Good Luck Al, and glad you've recovered well.
I won't be returning to this game, but I do have some suggestions if you are serious about winning (If not, then just ignore my advice). You've been playing this game long enough to know what mistakes you have made.
1. Stay off the forums - Leave that to a designated member of your council.
2. Only recruit those that WILL benefit the tribe, and not themselves. That means not recruiting the crap you usually do.
3. Ensure those in your council know how to win or what is needed to win. Means anyone that usually causes drama; keep out.
4. Structure the tribe well enough so the Duke isn't required for EVERY decision (Mainly the small ones).
5. Don't worry yourself about spies in your tribe or you spying on others. Easy to root spies out and you're wasting time worrying about what another tribe is doing rather than your own.
6. Split up the roles in your council. Diplomacy, Internal, Ops, Disputes. You're the leader, not someone that should be deciding who gets that village. They all report to you before a decision is made; the small ones they do themselves.
7. Have a Plan A, B, C, D and even E. Not everything goes to plan. If it doesn't you need plans to fall back on. Allies backstabbing, Players jumping ship, Ops not going the tribe's way, losing skirmishes.
8. Get a sitter list with times for Mid/End game.
9. Always have players lined up for accounts. We all know from mid game vast amount of people quit. Ensure you have a structure in place to fill the accounts or eat them immediately.
10. Look after Jake.
Just a few pointers to help you out. But what do I know, i mean I've only won the Leader of the year once.
#StayGoldenAl