Gordon Strachan calls for Leeds United to make Daniel Farke decision | OneFootball

Gordon Strachan believes Leeds United should stick with Daniel Farke next season, despite the German missing out on a hat-trick of promotions in as many seasons in the Championship.

Leeds were unable to gain promotion at the first time of asking and face a tough summer period of rebuilding, with multiple players set to leave the club. They will need to replace key personnel who depart, especially those that were a major part of the reason they finished the season in third.

For Leeds, the battle for promotion from the Championship was a difficult one to navigate for Farke, having fallen off somewhat during the business end of the campaign after a blistering spell from January until March. However, recent results at the back end of the season saw Farke come under some scrutiny from certain sections of the fanbase, having failed to gain automatic promotion from a strong position.

They won just once in the last six games of the regular season prior to facing Norwich City in the play-offs, including losing four of those. It allowed Southampton to catch up during the final games, who they had been above for much of the season in pursuit of the automatic promotion places.

Farke has also had plenty to deal with, having had to cope during the summer transfer period, which was a frenetic time, with many of their signings left until late in the window due to a slow start to the summer after an uncertain period of ownership prior to 49ers Enterprises buying the club. They failed to win any of their opening three league games, in part due to the nature of the window.

Gordon Strachan's Daniel Farke verdict

In spite of that, Farke has impressed former Whites midfielder, Gordon Strachan. The former Scotland manager and Leeds captain is certain that the German is the right man for another year of Championship football.

Strachan is no stranger to success at Elland Road, having cemented himself as one of Leeds’ greatest ever players. He played 234 times for the club, scoring 45 goals in the process. He also remains the last captain to win the top-flight for Leeds in 1992, and achieved legendary status in West Yorkshire.

The second tier can be unforgiving at times, which Leeds fans must remember, and the 67-year-old believes sticking with the German is vital for 2024/25. Asked whether Farke was the right coach to take the Whites forward into next year, he told Prime Casino: "Leeds got off to a poor start, and then they flew.

"It got to the stage, a little bit like last season, when it was crunch time, they failed. Leeds United failed at the crunch period. In between it was fine.

"As for the manager, Daniel Farke, I think he's a top manager. "Leeds should keep him and go again next season because his record is phenomenal. Some managers are getting pigeonholed now in terms of where they should be.

"Farke is like playing your joker card if you want to get out of the Championship. He'll do it next year."

Daniel Farke and Leeds United

The Whites are still in a strong position after they missed out on promotion, and although there are challenges Farke needs to find better answers for, Strachan is right to point out that he is the right man for the role in many ways.

Leeds have started to struggle when teams compact the middle of the pitch or sit deep in a low block, and solutions can be found both tactically and in the transfer market. However, Farke has won the league twice at this level, and finished in third during his other full season last term.

Leeds will lose some of their best players this summer, but continuity with a manager and strong squad with a two-time winner of the Championship at the helm could be of huge benefit to the Whites outfit in the long run, especially when factoring in some of the difficulties they have faced this year, which should be lessened by more stability this summer.