Don’t disagree with anything you’ve said, except I think the time to get rid of him was before the season started. Truth is, most of the performances so far have earned him the right to see out the next three games. Take it from there…

If Farke gets 3 more games we may as well start
planning for next season in the Champo. I've said
from the beginning, he'll get you up, but he'll bring
you right back down again. His level is top end
Champo. That's pretty bloody good. Not good
enough for what we want to be.

There are some bang average players in this squad.
So he has that excuse. Except for the fact he leans
on those bang average players week in week out.

He's either dumb as fck. Or a football Kamikaze pilot
hell bent on going down in flames. No thanks.

Cheerio.

Burnley by far the worst side we’ve faced so far, up until today I thought we were doing alright. Apart from 60 minutes at Arsenal we’ve been solid, but today we looked toothless and for the first time I’m a little worried. A lot of fans want Farke gone sooner rather than later, but just look at the fiasco going on at Rangers, do you think these people are capable of getting anyone better in?

I don’t think we’ve yet got to the point of pressing the panic button. However, all along I’ve thought of this fixture as a must win - wins in this division are going to be few and far between so when you’re in a six-pointer against the weakest (possibly bar Wolves) team in the Prem you simply have to take something out of it. At this stage, it isn’t our sinking in the table that most worries me, it’s the draining of confidence among the players.
Having said all that, I don’t think Farke should go yet. Yes he seems inflexible - a bit clueless even - but the ideal time for replacing him was at the start of the season or when Nuno was available. He deserves another month, by which time we’ll know whether our slide is inexorable, and this still leaves time for someone to turn things around.

I think it's fair to say that he might be both unlucky and also not food enough at the same time. I also think we have started this season fine, with the exception of yesterday. Not sure many managers lose their three first choice wingers and make a side look excellent.

I'd give him a few more weeks. That said, if we look that bad against West Ham then maybe I'll change tune.

Morning all🌞 and thanks for the thread HoF👍.

Good articles deserve good responses. Here’s my attempt at one …

So, in answer your question HoF: ‘Credibility’.

I think it’s important for the club we aspire to be (again), that we act professionally and with credibility at all times. I know that in the so-called ‘modern game’, the actions of so many football chairman resemble those of a lunatic. They bring themselves into disrepute - but much more importantly they make their clubs a laughing stock which surely results in any decent manager giving that club a very wide berth.

We’ve had our fair share of loony owners (I don’t need to list them here) and I don’t want to return to those days. Also, I’m not oblivious to the managerial mess being created at Rangers … and just by pure coincidence of course, the Contract King happens to be residing there too.

No, we should be better than that and I believe we should give DF a fair crack of the whip. Along the lines of the age-old adage in commercial jobs “you’re only as good as your last order”, DF should be allowed to succeed or fail without the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

His job is to keep us up this year. That means 1 point per game average over the season. We’re 8 games in and we have 8 points. For me, that is the metric by which he should be judged.

The moment he veers from that, and that downturn is maintained over 3-4 games, then he should be sacked. He can’t have arguments with that. He signed up to the deal too and knows the criteria by which he is being judged.

That’s what I think should happen anyway.

However, what that clown Marathe will actually do is anyone’s guess.

Who is a realistic replacement for Farke? You’re currently 15th, so who is coming to come in and do better in the toughest league in football?

Farke feels like one of those managers that fans just never warm to for some reason.

comment by フレッド - #TWENTYTIMES (U3979)
posted 9 minutes ago
Who is a realistic replacement for Farke? You’re currently 15th, so who is coming to come in and do better in the toughest league in football?

