I can’t be the only Leeds United fan finding it hard to care about this takeover any more?

This apathetic sanctuary I’ve somehow managed to enclose myself in is somewhat comforting. Simply not caring is much easier than the preceding weeks, where, like most fans, my desperate need for news was driving me to the edge of insanity.

Takeover speculation was having a negative effect on every part of my life, I planned everything around internet connectivity, terrified that in an age where I can receive information anywhere in the world from satellites orbiting the planet, I’d somehow find myself in an environment totally cut-off from modern technology, unable to check the internet, make phonecalls or receive text messages. I was scared that if I got in my car and accidentally travelled at 88mph I’d be transported back in time a century, or end up in Hull – which is basically the same thing.

Terrified of missing an update, I ran up a ridiculously high phonebill whilst holidaying in Greece slyly checking NewsNow on my phone while ever my somehow-still-Leeds-United-tolerant girlfriend had her back turned. What I’d hoped would be a week away from this madness changed nothing. I only wish my new found state of apathy had come sooner. Apathy is bliss.

Or it was anyway.

You see, I suspect my apathy is nothing more than a defence mechanism. A firewall activated by my sub-concious, designed to prevent the mental breakdown that now seems inevitable.

This realisation has made things even worse. I’m now giving far too much credit to the conspiracy theorists of this world and starting to convince myself that this whole takeover saga is nothing more than a Ken Bates ruse. An act of misdirection designed to keep us all distracted whilst our key players are sold and over-the-hill has-beens and average squad players are brought in as their replacements.

I’ve genuinely started to wonder whether Ken Bates knew we’d all get bored eventually and stop caring about the takeover, giving him plenty of time to carry out his evil deeds without the “dissident” fans raising any objections.

Speculation that Robert Snodgrass is being lined up by Paul Lambert at Aston Villa hasn’t helped matters, nor did the sale of Adam Clayton to Simon Grayson’s Huddersfield Town. Sure, Clayton was on the transfer list anyway, but he was only on the transfer list because Leeds United couldn’t meet his wage demands. Sounds a little too familiar, doesn’t it? Certainly doesn’t sound like a club who are about to receive substantial financial backing and can afford to keep whoever they like.

If my mental reasoning hadn’t been so badly damaged by this takeover, I suspect the Robert Snodgrass rumour would be incredibly easy to dismiss. After all, the only person reporting it is a journalist based in the Middle East, despite the fact Aston Villa have more leaks than the American Government. Cast your mind back to the loans of Barry Bannan, Eric Lichaj and Fabian Delph – every news outlet in the country was reporting those deals long before they actually happened. They were the worst kept secrets in football at that time.

Moreover, it’s an incredibly easy link to make. Robert Snodgrass has been linked with a move to the Premier League for the last three seasons, and who better to link him to than Aston Villa, now managed by Paul Lambert, a man who takes great pleasure in gutting Leeds United of any remaining quality.

To me, it sounds like the kind of idle speculation that is designed to fill voids that appear in the absence of any real news. The problem is, the speculation fits the conspiracy theories all too perfectly and in my current mental state, I’m not sure what to believe.

So long apathy. Hello paranoia, conspiracy and scandal. Just another day in the life of a Leeds United fan I suppose… On and on…