I'm amazed at how many "Leeds fans" and "expert pundits" still feel the need to diss Bamford for a "poor touch" that led to Summerville's "lucky goal" that defeated Liverpool at Anfield ... even Klippity has got the blinkers on, apparently still trying to figure out how Leeds managed to score "that goal" as his nervous bladder twitches even more ... he must be a very ordinary coach if he really believes this nonsense he's spouting, possibly proving the theory that he's a cheque book manager who can't cope if he doesn't have a squad full of superstars Let's see if I can help Klopp get some sleep Gnonto gets the ball out wide from an Adams pass, he superbly turns away from Milner and creates just enough room for a cross before Milner and Jones can close him down ... Gnonto has assessed the opportunity quickly, and he expertly strokes the ball into an area for Bamford and Summerville to attack (you'd swear Gnonto was an International player and not an 18yr old kid making his Leeds debut off the bench) ... at this moment you can see the space perfectly and the ball has a distance to travel, so the weight has to be perfect to decapitate the Liverpool defence ... Henderson is rendered obsolete as he keeps an eye on Aaronson who has sprinted up in support of Gnonto (or Tonto as per Carragher), not to necessarily get the ball but more to create space inside Bamford's starting position is seemingly set for a run at the penalty spot to attack a floated cross, but we know this wasn't how Bielsa Ball worked, or how Marsch Ball works ... as Gnonto hits the ball, Bamford anticipates the low cut back and he accelerates away from Robertson who is more concerned with Bamford drifting towards him for a header ... Bamford now has a slight advantage over VVD, even though the Dutchman has a serious head start, beating him to the ball and forcing the Liverpool defender to commit to Bamford and stop him from taking a touch and turning inside to shoot Bamford's intent isn't to try and beat VVD and shoot though, he has seen that Summerville's run has lost his marker and put him the wrong side of Gomes, meaning Creee now has space in which to run at goal with VVD blocked off by Bamford's clever movement ... Bamford shepherds the ball to Summerville, leaving VVD on his heels and unable to cut off Summerville's progress as he tries to compute if he should stay with Bamford or go at Summerville ... his hesitation is costly, caused by his fear that Bamford would get the ball back and have a shot at goal Although Bamford's touch isn't perfect, caused in part by him needing to get to the ball just before VVD and unsettle him, he manages to control it into Summerville's path and away from VVD ... his unselfish play is just what's needed at that moment with Liverpool's defence now struggling to bail water as they see the game sinking away ... Creee skilfully nudges the ball into his own path on goal, sets himself and in a flash bends it ever so slightly with the outside of his right boot, the curve being just enough to stop the world's greatest ever keeper from getting a full hand to it ... and just like that Leeds have ripped Liverpool and Klopp a new one ... even Jamie Carragher can't fathom what just happened, but that's to be expected as he's only decent with his analysis after watching umpteen replays This was a goal forged through hours of work on the training ground ... Gnonto knew where the ball needed to go, Bamford knew where his run needed to be targeted, and Summerville knew where he needed be to get beyond the defenders for a potential run at goal or to draw defenders away from Bamford If that was Neymar out on the wing, Mbappe making the run across VVD and Messi sliding the ball into the corner, it would be up for Goal of the Month on MoTD and we'd be hearing from pundits around the globe as they dissected the genius of this goal every hour, on the hour, on Sky Sports News ... no problem, we at Leeds know and that's all that matters Poor touch? Lucky goal? Only if you're blind or ignorant, or a hater! BTW, if you're a friend of BBC Radio Leeds or The Square Ball and the YEP, please let that lot know that they can stop dissing Bamford now ... they are all clueless
Good post Billy, but I'm glad Bamford didn't shoot, I also think he almost scuffed the pass in the end. But the finish for the goal was fantastic.
Can you give us an essay on why he missed the target from the penalty spot against Arsenal, and totally ****ed up the through ball against the scousers late on in the game, im not an expert and I don't understand these little tricks barndoor uses to fool the opposition. I don't hate him either, I want him to do the business for our club but the precarious position we're in we need all the players firing on all cylinders if he's got psychological problems drop him.
Interesting review of the goal Billy. What I saw was a slightly scuffed cross from gnonto, bit lucky to beat the double/teaming on him - into the centre. Paddy mis-controls and it falls to Summerville. Great touches, and very quick feet to shoot early from Jimmy. So great finish. Build up a bit fortunate. But hey we all see these things differently.
I'm gonna stick up for Paddy on this one. The Goalkeeper got a hand to it and altered the path of the ball. I don't fault him for missing that chance. Fair play to the keeper. I'll happily throw **** at him when he deserves it but that isn't one of those occasions. It does look horrific though at first glance.
Hmmm, I’m not sure about that Billy, he took the touch for me with every intention of setting up a shooting chance for himself, you can see he follows the ball, but it’s such poor control it falls to Summerville. The only good decision Bamford makes is to stop chasing the ball and getting out of Jimmy’s way. I’m no Bamford hater but let’s not pretend that was an intended pass.
