Daniel Farke unhappy with major Leeds United disruption ahead of Sheffield Wednesday showdown – Phil Hay
Phil Hay believes that Daniel Farke is unhappy with the disruption to the flow of matches for Leeds United, with dates of fixtures being changed for the broadcasting schedule.
With 46 matches needed to be played per team in a Championship season, even before any playoff deciders, clubs can be involved in some very busy schedules.
The Whites are currently experiencing one of those periods, playing Huddersfield Town, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday in the space of six days, much to Farke’s frustration.
Speaking via The Square Ball podcast on Friday (8 March), Hay said: “Farke complained about this when he had a pop at the broadcast schedule. This period is the one he is most annoyed about, the bounce from Stoke on Tuesday to Sheffield Wednesday on a Friday night.
“I think Farke’s view would be that the disruption for Leeds from TV games is absolutely vast at the moment. It’s every week, getting shuffled around all over the place. So he wasn’t chuffed about this.”
Daniel Farke’s Leeds United squad in desperate need of rest
Having reached the FA Cup fifth round, Leeds’ schedule has been absolutely manic in the past couple of weeks, preparing to play their fourth match in the last 10 days.
With so many games being played, the risk of players facing injury is even higher, which was showcased against Chelsea as Georginio Rutter was left out of the squad and there were some very last-minute decisions made on Patrick Bamford and Crysencio Summerville.
Pascal Struijk could have been a major miss in the run-in to the end of the season, if not for Ethan Ampadu’s ability to fill in at centre-back and create a new partnership with Joe Rodon, one that thrives at international level.
The upcoming international break will present as a much-needed pause so that Farke can breathe more energy into his players, with Premier League promotion on the line. But a revitalised Wednesday squad stand in the way of another league victory on Friday 8 March.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town show no signs of slowing down, although their players will also be knackered. But Farke’s previous experiences in the division with Norwich City should give Leeds an advantage over the other two clubs.
In other Leeds United news, one pundit believes promotion could force the Whites to make a transfer decision over one forward.
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