The biggest new name was Leicester centre-back Patrick Kisnorbo, an Australian international, while in October, the front line was bolstered by the arrival of two loanees, Sam Vokes from Wolves and Leicester winger Max Gradel.

A 2-0 victory against Stockport on 5 September was United's fourteenth straight League win at home, breaking a record established in 1969. It also set a record for successive wins in all competitions at the start of a season, going one better than the seven achieved in 1973.

United's unbeaten start came to an end at Millwall on 24 October but they were back to form the following Tuesday night, running in four goals without reply at Bristol Rovers.

United pulled off a memorable victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup at Old Trafford on 3 January, securing a historic victory by virtue of Beckford's first half goal and a magnificent team display. Simon Grayson claimed it as a 'fantastic day for this football club' as Leeds ended a 29-year drought at the Theatre of Dreams.

Strangely, the triumph triggered a loss of form in the League with many laying the blame at the feet of Beckford's agent. With Beckford's contract due to end in the summer, it was the final opportunity for Leeds to cash in on him. Newcastle tabled a £1.25m bid, later increased to £1.8m, but Ken Bates insisted they would wait for a 'ridiculous' offer.

United enjoyed more FA Cup glory with a draw against star-studded Tottenham at White Hart Lane before going out in the replay, but their League form collapsed and they crashed 3-0 at Swindon on 26 January.

Until two second half Becchio goals secured victory against Oldham on 23 February, United had taken seven points from the eight games played since Old Trafford. Further draws against Huddersfield and Brentford left them seven points behind Norwich. There was a massive collective sigh of relief as they won 4-1 at Tranmere.

But they continued to stutter, losing 1-0 to Southampton and then 2-0 at home to Millwall, with Patrick Kisnorbo's season ended by a ruptured Achilles in the first five minutes.

The replacement for Kisnorbo was Preston's Neill Collins, joining on loan, as did 18-year-old Arsenal left winger Sanchez Watt. Collins played at table-topping Norwich on 27 March and did well in a strong team performance, but United lost again, and they did so once more, by three clear goals, at home to Swindon on 3 April. The game seemed up.

However, two rare goals from Richard Naylor earned three points at Yeovil on 5 April and there were then straightforward victories against Southend and Carlisle to keep United a point clear of Millwall in second.

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When the Lions lost a Friday evening fixture at Huddersfield, it left United needing three wins from four games to confirm promotion.

Leeds fans set off for Gillingham on 17 April convinced that they were home and dry but by the 33rd minute the Kent side were 3-0 ahead and playing the Whites off the park. United pulled two goals back but could not get back on level terms. A week later, they made amends by beating MK Dons 4-1.

On 1 May, Leeds were at Charlton, with Millwall visiting Tranmere. Former United striker Ian Thomas-Moore and Andy Robinson, on loan from Elland Road, scored as Tranmere won 2-0, the second goal coming just after the hour. At that point Leeds were goalless at the Valley, but a win was required to capitalise and Grayson went for it, bringing on Beckford, Grella and Watt. It was Charlton, though, who scored with three minutes remaining. The defeat made little difference: United still required victory in their final game at home to Bristol Rovers to seal promotion.

8 May was a classic big day at Elland Road, the players understandably tense, but there was no excuse for the behaviour of Max Gradel, who sought retribution for a foul by Daniel Jones in the first half. The left-back hit the floor like he'd been shot when Gradel stamped on him,Jerma sparking chaotic scenes. Gradel was dismissed but refused to go quietly. It required the physical intervention of Beckford and Doyle to drag him off the pitch.

When Duffy gave Rovers the lead two minutes into the second half, Simon Grayson threw Jonny Howson on for Lowry and within five minutes, the midfielder had equalised. In the 63rd minute, Beckford pounced on a loose ball in the area to give United the lead. Elland Road erupted; if Leeds could hold on, they were up! The air was thick with tension as the clock ticked agonisingly down and at the finish the massed ranks invaded the pitch to celebrate with ecstatic players in the most positive moments that United had enjoyed since their Champions League adventure.

Beckford bade a fond farewell to Elland Road after promotion was secured, ending a four-and-a-half year stay by completing his widely-anticipated Bosman transfer to Everton. The main men coming in were goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, son of Manchester United legend Peter, and Cardiff's Scottish international striker Ross McCormack.

