Aston Villa

Wright: Bamford is a wonderful person

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Ian Wright shared that Leeds United attacker Patrick Bamford is someone he could defend to the end but just couldn’t defend him appearing to feign injury against Aston Villa.

The former Arsenal player shared that the Leeds forward was someone he loved as he thought he was a wonderful guy; but thought he made a mistake during his side’s 1-1 draw with Villa.

Bamford appeared to go down with very little contact after clashing with Aston Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi on Sunday, and Wright claimed it was a very out of character thing for the forward to do.

“It’s someone that I love, Patrick, but yeah (if he is the villain) erm when I watch him, he is someone I will defend to the end but I can’t in this situation,” said Wright on BBC Radio 5 Live (19:59, Monday April 29th).

“It’s very very out of character for him, but I suppose it comes down to the pressure, the situation that he and his club find themselves in, and he for me has made a mistake.

“I’m going to stick by him he is a wonderful guy.

“Well if he gets that (two-game ban) I’m sure he’ll take it on the chin.”

OPINION

It’s clear Wright thinks highly of Bamford, as he doesn’t often call players wonder or share his love for them, and it’s so telling that even he seems baffled over Sunday’s incident. It was embarrassing to witness the replays of Bamford’s actions during the mass brawl and he is no doubt feeling a little ashamed of himself. While Wright reveals he cannot defend the forward despite liking him following what he believes was a mistake, he then attempts to try to explain the Leeds player’s action. The pundit claims that the pressure and situation Bamford and Leeds find themselves in played a apart. However it’s not like the clash with Aston Villa on Sunday was one that had a lot of pressure on it. While Leeds’ failure to win did officially confirm that Sheffield United had beaten them to automatic promotion, ahead of the game it was all but mathematical that the Blades were taking second-spot. With that in mind, it’s hard to see how Bamford was feeling so under-pressure that he felt the need to effectively deceive the referee to get an advantage.

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