Boro v Leeds 3-0 (Bamford, Bamford, Bamford)

[Betamaxman 14 2.6k]

I've criticised Britt more than most on here but I would like to see him get a bit more game time even if it is off the bench.

 

We are going to need him at some point before the end of he season so we need to keep him sharp. I would have brought him on at 3-0 last night.

 

I would have too but perhaps that's even more telling about Pulis' desire for a clean sheet that he couldn't trust Britt to finish the game off for us.

 

There's no denying he's sat on the bench deservedly now. He was in the team against Sunderland for nothing more than Gestede being injured and he was outshone by a striker who started on the left wing.

 

Off he came to stick Paddy up front, Paddy grabs another goal and now gets a hat trick against two good Championship centre backs. After the last couple of games, I'm absolutely having none of this crap about Britt being hard done by by the system we employ. One man has taken his chance and the other hasn't, it is as simple as that.

 

Bamford is just a far better player, I always thought that. He isn't a physically imposing player but he can hold the ball because his touch is so much better than Britt's.

 

Britt can't really play up on his own in this system. He needs to be playing for a team who are really attack minded, who have midfielders constantly up in support  and one who are putting lots of balls into the box.

 

I feel a BIT sorry for Britt. It must have been a somewhat depressing watching Bamford bossing it up top, knowing that his chances of getting back in the team were getting less and less.

 

ALSO.... I wonder if our kick off won it for us. It was so weird that it messed up the Leeds players heads. After that we rolled them over 3-0 !!

[tylergomez 53 5.4k]

Wooooooo

 

Up the biro.

 

Bamford absolute class.

Traore could (should) have been MOTM despite the hat trick.

Leeds looked very, very poor. Best performance under Pulis, bar none.

 

How you feeling BoroDane? :P

 

I’m feeling great thanks. So happy for Bamford. Still think he was pretty useless on the left for most parts though. Clear that his only position should be up front.

 

❤️

 

Spread jam, not hate.

[Rioch's Braves 746 3.5k]

It sounds harsh but Gestede being injured is the best thing that could have happened for Bamford and the team, played good football last night ball to feet rather humping it up to a big target man.

We played well and simply outplayed Leeds we were too good for Leeds in every department.

Traore was excellent once again, tortured Anita (funny name for a guy) but when you score a hat trick your man of the match so take a bow young Paddy.

[tylergomez 53 5.4k]

I thought we were genuinely first clas from back to front last night.

 

I know people (Keith, Sky, etc) have quoted stats to show that Pulis is no better than Monk, but I think last night’s game against the Leeds away game shows you why we are in a better situation under Pulis. I know home and away isn’t always comparable, but Leeds bullied us out of the first game. They looked like a side pushing for promotion outplaying a very poor/average side.

Last night there was only one team in it. We completely dominated and looked like a good side. They might not be the greatest side (but neither are Sunderland) but we simply didn’t allow them to play. Am I right in thinking they didn’t manage a single shot on target?

 

I know he isn’t the finished article but giving Traore a run of Games is just helping him to get better and better. He was MOTM for me. And Bamford’s finishing was excellent. Long may it continue.

[tylergomez 53 5.4k]

It sounds harsh but Gestede being injured is the best thing that could have happened for Bamford and the team, played good football last night ball to feet rather humping it up to a big target man.

We played well and simply outplayed Leeds we were too good for Leeds in every department.

Traore was excellent once again, tortured Anita (funny name for a guy) but when you score a hat trick your man of the match so take a bow young Paddy.

 

I was just thinking this. Gestede getting injured COULD prove to be a blessing in disguise. It strikes me that Bamford, Traore, Howson, Besic, and maybe Downing are all better playing in the style we did last night. We looked like a genuinely good side.

[Brunners 9,051 25.5k]

I thought Downing and Traore changed side because Leeds went to 4-4-2? Not that I get all the logic with that swap but thought that how Pulis countered that Leeds move

 

Maybe I just read to much into it and thought Pulis was trying to be clever somehow lol

 

For me, the swap was because Leeds swapped their full backs. Anita had no joy against Traore in the first half and should have been sent off for two bookable offences. Unfortunately, when the switch occurred, we didn't get the ball to him out there often enough.

 

bingo I think it was because Anita swapped sides too.

[Duvel 2,446 5.6k]

I thought we were genuinely first clas from back to front last night.

 

I know people (Keith, Sky, etc) have quoted stats to show that Pulis is no better than Monk, but I think last night’s game against the Leeds away game shows you why we are in a better situation under Pulis. I know home and away isn’t always comparable, but Leeds bullied us out of the first game. They looked like a side pushing for promotion outplaying a very poor/average side.

Last night there was only one team in it. We completely dominated and looked like a good side. They might not be the greatest side (but neither are Sunderland) but we simply didn’t allow them to play. Am I right in thinking they didn’t manage a single shot on target?

 

I know he isn’t the finished article but giving Traore a run of Games is just helping him to get better and better. He was MOTM for me. And Bamford’s finishing was excellent. Long may it continue.

 

Yeah agree with that, last night looked like we might have finally found something as a team. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

[Will 2,963 12.8k]

Just a mention as well for Gibson, looked back to his premier league self last night, long may that continue!

[wilsoncgp 10,100 19.9k]

I think it's early to say we're definitely going to be better. This is one game. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, last night was the exception to pretty much every other performance under Pulis against better sides. It was far and away our best performance of the season for me. Maintaining that level of performance for every one of the remaining games is the true test and will determine where we finish. We know the team is capable of it now.

