February 1, 2011

#23: Deadline Day Snodpod

0:00

Episode 23 of The Square Ball, titled Deadline Day Snodpod, goes out on 1 February 2011 — the day after the January transfer window closes. Dan Moylan is joined by Michael Normanton, Daniel Chapman (Moscowhite) and Paul O’Dowd (Oddy) to mark the occasion with the traditional mixture of analysis, improvised prediction and cult hero appreciation.

The White Watching section covers two games: the Arsenal FA Cup replay, a 3-1 defeat at Elland Road after a promising enough first half, and the trip to Portsmouth, which ended 2-2 following a floodlight failure that interrupted Leeds’ momentum in the second half. None of the cast were at Portsmouth, which they acknowledge, leaving them working from highlights and the testimony of those who made the long trip south.

The transfer window is picked over in some detail. On the way in: Andy O’Brien on a permanent deal. On the way out: Andy Hughes to Scunthorpe — a departure that prompts an extended and genuinely affectionate tribute. Hughes, a right-footed midfielder who ended up making the left back position his own, is placed firmly in the tradition of the cult hero who understood exactly what it meant to play for Leeds United and gave everything to it. Vinnie Jones gets a similar treatment — his brief but emphatic spell under Wilkinson a reference point for the attitude the current squad does or doesn’t always show.

Carl Shutt is also remembered with warmth. His goal at the Nou Camp in Barcelona — in the replayed UEFA Cup tie against Stuttgart after the German side were found to have fielded an ineligible player — is one of those moments that defined a generation’s connection with the club.

Ramón Núñez is also in the news: back from international duty with Honduras having won the UNCAF Nations Cup and been named Most Valuable Player. The show notes the achievement while raising the obvious question about how long he’ll remain fit and available.

The episode closes with three fixtures in prospect — Hull City away, Coventry at home, Bristol City away on Valentine’s weekend — and the show’s prediction record left entirely at the mercy of Gary McSheffrey, who is returning to Elland Road with Coventry and has been confidently told he will not score.