Michael Hudson

And he knew it too, hence those comments (fair, imo) contrasting the crowd reaction to Leeds fans who’d just been relegated. We could all see the need for transition but Shepherd cocked up two summers, his departure and the next appointment. Too many didn’t know how good they still had it.

Plenty walked out of the ground after Wolves at home when we finished 5th. His time was coming to an end but that dysfunctional boardroom was a far bigger problem, as those same fans soon discovered.

100% agree.

I’d heard he was ill (stomach bug) but looks increasingly like a falling out with Corberan.

Sunset in La Gomera

My son, a penguin and some palm trees.

Sunday afternoon: coffee and ice cream, ‘Local Hero’ playing in the cafe while I polish off a tortilla española, then the walk home up the hill to work it all off.

But if Mitchell never stood a chance, that’s on the people who appointed him as well.

If you’re a competent DoF coming in to a club which already has a successful manager, I’d suggest it might be up to you to compromise a little. Might also not be a good idea to start by seeming to criticise what had gone before. Or to flounce off without making a single signing.

Some of the criticism is very reminiscent of SBR’s last few months, isn’t it?

There’s definitely some merit to that. Ferguson always knew when to freshen things up, as someone else said earlier today.

Mitchell was, imo, a DoF appointment as bad as bringing Joe Kinnear back to the club. If it was my business, the accountability would start with me. Howe needs an apology, a bit of time and proper support to let him get back to doing his job. Hopefully Wilson is the latter.

Which I also don’t think anyone can really pin the blame on Howe for. He went from being in hospital and asking for quick signings to getting texts on holiday saying there was no DoF and he’d better get back sharpish to sort things out.

Any other comparative business doesn’t give the manager that extra responsibility. And, while that money hasn’t yet brought results, it was spent at the same time as the messy, elongated departure of one of our two most important players.

It seems that way, Martin. There’s nothing snide about pointing out the obvious. You’re blaming him for Mitchell, for instance. How was any of that his fault? I’ve been supporting the club for almost 50 years too, so we both know it’s not the first time boards have let good managers down here.

And if you want ‘them’ to be firmer with player trading, then it all comes back to that mess between Ashworth deciding to leave and them finally appointing Wilson, none of which was caused by Howe.

How did Eddie win? He didn’t know Mitchell was coming in. He didn’t know he was leaving either. If he’d won, neither would have happened. You can’t blame him for people above getting their appointments wrong, much as you’d like to.

So we agree Howe overachieved with what he had available, thereby bringing in a lot of that cash. Did the owners do the same when a power struggle ended with Mitchell being dropped in (and leaving) without any consultation and we failed to trade in or out properly for three windows?

I think there are definitely potential upgrades but people - not you - forget the risk when they clamour for change. For instance, I really like Iraola as a coach but he’s never had to match his intensity to two games a week and he’d be under a different kind of pressure up here.

Did chuckle at the “whisky Trips” autocorrect! He’s not that bad…

Trippier’s body isn’t letting him play two games a week for the next month, so it’s immaterial. Someone will need to step in. The point about Shahar is that we should have more depth and he should be out on loan. Very promising kid but it’s a huge step up at FB for him.

I agree, he won’t be chucked in, but Howe does play young players when he thinks they’re good enough. He’s not Mourinho. If Miley’s fit, I imagine he’s going back there.

But he’s our most ‘senior’ specialist option and Trippier simply isn’t managing the workload or intensity.

Was always likely to be a stretch having Tino as Tripps as RB options this season. Unlucky with some of Tino’s injuries but the intensity of the fixtures means we really needed more physically reliable back-up and the signs were already there with Trippier. Wouldn’t like to chuck Shahar in.

I worked in FE in what must have been comparative golden years (pre-2008) and everyone called it the Cinderella sector even back then. Taught in the same place I’d done my A Levels and nothing had changed, except to get even shabbier. Can only imagine the state of funding and morale there now.

Existing Saudi links too, of course, but feels like there’s a reason he hasn’t had a top-level club job since 2018. Shades of Rafa?

Yes, especially when you think how crap it is overall. Lots of organisation but really poor quality.

TV revenue, prize money and commercial deals. It’s not all coming out of their pockets, you know, especially considering our net spend post-23. Valid criticisms to be made of Howe - including by himself - but daft to pretend he hasn’t also overachieved.

That’s my lack of organisation comment. It’s not good and nobody is pretending otherwise, least of all Howe tonight. I’d caution against knee jerk changes, though. We’ve seen how that can work out before. Think he more than deserves one summer with a (hopefully) strong DoF and some stability.

I hope he gets the time because the next few months probably won’t be pleasant. He has his flaws like all managers, but he’s been badly served by others and 100pc deserves a summer window to put things right again.

That’s true. It’s not like we haven’t been here before though, is it?

He’s got CL (twice), one cup final and a major trophy from the husk of Ashley, investment or no investment, while going through 3 (effectively 4) DoFs. What’s the owners’ great achievement post-2023? Getting on the pitch at Wembley?