Patrick Bamford has spent more time warming up on the touchline than on the pitch for Leeds United this season.
Bamford has played just 56 minutes of Championship football across Leeds‘ opening 14 matches so far due to a combination of injury issues and now being third choice.
Joel Piroe and Mateo Joseph are now both ahead of him in the pecking order for a place up front, which means for the first time in his Leeds career, he isn’t being over relied on.
Daniel Farke has insisted Bamford remains a ‘crucial’ player in his squad, but that certainly isn’t reflected by how he is being used on the pitch.
Gary Rowett believes Bamford will be frustrated with his situation at Leeds right now, which he reportedly showed at the full-time whistle of the defeat at Millwall.
Graham Smyth shares Bamford touchline antics at Leeds
Bamford has unfortunately become somewhat of a scapegoat at Leeds over the last few seasons, with a lot of the frustration simply coming from how often he is injured.
Some supporters on Twitter have even accused Bamford of not wanting to make himself available due to the amount of injuries he has had, though journalist Graham Smyth has refuted those claims emphatically.
Smyth was speaking on the latest episode of the ‘Inside Elland Road Podcast‘, where he spoke of how Bamford’s touchline antics when warming up show exactly how much he cares about the success of Leeds.
He said: “What I’d say on Bamford, yes it’s very, very frustrating that his fitness has been such an issue over the last couple of years. Yes, wasteful finishing has also been a problem for Patrick Bamford.
“However, this notion that there seems to be among some people that he’s just picking up a wage, he’s doing his podcast, he doesn’t care, he’s not making himself available, that’s what people think.
“You want to watch Patrick Bamford when he’s warming up late in games, when Leeds need a goal or if the game is tight, he is almost constantly geeing players up. Last night [at Millwall], Willy Gnonto made a wrong decision in the final third and ball went out of play.
“Bamford was there in his ear, clapping, telling him to keep going, go again. We’ve seen that quite a few times this season, we’ve seen him pull Mateo Joseph aside to give him some advice from the touchline. You can’t tell me he doesn’t care about Leeds United winning games.
“Even when he’s not on the pitch he’s investing something in trying to get Leeds to win the game, even with players that are keeping him out of the line-up. I think he’s getting quite an unfair rap at the minute.”
- READ MORE: How Leeds United are currently feeling about Manor Solomon’s loan amid fears of Djed Spence repeat
Bamford’s chance may be coming soon at Leeds
As mentioned, Bamford is clearly someway down the pecking order at Leeds, but it may not be long until his chance arrives.
Piroe has started each of the last six matches as a number nine, but his return of just two goals isn’t enough to make up for what he lacks in other parts of his game.
Minutes for Joseph have also significantly reduced in recent weeks and so doubts may be creeping in for Farke about his capabilities.
If that is the case, then Farke may look to the experience of Bamford again, a bit like he did during the second half of last season.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
