Daniel Farke shares his plan to stop Leeds United ‘crumbling’ like Southampton in Premier League

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Ahead of Leeds United’s return to the Premier League, Elland Road Daniel Farke feels he has spotted a trend.

A trend which may explain why each of the last six promoted teams made an immediate and pretty deflating return to the Championship at the first time of asking. A trend Leeds United are obviously desperate to break.

And also why others, such as Brighton, Brentford and Wolves to name but three, made a far better fist of things amongst English football’s elite.

With five games still to play – and two relegations already confirmed – Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton have all conceded in excess of 70 goals. The year before, Burnley went down with 78 goals conceded. Luton Town were breached 85 times.

Rock-bottom Sheffield United, meanwhile, broke Swindon Town’s long-standing record as their concessions entered triple figures.

In contrast, Brentford comfortably staved off relegation while establishing themselves in the top flight by letting in just 56 during the 2021/22 campaign. Going back to the 2017/18 season, a fairly solid defensive record also provided the bedrock for the survivals of Brighton and Huddersfield Town.

Wolves, meanwhile, qualified for Europe with a positive goal difference in 2017/18 under Nuno Espirito Santo. The same coach who now has Nottingham Forest on the verge of Champions League qualification just three years after they beat Huddersfield in the play-off final.

Daniel Farke explains how Leeds United can ‘adapt’ to the Premier League

So while Leeds have scored a club-record 89 goals en route to what could a second Championship title-winning campaign in half a decade, Daniel Farke cannot help but feel that those operating at the other end of the pitch could yet be the difference between successive top-flight returns and a revolving-door style entrance-and-exit.

“You have to adapt because, if you play Liverpool, Man City or Arsenal, you can’t expect that you dominate 90 per cent of the possession and make them just defend,” Farke begins.

“Once you analyse which teams were successful in terms of surviving – especially after being promoted, not many in the last years, to be honest! – sides were promoted because of attacking football, they were quite often struggling at Premier League-level.

“Obviously, you can’t be that dominant anymore.”

Farke’s comments bring to mind the likes of Russell Martin’s Southampton and Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. Two managers who refused to change a front-foot, possession-first formula which worked wonders in the division below. And, thus, gifted points to the opposition on a regular basis.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	33	24	7	2	75	31	44	79
2	ArsenalArsenal	34	18	13	3	63	29	34	67
3	Man CityManchester City	34	18	7	9	66	43	23	61
4	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	33	18	6	9	53	39	14	60
5	NewcastleNewcastle	33	18	5	10	62	44	18	59
6	ChelseaChelsea	33	16	9	8	58	40	18	57
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	34	16	9	9	54	49	5	57
8	B’mouthBournemouth	33	13	10	10	52	40	12	49
9	FulhamFulham	33	13	9	11	48	45	3	48
10	BrightonBrighton	33	12	12	9	53	53	0	48
11	BrentfordBrentford	33	13	7	13	56	50	6	46
12	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	34	11	12	11	43	47	-4	45
13	EvertonEverton	33	8	14	11	34	40	-6	38
14	Man UtdManchester United	33	10	8	15	38	46	-8	38
15	WolvesWolves	33	11	5	17	48	61	-13	38
16	TottenhamTottenham	33	11	4	18	61	51	10	37
17	West HamWest Ham	33	9	9	15	37	55	-18	36
18	IpswichIpswich	33	4	9	20	33	71	-38	21
19	LeicesterLeicester	33	4	6	23	27	73	-46	18
20	SouthamptonSouthampton	33	2	5	26	24	78	-54	11

“The teams who were promoted because of defending, they need this skill and they obviously used it in the Premier League,” Farke adds. “They have been more likely to stay there, that is for sure.

“I am fully aware of this. This is one of the cornerstones that we need to have in our head when we plan for the Premier League. You need physicality, to defend proper, you need strength at set-pieces. But, on the other hand, you have to play good football and you still have to be yourselves.

“Physicality, defending, counter-attacks, set-pieces are very, very important for surviving in this league but I think all the teams who were relegated were also pretty aware of this.”

Farke says Leeds must strike a ‘balance’ if they are to avoid emulating Southampton

In a sense, Marcelo Bielsa’s enthralling Leeds side from 2020/21 was a bit of an outlier. Brilliant going forward but also frequently slack defensively. Those defensive deficiencies would quickly catch up with them in that catastrophic second season, however.

The good news is that Farke is long enough in the tooth and respectful enough of the challenge to know how Leeds can adapt while also sticking to the core principles which laid the foundations for promotion.

And though much has rightfully been made of Burnley’s staggering defensive record, Leeds have only conceded 29 goals in 44 Championship matches across 2024/25. If it wasn’t for Scott Parker’s rock-solid Clarets, successive clean sheets in their final two games would see Leeds break the record for the least goals conceded in a single second-tier campaign.

Joe Rodon has arguably been Leeds’ ‘standout’ performer. The Welsh centre-back will be even more important going forward. It remains to be seen how high-flying full-backs Jayden Bogle and Junior Firpo adapt, while a solid, reliable goalkeeper feels like a must at Elland Road.

Reportedly, Leeds are keen on Aaron Ramsdale despite his struggles in between the sticks at Southampton.

“It is still important that you have a clear idea with the ball, and that you are good in possession to keep the opponent away as much as possible. But always with a good balance,” concludes Farke, the German ready to show that he has learned vital lessons from his two previous Premier League campaigns with Norwich City.

“I am pretty, pretty pleased that we have shown this balance this season. We are promoted by an unbelievable attacking style. More goals than we have ever scored as Leeds United. But also with many clean sheets.

“It could have been better without a few individual errors but based on really, really good defending. This is something we have to use next season. I don’t expect us to dominate games with 80, 90 per cent possession. Perhaps a few would be nice!

“If you allow Liverpool, Man City or Arsenal 95 per cent possession, you will crumble. That is definitely for sure.

“But to focus and adapt your approach, be flexible and perhaps take less risks with your positioning and structure, I think this is definitely good advice and a good key.”