Daniel Farke has achieved something that not even the great Marcelo Bielsa could achieve at Leeds United; an established Premier League status.
Indeed, Farke has ripped up the history books. He has also been a cunning Championship manager but has never shown he is capable of coaching effectively at the top level.
Well, he certainly is now. He’s blown away the rubble of some disastrous reigns. Last time the Whites were at this level, they replaced Bielsa with Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce. Long gone are those days.
Long gone are the days of poor recruitment too. In defence, Tarik Muharemovic has quickly become a fan favourite. In midfield, Weston McKennie and Marc Roca are no more, replaced by the steely Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach. The transformation at Elland Road has been exceptional.
How Leeds went wrong with Marc Roca
In the summer of 2022, with Marsch at the helm, Leeds moved to secure the services of Roca on a £10m deal.
Arriving from Bayern Munich aged 25, this was a player fast approaching his prime, a player who had been compared to Toni Kroos and Rodri by Spanish journalist Guillem Balague.
“Roca is a variation of Rodri, but the Rodri that first arrived to the Premier League,” said Balague. “His distribution is very good. He’s a little bit like the [Toni] Kroos of Espanyol. But drop a couple of levels and you get there – obviously he’s not as good as Kroos but he’s got good short passing, clever passing up front, not like Kroos with 50 metres accurate passing, not yet.”
Well, it would be safe to say that the former Bayern man didn’t live up to that level of hype during his time at Elland Road.
Why? That comparison from Balague helps explain. Marsch’s football was all about high intensity; it was about passing through the lines quickly and running at breakneck speed. That simply didn’t suit Roca.
|
Roca’s only season at Leeds (PL stats) |
|
|---|---|
|
Games |
32 |
|
Starts |
29 |
|
Minutes played |
2,330 |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Assists |
2 |
|
Yellow cards |
7 |
|
Red cards |
0 |
Roca was more metronomic than that, Rodri-esque. He wanted to dictate play at his own pace. He wasn’t physical enough and he wasn’t the quickest midfielder in the world either. Those three traits meant he never truly settled under Marsch, even if he did start 29 Premier League games in 2022/23.
Unfortunately, Leeds suffered relegation at the end of that campaign and that was the last we ever saw of him in Yorkshire. In 2023/24, Roca headed to Real Betis on loan and then joined them on a permanent basis at the end of that campaign.
Leeds’ new Roca is facing the exit door
Farke’s style of play isn’t quite as intense as it was under Marsch but he does have certain expectations. Leeds have made themselves an incredibly well-drilled and well-organised team under the German in the top-flight.
What they have correctly identified is that they need physical specimens. They need a team of basketball players.
While the likes of Jayden Bogle and Harry Wilson may be on the smaller side, look across the rest of the pitch and it’s filled to the brim with players you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley. Dominic Calvert-Lewin stands at 6 foot 2, Muharemovic and Stach stand at 6 foot 4. They’re not just tall but they’re muscly too. They combine physicality with pace and technical elegance too.
That does not necessarily mean that if you are leaner you won’t fit into this team, but it does represent a disadvantage. Just ask Sean Longstaff.
Standing at around 5 foot 11, Longstaff isn’t exactly small but he is cut from a similar cloth to our old friend, Roca. Like the Spaniard, he is a player who lacks speed; he lacks a physical presence, and he’s not quite cut out for the play style that Farke operates with.
After signing in a £12m deal last summer, the 28-year-old started just ten times in the league. There was that memorable volley against Bournemouth, but that aside, there was not much to write home about from his first campaign with the club.
Sadly for the midfielder, his game time has been chopped even further this time around. Longstaff has featured in just two Premier League matches, accumulating ten minutes in that time.
As a result, he is one of the most underused players at Elland Road this season. That does not bode well for the future.
That said, is it really any surprise? His performance in the Carabao Cup against Chelsea suggested he isn’t cut out for the rigours of Leeds life.
During that tie, the former Newcastle United man skied a chance from the edge of the area in the first half. Simply, though, the game just passed him by.
During his 67 minutes on the field, he did complete 96% of his passes but he only had one shot, failed with his only dribble attempt and didn’t provide a key pass either. From a defensive point of view, he won five of his nine duels but came out second best in all three of the tackles he attempted.
As a result, after just ten minutes played in the league, Leeds must surely be considering how they can upgrade on Longstaff. He’s not good enough for this current side and like Roca, should be shown the exit door after just two years at Elland Road.