I knew, like the vast majority of Leeds fans, exactly what to expect when the 2 pm team news was revealed. I immediately stuck a tenner on Southampton to win, told my mates to do the same, and told my dad Leeds would struggle to build any attacks without Phillips anchoring the midfield and with Roberts at ‘10’.

I wrote recently about my enjoyment of watching this Leeds team regardless of the result, but you just can’t beat the warm glow of that winning feeling. It had been 19 weeks since Leeds United last won a match, and 19 months since they last won in front of a packed Elland Road.

‘To have only picked up four points from 18 is a negative cycle.’ Marcelo Bielsa’s words came after West Ham triumphed 2-1 at Elland Road in December 2020, and after a repeat result on Saturday Leeds have now picked up only three points from 18 available.

People often defend Bielsa by pointing to where we were when he took over, but even as a staunch El Loco fan that argument leaves me a little uneasy

They say it’s easy to be wise after the event, but in the aftermath of a high-octane battle measured reasoning is often replaced by a concoction of panic and desperation, which tends to provoke knee-jerk conclusions. Hence, I chose to write these articles pre-game rather than post.

It’s the question everybody seems to ask. Even after our potless, unambitious owner stumped up another £25m for an impact sub, it was the first question he had to answer on Twitter. His answer was Adam Forshaw, and people scoffed or thought he was joking.

They were words attributed to the mouth of The Great Man, and they are a perfect fit for the eve of the opening day of a season that we have waited all summer for, or 18 years, depending on the context. It’s also a season that begins with a fixture that is so mouth-watering that it makes you wonder whether it was randomly generated, or the result of an algorithm designed to maximise global interest in the start of the English Premier League. It’s scum away, and I’m excited beyond belief.