Leeds United boardroom view of Daniel Farke job performance amid 49ers Enterprises reports
Leeds United had the best possible manager in place this season as they clinched promotion according to CEO Angus Kinnear.
Daniel Farke has masterminded a second 90-point season in succession at Elland Road, leading the Whites to 94 points and a guaranteed automatic promotion spot ahead of the final two games of the season. Owners 49ers Enterprises kept Farke in place after last season's play-off final heartbreak at Wembley and the reward has been the Championship's best attacking side and the return of the club to the Premier League.
Daniel Farke job speculation
But with the champagne still flowing last week, less than 48 hours after promotion was secured, Farke's position was called into question by a pair of national newspaper reports claiming that 49ers Enterprises are considering replacing the manager. A follow-up piece in the Guardian has added to the noise, suggesting a trio of names being analysed as potential successors to the German. Speaking in his pre-game press conference for Monday night's final home game of the season against Bristol City Farke insisted he was not surprised by the reports and put on record his appreciation for a 'trustful' relationship with chairman Paraag Marathe, with whom he has already had a number of conversations about plans for life in the Premier League.
Farke's approach to management has won praise from the club's outgoing chief executive Kinnear, who is set for a move to Everton this summer. Writing in his programme notes for the Bristol City game, Kinnear said Farke's character was tailor-made for the job this season.
"I want to congratulate Daniel Farke on an almost immaculate seasom" said Kinnear. "Recent history has shown that this club needs a leader with broad shoulders, strong principles and unshakeable belief if it is to be successful. This season Daniel has personified Kipling's mantra: "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you." I don't believe we could have had a better leader."
Leeds transfer window difficulty
Kinnear also highlighted the difficulty Farke faced in putting together a second crack at promotion after the loss of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter to Premier League clubs last summer. Farke admitted when the transfer window closed that it had been a far more difficult and complicated summer than the club had anticipated and since promotion has been won he has gone on record with the 'jealousy' he felt when others at the top end of the table strengthened in January.
"A chance of 100 points, a goal difference of +60 and a final run of four straight wins to get over the line when the pressure was mounting should put this season firmly in the history books as one of Leeds United's best," said the CEO. "The achievement is even more commendable when put in the context of the challenging summer which saw three of our brightest talents depart."