Goals or assists? The ultimate question for Finn Azaz
Finn Azaz has been the creative force in Middlesbrough's fierce attack this season.
But does he prefer scoring or scoring goals?
“Sometimes it depends, but I have to say goals,” he says with a smile.
“It's like an assist, when you just pass it to someone and they go through five players and score. Not those players.
“But the assist against Sheffield United. I was really proud of that because that was the moment the game was unlocked. Those are the best.”
Azaz has been in exceptional form this campaign, but he tends not to dwell on his performances.
“I don't look too much at the goals or assists,” he adds. 'Maybe in the past! But not now.'
Harry Souttar's big man fight with teammate Moore
Defending Sheffield United's set-pieces this season must be a tall order, with the towering presence of Harry Souttar and Kieffer Moore both attacking the ball.
Souttar smiles when asked who is the bigger of the two.
“I'm definitely bigger than him,” he says. He is 1.80 meters tall, while striker Moore is 1.80 meters tall.
But have they gone back-to-back yet?
“Not yet!” Souttar adds. “I think the guys have tried to get us, but it hasn't happened yet.”
The defender, on loan from Leicester, is happy to be in Moore's team rather than having to mark him.
“I remember playing against him when he was at Cardiff and stuff. He's certainly a handful, so I'm really happy we're in the same team,” he jokes.
Myles Peart-Harris on growing up at Chelsea
There are Cobham graduates spread across every corner of football in this country.
One is currently impressing at Swansea on loan from Brentford in Myles-Peart Harris. The 22-year-old left Chelsea for the Bees in 2021.
“Chelsea is probably the best academy to grow up in,” he says. “To learn, study and go to school there, and to be around top coaches and professionals, is every child's dream.
“They gave me the footsteps and the path to be where I am today, and I'm very grateful for that.”
Peart-Harris also had a group of teammates there.
“Levi Colwill, Tino Livramento, Jamal Musiala – until he was 16,” he recalls. “It was like playing with friends, but you could see their talent to this day. You see how it works out for them, but everyone has different paths. I look at them, but you can't compare them.
“It gives me the confidence and belief in myself that one day I can be where they are.”
Jordan Rhodes: I don't regret the lack of PL games
Jordan Rhodes has made 386 appearances in the Sky Bet Championship, 173 times in League One and 19 times in League Two.
His deadly natural instincts have earned him a reputation as one of the EFL's most prolific goalscorers, with the Blackpool frontman having scored 222 goals in league football alone to date.
However, he only made six appearances in the Premier League, with each of those appearances coming during the 2016/17 season with Middlesbrough.
The striker's top flight was fleeting, yet he is not the least bit bitter about it.
“I've been lucky to have the career I've had, to score the goals and now have the memories to look back on,” he told Sky Sports.
“Throughout my life and career I've had my critics, so because I was able to achieve what I think I was able to achieve in this game, I'm very happy and grateful that I did that.
“I understand why you would watch it, but on the other hand I'm very grateful to have played six times in the Premier League. I look at it as a glass half full scenario. It's one of the proudest moments to look back and say that I played in the Premier League.”
Was there ever a chance to return?
“I think maybe when I went on loan to Norwich,” he added.
“Teemu Pukki did really well and there might have been a chance to make that move from Sheffield Wednesday if the stars aligned, but that didn't happen.” By Dan Long
Joe Hugill: Rooney, Ronaldo, my heroes, but I'm compared to Vardy!
Joe Hugill's chance to train under Ruud van Nistelrooy at Manchester United this summer was a thrill for him, even if the Dutchman's first at Old Trafford was a little before his time.
“Rooney was my time. Ronaldo. Others like Drogba. People a bit after Ruud,” says Hugill, currently on loan from Man Utd at Wigan.
A more recent Premier League legend is someone, at least in terms of style, that Hugill can identify with more.
“I always get a bit of a comparison with (Jamie) Vardy,” he says. “It runs behind quite quickly, with a six-yard box-like finish. Poachers' goals.
“He had a different story about how he got through non-League. But style-wise he was quite similar.”
