Why Daniel Farke deserves to be on Premier League manager of the season shortlist over Man United’s Michael Carrick

Adrian Durham believes that Daniel Farke should be up for Manager of the Season ahead of Michael Carrick.

The German has comfortably kept Leeds United in the Premier League and took them to an FA Cup semi-final as well.

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And if results go their way on the final day, they can even seal a top-ten finish.

However, he wasn’t one of the managers nominated for Manager of the Season with Keith Andrews, Mikel Arteta, Carrick, Pep Guardiola, Andoni Iraola and Regis Le Bris being shortlisted.

This is despite Leeds losing just four times since December.

Speaking about Farke on talkSPORT’s GameDay Live, Durham said: “When you think through the job he’s done, turning Ethan Ampadu into a genuine Premier League captain.

“Signings like Anton Stach and Gabriel Gudmundsson – Stach is a really good player.

“He’s managed the squad superbly. There is a leadership group featuring Ampadu, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Joe Rodon, and he is happy to let them manage the players.

“Farke should be on the shortlist for Manager of the Season. Certainly ahead of Michael Carrick, I would say.”

But Farke is ambitious, and he wants to see Leeds pushing on, and Durham discussed some detailed pre-match quotes from before their 1-0 win over Brighton on Sunday.

“Daniel Farke’s press conference ahead of today was nothing short of sensational,” Durham added.

“He was asked about how strong his bargaining position is as Leeds manager now they’ve stayed up. His answer was exactly ten minutes long.

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“He was sending a clear message to the board, and he spoke with real emotion about how he felt part of the Leeds family, how he loves the fans and has been properly infected by the club.

“It was almost like a farewell speech, and it could be, and he said, ‘I won’t be in charge of a season where I am not convinced we are heading in the right direction.’

“So, if the Leeds board don’t match his ambition, then he will go. It was emotional stuff from Farke.

“When he changed tactics halfway through the game against Manchester City, that changed their season. They are seventh in the form table since that game.”

Incredible

It would be more than fair to say that Leeds made an awful start to this season.

Before a huge 3-1 win over Chelsea at Elland Road, they lost four in a row, but during the final defeat to Manchester City, a change at half time proved crucial.

Farke switched from a back four to a back three with wing-backs, and it’s stuck since with Leeds now proving to be a tough nut to crack.

At one point, talkSPORT understood that he was on the brink of the sack with Chelsea and Liverpool up next, but Leeds responded brilliantly by picking up four points from those games.

What did Farke say?

In that specific press conference Durham was referring to, Farke made it clear that he has big plans for Leeds.

The German said: “I’m not the right choice if it’s about maintaining the status quo.

“You want someone who would be more of the same, then it’s definitely not me.

“I have to be convinced of a project, and I have to be convinced of the way we do it.

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“I am at my very best when I am 100 per cent bought into a project, and I am 100 per cent convinced to go forward in this way.

“In terms of going forward, I am ambitious.”