EFL EXTRA: Could this be Birmingham City's year?

0:00Gregor Robertson: Your heart can tell you a lot about your health. Apple Watch Series 12 measures your heart rate every five seconds with the most advanced heart rate sensing in an Apple Watch. So your vitals app, now with heart rate variability, could tell you when something is off. And your readiness score can let you know when to rest and when to push. Hear the story in every heartbeat with Apple Watch Series 12. For general wellness purposes only, not intended for clinical use or to detect, diagnose, monitor or treat medical conditions. requires iPhone 11 or later. Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough.

0:34It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. And that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for. Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance, and some pay as little as$0, depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends.

1:18You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash start now. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan.

1:56Hello and welcome to The Game, a football podcast from The Times and Sunday Times. This is our EFL extra show every week with me, Tom Clark, and the former Football League defender, Gregor Robertson, with more than 300 appearances in all three divisions. He's now a journalist for The Times and he joins me every week to look at the best and the worst of the championship, League One and League Two. Gregor, this is our slightly later than build EFL Extra show this week, coming to you on a Wednesday, not a Tuesday. Apologies for that. Slightly my bad timekeeping to cause that. But also, we had a full round of League 1 and League 2 fixtures.

2:31So we'll pretend it's for that reason, because it gives us more to talk about in part two. But let's get stuck into the championship. Loads of really interesting movers and shakers, I would say. None more so than Birmingham City. Up to fourth, a big win at the weekend at home against QPR. they've had I think three on the spin unbeaten in five Chris Davies you know you talked about Birmingham a lot on this show their desires to compete at the very top their desires to reach the Premier League their desires to reach the European football of course this is a big run of games for him and they look really ominous all of a sudden

3:05Gregor Robertson: they certainly do yeah and you're right to talk about Chris Davies I mean he's divided opinion a little bit despite their you know Birmingham success you know great success in League One the expectation levels were obviously high last season too and perhaps didn't quite meet them but I think actually we'll see an evidence this season already of a bit of an evolution in his approach they kind of broke all kinds of records in League One for the dominance of possession and passing figures and goals and everything obviously that changed a bit last season but even from last season to this season the possession shares dropped from about 54 % to just somewhere around 50, playing about 40 fewer passes per game.

3:47Gregor Robertson: I think they're sticking more crosses in the box. Big August Pruske up front is part of the reason for that. He's got four goals this season. And also the signing of Liam Miller from Hull at the end of the transfer window has been a masterstroke, really. Yeah, we mentioned about Kozy Udubre going to Middlesbrough. This one, this lone move, almost as good. Because, I mean, he'd scored in the Premier League, hadn't he? for Hull in that win against Coventry that you were there and then I remember seeing this move and thinking how the hell have they pulled that off yeah it was a strange one even speaking to Sergei Kirovich after that game and he's saying he didn't want him to go but clearly they were signing so many players at Hull that they needed to move some on and you know he was one of them ultimately but he's just he's so direct really he's just offered them something different in that kind of wide left role got scored his third and fourth goals of the season in that 3-0 win against QPR at the weekend.

4:44Gregor Robertson: He's got three assists as well. And there's also been a bit of a change in Jay Stanfield's role as well. Instead of being the man who's leading the line, he's playing pretty much as a number 10. And he's not racking up great figures, but he's been a really key figure in their attacking evolution, a bit of a conduit between the midfield and attack. There just seems to be more of a balance in their forward line, I think, now. And coupled that with, as I say, a bit more kind of, perhaps a bit more pragmatism in the approach and acceptance that, you know, they're no longer going to dominate every game in the Championship.

5:23Gregor Robertson: Chris Davies is also a really smart coach. He's worked for some very, very high-profile managers and clubs. And I think we're seeing a bit of a change in the look of Birmingham this season. Yeah, lots of things to like about them as well. You mentioned the height and dominance of Prisker up front as well. It was worth bringing in Newman and Clara at the back, two centre-backs that you just look at. And any opposition forward must think, Christ, I'm not getting much out of them. I've seen Clara play a couple of times. He plays with that kind of air of assurance, a bit like Virgil van Dijk. I'm not saying he's as good as Virgil van Dijk, but he's got that swagger.

5:58Every single game I seem to see him do a like, just a shove off the ball. Not off the ball, as in manoeuvre a forward off the ball in a kind of like, nah, I'm going to have that actually. No, you're not going to dribble around me. But it looks effortless. It's just a little shoulder or a step in front. It's like, no, that's my ball actually. Go away. I've got this. And having those two at the back in the championship for whatever you want to say about modern football, two dominant, big, physical centre-backs is always going to stand you in good stead in terms of spine of the team and things.

6:29Gregor Robertson: Absolutely, yeah. And you look at their, they've only conceded 11 goals. Just looking around, there's only Swansea, Southampton I think who've conceded fewer a couple of that with 20 goals as well, I think both sides of their team are looking pretty productive and pretty solid just now so a long long way to go but I think it's been a very positive start and actually the mood music has changed a bit around St Andrews, we spoke earlier on in the season about the kind of shock of Tom Wagner having a stroke and their chairman who's been the kind of driving force, the bullish kind of figure who's led this resurgence by Birmingham City and what his absence kind of meant.

