Leeds United exit for Daniel Farke mooted - It could rest on a play-off condition | OneFootball

Questions are being asked of Daniel Farke's future in charge of Leeds United

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Daniel Farke's long-term future at Leeds United is likely to be dictated by the club's ongoing promotion bid from the Championship, which has been dealt a number of potentially seismic blows in recent weeks.

The Whites had appeared poised to return to the top-flight at the second time of asking, following last season's catastrophic late demise to slip into the play-offs before losing out to freshly-relegated Southampton in the final at Wembley.

A run of five straight league victories throughout February, including successive wins over two direct promotion rivals in Sunderland and Sheffield United, put Leeds firmly on course to lift the Championship title, but the wheels are now falling off once again.

Following the dramatic 3-1 win at Bramall Lane on February 24, Leeds have won just one of their last six matches, playing out three successive draws with QPR, Swansea City and most recently Luton Town on the weekend. It now means the Whites have moved out of the top-two and into third, and any finish outside of the automatic promotion berths would likely represent some form of failure for the club, who have the division's most outstanding, well-stocked and expensive squad backed by a significant budget.

Patience is now wearing thin among the Elland Road faithful, who are fearful of yet another bottled promotion attempt and have asked serious questions of Farke in recent times.

The German boss has lost the confidence of many supporters and has been tipped to lose his job this summer if he falls short of taking Leeds up as champions or runners-up, even if they were to gain promotion via the play-offs.

Claim made on Daniel Farke's Leeds United future on promotion condition

FLW asked our Whites fan pundit, Ger Lynch, if he believes Farke will be sacked if Leeds fail to gain promotion this season.

Indeed, Ger has argued that Farke could well be relieved of his duties if Leeds fail to gain promotion through the top-two, with excuses running out following last season's near-miss.

"I think it depends on how Leeds get promoted or don't get promoted, that's the context that's needed to answer that question properly," Ger told FLW.

"I don't think it's straightforward or black and white.

"You've seen two seasons now. Last season was excused, the beginning of the season because of everything that went on during the summer.

"This season, he had a full year under his belt and a calm summer where he could do things at his pace, and we still saw Leeds have a slow start to the season. The back-end of last season we saw Leeds fall off a cliff, and we're seeing something similar right now so there is repetition two years in a row.

"Also, if you look at his time with Borussia Monchengladbach, there was a slight drop-off in the second half of their season before he came to Leeds.

"I think if Leeds go up in one of the two automatic spots, Farke will be given the opportunity but will be on a very short leash. I do think a strong start to the season will be expected, relative to the level we would be at at that stage.

"If we go up in third, managing to do what Leeds don't do and go up through the play-offs, I think there would be a question mark around whether Farke is the man to be in charge next season.

"My personal take would be if get a top-two finish, he deserves a crack at the Premier League but on a shorter leash, if he goes up through the play-offs I think we would look for a change and it would probably be justified at that point."

Leeds United could have Daniel Farke fear in the Premier League

Although he's not exactly talk of the town right now, Farke is one of the most successful Championship managers in recent history. The 48-year-old led Norwich to the Championship title twice within three seasons, but his Premier League record is not quite as impressive and should invite natural concern if that's where he manages to guide Leeds.

The Canaries were relegated without so much as a whimper under his watch in the 2019/20 campaign, finishing the season a whopping 16 points shy of safety. After taking Norwich straight back up as champions the following year, the East Anglian outfit parted ways with Farke in November 2021, with the German doing precious little to give them a fighting chance of staying up.

Leeds will have a stronger squad and, indeed, financial muscle than Norwich did if they get to the Premier League this season, but Farke's lack of tactical flexibility and questionable selection decisions have already been notable drawbacks in the Championship - those flaws could be painfully, and further exposed, in the top-flight.

Even if Farke takes Leeds up via the top-two, it would be amiss to resist concern over how he has previously fared in the Premier League and that must be on the minds of the club's key decision-makers.