Promotion back to the Premier League will taste even sweeter for Daniel Farke if one of the toughest decisions he has had to make during his Leeds United tenure ends up being justified.
It was, of course, a decision the vast majority of Elland Road matchgoers agreed with.
The palpable fear whenever a ball was chucked into the proverbial mixer – Illan Meslier seemingly targeted by opposition teams with those same old mistakes occurring again and again – made the Frenchman’s eventual demotion at Leeds United feel somewhat overdue.
Daniel Farke dropped Meslier after the Swansea City debacle at the end of March.
If the former FC Lorient glovesman was perhaps unfortunate to see Zan Vipotnik’s 96th minute equaliser flash through him from a tight angle, there was certainly nowhere to hide following the clanger which gifted Harry Darling a goal earlier in a blunder-strewn second-half.
Karl Darlow took Meslier’s place between the sticks from Luton Town onwards.
And, while the experienced 34-year-old has had relatively little to do in his three appearances so far, Darlow certainly brings the sort of commanding confidence previously lacking in the Leeds net.
Daniel Farke delighted with Karl Darlow’s Leeds United impact
A penny for Illan Meslier’s thoughts. Leeds faithful cheered Darlow’s corner-kick catches like a goal during Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Preston North End.
Stuart Dallas lauded an ‘outstanding’ Darlow display following a win which put the Yorkshire giants five points clear of third-place Sheffield United with only four Championship matches remaining.
And one suspects, if Farke found himself thrown back in time, this is a decision he would make again with barely a second thought.
“First of all, pretty pretty happy and especially delighted for Karl because he deserves it,” Farke said during his Wednesday press conference, speaking ahead of the Easter weekend double-header against Oxford United and Stoke City.
“He has been such a loyal servant for his club since he walked in, and I have to say also the longer he is with us, the more impressive he has been in training.
“But it’s never easy. Karl is a very experienced, a very cool and calm goalkeeper. Very reliable. But still, for a goalkeeper, is is not easy if you are not in your rhythm. In the league, he has not played many games before.”
Farke says Darlow has ‘all the ingredients’ Leeds need in Championship run-in
In fact, before the former Nottingham Forest, Hull City and Newcastle United man was parachuted in at Kenilworth Road a fortnight ago, he had made only two league appearances in a Leeds shirt.
Farke, however, had no concerns about whether Darlow could handle the pressure.
“I wasn’t nervous. I was 100 pr cent convinced he could deliver,” the German adds. “Bt also you are hoping for a bit of luck in a few situations, also in the first few games.
“I am pretty happy and delighted. Its not that he had too much to do in the last games but there were always situations where we needed him and he was always there, focused and concentrated, sometimes to catch or a cross or with the saves.
“He has performed pretty reliably and solid. Exactly what we needed. When we have these performances, when we win games, it helps with the confidence for all my players and also for him, for the whole stadium.
“I was convinced he has all the ingredients to show this solidity, especially at such a nervy period.”
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