Leeds fans turn on Daniel Farke after Sunderland loss as five major conclusions are drawn amid ‘we are going down’ warning | OneFootball

Leeds supporters were far from happy with Daniel Farke and believe Tuesday’s hugely frustrating 1-0 loss to Sunderland can largely be blamed on the manager and, having pointed out his major flaws, some now fear their malaise could lead to relegation.

The Whites have endured an indifferent campaign, with Farke surviving calls for him to be sacked in November, to embark on a solid run of form that has helped the club pull a little clear of the relegation zone in the wake of a run of just two defeats in 15 games across all competitions.

But with Leeds now suffering back-to-back 1-0 home losses in the Premier League, the West Yorkshire side have now picked up just two wins in 11 league games since the turn of the year, plunging the club right back into the dogfight.

While Leeds were far from their best during Tuesday’s home defeat, and some gamesmanship from Sunderland resulted in a dire spectacle that saw the ball only in play for a staggering 50:49 minutes of a total match time of 106:09 minutes, supporters were still far from happy at what had been served up.

And with Farke called out for both his team selections and inability to react faster to changing his side, fans have made their feelings clear across X.

‘Tonight was on Farke. Elland Road under the lights and he’s gone back to his old way of being too cautious with formation and selection. Looked so much more of a threat when we had some wingers on,’ one fan commented.

A second agreed, commenting: ‘We looked jaded from the off, had no intensity or zip to the press, bar once. We looked void of ideas when we try to attack through the middle, and were very one-dimensional. Midfield was very, very poor tonight, needed seriously refreshing after the weekend, didn’t, and paid the price.’

A third agreed and felt the lack of a team refresh proved costly.

‘The starting XI needed a refresh. Players looked flat. Mentality was too conservative, far too many lay-offs, though didn’t deserve to lose. The FA Cup run is a distraction now from what really counts.’

A fourth added: ‘He really needed to change it up. As well as we played at the weekend, you play the opposition, not religiously stick with the same 11 – we needed to be much more on the front foot against a weakened side who came to frustrate.’

A fifth also drew five conclusions from the match and from Farke’s team selections, pointing out: ‘We were so leggy, can see why he went with the same team, but you could see what was coming and it was evident early on which way the game was going.

‘1) Extra legs should have come on at half-time; 2) DCL [Dominic Calvert-Lewin] was left too isolated and had little to no support; 3) Aaronson is going backwards and needed a breather; 4) Gruev played too deep and didn’t offer anything to help break Sunderland down and was like an addition centre-back; 5) Ampadu needs to reset; 6) Winner takes it all away at West Ham on the final day.

In agreement, one fan warned: ‘This obsession with Aaronson and Gruev has to stop, or we’re going down.’

Farke far from happy after Leeds defeat

Farke himself was also far from happy at the result and, when facing the media after the loss, he admitted it was difficult to explain how Sunderland won.

“We were so dominant, we had so much possession,” Farke said. “But we knew we would face a very compact, competent Sunderland.”

He added: “It’s difficult to explain how they won, but we lacked a little bit of concentration in the final pass.”

Speaking to TNT, and when asked if he found the game frustrating, he added: “Football is sometimes like this.

“The whole stadium was exploding. One minute later it was not even a chance for them, an instinctive reaction from my most important and our best player [Ampadu] gave away a penalty. It’s not necessary. It’s written in the stars. The opponent sits in the dressing room and can’t really explain why they won it, and you are struggling to explain why you lost.”

On the Pascal Struijk penalty appeal, Farke continued: “It’s not even a question [of course it was a penalty]. What was VAR doing? It’s tough to understand how this is not checked. If the referee watched it back he would say all day long it’s a penalty. It’s more for VAR, it’s difficult for the referee to see.”

On what was missing from his side, he added: “Clarity in the final third. This is what we have to add. Performance-wise, what we have invested, we can’t complain. We are always self-critical. You need to get the ball into the net. This is what we need to improve.”

Leeds round-up: Trafford transfer setback; Morocco defender linked

Meanwhile, we can confirm that, subject to Leeds retaining their Premier League status, the Whites will make a big push to sign a new goalkeeper this summer.

And their interest in James Trafford –exclusively first confirmed by TEAMtalk back on February 5 – looks to have suffered a setback after a Premier League rival overtook them as leading suitors for his signature.

Elsewhere, Hull City have confirmed their intentions to secure the permanent signing of Joe Gelhardt this summer, with the Leeds loanee continuing to impress and now getting the green light to secure the move.