The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Friday 29th March) - Does Bamford have a future at Leeds as he nears 60 goals

[Ellandback1]

Happy Easter!! It's Friday 29th March, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...


Does Bamford have a future at Leeds as he nears 60 goals

Patrick Bamford will be aming to score his 60th goal for Leeds United this weekend as the tem head south to take on Watford at Vicarage Road. Bamford has netted 59 times in 181 appearances for The Whites, leaving him in 22nd place in our all time top scorers list. Five more goals would see him overtake the next player in the list, Harry Kewell, with a further three seeing him overall Rod Wallace's tally of 66, breaking into the top twenty in the process.

But with the Elland Road old guard being gradually fazed out, is it time to cash in on Patrick Bamford? His return to fitness has culminated with an impressive goal tally for the 30 year old Eight goals and an assist in just over a 1000 minutes of game time is a healthy return, but can he still do it at the highest level? Some believe his best days are behind him, but Farke has proved, by using him properly, there is life in the old dog yet! In previous campaigns, the one time England striker would get wheeled onto the pitch every chance they got, whether he was fit to play or not!

This led to multiple injury setbacks, and months on the sidelines. Surprisingly, Paddy doesn't rate highly in the 'Whoscored' ratings. He has an average ranking of just 6.56, placing him 21st in the squad. Bamford has just over two years left on his contract, and is believed to be Leeds joint highest salary earner this season along with Rutter (£70,000 per week). This will of course go up if Leeds are promoted!





Could Huddersfield do Leeds a massive favour

Whilst Leeds proudly fly the flag for Yorkshire in the second tier of English football, a trio of Championship clubs who adopt it's prestigious white rose aren't doing so well. Rotherham, Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield are the three bottom clubs in the Championship, and face uncertain futures unless things improve dramatically during the season finale!

Interestingly, whilst Huddersfield fans would like nothing more than to see Leeds miss out on automatic promotion, they may in fact play a crucial part in deciding their post season future! Town travel to promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town on the final game of their campaign. It's a game which the Yorkshire side may need to win if they don't want a one way ticket to League One next season.



Spring Offer! Get NordVPN with up to 69% off + 3 months free...





Changing of the guard

A massive clear-out is expected at Elland Road, with five players from the Bielsa era expecting to move on this Summer. Stuart Dallas, Junior Firpo, Liam Cooper and Jamie Shackleton are expected to join Luke Ayling through the exit door, and find new clubs this Summer. It is likely to be a massive upheaval for both club and players, but one which some believe is long overdue. Instead of gradually fazing out the old guard, we are now left with little option but a Summer cull! Do Leeds have the funds to replace them with upgrades bearing in mind financial fair play?

[The Subhuman]

I'd hold on to Paddy, he's division proof and should be a useful player to have coming off the bench irrespective of division...

[YorkshireSquare]

I'd hold on to Paddy, he's division proof and should be a useful player to have coming off the bench irrespective of division...

59 goals scored, 23rd in our all time top scorers. If you look at goals per game for players who have scored 50 goals or more he's 19th on the list with 0.326 goals per game. Lorimer, our top scorer, is at 0.337 goals per game.

Is Bamford criminally underrated by our fans?

[1964white]

One in three games is a decent strike for a striker we only paid £7m for.

[The Subhuman]

59 goals scored, 23rd in our all time top scorers. If you look at goals per game for players who have scored 50 goals or more he's 19th on the list with 0.326 goals per game. Lorimer, our top scorer, is at 0.337 goals per game.

Is Bamford criminally underrated by our fans?

I'm not sure, I think he's been over rated and under rated in equal measure. Right now he's a touch over rated but at the same time we're under rating his likely performances in the Prem when/if we get there

When I say he's division proof I think it's because he plays at the same level wherever he plays and it's not dependent on the quality of opposition...

[1964white]

I'd hold on to Paddy, he's division proof and should be a useful player to have coming off the bench irrespective of division...

Squad player for me too.

I'll be holding a First Team/Keep/Loan/Sell poll when we know what division we're in, during the next month or so.

[Chilli D]

59 goals scored, 23rd in our all time top scorers. If you look at goals per game for players who have scored 50 goals or more he's 19th on the list with 0.326 goals per game. Lorimer, our top scorer, is at 0.337 goals per game.

Is Bamford criminally underrated by our fans?

Possibly but he could and should have a lot more goals than he does have. There's been some glaring misses and some woeful penalties.
He's doing well at the moment though but I wouldn't want him to be our main striker if we get promoted.

