Alan Pardew with the final word on Patrick Bamford's loan spell at Crystal Palace

Six months of frustration boiled over for Patrick Bamford on Monday, resulting in a few rather ill-advised comments about his time at Crystal Palace.  It's not that what he was saying was untrue — his time in South London was indeed a waste of time and, if not a step back, then certainly not a step forward in his career — but there are better ways to express this than putting your team and teammates on blast in public.

Bamford of course apologised later, reverting to his usual mature young man self.  Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, speaking ahead of this weekend's clash between the two clubs, has welcomed said apology and provided a short final assessment of the 22-year-old striker's loan spell.

"Patrick made a slight error after the game. I think he was a little bit emotional. He has addressed that. I appreciate that. His comments on Wednesday were much nearer the mark. He has had every chance here. We have been getting fantastic results, so his chances [to start matches] have been limited. We kept on winning and you have to keep the balance of the side. It is as simple as that."

Alan Pardew, much like Jose Mourinho, apparently doesn't like to mess with success and if a lineup is winning, he will stick to it.  Others might disagree with this method, but as Mourinho's sucesses and Pardew's own (relative) successes prove, it's a viable strategy.

"Patrick has learned from that experience and I would like to think he will be a very good player for Chelsea and England going forward. This was a learning curve for him. He knows this is a little bit of a step up from the Championship, but there is nothing to suggest he can't make that step up. I wish him all the best for the future."

"I like him. He's a prospect. His game time here was disappointing. I get that. Now he needs to find game time in the Premier League. Will he get that at Chelsea? I hope he becomes a top player because he has some really nice attributes as a person and if he becomes a great player, then great."

-Alan Pardew; source: ESPN

Nice enough words, I suppose.  But at 22 years of age, Bamford's got little time to waste, and he certainly made the right choice to look for a different option this winter, be that another loan to the Premier League or the Championship or sticking around as a backup striker at Chelsea.