The team was unquestionably stronger than that relegated in 2007, and they looked at ease in their new surroundings, but had to wait until their third Championship fixture to register their first victory. Two memorable goals from substitute Davide Somma ushered in an unbelievably positive tone among United fans after the game as 'Somma-Time' rapidly became the new catchphrase.

United's steady advance was abruptly halted on 14 September at Barnsley when they slumped to a 5-2 reverse. Connolly, Naylor and Bessone were unceremoniously dropped and days later, Simon Grayson recruited Northern Ireland international left-back George McCartney on loan.

United were involved in an extraordinary game at home to Preston on 28 September. After falling behind in the fourth minute, Leeds came storming back to lead 4-1 by the 39th minute, with Somma snaffling two of the goals. Even when Jon Parkin pulled a goal back a minute later, the game seemed in the bag. Cue a startling second half comeback with Preston rattling in four goals to complete an astonishing 6-4 triumph.

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If Grayson was frustrated by that collapse he was apoplectic after the following game, which saw United crash to a third successive home defeat, by 4-0 to Cardiff City. He acted swiftly, recruiting Bolton centre-back Andy O'Brien.

O'Brien was given an immediate debut, on 30 October at Scunthorpe. United secured their second win in six games, inspired by a hat trick from skipper Jonny Howson in the space of fifteen second half minutes.

Draws at Norwich and Reading and victory at Crystal Palace on 4 December courtesy of two Becchio goals in the last ten minutes, gave Leeds a top six berth. The positivity continued a week later as they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at Burnley.

The 2-0 defeat of table-topping QPR on 18 December, by virtue of two crackers from Max Gradel, brought them within three points of the leaders in the season's high point.

United pulled off a memorable draw in the FA Cup away to mighty Arsenal with the Gunners requiring a late Fabregas penalty to stay in the tie. Even though the Londoners deservedly won the replay 3-1, Bradley Johnson's long range effort was the pick of the night's goals. A 4-1 victory against Forest on 2 April left Leeds fifth and strongly placed for a Play-Off spot before a run of two points from five games destroyed their hopes of going up. They finished the season with encouraging victories against Burnley and promoted QPR, with McCormack scoring on both occasions.

As anticipated, Richard Naylor, Shane Higgs, Neil Kilkenny and Bradley Johnson all moved on when their contracts expired but the sale of Kasper Schmeichel was more surprising. Simon Grayson brought in Preston's Andy Lonergan and Blackpool reserve Paul Rachubka to replace him. Veteran Portsmouth midfielder Michael Brown and Darren O'Dea were also signed, while Wolves striker Andy Keogh joined on loan, the deal lasting until January for a player who had begun his career at Elland Road.

In the early part of September United signed two out of contract Finland internationals, Mikael Forssell and Mika Vayrynen, but they were not the big names that fans craved and were poor replacements for the much-loved Max Gradel, off to St Etienne for £2.3m.

United managed to harvest enough points to stay in and around the Play-Off positions for most of the autumn, despite crashing 5-0 at home to Blackpool.

Off field matters took centre stage when former United favourite Gary Speed hanged himself.

Speed, the first player to make 500 appearances in the Premier League, was a member of United's League Championship side in 1991/92 and much loved by supporters everywhere. There was a very public tribute from United followers during a rousing 4-0 victory at Nottingham Forest: a minute's applause before the start gave way to 11 minutes of chanting from the 11th minute, to commemorate the No 11 shirt that Speed had sported so honourably. With astonishing aptness, United opened the scoring just as the chanting came to an end.

A poor run of results saw United slide down the table and a 4-1 defeat at home to Birmingham on 31 January brought the dismissal of Simon Grayson.

Under-18s coach Neil Redfearn took temporary charge of the team and enjoyed a dream start with a 3-0 victory at Bristol City before watching them lose to Brighton and Coventry.

As Redfearn prepared for the home game with Doncaster, gossip had it that Neil Warnock had been interviewed for the job. A photo published in the Daily Mail captured Warnock deep in conversation with Ken Bates and Shaun Harvey at a cafe in Monte Carlo.

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On the morning of 18 February, in the hours before the Doncaster game, United confirmed that Warnock had been appointed manager until the end of the 2012/13 season.

The new man, watching from the stands, must have wondered what he was getting into when Doncaster took the lead just after the half hour. The advantage was no more than Rovers deserved and there was an air of resignation as United players trudged off to boos and jeers at the interval. Warnock played his part at the break with an impromptu team talk, inspiring a second half fightback and a breathtaking 3-2 victory.