Farke feels like one of those managers that fans just never warm to for some reason.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve always said I like him as a person but he doesn’t make it easy to like him as a manager: stubborn, plays favourites, inflexible, tactically deficient, unable to acknowledge his own mistakes. Like I say, I’d have got rid after last season. We only went up cos Wilder had a melt down. Farke was already messing it up for us till we got an injury that meant he hadn’t got a decision to make (which has was previously making badly). But mostly I’ve been quietly impressed with the team this season, and I feel the Board and injuries haven’t helped him. That’s why I’m not calling for his head now after one poor game. Doesn’t change my view that I don’t think he’s the man to keep us up - but I have to judge him on what’s he’s done so far this season, which up to yesterday was pretty decent. I just don’t think he’s got the talent to turn it around now though, which is why Batty’s comment about getting rid before these three games also makes sense.

in terms of style of play we’ve dominated and created chances in 75% of the games we’ve played. With better quality up front, which Farke called out, we’d be at least 4 or 5 pints better off. I just don’t see what anyone else could bring that would fundamentally change things. Just comes down to the deck we’ve been dealt lacking quality. Just my opinion though

Points lol

I think our signings in defence and midfield have been pretty decent. Gudmundsson is great and Stach and Longstaff look decent signings. Jurys out on Bijol, Perri and Borneaw as we haven't really seen enough of them.

Then you look at our attacking signings and your head begins to scratch. Okafar - a history of injury problems. CL - injury problems and not regularly scored in a number of seasons. Farke should have been better supported there. Harry Wilson looks like a good singing right now.

The same people call for Farkes head now will be the same people that will make excuses for the next manager - I.e almost impossible task with championship players in a brutal league.

Agree with Copley- we’ve been playing well and competitive in most games and held our own. 49ers trying to do it on the cheap and freebie signings have cost us 4 points so far and counting……..

🎵 🎵 🎵
Good old Wilson. 😉

comment by Copleylufc (U22888)
posted 4 seconds ago
in terms of style of play we’ve dominated and created chances in 75% of the games we’ve played. With better quality up front, which Farke called out, we’d be at least 4 or 5 pints better off. I just don’t see what anyone else could bring that would fundamentally change things. Just comes down to the deck we’ve been dealt lacking quality. Just my opinion though
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Excellent comments if I may so!

I was thinking on the same lines myself this morning
and comparing the quality we have now with the
players, over the last few years, we have sold and
let go…yes, some let go for considerations of finance.

But also we must bear in mind we have very wealthy
investors, so I think we could have retained some of
these players, such as Rutter, Gray, Somerville and
others…noticed how well Rutter played played for
Brighton yesterday ( l like him because he’s interested
in thoroughbreds and horse racing, just thought I
would impart that info to you all!)

To get back to Farke, as Copley points out, he’s got
to play with the cards and quality he’s been dealt
with. Now in my opinion is not the time to replace
him, especially if a replacement of the standard we
require is not available…it’s not too critical currently,
that may change of course.

Listened to Radio Leeds phone in yesterday

Many callers, who were admiring Leeds performances before the International break, calling for DF sacking even though we have on average 1 point per game..which is the target

Thankfully a few sensible callers provided balanced views..

Not sure anyone could come in and do better with the squad and financial limitations?

We are such an Emotional club..

comment by The Light Brigade (U22847)
posted 24 minutes ago
Morning all🌞 and thanks for the thread HoF👍.

Good articles deserve good responses. Here’s my attempt at one …

So, in answer your question HoF: ‘Credibility’.

I think it’s important for the club we aspire to be (again), that we act professionally and with credibility at all times. I know that in the so-called ‘modern game’, the actions of so many football chairman resemble those of a lunatic. They bring themselves into disrepute - but much more importantly they make their clubs a laughing stock which surely results in any decent manager giving that club a very wide berth.

We’ve had our fair share of loony owners (I don’t need to list them here) and I don’t want to return to those days. Also, I’m not oblivious to the managerial mess being created at Rangers … and just by pure coincidence of course, the Contract King happens to be residing there too.

No, we should be better than that and I believe we should give DF a fair crack of the whip. Along the lines of the age-old adage in commercial jobs “you’re only as good as your last order”, DF should be allowed to succeed or fail without the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

His job is to keep us up this year. That means 1 point per game average over the season. We’re 8 games in and we have 8 points. For me, that is the metric by which he should be judged.

The moment he veers from that, and that downturn is maintained over 3-4 games, then he should be sacked. He can’t have arguments with that. He signed up to the deal too and knows the criteria by which he is being judged.

That’s what I think should happen anyway.

