Chelsea FC loanee Patrick Bamford should benefit from Crystal Palace selling Glenn Murray to Bournemouth
Patrick Bamford continued on his journey of development when Chelsea FC loaned him out to Crystal Palace for the season. After a scintillating spell at Middlesbrough last term that saw him be named the Sky Bet Championship Player Of The Year, hopes were that the striker would take a step up and get regular playing time in the Premier League.
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Unfortunately, that has not exactly been the case in the early part of the campaign although Glenn Murray’s departure to AFC Bournemouth in a £4million deal should see Chelsea’s bright prospect get the time that he needs.
When Bamford’s move to Selhurst Park was announced, Blues fans were initially pleased with the agreement. However, it was soon realised that Palace have an abundance of attacking talent already at the club.
Yannick Bolasie, Dwight Gayle, Marouane Chamakh, Wilfried Zaha, Glenn Murray and Fraizer Campbell were joined by Connor Wickham over the summer. The competitiveness of the situation is reflected in the fact that Bamford has only made one league appearance this season and that too off the bench.
Now with Murray no longer in the picture, Chamakh battling injury and Campbell seemingly not in Alan Pardew’s plans, Bamford has a much better chance of getting game time.
However, the youngster will have to prove to Pardew that he will score goals in the top flight. His one start so far for Palace came against Shrewsbury Town in the Capital One Cup and even though the Eagles won the contest 4-1, Bamford was not among the scorers. In fact he was terrible. The boss even admitted as much after the game.
"I don’t think he had his best night, Patrick, but he’s a good player. He’s finding that the level is a little bit higher here than it was at Middlesbrough and when you’re not playing week in week out as he was at Middlesbrough it’s hard. I felt a little bit sorry for him tonight because he wasn’t at his best, but he’s a good player."
The good news is that Palace have loaned out several players recently and Gayle is another player who is touted for a Selhurst Park exit. As a result, Bamford appears to be one of the men that Pardew will call upon but much like the Blues themselves, he needs to get his act together if this season is to be a successful one.
After his 19 goals for Middlesbrough last year, it is hard to see why Bamford has not been up to scratch so far this term. The Palace boss would most likely give him a start if he impressed enough in training so perhaps there is some complacency lingering around the 22-year-old.
It is down to the player to take his next chance and prove that he does have what it takes at this level
Having said that, the striker scored goals in pre-season including a hattrick against Bromley. Bamford was also asked to fill the deeper role in the Shrewsbury clash partnering with Gayle, a position that he is not used to playing.
This is still no excuse, though, as football is a team game and he will need to be able to perform in a range of roles. Pardew was not asking him to play a completely different position so it is fair to have expected more from the Chelsea man.
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Again with regard to complacency, the impression he projects is of a grounded, intelligent professional and thus it is unlikely that complacency or arrogance will ever be an issue for him. As a result, he probably was devastated with his performance the other day and will be desperate to make amends.
Fortunately, it appears as though Pardew still trusts him (let’s not overreact here, it was just one game) and will give him more opportunities as the season moves along. It is now down to the player to take his next chance and prove that he does have what it takes at this level.
I for one will be looking forward to how Bamford tackles this challenge.
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