A mediocre run in included a 7-3 drubbing at home to Forest; away form had improved, but United's last day defeat to Leicester was an eleventh home reverse, an unwanted club record, though Warnock vowed he would earn a record promotion in the season that followed.

In May 2012, Sun reporter Andrew Haigh set the social media world alight with some Twitter postings to the effect that Ken Bates would be out of Leeds United within weeks. The acronym TOMA (Take Over My A***!) was born and soon became THE topic of conversation on the WACCOE fans' website, spawning millions of posts over the next six months, with Gary Cooper, chairman of the Leeds United Supporters Trust, making regular, informed contributions under the nom de plume of BIG (Billy Is God).

The speculation spread like wildfire with rumours of Middle East billionaires with more money than sense about to resurrect the club.

The gossip became so intense that the club felt it necessary to issue an official statement on 29 May, confirming that talks were taking place regarding investment. Revelations, both true and misleading, continued to leak out throughout the summer, periodic claims that a takeover was 'imminent' sending fans into convulsions as WACCOE threatened to overheat.

When United hosted Wolves in the opening game of the season, Salem Patel and David Haigh, directors of the prospective new owners, Dubai-based investment company GFH Capital Limited, sat close to Ken Bates in the East Stand throughout the 1-0 win.

Neil Warnock's selection boasted a clutch of new signings in Paddy Kenny, David Norris, Paul Green, Lee Peltier, Jason Pearce, Rudy Austin, Luke Varney and El Hadji Diouf with teenager Sam Byram making a promising debut at right-back. On the debit side they were without Robert Snodgrass, departed for Norwich after losing patience with the lack of progress.

League form was patchy, but United were outstanding in the Capital One Cup, seeing off Everton and Southampton and taking the lead against Chelsea before eventually losing 5-1 in the quarter-finals.

At the end of November, the club announced that GFH Capital had finally signed their long-anticipated acquisition contract with a one-month transitional period to allow the full change of ownership to go through.

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Supporters welcomed the news but were furious that Bates would remain as chairman until the end of the season when he would become club president.

Michael Tonge made his move to Elland Road permanent on 10 January and a day later Everton midfield starlet Ross Barkley arrived on a month's loan. Both men figured in a 2-0 defeat at Barnsley which heralded chants of 'Warnock, time to go' as United lost a fourth away game in succession.

When United fell behind to Birmingham after 26 minutes in their FA Cup replay on 15 January, it looked like another nail in the managerial coffin, but a second half revival secured a glamorous fourth round tie with Tottenham.

United performed superbly against Spurs, with McCormack's exquisite effort earning a 2-1 victory.

There was some frenetic last minute transfer activity in the next few days, with Luciano Becchio moving to Norwich in a multi-million pound deal and Canaries striker Steve Morison making the return journey.

Gifted teenager Chris Dawson enjoyed an impressive debut on 1 April at home to Derby, but United lost 2-1 and Neil Warnock recognised the writing was on the wall, telling Yorkshire Radio: 'I think it is right for the club [if I go] now.' The club took him at his word, with development squad manager Neil Redfearn placed in temporary charge until a permanent replacement could be found.

While United were well above the relegation zone with six games remaining, they were only five points clear of the four clubs covering places nineteen to twenty-two. It was essential that a mid-table malaise did not collapse into something more worrying.

On 12 April, Brian McDermott, who had led Reading to promotion to the Premier League a year earlier, was appointed on a three-year contract. He began with victories against Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley. 'We're Leeds United, we're passing the ball,' sang delighted supporters, glad to be rid of Warnock's despised hoofball.

The upswing in mood was unmistakable and on 26 April the club announced that almost 11,000 season tickets had been sold for the 2013/14 campaign.

United ended the season with an impressive 2-1 victory away to promotion-chasing Watford, ending the Hornets' chances of automatic promotion. They also set themselves up for what they hoped would be a productive summer of rebuilding under a well-regarded manager.

Towering Oldham striker Matt Smith joined United on 1 July and the departure of Steve Morison on a season-long loan to Millwall, freed up a squad place, allowing McDermott to sign Reading striker Noel Hunt on a free transfer. Also arriving was Crewe midfielder Luke Murphy, for whom United paid £1m, making him the club's first six-figure transfer since Richard Cresswell in August 2005.

