As his fellow teammates old and new are racing out of Elland Road, Patrick Bamford pledges his allegiance and commitment to Leeds United and their fans by staying put, ready to face the challenges of a new season in the Championship.
Love it or loathe it Paddy is here to stay and let’s face it, with so many Leeds players handing in transfer requests, backpedaling on previous statements to the media about how they love playing for Leeds United whilst arranging deals abroad, Patrick Bamford’s agent and camp has been very quiet. No rumours of deals, moves or loaning out elsewhere. Oh no, he has been getting on with his business of training hard, quietly observing the comings and goings of Elland Road’s revolving door and must be thinking to himself where he fits into this new era of Farke and the hungry youngsters emerging through the ranks.
Bamford’s Leeds United career will always rouse a healthy debate in any Yorkshire pub, and probably amongst Leeds United fans across the world, and as the song goes he’s has his ups and downs. He has been plagued with injuries from cruciate knee ligaments to groin surgery, ankle and foot injuries oh and a bout of Covid. The Bionic Man has got nothing on our Paddy, who keeps making his comeback time and time again.
He’s seen five managers through his time at Leeds, suffered some vitriolic abuse on social media, and has gone from hero to villain in the space of three seasons. His confidence has undoubtedly taken a severe knock through some dark times for him. It is not gone unnoticed that some of his best game playing, assists and goals have been demonstrated in empty stadiums during the pandemic and maybe the pressure of Elland Road and other footballing grounds have gotten to him and his self esteem. But guess what, he’s still here! And it looks like he’s here to stay. So he’s had a bad at the office on occasion, okay a lot of bad days at the office, and fans up and down the country have mithered and moaned about his performances last season, football pundits have criticised and shook their heads at some absolute desperate misses (and missed penalties!) but Leeds United fans sometimes have a short memory. Remember when he scored 16 goals in the Championship campaign 2019-2020 and was a key member in getting Leeds promoted? The first year back in the Premiership he scored 17 goals with 7 assists in 38 matches!
Ex Leeds United played David Prutton said recently “Patrick has definitely still got it in him, even more so in the Championship. But it’s about time and injuries and that element of miles on the clock will tell with him”.
This upcoming season it looks like Georginio Rutter is primed to play alongside or just behind him, and with Rodrigo now long gone, Bamford is the experienced and determined teammate that Rutter could learn a lot from. He’s done it before in the Championship with exceptional results, so let’s see if Leeds United fans can wipe the slate clean and get behind Paddy and give him the support he both needs and deserves! Everyone else has deserted the sinking ship but Paddy is here to stay. For now.
