Barnsley v Leeds Utd Match Thread

If you mean through an ouzo induced haze...I doubt it.

Hang on though it's Davy so anything is possible.

 

So you don't think we deserved to be ahead at HT ?

Why change what is clearly working and having substitutes who make an impact is surely part of that.

 

No, didn’t think we deserved to be ahead at half time. Barnsley had equally good chances as us I a. Dire first half. Kiko was top class

 

Bamford two decent chances, Pablo blazing over and Harrison hitting a post from a few yards out trumps a few speculative efforts from the home side.

Second half, then yes Barnsley had a few decent opportunities which they either missed or Kiko came to the rescue.

And yes Kiko was top class.

 

I’ve no idea what Eddies goal average per minute played is but it’s very impressive I’d imagine. Given the difficulty we’re having putting away chances, a constant complaint by Bielsa, it’s surely time the lad got a full 90 minutes to see what he ca do.

 

Never worked for Loserpool with David Fairclough.

It's a fair point you make though, but we are top of the League and I can't see any reason to change what is clearly working. In rugby they always make massive changes after 60 mins or so and we are doing the same.

Thought Bamford was excellent today and a bit unlucky to be subbed off. He's so much more physical than last season, works the flanks well, holds the ball up and still gets in there to get his fair share of chances....much improved in my opinion.

 

No doubt Bamford looks an improved version this season and you would think the tide will turn his way and he could go on a run of goals. Nobody can say that we are not creating the chances for him to put away.

The frustration comes from having so much possession and always seeming to have little to show for it until we make the changes. Then Eddie and Costa seem to have the knack of coming up trumps in whatever limited time they have to make an impact.

Promotion is obviously the goal under Bielsa and so if Costa is going to cost us £15 million and Eddie is costing us around £3 million this season, then where is the sense in coughing up all that money (which is a lot for us) if we are going to limit the time they both have to make an impact.

 

Just to add that some could argue that Bamford helps to wear down the defence and allows Costa and Eddie to come and do what they do. But now Roberts can add a different dimension because you could also argue that Costa and Eddie starting could pave the way for Roberts to come on and create mayhem as well! We need early goals (especially at home)

 

And why do we always want to walk the ball into the back of the net.

 

My philosophy is play your best players as much as you can get away with.

At this moment I would say Nketiah is better than Bamford. Costa is better than Harrison. Douglas is better than Alioski.

At the moment, that is our best XI in my opinion. I know we are winning games and top of the league but I think we could be further improved by those three coming in.

By the way, I'm not saying the other 3 are ****e. Harrison has been a surprise package for me this season. He's just had a couple of quiet games and Costa looks full of running. Bamford looks a far better player this season but Nketiah looks like he could be something far above Championship level. To be fair, Alioski has been ****e! Douglas hasn't exactly set the world on fire but Alioski has been worse.

Just play your best players.

 

Some good points johhny but let me counter this way...

Last season to begin with we were doing extremely well and top of the League. A major factor in that was when we faced problems, or things just weren't working we were able to bring on Siaz and/or Jack Clarke and change the direction of the game. Unfortunately we lost both of those options for differing reasons and our season declined sufficiently for us to just miss out.

This season Bielsa has very wisely recreated that scenario and so far it's working as per his planning.

The role of impact players from the bench in football is clear. You come on and put as much pressure on the players who have the shirt as possible, this then creates an extra level of competition within the squad which drives everyone to succeed.

 

Play your best players I totally agree with, provided they are part of your best team

 

Nothing wrong with your philosophy...

It's just that Bielsa's is better.

 

I'm probably going to take pelters for this. I simply don't agree about Eddie & Costa.

Let's start with Costa. I was sat with Leeds60 watching the match. I remember saying that I was disappointed in Costa, as he'd been on for 25 minutes & done nothing of any significance. Leeds60 corrected me, as he had one decent run. OK, so I was wrong. He had ONE good run against a tiring, inexperienced team with his fresh legs and the result was that he produced NOTHING. A bit like Harrison. But of course, being part of the 'played subs who brought victory', he gets plaudits & Harrison gets vilified. For exactly the same end product. Next to nowt. Has it occurred to anyone that it might just have been good work by Barnsley that stymied them, and not their own personal capabilities? Tin hat in place.

