I wanted to leave Leeds United after Newcastle United error & family threats
Patrick Bamford has admitted he wanted to leave Leeds United after a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United last year.
Leeds were facing relegation and had a 1-0 lead at Elland Road when Bamford stepped up to take a penalty with a chance to double the hosts’ advantage. But Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope saved the penalty as the visitors turned the game around thanks to two successful penalties from Callum Wilson.
Leeds were still able to rescue a point from the game thanks to a heavily deflected striker from Rasmus Kristensen but that didn’t stop Bamford from being subject to abuse for his penalty miss.
Bamford told 72+: The EFL Podcast that his wife was frightened by cars parked outside his house on the evening after the Newcastle match. At that point and with Leeds set to be relegated, the forward admitted he was ready to leave the club for a new challenge.
“I wouldn’t say it ever made me want to hang the boots up and finish football, I’ll know when the time is right for that, but at a point, when I knew my family wasn’t comfortable here, being honest at that point, I wanted to leave,” he said.
“I wanted a fresh start and wanted to get somewhere where it was a new start for the family, something fresh and it was just normal, as easy as that sounds.
“It wasn’t until sitting down and thinking about it, I had to make sure my missus was okay with it, and reassure her it won’t happen again by putting measures in place. I knew it was a tough one for me because, after going down, there was still unfinished business with Leeds because I felt like I hadn’t been able to contribute for the last 18 months in the Prem.
“Part of me wanted to really start somewhere new, that would almost be the easy option. Over that summer, there was a lot of thinking hard about it, having a few chats and that. In the end, I said I didn’t want to take the easy option and the easy way out.”
Bamford opted to stay at Leeds in a bid to help them earn promotion back to the Premier League. He scored eight goals in 33 Championship appearances but his side ended up losing to Southampton in the play-off final.