Gary Neville pinpoints moment Leeds United boss Daniel Farke returned from 'dead man walking' fate
The Leeds United boss oversaw a major turnaround in fortunes when the pressure was on.
Gary Neville believes Daniel Farke oversaw the biggest turnaround across the Premier League this season having guided Leeds United to safety.
Farke has received huge praise in recent weeks with Leeds all but safe following Friday’s 3-1 win against Burnley, their sixth league game without defeat. Looking further back, the Whites have lost just four of their last 22 top-flight matches, a quite incredible run for a newly-promoted side to sew together.
It hasn’t been plain sailing, however, with Farke having to battle through a spell of serious pressure in the autumn. Leeds lost six from seven through October and November and it felt like only a matter of time before owners 49ers Enterprises made a change in the dugout ahead of a difficult run of fixtures.
But at half-time in the final defeat of that run at Manchester City, Farke switched to a back three and Leeds have been a completely different team ever since. Back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Liverpool brought four huge points and for Neville, provided the platform for a change in fortunes.
“This one sticks in my mind because I was there,” Neville told The Overlap, reflecting on the season’s biggest turnaround. “I was going to Elland Road around October/November and there was massive noise. It was almost like the writing was on the wall Farke, he was getting sacked that week.
“They played City on the Saturday, Chelsea on the Wednesday night and then Liverpool the following Saturday. I was going to the Chelsea and Liverpool games thinking if he loses them, he’s gone. But they beat Chelsea, and they came back against Liverpool to draw.
“I think that, for me... you know when a manager is like a dead man walking? He’s already in trouble. The turnaround from that for Leeds.”
Roy Keane highlights Daniel Farke career turning point
49ers’ decision to stick with Farke has proven correct with Leeds climbing up to 14th while all of the bottom five have made managerial changes during the season. The Whites boss has continually improved his tactical flexibility after that initial formation change, too, switching between 3-5-2 and 3-4-2-1 while also reverting to a back four at times.
Farke can now call himself a successful Premier League manager having just about overseen survival for the first time in his career, with hope he can keep Leeds on this upward trajectory following another strong summer. And Neville’s former teammate Roy Keane highlighted how the ability to cope in moments of pressure can be a tipping point.
“That’s the challenge for any manager,” he added. “You go through a difficult stage, it’s about surviving, just getting through those couple of weeks and managers have done it. They get through periods where they grind a result out, and their career goes up from there.”
Leeds and Farke remain keen to build on their current 43-point tally, starting at relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. The Whites can still remarkably finish as high as sixth, with mid-table in the Premier League very congested.