I know, and I don't agree with it. Taylor was honourable in the way he left the club.
I know you're being a bit churlish here, and they were great players. However, apart from Kuipers, Adams had worked with every single one of those players at Fulham where they won the league. I think it's fair to say that the fact he knew what to expect of these players, plus the fact he was given the budget to sign them, probably made his job considerably easier.
But in any case, I'm not disputing he was a great manager for us first time round. It's just that the way he left the club leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. Plus the fact that the two times I met him, he came across as a bit of an arse to be honest, which left me a bit disappointed in him!
I never met him, so will take your word on it, but most people I know from Yorkshire are arrogant and have chips on their shoulders, if you saw the women from Sheffield (think Human League) you would be bitter about it too.
As for using his knowledge of players and their skills, isn't that what he was paid to do? He did a good job first time round and a poor job second time round. That has happened with loads of managers (e.g Mullery, Coppell at Palace, Mike Walker at Norwich etc). Maybe he had some good luck first time round and some bad luck second time round as well. But you make the most of the former and accept the consequences of the latter, and he did both of those.
He is neither Santa or Satan.