort of, I don't know, 2006.

But yeah, I think Huddersfield maybe would be my fancy there.

there.

Love Noel Hunt.

Got incredibly drunk with him once back in the glory years.

And yeah, it was good fun.

At the bottom, then, oh, this is depressing.

Shrewsbury then 28 points.

Cambridge 29, Crawley 30, Burton 36.

And then a jump to Bristol Rovers, Northampton, Peterborough.

I think we've lost all of them in the last, I don't know, actually, we've got Northampton soon.

42, Wigan, 43.

I keep thinking, George, we might win nine in a row, you know, and then and then be all right.

And then I realise we've only won seven all season.

You know, you just can't, you look at the league and go, okay, we've lost this one and this was the one.

Each time you go, this is the one.

But yeah, it's sort of done.

I mean, Burton, maybe, but it's done, isn't it, really?

Yeah, it looks done to me.

I think with Shrewsbury, Cambridge, and probably Crawley now, it's looking done.

There was a moment...

Before Christmas where I know like all four of you were relegated before we even got to the end of the year and then all four teams started winning and you're like wow Maybe we're going to get a bit of an exciting relegation battle.

Burton at the only team now really capable of closing the gap to those above them.

Cambridge have welcomed a brave new era by harking back to two old eras at the same time.

In Mark Bonner's

taking the reins as director of football and Neil Harris coming in as manager.

I think there's an element, given the massive upheaval off pitch, where, and this is maybe a bit of a therapy session for you, Max, where getting relegated this season may not be the worst thing.

I kind of think

when you get relegated and suddenly suddenly you're a side with genuine promotional aspirations with a budget that is competitive at the top end of the table, that's kind of the best time for people to implement their strategy and best practices.

I think it's very difficult.

You know, say you stayed up by the skin of your teeth.

You know, as soon as that last ball is kicked, you're trying to work out immediately how you can over-outperform your budget and stay up

in the league again from a pretty low ebb.

So I think there are some instances where a relegation can be a good thing.

Having said that, there have been quite a few occasions recently of teams getting relegated from League One going straight down again.

Carlyle being the latest senior indeed of that.

Yeah, Carlisle, I'm looking at them, yeah.

I mean, as a, like, I don't really, like, I don't really mind what division we're in.

Like, it doesn't stop me supporting them.

Like, it's not just like, I go, okay, you have, you have some, and it's different for me.

I'm not going week in, week out.

I'm not going away from home, right?

Where going to Birmingham is, you know, oh, they're like a big, proper stadium, et cetera, et cetera.

With all due respect to the smaller stadiums, which are also proper, like Cambridge isn't a real one.

But, you know, you take my point.

Now, it doesn't really like,

I still care as much.

It doesn't bother me.

I know, like, it makes a difference financially.

And you want to, we are a well, unlike, you know, other clubs who struggle,

we are a really well-run club.

Like, they've got the football thing wrong, but they've got everything else right.

And that is obviously a problem.

But, like, I'm not in fear of the club going out of business.

I'd love us to build steadily.

And I think Neil Harris is as good a manager as we could get.

But that's kind of my point: where you say they've got the football thing wrong.

I mean,

Cambridge probably have, what, 22nd or 23rd budget in League One, and they're currently 23rd.

It's kind of...

Yeah.

But that's the issue with when you are aside going into a season with a relegation budget, your fans

think

you should just outperform your budget.

Otherwise,

everyone should get sacked.

That's just not really the case.

And so with Harris and with Bonner now, hopefully, you know, a long-term period at the club, It feels like for them, for the whole club to kind of galvanise, to be galvanized in their image and their work, going down winning games and everyone kind of believing what they're doing rather than going into a season knowing that if you are again 22nd going into December, which is probably where you should be, then everyone's going to be saying Bonner's doing a terrible job, Harris out and the rest of it, which is just not a particularly conducive way of kind of building a project.

