Neil Warnock's honest verdict on Leeds United and Daniel Farke with 'horrible' Elland Road point
Daniel Farke will hope Premier League attempt number three goes better, this time as Leeds United manager.
Daniel Farke has ‘half a chance’ of avoiding a third straight Premier League relegation or sacking after being properly backed by Leeds United this summer, according to Neil Warnock.
Farke’s one full campaign in the English top-flight ended miserably back in 2019/20, with the German in charge as Norwich City finished rock-bottom on just 21 points. Carrow Road chiefs kept him in charge for an instant return but sacked him after 11 games of the 2021/22 campaign, another in which the Canaries held up the rest of the table.
Questions will always be asked of Farke’s Premier League suitability until a point at which he answers them, but on both occasions with Norwich the odds were stacked against him, with little money to spend and top Championship performers like Emi Buendia sold. But things are different this time.
Of last season’s title-winning core, only Junior Firpo has left and any further exits will likely be squad players, while Leeds have already splashed around £75million on seven signings. With marquee arrivals at left-wing and No.9 expected, that outlay is expected to rise above £100m and Warnock believes Farke now has a fighting chance.
“I think Daniel Farke has always had a rough deal,” Warnock told talkSPORT. “When he came up with Norwich, they gave him nothing, hardly anything, like £3-4million. He never complained, he just got on with it, and he got relegated.
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“Now they are supporting him, I think he has got half a chance, you know. Leeds, especially with the backing, the fans, it is a horrible place to go [Elland Road] when they are in full flow. I think he is a good manager and he has got half a chance.”
Leeds United transfer latest after Neil Warnock backing
Leeds have enjoyed a strong transfer window so far with a willingness to spend money and clear strategy of how to spend it. First-team additions through defence and midfield are just about ticked off with experience and physicality the obvious desire, given Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Anton Stach are all above 6ft while Sean Longstaff and Gabriel Gudmundsson aren’t far off.
The challenge for Elland Road chiefs is now to supplement that core strength with star quality up top, having welcomed only free agent striker Lukas Nmecha through the door - who has admittedly looked sharp in pre-season. Farke needs difference-makers in those attacking areas but, as was evidenced by Leeds’ failed pursuit of Igor Paixão, they are also the hardest to land.
Leeds pushed themselves close to £30m for the Brazilian and were quietly hopeful of landing their marquee winger, but for Marseille to match their terms after seeing lower offers rejected. Paixão’s camp told the YEP this week the offer of Champions League football in France swayed what was a ‘very difficult’ decision.
Recruitment chiefs are believed to have alternative targets at the same or similar level to Paixão, although since missing out on the 25-year-old no credible links have emerged. Leeds are also in for a top-class No.9 but they will also not come cheap, with a £32m bid already rejected for Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz.