Daniel Farke already under pressure at Leeds United as Championship season approaches
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United…
Paul Robinson has claimed that new Leeds United manager Daniel Farke could soon be under pressure at Elland Road as a strong start to the season will be a minimal expectation.
Leeds’s short-term objective of immediate promotion back to the Premier League will require Farke to “hit the ground running”, but this may spell reduced minutes for young talent including Joe Gelhardt and Darko Gyabi.
Farke’s tenure as Leeds manager didn’t start off well with a 2-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Manchester United in Oslo on Wednesday.
Farke has a good record of developing young talent, but Robinson claims this is not in the club’s remit this season as they prepare for a tough campaign and will likely need more experienced and Championship-ready players.
Robinson claims that with the increasingly dwindling lifespans of football managers, the German may have to put any youth development ideas on the back burner for the immediate future or risk his job.
Speaking exclusively to MOT Leeds News, Robinson said: “I think there could be some youth development. In the short term, Farke’s got a remit for this season, to get to the Premier League. No one wants another sixteen years in the wilderness.
“Managers’ lifespans are getting less and less, whether it’s 12 months, 18 months, six months. He knows that if he doesn’t hit the ground running and win games, he won’t be in the job for very long.
“Hopefully, the new owners are going to come in and want promotion pretty quickly. Yes, the manager has got a very good track record of developing players and increasing their value, but at Leeds United, I think he’s got a different remit. He’s not going to have the time to do that.
“Long term, if he gets the club back into the Premier League and is also developing and improving these players along the way, absolutely he’ll have time to do it. He’ll be a good fit for the club doing that. But short term he’s got to fix the here and now.
“Further down the line, that’s when he’s looking to the younger players, the developing players. Managers do that when they come into a club unless you’re Mauricio Pochettino who has just gone into Chelsea. He’s got a free hit this year, and he’s got time to develop the players and the squad because they’re not going to be as bad as they were last year.
“Leeds are not going to be as bad as last year, but they’re in a different league. They have to hit the ground running and get out of this league. Farke’s not going to have time to develop players and make them better this season.“
In other Leeds United news, one of Elland Road’s star forwards has confirmed he is switching Yorkshire for the Middle East.