Leeds United fans have taken to Twitter to slam Patrick Bamford for his first-half display against Derby County.
The 26-year-old looked a little off the pace in the opening exchanges against the Rams, and missed a glorious opportunity to give his side the best possible start when he failed to connect with a Pablo Hernandez cross from point-blank range.
It was his cut back that eventually led to Max Lowe’s opening own goal, but other than that, Bamford looked sluggish and rusty.
With Eddie Nketiah on the bench, having hit four goals in his first six matches for United, pressure on Bamford is beginning to grow, and while he himself has hit four in seven in the Championship prior to Saturday, he cannot afford to keep wasting chances when there is such an effective alternative chomping at the bit to take his starting spot.
Here are some of the best tweets from fans.
https://twitter.com/AdamJones1995/status/1175373207689400320?s=20
Can't wait until Nketiah starts. Dunno how much longer I can tolerate ten chance Bamford ?
— Luke (@IukeGreen) September 21, 2019
It's hard to watch Bamford without thinking Nketiah would have scored there.
— mish (@mishLUFC) September 21, 2019
They say that the time to worry about a striker is when he is not getting in the right positions to score goals.
In that respect, Bamford has nothing to be concerned about.
The striker has averaged 4.3 shots per 90 minutes in the league so far this term, including three from inside the penalty area and one from inside the six yard box, as per Whoscored.
Prior to Saturday’s clash, he had totalled 27 shots, yielding four goals.
But that gives him a conversion rate of one strike every 6.75 attempts.
You have to ask yourself, is that sharp enough for a side who are looking to win automatic promotion? Some would argue not.
Bamford couldn't threaten a hot dinner
— Steve Jones (@sjlufc) September 21, 2019
Bamford is the reason for my receding hairline I swear
— Hessing (@JackHessing1) September 21, 2019
By contrast, Nketiah has two goals from six shots in the Championship, an average of one goal every three attempts, meaning that he is over twice as efficient in front of goal as the 26-year-old, as per Whoscored.
Overall, the 20-year-old has four goals in 246 minutes, giving him an average of a strike every 61.5 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.
Those stats are seriously impressive, and unless Bamford pulls his finger out soon, it is surely only a matter of time before the youngster is given the nod ahead of him.
https://twitter.com/NketiahTime/status/1175381338825928704?s=20
Bamford is a practical joke surely!?
— Mark Ramm (@LufcRammy) September 21, 2019
Nah, time to terminate Bamford’s contract
— Joe Wood (@Joe17Wood) September 21, 2019
Bamford what are you doing! Head it. #lufc
— Steve Jones (@sjlufc) September 21, 2019
Eddie scores that Bamford chance #lufc
— Barry Quinn (@quinnthedub) September 21, 2019