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Patrick Bamford reveals Chelsea's 34 loaned players have a WhatsApp group, and it's draining his phone battery

Bamford is on loan at Crystal Palace for the rest of the season

Sunday 08 November 2015 15:11 GMT

Patrick Bamford in action for Crystal Palace (Getty Images)

One of Chelsea's 34 players out on loan, Patrick Bamford, has revealed that he and his many fellow Blues loanees have their own WhatsApp group.

The huge list of players spending a temporary spell away from Stamford Bridge is more than double that at any other Premier League club. Bamford says the WhatsApp group is so popular it drains his phone battery.

"We've actually got a Chelsea loan WhatsApp group," Bamford, who is currently at Crystal Palace, said.

"The loan department set it up. Sometimes it drains your battery when everyone is messaging each other.

"If someone does something special at the weekend, one of the computer technology guys from the loan department will send it all out after the weekend."

Bamford was crowned last season's Championship Player of the Year as he helped lead Middlesbrough to the brink of the Premier League, losing to Norwich in May's play-off final, but he has yet to start a league game under Alan Pardew. Bamford has revealed that he is still receiving support from Chelsea.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

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1/11Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Asmir Begovic - 6 out of 10

Made a superb save to deny Johnson early on, but will feel he could have done more to keep Arnautovic’s superb volley out after getting a hand to the shot.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Cesar Azpilicueta - 4 out of 10

After a relatively comfortable first half, the defender – playing once again at right-back – failed to mark Arnautovic closely enough before he scored.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Kurt Zouma - 5 out of 10

Had the perfect chance to open the scoring for the visitors but went too early and was flagged as offside. However, after having a near-perfect first half in terms of his defensive work, he panicked while trying to clear Johnson’s cross out of Walters’ way, and it eventually fell to goalscorer Arnautovic.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

John Terry - 4 out of 10

Should have communicated better with Baba Rahman in the build-up to the opener after running out of position to try and track the run of Johnson – but ultimately failed to do so after he allowed the Stoke defender to get his cross in.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Baba Rahman - 4 out of 10

Lost the battle on the left flank with Shaqiri several times – getting a yellow card for a foul on the Stoke winger in the process – before failing to do enough to stop Johnson from getting his cross into the box in the build-up to the opener.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Nemanja Matic - 5 out of 10

Kept Bojan quiet in the first half, winning tackles and distributing the ball well although he did deliver one disappointing pass to no one as Chelsea looked to attack one final time in the first half. However, he struggled to keep a hold of Stoke’s attacking players in the second period.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Ramires - 5 out of 10

Had two great chances to hand Chelsea the opener in the first half but poked his first wide before being denied by Butland with his second.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Eden Hazard - 6 out of 10

His pace caused Johnson several problems and the Belgian was important in driving Chelsea’s attacking plays forwards as well as setting up his teammates for chances although they couldn’t convert them.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Pedro - 6 out of 10

Linked up well with Willian and Hazard and ran riot across the width of pitch in the first half before being unlucky to hit the post as Chelsea trailed 1-0. Came off with 20 minutes to go but enjoyed a positive match on his return from injury.

2015 Getty Images

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Willian - 6 out of 10

Was one of Chelsea’s better players at the Britannia Stadium – as he has been for the Blues all season – but saw his creative powers restricted when compared to against Dynamo Kiev after being played in the middle instead of the flank.

Chelsea player ratings vs Stoke City

Diego Costa - 5 out of 10

Should have scored when he failed to stretch out in time to meet Hazard’s cross, while looking slightly unsure in front of goal during some of his other chances.

2015 Getty Images

“We have a psychologist at Chelsea who goes around seeing the loan players,” Bamford added.

“And he said every top, top player has a dark side to them. So, someone like Diego Costa, sometimes he oversteps the mark. You can see he plays on the edge.

"He said I had to develop that. It’s not natural for me to be like that – some players might lash out but for me it’s probably more talking to opponents. There are different ways [to do it]. You can get angry but it’s about controlling that aggression."

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