Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is facing a tough few days ahead as he analyses his team’s woeful 2-0 defeat Burnley today. The result was a gut punch for a Leeds side who were being backed to survive in the Premier League for the resilience they have shown early in the season.
The Whites looked the better team than Burnley in the opening seven league games of the season, and everything suggested a solid performance at Turf Moor for Farke’s men. However, the game was a completely different story.
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Based on the statistics, Leeds dominated the game, holding 69 per cent possession, making more attempts, playing more passes, and being more accurate in maintaining control of the ball. However, Scott Parker’s men never looked like losing once they took the lead in the first half.
Burnley had the measure of Leeds, and again, a couple of poor errors in defence led to the Whites losing precious points against a side that are their relegation rivals.
With Leeds set to host West Ham next weekend, Farke needs to bin his loyalty to certain players and usher in a change in the team to stop this poor run of results at Elland Road in a week.
The Leeds United manager must replace Pascal Struijk with Jaka Bijol
Pascal Struijk had a few error-prone games ahead of the international break and was directly responsible for a couple of games, which led to criticism.
There were strong suggestions that Jaka Bijol could replace the Dutchman in the starting eleven. However, Farke remained loyal to Struijk against Burnley, and Leeds paid the price.
Struijk has looked suspect over the last few weeks, and another misplaced pass today led to Burnley scoring the second goal, largely killing the game off in the second half.
He was suspect, won neither of his two attempted tackles and looked shaky throughout the game. His passing ability is seen as his asset but it let him down at Burnley.
When Leeds signed Jaka Bijol in the summer, there were strong suggestions that he was seen as the Dutchman’s replacement, as Struijk was expected to be sold in the summer.
He is still at Leeds, but it’s time Farke bins his loyalty towards certain players, such as Struijk and creates a sense of accountability in the team.
If, after today, Bijol does not get a chance, the Leeds manager will be willfully attracting criticism about favouritism, which could poison the atmosphere behind the scenes.
Farke will pay if he doesn’t start picking players on performance
The Leeds manager loves consistency in selection and is big on remaining loyal to certain players who have delivered the goods for him.
Struijk played a key role in earning Leeds promotion. However, the Dutchman was woeful in the Premier League previously, and there are question marks over his ability to adapt in the top flight.
However, the Leeds manager has remained loyal to him and has decided against giving a defender he bought in the last summer transfer window in Bijol.
Struijk is not the only beneficiary of Farke’s blind loyalty. Brenden Aaronson is getting picked despite not being good enough to start, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is missing chances in every game, but the manager refuses to give Joel Piroe one more shot, despite insisting that he is the best finisher he has worked with.
Anton Stach is also becoming another player who is getting blind support from Farke, while Ao Tanaka is waiting for some payback after he was the best midfielder in the Championship last season.
If Farke doesn’t change, he may soon find himself in a position where the 49ers may be forced to take action, and they won’t show any loyalty towards him, as remaining in the Premier League is their biggest goal this season.
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