Patrick Bamford, latest scapegoat for the gutter online boo boys
In the aftermath of the Birmingham City defeat, the usual suspects were lining up on Twitter to provide their knee-jerk, clueless verdicts on this week’s chosen scapegoat. Really, the identity of the scapegoat is secondary in importance to these peddlers of lazy and destructive abuse; what is most vital to them is to be seen as part of a chorus of disapproval. The fact that they come across as ignorant and unhelpful is, evidently, of no concern to these people, who represent the very antithesis of “support”.
It wouldn’t be so bad is it was only a case of a few attention-seeking individuals who live, move and have their tragic existences on Twitter (other social media bandwagons are available). But the sorry truth is that there are various online sites, masquerading as news sources, who make a point of trawling social media for clueless negativity, and presenting the results of their dredging as if it were a news story, under the kind of headline I’ve parodied for this article. This is becoming more and more common, as these grubby sites queue up to spread anger and despair, doing their level best to demoralise proper fans, as well as the players from whom, of course, the regular scapegoats have to be selected (Patrick Bamford this week, as it happens).
This sort of thing is to good journalism, or even to amateur blogging, what Julian Clary is to Rugby League. There’s no real content, only a sort of digest of 280 character whinges from the dregs of Leeds United‘s online community, intended to destroy the target’s confidence whilst garnering the ignorant approval of slack-jawed, like-minded readers. The likes of “Sportslens” publish this rubbish regularly, as blatant clickbait, and it must be worth their while. But it’s hardly a valid contribution to any sort of debate.
Soon enough, this season will be over, and the tributes or post mortems, as appropriate, will be written. I can only hope, trust, and do my small part to ensure, that such pieces are readable and that they reflect what’s actually happened during this momentous campaign. Because, if it’s left to the likes of “Sportslens” and their dire equivalents elsewhere in the ether, then you can bet your bottom dollar it’ll be just more ordure from the sewer level of Twitter and the rest of the idiots’ platforms. And, surely, we all deserve better than that.
Life, Leeds United, the Universe & Everything 
Anyone would think we got battered by Brum by the reaction of some rather than the narrow loss that could so easily have gone the other way but for the width of a post! As Bielsa so often reminds us it’s the unpredictability of the game that makes football the best sport in the world and the Championship is probably the toughest & most unpredictable of all the leagues in Europe.
6 games to go and still just a point of 2nd in this fantastic turnaround season in our sad recent history so all of us true fans need to get right behind the team and ALL of the players to try and drive them to success.
GET IN MOT Leeds forever
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Its not gone right for Patrick the last two games but it will come good for the lad i am sure of it, i do not think the comments from the twitter lot will bother Patrick, but having said that it does not help matters,just makes some of our fan base look a bit stupid. M.O.T.
Regards , H.
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Well said!
I didn’t go to the match yesterday but I honestly believe Barry Douglas had a stinker- get rid.
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Arf
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Patrick has missed so much of the season, and is not 100% match fit.
We are only a point behind and Roofe is back.
We also have the strongest bench we have had all season.
It is all about mental attitude now, with a lot of points still to play for.
It is not a time for picking on players.
Too many had an off day against Brum, to single anyone out.
Stupid headlines on the net, trying to stir up the fans.
MOT!
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Well put Rob,
I commented on your last post re this matter. While I still believe most of the posts will be from kids who will surely regret it in a few years the inaccurate nonsense they write is embarrassing and damaging and could affect the players and their parents lets not forget most of our team are still in their teens or early twenties. I thought online bullying and slander was supposed to be getting dealt with.
The bigger issue is the sites that publish this garbage as you rightly point out.Surely the relevant authorities could do something about it.
On a different note re Preston away hope you don’t mind me using your site to let fans know there are no trains going in Manchester direction after the match busses are on instead. Could be chaos.
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Handy info, thanks. People please take note.
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I’ve moaned to the YEP for doing this too, they’re happy to grab a hat full of internet “quotes” and publish them as a story of some kind.
Just a thought on another subject , “it’s their cup final, so they up their game!” Another pedaled across the web , well it’s our cup final ,right now, it’s about time we raised our game and crushed these minor teams!
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True on both counts MOT
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I think some attention seekers know that if they put out crazy tweets, some website will pick them up and recycle them, and the effect may be to undermine the morale of the pkayers. Hope the players regard them as the idiots they are.
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I hope so too, spot on comment Mark. MOT
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That’s precisely why I look to this blog for some reasoned
perspective and not the usual suspects on News Now etc.
Maybe some dullards have forgotten the chaos of the last 15 years and fail to realise that this is our best season by a country mile since our financial implosion.
Easy to support Citeh or some other super club etc isn’t it? Winning 80% of your games,regular finals , cups etc.
I want instant wins and promotion to be confirmed ASAP as soon as the next man but, this league just doesn’t allow for that.
Keep the faith people.MOT.
