'The manager is fully in the firing line'

Where to even begin?

Walking out of Elland Road, it felt less like leaving a match and more like stepping off a malfunctioning rollercoaster - shaken, nauseous, and wondering why on earth you got on in the first place.

The atmosphere was thick with tension, frustration and a strange, sinking feeling like we are teetering on something. A slippery slope? No. This feels like we have already slipped and are tumbling down it head first.

And the whispers in the South Stand around me were not subtle. The manager is fully in the firing line. As for Brendan Aaronson, I've heard more positive noise coming out of a broken speaker. And Lucas Perri? The goalkeeper criticism could probably be heard all the way in Beeston.

Let's not sugar coat it, the manager absolutely, unquestionably, without a shadow of a doubt needs to go. His substitutions are tragic. The timing? Tragic. The choices? Even more tragic. We were screaming for Dan James to be introduced at least 10 minutes before he eventually appeared. By the time he arrived, Villa had already picked out the picnic blanket and poured the prosecco.

Driving home and listening to Radio Leeds, I couldn't have agreed with Ade White more when he said that the decision not to start James is no longer about injury - it's a choice. A maddening, baffling, unjustifiable choice. If he's fit enough to play, he's fit enough to start, so why is he watching others stroll about before he gets a kick? It's getting ugly now. Really ugly.

And here's the heartbreaking bit: I've been going to Leeds games home and away for about 17 years with my old man. Week in, week out, through the good, the bad, and the 'Championship on a cold Tuesday night'.

It's been our thing. Something I loved most about life. But right now? The desire is slipping away, and I hate admitting that. When football stops being joy and starts being dread, something's badly broken on the pitch and off it.

As for who played well? Hard to say because 'well' might be a stretch. Aaronson and Perri certainly didn't cover themselves in glory. The best of a bad bunch were Joe Rodon and Sean Longstaff, who at least visibly show passion, frustration, and that refusal to hide attitude we desperately need. I'd normally throw Bogle in with them, maybe some touches yesterday justify it but ever since that shocker at Brighton away, I'm struggling to find the words.

Morgan Rogers' second goal? I can't write about it. I genuinely don't know what happened. Still waiting for a replay that makes sense as to what on earth our boys were doing.

So now we head to the Etihad on Saturday. Perfect. An awful performance and result leading into a trip to football's equivalent of walking willingly into oncoming traffic. I'm glad it's at least a Saturday at 3pm and I'm getting the train with my friends. You can rarely have a bad day out when it's a Saturday 3pm which comes round every blue moon (literally…). But I'm sure the football will find a way to ruin it. Probably by 15:02.

And yet, despite all of this, we'll be there. Because that's what we do. Even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

Marching On Together… though at this point, we're mostly limping.

Molly Whitmore is a regular contributor on BBC Radio Leeds - find all their audio here