Speculation surrounding Daniel Farke’s future as manager of Leeds United has been rife over the last month, but a run of five points in three games has strengthened the German’s job security.
Following defeats to Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa saw Farke’s position come under the microscope. After losing to Man City, Farke was tasked with getting a result against Chelsea or Liverpool.
Daniel Farke hits back after outside noise at Leeds United
“I’m not focused on myself. I mentioned outside noise. I quite like that, then the outside noise is a bit more on the manager and not on the players.
“So for me, I’m just fully focused on my team, how to help my team, how to back my team, how to lead my team.
“They need a leader who will stay calm and is not thinking about himself or what it means for his own career.”
Daniel Farke – speaking prior to Man City v Leeds
He beat Chelsea and drew with Liverpool, following it up with a tidy draw against Brentford. Farke has his job for now, and will need to keep the momentum going against Palace and then Sunderland this month.
Gary Neville says the 49ers will have ripped up plans to sack Farke, while Dominic Matteo thinks rumours surrounding Farke’s future at Leeds were “rubbish”. It’s not the first time Leeds have considered his exit.
Leeds approached manager, now sacked after just five months
In the summer, immediately after promotion, Leeds considered sacking Farke. Richard Keys claims Leeds only kept Farke in place because Jose Mourinho opted to stay at Fenerbahce, but he wasn’t the only one.
Indeed, Leeds approached three managers to replace Farke and sounded them out. One was Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has since been working on Liverpool’s coaching staff under manager Arne Slot.
Then, Roger Schmidt was approached. A former PSV and Benfica manager, now working as an advisor to the Japanese top tier, the J-League. The other of the three managers was Carlo’s son, Davide Ancelotti.
But after Leeds’ approach, Ancelotti took over at Brazilian side Botafogo in July – following his father to Brazil, who became National Team boss. After just five months and 33 games, Ancelotti has been axed.
How long does Daniel Farke now have at Leeds? 🔮
Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher and others on Farke's position…
Leeds United dodged a bullet as Davide Ancelotti sacked
Not many could have seen Farke now in a better position than Ancelotti might have been, when he opted to ignore any advances made by Leeds and move to one of the best and well-backed sides in Brazil.
His record was not even particularly bad, winning 15 of 33 games. But on Thursday, Botafogo confirmed the sacking of Ancelotti and Leeds will feel grateful they decided to stick with Farke, instead of Ancelotti.
Ancelotti, interestingly, has also been linked with Rangers over the last few months, which gives weight to the 49ers possibly speaking to Carlo’s son. For now, he is expected to help his Father at the World Cup.
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