Journalist outlines what may cost Leeds United promotion to Premier League
Leeds United may end up paying the price for their slow start to the season when it comes to their promotion prospects, according to journalist Justin Allen.
The Whites have recovered from an inconsistent start to the campaign by winning five of their past six matches, most recently overcoming leaders Leicester City 1-0 on Friday (3 November).
Daniel Farke’s men are still seven points adrift of second-placed Ipswich Town, who also have a game in hand, but Allen believes the German manager deserves huge praise for steadying the ship.
“Farke had to deal with so much chaos when walking into Elland Road,” he wrote in his column for The Sun [6 November]. “The club had been relegated, the transfer window was open and players were queueing up to jump ship.
“And he was only able to field a rump of the squad he had available because some of the precious little lambs, responsible for the team’s demise, didn’t want to slum it in the Championship.
“It wasn’t until the end of the transfer window that Leeds started to recruit properly and once it closed they have a squad that is definitely a promotion-winning one in quality.
“That first month of the season may end up biting the club come May – but if it does that cannot be attributed to the German.”
Autos the target
Farke does indeed deserve huge credit on the back of a summer of disruption in which a number of players jumped ship, right up until the hours before the transfer window shut.
Add the takeover situation into the mix, plus the fact Farke was not officially appointed until a month before the season started, and it is little surprise United made a slow start.
The former Norwich City boss knows what it takes to get out of this division, though, and he is showing exactly why he is such a highly regarded manager with his work at Elland Road.
Leeds now have a squad of players happy to wear the shirt – on the face of it, at least – and performances on the field are now equating to points.
The gap on Ipswich could potentially grow to 10 points, but there is plenty of football to be played this season and Leeds are the division’s form team right now.
With Farke’s feet now firmly under the table, automatic promotion has to remain the target this season.
In other Leeds United news, Richard Keys was not happy with something he saw from a Leeds loanee at the weekend.