7:11Gregor Robertson: He returned to the stadium a few weeks ago, kind of looked really emotional as he was welcomed back and I think just what we're seeing on the, you know, there's been question marks as well about the recruitment and stuff and they've had a few more hits than misses in the last transfer window by the looks of it so far, so certainly very positive for Birmingham City up to fourth. Yeah, you can tell with Chris Davies speaking after that game just sounded like a man that's confident after a bit of a spell of pressure during his reign in the Championship. So far, we should just say as well, QPR, an afternoon forget for them.

7:43Good goals from Birmingham, but QPR culpable in basically every single one of them giving the ball away in the middle of the park. An afternoon to forget for them, but still in ninth. Still a very impressive start to the season for QPR. Let's move to the top of the table. Swansea-West Ham, the top two faced each other at the weekend. Dominic Akeboie, Our young reporter was there at this one. He'd also been at Swansea 1, Millwall 0 earlier in the week. And he had these thoughts on whether my suggestion earlier in the season that Swansea might be the real deal is actually true or not. A couple of weeks ago on the podcast, Tom, you asked whether Swansea are the real deal.

8:16Well, having watched them twice last week against Millwall and West Ham, I definitely think they have enough to be serious promotion contenders come the end of the season. From watching them, what I think impressed me the most was definitely how coordinated their press is. Bittor Matos spent five years working as a coach under Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and I think you can definitely see that influence in the way that his team press and counter press. Swansea have already conceded eight goals from 11 he gave him so far this season and I think that definitely starts from the front with Adam Aydar leading the press.

8:45He's so energetic in the way that he runs and closes down defenders and he's really good at curving his runs to sort of force opposition defenders into awkward passing angles. On the wings Musa Yeo and Josef Opoku work tireless always running up and down tracking the markers and I think it gives them a really good foundation to get results from them not playing at their best as they sort of did against Millwall. It was a different sort of test for Swansea as Millwall launched crosses into the box targeting Lyndon Dykes but Ben Cabango and Jenson Silt actually dealt with the crosses pretty well before Ronald's 90th minute winner.

9:19Against West Ham I think we saw some of the weaknesses that had me a bit hesitant and saying that they will definitely finish in automatic promotion spots at the end of this season. Devine Makassar gave West Ham the lead in the first half and Swansea just weren't able to create anything despite having basically all of the possession. Ben Cabango had a few decent chances and Adam Maida had a shot that went just wide from outside the box but Swansea didn't even register a shot on target throughout the whole game and if it wasn't for Lawrence Vigarou in goal it definitely could have been a few more goals for West Ham.

9:47All in all after watching Swansea I think they definitely do have enough to finish in the playoff place of this season but I think if they really want to push those automatic promotion spots they've got to work a bit on their finishing and their creativity in the final third so Gregor there Dominic doing a really good job I'd say the Gregor Robertson both things can be true a little bit Tom you know you're not completely wrong but actually I'm going to let you down gently and that actually Swansea might be better suited to a playoff place than those automatic spots West Ham showing their dominance I think quite interestingly looking and prepping for this game you know we always look at FopMob, that excellent website that has brilliant statistical analysis individually for players and teams.

10:25All the kind of statistical metrics have all got a West Ham badge in there in the top three in some form or another. It's normally a good barometer for West Ham. It's been a brilliant run for them, unbeaten in a while now. Do you think this kind of a win against Swansea is just a bit of a kind of, lads, we're the dominant team here. We are going to walk it, as many suggested at the start of the season.

10:49Gregor Robertson: I don't know. I wouldn't get it too carried away yet. I mean, you've got to say the two misses by Ben Cabango were just extraordinary, really. The one that he lashed off the crossbar from about, I don't know, five yards. And then the volley dragged wide as well. It could have been different. We should say Ben Cabango, Swansea centre-back as well. It's the kind of classic, you do not want the ball falling to him in those positions. I mean, the first one, it could fall to anyone and you think he's got to score. Really? Gregor's giving it out. I'd have put that in. I'd have put that in. Oh, my God.

11:19Gregor Robertson: I think I might have I still might and the gifted possession to West Ham for the goal too, I think it was Marko Stamanej great finish by Divine Mukasa who's really starting to make an impression 19 year old on loan from Man City third goal of the season and yes, West Ham I'm beating in nine now, six wins from 11 they're really ticking along and you're starting to see their quality show But I would say that there's still, this is not a moment, a reality check for Swansea. I don't think so. I think they went toe-to-toe with West Ham and on another day they could have easily drawn or won the game.

12:02Gregor Robertson: There's still, the home record is extraordinary. I think it ended a run of 10 games at home without a defeat because all the way back to Matos' first game as manager against Derby, which was almost a year ago. if they maintain that then it's going to keep them up there and I still think this is a really really good team with a lot of exciting options in forward areas and there's no reason to suggest this is going to derail them, they were playing the favourites for the league and they came off second best in a very fine margin game so I don't think we learned something that's going to decide the season in this one see how Swansea respond in the coming days where do you want to go next Gregor your call on this one I think we go Borough Cardiff that was a cracker 2-0 Cardiff went 2-0 ahead great pair of beauties by Jack Moylan 6th of the season now Tom you could probably still do with him couldn't you yes definitely whatever Cardiff paid Lincoln for him it was not enough he is a talented lad separating all the Lincoln bias aside really brilliant to see him performing well at a higher level whatever happens with Cardiff I think he could be going even higher and a cracker by Oli Tanner as well the thing with Ukeborough obviously came back and there was question marks raised before the start of this game Helberg benched Will Lancashire, there's lots of games at the moment and he kind of was trying his best to rotate but he had to throw him on at half time in the place of Kyle Joseph and he scored again.