Yeah, I think not getting, I think getting one point in the first nine games is never a great way to get

a great way.

That was bad, wasn't it?

Sanny, you wanted

a good little bit on

James Carragher, son of Jamie at Wigan.

Well, yeah, this is a fascinating one.

So Jamie Carragher's dad is from Malta and James Carragher, his son, has come through the ranks at Wigan Athletic.

And Jamie's gone and got a Maltese passport.

So then James can then get a Maltese passport.

So James Carragher has now been called up for the Malta national side and might be involved in the break.

So that's an exciting one.

Do you think the Maltese FA, do you think they've called Jamie Carragher and been like, do you fancy it as well?

It might be 50, but you're still better than anything else we got.

Do you think on the turn, Jamie Carragher might be a bit slow now?

I mean, look, while we're on international call-ups,

Hamza Chowdhury as well, playing for Bangladesh, Sanny.

Yes,

this is great.

So Hamza Chowdhury, straight off the back of the Steel City Derby, because he's on loan at Sheffield United, has got on a plane to Bangladesh, and he's going to make his debut against India in Asian Cup qualifying.

And it's just a class.

If you ever been to South Asia,

it's just chaos.

When I've been to India,

all of a sudden it's just madness, right?

You get a million people trying to...

get bags off you and carry your bags.

People want money off you.

So imagine being

on loan from Premier League Club, a professional footballer, an elite footballer, turned him in Bangladesh.

He's Bangladesh's best ever player before he's even played.

He's completely mobbed.

He's got a sea of microphones.

We're just shouting at him.

And fair play to him.

He says, you know, he's hoping that they'll beat India and try and get him to a major tournament.

But yeah, what a story.

And fair play to him because he's played for the England youth side.

He did hold ambitions of playing for England.

That's passed him by.

And

to put himself through all that travel, to go through that circus, that craziness.

But equally, you know, he's going to be loved and it'll inspire a whole generation there.

And you made a great spot, George, about the Bristol Rovers keeper.

I love this.

Bristol Rovers' new young goalkeeper is called Jed Ward, which, when you put it together, is Jedwood, which I absolutely loved.

I've kind of, he's...

come across my consciousness a few times, but it was only yesterday that I realized this and I didn't stop laughing for a while.

And also, he's 21, which means means that he'd have been like nine, eight or nine when Jedwood was a thing, which just feels like an absolutely terrible age to be called to be called Jedwood.

So I'm sure he won't thank me for bringing it up, but he's my new favorite player.

I think, though, you know, ultimately, I believe, and I'm not totally across their work, that they've sort of turned out to be quite good sorts, Jedwood.

So, you know, so like, like, it was worth it.

It was worth the pain of, you know, X Factor 7 or what it was.

um you know uh but like well done to him and his centre backs who played just in front of him owen quigg and leona lew um anything on anything on league one you wanted to suggest ben before we move on to league two no no i was just to say burton felt like you know they are the ones sort of probably uh spooking the rest of the guys above them now bristol rovers being one of those teams it's going to be you know maybe a bit of a nervy end for you know Northampton, Peter Brow Wiggin, maybe even.

Yeah, Gary Bowyer's done a great job.

Burton, really.

Just, you know, four wins, three draws, and the last ten.

They kind of look like they were cooked, really, that they were done.

Northampton doing well under Kevin Nolan.

Again, he's given them a

bit of a lift.

So, yeah, those teams kind of just above the relegation zone.

Yeah, probably feeling a bit nervous.

All right, good stuff.

That'll do for part two.

Part three, we'll do league two.

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Max here.

Barry's here, too.

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Welcome to part three of the Guardian Football Weekly.

So promotion from League 2.

Top three go up, of course, and the next we're going to the playoffs.

We also have 69 points.

I mean, they were miles clear pretty recently.

Bradford, 66.

AFC Wimbledon, 63.

Doncaster, 63.

