Patrick Bamford

[xPetrCechx 13,548]

Derby are struggling to string one basic pass together. Shite.

Soon Vs Chelsea.

[Barbara 15,149]

Bamfordinho makes it look so easy to finish.

He has that killer instinct that is so lethal for strikers. Can't wait for him to be here.

edit: just won a penalty... otherwise he'd get into the net with ball and everything

edit 2: what a shot by him now. Looked a lot like that Willian goal earlier this season (don't ask me against who)

edit 3: should have scored at least a brace here, but Grant became a world beater defending his amazing shots

[We Hate Scouse 10,261]

If Boro come up and want him for another season in the Premiership do we oblige or do we bring him back as 3rd choice striker?

[bluesman2610 1,230]

Good game from Pat today first time really watching him play needs to work on hold up but off the ball runs are amazing

[Special Juan 27,104]

Did well today, best player on the park.

[Kieran. 6,317]

You have to realise, B, that in England, north of Nottingham, the major sport is rugby league. Manchester and Merseyside are the only real anomalies, even once-great northern clubs like Leeds United and Sheffield United come from areas where rugby and even cricket are arguably more popular due to the blue collar nature of the game. The north-east is another anomaly, but Newcastle United is such a massive club with a ridiculously large fan-base. Sunderland also has a large fan-base - meaning clubs like Middlesbrough are quite poorly represented in terms of a fan-base. The Riverside Stadium has always been too big for Boro, they only ever used to sell it out against Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Also you think that Boro were once a Premier League club - teams lose a lot of fairweather fans after a relegation.

Interesting - never knew this!

[Muzchap 8,966]

If Boro come up and want him for another season in the Premiership do we oblige or do we bring him back as 3rd choice striker?

Oblige - he's learning the ropes well, some consistency won't hurt either.

Plus he can help take points off our rivals

At this age needs to keep playing

[Posh Chels 48]

today's MOTM

[BlueLion. 21,491]

still this game is live on my TV... the Championship is more traditional and interesting than many leagues in Europe.

But thanks for explaining me the background... it makes sense, although not much

Haha well because of their more traditionally working-class background (Britain's industrial revolution evolved out of towns such as Coventry, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Manchester, etc.), these areas tend to follow more working-class sports such as rugby, and also cricket, which is considered less of a "posh" sport in the north than it is in the south

Interesting - never knew this!

Yep, we might have an incredibly small country but it is obscenely diverse - there is, quite literally, a north-south divide.

You only have to look at the list of clubs competing in this year's rugby league Super League (no club more southerly than Widnes in Cheshire, near Liverpool) to see my point

[iseah100 5,612]

He'll nake it here if given the chance

[lionsden 4,689]

He will join the first team next season and literally rot on the bench getting one or two rare appearance in league cup and coming on in the last 4 minutes of a couple of games we have already won or for time wasting until he's sent back on loan again for the 2016/17 season to be replaced by Solanke who suffers strikingly similar fate . I tried to be optimistic, I really tried but I'm done getting my hopes up.

[zolayes 14,489]

You have to realise, B, that in England, north of Nottingham, the major sport is rugby league. Manchester and Merseyside are the only real anomalies, even once-great northern clubs like Leeds United and Sheffield United come from areas where rugby and even cricket are arguably more popular due to the blue collar nature of the game. The north-east is another anomaly, but Newcastle United is such a massive club with a ridiculously large fan-base. Sunderland also has a large fan-base - meaning clubs like Middlesbrough are quite poorly represented in terms of a fan-base. The Riverside Stadium has always been too big for Boro, they only ever used to sell it out against Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Chelsea. Also you think that Boro were once a Premier League club - teams lose a lot of fairweather fans after a relegation.

Not quite correct Alex .. Rugby league is really confined to just the Counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire with 2 clubs from Cumbria .. Lancashire is much more a hotbed of football .

I was brought up with and played League ,, but football was always a bigger game throughout the north .

The only place League rules is in Australia

[DH1988 1,201]

Damn, with Didier most likely retiring it's difficult to make a decision on whether to bring Patrick back as third choice and spend a year under Jose, remy and Costa then give boro solanke or loan him to a prem club next year and buy a make shift striker for a year..

Or give Didier another year... Haha

[iseah100 5,612]

He will join the first team next season and literally rot on the bench getting one or two rare appearance in league cup and coming on in the last 4 minutes of a couple of games we have already won or for time wasting until he's sent back on loan again for the 2016/17 season to be replaced by Solanke who suffers strikingly similar fate . I tried to be optimistic, I really tried but I'm done getting my hopes up.

You're so positive.

[lionsden 4,689]

You're so positive.

I'm realistic. Blind positivity is for irrational and delusional people. I base my views on patterns and historical evidence rather than false hope. When Jose start showing genuine commitment to bringing through a youngster (not by words but by actions) then I will start showing optimism until then I will toast to my pessimism/realism.

Today we have seen van Gaal start a 19 year old academy lad, Wilson, in arguably their biggest game of the season despite falcao being available for selection. Can you ever see Jose do a thing like that?

[The Skipper 20,593]

I'm realistic. Blind positivity is for irrational and delusional people. I base my views on patterns and historical evidence rather than false hope. When Jose start showing genuine commitment to bringing through a youngster (not by words but by actions) then I will start showing optimism until then I will toast to my pessimism/realism.

Today we have seen van Gaal start a 19 year old academy lad, Wilson, in arguably their biggest game of the season despite falcao being available for selection. Can you ever see Jose do a thing like that?

Yeah, on your Falcao analogy, very true. Funny thing is we have far more talented players in our academy than Wilson.

LVG has always been a youth player connoisseur, he's launched countless of careers for young players for a long time now. Shame Jose isn't the same tbh.

[lionsden 4,689]

Yeah, on your Falcao analogy, very true. Funny thing is we have far more talented players in our academy than Wilson.

LVG has always been a youth player connoisseur, he's launched countless of careers for young players for a long time now. Shame Jose isn't the same tbh.

We have dominated youth football for the past 4 years and evidently have some of the best young players in Europe in the academy and on loan but I fear none of them will ever make it here. It will be a shame if players like RLC,Boga,Baker,Solanke suffer the same fate as those before them.

[CurlyHairLikeLuiz 1,625]

As much as I'd like to see him here I think it'll have to be 16/17 unless Jose changes his policy on youth playing.

We could use Schurrle if all of our strikers are injured as a 3rd choice.

Or maybe just include a recall clause in case it all goes pete tong? But for sure, Bamford will be big. Very big.