Leeds United underwent a summer of change as new faces came in behind the scenes and on the pitch following relegation down to the Championship.
The Whites spent three seasons in the Premier League and dropped out of the top-flight at the end of last season after Sam Allardyce came in and failed to save the day.
They reacted to that disappointment with a swoop to appoint German head coach Daniel Farke to lead them back to the big time by the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Leeds’ 2023 summer signings | |
|---|---|
Player | Type of deal |
Joel Piroe | Permanent |
Ethan Ampadu | Permanent |
Ilia Gruev | Permanent |
Glen Kamara | Permanent |
Karl Darlow | Permanent |
Sam Byram | Free |
Djed Spence | Loan |
Joe Rodon | Loan |
Jaidon Anthony | Loan |
As you can see in the table above, the Yorkshire-based outfit backed the former Norwich City tactician with nine new signings to bolster his playing squad, after the likes of Max Wober, Rodrigo, Rasmus Kristensen, and Robin Koch, among others, moved elsewhere.
Farke has proven his worth at this level, with two Championship titles at Carrow Road, and looked to strengthen his side at the top end of the pitch with the signing of Piroe.
However, the Dutch marksman was the only striker who was brought in and that has left Patrick Bamford as the back up to the ex-Swansea man and Georginio Rutter.
This appears to be a glaring weakness within the current squad after the former England international produced his latest disaster in the 1-0 defeat to Stoke on Wednesday night.
Patrick Bamford’s performance against Stoke
The former Middlesbrough number nine was brought on for Piroe with 20 minutes left to play against the Potters with the score at 0-0, seemingly with the hope that he would be able to go and win the game for the Whites.
It appeared to be the perfect start for the English forward as he won a penalty just minutes after coming off the bench. Rutter played a fantastic ball through to the striker and Ben Pearson was adjudged to have fouled him after going to ground in the box.
He then had the confidence to step up and take the spot-kick himself, instead of Rutter or Crysencio Summerville, but fired it comfortably over the crossbar after the goalkeeper dived the opposite way.
Bamford attempted to lift his strike into the top left corner and put far too much on it in what appeared to be a very relaxed effort from the experienced attacker.
Journalist Phil Hay described the miss as “hugely costly” for Leeds and this is not the first time that has been the case for the ex-Norwich loanee as he has now missed his last three penalties for the club.
To make matters worse, the centre-forward then played a part in what turned out to be the winning goal for the home side. The Leeds dud allowed Wesley to get the better of him at the front post from a corner and the Brazilian ace’s header came back off the crossbar and in via Pascal Struijk’s shoulder.
It was, therefore, a disastrous cameo from Bamford as he missed a golden opportunity to seal all three points for Farke’s team before contributing, albeit as part of a collective mistake to not deal with the set-piece, to Stoke’s winner.
The Whites head coach must now finally bin the 30-year-old dud in January after they failed to move him on during the recent summer transfer window.
It was reported that Bamford was ‘ready’ to part ways with the club ahead of the 2023/24 campaign as Farke was evaluating his squad. However, no switch materialised for the former Chelsea academy graduate and he remained at Elland Road.
The 6 foot 1 striker has failed to score or provide an assist in five league outings this season and has proven himself to be a worse option than Piroe, who has struggled of late.
The statistics that show Piroe is better than Bamford
Leeds brought the talented marksman in from Championship rivals Swansea City during the summer window and he has hit the ground running in Yorkshire.
Piroe has produced five goals in ten league outings for the Whites since his move from Wales and is currently the club’s top goalscorer in the league, with one more than Summerville and at least three more than every other player.
This shows that the 24-year-old finisher has been a superb addition to the squad as Farke’s go-to man for goals so far this season alongside Summerville.
However, the impressive ace has hit a lull in form with one goal in his last five Championship appearances for the club, with two ‘big chances’ missed during those matches.
He is a proven performer at this level, though, and will, hopefully, get back to his goalscoring ways after two sublime seasons with Swansea. The left-footed whiz scored 19 league goals during the 2022/23 campaign and that came off the back of 22 strikes throughout his debut year in English football.
Despite his recent struggles in front of goal, Piroe is still a far superior option to Bamford, due to his five-goal haul so far this campaign and the ex-England international’s disappointing form over the last 18 months or so.
Bamford’s statistics last season
The left-footed liability came into this season off the back of a poor year at Premier League level as his team were relegated back down to the Championship.
Bamford scored four goals in 28 top-flight outings, which came after two goals in nine during the 2021/22 campaign, and missed a whopping 13 ‘big chances’ in total.
His teammates created 8.61 xG (Expected Goals) worth of opportunities for him at the top end of the pitch but he was only able to make the most of four chances.
The Whites number nine did not return the favour to his fellow attackers as he ended the season with an xA (Expected Assists) of 0.86, and created one ‘big chance’.
These statistics suggest that Bamford let the team down with his performances last season as he did not take advantage of the chances that fell his way.
Taking his displays over the last 18 months into account, along with Piroe being a considerably better option, Farke must now finally bin Bamford after a prolonged spell of underperformance in January, if possible, after a move did not go ahead in the summer.
