Credit: Imago and talkSPORT

Richie Mills

Tue 14 April 2026 16:10, UK

Simon Jordan believes that Daniel Farke is finally showing that he is a multi-faceted manager after Leeds United‘s 2-1 win over Manchester United.

The former Crystal Palace chairman has often been critical of managers who are so wedded to their style of play that they are not prepared to adapt if results take a turn for the worse.

Former Southampton boss Russell Martin and ex-Burnley manager Vincent Kompany were such examples, and while the latter is shining at Bayern Munich, he oversaw the Clarets’ relegation to the Championship in 2024.

Farke, however, has been commended for adapting to the situation in front of him, with him initially starting the season with a 4-2-3-1, before switching to 3-5-1-1 from late November onwards.

And the German saved his and Leeds’ best for their victory at United on Monday, as they claimed their first win at Old Trafford in the league since 1981.

Daniel Farke proving his worth in the Premier League

As Jamie Carragher highlighted after the game, which saw Lisandro Martinez sent off before the hour mark for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin‘s ponytail, Leeds had a 3-5-2 formation, but when they were pressing high up the pitch, that switched to an audacious front four.

Noah Okafor later revealed that Farke wanted Leeds to press high right from the off and catch United unawares, something that worked thanks to a first-half brace from the Swiss.

In Farke’s first season at Leeds, he relied too much on the quality of Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto to get them out of trouble as they lost in the Championship Play-Off Final.

The German adapted in their Championship title-winning campaign, but he has had to roll with the punches again this term, due to them not having as much quality as their opponents.

Leeds were considering sacking Farke last summer as doubts remained about his capability of keeping them up.

But Jordan pointed out that former club Norwich City didn’t give him the financial tools to do such a task, and at the third time of asking with Leeds, he is proving his worth.

He said on talkSPORT: “He’s showing the ability to understand what it takes to stay in the Premier League without having inordinate amounts of money to spend. In both instances at Norwich, he wasn’t given inordinate amounts of money.

“So it was unfair when he was being judged by a set of standards at the beginning of the season, saying, ‘This is a guy that gets you up and might not be able to keep you up’.

“What he’s shown of the third time of asking is that he knows how to navigate.  He wasn’t aligned with an ideology of a way to play. Leeds changed about five, six, seven, eight games into the season.

“They changed the way they started to play. And that’s produced outcomes. So he’s adapted. He’s shown he’s multifaceted.”

Leeds must keep the pedal to the metal

Heading into the Man United game, many Leeds fans felt that their remaining victories were most likely to come against basement side Wolves and 19th-placed Burnley.

Now that Leeds have beaten the Red Devils on their own patch, Whites supporters are beginning to believe they will beat the drop and potentially with points to spare.

Next up, Farke’s side entertain lowly Wolves at Elland Road on Saturday, with a win set to take them to 39 points if successful.

Subsequent matches against 18th-placed Tottenham, lowly West Ham, Europe-chasing Brighton and Bournemouth also lie ahead, as Leeds try to finish the season on a high.

Farke would have been judged as a failure if Leeds went down. And so far, he is on track to achieve his brief.