Jermaine Beckford seems to have upset a section of the Bolton Wanderers support when he acknowledged our greetings while he came on as substitute on Saturday.

Some returning players get nothing but abuse when on their return to Elland Road, but not our Jermaine. Even if we did have to let him go for nothing at the end of his Leeds career, when he refused to sign a new contract in the summer of 2010 in order to have his shot at the Premier League with Everton.

Our former talisman is fondly remembered in these parts for scoring the goal that got us out of League One on the final day of the season, and for the small matter of getting the goal that knocked Man U out of the FA cup four months earlier. But it’s fair to say that his subsequent career hasn’t quite gone to plan, and even before Saturday he had his critics among the Bolton faithful. One of their fans in my office has even suggested we were cheering when he came on because we knew he wasn’t going to score!

On the Bolton fans forum ‘The Wanderer’ it seems that what has upset some of their fans was that he applauded us at this point, rather than waiting until after the game. One said “when Beckford came on he gave a big thumbs up to the leeds fans who were singing give us a wave. Bolton fans responded by booing him. He should be sacked tomorrow morning. Disgusting”

But to be fair, there are some Bolton fans who don’t agree. “We've had players come back who got a great reception from us and acknowledged it. No big deal.” And “the frustration about where we are as a club is the real issue, not whether a player thanks his former club. I don't think he should have done it but it's a trivial matter.”

Beckford denied making a gesture when he was approached by ‘The Bolton News’ after the final whistle, although he admitted to clapping the home supporters during an earlier warm-up. And he told his manager Dougie Freedman that he’d been waving to some people he knew in the crowd! All of which is a bit strange, as a clip on YouTube shows him not only applauding us as he came on, but giving a little Leeds salute.

Freedman said “He should have concentrated more but the disappointment I have got is that Jermaine had a clear-cut chance and he’s missed it.” That was a reference to the header he sent straight at Silvestri late in the game, when he might have earned his current club a valuable point. Last week Freedman said he was disappointed about the amount of abuse Beckford had been getting from some of the Bolton fans.

Beckford scored twice against Crewe in the League Cup in midweek, but maybe his problem is that although he’s consistently been lethal against League One opposition throughout his career, he’s always struggled to make an impact at any level higher than that. When things aren’t going his way he gets a bit moody and seems to lack confidence, which can come across as having a bit of a bad attitude.

I don’t think Beckford did a lot wrong on Saturday, and at the time I never even thought his actions would upset anyone, so I’m amazed at the over-reaction of some of the Bolton fans. I thought he put in a bit of effort once he’d come on, but then I don’t have to watch him playing for Bolton every week.

I hope he manages to turn things round at Bolton and win their fans over, but judging by the attitude of some of them that isn’t going to happen any time soon.

Photo: Action Images

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