13:42Gregor Robertson: He scored his 11th of the season. Outside the box. He's working. He's getting further and further back. Maybe he's going to get involved in this halfway line goals that we're going to talk about in the second half of the show by the end of the season. Yeah. And there's also been a few grumbles now about Luke Eilings when he's played. He came off at halftime as well, put on Bear Harter. And I think they ended with 36 shots and they couldn't quite find a winner. they were really in the ascent like it was a game of two halves absolutely Borough keep having to do this they keep they had comeback wins against Lincoln and Norwich they came back from 2-0 down to draw 2-0 with Millwall had to do it again in this game so they did it as well in the week as well at Stoke I was watching that game in midweek as well as the Champions League games my ability to watch three games at once paying off it was a really thrilling game Stoke kept coming back Middlesbrough took the lead away from home and Borough got a win late on Stoke kind of handed it to them.

14:39There was some really dreadful defending in this game. But just to jump in and ask you a question about the point you're making, is it sustainable? Because we love it. It's great. And everyone goes, oh, Bora, Kim Helberg, they're so entertaining. They're fantastic. And it was. That Stoke 3-2 game was the best game I've seen for a long time in terms of pure entertainment. You wonder whether at the top of the table it's sustainable, though.

15:01Gregor Robertson: I mean, the thing that I would ultimately say is that I still feel there's more to come from Middlesbrough. So, you know, is it sustainable? Probably not. But I feel also they have more gears to click into. And clearly they need to show up defensively. Like the ailing has been one kind of bone of contention. There's also the fact that, you know, Milan does one of the best centre-halves in the league and Helberg's often playing in midfield at the moment. I think some fans are kind of questioning that, shall we say. But I think they'll be one of the teams up there and pushing for automatics. So whether it's sustainable or not, I'm not sure.

15:36Gregor Robertson: but I still feel there's more to come and there's plenty to be excited about, we spoke a lot about Lancashire, Tommy Conway on the left has really shown a different string to his boy, obviously he was signed as a player to play number 9 the man down the middle but he's been asked to play as a winger and he's creating a lot of goals and Kozy Oduberi is someone who's going to do the same to his hand in 5 goals already this season so they're stacked in forward areas, yes they could do with showing up at the back but I think there's more to come from Borough. More to come from Borough, more to come from Swansea, so much more to come from the Football League and the Championship this season.

16:14This is what the positivity that we like to hear from Gregor Robertson. I mentioned Stoke there, they got a 1-0 win at Derby at the weekend. Some dreadful defending for the goal by Luke Graham, dropping so deep for one of those free kicks where you're just thinking stay on your line, be brave, don't give them the chance to put that cross into the box. Real struggles perhaps perhaps personified by that for Derby this season. Working our way down the table then, Gregor, we will come back to West Brom in fifth and their thriller against Blackburn. But I just wanted to mention Wolves, 2-1 winners at Burnley last Friday night.

16:47Jamie Vardy, off and running, 40 years old. What an amazing story it was. I liked in this game how he had a shot miles wide, then he had a shot on target, then finally got the goal.

16:59Gregor Robertson: It was such a Jamie Vardy goal. Such a Jamie Vardy goal. The other thing I'd say as well, another pound in the jar for, I wondered whether it might have been, in VAR, he might have been like a nose offside, potentially, but we're delighted that he wasn't. It was a brilliant Jamie Vardy goal, as you say. It was, yeah, just on the shoulder, running into a pocket of space and not even having to look up to see where the goal is and drilling it into the corner. It was a very Jamie Vardy goal. So if he gets those opportunities, I'm sure he's still able to take them, running to bigger open spaces I'm not quite as sure about but he still looks like he's in good shape he's sharp he is he is Burnley's problem is giving calamitous goals away like absolutely calamitous extraordinary Kyle Walker is having an absolute torrid so far I know well if you say Jamie Vardy looks sharp Kyle Walker looks from one of the quickest players to ever play modern football he looks like he can barely move it is remarkable and actually a bit sad to watch, I would say, for all the great England defenders.

