Leeds United 2018/19 minutes-per-goals ratio - Whites scorers analysed as Patrick Bamford leads the way

In a season that looked like it had so much promise, Leeds United fell just short of gaining promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford celebrates.Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford celebrates.
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford celebrates.

Many fans believe that a key reason for this shortcoming was the lack of an out-and-out goalscorer at the club, or at least due to the injuries that both Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford suffered throughout the season.

When looking at the top two in Sheffield United and Norwich City; they both had strikers who scored over 20 league goals: Billy Sharp with 23 goals and four assists and Teemu Pukki who led the league with 29 goals, also notching up an impressive nine assists.

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Here, we look at United's top six most efficient players in front of goal in the Championship from the 2018-2019 season:

Kemar Roofe - 15

United's top scorer for the campaign bagged on 15 occasions, with Roofe averaging a goal every 167 minutes.

The 26-year-old's season was plagued by injuries, missing the crucial play-off semi-final second leg against Derby County, as well as 13 league games after a calf injury kept him out for a month early on in the season.

A knee injury also put Roofe on the sidelines from February until April.

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Upon his return, minutes came at a premium for the West Brom academy product, with Marcelo Bielsa preferring Patrick Bamford to lead the line.

The Whites definitely missed Roofe's intelligence off the ball during his absence and it could've been a different story had he not missed as many games.

Leeds' Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, the tricky Spaniard contributed towards the most league goals out of any player in Bielsa's squad, recording 12 goals and 12 assists.

Varying from playing off the right and in a number ten role, Hernandez was definitely the heartbeat of the team, completing 90 minutes in 39 of the 41 games he was available.

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Averaging a goal every 293 minutes, it's safe to say the 34-year-old is thriving under Bielsa during the latter stages of his career.

The box-to-box midfielder featured in every single league and play-off game for the Whites last season, scoring 10 goals and picking up nine assists.

Very much a Bielsa type player, Klich contributed greatly towards United's success, working tirelessly from midfield and being a constant nuisance for any opponent due to his intelligence; including clever runs off the ball, smart finishing and play-making skills.

Patrick Bamford - 9

Since making the move to Leeds last summer for around £7 million, Bamford has come under his fair share of criticism.

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Having said that, the Englishman boasted the best minutes-per-goal ratio at the club, hitting the back of the net every 161 minutes.

The 25-year-old had severe knee problems during the season, missing 22 games between September and February, making just one appearance in that time scoring the only goal of the game away to Bolton.

Many fans are divided when it comes to the striker, with some fed up already due to big chances missed towards the business end of the season, but others remain patient with the former Chelsea man.

After coming back from a lengthy injury Bamford scored some big goals, including a brace in a 2-0 win away to Preston, the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory at Bristol City and the opener in a 2-1 home win over Bolton.

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Unfortunately football is a cruel game and it's very easy to go from hero to zero.

A number of high profile misses, especially away to Birmingham in a 1-0 defeat, has gained Bamford plenty of critics.

Ezgjan Alioski - 7

The Macedonian was a constant figure down the left flank at Elland Road, playing as a winger at the beginning of the season before filling in at left-back from January due to an injury to Barry Douglas, cementing himself as a starter in the vacant position.

Scoring 7 goals - one every 733 minutes - and providing 5 assists, Alioski was a miss for the Whites following his knee injury at Brentford on Easter Monday that brought his season to a premature end.

Jack Harrison/Stuart Dallas - 4

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Both players scored four times last season, with Harrison providing three assists in comparison to none from Dallas.

The latter missed several games through injury and struggled to maintain a consistent position within the team while fit. Despite this the Northern Ireland international bagged a brace in the play-off semi-final second leg defeat to Derby County and over the course of the season averaged a goal every 356 minutes.

Harrison's most important goal of the season came at home to Sheffield Wednesday in a hard fought 1-0 victory at Elland Road and the Manchester City loanee averaged a goal every 671 minutes.