Leeds United v Stoke City - 5-0 - MOTM

[Leeds1000]

Costa: Best game by a mile. He was all over the pitch today. It was like someone told him he was playing for his contract. Consistency please.
Pablo: The Brain.... Not shy of putting his foot in a tackle either. Precious.
Klich: The engine
Bamford: Looked like a striker full of confidence today. The best season of his career.
Ayling: The Duracell bunny. What a pass up the line.
Cooper: If Bielsa says he's a good man. I believe him. Took his goal really well.

[John in Louisiana]

Costa - As good a game as he's had for us. We need to sign him to a new contract every week
Pablo - What more is there to say about this guy? Utterly brilliant in his 45 minutes
Bamford - He was everywhere. Caught offside only once and was unlucky not to have had three goals.
Klich - Was dominant.
Phillips - Their goal scorers were a complete non-entity. He was absolutely in charge.
Cooper - Solid along the back and took his goal (most deserved) well.

Honestly, I could make a case for any of the squad except for Meslier, who had precious little to do all day. Given that Stoke had not shots on target, he may as well have taken a nap.

[The Subhuman]

Costa - 90
Hernandez - 87
Bamford - 56
Klich - 53
Cooper - 27
Ayling - 17
Dallas - 11
Phillips - 8

[The Subhuman]

Costa - As good a game as he's had for us. We need to sign him to a new contract every week
Pablo - What more is there to say about this guy? Utterly brilliant in his 45 minutes
Bamford - He was everywhere. Caught offside only once and was unlucky not to have had three goals.
Klich - Was dominant.
Phillips - Their goal scorers were a complete non-entity. He was absolutely in charge.
Cooper - Solid along the back and took his goal (most deserved) well.

Honestly, I could make a case for any of the squad except for Meslier, who had precious little to do all day. Given that Stoke had not shots on target, he may as well have taken a nap.

You could say the same for Coop who had nothing to do in defence but scored..White had the better game with several runs forward carrying the ball like Gary Mac. One of Kalvin's best games in a Leeds shirt recently...

[The Subhuman]

This must be the first time White has failed to register a point. Thought he had a very good game though.

[1964white]

A brilliant goal & two assists from Hernandez, made us tick in the 2nd half & he's still not top of the pile

What does Pablo have to do to win the MOTM competition ?

[dezzy]

Cooper got a great goal but this team seems to have a backbone that we didn’t have before and it’s down to him leading

Costa one of his best games and enjoyed space and worked hard

Bamford one of his best games and had some venom in his shots,

Pablo, he’s a wizard

Phillips

Klich

[The Subhuman]

Costa - 95
Hernandez - 89
Bamford - 60
Klich - 54
Cooper - 33
Ayling - 17
Dallas - 11
Phillips - 10

[John in Louisiana]

A brilliant goal & two assists from Hernandez, made us tick in the 2nd half & he's still not top of the pile

What does Pablo have to do to win the MOTM competition ?

Play 90 minutes.

He was brilliant, but I'm loathe to put him top when he plays only a half.

I gave Pablo my MOTM v. Fulham, but Costa was brilliant for the full 90 today, so my vote had to go his way with Pablo second.

[YorkshireSquare]

Costa
Hernandez
Bamford
Klich
Phillips
Cooper

[1964white]

Play 90 minutes.

He was brilliant, but I'm loathe to put him top when he plays only a half.

I gave Pablo my MOTM v. Fulham, but Costa was brilliant for the full 90 today, so my vote had to go his way with Pablo second.

Could you honestly see us winning that match 5-0 without Pablo on the pitch ?

I very much doubt it

[John in Louisiana]

Could you honestly see us winning that match 5-0 without Pablo on the pitch ?

I very much doubt it

Of course not. But we win it even if Pablo doesn't play, and we don't win it 5-0 without Costa, either.

I can understand why someone might give MOTM to Pablo; I just think Costa has the better case. I can not, however, understand how either one could rank lower than second.

[paddy parrott]

Costa for me as he competed for 90mins.
Hernandez, inspired & creativity deserves it certainly though I'll resist.
Bamford too ran his heart out for 90 mins.
Ayling was great also and attacked the right hand side with gusto and cleverness that you'd admire
White& Cooper ..couldn't really split them either.

[Sara]

Pablo
Costa
Bamford
Klich
Ayling
Dallas

[Chilli D]

Play 90 minutes.

He was brilliant, but I'm loathe to put him top when he plays only a half.

I gave Pablo my MOTM v. Fulham, but Costa was brilliant for the full 90 today, so my vote had to go his way with Pablo second.

