Sky Sports pundit suggests 26-year-old ‘all-rounder’ was under-appreciated by Leeds fans
Sky Sports pundit Sue Smith has suggested that Leeds United fans lacked appreciation for the role that Patrick Bamford played earlier this season.
Bamford, 26, went 10 Championship matches without scoring between August and November and there were regular calls for Marcelo Bielsa to drop the former Middlesbrough striker and start Eddie Nketiah.
At the time, Nketiah was bang in form and scoring goals off the bench for Leeds and scoring goals for fun for England Under-21s.
However Bielsa stuck with his guns and started Bamford week after week and the striker has now scored six goals in his last 10 league outings.
Former Leeds and England women player Smith has claimed that managers often see things in players that fans do not and that is why the Elland Road faithful should have trusted Bielsa’s decision on Bamford and Nketiah.
“When Bamford was going through a dry spell in front of goal, many fans wanted to see Nketiah given his chance from the start,” Smith wrote on the Yorkshire Post website.
“But Bielsa is very particular in what he demands from his players and, in so many other areas, Bamford was doing exactly what he wanted – he just works, works and works.
“While not all fans might appreciate what he does off the ball, the top managers do.
“Sometimes centre-forwards do not win the ball in the press, but play an important role in initiating it.
“You have to be an all-rounder now, no matter what position you play.”
Bielsa is not your everyday manager and Leeds fans should really know that by now.
Just look at the way he dealt with the whole spygate affair last season and the things that he talks about in his press conferences. It’s not often that managers reveal their whole starting line-up days before a match.
Bielsa is not going to drop a player because of pressure from the fans or because he isn’t scoring. Bamford is not just a goalscorer in this Leeds team, he does so much more than that.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are plotting a shock swoop to sign this £10,000-a-week midfielder.