Leeds United are still looking for the right man to lead them through their first campaign back in the Championship. The Whites decided against offering Sam Allardyce the permanent job following their relegation from the Premier League and the hope is they will be in a position to announce his successor sooner rather than later.
Of course, the ownership situation seems to be taking priority at the moment, but pre-season is due to get underway in the coming weeks and the clock is ticking on a managerial appointment. Steven Gerrard is currently considered to be the favourite for the role with Bet365, but there are a host of other names being touted by the bookmakers as potential candidates for Leeds.
Here’s a look at the current top six on the odds list, their background and their suitability.
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Steven Gerrard
Age : 43
Bet365 Odds: 2/1 (favourite)
Clubs managed: Rangers, Aston Villa
He might be the favourite at the time of writing, but his appearance in the running hasn’t thrilled supporters, who watched him struggle to find Premier League joy during his 11-month stint at Villa Park. Gerrard had to earn the Aston Villa gig, though, and at the time of his appointment it seemed to be the next logical step in his career after an eye-catching stint with Rangers.
Things couldn’t have gone any better for him at Ibrox, in truth. In his first two seasons, he led Rangers to successive second-place finishes, while also finding success in the Old Firm derby and leading the club to the knockout stages of the Euorpa League. That was before he led Rangers to their first title in a decade, ending Celtic’s stronghold of the Scottish Premiership by going unbeaten through the entire league season.
He did enjoy instant success when he arrived at Villa, winning four of his first six games to take the club towards the security of midtable. But, his popularity waned as his style of play began failing to yield the results Villa desperately needed.
Gerrard is a possession-based manager that values the importance of working off a solid backline. However, he failed to get the best out of Villa’s vibrant attackers and lacked the ideas needed to break down teams in the Premier League.
The Leeds job would allow him to take charge of a big fish in a small pond once more, where possession may come easier, as it did at Rangers. Leeds’ current squad probably hasn’t been built with possession in mind over the last 18 months, though, and big changes would be needed.
Carlos Corberan
Age: 40
Bet365 odds: 5/2
Clubs managed: Doxa Katokopias, Ermis Aradippou, Huddersfield Town, Olympiacos, West Brom
Leeds know all about Corberan’s abilities as a manager having employed him for three seasons to coach the club’s Under-23s. He led the club's youngsters to the Professional Development League title in 2018-19 while spending two seasons learning from Marcelo Bielsa at Thorp Arch.
He has seen mixed levels of success since leaving Elland Road. After steadying the Huddersfield Town ship and narrowly avoiding relegation, Corberan led the Terriers to a third-place finish and the play-off final in 2021-22, only to miss out on promotion to Nottingham Forest. That saw him land the Olympiacos role, but he was sacked after a record of just two wins in 11 games.
He returned to the Championship with West Brom in October, who had been in the relegation zone under Steve Bruce, and he immediately turned their fortunes around. The Baggies came close to securing a play-off spot and he remains at The Hawthorns with a reputation as one of the brightest young managers outside the top flight.
Corberan has been using a relatively fluid 4-2-3-1 formation with the Baggies, with energetic wide players being asked to create and track back in equal measure. Reports have suggested he has improved fitness levels at West Brom, too, and that’s an issue which Luke Ayling made reference to regarding Leeds last month.
Corberan knows Leeds well, of course, and his record in the Championship suggests he would fancy his chances of turning the Whites around.
Daniel Farke
Age: 46
Bet365 odds: 5/1
Clubs managed: SV Lippstadt, Borussia Dortmund II, Norwich City, Krasnodar, Borussia Mochengladbach
Farke hasn’t been seen on these shores since he was dismissed by Norwich City in November 2021, with the club struggling at the bottom of the Premier League. However, having led the Canaries to two Championship titles during his tenure, it’s fair to say he left his mark and then some in East Anglia.
The first of those titles came in his second season at Carrow Road, before helping the club bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking with a club record 97 points acquired. That is a feat Leeds would be right to take notice of, rather than focusing too much on his poor record in the Premier League.
After leaving Norwich, Farke joined Krasnodar, but left the Russian outfit without taking charge of a game due to the invasion of Ukraine. This season he led Mochengladbach to 10th in Bundesliga before parting ways with the club last week.
Farke is another who generally plays a 4-2-3-1, with players being asked to play a possession-based game at a high tempo.
Brenden Rodgers
Age: 50
Bet365 odds : 8/1
Clubs managed: Watford, Reading, Swansea City, Liverpool, Celtic, Leicester City
Rodgers might take some convincing to drop down to the Championship after spending much of his career in the top flight, either in England or Scotland. Just two years ago he was winning the FA Cup with Leicester and underlining why he was widely recognised as one of the best British managers in the game.
He led the Foxes to four top-10 finishes during his tenure, but he was unable to find the traction needed to avoid a relegation battle in his fifth season at the King Power Stadium and he was dismissed at the start of April. Leicester were eventually relegated with Dean Smith at the helm and Rodgers has been out of work since.
Rodgers is known for playing an attractive brand of attacking football with high pressing and fluid passing key principles in his system. The Northern Irishman also has a Championship promotion on his CV, having led Swansea to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2011.
He’s already been linked with the vacant job at Celtic, where he won two league titles before his move to Leicester City, and if Leeds are to pull off what would be seen as a big coup, they might need to move quickly.
Scott Parker
Age: 42
Bet365 odds: 8/1
Clubs managed: Fulham, Bournemouth, Club Brugge
The 2022-23 season wasn’t Parker’s best in the game. The former England international parted company with Bournemouth in August, just three days after a 9-0 defeat to Liverpool, after which he publicly questioned his side’s ability to stay in the Premier League.
He then joined Belgian side Club Brugge in December, but he lasted just over two months in the job after winning two of his first 12 games. Before this season, though, it’s fair to say Parker’s managerial career was on an upwards trajectory having led Bournemouth out of the Championship and back to the Premier League.
That was his first season at Bournemouth having been appointed on the back of the success he found with Fulham, where he also won promotion in his debut season. Parker was unable to keep Fulham in the Premier League, though, and it must be said his record in the top flight is a poor one.
His record in the Championship is second to none, though, and he has won plenty of plaudits with the way his sides get the ball down and play. At Bournemouth Parker favoured a 4-3-3 formation with players being asked to control games in possession and press high.
Lee Bowyer
Age: 46
Bet365 odds: 10/1
Clubs managed: Charlton Athletic, Birmingham City
Bowyer’s record as a manager might not make him the obvious choice but given his link to the club he has been mentioned. The 46-year-old spent almost seven years at Elland Road as a player, playing his part in some of the club’s most memorable moments on the field in the Premier League era before leaving to join West Ham United in 2003.
As a manager he has found joy, too. In his first full season in the dugout he took Charlton to promotion through the play-offs. He was unable to keep the south London club in the second tier, before resigning in March 2021 to join Birmingham City.
Bowyer spent 15 months in charge of the Blues, but he did enough to secure their Championship survival before leaving St Andrew’s. Bowyer has been known to play a direct style, and while he has favoured a three-at-the-back approach, his formation has varied throughout his coaching career.
Whether he would be able to handle the pressure and expectation that comes with Leeds remains to be seen, but having spoken openly about the role, he believes he would be able to galvanise the club and turn them around.