On 1 July, as anticipated, the club announced changes to the Board with Salah Nooruddin revealed as chairman and David Haigh appointed managing director.

Within the month they announced that Ken Bates had been removed as club president and would no longer have any role with the club, prompting celebrations from supporters who had campaigned for an end to Bates' chairmanship.

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Bates was abruptly sacked after committing the club to a contract to fly him regularly to Leeds from his Monaco home at a cost of £500,000 over three years.

In October, United moved for Nottingham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock - the club's 75th loan signing since 2004 - and signed former Hearts centre-back Marius Zalkiukas.

Blackstock came on as a 72nd minute sub for Smith at Huddersfield on 26 October and scored almost immediately to make it 2-2, but Jon Stead won the game for the Terriers when he added their third goal a few minutes later.

United won 3-0 at Doncaster on 14 December to climb into the top six, but then stuttered badly with a drab home defeat to Blackburn on New Year's Day, a shock FA Cup reverse at Rochdale and a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

It was about then that Italian Massimo Cellino, a 57-year-old agricultural entrepreneur, who owned Serie A club Cagliari, expressed an interest in buying the club. The Italian, known as 'mangia-allenatori' (literally the manager-eater), had a reputation for hiring and firing managers, having dispensed with the services of thirty-six during his twenty-two years as owner of Cagliari. Nevertheless, it came as a shock when Brian McDermott was sacked, the action taken by Chris Farnell, a lawyer acting for Cellino, even before the takeover had been completed.

The Italian was thought to want former Middlesbrough defender Gianluca Festa as manager and had arranged for him to sit in the dugout with McDermott during a 1-1 draw with Ipswich.

When the club officially announced that it had agreed to sell 75% of the shares to Cellino, police had to be summoned as angry fans sought to barricade the Italian into Elland Road after late night talks.

The directors rescinded the dismissal of Brian McDermott, telling him that Farnell did not possess the requisite authority. They asked him to take charge for the match against Huddersfield on 1 February. Understandably, McDermott declined and assistant Nigel Gibbs presided over a 5-1 victory, citing the result as being 'for Brian' and adding: 'It was his team, his performance, his victory. The statement is good news, we all want him to stay. The team played for Brian, absolutely.' Ross McCormack's emphatic hat trick in the game was a clear demonstration of the Scot's support for McDermott, with whom he had formed a strong bond.

Cellino claimed that it was all a misunderstanding and that actually he wanted McDermott to remain in charge. McDermott gave every impression that he intended to stay but he was always a wounded animal after the episode.

It was clear that Cellino was in absolute control of the club, though there were serious doubts that the Football League would accept him as a fit and proper person, given his two previous convictions for fraud and a number of impending court cases. Suppliers claimed that they had not been paid since October and would receive no further money until the shambolic ownership saga was concluded. Cellino had lent the club £1.5m and there had been other loans from Andrew Flowers, head of Enterprise Insurance, the club's main sponsor, and David Haigh.

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It was widely reported that the club was on the verge of financial meltdown, short of cash and deeply in debt, with an uncertain future if the Cellino takeover did not go through, though those fears were stayed when Cellino offered up more cash to meet the wage bill at the end of February.

The uncertainty did not prevent the loan signings of young England duo, goalkeeper Jack Butland and striker Connor Wickham.

It became apparent that the League's delay in sanctioning the Cellino deal was influenced by an upcoming court case which saw him accused of avoiding payment of €400,000 import duty on a yacht.

Haigh had severed contact with GFH as relations between the two parties grew frosty, telling friends that the bank had left him and high and dry while he sought to keep the club afloat by seeking new loans and investors.

When the Italian court found Cellino guilty of tax evasion on 18 March the entire deal was placed in jeopardy, with the Football League announcing that the verdict disqualified him from taking control of Leeds United, though Cellino immediately appealed the rulings of both the court and the League.

On 5 April it was announced that Cellino's appeal had been successful, QC Tim Kerr deciding the League was wrong to decide the Italian had acted dishonestly without first seeing the written judgment of the Cagliari court.

Thus reprieved, Cellino jetted into the UK to complete the deal fresh from having sacked a thirty-seventh manager at Cagliari. He had already decided to get rid of Haigh and indicated to McDermott that his position was under threat if results did not improve.

The Italian forecast that Leeds would be a Premier League within two years, adding: 'The fans of Leeds, they're tired of eating s**t and shutting their mouths. They accept me with enthusiasm and that gives me a lot of responsibility. I'm the richest man in the world with these fans.'