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Cheers fella, MOT
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Couldn’t agree more Rob, the likes of HITC spends most of its time claiming Leeds United are seeking to sign players who are also interesting Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, Citeh etc then try to claim Radrizzani is too tight fisted to land them in an attempt to turn fans against the owner and one another. It is obvious that the vast majority of these social media “experts” are NOT and have NEVER been Leeds United supporters and are just WUMS who manage to get twits biting on twitter.
Must be honest Rob and confess that I am worried that Forest, QPR and Brum managed to beat us despite being on lengthy losing streaks. I would prefer that teams feared meeting us rather than believing they can repeat the feat and get their form back on track.
However, if anyone had offered me our league position with 6 games remaining at the start of the season I would have snatched both their arms off so must keep things in perspective Rob and BELIEVE
Incidentally, having noted that we spent £54 million on ADMIN this year (over a million per week!) I wouldn’t mind coming out of retirement for a desk job at Elland Road Rob.
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That sounds like something I could consider too 🤔
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Well said. The point is. When we started this season there was not even the rediculous notion that we would qualify for automatic promotion. In fact, the truth is, if anyone had been brave enough to put that theory forward they would have been ridiculed and abused by the twatteraty brigade to the end of the earth. Even a playoff spot was almost out of the equation because the squad we had was useless according to them, it was full of players who should never even wear the sacred shirt. One man Cooper, would have struggled in league one according to them.
Then, along comes a man who very few fans in this country had even heard of. Now the whole world is sitting up and certainly knows who Bielsa is. A Radrizzani master stroke.
We have achieved the impossible, we have been right up there at the pinnacle of this league from day one. The haters hate us even more, the EFL hate us, BUT so many fair minded, decent fans are excited at the prospect t of seeing Leeds back where they belong and relish the fantastic fixtures this would bring. Unfortunately this has put enormous pressure on the club and players and failure is now being seen as a playoff place if we lose.
What happens next season is unknown right now, personally if Bielsa stayed and we recruited and strengthened and had another crack at a season without all the injuries I would be happy.
To achieve promotion would be an absolute miracle, a dream come true but would NOT be the disaster peddled by the Twatties. It’s not over yet. MOT.
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Now then. Bamford isnt a killer of a striker. He looks more like a rower in the boat race or someone who’d serve you a big Mac after a night on the lash. That said? he is what we’ve got, Our squad is what we’ve got. We have to crack on to the end and at worse? play offs. If we dont make it? weve had a bloody good go at it. Remember that whatever happens? we’ve over achieved really? and its been one hell of a ride. promotion or staying where we are, im happy with progress both on and off the pitch.
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I’m weirdly ambivalent, not sure I even want to be in the Prem if it means being a Newcastle or a Burnley. But with it being so close I can taste it, I also dread missing out. Football eh? As fans, we’re hardly ever happy.
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6 games to go…….anything can happen in the next 540 minutes.
I have heard that a section of our away following were getting on Bamford’s back though. This just makes me despair. What good do they think this does, other than sap a player’s confidence, which then guarantees he’s not going to get it back any time soon. The club would be better off if this lot donned red shirts, and plied their trade on the other side of the Pennines.
Marching On Together is the song, not Marching On Against. I know every team has them; I just feel that we have more than our fair share.
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The trouble is that too many watch the game popped up to a degree that most of them can’t handle, then proceed to make fools of themselves. What pisses me off is the cynical exploitation by talentless hacks of the worthless knee-jerk reactions on Twitter of our clueless online “support”.
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Even if we manage a win against PNE we’ll still see the same “headlines” they’ll pick someone to rubbish. After the WBA game (performance in of the season IMHO) the snipers were out. F*** em is what I say, the title’s now a bit of a stretch but automatic promotion is still very much on the cards and considering it’s still mainly the same team that couldn’t buy a win after Christmas Mr Bielsa, Orta, Radz and Kinnear have worked nothing short of a miracle and we should be thankful to everyone involved with the club. Furthermore, I care not one jot what the FL say, Bielsa is the manager of the year. Farke and Wilder have had a couple of seasons to fine-tune their teams whereas Bub had 7 or 8 weeks. ALAW
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Spot on MOT
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It is weird init?
Wolves will have had a brilliant season if they finish mid table. This is probably the best that a newly promoted club can expect.
The days when a team can come up,finish fourth (now a champ league place) , then win the damn thing (like the mighty whites did)the following season, just isn’t possible unless approx £300 million is spent on the team.
Since Leeds ,I can only remember Ipswich circa 1997/8? Who I think finished 5th on gaining promotion.
Sod it though! I’m fed up with faffing around playing all the usual suspects.
Bring on the super clubs next year even if we get battered.MOT
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Hear hear! I think 🤔
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That bloody Patrick Bamford, he’s so poor, can’t for the life of me think why he gets a game … oh wait 😁 Patrick Bamford doo doo do doo onwards and upwards brothers and sisters ALAW
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You won’t believe me, but I did have a funny feeling he might do OK 😎
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Just one last post on the subject, even though it pees me off no end, the twitterati are now upset because young Patrick had the audacity to cup his ear in front of all our adoring fans.
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Blog in the pipeline on that very issue.
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