Leeds United can compound Paul Heckingbottom frustration after what he said
Daniel Farke can pile on the misery for Paul Heckingbottom after he complained ahead of Leeds United facing Preston North End on Saturday.
Ex-Leeds boss Heckingbottom lashed out at the Championship schedule after Preston’s 2-0 win at Cardiff, which came a full 24 hours after Farke’s side defeated Middlesbrough 3-1 at Elland Road.
With the Deepdale clash taking place at the earlier time of 12:30 pm due to Sky Sports on 14 December, United have the perfect chance to compound his frustrations.
In quotes reported by the Lancashire Post (12 December), Heckingbottom said: “That is the one thing I don’t like about these split fixtures.
“It’s just foolish, really, how much of an advantage it gives another team – we’ve sort of been at the wrong end of that.
‘We are going to have to cope and manage that 24 hours fewer, which I disagree with. I have said that many times – I disagree with it – but we are certainly going to have to look at that.”
Leeds United and Preston in the exact same boat at Deepdale
Heckingbottom knows full well – both from his playing and managerial career – that the Championship is a long-haul 46-game season, making his complaints regarding scheduling bizarre to say the least.
Furthermore, it’s not as if the Whites haven’t had their fair share of moved kick-off times so far this term, with Saturday’s match set to be their 10th weekend game from 15 to not begin at 3:00 pm.
As a result, Farke – and most other managers in the second tier – have just as much grounds to complain about fixture pile-up as Heckingbottom, and come kick-off, those words will all fade into the ether.
Farke does have the luxury of rotating several stand-out players in his team, but Wilfried Gnonto, Daniel James and Brenden Aaronson will all be hoping to keep their places after scoring in midweek.
Short turnarounds – as was the case for Leeds by facing Middlesbrough just three days after beating Derby – are par for the course in the Championship, and the travelling United fans would be delighted to see Heckingbottom suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of Farke’s frontline.
In other Leeds news, Ally McCoist has suggested the singular reason why Daniel Farke isn’t universally loved at Elland Road.
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