Cellino called the police in to investigate after secret spy cameras were discovered in the Elland Road boardroom and toilets, with speculation that Haigh, who had resigned, had inappropriately used thousands of pounds of club funds to install the cameras.

Just as United completed their programme with a 1-1 draw at home to Derby, a result which meant they ended the season fifteenth, there came news of yet another winding-up petition as Haigh's Sport Capital called in a loan of more than £957,000.

Cellino had been going through the club's operations with a fine tooth comb. He decided to release at least seventy employees and temporarily closed Thorp Arch in an attempt to cut costs with the club reportedly losing £1m each month.

The rift between McDermott and Cellino deepened when the manager visited his ill mother only for Cellino to formally order him to report back to the club with his coaching staff and playing squad on 28 May. McDermott's reign ended two days later when his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.

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Elsewhere it was reported that David Haigh was in police custody in Dubai after being arrested over alleged financial irregularities relating to the ownership and sale of the club by GFH. Haigh flew to Dubai after being offered a new job by the Bahraini bank but was detained by police on suspicion of fraud after arriving at GFH's offices.

Cellino appointed the unknown David Hockaday, former boss of non-League Forest Green Rovers, with Ross McCormack almost immediately departing to Fulham in an £11m deal.

Hockaday was forever landed with the infamous quote from Cellino that 'coaches are like water melons. You don't know what you've got until you open them up.'

There were a clutch of signings from Serie B and one inexplicable arrival in the shape of Peterborough forward Nicky Ajose, who quickly fell out of favour and departed on loan to Crewe.

Ajose debuted in the opening day defeat at Millwall, along with Marco Silvestri and Souleymane Doukara, with teenage midfielder Lewis Cook coming off the bench. A week later, new striker Billy Sharp scored the only goal against Middlesbrough as Tomasso Bianchi and Liam Cooper made their bows.

Centre-back Giuseppe Bellusci and striker Mirco Antenucci featured the following week but could do little as Watford won 4-1, with the defender getting his marching orders.

Cellino had made his mind up to dismiss Hockaday after that game, but had second thoughts; it was a temporary reprieve and Hockaday was gone after a dismal Capital One Cup defeat to Bradford City, clearly out of his depth.

Neil Redfearn took temporary control, though Cellino was clear that he would not be appointed, turning instead to Sturm Graz coach Darko Milanic, even after Redfearn delivered impressive victories against Bournemouth and Huddersfield.

The Slovenian's conservative approach failed to deliver a single victory in his six games and he was sacked after thirty-two days in charge. Redfearn eventually took the managerial chair on a permanent basis after putting together some useful results, including a 2-0 victory against Championship high flyers Derby courtesy of a brace from Antenucci.

United were landed with a transfer embargo during the January window because of the losses they had suffered the previous season. There were a number of loopholes which they were able to exploit but they would need to soldier on for the time being without the guiding hand of Cellino at the tiller, as he was banned from any dealings in the club's affairs until April as punishment for his fraud conviction. The sanction was extended to the end of the season by mutual agreement as a means of ending the threat of further disciplinary sanction.

In his absence, banker Andrew Umbers, one of the men who helped arrange the sale of the club to GFH, assumed the role of chairman.

A poor run dragged United into the relegation mire during the spring, but Redfearn managed to contrive enough victories to leave them comfortably safe, although a lack of consistency ensured there would be no promotion challenge.

They could console themselves with the form of home-grown youngsters Alex Mowatt, Charlie Taylor, Lewis Cook and Sam Byram. The rejuvenated Luke Murphy demonstrated the sort of form that had made United pay £1m for him a couple of years earlier, while the loan signing of Sol Bamba brought a new solidity to the back four, despite a few aberrations.

There were rumours that Cellino would sell up, with both actor Russell Crowe and the drinks firm Red Bull said to be interested, and an end-of-season controversy as assistant manager Steve Thompson was sacked on the say so of director of football Nicola Salerno after being accused of underperforming. Within days Salerno had also departed Elland Road.

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United fell apart after the departure of Thompson, losing five games on the bounce. The long-suffering United supporters stood solidly behind the club, distraught at the seemingly endless chaos, chanting 'There's only one Steve Thompson/Neil Redfearn' as the Whites went down 3-0 at home to Blackburn at the beginning of April. Redfearn acknowledged the support with a grateful wave to the Kop.

