How will Daniel Farke fare at Leeds United?

• Former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke has been named as the new first team manager at Leeds United and has signed a four-year deal with the club
• The German boss was sacked by Norwich in November 2021 and has had roles with Krasnodar and Borussia Mönchengladbach since 
• A number of players could be on their way out of Elland Road and Robin Koch and Brenden Aaronson have already departed on loan

Following their relegation from the top flight last season, Leeds United were in search of a new first team manager. Last week, the West Yorkshire club found their guy. That man is former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke. 

It is perhaps a somewhat controversial appointment due to the German’s history at Championship rivals Norwich but the 46-year-old certainly knows how to succeed in the English second tier. Farke was able to win the Championship in both the 2018/19 and 2020/21 campaigns with the Canaries and was named as EFL Championship Manager of the Season for the latter.  

Names such as Scott Parker, Carlos Corberan and Patrick Vieira were all considered for the role but the Whites have gone with Farke to try and lead them back to the Premier League. He has signed a four-year deal with the club and will be joined by Eddie Riemer, Christopher John and Chris Domogalla as assistants. All four have previous experience working together at Norwich. 

Farke’s Time Outside of the UK 

Life has been somewhat difficult for Farke ever since he won the Championship title with Norwich in 2021. A return to the Premier League saw results take a big hit once more, beginning the season with six consecutive defeats. Farke did manage to record a victory that season but would be sacked after the 2-1 win away to Brentford as the Canaries sat bottom of the table, picking up just five points in 11 games. 

After a short break, Farke would head to Russia to take charge of Krasnodar. Nevertheless, he would fail to manage a single game due to the invasion of Ukraine. 

The German manager would find his next role in the Bundesliga with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He would last just a single season in charge of Die Fohlen in what was an underwhelming campaign. Gladbach finished in tenth and Farke would finish the season with a win percentage of just 33.3%, failing to qualify for Europe. 

Farkes’ time in North Rhine-Westphalia was met with inconsistency. However, it must be noted that Farke didn’t make things worse for Gladbach. He just failed to improve the situation. Recently appointed Monaco coach Adi Hütter had only managed a tenth-place finish himself in the season prior. 

However, Gladbach are aiming for loftier goals now, having regularly qualified for Europe in the last ten years, including multiple appearances in the Champions League. 

Why have Leeds appointed Farke?  

It seems pretty simple the reason why Leeds have gone for Farke. His results in the Championship have been impeccable.  

Admittedly, it did take some time for Farke to get going with Norwich. He finished in 14th in his maiden season with the Canaries. However, winning the Championship in two out of your three seasons in the league is enough for any club in the division to be convinced. Across those two campaigns, Norwich suffered just 13 defeats across 92 games.  

Results aside, Farke’s style of play is also an attractive one. Norwich were known for their possession-based football when the German was in charge, as well as their high fitness levels due to their high press. There are certainly similarities with Marcelo Bielsa who managed to guide Leeds back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years.  

Out of anyone, Farke’s CV would indicate that he could help Leeds to an immediate return to the top flight and you wouldn’t blame the new owners for dreaming of a Bielsa-esque tenure. However, even Bielsa wasn’t able to achieve promotion in his first season in charge. 

Let’s not forget that the club has seen a change in ownership over the summer too since Andrea Radrizzani has sold his majority share to 49ers Enterprises. Things will be different at Leeds to what they have been over the past five years and it was crucial for Farke when he took the job that the club and himself were able to align themselves with a clear project and vision. 

Can Farke guide Leeds straight back to the Premier League? 

It may take time for Farke to smoothly bed in at Leeds. Of course, there are always going to be delays in decisions at the club as the takeover is yet to be completed. That may initially hinder transfers and the club are yet to bring in any new recruitments thus far. Farke himself has said that he expects it to take a few weeks before they can get going properly. 

His time at Norwich proved that he needed a season to truly implement his style of play and philosophy as well. However, he is expected to have a far superior backing in the transfer market and will have a better quality of players to choose from than compared to when he was in Norfolk. 

Leeds will be without a number of big names for this season compared to in the Premier League, with the likes of Aaronson and Koch already sent out on loan to the Bundesliga. There are still plenty of decisions to be made about the squad as well and the new season is fast approaching, with less than a month to go before the first league game. 

There are likely to be many more departures and arrivals and once the squad has settled, we will have a clearer idea about how Leeds can perform this term. However, there will be expectations. 

Of course, it should be expected to take some time for Farke to hit the ground running. There are so many question marks surrounding the squad and any coach needs time to implement their style and create chemistry with his players.

But this is Leeds United. Fans will want to return to the Premier League and fast. On paper, Farke looks like the perfect man to do it but there are plenty of other factors involved. 

Click here for our Discounted Account Offer. Access updated previews and analysis on up to 5 tournaments for 30 days.