You hear so many nuggets on the workings behind the scenes at Leeds United from the Joe Wilkinson and Patrick Bamford podcast my best mates a footballer. Key shares on Daniel Farke’s drive for nurturing team spirit:
Players were made to share rooms in preseason (Germany) with Farke picking pairings, unheard of in modern football, apparently. All dining sessions are now on one long table (no phones) as opposed to round tables and cliques developing. Nobody starts eating until Farke says so, and nobody leaves until the last man has finished, always Max Wober apparently.
Farke has a very dry sense of humour; after putting a double gym session in the preseason itinerary, the second session (with players tired and mumbling) was actually a team bonding afternoon of go-karting.
Farke encouraged banter wind ups such as Bamford switching Cairns and Dan James training gear (including underwear) and putting a dead fish in Dj and Sam Byrams room! The kit man got Bamford back by pasting deep heat in his underwear before a friendly game.
Farke, not a fan of train travel as it carries greater risks of distractions from other passengers and he likes the fact on the teams coach the team chef can prepare all the food pre and post games.
New / youth players have designated seats on the coach (generally they all sit in the same groups, Amps, Rogan and Cairns for example), but Farke will shuffle people to ensure everyone is in one large group.
Archie Gray wasn’t able to change with the rest of the team until he reached 18 years old, so Farke changed timings to allow for all team huddles to incorporate Archie. Archie and Harry Gray are almost identical in every way, genetic freaks in terms of fitness, apparently with Archie smashing the Spurs fitness records at his Spurs medical. Bamford says Harry is as good a 15-year-old prospect that he has played with.
Sam Byram is teased as teachers pet, but holds the fines kitty (£1,000 late for team meeting), which pays for the Christmas party and presents for staff. Bamford shares that Farke was a striker himself and has an incredible knowledge of being a striker and spends many hours with just the strikers (not surprisingly) it wasn’t on finishing, but about mostly is around finding space to receive the ball.
Joe Rothwell is incredibly popular and ingratiated himself into the squad after previously playing for Saints by saying he had made the better move joining Leeds United. Amps and Byram immediately fined him for joining late, he saw the funny side and promptly paid up though.
Farke is incredibly calm and lives his mantra of never being too up or too down, although the Sunderland result was perfectly understandable. I just find all this stuff really interesting, and you can see how it has manifested within the current team spirit.
Written by Classof92 February 19 2025 17:02:46
