On October 28, the English forward made his debut after missing a key penalty in the 1-0 loss at Stoke City midweek (October 25) and came off the bench in the second half of a convincing 4-1 victory, as the Athletic writer reported via Twitter from Elland Road.
Hay, who was the target of personal criticism when Bamford missed a pressure kick against Newcastle during the previous season’s relegation battle, had voiced surprise ahead of the weekend that the penalty problem had not been resolved with Bamford in the summer.
The Elland Road crowd seemed to have had mixed feelings about the striker on Saturday; chants of his name could be heard during the game, while Bremen Cross of Leeds Live reported that “Bamford’s name was loudly sung around all sides of Elland Road after coming on for [Georginio] Rutter.”
Despite the fact that Jonny Buchan of BBC Radio Leeds covered the game live, he received a message stating that there were “definitely audible boos in the East Stand” at 2:45 p.m.
Majority support
The majority of the Whites’ supporters in the stadium this weekend appear to be aware of the abuse Bamford has been subjected to, which has escalated significantly in recent months, and have taken action to stop it.
Up until that point in the game, fans are free to express their opinions, but jeering a player for missing a penalty is not going to give him the boost in self-assurance he sorely needs.
It might, however, deter him from attempting to take more kicks that he would be better off leaving well alone. The best outcome would be if he could find solace in the fact that the majority of the audience signed his name and resumed finding the net without getting penalized.
It’s possible that Bamford will not stay at Elland Road for the foreseeable future at this point because he was passed by Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter under Daniel Farke, and others like Mateo Joseph are following in their footsteps.
In several aspects, even after accounting for his accomplishments as a Leeds United player, he probably would have been better off starting over.
The Marcelo Bielsa team is advancing steadily, and rather than being unlucky with injuries, his possibilities are now becoming more limited because of the way his teammates are performing.
There are fans who seem to recognize his contributions to the team and the challenges he has faced, but if he does leave, there will undoubtedly be some who are happy to see him go.
