The Second Tier podcaster calls for ‘Braver’ Daniel Farke amid drop in form
The Second Tier podcast host Ryan Dilks has called for Daniel Farke to be “braver” when making changes to his Leeds United starting XI.
Farke has made just one change during Leeds’ previous five fixtures, with Sam Byram’s injury forcing the manager to start Djed Spence instead of the free transfer.
Although the Whites are still in third place, poor performances against Sunderland and Coventry City have seen Southampton start to snap at their heels, with some blaming Farke’s recent lack of team changes for a slump in form.
“Tiredness is playing a part,” Dilks said on The Second Tier podcast on Tuesday (19 December).
“Daniel Farke has got a settled XI, which has started just about every game for a good few months now. And that doesn’t really need to be the case.
“He doesn’t need to keep playing the same players over and over again. You’ve got the likes of Willy Gnonto, Jaidon Anthony, Patrick Bamford, Joe Gelhardt, Charlie Cresswell and Liam Cooper, who have all played fewer than 600 minutes this season.
“I think Daniel Farke needs to be braver with resting players, particularly over this Christmas period.”
Tiredness can kill
Substitutions and changes to the starting XI are more important during the winter period than at any other time in the season.
Leeds have been extremely lucky with injuries so far, with Stuart Dallas the only absentee in the squad coming into December, which Phil Hay described as “unusual” for a club like Leeds. [The Square Ball podcast]
However, there is only so much luck that can be ridden before Farke is hit with a massive injury crisis if he continues to start the same players week-in week-out.
In addition to this, the rest of the players in Farke’s squad will undoubtedly be becoming more and more frustrated with a lack of game time, especially the younger set of Cresswell, Gelhardt and Gnonto.
There is no doubt in Farke’s capability in the Championship, earning promotion with Norwich City twice. But he may suffer from a few key injuries if he continues this way.
In other Leeds United news, Daniel Farke has slammed a number of his attacking players.