Leeds United’s seven-game winning streak should come as no surprise because this is Daniel Farke doing what Daniel Farke does
He did it at Norwich City, twice. Lengthy winning runs underpinned his pair of successful Championship title bids. In 2018/19, as part of a 14-match unbeaten streak, his Canaries won eight times on the bounce. Two seasons later they went one better, winning nine in a row as part of a 13-match unbeaten streak. His ability to get a team clicking and then keep them ticking is exactly what 49ers Enterprises wanted when they made him their first ever managerial hire, at the outset of their ownership tenure. And Leeds are now ticking in a way that should have the rest of the Championship glancing nervously in their direction.
An explosive start at Swansea City on Tuesday night did untold damage and obliterated any confidence the Swans had taken from their weekend win over Hull City. The 4-0 win was a sort of mirror image of how things have gone for Farke since he arrived at Elland Road. He and the club had to overcome summer turbulence to get to where they wanted to go – a place from which they could challenge for what they want this season. Farke’s steady hand on the controls was vital as he guided them clear of a contractual mess and a mass exodus and onto what he routinely now calls ‘a good path.
At Swansea, they had to overcome the late loss of a key player from the starting line-up. Patrick Bamford suffered a last-minute problem in the warm-up and was replaced by Joel Piroe. But Leeds rose above any potential dip in performance to thrash their hosts and move into second place in the Championship table. Before the game Farke told of how he likes it when a coach’s fingerprints can be seen in the way a team plays and on a miserably wet night in Wales nothing could wash his imprint from this game. It was indelible.
Where Leeds have previously, at least prior to this run, let teams off the hook for long spells to their own eventual cost, they were absolutely ruthless at Swansea, giving the manager exactly what he has been asking for. An eighth-minute opener, from the inevitable right boot of Crysencio Summerville, was followed by a 10th-minute strike from Joel Piroe. The first was teed up by the skill and ball retention ability of Georginio Rutter, whose tidiness on the ball was a hot topic for his manager until such a time as Farke felt the Frenchman could be trusted in the 10 role. The second goal was laid on by Willy Gnonto, whose very place in the team owes so much to Farke’s willingness to give second chances.