 

This wasn't just a run of the mill game against a lower opposition, Leeds are a good side and as you've said there Tyler, the shoe was on the other foot at Elland Road. The difference between the two games is staggering. Let's hope that this is a true sign of what's to come and not just a one off.

[Foogle 2,227 3.6k]

I agree, Leeds are no mugs, they've just come off the back of draws with Derby and Bristol City, then have just beat Brentford. We made them look like relegation fodder.

 

But one victory does not make a corner turned. If we can keep that up it's the kind of performances of an automatic promotion side, keep that up till the end of the season and into next and we have a real chance!

[Downsouth 8,152 39k]

Last night was one of the first times I felt that we were not carrying any passengers, all the players were involved and there were some passages of play that really should have resulted in other goals, example George's run and cut back in the box and his chance to simply put the ball into the net.

 

We could have made Leeds looking like mugs at full time which is encouraging if performance levels like this continue and let's be honest there is now a carrot on the end of the stick

[Changing Times 15,937 23k]

I know people (Keith, Sky, etc) have quoted stats to show that Pulis is no better than Monk, but I think last night’s game against the Leeds away game shows you why we are in a better situation under Pulis. I know home and away isn’t always comparable, but Leeds bullied us out of the first game. They looked like a side pushing for promotion outplaying a very poor/average side.

Last night there was only one team in it. We completely dominated and looked like a good side. They might not be the greatest side (but neither are Sunderland) but we simply didn’t allow them to play. Am I right in thinking they didn’t manage a single shot on target?

 

So stats don't show it but one game does?  :)  It's a genuinely scary thought that you are in a position to influence young minds  :funny:

 

In the away game at Leeds our midfield got completely overran.  We had Leadbitter (who was terrible and partly at fault for both goals) and Howson.  We had Tavernier, Downing and Braithwaite with Britt up front.  Last night we played three in midfield, against a different team with a different manager.  I thought it was one of our most complete performances of the season but that doesn't mean that Leeds weren't poor because they were.  Leeds aren't a good side,  they have won 14 and lost 14 with a goal difference of +1.  That doesn't scream quality side to me.  This isn't a good division this year.  Compare the side we've are with the side we were when we made the play off final - that team would beat this one 7 or 8 times out of 10 in my opinion.

 

Just out of interest, were we in a better position last week when we were being outplayed by Sunderland's 10 men?  People veer from one extreme to another on here when the reality is somewhere in between.

[tylergomez 53 5.4k]

I know people (Keith, Sky, etc) have quoted stats to show that Pulis is no better than Monk, but I think last night’s game against the Leeds away game shows you why we are in a better situation under Pulis. I know home and away isn’t always comparable, but Leeds bullied us out of the first game. They looked like a side pushing for promotion outplaying a very poor/average side.

Last night there was only one team in it. We completely dominated and looked like a good side. They might not be the greatest side (but neither are Sunderland) but we simply didn’t allow them to play. Am I right in thinking they didn’t manage a single shot on target?

 

So stats don't show it but one game does?  :)  It's a genuinely scary thought that you are in a position to influence young minds  :funny:

 

In the away game at Leeds our midfield got completely overran.  We had Leadbitter (who was terrible and partly at fault for both goals) and Howson.  We had Tavernier, Downing and Braithwaite with Britt up front.  Last night we played three in midfield, against a different team with a different manager.  I thought it was one of our most complete performances of the season but that doesn't mean that Leeds weren't poor because they were.  Leeds aren't a good side,  they have won 14 and lost 14 with a goal difference of +1.  That doesn't scream quality side to me.  This isn't a good division this year.  Compare the side we've are with the side we were when we made the play off final - that team would beat this one 7 or 8 times out of 10 in my opinion.

 

Just out of interest, were we in a better position last week when we were being outplayed by Sunderland's 10 men?  People veer from one extreme to another on here when the reality is somewhere in between.

 

Luckily for the world I don’t teach ‘opinions on football’ :P

 

Of course I am not basing it on one game. I am saying that that one game is a good symbol of how (in my opinion - though I didn’t think that needed saying on a forum) we are in a better place under this manager than the previous. We looked solid and organised and that didn’t shackle us from scoring goals.

 

I 100% agree with you that is a very poor division. I have said this before elsewhere. Outside of Wolves, I don’t think any team has played consistently well. I think that last time was the first time we have looked like a ‘good team’. Which gives me confidence for the future under Pulis, IN SPITE OF the stats.

 

I am in no way saying we are the finished article. The Sunderland game you referred to (where to be fair we still scored 3 good goals) is a symbol of the way we still have to go, just as (to me) last night is a good symbol of the progress we are making, even if that has not been borne out by results, yet.

 

Maybe you think differently of me, but I would argue I am not a man of extremes (well not in my football opinions anyway). I am almost always positivite. I am always optimistic for the future. I always Back the boro and the manager. Whoever it is. I have no time for moaning for the sake of moaning. And I would always prefer to look for positives than negatives. And that was easier than usual last night.

[tylergomez 53 5.4k]

And, of course, the reality is that the truth is somewhere between the stats and what we see on the pitch. Stats can be great, but anyone who watched ***nal Man City the other night could see how the stats did not give anywhere near an accurate reflection of the gulf in quality of the two sides in the game.

[Changing Times 15,937 23k]

Isn't always being optimistic an extreme position? History shows that's certainly an incorrect one much of the time.