Can the England U21 striker do the business for Palace? Boro blogger and freelance writer Tom Etherington explains what we're in for.
There were mixed feelings across Teesside last week as Boro’s hopes of signing Patrick Bamford for another season were ended by Crystal Palace.
It was always going to be a longshot, after the highly-rated striker set the Championship alight and deservedly picked up the Player of the Year Award, but the fans and club still held out some hope.
Bamford scored 17 goals in 32 appearances en route to the Play-Off final, and even though Boro fell at the final hurdle, it was already apparent that the 21-year-old was ready to play Premier League football next season.
Despite the disappointment, I’m confident most of those associated with Boro will agree that Crystal Palace is the right step for Bamford’s progression, following previous spells in League One with MK Dons and Derby County in the Championship. But what can the Eagles expect from him in the Premier League?
Following his drawn-out arrival from Chelsea in August, Bamford didn’t actually get off to the best of starts at the Riverside, regularly being named on the bench and going three games without a goal. The England youngster quickly became frustrated and actually had words with boss Aitor Karanka about the squad rotation policy, which led to him being handed his first start at home to Brentford.
The opportunity proved to be fruitful as Bamford netted in an emphatic 4-0 win and went on to grab a last-minute equaliser against Liverpool in the Capital One Cup just a few days later.
One of Bamford’s biggest problems though is inconsistency. Following the heroics at Anfield, he went five games without finding the net, then scored six goals in seven to help Boro remain unbeaten in November and December, before leaving it another 6 games to score again.
It was this sort of form that left some fans unconvinced, but Bamford’s saving grace was being able to score when it really mattered. He popped up with four crucial equalisers and opened the scoring in nine Boro wins throughout the season, against Rotherham, Norwich, Cardiff, Manchester City, Charlton, Millwall, Wigan and twice against his former club Derby.
Alan Pardew will need to learn when he can get the best out of Bamford, whether that is part of his starting eleven or a second-half substitute, but that will come as the season progresses. His first concern should be where to actually play Bamford on the pitch. The forward regularly played out of his natural position under Karanka, starting on the right of a front three 14 times and on the left five times, which makes his goal scoring record even more impressive. But there is no doubt that Bamford is suited to the central role, and with Glenn Murray, Dwight Gayle and Fraizer Campbell to contend with at Selhurst Park, he may need to make the most of his versatility.
It will also be interesting to see how Bamford handles the physicality of the Premier League as he can be a little lightweight at times and struggled with a persistent ankle injury during the final few games of last season, including the Play-Off Semi-finals and Final.
To be fair to him though, Bamford played through the pain and still managed to give 100%. And when he is at full capacity, there are very few strikers with vision, pace, composure and finishing that could match his.
Boro are desperately searching for a striker of similar calibre to Bamford ahead of next season, with Jordan Rhodes the likely replacement, but I know for certain that the Chelsea loanee will be missed both on and off the pitch next season. Good luck to both Patrick and Palace.