However, what that clown Marathe will actually do is anyone’s guess.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for you kind comments and thoughtful response, LB. If this were any other club, I would agree with you, but you have to call it for what it is. Rangers can lose game after game and still win a trophy or come second in that league. The Prem is much tougher and when you drop points against your fellow-promoted sides in such dismal fashion, you wonder where are your next points going to come from?
My concern is how we lost to the worst opponent we have played so far. We folded. And Farke looked like he was out of ideas.
I hope you and shadowcrimes are right to say, give Farke more time. My worry is that if we do that, we could find ourselves seven or eight points adrift by the end of the year.
Maybe the PTSD from Marsh’s second season is kicking in, when we should have got rid of him earlier. I’m not saying Farke is that bad, but I’m seeing a lot of warning signs. Our fixtures in December are frightening.
We need a reset before we find ourselves with a mountain to climb.

Some excellent comments this morning
LB as usual and Shadowcrimes, very good!

To add…5 for excellent article by HF

I keep hearing "Well what's Farke supposed to do with this deck he's been dealt?" as an excuse. Maybe try
and shuffle the deck every once in a while. Change it
up a little. Try a few tactical switches. But, he won't.

That's on him.

As for "who the fck else could do any better?"

There's always an answer to that, IF you have the
right people in recruitment. My own belief is Farke
manipulated this situation too, in order to have
sway when it came to signing players. That gave
us Underwood. And ran off Hammond. Is AU savvy
enough at this stage to hire the right next bloke?

As proof of our ineptness in front of goal, here are some significant match stats:
XG: 0.45 vs 1.68
Shots: 4 vs 19
Touches inside opposition box: 3 vs 44
Shots on target: 3 vs 4
Shots off target: 1 vs 12
Total crosses: 7 vs 47

Those figures suggest we were far and away the most effective side in all but one respect – putting the ball in the net. For all his faults, you can't blame Farke for that – as well as our p!ss poor front men, it's also the fault of the men upstairs who didn't properly address our need for at least one goalscorer of quality.

I'd give him 3 more games and if Roberto Mancini is still available hope the owners try and bring him in to replace Farke who as I've said repeatedly has been let down by the owners and consequently the lack of EPL quality and composure provided for him have effed up in front of goal but despite that his in game management I think is mostly wanting and his inflexibility is another one of his weaknesses that will only get exposed more and more as the season progresses.

So as harsh as it may appear for a manager that has helped us get promoted, if we fail to beat West Ham and lose to Brighton and Forest then yes I think we need to act swiftly before the rot sets in and not repeat the mistakes of not sacking Jesse Marsch much sooner than we did.

Why wait?
- because if you have a side that objective commentators believe is one of the weakest squads then you would need a truly exceptional manager to get them playing better. And if you are not in the bottom 3 then you are already doing better than expected.
- whether you are one of those people who believe in stats as guides to performance or not, stevie wonder can see that we are controlling games and creating more than the opposition in most games…Whether we look laboured, devoid of ideas or whatever you may think… we’re still creating more than the opposition.
- The real job of a manager is to get the team performing so they have the opportunity to win… managers know they will be judged on results but they know they can’t actually control them. They provide the opportunity, The rest is down to player quality and luck.
- the time to sack your manager is when your side is getting rolled over every week. We’re not. Or even close to it.
- there was some research done that followed the fortunes of struggling sides who changed manager v those that didn’t. Guess what? It made no difference. Results were just as likely to pick up for those that didn’t change.
- we sacked Jesse Marsch, I was one of the few who thought we shouldn’t. We’d been staggeringly unlucky in the previous games. How did that work out for us?
- player handling - ramazzani? Maybe Fans should listen when a manager subtly implies that a player is an unprofessional liability
- I’m surprised we went with struijk over Bijol but Bijol and Borneaw l didn’t look great against Wednesday in the cup. Regardless, Let the guy who watches them 7 days a week and actually understands what he’s watching, decide if/when somebody is ready/better than what we have.
- for those who want a change of personnel and formation. So, because our striker misses some chances and our centre halves forget to mark someone… we should go 3 at the back or try a diamond formation or something? Let’s freshen it up by playing worse players out of position.

I’m no DF apologist, he’s a bit inflexible with his subs, but I get that he requires a lot of his wide men and when their legs go it kills our shape… and they know when their output will drop.

