Leeds signing set for spell on the sidelines: Three decisions Daniel Farke got horribly wrong vs Tottenham
Leeds let slip the opportunity to claim a shock win against Tottenham thanks to some dismal decisions by Daniel Farke.
Despite propelling the Whites to a 100-point Championship title last season, the early part of the summer was dominated by talk that Leeds may sack Farke and replace him with a manager with a better Premier League track record.
The German boss kept his job and the Whites’ board showed faith in him by spending lavishly this summer. Leeds signed the likes of Noah Okafor from AC Milan and Anton Stach from Hoffenheim, with their total outlay nearing £100million.
But despite a strong start to the season that has seen the Whites put distance between themselves and the relegation zone, Farke‘s poor choices cost them three points against Tottenham.
Gabriel Gudmundsson looks lost defensively
Gabriel Gudmundsson joined Leeds in the summer to fill the void left by Junior Firpo‘s departure from Elland Road.
However, the Swedish full-back’s play resembles the Dominican’s form from the Whites’ last stint in the Premier League.
Whilst Mohammed Kudus‘ finish was delightful, Gudmundsson‘s defending was genuinely shocking.
A long ball pinged off his midriff before the 26-year-old slipped over, allowing the Ghanaian a free run at goal.
Jack Harrison looked strong at left-back in pre-season and then again against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup, and whilst he offers little by way of defending, on today’s performance, he can’t be worse than Gudmundsson.
This is not the first game the former Lille defender has struggled in this season, and Farke should have been looking at alternative options to deal with a pacey and direct Spurs frontline.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin should not be a starting Premier League striker
Dominic Calvert-Lewin also joined Leeds in the summer after a nine-year spell at Everton, during which time he scored 71 goals in 273 appearances.
However, the striker has been mired by injury, and in the last five seasons his highest goal total in a season was seven.
Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha have hardly set the world alight this season, but at least they offer movement and a sounding board for players like Okafor to play off.
Against a strong, quick, but sometimes unfocused Spurs backline, Farke absolutely should have started a striker with more athleticism than the lethargic Calvert-Lewin.
Daniel Farke is too slow to make changes
Despite being 2-1 down and still being in the game, there were several players who were simply not pulling their weight against Tottenham.
Spurs’ second goal went in on the 57th minute, but it still took Farke until nearly the 70th minute to make changes, taking off Brenden Aaronson and Stach for Harrison and Ao Tanaka.
Given the Leeds manager is employing the high-pressing system he is renowned for, Farke’s decision to leave his side unchanged whilst losing for so long was a puzzling one.
The hope will be that the former Norwich boss learns from his errors and rectifies them before the Whites’ clash with a struggling Burnley side on 18 October.