Patrick Bamford no longer the man after Leeds United shocker – Three things learned v Stoke
Leeds United suffered a disappointing defeat away at Stoke City on Wednesday night (25 October).
There was very little quality on display from either side throughout the evening, with the Whites failing to create many opportunities at the bet365 Stadium.
After Patrick Bamford missed a penalty in the second half, Pascal Struijk put through his own net just minutes later to condemn his side to a 1-0 defeat.
Here, MOT Leeds News details three things learned from the trip to Stoke.
Gray is not a right-back
After breaking into the first-team picture this season, Archie Gray has been superb in a number of games following the arrival of Daniel Farke.
The 17-year-old started in the first seven Championship games of the campaign alongside Ethan Ampadu in midfield before losing his place to Glen Kamara.
That meant he was shifted to right-back for the game against Bristol City, but since impressing in that fixture, he has struggled in the past two matches against Norwich City and Stoke.
He failed to deal with the threat posed by Potters winger Andre Vidigal throughout most of the night and Farke really has to question whether this is his best position moving forward.
Bamford is no longer the man
Patrick Bamford’s standing at the club has definitely changed over the past few months following the emergence of Georginio Rutter and the signing of Joel Piroe.
After returning from injury recently, the forward has featured over the past few games off the bench and it was the same story against Stoke.
After winning a penalty, he stepped up and skied his effort high over the bar to show that he is lacking confidence in front of goal at this moment in time.
If that had been Piroe, you would’ve expected the Dutchman to find the back of the net. Bamford is not the main man at Leeds anymore and he can’t be relied on.
Summerville has to start
Farke decided to make three changes from the side that beat Norwich and the biggest surprise was that Crysencio Summerville was dropped to the bench after scoring twice at the weekend.
None of Ilia Gruev, Jaidon Anthony or Willy Gnonto impressed throughout the game, suggesting that the Whites boss got the key decisions wrong on the night.
Although he will want to utilise his squad, it made absolutely no sense to take Summerville out of the side as he would have been full of confidence on the back of his double at Carrow Road.
The 21-year-old Dutch winger will surely be back in the starting lineup when the Whites face Huddersfield Town at Elland Road on Saturday (28 October).
In other Leeds United news, a BBC pundit has shared a “ridiculous” admission amid the club’s promotion hopes this season.