The manager bemoaned the lack of certainty about his future as rumours emerged that Cellino would replace him. When he returned to take charge, the Italian launched a blistering attack, describing Redfearn as 'weak' and 'a baby' and claiming, 'He tried to play the fans against me to keep his place. Do you think that Neil Redfearn loves Leeds more than me?'

Cellino appointed former United director Adam Pearson as Executive Director in May and then revealed that former Manchester City striker and Brentford and Wigan manager Uwe Rosler was the new head coach with Redfearn offered his former position of Academy manager.

Rosler said that he would 'be responsible for key members of staff around the first team, the group of players, the tactical approach, the technical approach. Picking the team will be completely my responsibility. I'll have an impact in terms of who's going in and who's going out.

'Life is a challenge and I know what I'm getting myself into. But I'm thriving on pressure and I'm thriving on challenges all my life. I'm a hard-working person. It's the way I grew up, the way I played the game; the way I deal with personal problems and the way I manage. You need those qualities to make it count here. My experience of 10 years as a head coach will allow me to do that.

'We are aiming for top ten and I think that would be progression, competing with the clubs on parachute payments which are getting bigger and bigger, I would call that a successful season.'

Reassured by the presence of such an experienced management team, Cellino put money up to give Rosler a fighting chance of promotion. Sol Bamba's contract was made permanent for £1 million and then Rosler paid out £5.3 million to boost his attacking resources with deals for Chris Wood, Stuart Dallas and Jordan Botaka.

Unfortunately, Rosler couldn't transform all the potential and confidence into results on the field and his eleven Championship games produced just two victories and nine goals. Brighton's victory at Elland Road on 17 October was the third defeat in a row and was the last straw for Cellino, who summarily terminated Rosler's contract. 'I watched the game on Saturday and in the second half, we were just trying not to lose,' Cellino told the Daily Mirror. 'We were not trying to win. That is not good enough. I wanted them to play heavy rock football but instead it was like country music. I did my best to help Uwe, but in the end, I could not see even a patch of blue in the sky, just cloud, cloud and cloud.'

Cellino took issue with Rosler's comment a week earlier that his side was not good enough to win promotion. 'Why did he say that? The fans want to dream, so why did he say that? To say that after eleven or twelve games is wrong. That is not right for the fans.' Cellino instantly appointed Rotherham manager Steve Evans. It was his final act as chairman for quite a while. Hours later the Football League disqualified him for twelve months following a conviction for tax evasion in Italy.

Cellino's recruitment of Steve Evans was considered by many only marginally less bizarre than that of Dave Hockaday. Evans was initially regarded as a joke of cosmic proportions, and few people welcomed the Glaswegian bruiser with any elation. Gradually, however, Evans won some supporters round and earned grudging respect for the steadying hand he brought to the tiller. He found enough form and points to make 2015/16 an uneventful season with hints of neither promotion nor relegation, all that could really be hoped for in the circumstances.

There was never any way Evans was going to be given the opportunity to take Leeds onto the next level, however, and Cellino cut him adrift in the summer with an absence of either gratitude or respect. The uncertainty left a distraught Evans stumbling tearfully through a press conference after the penultimate game at Preston. The Italian was in a resigned mood himself, wearied by his disputes with the League and demoralised by protests from the fans. They had upped the ante with mock funerals for him as they chanted 'Time To Go Massimo' and projected messages of protest onto the side of the East Stand. #TTGM became de rigueur on social media as the strapline for a very active campaign against his continued ownership. Cellino's disqualification as a director was set aside pending an appeal, but the wind had unquestionably gone from his sails.

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He claimed that if he could get the right offer, he would walk away from the club. Italian sports media entrepreneur Andrea Radrizzani won Cellino's confidence and persuaded him that he was a man with whom he could do business. There was a meeting of the minds after Radrizzani contacted Cellino to discuss getting involved in the project. Agreement was reached on the sale of 50 per cent of Cellino's shares and the transaction was completed in January 2017. Radrizzani also secured the option of a full takeover if Leeds failed to achieve promotion at the end of the season. The value of the club was set at £44.8 million. At the time, promotion seemed a decent bet with Garry Monk, appointed head coach in June 2016, overcoming a difficult opening month to lead Leeds to a strong position.

