Despite Leeds United’s 2-0 victory over Hull City, Daniel Farke’s post-match news conference was not entirely positive.
Leeds’ victory over the Tigers brought an end to a turbulent month of August in which the attitude around the club shifted from one direction to another.
Overall, Leeds may be delighted with their current Championship position, as their eight points have moved them up to fourth place.
Leeds are unbeaten in the league, and they have a number of new arrivals to properly integrate into the squad following a frenzy of late-season transfer activity.
However, it is fair to say that Leeds did not get all of Farke’s preferred transfer goals, and he was not shy to express this after the game against the Tigers.
Smyth believes Farke was unhappy following Leeds’ win.
Four had been the magic number for signings in the middle of August, but that altered near the end when Farke voiced a desire for another number ten.
Despite interest in Gustavo Hamer and Roland Sallai, Leeds were unable to sign either, so that is one area where they fall short, at least until January.
According to Yorkshire Evening Post columnist Graham Smyth, Farke was not shy to express his unhappiness with Leeds’ conclusion of the window.
Smyth believes that, for the first time in his term as Leeds manager, Farke is separating himself from some of the decisions made by both the board and the recruitment team.
He explained, “It was one of those times when a manager walked into the press conference with a list of items he wanted to check off. I must admit that my bingo card did not include any ‘young and fascinating players’.
“When Farke sat down, I didn’t expect it to go that way because there hasn’t been much precedent since he was at the club. He has always been completely dedicated to the organization. He’s toed the party line, and it’s all about us, the club.
“He’s been the front guy, facing the music. When faced with difficult questions, he has never, to my knowledge, identified himself as separate from the club or ownership. It has always been a single entity. In the post-game press conference versus Hull, things were different.
“It was different, unexpected, and slightly passive aggressive. Only a few signals were delivered, whether to the 49ers, recruitment team, or fans, to limit expectations. There is no way this is just me being emotional and overinterpreting things.”
Farke has every right to question the Leeds board.
It’s reasonable that Farke would be dissatisfied with some of the decisions made at Leeds over the summer.
Leeds stated after Archie Gray’s departure that his sale would help them retain some of their other key players, but both Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter left Elland Road.
Farke said last month that he urged Leeds’ recruitment team to prepare for life without them as early as January, but they were still searching for replacements in the final week of the transfer window.
Furthermore, no team in the world football produced more profit than Leeds in the summer, and Farke may believe more money should have been spent on the squad.