18:04Gregor Robertson: I remember writing a piece, I think it was the season before last, about when your legs go. And I've kind of experienced that earlier than Kyle Walker did after a few injuries. But it's clear when it happens and it's hard to accept and he doesn't seem to have been accepting it. Look, you want to play on, it's hard to criticise and he's obviously dropped down a level as well. and actually some of the things he's doing aren't all to do with your body not moving as quickly as usual, it's kind of he tried to cut inside in this game against Wolves for Fero Lopez's equaliser and just had the ball pinched off him and then squared it for Lopez and scored and then there was another absolute howler for Jurewa's winner just like another completely gifted possession to Wolves so yeah that was obviously a big win for Wolves as well after losing to Borough and Bolton and then they drew 1-0 in midweek with Pompey as well, it was a bit of a tasty one on the sidelines, a frackal with John Bessinho so it's not really clicking for Wolves either so clearly Burnley after getting that first win of the season against Watford, threw away points as well against Charlton in midweek I think they give a 95th minute equaliser in that one and then they've gifted Wolves the points again from a position of strength so like Nicky Aiton comes out at the end and says we you know we can't keep making individual mistakes like this and I have sympathy for him he's right like it's it's extraordinary yeah Wolves in seventh as you mentioned there that win followed up with a one-all draw on Tuesday night against Portsmouth a brilliant goal as well as the handbags at the end between the two managers a brilliant goal by terry devlin for portsmouth equal to equalize late on perhaps a sign of the tension and pressure that cesar pisotto is feeling at wolves with all the talent that he's got in his side but still seventh uh portsmouth in 13th burnley though in 20 seconds still in the relegation places never fear burnley fans you've got lincoln on saturday you've got lincoln on saturday there's now the time tom there's now the time to you know start the therapy session about that no no we need to keep it nice and concise there's loads of genuine analysis to do okay yeah it's been a tough week it's been a tough week we went the whole family went my dad you know persuaded my mum to join us i took amy and ava big family trip got on airbnb west ham this is the big night i'm unashamed to say no you know no embarrassment to say that lincoln playing west ham in the league is a big deal under the lights there was a new light show in town the stadium had a proper glow up this was proper like you know that scene in the damned united where they play out Brian Clough welcoming the mighty Leeds United like it felt like that everyone was trying to put on their best show the sky cameras were in the house and after 2 minutes and 40 seconds Tom Hamer our defender flew into a ridiculous challenge with Joel Veltman genuinely absolutely nothing any Lincoln fan could say a straight red card down to 10 actually did alright with 10 for 20 minutes 4-4-1 played alright I'm sure you would say as a former professional you can play with 10 you can have a game you can have a contest with 10 unfortunately then our midfielder Conor McGrandalls on the halfway line as the last man managed to pass the ball straight to Jared Bowen and then pulled him down down to nine men and after that it was just a farce lost 6-0 you could not make up a bigger disaster Gregor you could not tell me tell me reassure me of something tell me you've played him worse like it doesn't get much worse I can't remember playing with nine men for that long or actually losing 6-0 so sorry I can't help you out there but I'm not wrong I wrote Times Football Newsletter about this to try and find some catharsis and also just have a bit of fun about the two red cards which I assume you've seen yes like both equally stupid but I'm leaning as much as the first tackle is a horrendous tackle it could have broke Joel Veltman's leg really really bad awful awful tackle the second one is the one that's really getting me because just let Bowen run through he might miss he might score but you can have a contest it's instinctive you can have a contest with 10 men though you can have a contest you know the fans can it was farcical the game ended with west ham fans singing champions of europe you'll never sing that lincoln fans responding with champions of champions of champions of non-league you'll never sing that and then both sets of fans singing no one even noticed when thomas suchek scored the sixth everyone was just like a complete farce complete farce a very difficult night and a very worrying night for lincoln city fans i'd say because also conceding six goals is basically an extra point deducted because we now have one of the worst goal differences in the league.

22:54We followed it up with a 2-2 draw at Millwall on Saturday. Gregor, I was there for that one as well. Disappointing, another red card for the Imps late in the game. We were 2-0 up. A brilliant goal by Andre Kubis. Definitely go and check it out. First time strike from the defender from the edge of the box after about 50 seconds.

23:10Gregor Robertson: Beautiful way it faded into the corner. Oh, lovely. Dreamland. Dreamland. But unfortunately couldn't hold on. And Millwall, I would say, not that impressive for me. I don't know whether it's because I spoke to a few Millwall fans on the way home and they were saying, well, you're just like us. So you just did an us on us, how we play to everyone else, and we couldn't quite work it out. But yeah, I'm not particularly impressed with Millwall. A difficult week for being a Lincoln fan. The highlight of which was perhaps joining in with all the away fans, singing, where's your famous atmosphere at Millwall fans?

23:41And the answer is, probably they're thinking, who cares about Lincoln City? It's probably the answer. which is probably what a lot of the listeners are thinking right now. So I will move on. But thank you for giving me those couple of minutes just to vent my fury. Speaking of teams who had been struggling and teams that maybe should be worried, Watford 2, Charlton 0. Watford have been in terrible run of form, really real struggles. But this win will have delighted many of their fans, particularly Elton John, who had taken to social media a few weeks ago to bemoan their poor defence. But Charlton, my goodness me, the two goals they conceded in this game, worrying for them I would say after a bright start to the season they are starting to fade as we maybe

24:19Gregor Robertson: suggested that they would yes I mean obviously all the focus was on Alessio Dionisi and you know there was some people surprised he actually was still in the dugout for this game but the pressure's ramping up on Nathan Jones now too I think they've ate without a win there have been I think five draws in that time so like it's not quite the same disastrous picture as Watford have been going through but it's been a really tough time for him and Nathan Jones is pretty scathing with his players afterwards too it's nothing like the fight and intensity that we need to compete at this level so yeah, really tough time for Charlton and Watford, who knows what happens next that genuinely was a surprise that Dionysio was still in the dugout and as you say, Elton John had stuck the boot in midweek fans had published an open letter declaring their complete loss of confidence in Gino Pozzo the owner they'd obviously conceded nine goals against Burnley and Cardiff in the two games before that so it was a big win for them but still big rumblings of discontent at Vicarage Road and it's not much better at the Valley either.

25:40Yeah, good point for Bolton at Southampton at the weekend. 0-0 there. Two games without defeat for Bolton. They're up to 15th. It's been a good little run of form for them. Kyle Lahren injured for Southampton and they maybe should have had a penalty. So I'll stick another pound in the VAR charity jar for the end of the season. Gregor also mentioned Preston. Three defeats from three for Graham Alexander since taking charge, a 4-1 win for Wrexham. Much needed for them. They're in mid-table, but Preston is looking pretty bleak. Listen, it takes time to turn a club around, but how much time does he need?

