Daniel Farke in ‘harsh’ sack verdict at Leeds as Bournemouth ‘format’ cited
Leeds United may decide to move on from Daniel Farke even if he leads them to Premier League promotion this season.
Farke is on the verge of securing promotion at Elland Road, as the Whites sit atop the Championship table with three games left to play.
Leeds could seal promotion as early as Easter Monday (21 April) if they win their home game against Stoke City and Sheffield United drop points against Burnley at Turf Moor.
An abysmal run of one win in six games between March and April raised concerns about the Peacocks’ promotion credentials, but it is safe to say that Farke and Co. have put those to bed.
Leeds may still sack Farke
This would be the third time Farke has taken a team from the Championship to the Premier League, having done so twice with Norwich.
However, things did not go well on both previous occasions, as the Canaries dropped straight back down in 2020, while the German was sacked just less than four months into the second top-flight season.
Therefore, there are concerns about Farke’s ability to lead Leeds in the Premier League in some quarters, with Carlton Cole among those unsure about him.
The former West Ham star admitted that it would be very ‘harsh’ to sack Farke if he earns promotion, but pointed out how ‘bad’ it went for Norwich under him when they went to the first division.
“It depends on what he has learned whilst being in the Premier League”, Cole said on talkSPORT (18 April).
“There’s a period where you see what’s happened before, and do you make the same mistake just for loyalty, or do you crack on with something else?
“It’ll be very harsh if they were to get someone else in after all his hard work.
“Because of what we’ve seen in the past, it was bad… was it with Norwich he came up with? Is he equipped for Premier League status?”
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals | Points | Points Per Match |
| 49 | 6 | 8 | 35 | 31:101 | 26 | 0.53 |
Cole also pointed out how much Bournemouth have progressed since showing the ‘audacity’ to sack Gary O’Neil after he saved them from relegation in 2023.
“Look at Bournemouth’s format, what they have done”, he added.
“Everyone, at the time, thought Bournemouth had the audacity to sack Gary O’Neil.
“It didn’t go well for them for quite a bit, but look at them now, they’re flying.
“They brought the right players in, that’s the thing. The players, the recruitment has been top.
“Sometimes there’s a way to do it and there’s sometimes a bad example of a way to do it, but I think Bournemouth have been bang on.”
Farke will be wary of sack at Elland Road
Farke would argue that he was not given enough resources to strengthen his squad enough, both times he earned promotion with Norwich.
Therefore, Leeds’ success in the Premier League next season could depend on how much they back the German tactician in the transfer market.
While it is unlikely that Paraag Marathe pulls the plug on the former Borussia Monchengladbach boss, he will be aware that the margin for error is slim.