00:00Leeds United, of course, have now discovered their fixtures for the upcoming Premier League season following their promotion from the Championship last season.
00:09Leeds are set to take on Everton at home and then Arsenal away and then Newcastle United at home at Elland Road in their first three fixtures of the campaign.
00:19Now it is perhaps time to look at just how important getting going early in that start is for Daniel Farker's side.
00:26Of course, Leeds United head coach Daniel Farker has managed in the Premier League before with Norwich City, but ultimately he does have relegations on his CV.
00:36That led to some people doubting his capability to lead Leeds United in the Premier League for the upcoming season.
00:42But Farker has made clear that the backing he did not receive in Norwich City he will get at Leeds and that should allow him to prove that he is a capable manager indeed.
00:52And Leeds United's board have made clear that Farker is indeed the man, but you'd have to imagine that this start to the season will indeed be key for Farker and his future at Leeds United.
01:04Obviously not just the first three games, but you'd imagine it would perhaps go maybe into the autumn, into perhaps the early stages of winter to make a decision on whether Farker will remain as Leeds United manager,
01:14despite what the board have said about him being their man. It's a decent start in terms of their fixtures so far for Leeds, in terms of what they have at the start of the season.
01:24But is it a one that Farker will relish? Let's go now to Lee Sowett of the Yorkshire Evening Post.
01:30Lee, what are your thoughts on Leeds' start of the season and how important it is for Daniel Farker?
01:35Yeah, that's all totally fair enough and the start's incredibly important, you know, absolutely, 100% it is.
01:41And I think Daniel Farker would almost go along with what you said there as well, because he'll know, you know, football is a results business, isn't it?
01:48And how important it is that having taken the club up, that they stay up and obviously a good start to the season will, you know, can be absolutely key to that.
01:55And the last thing you want is after, you know, sort of like half a dozen games or a dozen games to be sort of like, you know, in the bottom three or even at the bottom, you know, starting to get adrift or whatever.
02:05You want a good start, you want to start kicking on and not being in too much danger.
02:09And it is very, very important. And that's why that first game, Everton at home especially, you know, feels so, so important, because you look at the other two games that come after that.
02:17I mean, you know, you can't write anything off and there will be upsets.
02:20Yes, there is upsets every year in the Premier League, but Leeds at Arsenal is going to be an absolutely massive task from going down there to the Emirates.
02:26And yes, they'll be at home against Newcastle, but I mean, you know, as a supporter of the team, you know, you know yourself, Daniel, how good they are at the moment.
02:35So that'll be very, very difficult as well.
02:37So those first three games in particular, and like I say, that Everton one, it's like, you can't go as far as to say it's a must win at that stage of the season.
02:45You haven't even kicked a ball yet, but it does make, there's no doubt about it, it does make it feel, you know, a lot more important.
02:50Because the thing is, then there's a break, you know, straight away after those three games, you've then got the international break.
02:55You come out of it and you've got Fulham away and Wolves away.
02:57They're two teams, so, you know, you wouldn't be too sure about where they're going to be this season.
03:01Wolves are a side who, you know, having lost Ait Nuri and also Mateus Kunja, two of the, probably the two best players, if you're being honest about it.
03:09They're a team that you could see potentially like getting embroiled in it.
03:12So that'll be, that's, you know, feels like a big game.
03:14Then you've got Bournemouth and Spurs at home.
03:16It's a difficult start.
03:18And, you know, obviously every game in the Premier League is going to be difficult, but it is, you know, very, very important that they get off to a good start.
03:24Because the owners will know, you know, they've come out and obviously backed Daniel Farker, which I'm pleased about.
03:28Because we said in one of these the other week, you know, that I felt they deserved the chance to, you know, to take him forward into the Premier League and see how he gets on.
03:35And obviously, you know, try and prove himself as a Premier League manager.
03:38People might look at it and say, well, you know, it was a bit of a disaster at Norwich.
03:41But I mean, he wasn't backed at all at Norwich.
03:43And he said that before himself.
03:44And that's not him looking for excuses.
03:46That's just the truth.
03:47And I think he deserves a chance to be able to do it with Leeds, who will be backed by the 49ers.
03:51There's no doubt about that, because they won't want to mess about and get relegated and have to, you know, fight back from the championship again.
03:57But equally, if it starts to go wrong early, then, you know, you can see them acting early.
04:01And I don't think that's any disrespect.
04:02I think that's just the truth.
04:03You know, I think everybody will probably go along with that.
04:05So it does feel like a good start is absolutely key.
04:07Yeah, because, you know, you need something to build from.
04:09But as I say, it's, you know, there's the chance there to build something.
04:13Everton at home, Fulham away, Wolves away.
04:15They're the sort of games, obviously, they're away games that you'd look at and think, well, why not?
04:18And obviously, you never know at Ellen Road.
04:20So even though Newcastle will obviously come to Ellen Road as favourites and Tottenham and, I don't know, maybe even Bournemouth,
04:25depends how the start's gone, Leeds at Ellen Road with the crowd, you know, that's always going to be a massive factor.
04:29So there's enough in there if you look at those first eight games
04:32to think they should be able to get, you know, enough points to at least get them sort of like up and running,
04:37let's say, and hopefully a little bit of distance away from the bottom three.
04:40Because you've got to remember, there's obviously two other teams that have come up as well.