Exactly John, which is why this poll is man of the match not man of half the match.
Yes Pablo had an excellent 45 minutes but we'll never know if he could have sustained that for longer because he is being used sparingly and rightly so.
What a player to be able to bring on.

[The Subhuman]

Costa - 111
Hernandez - 104
Bamford - 72
Klich - 60
Cooper - 36
Ayling - 22
Dallas - 12
Phillips - 11
White - 2

[1964white]

Exactly John, which is why this poll is man of the match not man of half the match.
Yes Pablo had an excellent 45 minutes but we'll never know if he could have sustained that for longer because he is being used sparingly and rightly so.
What a player to be able to bring on.

So game changers don't count

We may as well scrap rating the subs on here & just go with the first XI

Had it been Klich, White or even Roberts that had influenced the game I guarantee they'd have won the MOTM

I'm fed up of reading :

Pablo only played 45 minutes
He gives the ball away too much
When we had Saiz, Alioski & Hernandez in our ranks some fans suggested we should drop Pablo as all three couldn't play together in the same team

Pablo is the best, most creative, influential player since our premiership years, truth is he still is although sadly our MOTM table at the end of the season won't show he is our main star as he keeps getting docked unnecessary points for the above reasons

[The Subhuman]

He's second on 45 minutes work in a game where Costa was stunningly good ..Not seeing an area for complaint tbh.. As someone said Man of the second half? ..Absolutely. Man of the Match? Possibly if Costa doesn't do that.

Had Klich White or Roberts had only 45 minutes, played that well they still wouldn't be MOTM unless everyone else had a mare..They were comparable performances but Costa did his over 90 minutes ..

We were basically 2 up with little Pablo input so were already cruising as well, 2-0 courtesy of Costa

[John in Louisiana]

So game changers don't count

We may as well scrap rating the subs on here & just go with the first XI

Had it been Klich, White or even Roberts that had influenced the game I guarantee they'd have won the MOTM

I'm fed up of reading :

Pablo only played 45 minutes
He gives the ball away too much
When we had Saiz, Alioski & Hernandez in our ranks some fans suggested we should drop Pablo as all three couldn't play together in the same team

Pablo is the best, most creative, influential player since our premiership years, truth is he still is although sadly our MOTM table at the end of the season won't show he is our main star as he keeps getting docked unnecessary points for the above reasons

We don't disagree here. I've given Pablo MOTM for 45 minutes of play in the past and would do it again. I voted him second for this match.

In this instance I simply thought Costa was slightly more deserving. The game was starting to look like another one of those efforts where we dominate possession, rattle posts, fall victim to great saves, and then watch as the other side sneak one in.

But then, just before the half, Costa made a run that drew the penalty that turned the game. He then came out in the second half and, within three minutes, scored the goal that secured the outcome and started the rout. His work rate was immense; he was everywhere. Stoke simply had no answer for him.

I agree that Pablo should be our MOTS (season) and of our entire time in the Championship. Someday, perhaps, I will return to Elland Road and see the Pablo statue or sit in the Hernandez stand; he's been that important to our (hopefully) returning to the top tier. I also agree he was brilliant yesterday.

But Costa was, just barely, the MOTM.

[Cjay]

Costa- Could easily have given it to Pablo but for HC to play like that under the pressure of it being confirmed he was now a £16mil player took great balls!!!!! He could have gone down in the build up to the pen but he stayed on his feet and thank god he did, brilliant Helder. When he plays like that you can see why he was so highly rated not long ago.

King Pablo- Just sits on the bench, waits till half time and then comes on and changes everything. Pablo comes on the pressure lifts then his teammates shine. Imagine how good he would be if he didnt have hamstrings made of sillystring. Awesome player, a privilege to have him in our side and he is still the best player in the league, dont care what anyone says. Lots of talented players in this league but none of them inpact their teammates like Hernandez does. Thats a far greater gift then simply being a good individual.

Paddy- My god frustrating as hell, that Paddy B is an absolute baller. Touch, skill, vision, composure, work rate. There is real talent in Bamford, despite his issues, on days like yesterday i wouldn't swap him for Mitrovic or Watkins. His all round game was superb, he deserved more goals but he took that goal superbly. When you see finishes like that it boggles the mind, how has he missed chances infinitely easier.

Dallas- Been very critical over the years, but as an attacking left back he is coming in to his own. Some of his link play was sensational, his work rate and willingness to cover the ground is exemplary.

Klich- Composed when we really needed it, he should be called the Iceman. Love Klich.

Coops- I mean he didnt really do anything as a defender, but great finish.