26:18That's the question maybe with Preston. We'll maybe come back to them because there's a few other clubs I just wanted to mention. We're going to finish with West Brom 3, Blackburn 2, so stick with us, Baggies fans. But two clubs in positions that they wouldn't have wanted to be and expected to be in. Bristol City losing to Sheffield United. Good win for Sheffield United. They're up to 11th. Really important. And a great goal from Oli Arblasta in this one. Brilliant, brilliant finish. For Bristol City and Michael Skibala, I know you don't like it when I take the temperature of fans' reactions from social media, but you do start to see a few questioning Michael Skibala and his tactics at Bristol City.

26:58They spent a lot of money not only on hiring him from Lincoln City this summer, but also on signing a lot of players, Laurent Toyai, Don Ballard up front as well. They would not have expected to be 16th. They want to be higher. They want to be challenging for the playoffs. Just your thoughts on the scenario with them before we get to another team that are surprising in terms of how poor they've been, Norwich City.

27:19Gregor Robertson: Well, yeah, I mean, Bristol City had a positive start and I think it's one win in six now. And as you say, they spent some money in forward areas and they drew a blank against Sheffield United. They drew a blank in the defeat against Blackburn Rovers before that. and they drew a blank against you guys as well a few weeks before that. So, you know, three games in that six-game run where they've not managed to find the back of the net. That's been a big issue for them. Yeah, like, I don't know. They did spend money in forward areas, but still, actually, I think we, you know, I'm doing a piece about managers like Scubal and Graeme Alexander who get the opportunity from lower leagues to move into the Championship, and it's not that frequent.

28:01Gregor Robertson: and Scubilla is like probably one of the managers you think is joining a club that's quite stable and has a chance to compete but ultimately they're still playing in a different league to some of the teams with parachute payments and some of the teams who are spending enormous sums of money so clearly it's been a very disappointing run for them after a positive start but they're still actually trying to find ways to outperform their budget and part of that is signing players from lower leagues like Ballard and Tulli and it might take some time for them to really acclimatise the league properly.

28:38Gregor Robertson: So that's the same is possibly true of Scubala. Clearly he plays a bit of a different kind of style of football to what's been the case at Ashton Gate for a good number of years. But they definitely need to find some points and some goals and some wins very quickly. Yeah, I should just say getting carried away at this early stage in the season, and only 11 games gone. Bunch of teams on 14 points in that lower mid-table bracket. One win would take them up to 17, which would put you in the playoffs. So just a sign of how quick things can change in the championship all the time. But one team that has a few more points and a few more wins off those places.

29:15Norwich in 21st. Five defeats on the spin. The last one being that 1-0 defeat against Portsmouth that I mentioned earlier. What on earth, Gregor? What on earth? my friends love nothing more than listening to the show and very loyal pals that they are but they love nothing more than reminding me of my terrible predictions when I make them but I think you were with me on this one in terms of thinking that Norwich would be up the other end of the table I mean they did do this last season had a terrible start and then came good but I can't understand it because every time I've seen them be it on extended highlights or even the odd time live I think they look quite good

29:51Gregor Robertson: I think Clement's getting to the point where he can't really understand that he feels that they've been unlucky in some games and you know actually the fans have stayed quite loyal I think actually that's starting to be tested severely now and no wonder as you say, lost five in a row eight of eleven league games and all it's been a disaster and like clearly Clemman replaced Liam Manning in November last year so we're getting on to the year anniversary since that and it wasn't an immediate turnaround but it was a remarkable turnaround and that's the reason why the momentum they finished over the last season was extraordinary and that's why you and me and many other people thought they were contenders I'm not talking about for the players I thought for automatics because they've also got some of the best most exciting young players in the league as well like Makama and Toure and Baris Magoma like we've got some Andre Brooks they signed from Sheffield United like they've got some really talented players but some have really kind of regressed Cordoba's kind of returning to a bit more of the defender that he was when he first arrived last evening he was excellent but he's had a tough time of late and they're just shipping far too many goals so I think everyone wants Clement to turn it around like because he was the guy who turned it around so if it's not, if he doesn't do it then who did he turn to next and like A lot of the ire has been redirected to Ben Knapper, the sporting director in the stands.

31:27Gregor Robertson: I think he was getting a lot of criticism and then last season, hiring Clement, some of the signings come in good. That really eased the pressure and you thought, oh, they've got onto something now. If they have to sack another manager, his position is going to come under even more scrutiny. And I think that's actually the kind of running of the club is the real bone of contention for Norwich over a long period of time. Yeah, really interesting. It is early days, of course, but fascinating to see both Norwich and Burnley down at the bottom of the table, fourth and third from bottom, respectively, with Derby and Preston below them.

32:08I've mentioned it a couple of times. I wanted to finish with West Brom Blackburn because I think it was the most fun game of the weekend, Gregor. A brilliant comeback for James Morrison in his side. Fun for everyone, apart from Blackburn fans and Tony Mowbray, of course, who did take the lead. good Johnson again in the goals the first one a brilliant finish from distance after West Brom had given the ball away but just your thoughts on West Brom in terms of this performance and particular player who you've talked about many times on this show having some of the biggest cojones I've ever seen going with his penalty in this one I mean honestly how he how he went for

32:41Gregor Robertson: this I'll never know yeah Isaac Price the delightful dink penalty absolutely yeah beautiful and yeah you're right that was to make it 2-2 yeah to make it 2-2 with 72 minutes you know you're thinking just hammer this get the ball and get back to the centre circle he penankers it he penankers it honestly unbelievable from the kid remarkable stuff you know it was a it was a hell of a game I mean if you're right I think it was Brian Pereira was robbed by Guy Johnson to score the first goal and then they were kind of gifted another from a corner it was you know fell on Guy Johnson's plate and he smashed in 2-0 early doors.