[1964white]

Possibly but he could and should have a lot more goals than he does have. There's been some glaring misses and some woeful penalties.
He's doing well at the moment though but I wouldn't want him to be our main striker if we get promoted.

I don't think any of us would, Chilli, but as a back-up striker off the bench, he could be useful.

[Chilli D]

Regarding Ipswich, I think if anyone is likely to do us a favour it will be Norwich.
A guy I cycle with is an Ipswich season ticket holder and when I spoke to him last weekend he said Ipswich would finish third (he said we would win it) and he's dreading the play offs because it is likely they would end up playing Norwich and their recent record against them isn't good.

[CUSSIE01]

59 goals scored, 23rd in our all time top scorers. If you look at goals per game for players who have scored 50 goals or more he's 19th on the list with 0.326 goals per game. Lorimer, our top scorer, is at 0.337 goals per game.

Is Bamford criminally underrated by our fans?

I think he has been at times, at 30 he still puts in a shift on the pitch and is a constant thorn in the side of keepers & defenders alike. He still takes up good positions in the box and has a strikers instinct. On the other hand fans can get frustrated when he misses the simple chances and he shouldn’t be allowed near another penalty, I’d stick with him if we get to the Prem but mainly as a squad player or to cover injuries, hopefully Mateo will have a chance to show his worth soon.

[1964white]

Regarding Ipswich, I think if anyone is likely to do us a favour it will be Norwich.
A guy I cycle with is an Ipswich season ticket holder and when I spoke to him last weekend he said Ipswich would finish third (he said we would win it) and he's dreading the play offs because it is likely they would end up playing Norwich and their recent record against them isn't good.

Apparently, Ipswich haven't beaten Norwich in a very long time.

[Scoobychief]

Not if we return to the premier league. Because it would be a step backwards for bamford to be leading the line in the prem. Time to find a goal scorer and I don't mean piroe either

[CUSSIE01]

Not if we return to the premier league. Because it would be a step backwards for bamford to be leading the line in the prem. Time to find a goal scorer and I don't mean piroe either

Love your dog Scooby.

[Irish Ian]

Afternoon.

For £7M Bamford has been ok.

Infuriating at times, but has been the catalyst for three points at others.

How much would it cost to replace him? In todays market, cash we dont have.
If Joseph is as good as we think surely by mid next season he will have slid down the pecking order and we can happily recoup our fee if we want.

[Scoobychief]

Love your dog Scooby.

Thanks unfortunately passed away. But we got another yorkie

[CUSSIE01]

Thanks unfortunately passed away. But we got another yorkie

Sorry to hear that, looked a character.

[The Subhuman]

Afternoon.

For £7M Bamford has been ok.

Infuriating at times, but has been the catalyst for three points at others.

How much would it cost to replace him? In todays market, cash we dont have.
If Joseph is as good as we think surely by mid next season he will have slid down the pecking order and we can happily recoup our fee if we want.

If we want Joseph to start next season assuming we're in the higher division then he needs a lot more game time between now and the end of the season and I'm not sure he'll get it.. I don't think I'd want to go into a season in the prem with a rookie leading the line

[andrewjohnsmith]

Bamford should be around next season. With Joseph's development so far this season, it's almost looking like we'll have a well timed hand over. Joseph is probably the best talent of the two, but he can still learn a great deal from Bamford. I see that transition happening over the next season. So I'd keep Paddy for another season.

A couple of Leeds players have probably run their time. Ayling and Cooper. You never know with Coops though. Been so loyal to the club. He may be happy to wind down his career as a back up with us. Dallas is slightly different in that he hasn't played for so long. He might be worth a pre season try out. We'll be woefully short on numbers at the end of the season and need to bing in quality but also quantity. I could see Dallas being a useful guy to keep around if he regains fitness.

Shackleton is an interesting one. A couple of months ago Farke was talking about a new contract for him. He's certainly a useful squad player. Very professional and goes about his job without complaints. He's Leeds through and through and would not complain about being a bench player. I'd love to keep him around for his attitude and versatility. But he just misses so many games. It's been ridiculous this season to be honest. The number of times he could have had a chance and something always seems to happen.

[DDB220]

I don't think any of us would, Chilli, but as a back-up striker off the bench, he could be useful.

It remains to be seen whether at this stage of his career he would be happy to be a bench option. I think we will sign another 9 and Joseph will surpass him next year. Realistically, he could be 4th choice as Piroe is likely to be ahead of him as well. Considering the money he will be on would he be worth it ?

[Cjay]

Paddy may have use as a backup option.

Issue is he won't be on backup wages.

Bamford is now and will be next season and has been for years one of our top earners.