After Radrizzani completed the purchase of half of the share capital, he and Cellino gave a press conference on 14 January to explain their plans. The previous evening, Leeds had performed admirably to beat Derby County. The points saw United climb to third in the table. Momentum was with them, despite the dominance of Brighton and Newcastle at the top of the table. Monk was delighted with the fruits of his labour. He had substantially refurbished the side, fashioning a new spine. Former West Ham, QPR and England keeper Rob Green was protected by Kyle Bartley of Swansea and Torino's Swedish international Pontus Jansson. Monk brought in Spanish playmaker Pablo Hernandez, Bristol City right-back Luke Ayling and Oxford forward Kemar Roofe. His entire approach was built around the strengths of Chris Wood. The New Zealand international striker found incredible form in front of goal. Much of the credit was laid at the door of former Southampton and England front man James Beattie, a key member of Monk's coaching team.

Monk managed to coax a seven-game unbeaten spell out of the side, culminating in a 2-0 defeat of second-placed Brighton on 18 March courtesy of two second half goals from Wood. The points lifted Leeds to fourth, eight points behind the Seagulls and opened an eight-point cushion to Fulham just outside the top six with eight games to go. The advantage should have been decisive but the promotion charge was undermined two weeks later by a narrow defeat at Reading. Defeat at Brentford was another nail in the coffin, but Leeds bounced back with a 3-0 hammering of eighth-placed Preston. TLeeds regained their cushion of five points on seventh place with five games to go. Sadly, those fixtures yielded a mere three points and Monk's men ended five points outside the Play-Offs.

Radrizzani's first few days brought some disquiet among supporters when he failed to agree a contract extension with Monk, who chose to walk away the day before Leeds were set to activate the option to extend his contract. Monk said he could not 'agree a suitable way for us all to move forward together'.

His replacement was a complete unknown, although he boasted a richer football heritage than Hockaday. On 15 June, 44-year-old APOEL Nicosia manager Thomas Christiansen was unveiled as the new head coach.

Christiansen, a Denmark-born former Spain striker, had steered APOEL to the last 16 of the Europa League and to the Cypriot first division title but was released on the day Monk departed Elland Road. Christiansen was understood to have been Radrizzani's top target in the hope that he would have a similar impact to Huddersfield's David Wagner and Marco Silva, who came close to keeping Hull in the top-flight after arriving in January. Christiansen was signed by Johan Cruyff for Barcelona in 1991 but never established himself in the first-team. He had spells at Real Oviedo, Villarreal, Bochum and Hanover and was the Bundesliga's top goalscorer in 2003.

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Radrizzani: 'I liked his approach, very humble but at the same time very motivated to become the coach of Leeds. He was prepared and for the first time I saw a manager come in with a Powerpoint and details … This was very important, details because it means someone is hard-working, in two days he prepared. What is important to me, what I care about and what I think I have found with the manager is to have the ambition to win every game. This particular league is very long and it's important to try and win the game. Eventually sometimes you might lose it, but you try to win the game.'

Any goodwill lost over the Monk controversy was swiftly regained when Radrizzani followed through on his promise to buy back the stadium. Krasner, Bates, GFH and Cellino had all talked bullishly of their ambitions in that direction, but Radrizzani was the man who finally translated words into deeds, doing so in double quick time.

Christiansen had initial success and United topped the table in the autumn. But other clubs quickly rumbled his obsession with playing out from the back and started exploiting the weakness in goal. By the beginning of February, form had collapsed and Christiansen was given his marching orders after a poor run of results, with the team tenth in the table.

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Days later, Radrizzani appointed Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom on an 18-month contract. The inexperienced Yorkshireman could do nothing to halt the slide and after a disappointing run of form the club finished thirteenth. Heckingbottom duly followed Christiansen out of the door on 1 June.

Radrizzani abandoned his commitment to inexperienced managers and went for the polar opposite. After two weeks of negotiations, legendary Argentine manager Marcelo Bielsa was named head coach on 15 June. He signed a two-year contract with option of a third, in the process becoming the highest paid manager in the club's history. Bielsa rapidly became a cult figure with the supporters, enthused by the high pressing game. Just as popular were Bielsa's obsessive pre- and post-match interviews and the fans embraced El Loco as United strode to the top of the table and stayed there.

It was his philosophy and the insistence that he would never abandon it, together with the extraordinary press conferences, which endeared the Argentine to the Leeds faithful, and this was epitomised by the ignominy of 'Spygate' and the way that Bielsa dealt with it.

