One of the candidates interviewed by Leeds United for the manager’s job at Elland Road did what coaches often do by hitting them with an exhaustive presentation, page after page and slide after slide of tactical musings and self-promotion. It was as expected and, these days, very much on trend.
When Daniel Farke’s turn to sell himself came, he surprised the interview panel by taking a different approach. He was not going to wow them with a detailed explanation of who he was or his managerial traits. Some of that would come up in discussion but Farke was frank in saying that if Leeds wanted to learn about the cut of his jib, they should go back and watch the teams he had coached. The footage would tell them all they needed to know.
In effect, Farke went to the meeting with the mindset he was interviewing the Leeds’ board, rather than the other way round. He was sure of himself and his credentials for the role and Leeds were seduced by his track record and assurance. If the club thought he might merely be a Championship solution, a coach whose two promotions from the division with Norwich City had not translated into long-term Premier League status, Farke put them right by insisting he would be working for them with the aim of gaining a foothold in the top flight. As he saw it: budget was the issue at Norwich, not him.
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The confidence of the pitch ensured Farke’s appointment but no level of confidence can negate the circumstances beyond a manager’s control and while Farke walked into Elland Road with his eyes open, aware the landscape was far from perfect after relegation, the summer and early days of this season have forced him to refer to the textbook of managerial firefighting: injuries, recruitment still incomplete, existing players bailing out, disciplinary matters (otherwise known as Willy Gnonto) and the compounding knock of disappointing results. Saturday’s team against Birmingham City was not so much a line-up which needed improving as a line-up Farke would never have picked were his hand not so weak.
The added pressure for him is that, to this point, he has been the club’s only firm line of public communication. Leeds’ new ownership have not spoken since the week last month when their takeover was officially approved by the English Football League (EFL). Farke is fielding questions about the situation United are in — undoubtedly a club feeling the pressure of a summer in which too much, realistically, had to be done — and he is toeing the line between laying his cards on the table and empathising with the challenges above him. His strategy has been to voice frustration without going too far, to gloss over nothing without being defeatist. And because of that, he is not short of people who empathise with him.
By far the cause of most consternation for him has been the glut of relegation release clauses in player contracts at Elland Road, the ease with which many of those players have been able to activate them and the uncertainty generated by the rush to depart. The German implied strongly at his latest press conference today that the remaining exit clauses had either expired in the past few days or were about to elapse shortly, which explained why Tyler Adams was back at Thorp Arch again despite indications on Monday that Bournemouth were getting close to signing him. The Athletic has been told by sources close to the situation — who remain anonymous to protect relationships — that Adams’ clause ran out earlier this week and Luis Sinisterra’s did too. The flow of unpreventable exits might be over.
Adams’ future and the prior lack of clarity over it was one of several complications in front of Farke. He has Gnonto training away from the main squad after the Italian, whose deal contains no release mechanism, asked to leave last Friday. Yet Leeds are taking a hard line in telling Gnonto he will not be sold.
Farke also has Sinisterra training away from the main squad due to what Farke called “some open contractual questions, some open legal questions” regarding Sinisterra’s deal. The winger’s contract, agreed when he signed from Feyenoord last July, contained a provision allowing him to leave provided certain terms were met. Farke would not comment on whether the winger had expressly asked to move on but there is evidently a dispute over the details and Sinisterra will not rejoin full training until it is resolved. “His mind can’t concentrate and he can’t focus fully on football,” Farke said. “I didn’t want the group to be distracted by these topics.” Everyone could do without it.
Adams had a release clause which has expired (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
If it felt like Farke was in a position which other coaches would not envy, he went further in outlining how peculiar it was to have so little control over footballers under contract. Had he seen anything like it as a coach, with so much on his plate? “It’s a lot at the moment, I have to say,” he said. Yes, it had been complicated after relegation at Norwich and yes, he had been forced to ostracise players like Todd Cantwell from training in the past, but the wry smile on his face said it had never been this manic. “Obviously due to the contractual situation with the exit clauses, this is really special,” he said. “I’m not sure if any other club in the whole of western Europe has this situation as well.
“But we are a bit special and unique. Sometimes at Leeds United, we never go the easy way. You have to take it with a smile but also take it seriously by saying that: in the future, we learn.”
Easily forgotten was the small matter of West Bromwich Albion at home on Friday, the third game of Leeds’ Championship season. Farke was not asked about it at his press conference and he hardly spoke about it, except to offer a small number of injury updates which will not change the pool available to him drastically. Carlos Corberan, another manager Leeds thought about recruiting in the summer, brings West Brom to Elland Road. Life is far from perfect at The Hawthorns but both Corberan and Farke would surely agree on who has the more tricky job at this point.
“I’m just here for the football,” Farke said in response to a query about Leeds’ finances, which was rather ironic since the football seems to be what happens when the politics decide to pause for a moment. He sounds like a man who would like nothing more than to immerse himself solely in the fixture list.
Was there enough time, with a fortnight of the transfer window left, for Leeds to do anything like the right amount of business? “Yes, 100 per cent,” he said. Was an aggravating summer about to turn the corner? “I’m quite convinced that next week, our situation will look much better,” he replied. “We’re on the same page. We know we have to bring in some players. The closer we get to the end of the window, the more clarity we have.”
Farke, in his short time in charge, has tried to be the eternal optimist, inclined to decorate clouds with silver linings and offer some carrot with the stick. At this juncture, the job is probably as difficult as it looks. The confidence and skill Leeds identified in Farke are not being allowed to shine through properly. In time, they might see those traits take hold but, for now, they are lucky that in recruiting someone who backed himself to the hilt, they found themselves a diplomat too.
(Photo: Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