Knotts County in Port Vale, 61.

Colchester, 58.

Crewe 57.

Grimsby, if they weren't on a good run, although they're not on a good run at the moment, could break in on 56.

Ian says the League Two promotion race is chaos.

Why are so many teams falling over themselves?

Sanny, what do you think?

It's a mad one because Bradford, I thought, with a team that were really looking special now on this run, and then

a complete calamity at the back to let Tranmere beat them who have been struggling this season at the other end of the table.

I mean, we've mentioned Walsall.

They lost.

Nathan Lowe went back to Stoke City.

He was on loan.

He was their main man.

Without him, it'd have been lumping up to Jameel Matt.

That's been a bit of a struggle.

So they've come a bit unstuck.

Bradford have been really impressive.

And

just when you think they're now going to put a run together, that was their first defeat in...

or second defeat actually in nine games.

So it starts to come away from them.

I saw Doncaster a couple of weeks ago and they look really impressive and they've been hitting some good form and then they've kind of come away.

And I'm at Walsaw Wimbledon actually on the 29th.

And that's that all of a sudden feels like a huge game for the title.

But with three going up, it's a lot more forgiving.

So you have got that kind of wiggle room.

But yeah, it's really interesting because for a time, the likes of Knotts County were up there.

And you thought, oh, they're doing okay.

And Colchester United were nowhere to be seen.

And they've made a charge now.

It really is changeable.

That's why League Two can be so exciting because there is this complete variance and you can can't really.

nail your flags to the mast although George and Ben might just do that now.

I mean you you guys are already selling League Two to me which is nice.

Uh, I'm looking forward to it next year.

Yeah, you'll have a great time, uh, um, George.

But yeah, I mean, this is what we often say: like, the championship has this reputation for being the least predictable league in the world.

Is it like teams who get relegated to the Premier League normally finish in the top four, teams get promoted out of league one normally finish towards the bottom, and everyone else in between?

League two is the least predictable league in the world.

League two is the one where the quality gap between the top and the bottom sides is relatively small, and it basically means that everyone beats each other fairly regularly.

And that's shown at the top end of the league where you have a top five where only one of the teams won on Saturday compared to other leagues where they seem to churn out results every weekend.

Walsall have been on this really long

run of only a couple of wins where the performance has definitely dropped off, but they seem to basically concede a 25-yard screamer in every game, which was a little bit unlucky and probably a bit unsustainable as well.

And they're still three points clear at the top end.

Bradford hosting a Trammir side who just sat their manager

and lose the game 1-0 to a penalty.

Like, it's just chaos.

And this is the league that is really unpredictable.

We've seen quite a few teams in the past do what Walsall would have done, Forest Green under Rob Edwards, and Leighton Orion under Richie Weddings, where they get a huge gap at the top of the league and then idle a bit in front before actually then kind of sorting their form out and going on to win the league.

And it wouldn't be a surprise if Walsall do do that.

But they definitely have to improve because they're miles off the team they were early in the season.

We did a piece on the pod saying, Are Walsall the best league two team ever?

And ever since then, I think they've only won two games.

So,

uh, Ben, how's Lyle Taylor doing?

I mean, Cole just a five wins in a row.

Lyle Taylor, who did not have a good time last year at Cambridge?

Is he having a better time?

I think he's done okay.

I mean, the thing here is, it's Danny Nicky Cowdey, isn't it?

Like,

it is incredible.

I was looking at the numbers, like the 17th at the beginning of January, basically, when he comes in.

You know, unbeaten since 4th of Jan.

I think they lost the first two games, I think.

And then since then, it's just been, you know, this sort of dreamy run.

Top three, very much possible, five points off.

You know, and it's weird, isn't it?

Like, not that long ago, there was obviously the amazing cup run with Lincoln, the promotions.

Then they get the move to Huddersfield.

I didn't say it's a disaster, but maybe that's pushing it, but it didn't work out.

