Bamford told to be hardman
PATRICK BAMFORD has been urged to “be more aggressive” if he is to make Gareth Southgate’s Euros squad – by the Leeds legend who never quite won an England cap.
Lee Chapman remains an iconic figure at Elland Road after scoring the goals which fired the club to promotion to the top flight in 1990 and First Division title two years later.
Chapman (below) was known for his no-nonsense style and, after seeing Bamford miss out on Southgate’s squad for this month’s World Cup qualifiers, he feels the striker must show a harder edge.
The 61-year-old said: “Bamford has had a fantastic season for Leeds and has proved he can score goals at Premier League level.
“He’s absolutely central to their game plan under Marcelo Bielsa and proved all his doubters wrong with his performances this season.
“I think he perhaps deserved to be in Gareth Southgate’s latest squad but there is still time yet to get in there for the Euros.
“But I’d like to see Patrick put himself about a bit more, get in defenders’ faces and really show what he’s about!
“So many defenders nowadays cannot defend and don’t enjoy the physical aspect of the game, which I certainly did.
“If Bamford can improve in terms of his aggression then he has a chance as he’s clearly being monitored very closely by Southgate.
“A strong finish to the season could persuade Southgate to include Bamford in the squad, and injuries to the other strikers may mean need that he is actually needed.”
Chapman, who scored more than 200 goals in his career, represented England once at Under-21 level and once for the B team but never won full international honours.
He added: “Target men had started to go out of fashion and even when I scored 31 goals in 1990-91, they just gave me an England B cap as a consolation prize.”