When Javi Gracia arrived at Elland Road a year ago it marked the anticlimactic end to a managerial search that started with notions of poaching one of the highest-rated coaches in Europe and ended with, well, a Watford manager. His CV suggested he was probably just about fine, which he was, at least until just before half-time in the Crystal Palace match. Of the three managers we had last season (sorry, Skoobs, caretakers don’t count), he’s still the one I like the most. Though that is mainly because I haven’t had to hear a single word from him since he left. He certainly hasn’t felt the need to record a ‘masterclass’ video explaining how he and Junior Firpo once won a game.

⬢

To read the rest of this article, you need to join TSB+ — members get access to this plus extra podcast and video episodes, all podcasts advert-free, can read every issue of our magazine online and much more. You can join or log in below.