A year ago, there were rumours that Daniel Farke, despite being the man to guide Leeds United to the Premier League, wouldn't be given the opportunity to keep them there.
Having taken Norwich City down, and not always been convincing at Elland Road, there were doubts as to whether the German was the man to keep Leeds in the top flight.
But the rumours proved unfounded and Farke was given a chance to keep the Whites' heads above water. A poor start to the campaign saw them in the bottom three in December, but their form turned around to comfortably stay in the top flight.
"I was never in that pool of fans that thought he couldn’t keep us up," said football presenter and Leeds fan Jack Durkin.
"If you get someone into the Premier League you have to have the opportunity to have a go at least. Leeds are different to Norwich. With all due respect, they’re nowhere near as big as Leeds United, they haven’t got the facilities of Leeds United, the budget of Leeds United, the investors etc.
"When it got to just before that period he changed it... I wasn’t [saying] ‘we need to get rid of him’ but I was so happy he turned it around. I love Farke, I think he’s class. Leeds fans really like him now.
"There was, as there always is, a collective of fans that aren’t happy with the manager but I’ve always loved him, I think his personality’s great, he’s done what we needed him to do in keeping us in the Premier League and then some. If you look at our form from Christmas, we’d have finished in the European places.
"Another thing I love about him, at the end of the season he basically said 'maybe I’m not the person to take Leeds forward if they’re not going to invest'. He sort of called Paraag Marathe's bluff, and because of that he’s got Trafford, Muharemovic, Wilson – on a free but on big wages – it’s an exciting time to be a Leeds fan.
Speaking to bet365 News, we got Jack's thoughts on the upcoming campaign.
What are you most looking forward to seeing from Leeds United this season?
The push for Europe! James Trafford’s exciting, Tarik Muharemovic from Sassulo who was linked with a lot of teams in Europe, I think he’ll be a big player for us and think he suits us well.
I’m excited to see what Farke does. At Christmas time last season, that was the turning point for Leeds and Farke so I’m excited to see what he does with the team, and I genuinely do believe there’s a push for Europe.
If Leeds United could sign one more player this summer, who would it be?
I do like Igor Paixao. Last season I was going on loads of different platforms saying he was going to sign and he never did, so I feel he owes it to me!
Position-wise I think we need another striker. I love Dominic Calvert-Lewin, what he did last season was unbelievable and kudos to Farke and the staff for keeping him fit. I would love another top striker. I really like Liam Delap; I think he’d be perfect for Leeds.
He’s got a bit of rattiness about him, l I think there’s a player in there and I don’t think he’ll play that much at Chelsea. I know we’ve got Okafor and Nmecha, but another striker would be the one.
What's a good season for Leeds United?
A great season would be Europe; a good season would be mid-table and a cup run. I know we got to the semi-finals last year... I’ve been to Wembley three times to watch Leeds and I’ve never seen us score a goal. We are absolutely dog and duck at Wembley but that curse has got to be lifted at some point and maybe that can be next season.
What's a bad season for Leeds United?
Relegation. That’s it. If we finish 17th obviously it’s not a great season but it’s not a bad season. We’ve seen the second season curse with Sheffield United, nearly with us when we almost went down.
