October 13, 2011

#37: Bad Barnet Chat

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Dan Moylan, Michael Normanton, Daniel Chapman (Moscowhite), and Paul O’Dowd (Oddy) record episode 37 in the aftermath of Leeds United’s first clean sheet in a while and the week that the “Who Owns Leeds United?” documentary landed on BBC One Yorkshire.

White Watching opens with something to celebrate. Leeds beat Portsmouth at Elland Road with Paul Connolly restored to his natural position at right back after a spell away, and the defensive reshuffling immediately pays dividends. Danny Pugh takes the goal — the show reckons he always scored goals like that, purposeful and well-struck, and that if he keeps this up he might just pay back the fee Leeds are about to commit to for him. Portsmouth’s 650 away fans were housed in the brand new Hesco Bastion compound installed in the car park for a reported £36 a head. The debate over Elland Road pricing and crowd management runs on.

The main event is a phone interview with Neil Morrow, BBC producer of the documentary that aired on Monday night. Morrow explains that the BBC had felt slightly behind the curve on the Leeds ownership story, and that six years of murky shenanigans deserved a properly assembled 30-minute account. He’s satisfied with the result, though he’d have preferred to air it a day later given that the government published its football inquiry response on the Wednesday — a neater full stop. Ken Bates had rung in advance, given Morrow five minutes of legal warnings, and then declined to be interviewed. Morrow recounts this with calm amusement. The Square Ball’s freedom of information research is commended, and the show works through what the documentary actually reveals about the club’s ownership arrangements and the football authorities’ failure to press the question.

Transfer notes are brief but solid: Ramon Nunez has signed until 2015 with an option for a further year, and Zac Thompson has committed for two more. Doncaster away is live on Sky on Friday night, and Peterborough follows shortly after.