O'Leary lined up for the next season's squad photo, and the next season's, looking increasingly anachronistic as his last appearances faded into obscure memory. Why was this Arsenal legend showing up for Leeds United's photocall every summer, never to be seen in a Leeds shirt on the pitch?
Was this ever part of the deal, as United's Welsh contingent sold Harry Wilson a bright future in Yorkshire? 'Yes, and you know how for Wales our Big Joe is always at the back? Well...'
The relaxed bonhomie got too much for some youngsters, who ran on for selfies with Bruno Fernandes. I hope that, since they saw him preen his penalty hilariously wide in the shoot-out, they will always look at their pictures of him with shame and remorse.
A record fee for a 23-year-old to play in goal is a flip of history at Elland Road. Why is James Trafford not Allan Clarke? Is it because Harry Gray, we hope?
The trip was all about entering a lucrative new market and opening up new revenue streams, using Gunnar Halle and Mark Ford to lay the foundations for making Leeds United one of the biggest names in American sports. Alright, fine, nobody is going to argue that plan was foolproof.
It's gonna take money, a whole lotta spending money, and it's gonna take patience and time: but in the meantime Leeds United can't afford letting Brenden Aaronson go.
Whether it was about money or not, it certainly wasn't about football. The money was our money, subsidising the platforms Ken Bates' megaphone wouldn't reach unless he had the legitimacy of a football club to make people pay attention.