And then, you know, now they've sort of been given this chance.

It felt like a quite the hospital pass really in January.

You're like, oh, this is, but actually, they could really end up this season with a promotion back on the CV.

So I'm pleased for them

amazing job um as you say yeah five wins in a row and uh yeah it's super tight the other thing I was gonna say was Ian Holloway at Swindon I mean another one who you thought god is he is he really sort of taking that over inherited total mess really

very unhappy fan base I mean they're just sailing away intowards this sort of mid-table zone and the fans weren't happy with him with the appointment either like he hadn't done well at Grimsby you know they and you know he I can't remember he said something earlier about the place being cursed or something, you know, some classic Ian Holloway stuff.

Yeah.

Which we all love.

There was close at the training.

The Swindon fans were like, we don't need this nonsense.

We need to win.

But I'm so pleased that he's doing well.

I can't remember if I came on here before and said, because I did a piece with him,

I don't know, eight weeks ago now or so.

And

I was talking to him about his paintings.

I just love the fact he was doing acrylic paintings, not just of like, I don't know, he's got one of the Joker and different things, him and his wife Kim, but he was like painting actual like fellow managers.

And whatever you say about Holloway he has managed at the top and this kind of thought of him just essentially painting I mean it's a bit of a stretch but his kind of peers if you like in Guardiola and Klopp just found it amazing like how many other people would kind of just sit there and paint people who are kind of technically in the same class as them are they sitting for him No, I think he's just taking it off photo sound.

What a shame.

What a shame.

And today, Steve, Steve Evans will be sitting for Ian Holloway.

But yeah, I mean, he's a fascinating guy.

He's built a, once soccer him, he built a chicken coop for us.

Once, me and Barry were on talk sport, and he rang up while he was metal detectors.

Yeah.

And I mean, no one says artifact like Ian Holloway.

George, you looked primed to come in.

He is someone who I've worked with a couple of times, and he is like his

absolute adoration of football is quite something.

I once hosted EFL launch day at The Valley, and he

with a room full of fans and he started telling a story about a kid,

a Bristol Rovers fan, who was terminally ill.

And he was telling the story and he just broke down in tears, like just in front of everybody.

And, you know, he's obviously a guy who's been through a lot too.

You know,

his adoration of the game is very obvious.

I mean, there's also a game coming up over Easter where his Swindonside travelled to Grimsby.

And Grimsby Town is the one place in the country where Ian Holloway is not revered and his love of football isn't.

appreciated because there were some very angry fans about the way that he conducted himself as manager there and some accusations around his, his, the part that he played in, in

some difficulty off the pitch.

So that'll be a pretty spicy affair, you have to think.

I think it's on Good Friday.

But yeah, I mean, he's doing an amazing job at Swindon, there's no doubt about that.

No, I was just going to say, yeah, when I did the piece, it was when he was hitting a thousand games.

It's just sort of coming back to me.

And that game was against Grimsby.

And as George said, he was pretty kind of cut up that that big milestone would be in that game.

But they won.

And yeah, obviously the rest is history, really.

But yeah, one defeat in 10.

and um yeah great he's done a great job bottom mark hughes carlyle uh uh 27 points from 36 morecombe 30 from 37 uh and then a six point jump to tranmere uh 36 from 37 and then a four point jump harrogate have 40 points from 37 so probably fine um it seems sanny like those two are are done are they carlyle and more complete and like george mentioned it carlyle were in league one not too long ago and we've we know all about the problems off the pitcher yeah very sad for for morecom and going one up, then going down to 10, then going two up, and somehow drawing against Barrow last time out.

It's just kind of symptomatic of where they're at under Derek Adams this season.

It's not worked at all.

All that off-the-field issue, they've got the lowest budget.

They're really struggling all around.

Carlisle are a really strange one.

You know, on social media, there's all sorts of numbers about having this massive budget.

I don't know how true that is.

