Both Leeds United and Liverpool are searching for top honours in their respective leagues this season.
Ben Parker has compared Patrick Bamford to Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino and seemingly suggested that the Leeds man needs to be more appreciated like the Brazilian and that he ‘cannot do everything’ for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.
Former Whites man Parker pointed towards how Liverpool use Firmino and how the likes of Sadio Mane and Mo Salah benefit from his off-the-ball play.
He suggested that Bamford perhaps needs more help from the players around him, as he urged them to start ‘chipping in’ with goals, which would make Bamford’s game that much better.
Bamford has been coming under some serious stick recently, which has resulted in fans calling for him to be dropped from the starting XI for Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah.
Speaking to LS11, Parker first made the comparison between Bamford and Firmino, and then stated if players are good enough, then they are good enough to play together, as he was making reference to Nketiah potentially playing alongside Bamford.
“Throw them both in,” Parker laughed on LS11. “I think good players can play with anyone. I have always believed good players, put them in any team, any formation and they can adapt. Obviously, someone would have to get left out, but that’s the nature of football.
“I read something the other day about Bobby Firmino at Liverpool. You wouldn’t say he is a prolific goalscorer, but what he offers, the team, it’s a massive help, especially for Mane and Salah. I think with Bamford if he’s not scoring every game and he’s not being as prolific as he wants to be that’s for other people to start chipping in.
“You cannot just burden everything on Bamford and say ‘right, I want you to close all the back four down then chase into our box, but then get into the opposition box and score a goal’. He cannot do everything on the pitch.”
Whilst Salah and Mane rightly get a lot of the praise for all the goals they score for Liverpool, a player like Firmino, who moved to Anfield for £29 million in 2015 [BBC Sport], goes under-appreciated by fans outside of Merseyside.
His off the ball runs, intelligent runs, ability to find and open space for his teammates makes him a top-quality player, and Bamford, whilst he’s not prolific, is also another player who has more than just goals in his locker.
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