Daniel Farke is always going to face question marks about his job at Leeds United until he achieves the goal of returning the club to the Premier League.
Farke could not have come any closer last season after Leeds‘ third-place finish with 90 points and play-off final defeat, but ultimately it can only be considered as a failure.
Leeds sit on the exact same number of points after 18 matches as this time 12 months ago and again, they look as though they will be in an automatic promotion fight until the very end.
However, considering the turbulent start to last season, many believe Leeds should have been able to accumulate more points this term, pointing to a lack of progression in Farke’s management.
Derby County boss Paul Warne cannot believe Farke would be under any pressure with the position Leeds are sat in, and while there isn’t any immediate danger of losing his job, he simply has to get it right this season.
Sam Parkin says Leeds fans ‘continually let down’ by Farke
Farke will be glad to be returning home to face Derby this weekend after defeat on the road away at Blackburn Rovers last time out.
Leeds have picked up nine more points at Elland Road than on the road this season despite playing the same number of matches.
Ewood Park was a manner of defeat that Leeds fans have seen many times before on their travels under Farke, including not so long ago at Millwall.
Speaking on the latest episode of the ‘What The EFL Podcast‘, pundit Sam Parkin has noticed this ‘recurring theme’ under Farke and feels Leeds’ travelling support is ‘continually let down’.
Like many Leeds fans, Parkin believes Farke simply doesn’t change things quick enough with his substitutions when Leeds are behind, and so understands the frustration.
He said: “Leeds fans are continually let down away from home with a similar type of performance. It is absolute broken record time here but Adrian [Clarke] and I have been saying for so long, he doesn’t change things quick enough.
“He is not flexible enough with his tactical set-up and his substitutions away from home. This is innkeeping with last season, the worst away record in the top four last season, and the second worst in the top seven now.
“The statistics don’t read terribly, but you have got to remember this is Leeds with their power, support and squad at this level. 10 defeats in his 32 away games since he’s been at Leeds, six of those 1-0. It’s a recurring theme, and there’s clearly an issue when they don’t score first.
“There’s no issue when they score first, but when they concede first it’s a big issue to win games, it’s only happened once in six this season. I think the supporters are growing a little frustrated at the lack of changes, in terms of the shape of the team, to ask more questions of an opposition sitting deep.”
Farke Championship record at Leeds home vs away
| Home | Away | |
| Matches | 32 | 32 |
| Wins | 23 | 14 |
| Draws | 6 | 8 |
| Losses | 3 | 10 |
| Goals | 65 | 47 |
| Goals conceded | 21 | 35 |
As shown by the table above, it is clear Leeds have struggled considerably more away from home than at Elland Road under Farke.
Leeds have just a 43 per cent win in Championship away matches since the former Norwich City boss has been in charge, which isn’t enough for a promotion winning team.
It puts an awful lot of pressure on Leeds to ensure they pick up maximum points every week at home, and when that faltered towards the end of last season, their promotion hopes were ended.
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