Daniel Farke’s softening of the relegation landing causes Russell Martin sack noise to increase around Southampton with the loss to Leeds United.
The Athletic reports that there will be more speculation over Russell Martin’s future if Leeds United defeats Southampton this weekend, continuing the disparate fortunes of the demoted teams.
The club’s patience is being stretched following a 2-1 loss to struggling Middlesbrough at the weekend, according to the outlet, and a fifth straight loss against the Whites the following Saturday (30 September) will “stir things further,” especially among the fanbase.
Leeds and Leicester, who are both in good form right now and have both hired new managers in Daniel Farke and Enzo Maresca, respectively, are highlighted by the fact that they both “hit the ground relatively gently” after losing, whereas Southampton took a hit that left them feeling uneasy.
Despite a difficult start to the season while the transfer window remained open Farke has gone six games unbeaten, and has now recorded four consecutive clean sheets to climb up the table.
Climb
A little more than a month ago, there were understandable worries about the condition of the Leeds United team due to a departure from Elland Road without the transfer budget being increased because of relegation release conditions.
In contrast, Southampton had sold James Ward-Prowse to West Ham for £30 million on August 14 and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea for £58 million on August 18. Tino Livramento had also been sold to Newcastle for £32 million on August 8.
It is a testament to the Elland Road manager and his hiring team that over the interim weeks, the Whites strengthened their squad nonetheless as Farke started his team on a hot streak.
Fans may have feared the Whites would be experiencing the same struggles that Southampton are currently going through even late into the summer, but while things aren’t perfect in Yorkshire the situation has certainly turned around.
These may be early days still but it is tempting to highlight the importance of making the right managerial appointment to get through the chaos at the club, and landing a two-time Championship winner looks the right decision.
Missteps at manager essentially were what derailed the club’s time in the Premier League following the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa, as none of Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia or Sam Allardyce compared, but it looks like the new regime has got off to a good start in that area.
Farke will want to capitalise on his players strong form coming off an excellent 3-0 victory over Watford when he travels to the south coast for the early kick-off, and he now has some positive selection problems to deal with when he does.
