Chris Sutton raises Daniel Farke question mark after what he’s seen at Leeds United
Daniel Farke has choreographed a strong start to Leeds United’s return to the Premier League.
Leeds have won two and drawn two of their opening six games in the league, which has them in good standing as Leeds look to avoid relegation come May.
Last weekend, Leeds conceded a late equaliser in their 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at Elland Road, as the two teams played out a thrilling clash for the neutral.
Whites supporters will be hopeful they can shake off that late setback as Leeds welcome Tottenham to Elland Road for Saturday’s 12:30 kick-off.
Chris Sutton admits he was wrong about Daniel Farke
The Whites occupy 12th spot in the Premier League table, level on points with Chelsea and one point ahead of Manchester United.
The manager couldn’t have asked for much more from his side, as Farke still aims to silence his Leeds critics despite the overall positive start.
Chris Sutton raised one key issue surrounding the Leeds boss in his Premier League predictions article for BBC Sport.
Sutton said: “I think there were question marks over whether he could manage at this level because of his Premier League record with Norwich, but, as I’ve said before, he never really had the squad there to be able to compete.”
Spurs are the next challenge for the German manager in LS11, but Farke has an impressive record against Thomas Frank that can give the Elland Road faithful a boost in confidence.
The last time Leeds faced North London opponents, Arsenal thrashed them 5-0 at the Emirates on 28 August.
Since that drubbing, Farke and his side have taken positive strides forward, which has seen them climb up the table, and they could have been even higher if it wasn’t for late goals conceded against Fulham on September 13 and, most recently, Bournemouth.
Daniel Farke’s struggles at Norwich do not apply now
Farke struggled at Carrow Road, with the gap from the Championship to the Premier League proving too far for him to bridge.
In his solitary full season as a Premier League manager, Farke’s Norwich finished 20th at the foot of the table in the 2019-20 campaign.
| Stats | Daniel Farke’s Norwich 2019-20 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 5 |
| Losses | 27 |
| Goals scored | 26 |
| Goals conceded | 75 |
| Points | 21 |
Farke could only manage 11 games in his next stint in the top flight before the Canaries’ board sacked him partway through the 2021-22 season.
However, the side that included Emiliano Buendia, Todd Cantwell, and Teemu Pukki is a long way from the physically imposing squad Farke has assembled for this year.
It’s clear Farke is approaching his third attempt to crack the Premier League in a much more pragmatic and sensible way, so painting him with the same brush as four years ago is unfair.
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