People said he only has one way of playing but he’s adapted it this year. We deserve more points than we have got… the reason why we haven’t is lack of quality and luck.

Not much he can do about that.

Be careful what you wish for.

comment by milkyboy (U12731)
posted 17 minutes ago
Why wait?
- because if you have a side that objective commentators believe is one of the weakest squads then you would need a truly exceptional manager to get them playing better. And if you are not in the bottom 3 then you are already doing better than expected.
- whether you are one of those people who believe in stats as guides to performance or not, stevie wonder can see that we are controlling games and creating more than the opposition in most games…Whether we look laboured, devoid of ideas or whatever you may think… we’re still creating more than the opposition.
- The real job of a manager is to get the team performing so they have the opportunity to win… managers know they will be judged on results but they know they can’t actually control them. They provide the opportunity, The rest is down to player quality and luck.
- the time to sack your manager is when your side is getting rolled over every week. We’re not. Or even close to it.
- there was some research done that followed the fortunes of struggling sides who changed manager v those that didn’t. Guess what? It made no difference. Results were just as likely to pick up for those that didn’t change.
- we sacked Jesse Marsch, I was one of the few who thought we shouldn’t. We’d been staggeringly unlucky in the previous games. How did that work out for us?
- player handling - ramazzani? Maybe Fans should listen when a manager subtly implies that a player is an unprofessional liability
- I’m surprised we went with struijk over Bijol but Bijol and Borneaw l didn’t look great against Wednesday in the cup. Regardless, Let the guy who watches them 7 days a week and actually understands what he’s watching, decide if/when somebody is ready/better than what we have.
- for those who want a change of personnel and formation. So, because our striker misses some chances and our centre halves forget to mark someone… we should go 3 at the back or try a diamond formation or something? Let’s freshen it up by playing worse players out of position.

I’m no DF apologist, he’s a bit inflexible with his subs, but I get that he requires a lot of his wide men and when their legs go it kills our shape… and they know when their output will drop.

People said he only has one way of playing but he’s adapted it this year. We deserve more points than we have got… the reason why we haven’t is lack of quality and luck.

Not much he can do about that.

Be careful what you wish for.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brilliant comments!
“Be careful what you wish for.” Yes, exactly.

Already at PSR limit. Can we even afford to sack him?

The latest narrative of no other manager would do any better than Farke is only an opinion not fact which none of us can be sure of so unfortunately for DF it's a results, ruthless business as we all know and sometimes a new voice and possibly a tweek here and there can turnaround a teams fortunes....or not..as in Ange's 39 day tenure and maybe our fete is sealed by our owners unimaginative, unexciting and overly cautious summer recruitment strategy.

I certainly hope we can beat West Ham on Friday which is I think our last good chance of a win until mid December as we'll have had 2 extra days than them to prepare but if we don't then for me that is another worrying sign that shouldn't be ignored with Brighton away and Forest away who should have a new boss, they look a tough task to get points from and if we keep giving away soft goals like we have been by being sloppy and not concentrating then we've no chance.

With Villa, City, Chelsea plus Palace and Liverpool twice in December it's imperative the set up and tactics and in game management are 100% spot on to have any hope of 4 points from those 6 fixtures which we'll need to achieve our survival target of 38-40 points and I'm not sure Farke has that tactical smartness about him to grind out an ugly result and have a plan B.....Is there anyone else out there better that can?

I now think there is after thinking about the realistic options with Roberto Mancini being linked to Forest but not guaranteed to take over there I think if Forest pass him over Leeds should seriously consider him as an upgrade. Is he perfect? Of course not but he has in my opinion definitely demonstrated he has the EPL quality coaching abilities we need to help Leeds stay up this season. Not sure Farke has.

But without completely writing Farke off as Id like him to prove me and others wrong, I'd like to see in the next 3 games positive signs that
convince me Farke is the man to inspire the team to safety this season because yesterday albeit injuries didn't help but nevertheless it was not for me a good sign of Farke's credentials to motivate his troops to come out the blocks firing on all cylinders, play with a good intensity and tempo and consistently grind out an EPL result that will ultimately help us avoid the drop....Let's see if Friday is different!