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Leeds United and Daniel Farke are having a strong season in the Championship yet again, but how does the German coach rank when it comes to Leeds United managers and their win percentages?
Despite just one win in four heading into the international break, his side are well-placed to achieve automatic promotion at the second time of asking during the final eight-game run-in.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LeedsLeeds | 38 | 23 | 11 | 4 | 76 | 25 | 51 | 80 |
| 2 |  Sheff UtdSheffield Utd | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 53 | 28 | 25 | 80 |
| 3 |  BurnleyBurnley | 38 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 52 | 11 | 41 | 78 |
| 4 |  SunderlandSunderland | 38 | 19 | 12 | 7 | 55 | 37 | 18 | 69 |
| 5 |  CoventryCoventry | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 55 | 48 | 7 | 59 |
| 6 |  West BromWest Brom | 38 | 13 | 18 | 7 | 48 | 34 | 14 | 57 |
Many great managers have come through the doors at Elland Road over the years, with Daniel Farke currently at the helm and being tasked with turning Leeds’ fortunes around.
He has done a more than solid job in West Yorkshire so far, becoming the fastest manager to win 50 games with a Championship side recently. Now, they must hold off Burnley and Sheffield United in pursuit of their ambition.
Who is the best Leeds United manager – ranking the top 10 by win percentage
In the meantime, we’ve scoured the history books to look at the long line of Leeds managers over the years to determine who is the best, at least when it comes to the metric of win percentages. Please note: they must have been in permanent charge and managed over ten games to be included. Here’s the top ten.
10. Dennis Wise
Dennis Wise managed the club between 2006 and 2008, initially in the Championship, and then also in League One. Wise took over with the club second from the bottom of the second tier and in a difficult position financially at the same time.
The team struggled throughout the season and were relegated following a 10-point penalty for going into administration, but under the guidance of Wise, Leeds made a good start to the following season in the third tier.
They received another points deduction, which was 15 points this time and again for financial reasons. Wise eventually left the club in January 2008 to become Newcastle’s Executive Director but not before winning 30 of his 69 games as manager of Leeds.
9. Jimmy Armfield
Jimmy Armfield took the reigns at Leeds, replacing Brian Clough as the manager in 1974, and inheriting much of the famous Don Revie team in the process.
He took Leeds to the European Cup final in 1975 against Bayern Munich in Paris. He is still widely regarded as one of the best Leeds managers ever, but he would have been hero-worshipped to this day had he got the better of Franz Beckenbauer and co. in that final.
He is fondly remembered in West Yorkshire for his time with the club, where Armfield won 87 of his 193 games in charge of the Whites.
8. Thomas Christiansen
Thomas Christiansen was announced as the new head coach of Leeds in June 2017 after being appointed by the then new owner Andrea Radrizzani to replace Garry Monk. He got off to a blistering start with the Whites initially as well.
He was dismissed on 4 February 2018 after a poor run of results and with the team tenth in the table having dropped out of the play-off picture, during a difficult period of fixtures after a kinder start to the campaign.
The 52-year-old is currently in charge of the Panama national team, but he won 15 of his matches as Leeds manager across a 33-game stint at Elland Road.
7. Marcelo Bielsa
The greatest Leeds manager of the modern era, Marcelo Bielsa became Leeds’ new head coach in June 2018 to replace Paul Heckingbottom. He brought the Whites back to the Premier League for the 2020/21 season after a 16-year exile from the top-flight.
Under his stewardship, Leeds played fast-paced, attack-minded football, and attracted praise from all over the world where Kalvin Phillips became a key player alongside ‘gem’ Ben White. His era brought life back to the City of Leeds, too. However, a poor start to the following season led to his sacking in February 2022.
The Argentine currently manages the Uruguay national team but won 80 of his 170 matches in charge of Leeds, with the majority of those coming in the Championship (53) to make him one of the second tier’s greatest ever managers.
6. Garry Monk
Garry Monk managed the club for just one campaign in the Championship during 2016/17 and reinvigorated the fanbase after the side had been languishing in mid-table for multiple seasons prior.
Under his tutelage — and with clever recruitment which included the likes of Luke Ayling, Kemar Roofe, Pontus Jansson, and Kyle Bartley — Leeds narrowly missed out on a spot in the play-offs after finishing seventh in the league.
Just when it appeared as though he was building something, he surprised many when he left the club at the end of the season. The 46-year-old last managed Cambridge United recently, but won 25 of 53 games in charge of Leeds.
