Leeds United remain in 16th place despite losing again on Sunday as Daniel Farke’s side were brushed aside by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground – but Gary Neville has praised the Whites.
While Leeds sit in 16th place and continue to remain on the point-a-game line, the upcoming fixture list highlights missed opportunities. Leeds face Aston Villa, Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool after the break.
A run that could quite easily end in four defeats, the only saving grace being that three of them are at Elland Road. But it also shows that Leeds should have picked up better results against the lesser sides.
Defeats to Fulham, Burnley, and now Forest is relegation form. If Leeds cannot beat the sides around them, what hope do they have of beating a City or a Liverpool? But Neville praised Leeds’ approach.
Gary Neville during Leeds game against Salford in 2023-24.
Photo by Pat Scaasi/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Gary Neville clearly has no idea what is happening at Leeds
Fans are growing impatient; they want Daniel Farke sacked. It is not just losing games, but it is the way in which Leeds are losing. It is Farke being reactive, when against Forest, Leeds needed him to be proactive.
But on Neville’s Sky Sports podcast, the former England defender was full of praise for Leeds. Even though there are reports that suggest Farke’s job is under scrutiny, Neville applauded Leeds’ approach.
“I’m glad that we’re seeing what we’re seeing from Leeds and from Burnley and from Sunderland which is a more pragmatic style, but I think equally as effective and more,” Neville summarised on Sunday night.
“I actually think to be fair, when you see a team play like that, I really admire it and love watching it,” he continued. Completely misreading the room, Neville clearly has no idea that Leeds fans want Farke out.
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Daniel Farke’s Leeds pragmatism is the right thing to do, but…
Farke is right to be pragmatic. We all watched Russell Martin try to maintain his total football style of play at Southampton last season, and ultimately, they were relegated as one of the league’s worst-ever sides.
The only way Leeds can survive this season is by playing on the back foot. Using the counterattack and the Elland Road crowd. Of course, there will be moments where Leeds struggle, and strikers are isolated.
Farke is being pragmatic and attempting to make his side hard to beat. It is one thing to try to adapt to that way of playing and then actually instilling it. Leeds are struggling with the second half of that.
They are trying to be hard to beat, but have conceded three goals apiece in their last two. No clean sheets since the 0-0 draw against Newcastle, the third game of the season. Fans are expecting the worst.
So, while Neville has praised Leeds for their approach and Farke does deserve praise for changing his tactics, plenty more needs to be done in actually making it work. That, or bring someone in who can do it.