Craig Scott

Mon 3 February 2020 21:00, UK

Brian Deane has urged fans to get behind Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford, rather than laying into him on social media after each game.

Bamford, 26, is Leeds’ top goalscorer this season and the seventh-highest goalscorer in the Championship having netted 12 times in 29 league appearances.

However the number of chances that Bamford has been having suggests that he should be scoring a lot more often than he has been.

According to stats by WhoScored, no player in the Championship has had more shots at goal than the former Middlesbrough striker this season [107] and after firing a blank in the 1-0 defeat to Wigan on Saturday, further questions have been asked of the forward.

Ex-Leeds player Deane has suggested that Bamford might not be getting as much sleep as he needs due to the chances he’s missed and the criticism he has been getting online.

“Not sure all the stick Bamford is getting will help the whole team. Probably needs fans to stick with him more than ever now, especially as the pack is closing in,” said Deane via his personal Twitter account on Sunday night.

“The guy probably isn’t getting a decent nights sleep at the moment, time to get behind him and protect your own.”

It is fair to say that inside the stadium, you do not hear much criticism aimed at the players. Yes, there is a minority that do lay into their own players, but that is only a very small number of fans at Elland Road.

One of the big issues is how fans react on social media after the game – some are very quick to make scapegoats of players.

Bamford has been someone who’s been in the sights of a lot of fans on social media all season but still, he is still getting some important goals and is still Leeds’ top scorer.

He’s not the only reason why the Whites’ form has not been so great in the last couple of months.

In other Leeds United news, Dean Ashton has pointed out alarming stat about Jean-Kevin Augustin.