Newcastle United were about to make history when the club's owners and executives conveyed for their annual summit at Matfen Hall last year.
It was February 2025 and head coach Eddie Howe was on the cusp on ending the Magpies' seven-decade wait for a major domestic trophy by winning the League Cup. He also had his side sitting in fifth place in the Premier League and on track to qualify for the Champions League.
An almighty bar had been set going into this season, but Newcastle now find themselves in the bottom half.
So what has gone wrong?
Like anything, even when Newcastle were at their best under Howe, there is not a single reason.
Some issues can be traced back to last summer's turbulent window.
Brentford and Bournemouth, who are both above Newcastle in the table, have rebuilt and improved following the departures of several key players last summer.
But Newcastle are still feeling Alexander Isak's absence seven months after the striker pushed to join Liverpool on deadline day.
Of those signings Newcastle made, at a considerable cost, only defender Malick Thiaw has been an unquestioned success in his first season and too many who were already at the club have regressed.
The squad has been stretched – they were still technically fighting on three fronts as recently as last month – and it is only in recent weeks that Howe has had the luxury of extended training time with his players.
There were one or two signs of improvement against Arsenal at the weekend, but the fact remains Newcastle have only won three league games since mid-January.
Too often have you not known what you are going to get with this fragile side, even before uncertainty appeared to grip one or two individuals, whose futures look to be away from the club.
Just as they can beat Manchester United with 10 men, go to Chelsea and win and come within seconds of a famous home victory over Barcelona, Newcastle can also suffer damaging defeats by Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth.
Newcastle's inability to build on openers and their vulnerability at the back means they have thrown away more points from winning positions (25) and conceded more late goals (19) than any other team in the Premier League.
Those are sobering statistics for any manager, regardless of what he has done previously, and Howe looks like someone who has been frantically searching for a solution.
While the system and substitutions have become a little predictable, Howe's team selection has been anything but in recent weeks as he looks to find a winning formula.
It still feels like there is much to play for.
