Leeds United: Daniel Farke right to make ‘unhappy’ admission, EFL has questions to answer
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has admitted he is “unhappy” with the quick turnaround ahead of his side’s next fixture at Rotherham United next week.
The Whites’ trip to the New York Stadium was brought forward to 24 November due to Sky Sports wanting to televise the Yorkshire derby in its Friday evening slot.
That means the numerous Leeds players returning from international duty will have very little time to prepare for the match, much to the chagrin of Farke.
“I’m unhappy with playing next Friday evening,” Farke is quoted as saying by the Yorkshire Evening Post [14 November]. “It’s the biggest concern for me.
“With respect to Rotherham United, they don’t have as many lads away. In the sense of fair play it would have been much better if a different game was played on Friday evening.
“I think it’s not in the sense of the game, in terms of fair play. It’s not Rotherham’s fault, we can’t change it, we have to adapt. This game is picked for the Friday evening game.”
While Sky Sports were behind the decision to move this fixture, as confirmed on Leeds’ official website last month, the EFL also has questions to answer.
Surely the governing body of the league must put rules in place to block sides from playing in the Friday evening slot if a certain number of players are away representing their country?
Seven of Leeds’ starters from the 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday (11 November) have been called up by their national sides, while three of the substitutes from that game are also away.
In comparison, only three Rotherham players are not taking part in training over the next week-and-a-half. That is quite clearly an advantage – and not in the spirit of fair play, as Farke says.
It may well mean that the German coach has to make a number of enforced changes against Rotherham, which is far from ideal in a game Leeds need to win to keep pace with the top two.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town, incidentally, are playing the following day, meaning their international players should be available for selection.
As Farke says, it is just a case of getting on with it and overcoming any hurdles – this being one such example – standing between Leeds United and a Premier League return.
In other Leeds United news, Sky Sports presenter David Prutton says a Whites player will be “gutted” by a recent development.