Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke is slowly showing supporters and the wider footballing community that he has what it takes to manage in the Premier League.
It is hard to blame anyone for having doubts over whether or not the German tactician could lead a team to safety in the top-flight, given his record in the division with Norwich City.
Matches
38
11
Wins
5
1
Draws
6
2
Losses
27
8
Points
21
5
League position
20th
20th
As you can see in the table above, Farke won six of his 49 matches in charge of the Canaries in the Premier League before he was sacked after 11 games in the 2021/22 campaign.
However, he has been backed financially in a way that he was not at Carrow Road, which has allowed the Whites to enjoy a solid start to the season.
The West Yorkshire outfit are 15th in the table with eight points in seven games after two wins, two draws, and three defeats, which is a respectable return for the newly-promoted outfit.
Farke is now hoping to emulate the success that Marcelo Bielsa had in the top-flight in the 2020/21 campaign after his side were promoted to the big time.
Ranking Marcelo Bielsa's best Leeds United teams
The Argentine head coach initially joined the club in the summer of 2018 and led the team to a third-placed finish in the Championship, but watched his team lose to Derby County in the semi-finals of the play-offs.
It was a terrific first season at Elland Road for Bielsa, even if it ended in disappointment for the club in the play-offs, but the best was yet to come for the manager.
In the 2019/20 campaign, Leeds racked up 93 points with 28 wins and nine draws in the Championship, ten more points than they managed in the previous season, to earn promotion to the Premier League and the second tier title.
It is, therefore, fair to say that Bielsa’s team in his second season was better than the one he had in his first, as they won ten more points to earn promotion.
However, that promotion-winning team was not the best side that the Argentine tactician had during his time at Elland Road, because of what was achieved in the Premier League the following season.
Points
59
9th
Non-penalty xG
52.5
4th
xG
55.6
6th
Goals scored
62
6th
xGA
57.9
16th
Goals conceded
54
14th
As you can see in the table above, Leeds were fun to watch as a free-scoring newly-promoted side that fired their way to a top-half finish in the top-flight, which turned out to be Bielsa’s best achievement in his time in West Yorkshire.
He was sacked after picking up 23 points from 26 Premier League games in the 2021/22 season, which should rank as his worst team, followed by his first season, then his second one, and the ninth-placed finish in the top-flight as his best side.
The team in the graphic above was his most-used starting line-up in the 2020/21 campaign in the 4-1-4-1 formation, including stars like Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha.
With Farke and his team looking to emulate the success that Bielsa’s team had in their first season in the big time, would any of the club’s current stars make it into that best XI?
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
As good as Luke Ayling was, and as much as he was a terrific servant for the Whites, there is a case to be made for Jayden Bogle walking into that Bielsa side in the 2020/21 campaign on current form.
Why Jayden Bogle would walk into Marcelo Bielsa's best team
There were some question marks raised over the English full-back’s ability to make the step up to the Premier League this season, because of the Sheffield United team that he was a part of in the 2023/24 season.
Bogle played 34 of his side’s 38 league matches at right-back as the Blades conceded a staggering 104 goals, per Sofascore, the most by any team in a 38-game top-flight season.
However, the 25-year-old star’s start to the current campaign suggests that he is more than capable of delivering quality performances in the Premier League, winning the club’s Player of the Month award for August.
Bogle has started all seven of the club’s matches in the Premier League this season and Leeds rank fifth in the division for xGA (7.9), per FBref, which shows that he is currently part of one of the best defensive units in the division.
Whereas, as aforementioned, Leeds were 16th in the top-flight for xGA with Ayling as their first-choice right-back in Bielsa’s best team at Elland Road.
Appearances
38
7
Assists
0
0
Tackles per game
2.9
3.0
Interceptions per game
0.9
1.6
Clearances per game
2.0
2.9
Dribbled past per game
1.0x
1.1x
Possession lost per game
18.6x
11.7x
As you can see in the table above, Bogle’s current defensive numbers topple Ayling’s in the 2020/21 campaign, which may be part of the reason why Farke’s defence is performing better than Bielsa’s did.
On top of that, Ayling did not deliver any assists in that season in the Premier League, which means that Bogle’s current lack of assists in the top-flight should not go against him in this debate.
The former Blades star, who was dubbed “sensational” and a “massive signing” by pundit Micah Richards earlier this year, also delivered more goals and assists combined (ten) last term than Ayling did in the 2019/20 promotion-winning season (eight), per Sofascore, which suggests that he has more potential to excel as an attacking force.
Therefore, there is a genuine case to be made that the 25-year-old star is good enough in the present day to walk into Bielsa’s best team in the ninth-placed Premier League finish.
Hopefully, the current campaign will be a success, with a similarly impressive league finish, and fans will be talking about which players would make it into Farke’s best team in the future.