Leeds United Appoint Farke - " They had to convince me"
Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2023 5:02 pm
Leeds United have appointed former Norwich City boss Daniel Farke as the club’s new manager.
The West Yorkshire side had considered Patrick Vieira, Scott Parker and Carlos Corberan for the job, but Farke won the race to take over at Elland Road and has now signed a four-year deal.
Farke notably led Norwich to two promotions to the Premier League in 2018-2019 and 2020-21.
Since he was sacked by Norwich in November 2021, Farke has had spells with Russian side Krasnodar and Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach.
After his appointment was confirmed, Farke spoke about the reasons he took the job and admitted he had to be convinced by the owners that they shared his vision for achieving success.
“To take over this task at such a big, emotional club with so many expectations, it is key people are on the same page: owners, board, sporting department,” Farke said.
“It is important to get a feeling for each other and that we agree on our visions of what has to be done to bring success.
“They had to convince me to take this role. No one had to convince me about the potential and size of the club. But what was important for me was that I was convinced by the people here.
“They had to have the same ideas and vision as me. Soon as I got this feeling, I thought this was an interesting project. I am grateful and humble all the key people shared more of the same views.”
GO DEEPER
Passing rivals in car parks, extensive CVs and PowerPoint: How managers get jobs
Leeds had been without a head coach since Sam Allardyce left the club following their relegation from the Premier League in May.
The 68-year-old former England manager replaced Javi Gracia on an interim basis and was tasked with keeping Leeds in the top flight.
However, he failed to win any of his four games in charge, with the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season confirming Leeds’ relegation back to the Championship.
Leeds are still waiting for the club’s recent takeover to be confirmed by the English Football League (EFL) and this led to the delay in Farke’s appointment.
A deal was made in early June for Leeds to be taken over by 49ers Enterprises after an agreement for Andrea Radrizzani to sell his majority stake in the club. That allowed 49ers Enterprises to begin the process of officially ratifying its long-awaited buy-out.
Farke spoke about the need to make quick decisions as the delay in his appointment has meant Leeds find themselves playing catch-up with their rivals in the Championship.
“Our situation is more complicated than other clubs as we have to start later because of the takeover. Everything won’t be perfect in four weeks, but we need to create a solid foundation,” he said. “We need to make some good and quick decisions, there are several to make for the group of players.
“The transfer window will end on the final day so it will be a busy two months, but I’m confident we’ll have a good team at the end.
“We have to work quickly to get to the heads and the hearts of the players and to build unity. That is what we will be working on.”
Leeds face Cardiff City in their first match of the 2023-24 Championship season on August 6.
The West Yorkshire side had considered Patrick Vieira, Scott Parker and Carlos Corberan for the job, but Farke won the race to take over at Elland Road and has now signed a four-year deal.
Farke notably led Norwich to two promotions to the Premier League in 2018-2019 and 2020-21.
Since he was sacked by Norwich in November 2021, Farke has had spells with Russian side Krasnodar and Bundesliga club Borussia Monchengladbach.
After his appointment was confirmed, Farke spoke about the reasons he took the job and admitted he had to be convinced by the owners that they shared his vision for achieving success.
“To take over this task at such a big, emotional club with so many expectations, it is key people are on the same page: owners, board, sporting department,” Farke said.
“It is important to get a feeling for each other and that we agree on our visions of what has to be done to bring success.
“They had to convince me to take this role. No one had to convince me about the potential and size of the club. But what was important for me was that I was convinced by the people here.
“They had to have the same ideas and vision as me. Soon as I got this feeling, I thought this was an interesting project. I am grateful and humble all the key people shared more of the same views.”
GO DEEPER
Passing rivals in car parks, extensive CVs and PowerPoint: How managers get jobs
Leeds had been without a head coach since Sam Allardyce left the club following their relegation from the Premier League in May.
The 68-year-old former England manager replaced Javi Gracia on an interim basis and was tasked with keeping Leeds in the top flight.
However, he failed to win any of his four games in charge, with the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season confirming Leeds’ relegation back to the Championship.
Leeds are still waiting for the club’s recent takeover to be confirmed by the English Football League (EFL) and this led to the delay in Farke’s appointment.
A deal was made in early June for Leeds to be taken over by 49ers Enterprises after an agreement for Andrea Radrizzani to sell his majority stake in the club. That allowed 49ers Enterprises to begin the process of officially ratifying its long-awaited buy-out.
Farke spoke about the need to make quick decisions as the delay in his appointment has meant Leeds find themselves playing catch-up with their rivals in the Championship.
“Our situation is more complicated than other clubs as we have to start later because of the takeover. Everything won’t be perfect in four weeks, but we need to create a solid foundation,” he said. “We need to make some good and quick decisions, there are several to make for the group of players.
“The transfer window will end on the final day so it will be a busy two months, but I’m confident we’ll have a good team at the end.
“We have to work quickly to get to the heads and the hearts of the players and to build unity. That is what we will be working on.”
Leeds face Cardiff City in their first match of the 2023-24 Championship season on August 6.
