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Noel Whelan reacts to Bamford substitution in Leeds loss
Noel Whelan that he was very surprised to see Patrick Bamford taken off for Rodrigo during Leeds United’s defeat to Brighton, claiming that he expected Tyler Roberts to be the one to be replaced.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side endured a miserable day at the AMEX Stadium. Leeds were beaten 2-0 and rarely looked like getting back into the game after going behind.
Bamford certainly, had a quiet afternoon. Remarkably, he was one of only three players in the Whites’ starting lineup to fail to have a shot on goal (via ).
Unsurprisingly, Bielsa decided to turn to Rodrigo as the hour-mark approached and Leeds were looking to find an equaliser. However, what may have taken fans aback was the decision to take Bamford off for the Spaniard.
Whelan, for one, expected Roberts to be the one to make way.
“Very, I thought Tyler was coming off,” , when asked if he was surprised by the change. “I’d have put Rodrigo in at 10, keep Bamford up there.
“I’ve got absolutely no idea [why Bamford was taken off]. I’m not sure what [Bielsa] saw because I saw people having bad games out there.
“I don’t think it was generally Patrick Bamford’s fault that he wasn’t getting the ball fed into him or any service or link up play from wide areas. But your number 10’s meant to make that happen.”
In fairness to Roberts, he showed some nice touches during the first-half, even if he gave away possession cheaply on a few occasions.
But he definitely faded after the break. So it does seem to be an interesting decision to replace Bamford when Leeds were a goal down.
He had struck up a good partnership with Rodrigo before the summer signing’s injury. And of course, he is Leeds’s top goalscorer. So it was certainly a gamble to take him off.