Sam Allardyce overlooks Daniel Farke after all his hard work at Leeds United

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Following promotion, Leeds United fans would be forgiven for thinking that Daniel Farke was not the right man to spearhead the fight against relegation from the Premier League.

Farke’s record of six wins in 49 Premier League matches while Norwich manager was dreadful. But the German did not have any kind of funding to give The Canaries a chance. He knew he would be relegated.

At Leeds, he has just spent more than £100m on 10 new players, eight of whom have caps for their country. The 49ers and Paraag Marathe have given Farke the tools to do his job to the best of his ability.

Leeds are benefiting. Currently in 15th, Leeds are competitive and have eight points secured from seven games, despite facing Newcastle, Arsenal, Tottenham, and Bournemouth in those seven games so far.

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Sam Allardyce overlooks Leeds United boss Daniel Farke

Farke replaced Allardyce as Leeds manager in the summer of 2023, after Allardyce’s four-game stint ended in relegation. Unavoidable for Big Sam, who has not re-entered the world of management since.

Speaking on his No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, Allardyce picked his top 10 Premier League managers at the moment. Farke didn’t get a mention, yet Allardyce picked Sunderland’s Regis Le Bris as third.

Pep Guardiola was voted sixth, while there will be no surprises for guessing who finished in first as Oliver Glasner continues to take Crystal Palace to new heights, only just losing an unbeaten run of 18 games.

Sam Allardyce’s top 10 PL managers so far:

Harsh on Daniel Farke, but injury-time goals have hampered him

If games finished at 90 minutes exactly, Leeds would have three more points and be sitting in tenth place above Manchester United. If Leeds had had more luck against Spurs, it would have been even higher.

Leeds have made a brilliant start, as good as any Leeds fan could have expected. But there is a difference between starting well and playing well, and actually getting the job done, and that’s what Leeds lack.

Perhaps it will come with time. Maybe Leeds just need Dominic Calvert-Lewin to start taking chances. Leeds have been largely unlucky, even if the reality is that they are in a comfortable position, right now.