33:19Gregor Robertson: But after that, I mean, West Brom were outstanding. He racked up 4.19 expected goals, 25 shots, 37 touches in the opposition box. They absolutely mauled Blackburn. And Felix Ormeyra won it. Still, you know, still two all going into the later stages. 89th minute, Felix Ormeyra won it. I think his first goal for the club. And yeah, absolute limbs. so it's one of those yeah a great day for West Brom and they kind of I like I like James Morrison's interviews he's always really placid and kind of like measured and calm and he's like you know he just even after such a raucous victory and you know as I say like great comeback win he's just kind of yeah that's that's that's what I want my team to look like you know in the second half he's quite kind of do you reckon that's because he's actually giving it big licks in the changing room and like spraying water on everyone got that side to him I think he has but I also think he is quite a kind mild-mannered and measured guy but I think he probably let them know that things needed to change they responded in the first half but really the second half was just you know men against boys almost and like Blackburn have been on a really good run and like Tony Mowbray is doing a remarkable job there but West Brom deserve to win this undoubtedly Yeah, a brilliant comeback for James Morrison and West Brom, much needed after a couple of recent 1-0 defeats against local rivals.

34:51That is your jam-packed first half of the show on the Championship. As I always say, if you've got views on players you've seen, teams you've seen, anything you'd like me to ask Gregor about your team in the Championship or in League 1 or League 2, do get in touch with me, tom.clark at thetimes.co.uk. We're going to take a little break. We'll be back with our regular awards in League 1 and League 2. Stick with us.

35:41Apple Watch Series 12 For general wellness purposes only. Not intended for clinical use or to detect, diagnose, monitor or treat medical conditions. Requires iPhone 11 or later. Therapy's biggest impact doesn't show up in some dramatic breakthrough. It shows up in the smallest moments. You bite your tongue instead of escalating. You put your phone down instead of firing off that text. You say what you actually mean instead of what would hurt someone else the most. Nobody applauds those moments, but they quietly change your life. That's what growing feels like. and that's exactly what Grow Therapy is here for.

36:16Grow is therapy that works, covered by insurance. Sessions average$21 with insurance and some pay as little as$0 depending on their plan. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow connects you with thousands of high-quality, licensed therapists across the U.S., offering both virtual and in-person sessions, nights and weekends. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability. And you can book a therapy session in minutes and begin in as little as two days, not the national 48-day average. See if you could pay as little as$0 for therapy in seconds at growtherapy.com slash start now.

36:59That's growtherapy.com slash start now. growtherapy.com slash start now.

37:06Gregor Robertson: Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system. A missed call doesn't feel like anything. No red flag, no notifications screaming at you. It just disappears into your call log. And nine times out of 10, that was someone ready to hand you money. That's why today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled Q-U-O, the business phone system built so you never miss a call. Here's what I like about it. All your calls, texts, and voicemails live in one place, so anyone on your team can pick up a conversation, see the full history, and respond fast.

37:43No more, wait, who talked to this customer last? And if you're worried about after-hours leads slipping through, Quo's optional built-in AI agent can answer questions and even book appointments while your team's offline. It's the number one rated business phone system on G2, and over 90 ,000 businesses already trust it to stay reachable. Money is on the line. Always say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free. Plus get 20 % off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash tech. That's Q-U-O dot com slash tech.

38:22Welcome back to the Game Football Podcast from the Times and Sunday Times. This is our Football League Extra Show every week with me, Tom Clark, and the Football League legend, Gregor Robertson. Gregor, let's go in to League One. I'm going to go first with the win slash wins of the week. I'm picking Huddersfield. They're a team I've mentioned a couple of times on this show. They're a team we've talked about a lot in this league. They have ambitions to be higher up the table. Lots of younger fans will be thinking, we were in the Premier League not that long ago. They should at least be in the championship.

38:53They won at Plymouth, one of the best teams in the league so far this season. They've had a little rocky patch, but Huddersfield winning 2-0 at Plymouth at the weekend. more than good value for this game could have been more than two if we're honest a couple of good chances going begging and they followed that up with a 4-1 home win against Peterborough silencing Robbie Savage well probably not silencing him to be honest sorry Robbie just a little joke there after some good recent performances for the new Peterborough manager Joe Taylor another person that I often mention a very good striker at League One level he has got top scorer potential I'm telling you he's got eight in ten games now for them Huddersfield up to second unbeaten in four you start to wonder is this their year is this their year they've had so much conceded so many late goals last season dropped out of the playoff picture is this their year early days as we have to keep caveating but they're my wins slash win of the weekend Gregor who are you picking

