Starring Hull City, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Barnsley, whilst Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United are having mixed fortunes.
Hull City are flying the flag highest for Yorkshire
The Premier League era has not been kind to Yorkshire clubs. In the First Division’s last season, Leeds United won the league, Sheffield Wednesday finished third and Sheffield United finished in the top half. The demise of all three of those clubs, however, means that since Middlesbrough’s relegation from the top flight in 2009, Hull City are the only Yorkshire representative to have played in the Premier League (until this season).
This is a worrying trend, as for over two decades now, North West and London based clubs have dominated the upper echelons of the English game. Teams from Yorkshire have won 11 league titles and 12 FA Cup’s, yet only 1 of either has been won in the last 40 years. Clearly, football in Yorkshire needs a renaissance, and a mini one may just have begun this season.
Whilst traditional Yorkshire powerhouses Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United are still struggling, Hull City, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Barnsley have all enjoyed very positive starts to the season.
Middlesbrough won promotion to the Premier League last season
The presence of Hull City and Middlesbrough means Yorkshire have two representatives in the top flight for the first time since 2008/09, when, incidentally, it was also Hull and Boro. Outside of the Premier League, Huddersfield now have 19 points from 8 games in the Championship, sitting top of a highly competitive league.
Championship rivals Barnsley have enjoyed a similarly joyous start in the second tier. After a remarkable season last term, which saw them bottom of the league at Christmas and promoted in May, the Tykes have continued that momentum into the Championship. The divisions top scorers with 19 goals, the South Yorkshire outfit are currently fourth, level on points with Newcastle.
Losing play-off finalists in the all-Yorkshire Championship play-off final last season, Sheffield Wednesday need to pick themselves up quickly and ensure that they are in a promotion battle once again this season. Leeds United are now on a run of three consecutive wins but don’t look like they have the quality to mount a promotion push under Garry Monk just yet.
Leeds have finished in the bottom half of the Championship for the last 5 years
Rotherham United are fighting relegation once again, but that is to be expected of a squad assembled with one of the smallest budgets in the Championship. The Millers are likely to be flirting with relegation whilst they are in the second tier until significant investment is made, but there is no great shame in that, having spent 6 of the last 9 seasons in the fourth tier.
Even Sheffield United and Bradford City, both of whom have aspirations to play at a higher level than the third tier, have reasons for optimism. After a difficult start, the Blades have won their last 4 on the bounce, moving into a play-off place. Bradford, meanwhile, are the only undefeated team in League One, and are just 3 points behind league leaders Scunthorpe United.
Outside of the Football League, York City and North Ferriby United are both having difficult starts to the season in the Conference, but that shouldn’t detract from the achievements of the latter. A village team with a population of fewer than 4,000 competing at the same level as the likes of Lincoln, Dagenham & Redbridge and Wrexham is quite incredible.
Barnsley and Hull in action in pre-season
The early season form of Hull, Middlesbrough, Huddersfield and Barnsley is a far cry from the level of competitiveness which Yorkshire sides like Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday had at the highest level a quarter of a century ago, but it is still promising. The money in the Premier League now gives any club, including Hull City and Middlesbrough, the chance to compete.
It will be extremely difficult for Huddersfield and Barnsley to stay in the top 6 all season, but as with Brighton last season, whilst people waited and waited for them to fall away, the very nearly achieved automatic promotion to the Premier League. The Yorkshire duo are both well-run clubs with talented young managers who can look to build on whatever they achieve this season.
It’s difficult to see Leeds United achieving any kind of success with the instability and unrest of Massimo Cellino’s presence at the club, but under Garry Monk, they should at least build a hungry team who play good football, hopefully ready for a change of ownership and fortunes in the not too distant future.
It would be a magnificent achievement if Huddersfield Town won promotion this season
Yorkshire is traditionally a hotbed of footballing talent. It could be argued that Yorkshire is the traditional footballing capital of the world. Sheffield is considered the birthplace of club football, with Sheffield FC the oldest football club in the world.
Furthermore, Hullensian Ebenezer Cobb Morley from Princess Street, Hull, is regarded as the father of the FA and modern football. Cobb Morley wrote the Football Association’s Laws of the Game, codifying what defines football. Largely unchanged, these rules are still used worldwide today.
Which Yorkshire side has had the best start to the season?
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