5. Simon Grayson
Simon Grayson is a former Leeds United academy graduate, and was appointed manager in 2008. He was the mastermind behind a magnificent giant-killing in the FA Cup third-round victory over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United with a 1-0 win over the reigning Champions, while still a League One side.
It would get better than that for Grayson, when a few months later, he guided Leeds back up into the Championship, securing promotion from League One on the final day of the season with a dramatic win over Bristol Rovers.
He maintained his position in the second tier for a few seasons, but a lack of financial backing saw him lose many of his best players, and after a string of subpar performances, he was let go in February 2012 by Ken Bates. Grayson had won 84 of his 169 games at the helm at the time of his sacking.
4. David O’Leary
David O’Leary was Leeds’ assistant manager under George Graham before being appointed as his successor following Graham’s departure in 1998. O’Leary had a young group of talented individuals at the time he took over.Technically gifted players such as Lee Bowyer and Harry Kewell, who had struggled under Graham, became key components of one of Leeds’ most successful ever sides.
His team reached the semi-final of the Champions League in 2001, having beaten Barcelona in the group stage and Deportivo La Coruna in the quarter-final. By June 2002, O’Leary had been backed heavily in the market and had never finished outside the top five in the top-flight as a manager.
However, Peter Ridsdale sacked O’Leary as Leeds’ manager in the summer of 2002, replacing him with Terry Venables, which was the beginning of Leeds’ spiral down to the third tier and administration. He won an impressive 101 of 203 games as Leeds boss prior to that.
3. Gary McAllister
In the top three, perhaps surprisingly for some, is Gary McAllister. He became the Whites’ manager in January 2008 replacing Wise. At that time, Leeds remained in League One following relegation from the Championship the season before.
McAllister was a fan-favourite at Elland Road as a player for Leeds in the early and mid 90s, but wasn’t able to guide Leeds to promotion following a loss in the play-off final to Doncaster Rovers. McAllister was then sacked in December 2008, while in his second season as manager, after a string of poor results.
The legendary Scot won 25 of his 50 games in charge of Leeds, and has since been more of an assistant coach or pundit after leaving the Elland Road dugout.
2. Don Revie
Having only been recently knocked off top spot, it’s no great surprise that Don Revie is one of the top names on the list, as the man with a statue outside of Elland Road. Revie is undoubtedly the greatest Leeds manager of all time. He managed the Whites for over 700 games between 1961 and 1974.
Under Revie, Leeds won the Second Division in 1963/1964, the First Division in 1968/1969 and 1973/1974. He also won the FA Cup in 1972, the League Cup in 1968, the FA Charity Shield in 1969, and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in both 1968 and 1971.
He won 394 of 740 games in charge of Leeds before taking the role as England manager. Unfortunately, Revie passed away in 1989 but his legacy has lasted forever at Elland Road.
1. Daniel Farke
The German coach may be the latest in the hotseat but Leeds have had plenty from the weird to the wonderful in the managerial position before him. After a great first season in charge, Farke’s side fell just short of the automatic promotion places, with Leeds facing Southampton at Wembley and losing.
Farke has had to rebuild and go again this term but he has brought stability to the club following a frantic end to the last two summer windows under the stewardship of 49ers Enterprises. He must now get the job done in the final eight fixtures after the international break.
Farke has taken charge of 96 games for Leeds and lost just 18 of them, which, unsurprisingly, gives him a strong PPG record of 1.95, albeit in far fewer games than second spot in the list. He has also won 55 (57.29%) of those games, which puts Leeds in a strong position to gain promotion again this season.
How does Daniel Farke compare to Leeds United greats?
The caveat and main elephant in the room regarding win percentage is the level at which the various coaches manage at, with Bielsa spending two seasons in the Championship and one-and-a-half in the Premier League, McAllister and Wise managing predominantly in League One, and so on.
Farke’s Premier League credentials don’t make for great reading, but he and Leeds will hope for more backing than his Norwich City side gained during their recent stints at English football’s top table. That leaves Leeds with some hope that he can continue to win games and points next season, should they gain promotion.
Leeds and Sheffield United are set for just shy of 100 points based on their current points per game (PPG) rate, which would be among the highest points totals ever. They will hope to win the glory and financial benefit of promotion and add further to quality in their Championship squads.
Should Farke be afforded more of a war chest this summer, Leeds can harbour ambitions of not just surviving but also kicking on in the Premier League next term.