With just a couple of days left before Leeds players report back for pre-season training, it appears that Daniel Farke will become the club’s new first-team manager.
According to The Guardian (subscription required), an announcement is expected on Farke before the end of the weekend after Patrick Vieira decided upon moving to Strasbourg.
Although Farke isn’t an uninspiring appointment, one pundit believes that the Yorkshire-based club should go down a different route entirely.
Indeed, the decisions that the new owners of the Elland Road outfit, 49ers Enterprises, make now will ultimately shape their immediate future.
Clawing their way straight back up into the Premier League has to be the aim, and Frank McAvennie wants to see someone that really identifies with the club put in charge.
“They should hire a profile similar to Lee Bowyer,” the former West Ham star told Football Insider.
“He played for the club, he has them in his heart and a manager like that is what they would need to get back into the Premier League.
“Give someone like Bowyer a chance, and the fans would love one of their own to come in and they would show the passion needed on matchdays.
“Similar to Duncan Ferguson at Everton a couple years back, that helped them reignite the season.
“It is a worrying situation for Leeds as I would not like to see them go back into oblivion again as they are a Premier League club.”
It’s not a bad shout in all fairness. Bowyer, despite his controversial playing style, knows exactly what it takes to be a success at Leeds and, moreover, the supporters are more likely to give him time to impose his playing strategy onto the players.
Farke has earned promotion to the English top-flight before now with Norwich, and his sides generally play a brand of football that’s pleasing to the eye.
To that end it’s understandable why he might be being targeted. However, he absolutely needs to hit the ground running. If not, Bowyer may well become a candidate further down the line.
I think Frank has been heading too many balls. He has completely lost the plot