Leeds United: Phil Hay reacts to Daniel Farke sack calls from fans after defeat to West Brom
It was “over the top” for some Leeds United fans to be calling for manager Daniel Farke to go following defeat to West Brom, according to Phil Hay.
Speaking on the Square Ball on 2 January the Athletic journalist said that the discontent with the manager that emerged following the 1-0 loss at The Hawthorns on 29 December “undervalued” some of the results that had come before it this term.
Hay agrees that as similar failings have been in evidence when the Whites have lost games this term then questions need to be asked, but with the club fourth in the table behind the two other relegated Premier League sides and an Ipswich team surprising everyone the outlook isn’t so bad.
Hay said (14m 40s): “You have to be fair and reasonable about it and say that there are points, and I think Farke reached one on Friday night at West Brom, where as a coach you have to show that you can deal with problems that arise, that you have the wit and the nouse.
“And if six away defeats becomes 10 then that’s certainly far too much to get into the top two, and that’s what you’re going to look back on at the end of the season and say that really compromised us and you weren’t able to fix it, although you do have the play-offs…
“So ‘Farke Out’, it’s not to say that everything he’s done has been perfect and that tactically everything he’s done is working, but it does seem to undervalue some of the form this season…
“It’s not as if Leeds are down in ninth and trailing behind sides where there’s simply no excuse for being behind them… so it’s not that Farke gets a free pass when it goes like it went at West Brom.
“When you’ve seen things that have not worked before not work again then you do ask the question that presumably that has to be fixed, but it seemed a bit over the top to me on Friday night.”
Work to be done
It may be that Farke managing to steady the ship so quickly after the upheaval that ran throughout the summer, and all the way up to the close of the transfer window, has worked against him.
Leeds United settled into strong form soon after the business in the market was concluded and helped make the uncertainty that had characterised the previous months fade into the background.
Similarly, in a long Championship campaign it is almost inevitable that there will be off days, and the high points of three wins from three against Leicester and Ipswich, who are currently in the automatic promotion spots, can’t be ignored.
And yet Farke’s refusal to rotate the squad at the busiest part of the season coincided with a dip in form that arrived just as the team had seemed to be surging towards the top two.
There is plenty of time still to turn that around, and perhaps the stunning form of the top two will be too much for anyone to overcome anyway.
But while the German has done a lot right since he came in as the first manager of the new 49ers reign he does seem to have got some calls wrong recently, and tactically there sometimes feels like a lack of a Plan B.
It is hard to doubt him too heavily when compared to what the club had in charge last season, but he can’t be immune from criticism when things don’t work out.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are planning “tastier” terms for a new contract at the earliest opportunity according to Hay.