39:52Gregor Robertson: I'm going for Leicester City back to back wins for the first time this season and you know it always feels like Russell Marns on the on the edge of of of dismissal and they they beat Doncaster Rovers 2 on a midweek and then followed up with a 4-0 win against against Bromley on on Tuesday night and like that's going to be enormous for their confidence, it really is because whenever they've had that kind of glimmer of hope they've come crashing back down to earth and clearly there's still a lot of pressure, particularly at the King Power and a lot of noise and a lot of nerves perhaps if they go behind in games the fans have been very quick to let their frustrations be known but that's a really important week for Russell Martin and again again another week where you felt if he didn't get results he might he might be on his way out so yeah wins when uh wins of the week for for Leicester City yeah up to 10th in the table and it just it's that belief as well that maybe amongst the fan base that they suddenly look at the table and go oh we're three points off the playoffs that's where we're supposed to be the turn has maybe happened and just reminder that maybe some fan bases and maybe us pesky journalists as well just need a little bit of patience good news for Russell Martin mentioning lester gregor i'm going to pick john lundstrom as my goal for the listeners to go and check out a lovely volley he kind of walked onto it didn't he in that win against doncaster really criffs finish not necessarily a player you'd expect to score brilliant goals or even a lot of goals but that goal was followed with another one in midweek as well a brilliant cushioned volley into the back of the net that's my goal you should check out gregor what's your shout it's got to be alex gilby's for mk dons i've left him the best one as always listeners that's what I do, that's the dynamic here It was a thing of beauty A bouncing ball kind of, I don't know what was it, 35 yards out?

41:56Yeah, miles away Really on the side, like really near the touchline

41:59Gregor Robertson: From an angle, yeah and the ball's bouncing and he's hit across it and there's a looping kind of bouncing volley into the far top corner and one of them, you know as soon as he's hit it that it's going to arc and just the trajectory he's heading straight over the goalkeeper and straight into the top corner and again we keep talking about these views from like the stands or someone filming from behind the goal and there's an absolute cracker that you could find on on social media just yeah fantastic strike the trajectory of it is you know one of those looping volleys that instead of a thunderbolt you just know as soon as the strike is going in cracker absolute beauty remind me a little bit of a goal peter crouch scored i think for stoke maybe against manchester City at the Britannia, similar angle, similar kind of sod this I'm going to hit it aspect and similar kind of reaction of, oh my god that's gone in in the most perfect way possible a real, real beauty And MK Don's first win of the season it was also very important, I think Aaron Collins scored what was ultimately the winner, Luton levelled in the 70th minute, Aaron Collins scored a penalty in the 79th I think that's his 10th of the season, he's really on fire they did they did not follow up in uh in midweek unfortunately it's it's still been a very difficult time for mk dons they lost 2-0 to blackpool in midweek but that was uh the first one monkey off the back another great goal in that one by the way mk dons won't want me to mention it but caroy anderson for blackpool i don't know whether you saw it a remarkable strike from out wide people going oh was it a cross or a shot there's no way it can be a cross because he's absolutely leathered it he must be shooting surely there's no way that's a cross because there's no one who would want to header it.

43:40Absolutely rifled it into the roof of the net. A big win for Blackpool, ending a six-match run without a victory for them. Gregor, we've nearly got through it. We've mentioned three goals you must go and check out. We've arguably left off the best one. Gabemi Arubi, another goal from halfway.

43:55Gregor Robertson: We're talking about it every week. We're talking about it in the Premier League. We're talking about it in the EFL for a number of weeks. It was just another absolute cracker. I think it was the 89th minute For Burton Albion against Peterborough Made it 2-1, should have been the winner We talked about The goal for Bristol Rovers Against Crewe In the 93rd minute a couple of weeks back Another goal From halfway line which meant absolutely Nothing, this should have been a momentous Winner and they managed to Concede an equaliser So they drew 2-0 with Posh in this game But yeah, opened up just inside the opposition half and another one that was kind of a fairly nice low trajectory so yeah we're seeing a lot of goals from the halfway line Amazing stuff definitely wait to read Gregor Robertson's analysis on what is going on maybe I'll send you back down to a training pitch to see if you could score one from the halfway line Gregor but moving on pull a hamstring come back out for the next six months from a stupid feature idea moving on to our moments or moment of the last week in League One I'm picking a kind of collective moment for another team that we have mentioned a couple of times Cambridge what an amazing start to the season they have had two one winners at Barnsley at the weekend they were one nil down uh Yoga Nathan's scrambled opener is the classic kind of football league horrible goal to watch but really good fun uh almost kind of needs comedy music in the background Shane Lavery though getting a late tap in to give Neil Harris's side a big win and they followed it up with more late goals against Wickham at home they were 2-0 down into the last 12 minutes Lavery again getting a good header to make it 2-1 and then Connor Taylor scoring an own goal from across it's actually a great header it's one of those own goals where it looks if you just watched it with no other context you'd think what a brilliant powerful header down into the floor and he's got his head in his hands but Cambridge in fourth in the table I'm not I'm unashamed to say that if Cambridge United managed to get promoted from League One it might almost be as impressive as Lincoln City's promotion last season, almost almost, they would have to win the league and get 103 points, anyway managing to work in a little positivity for Lincoln City there, hope you'll forgive me after that nightmare week that we mentioned in part one, into League Two, Gregor I'll let you go first what is your win or wins of the last week or so?

46:17Gregor Robertson: I'm going for Exeter 2-0 win against unbeaten crew until Tuesday night and Exeter after a really tough start. I've won three and drawn one of the last four so it's been a brilliant couple of weeks for Matt Taylor on his side and watching the extended highlights of this, they kind of rode a luck a bit against Crewe the goalkeeper made some fantastic saves Exeter have been in real difficulties for a good year now, financially straightened and Matt Taylor didn't really have any impact after coming in last season so it's been really important for them to get to turn it around in the last couple of weeks and as I say they were kind of keeping crew at bay and then Cole ran away after what looked like undoubtedly a foul in the build up it kind of, there was, crew player had it kind of around the halfway line by the touchline and Cole just pushed them, shoved them over and took the ball and ran through and scored I was like hang on a minute, another pound in the jar do we reckon?

