Daniel Farke’s job is always going to come under scrutiny every time Leeds United lose a match in the Championship.
The Whites were beaten for just the second time this season at Millwall on Wednesday night, though it is the manner of the defeat which is more concerning.
Leeds fans are worried Farke is not learning from his previous mistakes, with this type of midweek loss on the road something that was also seen on several occasions last season.
Despite dominating 75 per cent of the ball, Leeds created barely a handful of chances at the Den, with the lack of creativity in the second half real cause for concern.
Even as Leeds struggled to create, Farke‘s changes did not come until the 70th and 78th minute respectively, when he just decided to throw on all of Leeds’ strikers. Needless to say, it didn’t work.
Jon Newsome on Leeds fans saying Farke should be sacked
Leeds are still in a better position than this time 12 months ago, with defeat leaving them just two points adrift of Sheffield United in second, and four off first place Sunderland.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town had opened up a significant gap on Leeds by this point, but it doesn’t appear as though anyone is going to be capable of stringing a run together like that this season.
However, with the options Farke has at his disposal all across the pitch, some supporters believe Leeds should be this year’s Leicester, thus making the start to the campaign a disappointment.
Speaking post-match on BBC Radio Leeds, pundit Jon Newsome can understand why fans are feeling frustrated, but doesn’t yet believe it is time to be calling for Farke’s head.
He said: “I don’t know if it is fair or not but I can understand why supporters feel that way, most definitely. I think I read a message earlier, saying we should be the Leicester of this league. Look at the squad we have, the players we have.
“I think Angus Kinnear has gone on record to say this is the highest wage bill in Championship history, so baring all that mind, I think there is an expectation by supporters that we should do a Leicester, run the league. Whether you are going to do that or not is very difficult.
“But yeah I can understand the sentiment and I understand some of the points raised in that message. Is it time to start calling for Daniel Farke? I don’t think I agree with that, but there were some points in there that were really, really valid.”
Where Farke needs to improve at Leeds
Leeds are currently in a position where it is difficult to be making any rash calls on Farke’s position, but there are some worrying mistakes he doesn’t seem to be learning from.
Farke’s substitutions when Leeds are trailing are always incredibly puzzling, often leaving it far too late to give anyone a chance to get into the game and make an impact.
It is also incredibly rare for Farke to make changes between matches after Leeds have won, which is also not good enough.
A clear example of that is Joel Piroe’s goal against Plymouth immediately being enough to get him into the starting line-up.
However, that shouldn’t be the case, as Piroe has proven so many times tough, physical away matches just don’t suit him. Mateo Joseph is far more suited to that role, yet got barely more than 10 minutes off the bench.
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