Gnonto ran himself in to a cul de sac after a great initial flick with his head. He was surrounded but saw a gap between the two closest defenders. He probably saw a couple of white shirts in that direction and just knocked it in to the area. There's little chance he singled out Bamford. It's far more likely he'd seen Summerville on his own on the edges. He's just playing it in to an area which gives the two leeds attackers a chance. To be fair to Bamford, he reads it. He's noticed that Gnonto can't whip a ball in there with any height so it can only go through the gap. Once he gets in front of VVD he's hoping that he gets tapped on the ankles by Thiago or the big defender for a penalty and that's why he puts a bit of elevation on his first touch. He realises if they make an attempt at the ball he they will have to go through him and it's a certain penalty. He's playing percentages which is absolutely the right thing to do. What actually happens is that Summerville uses Bamford as a shield and can bring the ball down. Allison in the Liverpool goal tries to set himself for the shot but Summerville toe pokes it early catching the keeper by suprise and he can't get down to it. It wasn't entirely intentional how the goal worked out but certainly on the training ground you work on percentages. The three players did that and it paid off.
Paddy flicked it up in the air and was just about to bicycle kick it into the net when Jimmy the greedy barsteward stole it off him. Good job he scored otherwise there would have been hell on
Oh mate, I was giving him dogs abuse when that went wide. I was going mental at him. It was later that day I saw a clip where the keeper got a touch. It was a slight touch but it was enough to alter the direction of the ball a couple of inches which took it from Bamfords instep to his heel. Don't get me wrong, he's been absolute dogshit with the chances he's missed but I've got to be fair as that's the type of guy I am.
Joking aside, I do think Bamford was trying to flick it round the corner for himself. It was a heavy touch but at the end of the day I don't think any of us cared at that moment.
Not a chance did Bamford mean that pass, he was looking to create a shot for himself Bamford is easily the worst striker in the PL. Lovely bloke but simply not good enough for the PL
That's because your brain expects the conventional and can't see the creative ... let me put it this way, more Hockaday and less Wenger ... you're expecting to see Gnonto float a cross in, so when that doesn't happen your brain's only explanation is that it had to be a complete mishit, hence you see a scuffed cross A cross into the box is never the option though, the giveaway is the starting positions of Bamford, Summerville and Aaronson, neither of them are remotely interested in getting into the box for Gnonto to hit ... I'll try and clarify Aaronson is firstly a decoy, secondly a fallback to recycle possession if the space outside the box disappears ...he's there to sell the fallback option to Henderson, Gomes, VVD, Fabinho and Robertson ... he helps to create separation between Gomes and VVD as Gomes is drawn towards the inside left channel in case Aaronson is there to receive the ball and drive into the box Henderson is drifting towards Aaronson to cut off the option to play back to Adams or Summerville and squeeze Aaronson into a mistake, classic Klopp press VVD and Robertson are now only concerned with a cross coming into the box, and in the picture VVD is checking his keeper's starting position ... VVD is setting himself to hold his position or defend the near post, comfortable in his mind that Robertson has Bamford, the only possible attacker for a cross into the box Fabinho has Summerville, and is ready to push out towards Henderson if Summerville becomes the outlet for Aaronson ... this is because Gnonto has both Milner and Jones on him, "forcing" Willy towards the byline, ready to block a cross into the box, so surely the ball has to go back to Aaronson ... Gomes is in the inside left channel to fill that space so Aaronson can't go there, and Gnonto is also covered by Gomes just in case he dribbles in between Milner and Jones Liverpool have set themselves well to contain Gnonto, force him to stop and play backwards and then press Aaronson into a mistake and start a counter-attack ... but they forgot the cut-back, the classic Bielsa Ball move to create space for runners to exploit any press, and they are all on their heels when Gnonto superbly hits that space ... this gives Bamford and Summerville the edge, they have a split second start on the defenders and it's enough to breach the Liverpool line Look at the video and see how quickly things happen from the starting positions of the players in the picture ... Bamford has to be electric to lose Robertson and get across VVD ... Summerville knows Bamford is going to make that run and he needs to get in between Gomes and VVD, that's where he's going to get a clear sight at goal Milner commits to blocking a cross into the box, slightly overshooting the ball and opening up the tiniest of gaps for Gnonto to play the perfect ball into the space in front of VVD ... if Bamford isn't expecting the cut-back but is looking for a cross into the box, VVD easily gets to the ball and the attack breaks down This is a well co-ordinated bit of play, pulling defenders into certain areas to create space just outside the area to attack ... they sell it so well that Liverpool don't see the danger, thinking they've got Gnonto, Aaronson, Summerville and Bamford contained They see Bamford between VVD and Robertson as the only possible threat in the box, outnumbered and not a danger on his own ... they see Summerville, deep and static, loitering to support Aaronson By the time the play button is hit on the still picture, the movement from Leeds is sensational and the only two players who can attack the goal do just that ... they have the jump on Liverpool because they know exactly what Gnonto is going to do next, and it's not the conventional When the cut-back comes, it not only catches Liverpool out, but it also confuses your brain because you didn't anticipate that option ... the only thing you can put it down to is that it had to be a scuffed cross, and the goal was all about luck It definitely wasn't, because if it was a scuffed cross Bamford would have held his position and been heading towards the penalty spot for a whipped in cross behind VVD, taking Robertson with him ... VVD would have easily intercepted the "scuffed" ball and Henderson would have been set with Fabinho as the pivots for a quick counter The final clue is in the replay from behind the goal where you see Robertson bending forward, head in his hands as he realises he got sold down the river and ended up marking the space where the expected cross never came to ... it was a superb goal, well crafted and it completely fooled Liverpool just long enough to get Summerville in ... that's all it takes in the Prem, that split second start and the defence's press is beaten ... GOOOOAAALLL! And it was beautiful.....