47:22Gregor Robertson: No one's seen a foul there? yeah definitely another pound in the antivar jar no problem but Exeter fans did not care one jot about that so yeah a very very positive week for Exeter City Exeter up to 10th my wins are aside in 8th Shrewsbury Town two wins including a 3-2 win last night I'll come on to that in a second but they had a 1-0 win at home against Bristol Rovers on Saturday taking the lead in the 77th minute then had two men sent off in the 80th minute and 94th but held on for an important victory and on Tuesday night they won 3-2 at Crawley with a 94th minute winner. Dylan Morgan thought he'd hit a brilliant equaliser for Crawley.

47:58It could easily be a goal for you to check out as well. But Josh Davidson getting a late winner. Vito Manone. You know those things when you're sometimes, you know, watching highlights and doing a bit of research. You're like, Vito Manone? The former Arsenal goalkeeper in goal for Crawley. He had a night to forget. Two spills, including for the winner. But Shrewsbury Town won't care. Two brilliant performances and two brilliant wins for them. Gregor, your goal for listeners to go and check out in League Two?

48:24Gregor Robertson: I'm going to go for Brendan Weredu's goal in Salford's 2-0 and win against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday night. If anyone saw James Madison's goal for Spurs on Monday night, it was James Madison-esque. It was kind of one of those where you kind of whip it into the far left-hand top corner. Goalkeeper, no chance. And it's like Salford. Salford have really turned it on they just keep winning every single week Bristol Rovers clearly have plummeted they've lost four in a row now but it's still a very big win for them it's one of their kind of fellow contenders or should be and to go to Bristol Rovers midweek and win 2-1 was a massive result and Guarido's goal was a beauty Bristol Rovers having a bit of a nightmare, four defeats on the spin five defeats in six after that great start for Steve Evans and his side.

49:23Gregor, I'm going to allow you to link, basically, because I think your moment of the last week is understandably going to be a pass. I'm actually going to pick the finish that followed it, because I think there's a tendency and a potential for us to underrate the finish from Ty Sodji for Walsall against Oldham. A brilliant run onto a brilliant pass that you're going to mention in just a second. And I love the way that the finish looked. It's one of those shots that trickles past the goalkeeper and actually starts outside the goal and then trickles inside. Pretty impressive, but not as impressive as the assist, which is your moment of the last seven days.

49:57Tell us about it.

49:58Gregor Robertson: Yes, Walsall goalkeeper Jed Ward with absolutely a contender for assist of the season. Gathers a ball and pings a beautiful half volley. Low trajectory, straight down the centre of the pitch. Kind of split in the defence as well. It's not like there was wide open spaces. it's kind of through the eye of a needle and into the path of Tai Soji as you say, who ran through and scored the opening goal against Oldham in the 21st minute and yeah, like beautifully, beautifully struck, like you see goalkeepers trying to do that kind of thing in training, you know in kind of like small-sided games and stuff but very rarely do you see it you know, a goalkeeper's assist is pretty rare and even when it is, it's normally like...

50:40Gregor Robertson: That's a former outfield player triggered by many former goalkeepers trying to do something similar and giving the ball away down the years. No, you sometimes you get a goalkeeper getting an assist but it's a hoof downfield that someone like maybe it gets caught in the wind or a throw a really good throw out or something like that yeah even that's quite rare but usually it's a punt that bounces and catches someone out like you know a defender snoozing or whatever or it's just you know an awkward bounce or gets caught in the wind or something like that this was just this was just remarkable technique brilliant brilliant stuff and also the last remaining unbeaten side in the EFL.

51:15Walsall again. Ole, ole. It's happening again. Listeners on the game, EFL podcast. We won't jinx them too soon, but do go and check out. It's an unbelievable pass. It's an unbelievable assist. It genuinely might be one of my favourite assists and one of my favourite goals of the season. Quite right for Greg Robertson to pick it out. This is his moment of the last week. I'll just do a quick mention for Ian Holloway and Swindon Town. A disastrous run of results continued at the weekend Holloway coming out after another defeat saying I don't care anymore he had reportedly had clashes with fans some of his own fans as well then what does he do in midweek they rock up to leaders Barnett and win I mean Barnett one of the great sides one of the great form sides in the division and Swindon win the most Ian Holloway thing you could possibly imagine

52:02Gregor Robertson: 3-0 up in 37 minutes as well yeah absolutely crackers proof that you just cannot be certain of anything in the Football League. A nice note for us to end on there. Gregor Robertson, thank you very much for joining me. As always, we'll have another EFL Extra Show for you next week. We can't wait. We'll see you then.

52:26Gregor Robertson: Your heart can tell you a lot about your health. Apple Watch Series 12 measures your heart rate every five seconds with the most advanced heart rate sensing in an Apple Watch. So your Vitals app, now with heart rate variability, could tell you when something is off. And your readiness score can let you know when to rest and when to push. Hear the story in every heartbeat with Apple Watch Series 12. For general wellness purposes only, not intended for clinical use or to detect, diagnose, monitor or treat medical conditions. Requires iPhone 11 or later.