Bielsea sent a club employee to spy on a Derby County training session as part of his obsessive research into opposing teams. He took full responsibility for the transgression and was clear that he had done this throughout his career. He didn't think it was illegal or immoral, but Frank Lampard's outrage was enough for him to feel he had breached the spirit of fair play. It was classic Bielsa: considering all sides of the argument, being discursive, disarming and almost entirely unquotable.

The Football League found Leeds breached rules over treating teams with 'good faith', gave them a formal reprimand and fined them £200,000, a sum that Bielsa settled himself. The League said in a statement that Leeds' conduct 'fell significantly short of the standards expected' and it 'must not be repeated', though they struggled to point out the law that had been broken.

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Leeds assumed leadership of the division after a 2-2 draw at Swansea on 21 August and were still there on 12 March, although the resilience of Norwich and Sheffield United prevented them ever creating a meaningful lead. A single-goal defeat at home to Sheffield on 17 March looked fatal with both Norwich and the Blades now ahead of Leeds and both sides in fantastic form. But two weeks later, United fought back from a 2-1 deficit at home to Millwall with goals in the final twenty minutes from Ayling and Hernandez delivering an inspired victory. Over at Sheffield, the exact same thing was happening in reverse to the Blades with Bristol City's Andreas Weimann scoring in the 77th and 83rd minutes to complete his hat trick and a 3-2 scoreline. Norwich were racing away to the title, but Leeds had a two-point cushion on Sheffield in the race for the second automatic promotion spot; the outcome was back in West Yorkshire hands.

By 13 April, Leeds had increased the gap to three with four games remaining. Ten points from those matches would be enough to secure promotion, but just as it seemed that Fate was smiling on them, triumph was snatched away. 19 April brought a relegation-threatened Wigan side to Elland Road. If anyone could f*** it up from this position, then it was Leeds. In between a clutch of Wigan chances, Leeds secured the lead and an advantage in numbers when Kipre was dismissed after fourteen minutes. The defender was sent off for a handball which offered Hernandez the opportunity to score from the spot. The Spaniard fluffed his lines, but within three minutes Bamford coolly slotted home to spare the playmaker's blushes.

Leeds failed to kick on and Gavin Massey drilled home an emphatic finish at Kiko Casilla's near post to draw Wigan level on the stroke of half time. Sheffield United were being held goalless at home by Forest at the break and Leeds' points advantage looked like it would be at least maintained. Massey nodded home to silence Elland Road after the interval and Latics keeper Christian Walton made fine saves from Bamford, Alioski and Hernandez to preserve the points.

Two second half goals by the Blades saw them take full advantage. The sides were level on points but Sheffield enjoyed a goal advantage superiority of six.

Two defeats from the last three games condemned Leeds to the Play-Offs. The other match brought a bad-tempered draw at home to Villa. When Klich netted a highly opportunistic 72nd-minute goal all hell broke loose. At the time Villa's Jonathan Kodjia was down injured and his teammates had asked for the ball to be put out of play. When Roberts passed up the chance to do so and put Klich through, it provoked a mass, ugly, on-pitch melee. As Dean Smith, the visiting manager, and his assistant, John Terry, fingers pointing in Bielsa's face, went berserk in the technical area, pandemonium and acrimony unfolded on the pitch. Almost every player became embroiled in a bout of push and shove which ended with Villa's Anwar Ghazi being shown a red card after clashing with Bamford and Conor Hourihane grabbing Klich by the throat. When things settled down, Bielsa instructed his players to allow Villa to score straight from the restart. Jansson did not appreciate the gesture and attempted to tackle Albert Adomah but failed United had a numb and empty feeling, the supporters knowing that their men had thrown away their best chance of promotion since 2004.

It looked like Leeds would see off Derby in the Play-Off semi-finals after winning the first leg at Derby. They took the lead in the second leg through Stuart Dallas but then bottled things on another big occasion, outplayed by Derby who won the game 4-2 to edge ahead on aggregate.

The players collapsed in tears to the turf as the final whistle sounded while Derby celebrated with their following in one corner. But we applauded our fallen heroes, reviving their spirits with an extended bout of loyal applause for the effort and a season we will never, must never forget. It wasn't the centenary success we had hoped for, but we had Bielsa and the new spirit he had fashioned. We worshipped at his feet, refusing to be bowed.

We are Leeds. WE GO AGAIN!