Daniel Farke has not been shy in expressing his discontent towards some of Leeds United’s fixture scheduling this season.
A 46 game campaign is always gruelling in the Championship, but it certainly is not made any easier by some of the selections made by TV companies.
Towards the back end of February and beginning of March, Leeds were tasked with a period busier than the one they experienced over Christmas, playing an incredible four times in nine days.
It is fair to say Farke was less than impressed with this and it ultimately forced him to rotate his side heavily for the FA Cup tie at Chelsea, though they certainly did give a good account of themselves.
However, that Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge was then followed by a lunchtime away match at Huddersfield Town, in which they dropped points for the first time in 2024.
Leeds were able to recover with two hard-fought wins over Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday, but it would not be a surprise if Farke was once again left fuming by Sky Sports’ latest selection today.
Sky TV’s latest decision looks like bad news for Leeds United
For the 32nd time this season, Leeds have been chosen for television coverage. This time it is for the penultimate game of the season at QPR, which will now have supporters travelling over to London for yet another Friday night match.
Given the implications this game could have at both ends of the table, it is no surprise it has been picked, but it once again leaves Leeds at a disadvantage.
Leeds are only in action away from home on the Monday night at Middlesbrough that week, meaning they will have significantly less time to prepare than they did originally.
In fact, to be precise, Leeds’ window of recovery has been cut in half from six days to three, as both had previously been pencilled in for Saturday afternoon kick-offs.
Perhaps the only advantage for Leeds is that they do get to play first in such a pivotal weekend, but after a long, hard season, that sort of time between matches is going to do little to help the players’ legs.
What Farke has previously said about Leeds’ TV selections
As mentioned, Farke has previously alluded to Leeds being much harder done by than other teams in the league in terms of TV selections. Clearly they have not listened to what he had to say.
Here is what he said back in February: “It’s a difficult topic. We get the benefit, they put much money on the table. But sometimes, there is a topic where enough is enough. It is this case, with the Chelsea game. I don’t blame anyone. It’s the 18th time we’re picked for a TV game.
“It’s good, it means this club is attractive. That’s great. But in the sense of fair play. Back here the early hours of Thursday, the next game is Saturday – 12.30, an away game.
“Next game is a Tuesday. Then at least, the next game move it to Sunday – but no Friday. Four games in 10 games. This is the crunch time of the season. I would never complain it if is the same for all teams.
“But it feels just for us, the whole season, it’s not in the sense of fairplay. I don’t blame the broadcasters. There must be an instance where someone judges load. It’s ridiculous no-one sees the bigger picture.”
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