‘I Was Shocked’ – Daniel Farke Makes Early Leeds United Admission
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Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has admitted that he was shocked at the level the Whites’ training base Thorp Arch was at when he first arrived in 2023.
The Whites have occupied the the Thorp Arch facility ever since its opening in 1994, with then manager Howard Wilkinson recognising the need for a modern, purpose-built facility, naming it The Grange after Barcelona’s La Masia.
Leeds are lessees of the property now, having completed the sale and leaseback of Thorp Arch, divided into three separate tranches consisting of the Grange, the Barn and the first-team training pitches, in 2004 after the club accumulated debt in excess of £100m.
Farke stressed that his focus since signing joining the club has been on developing it in a sustainable manner, when he could have instead demanded signings as a short-term fix.
Revealing that he was ‘shocked’ at the level Thorp Arch was at in 2023, stating it to be on a League One level at best after falling into neglect, Farke contrasted it to be at odds with the high-level coaches and youth players coming through like Archie Gray.
Farke said in a press conference (26:30): “Also greedy to develop the club, that we also have something with sustainability.
“With all respect, once I signed here, I was shocked anyhow because I knew they were a few years at Premier League level.
“And I came here, we have great surroundings, yet at Thorp Arch, but the level of the training ground, with all respect, was more or less on League One level.
“It’s not the staff, the staff was brilliant.
“It’s also not the players anyhow. I also like our youth players that we developed and young players like Archie for example and we sold.
“We had a lot of talent and really good coaches and really good staff members, but the facilities, if I am honest, could feel what has happened the last decade more or less.
“This is more or less why I was so insisting, of course as manager you think on the short term, I want to buy this player, this player, for me, from the first day it was important, come on let’s improve our training ground, because this is what brings us sustainability.”
Farke went on to proudly declare that the facilities have now been upgraded to be at par with the best, adding that process of improvement is never-ending.
“If you have a look right now, on the facilities, you can say come on, we have arrived on the Premier League level.
“This is what we wanted to do, this is important to us.
“Not just to grow with results, but also how you handle things, how you do things, how you improve, more or less, the structure, how you improve the facilities, how you improve the training ground, or how you handle things where you can travel or whatever.
“So this is quite crucial and important and I always pushed that we develop on the top level, and it never stops, and we always want to get better and better.”
Leeds’ leasehold of Thorp Arch is set to expire in 2029, having signed a 25-year contract after the sale in 2004, but fans will remain confident that the club is in good hands.
Farke’s side increased their buffer with the relegation zone to eight points, after a comfortable win against Wolves on Saturday, as Noah Okafor was praised for being ‘head and shoulders above the rest, just in terms of quality’ by former Premier League striker Dean Ashton.
Whites legend Jon Newsome has backed Leeds to get past Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final next weekend and set-up a potential final appearance for the first time since the days of Don Revie.
Leeds take on Bournemouth before the Chelsea game, and Farke will be well within his right to rotate his squad, given that two further wins in the FA Cup will take Leeds back to Europe, as revenues from Europe can only strengthen a club’s sustainability in the modern era.
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