Leeds United owners wield axe as statement released amid Daniel Farke sack pressure : Elland Road in Turmoil

Leeds United’s owners have been facing pressure over the future of Daniel Farke, but they have just shown their ruthless side with another one of their football clubs
Leeds United’s owners are under growing pressure to decide the future of head coach Daniel Farke, with the side dropping into the Premier League relegation zone over the weekend. The Whites got off to a decent start in the division, but a recent run of one win in seven games has caused some concern.
The latest of those was a damaging 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa, made all the more painful by Leeds taking the lead in the clash through Lukas Nmecha. A brace from Morgan Rogers piled on the pain at Elland Road, where a smattering of boos from the home support made it clear that Farke needs to turn things around quickly.
Some fans have called for the Leeds owners to sack the manager, with some expectation that a new boss could turn things around quickly. While that seems unlikely at the moment, the ownership team have shown a ruthless streak lately, the latest of which came at another one of their clubs, Rangers.
The Scottish Premiership club sold off their majority shares in May this year, with the San Francisco 49ers group part of the consortium that now owns Rangers. After recent struggles, there has already been a change of manager, with Russell Martin leaving the club and Danny Rohl taking up the position.

Now, yet more changes have been made, as it’s been announced that the owners have sacked chief executive Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell with immediate effect. The pair only joined the club in the past year, with Stewart joining in December 2024, while Thelwell made the move in the summer from Everton.

A statement from Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh reads: “We’ve now had six months since we became part of Rangers to assess the club’s needs as well as to get to know Patrick and Kev a bit more, and, simply put, when we think about what we need in both a CEO and sporting director today, it’s different than who we think Patrick and Kev are. We want people that align with the vision for the next chapter.”
Patrick and Kev are both skilled executives and have delivered a lot for the club in their time with it,” Cavenagh also said. “I am not here and will not throw dirt on either of them. I think very highly of them both on personal and professional levels. It’s just the reality that the club needs different things today than it did six months ago.

“We have already started the hiring process and hope to have appointments soon, but we will prioritise quality and fit over speed. Change like this is always painful, especially when it involves people we care about. But, at the same time, we’re very excited about this opportunity to bring in fresh leadership to this great club.”

It shows a ruthless side to the Leeds owners, who face similar difficult conversations back at Elland Road. The recent form has reflected poorly on the side that had a decent start, but now faces some criticism and the real threat of relegation once again.
While Farke is under pressure, he claims he hasn’t thought about his future at all, claiming that full focus is on pushing forward and picking up points. He said, following Leeds’ defeat to Aston Villa: “No. We don’t have to speak about this topic, because this is not a topic I think one second about, really not.

“It’s not the question I am worried one second about. If you can’t handle the heat, don’t become a manager of Leeds United.”
The heat is certainly being cranked up on Farke, however, with Nottingham Forest and West Ham picking up two wins in their last three games to leapfrog the Whites.