'Muppets' - Patrick Bamford & Chris Wilder's 6-year feud as ex-Leeds United striker joins Sheffield United
Leeds United title-winner Patrick Bamford has joined up with former foe Chris Wilder at Bramall Lane.
Patrick Bamford and Chris Wilder have put an end to their six-year tit-for-tat by joining forces at Championship strugglers Sheffield United.
Bamford left Leeds United over the summer and had been without a club since, despite links to Getafe and his presence at Coventry City’s training base. Reports emerged on Wednesday that he was in talks with Sheffield United and less than 24 hours later, confirmation came that the 32-year-old had signed a short-term contract with the Blades.
The two-time Leeds promotion-winner will now play under Wilder just a few months after starting an X-rated chant aimed at his new manager - and six years after being labelled a ‘muppet’ by the Blades boss. Below, the YEP looks back on what was said between the pair.
Chris Wilder slams Leeds United ‘muppets’
Leeds and Sheffield United were locked in a tense Championship promotion battle back in 2018/19, following the arrival to West Yorkshire of Marcelo Bielsa the prior summer. Daniel Farke’s Norwich City were clear at the top leaving both Yorkshire clubs to battle it out for second place.
The Whites eventually fell short after a now-infamous 2-1 defeat at home to 10-man Wigan in April kicked off a run of four winless games to see out the campaign. After a dramatic 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, third place was confirmed and Wilder’s side were up, with the Blades boss singling out Bamford and midfielder Adam Forshaw for their apparent attempts at mind games.
“We’ve had one defeat in 13 and I’ve got muppets from Leeds talking about the pressure being on us,” he told talkSPORT at the time. “Bamford and Forshaw and a couple of others saying ‘it’s over to you’ and this, that and the other. They got beat seven times since Christmas. We’ve been beaten once. We’ve set it up from Christmas to be in the race and we’ve steamrolled it.
“After the international break, two points a game. That’s promotion form right the way through in the pressure part of the season. Listen, don’t mention anything about bottle and b******s or about us dipping out.”
Leeds were promoted the following season and went on to beat Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in September, with none other than Bamford heading home an 88th-minute winner. By the time of the return fixture in April, Wilder had been sacked and didn’t face the Whites again as Blades boss until last season.
Patrick Bamford’s X-rated chant
Once again, the two Yorkshire clubs were embroiled in a promotion battle but Leeds eventually pulled clear and after thumping Stoke City 6-0 in April, watched Sheffield United draw against Burnley to confirm automatic promotion for the Whites. Bamford and his teammates watched it all unfold inside Elland Road before joining thousands of fans outside to celebrate.
In the midst of all the post-promotion joy, Bamford was filmed heading down towards the fans before starting a chant that labelled Wilder a ‘w*****’. The Leeds striker was seen grinning while fans kept the chant going but to his credit, the Sheffield United boss took it well after a call from the player and Farke.
“I'm a big boy, you give it you take it,” he said. “You give it out locally, you take it locally as I've always done. We have our moments, other teams have their moments. I had a conversation with Pat yesterday and I've no issue at all with it. I'm not sure about the words from a fellow pro, but I appreciate and respected him giving me a call and we had 20 minutes. I spoke to Daniel [Farke] as well and had a half-hour chat with him. He's a top guy.
“When I was playing, we used to give it and take it and it's part and parcel of the game, even on a Sunday morning,” he said. “It's part of the interesting bit of the game. Local rivalries, rivalries between teams and everything that goes with it. So I have no issue. You have to take it and get on with it and I'm absolutely cool with it, and I said that to Pat.”
Any tensions between the pair look to have been ironed out following confirmation of Bamford’s move to Bramall Lane. Leeds fans will no doubt have a keen eye on how he gets on.