Leeds United - the week that was: David O'Leary sacked after European adventure, two Whites flops signed by Kevin Blackwell

June 23, 2004 - Ricketts and Cadamarteri fail to make the grade

Whites manager Kevin Blackwell aimed to add firepower to Leeds United's first assault on the Championship following relegation from the Premiership.

United added strikers Michael Ricketts and Danny Cadamarteri to their ranks, two names that fans may have tried to forget.

The pair, though, failed to have any major impact on the campaign with the latter making one League Cup appearance before joining Sheffield United just three months after he put pen to paper in LS11.

Ricketts himself featured in 25 league games under Blackwell, but the forward failed to find the back of the net - barring a solitary League Cup strike against Swindon Town.

United went on to finish 14th in the division, amid financial chaos and uncertainty off the pitch.

June 27, 2002 - O'Leary sacked by Whites

17 years ago, former Whites manager David O'Leary was relieved of his duties in West Yorkshire following four seasons as manager.

The club initially announced that the Irishman had left by mutual consent, before O'Leary hit back revealing he had been in fact been sacked by the board at Elland Road.

United had slipped from the top of the Premiership to a fifth-placed finish and missed out on Champions League football.

A war of words followed, with chairman Peter Ridsdale citing O'Leary's book Leeds United On Trial as a factor amid claims he had lost the dressing room.

The former Arsenal defender had promoted the likes of Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Stephen McPhail, Eirik Bakke and Ian Harte during his time.

Whilst also landing the signatures of Danny Mills and Rio Ferdinand. He fused them together with experienced pros such as Lucas Radebe, Nigel Martyn and Gary Kelly, which saw United flirt with the pinnacle of domestic and European football throughout his tenure.

Following his sacking, United's decline began both on and off the pitch. With O'Leary's spending upwards of the £100million mark.

Leeds saw three managers come and go from the Elland Road dug-out in the two seasons that followed, before the club was relegated to the Championship in the 2003-04 season.