Does Hugill also have a similar style to Vardy when it comes to drinking a famous energy drink before the match?
“No!” he laughs. “That's where I'm a little bit different than him.”
Toby Mullarkey: professional player and PT
When Toby Mullarkey was released by Crewe in 2017, he had to find a way to keep himself going as he tried to claw his way back into the professional game.
“I've always had an interest in the gym and keeping fit,” says the Crawley defender. “So then I got my Personal Training qualification and the more I worked in the gym, the better my football got, so I was able to talk about that on my page.”
Mullarkey, now 29, and back in the Football League after spells at Rochdale, Grimsby and currently Crawley, has maintained his role as fitness influence and online coach throughout.
“It would have been easy to say goodbye to it when I turned pro again,” he adds. “But it keeps me busy outside of football, which is good.
“It's my profession, but it's still a job and you need that. It is very important to take a break, to take a mental breath and to reset physically.
“Hopefully it will also give me a career path when my playing career is over.”
Jack Shorrock: Vale's teenage star with his wonder goal
It ended up with Jack Shorrock on the edge of the penalty area. He caught it perfectly on the volley and the cameras loved it.
A moment for the 17-year-old Port Vale defender. It earned him the Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Month for November.
“There were a lot of emotions,” says Shorrock of his brilliant strike against Crewe. “I was more shocked than anything. It was a big game and it was so early. I was buzzing.”
Not a bad effort considering it was only his second goal for the club, and the first while live on Sky. Not something he was thinking about at the time.
“It happened after the game when everyone messaged me,” he says. 'You realized that a lot of people had watched it. It's not something I had thought about before.
“I was just in the moment. I was running around. My family comes to every game. My grandma and my girlfriend are there. So to see them again afterwards was a nice feeling too.”
Mickey Demetriou's continental path to the EFL
There are so many unique paths to the EFL. Mickey Demetriou took a continental route.
The Glenn Hoddle Academy, when the football legend took players released from professional clubs to train in Spain and get them back into the game, was the start of Demetriou's path.
There he played for Jerez Industrial, the Spanish fourth-tier side in Andalusia, which was filled with academy members during a brief spell from 2010-2011. Demetriou ended up there by chance.
“I was very lucky because I never went through an academy,” says Demetriou, who now plays for Crewe after more than a decade in the EFL. “I was playing for Bognor at the time and they came to watch a striker play for Worthing against us in a pre-season game.
“I must have played a good game because they invited me for a trial. Then I got accepted and we flew to Spain, which was incredible.
“Glenn was there a lot when I was there. So to learn under him was great. You just listened as much as you could and tried to absorb whatever knowledge they could pass on to us.
“They pushed me into the central role after I went there as a left back. When I came back I could play both.”
The adjustment that made Alex Gilbey flourish at MK Dons
In over 350 appearances in all competitions, Alex Gilbey had scored 28 goals when he signed for MK Dons for the second time in July 2023.
Three promotions – two from League Two and one from the National League – proved he was a reliable central midfielder, but he knew he was capable of more – just like former MK boss Mike Williamson.
One day, Williamson, now in charge at Carlisle, pushed Gilbey into a more advanced position in midfield, while Jack Payne dropped back. He took the opportunity and ran with it, scoring 23 goals and 10 assists in his last 71 games until Christmas.
“The big question mark over my name throughout my career was that I didn't score enough goals, didn't set enough goals, especially when I was at the club the first time. It's nice to see the goals starting to come. Because I always knew I was capable of that, it was just about proving the point.
“I've always had the legs to run into the penalty area, but because I was in a higher position, closer to the goal, it's strange that it might have taken me so long to find my position.
“I worked very hard on my finishing, especially last season. This year Carl Laraman came to the club and he gave me a lot of tips, helped me, and I just listened to the attackers.
“Ellis Harrison and Scotty Hogan have been huge for me. I try to mirror their runs so if the ball misses them I'm there. Listening to people who have scored goals throughout their career has helped and I just have to deal with it continue.” By Dan Long
New Year's Day EFL matches on Sky Sports+
All kick-offs at 3pm unless otherwise stated (matches in bold also on Sky Sports Football)
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