Last week, after around three-and-a-half years, the Marcel Brands experiment came to an end at Everton.
One that began with such promise and expectation, the Dutchman eventually exited at a huge low-point for the club in which major scrutiny was being levelled at a board he was a part of.
However, many felt sorry for his situation - and you can understand why.
Having little, if any, say in what managers he worked with during his spell at Goodison Park was only part of the problem that Brands faced.
Farhad Moshiri had chosen a very highly-rated and well-respected director of football, but it seemed he still had reservations on just how much wide-ranging influence the position would hold on Merseyside.
Having been in an understandably difficult situation, with his own failures along the way still to consider, it might have been little surprise to some supporters to see last week's announcement of his exit.
Scrutiny around recruitment has particularly fallen upon his shoulders in recent years, rightly or wrongly, and so there are lessons that Everton need to take forwards into the coming new era.
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Initially at the very least, it seems that Rafa Benitez will be the man in charge of the transfers for the foreseeable future with the Blues while a "strategic review" of the structure going forward is undertaken.
Brands' initial strategy when joining the club was one that many agreed with at the time.
Signing stars who hadn't yet reached the age of 25 was considered a smart idea. Even if high fees were paid for these players, there would at least be some sell-on value to be had in the future.
Unfortunately, that hasn't quite worked out as expected in some capacities for a number of differing factors, with injuries to the likes of Andre Gomes for example certainly playing their part.
This was a principle that Everton eventually moved away from by the time Carlo Ancelotti came to the club, continued on by Benitez when he arrived in the summer of course.
But the basis behind the plan is something that certainly works.
The Blues now find themselves in a more difficult position, with quality needed to be added into the squad on an immediate basis rather than potentially gambling on the future.
But, outlaying a significant amount of money in terms of both fees and wages is how they got themselves in the current financial predicament that tied the manager's hands behind his own back in the summer.
Everton are being forced to be more astute until they can clear up some of the inflated wage bill in particular, and that could certainly have an impact on the coming transfer window.
Learning from the mistakes made in the past has to be the priority, however.
Having players approaching, or passing, the wrong side of 30 with inflated wages is something that has held Everton back for a significant amount of time now.
There is a need to bring more experience and immediate quality into this squad, but it needs to be done in a way that won't lead to the same problems further down the line.
Work in the summer, at least, did show the green shoots of this.
Everton were forced to majorly cut back on their spending thanks to financial fair play regulations and the only transfer fee they spent was the paltry sum required to bring Demarai Gray to Merseyside.
And look how strong that has proven to be.
Aside from that Andros Townsend has shown promise after his free transfer and Asmir Begovic has provided experienced back-up to Jordan PIckford, with the Bosnia international only signing on an initial one-year deal.
Salomon Rondon arrived to provide support for Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison up front but found himself thrown into the limelight much quicker than expected. As such, his free transfer has not produced the same amount of plaudits.
But regardless of how much money is available to spend, the most important lesson to learn is that a coherent and long-term strategy is needed for the club to really be successful in the future.
Brands seemed to have that at the beginning. He might not have expressly chosen Marco Silva as manager, but the pair worked together to produce what was considered a strong summer in 2018.
Richarlison is one of the club's star assets. Lucas Digne remains one of Everton's best players despite recently being dropped by Benitez. The arrivals of Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes were lauded and produced great performances over the following campaign.
Of course, it wasn't all success stories over that time.
Moise Kean and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, for differing reasons, just couldn't have an impact on the club - with the former at least producing a profit when his permanent move to Juventus eventually goes through.
That long-term thinking could perhaps play more of a factor in the summer, in which it's expected there will be a greater change in the current squad.
Everton still have a need to offload players with the likes of Fabian Delph, Cenk Tosun and Jonjoe Kenny all coming to the end of their contracts.
For the immediate future and looking to the January transfer window in particular, loan signings and cheap options could be the perfect way for Everton to progress.
Benitez will now have more control on incomings after the departure of Brands, meaning disagreements over potential targets should be a thing of the past.
Whether those potential future players would hit the ground running akin to Gray or Townsend is yet to be seen.
The latest transfer rumours hold a warning that the Blues should be looking to avoid, however. A trap that they have fallen into in recent years.
Some reports have suggested that Everton have been in touch with Aaron Ramsey over a potential switch to Goodison, who is clearly a quality player, but one who will surely be on very high wages.
The club can't afford more players on top wages as things stand, that's the long and short of it.
There's a lot of uncertainty around Goodison as things stand, not least in terms of the transfer situation and how things will be approached in the future.
It's imperative to avoid the mistakes that led the club down this road in the first place, even if that will now have to be done without Brands at the helm.
Those who remain should take heed of the lessons presented by the past, ready to set Everton up for a hopefully brighter future.
