To the wider point - I think McCabe's longevity as owner is working against him. The game has passed him by. Clubs have long term plans. They are smart. Many (though not all) treat the manager as he's treated in US Sport or in Germany - "we'll sign the players, you coach them", and so you are signing players to fit a system, and not the manager. Clubs work hard on fitness and nutrition. They frown on their players going on the piss all the time. They use statistical analysis to help them tactically and plan signings (not as a be all and end all, but to help the process). They buy and sell at the right time. They know who will replace a player before he's sold. They know what role a player will play before he's signed. They don't sign crocked players. They look for big, strong players (if you don't watch the Championship, see how much bigger the teams are than ours) and midfielders who score and assist. If they go down, or miss promotion, or get in trouble, they don't panic, or tear the house down. They focus on the job in hand. That's why teams like Norwich and Burnley go straight back up. It's why Stoke signed James Beattie.
We are amateurs by comparison to a lot of teams. McCabe was arguably progressive in 2006. Now he's a dinosaur.
Adkins was a disaster but anecdotally I heard that he was trying to change the ethos of the club - not on the pitch, but inside it. He failed.
The system is rotten.
