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