Marcelo Bielsa dragged in at Leeds as ‘phenomenal’ Daniel Farke detail emerges
Daniel Farke faces an anxious wait over his future despite leading Leeds United to promotion.
The German tactician has once again lived up to his reputation as a promotion specialist, having taken Leeds back to the Premier League in his second season in charge of them.
However, there are concerns about Farke’s credibility as a Premier League manager, with pundits and fans mooting him to be sacked ahead of next season.
It emerged on Wednesday (23 April) that the 48-year-old’s future at Elland Road is in serious danger, as the Whites hierarchy assesses him before returning to the top flight.
Marcelo Bielsa claim emerges at Leeds amid Farke uncertainty
Amid doubts about Farke’s ability to lead Leeds in the Premier League, Jermaine Beckford has come to the manager’s defence.
The former Elland Road star pointed out how the German instilled confidence into his squad despite losing Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville last summer.
He also alluded to the fact that the West Yorkshire outfit have won 27 Championship games this term, which is only one fewer than what they recorded under Marcelo Bielsa when they earned promotion in 2020.
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses | GD | PTS | |
| Bielsa (2019-20) | 46 | 28 | 9 | 9 | 42 | 93 |
| Farke (2024-25) | 44 | 27 | 13 | 4 | 60 | 94 |
Beckford described Leeds’ numbers this season as ‘phenomenal’ and insisted that the only reason why Farke still does not receive the credit he deserves is that he is not Bielsa.
“When you’ve got players such as Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville – three key players leaving in the summer, after missing out in the play-offs – who would have foreseen the overturn in fortunes?”, Beckford said on BBC Radio 5 Live, as relayed on the BBC website (22 April, 10:53 am)
“The players that came in – man for man – may not have been good individually as the players that left. But what they did bring was unity and team spirit.
“Leeds have got 27 wins this season, they got 28 under Biesla – the last time we went up. But we’ve scored more goals, conceded less goals, we’ve got more points.
“It’s phenomenal, but those stats do get overlooked because Daniel Farke is not Marcelo Bielsa.”
Farke deserves Premier League chance
While Farke’s record in the Premier League during his time as the Norwich boss is not promising, it would be extremely harsh to sack him at this point.
It has been four years since he was in charge of the Canaries. It is worth noting that the tactician has since gone on to manage two other teams, including Borussia Monchengladbach.
There is no doubt that Farke will be determined to prove his doubters wrong by leading Leeds to a decent finish next season.