It came as a shock to Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur fans when the two clubs confirmed Djed Spence’s loan was cancelled – and he may now be wishing The 49ers didn’t hire Daniel Farke in July.
Leeds picked Farke after interviewing a number of candidates in the summer. The German was chosen largely due to his previous form in the Championship, winning England’s second tier twice with Norwich.
One of the other managers The 49ers did consider was Steve Cooper. But at that time, Cooper was in a job at Nottingham Forest. He has since been sacked after guiding Forest back into the Premier League.
Some on the Leeds board felt like he was worth approaching but a move for Cooper never materialised, and instead, Farke was hired. Spence then arrived as one of our nine additions in the summer window.
After making his debut, Spence then picked up an injury that saw him sidelined for three months. He did return, but leaves Leeds after just seven outings. Phil Hay reports that it was Leeds’ decision to cancel.
Djed Spence may be wishing Leeds hired Steve Cooper instead
But had Leeds had Cooper in charge instead of Farke, you might imagine that things would have been a lot better for Spence. That is because Spence’s best career form came with Cooper, at the City Ground.
On loan from Middlesbrough at Forest, Spence starred on the right under Cooper, having a hand in eight goals from the right of defence in 46 Forest games. Widely considered the best right-back that season.
It is purely hypothetical, and the injury obviously hampered his time at Leeds. But if Cooper was hired, you would imagine that Spence would have stayed and Cooper might have got the best out of him.
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