Now I suspect a tin hat will be no use for this one, so let me type this from a bunker. So, to start in a Monty Python-ish fashion: 'What did Eddie ever give us in that match', which would no doubt elicit a very smug response of ' a goal and a penalty, muppet!'. And you'd be right to say that. That is ALL he gave us. Did he pull defenders away to free up others? Did he hold up the ball? Did he do anything else that would suggest he could play up front on his own? No. Am I upset? No. That's not what he was signed for. He was signed to score goals. And he does! But we still need someone to do what Bamford does so well. That defence was battle-weary after him battering them (Halme's nose! ), and he knew it. He also knew that goals were coming, hence his histrionics when being substituted. And then Eddie came on, thankfully. So let's examine this goal & penalty. What special 'Eddie' qualities won us each? Well, imo, nothing, other than being in the right place at the right time - like anyone else would have been. His goal was down to the quality of KP's free kick. Quality that had been sadly lacking throughout the match, I might add. Anyone standing where Eddie was could have scored it. And I include Bamford in that. Btw, whilst I'm at it, do I think Eddie would have scored any of Bamford's chances? Probably not. In the first place, I don't think he's the kind of player to get into the situations that Bamford does. Not a criticism - he's just a completely different type of player. Penalty. Was it because it was Eddie? No. Tired defenders, so it could have been anyone with a bit of pace. Nothing special from Eddie. Fabulously received penalty, I might add, but frankly, it could have been anyone. So, my conclusion is that Eddie is very welcome, has a lot of pace & goal-scoring talent, but is NOT a replacement for Bamford. If anyone is, it's Roberts, imo. Of course that could change with Biela's tuition, but it won't be this side of Xmas.

Just finish up by being absolutely clear. Costa & Eddie are both brilliant players and will do wonders for us. I have no doubt about that. But let's not get carried away with the performances you THINK they would have put in whilst sitting on the bench. Bielsa, more than anyone, is perfectly aware of what they bring to the party. HE signed them, remember? Also ask yourself how things would have panned out if the subbings had been reversed.

 

We’ll never know what they can do in a full match until they play some. We do know Eddie can score for fun in a limited time frame and we’ve been lacking in that department for a large part of last season. At least at this rate there’s little chance of Costa or Eddie picking up an injury

 

Bamford holds it up, while a more direct Eddie goes straight forward and scores.Sorry but the more direct scores is what I want, wanted Bamford leaving on myself, but he's not a natural top finisher,will always need 6-7 shots to score one, and Eddie will always need like 2 shots to score 1.Eddie is the type of player who will score probably 30+ playing every game, while Bamford is a score 15 type player, will always do OK, but will never be a Keane, Pukki, Abrahams,Gayle type of player, and that's what we need to go up.

 

M'mm you've failed to factor in that most of our injuries last season came in training or during U23 matches.

Forshaw already on the sidelines and expecting another one from Bamford/Pablo by the end of the month. It's very rare that Pablo makes it through October without a strain.

 

Well we’re top of the league and averaging more than 2 points per game so if it carries on like this I’d be more than happy if Nketiah and Costa never start a game this season.

Can’t see what there is to moan about tbh.

 

Didn’t see the game today. I completely understand the demands for Eddie and costa to start and I’d be fine with it when it happens but...

... the starting 11 know the bielsa way, know what is expected from them off the ball, they dominate possession and wear teams down. Costa and Eddie when they come on with a bit of pace are set fair to cause havoc... doesn’t mean they would be as effective from the start at the moment. They might be but it’s not a given in my view.

Of the two I think there’s a stronger argument for costa to start at the moment, as that bit of flair and width is what we’ve been lacking to open team ups.

 

Thing is, until Eddie came on we looked like doing as we did v Swansea, Barnsley could well have scored, and if they had, I'm not sure we wouldn't be talking about a 1-0 loss again.Teams are working out how we play,so do we make the same mistakes of last season or do we try option 2 some of the time ? Bielsa said after the game, Nketiah is the compleat player, now if he thinks that, then he should start him,preferable with Bamford for me,.