Fans headaches weighs on Leeds United’s decision on Daniel Farke’s future as he decide his fate
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is not expected to be dismissed from the job if the club don’t secure promotion in the playoffs this month.
Sunday sees Leeds’ playoff campaign get underway with a trip to Daniel Farke’s former employers Norwich City, a side whom he secured promotion with twice in his previous tenure.
Form goes against Leeds in their hopes of winning at Wembley, though, currently rock bottom of the form table in the Championship over the last six games.
Daniel Farke under pressure to secure promotion
When looking at how Farke inherited a Leeds squad in complete disarray, you would have forgiven him for not clinching automatic promotion.
However, the way that the season has shaped up with Leeds boasting one of the best three squads in the Championship, and being in top spot during the March international break, it will be seen as something of a failure if Leeds remain in the EFL for next season.
In terms of pressure on the manager’s job, The Athletic’s Phil Hay shares that the 49ers aren’t at all looking to dismiss the German if he drops out of the playoffs this month:
“As for manager Daniel Farke, the most likely approach to his future if Leeds do not go up can probably be gauged from the track record of those running the 49ers’ NFL franchise: they are not prone to snap judgements or ever in a hurry to tear up models they have invested in. They don’t tend to flip-flop or veer off in new directions suddenly.”
The lingering headache of PSR guidelines for Leeds and the rest of the Championship means that clubs have to be cautious when not only committing to a manager – Farke signed a four-year deal – but also when considering cutting ties.
When looking at potentially sacking Farke, Leeds won’t be weighing it up, and PSR comes into the equation a lot too, as Hay continues:
“The German signed a four-year contract when he came to Leeds last summer. The PSR picture at Elland Road would not be helped by having to pay him off, and it remains the case that he was not set promotion as a fixed target for his first year as the club’s manager.
“He merely set his stall out at his interview by saying that his two previous Championship titles with Norwich City were proof he could achieve the same again — and at the end of the last international break in March, he looked like he might.”
Farke won’t be leaving, but he needs promotion next season
Staying in the Championship wouldn’t be the end of the world for us, but it does put a bit more pressure on Farke and his side.
Failing to go back up in the second season would be horrific for us and should see him sacked if it came to that.