I don't know if I mentioned on the pod that I met the Pyattics, the new owners, when they came in and had grand visions.

That was when they'd just been relegated to league one.

They revamped the whole team for Mike Williamson into the January transfer window.

It was like 14 players, something mad like that.

Then they sacked him and brought in Mark Hughes.

And it started to turn around.

They lost to AFC Wimbledon.

That was the second defeat in six.

So they were one defeat in five, and things are looking okay, but it's just too late now, isn't it?

It's really sad as well because they've got a huge fan base up there.

They've got a captive audience.

They've got a decent enough stadium.

It holds absolutely loads.

It just hasn't come together at all.

It's really sad.

The top scorer is Lavelle with four.

So all in all, it's not good at all.

And I talk about the home games.

You only won two out of the 17.

So it's really bad.

And I don't know how they're going to get out of it.

I mean, the Pyatics have learned on the job maybe some naive decisions all around.

But, you know, that doesn't help the fans, does it?

They've already...

gone through the mill of going into non-league and come back again.

And it's really sad because when I went there when they first came in, it looked like they'd be massively on the up and instead it's gone completely the other way.

Before we go, you wanted to mention Anthony Barry, obviously international break.

He's involved with England under Thomas Tuchel and has EFL beginnings been?

Yeah, no, I just think it's sort of a great story and it must be heartening to any kind of up-and-coming coach out there.

Barry, I think retired 30, had you know, pretty unremarkable playing career.

Ackington, Forest Green, retired, had lots of injuries.

And he just started coaching with Acklington Stanley's he's under 16s.

And yeah, I'm doing a piece on it.

And it's just

what a ride he's been on.

I mean, since then, working with Frank Lampard, him and Barry did their pro license together.

So Lampard took him into Chelsea after he impressed at Wigan.

Paul Cook took him into Wigan.

And then from there, it's just kind of snowballed into this kind of big club after big club.

And then, obviously, countries, Portugal, Belgium, had a spell of Republic of Ireland.

And now he's Tushals number two,

which is probably maybe why we see Dan Byrne in the England squad as well, because Dan Byrne was vice captain of that Wigan team.

But yeah, just a great sort of tale for up-and-coming coaches, I think.

All right, that'll do for today.

Before we go, actually, Matt, who creates the video stuff that you can find on our Instagram and I believe our TikTok, I don't have TikTok,

sent an amazing video from his Sunday League

game, which we'll put up on our socials.

Maybe the greatest handball ever.

I've just put it in the group for you, Lot.

It's an amazing handball.

So it was Woodville Wanderers first versus our mate, Matt's team, Bournemouth Sports Sunday first team.

Woodville did win the game finally in the end, but their opening goal after a tightly contested opening period was a hand ball, which is absolutely tremendous.

I don't know, chaps, if you've...

The first time I was very quick, first time I was like, oh, and then you see it and you think that is...

I mean, there's no VAR, but you'd hope even a Sunday League ref who's in the centre circle might spot that.

It's sensational, isn't it?

You've just said you couldn't see it first time up.

Give the justice to the referee now, I think.

You've admitted yourself it's hard to see first time.

Then you've given the referee criticism for not seeing it.

I wasn't told it was a handball.

First of all, I suppose the rest of you didn't expect it, but yeah, the video doesn't carry on.

So we don't know, but I mean, honestly, that guy who does that, Shea Mott, Shea Mott.

I'm not into public shaming, but...

Absolutely disgraceful.

Bournemouth Sports, by the way, they play their League Cup final Thursday night under the lights.

Good luck to them.

And that'll do for today.

Thanks, everybody.

Thank you, Ben.

Thanks a lot.

Thank you, George.

Thanks, Max.

Thanks, Sonny.

Thank you.

Fribble Weekly is produced by Joel Grove.

Our executive producer is Danielle Stevens.

We'll be back on Thursday.

This is The Guardian.