It wasn’t when the fixtures came out, forget that. At that point I was still so pissed off with Leeds United – or more specifically the people who’d been running Leeds United – that any enthusiasm had been snuffed out by their pitiful failure. It wasn’t when the takeover was finally ratified either, because that had been a given and all it meant was that some of the same people who’d stood by while Rome burned last season were now in charge.

No, I finally realised that we were back in the EFL when I saw coverage of the Premier League’s ‘Summer Season’ kickabout, a preseason tournament being played in America involving footballing powerhouses like Fulham and Brentford. It was an event Leeds were supposed to be participating in, until the organisers wisely judged that Radrizzani and Orta’s best efforts to get the club relegated were going to bear fruit. It’s the sort of fatuous brand building exercise the Premier League has become so good at in recent years, and we weren’t at it. That’s when I finally got my dose of much needed reality.

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