"Weaker" - Leeds United concerns raised amid suggested Daniel Farke shortcoming | OneFootball

Daniel Farke has previously earned Premier League promotion twice in his managerial career

Adrian Clarke has raised concerns over Daniel Farke’s tactical ability amid Leeds United’s promotion push.

The Whites find themselves in the mix for an automatic promotion place once again this year after narrowly missing out on a Premier League return in the previous campaign.

Farke has previously earned promotion to the top flight twice, winning the Championship title on both occasions when he was Norwich City manager.

But the German was unsuccessful in earning a third promotion last year, with Leeds losing the play-off final to Southampton after coming third in the table with over 90 points.

Leeds face stiff competition for a top two spot this season, with the likes of Sunderland, Burnley, West Brom and Sheffield United stepping up as rivals in the opening 12 games.

Daniel Farke tactical nous questioned

Clarke has shown scepticism over how well Leeds are really doing so far this season, highlighting a lack of convincing victories as a potential issue.

He believes the Yorkshire outfit have a very obvious weakness in breaking down low blocks, claiming that Farke’s side rely too heavily on individual moments of magic to win games.

“They have only lost once so far this season, so they’re not doing too bad,” said Clarke, via the What The EFL?! Podcast.

“They just haven’t blown us away yet have they? They haven’t blown anyone away yet really, Coventry aside.

“I think in all the other games they’ve not scored more than two goals [in a winning performance], so they’re involved in a lot of tight matches.

“They don’t look at fluid as they did last year, they’re finishing is a bit off as well.

“I still think they’re weaker than they were, and I still think that Daniel Farke is tactically not the best, and that he relies on magic, he relies on individuals like (Willy) Gnonto.

“I still think against lower blocks, or mid-to-low blocks where there’s not a lot of space to run into, they run out of ideas at times.

“When there’s space to run into, Leeds are breathtakingly good.

“No one’s had more shots from fast breaks, no one has more goals from fast breaks than Leeds.

“Most teams know that about Leeds, so they try to deny them those opportunities and that, for me, is the key part of their development as a team. They have to be better at facing opponents who know what their strengths are.

“How they adapt to that will determine where they finish this season.”

Leeds United league position

Leeds are currently third in the Championship table, level on points with second place Burnley.

The team have won six of their 12 games so far this season, drawing five and losing just once.

The gap to leaders Sunderland is now five points going into this weekend’s latest round of action.

Next up for Farke’s side is a home game against Plymouth Argyle on Saturday in a 3pm kick-off.

Farke will be under pressure if results aren’t consistent

Leeds have made a solid start to the season, but the pressure on Farke will mount if they don’t keep pace with the likes of Sunderland.

They have been unlucky to draw so many games to some extent, especially as injuries have really hurt the team.

But expectations in pre-season were sky-high after they earned 90 points last year, and that should be the target again this campaign.