'We need to sit down' - Leeds United director Peter Lowy addresses Daniel Farke's bold comments
Leeds United director Peter Lowy addresses Daniel Farke's bold comments
Leeds United director Peter Lowy has addressed bold comments made by manager Daniel Farke in the build-up to the clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Whites went into last weekend’s game in a strong position, with their Premier League safety already secured. A late winner from Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave the hosts a 1-0 win at Elland Road.
Build-up was overshadowed by Farke’s incredibly candid assessment of his future, which caught supporters off-guard.
Daniel Farke’s candid comments
"I won't take on a season where I'm not convinced the club is heading in the right direction," he said. "Right now I think it's important for the club that we sit in a trustful atmosphere and speak about new goals. We have to speak about the way we want to achieve it. We have to speak about the processes.
"The club has to decide where we want to be in a few years time. I'm ambitious and this is quite important for me. I love to be a manager who plays for something instead of to playing to avoid something. I'm not the right choice if it's about maintaining the status quo. I have to be convinced of a project and the way we do it.”
Peter Lowy’s response
Lowy, a lifelong Leeds fan who is a key figure in the club’s hierarchy, agreed with Farke’s suggestion that talks needs to be held.
“Football’s an integrated business,” Lowy told The Athletic. “It’s not just Daniel on the football pitch.
“When we bought it, we set goals, we set targets and as Daniel rightly said, we have met all our targets in football. We have met all our targets in the finance. We got rid of the £200m-plus player debt, players we didn’t have.
“We refinanced the thing, our revenue was up substantially. Then, from the development side, we got the approval and started building (Elland Road’s redevelopment).
“If you look at the business, Daniel is an executive in one section, [there are other sections and] they’ve all met their goals. Where Daniel is right, is we need to sit down, which we will do now, and set a new set of goals.
“We had a four-year plan that we did in three. Now, we need another three-year plan. If you look at how I worked at Westfield (shopping centre company) and how the 49ers work, there are tactical issues and strategic issues.
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“What Daniel was talking about was the strategic issue of the long-term plan, how we do it. We need to sit down and do it again because we got there a little early.”
Leeds’ 2025/26 season will come to an end on Sunday (May 24), when they will make the trip to West Ham United for their final fixture.
Although the Whites know they are safe, they can play a significant role in the relegation battle. If Leeds lose to West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur could slip into the drop zone.