Five things Daniel Farke must do to save his Leeds job: Away form, open play creativity… — Planet Football 10/11/25
Nestor Watach
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is now the firm favourite to
become the next Premier League manager to lose his job after a dismal run of
four defeats in their last five games.
A particularly poor performance in Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at
Nottingham Forest leaves Leeds just one point above the relegation zone.
There’s an ominous feeling that the club are only going one way after a
promising start to life back in the top flight.
We’ll be amazed if Farke’s still at Leeds come 2026. Here
are five things the German must do if he’s to save his skin at Elland Road.
Take some scalps
Jesse Marsch famously bought himself a few more months in
the Leeds job with a dizzying 2-1 victory away at Liverpool. The ultimate smash
and grab.
Senior figures at Leeds have since admitted that was a
mistake, and they’d have given themselves a better chance of survival had they
made a change before that season’s World Cup break.
There might be a lesson in there for this Leeds board, with
this international break the final breather before the relentless grind of
festive fixtures.
With the writing on the wall, Farke might well require a
similarly spectacular Christmas miracle if he’s to celebrate the new year in
Yorkshire.
The good news (gulp) is that he’ll have the opportunity to
prove his mettle with a brutal schedule that includes Manchester City, Chelsea,
Liverpool (twice) and Manchester United before the FA Cup third round in
January.
Three of those games are on home soil, at least, and Leeds
have only lost once on their own patch in over a year. Elland Road remains a
tough place to go. It’ll have to stay that way.
Find a way to set the team up away
Leeds took just five points on the road the last time they
were relegated, their only away win coming at Molineux.
History looks like grimly repeating itself this time around.
Farke’s men have won at Wolves again but lost their other
five games on the road – including six-pointers against teams around them;
Fulham, Burnley and Nottingham Forest.
This is a concerning wider trend in Farke’s career. He won
just two of 25 Premier League away games during his time at Norwich and one of
17 in the Bundesliga during his season in charge of Borussia Monchengladbach.
That’s a shocking 8% win rate away from home in Europe’s
major leagues. That suggests he’s incapable of setting up a team to grind out
points on the road.
Leeds’ meek displays at the Emirates, Turf Moor, The Amex
and City Ground are certainly evidence of that. Something dramatically
different is needed.
Get the team working without Brenden Aaronson
It seems like no fans are ever happy to see him start games,
asking what he actually does, but managers tend to love him.
Leeds have their very own Temu version of Mount in Aaronson.
The American’s name on a teamsheet elicits groans every time, but Farke
persists in calling upon him.
You can understand why Farke likes him. He’s incredibly
industrious, constantly contesting duels, and produced a rare all-round
composed performance in Leeds’ recent victory over West Ham.
Ultimately, though, quality is severely lacking. Two goals
and four assists in 47 top-flight appearances for a nominally attacking
midfielder is a testament to that. Leeds cannot afford to rely on a player so
obviously limited.
The last time Leeds persevered with the USA international in
the Premier League, they ended up relegated. If Aaronson is the answer, you’re
asking the wrong questions.
Build some creative patterns in open play
Much has been made of Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces this
season. The fact that they’re clear at the top of the table demonstrates their
value.
To be fair to Farke, that area – often lacking in the
Championship – has been addressed. Sean Longstaff can actually deliver a dead
ball, while Joe Rodon has improved immeasurably at getting his headers on
target.
But Longstaff is no Declan Rice, and Rodon is no Gabriel.
Leeds can’t gamble on set pieces making the difference.
Only cut-adrift Wolves have scored fewer goals from open
play than Leeds, who looked absolutely clueless in building attacks or any
sustained pressure against Brighton and Forest.
They must start demonstrating some kind of plan on how to
get the ball into the box and create openings for their (already erratic)
forwards.
The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin can’t be depended on to
be clinical and take the only half-chances that come their way.
Refind defensive stability
Leeds haven’t kept a clean sheet since August.
Of course, that’s an alarming stat. Farke addressed that by
changing up his backline, bringing in man-mountain summer signing Jaka Bijol in
for the long-serving Pascal Struijk.
But on the evidence of deservedly shipping six to Brighton
and Forest, Farke overreacted and overcorrected.
While Leeds weren’t keeping clean sheets, finding themselves
punished for relatively rare defensive lapses, the underlying statistics were
pretty positive.
They only conceded more than 1.0 expected goals against in
two of their opening nine matches, notching as low as 0.5xGA against Newcastle,
0.7xGA against Bournemouth, 0.6xGA against Tottenham and 0.5xGA against
Burnley.
That’s shot up dramatically since Bijol’s introduction,
shipping 3.0xGA against Brighton and 2.5xGA against Nottingham Forest.
Farke changed one area of the team that was broadly working
– the defensive structure. Reverting will give Leeds a fighting chance with
choppy waters ahead.
