Bristol City fans have certainly been through a proper emotional rollercoaster over this transfer window.
It all started relatively well, with Sam Morsy and George Earthy arriving early, while a number of senior players who have not been able to make a big impact on the team leaving to make space in the squad.
But the elephant in the room was the contract situations of two of their key players, Anis Mehmeti and Zac Vyner. Both of their deals were finishing in the summer, and despite the club offering what they characterised as very good offers, they had not signed them.
So it was no real surprise when both left for Championship rivals, with City earning about £5m in transfer fees but losing arguably their two most important players.
Cue huge levels of frustration and angst from City fans. Their departures played into a narrative that the club continues to sell their best players (Adam Webster, Josh Brownhill, Bobby Reid, Antoine Semenyo and Alex Scott to name just a few in recent years) which is why they continually fall short of their goal of reaching the Premier League.
This season in particular seems like a great chance for teams like City to finally have a real go, with the very top teams in the Championship not quite reaching the peak of some in previous seasons.
To see rivals significantly strengthen, while their club appears to be getting weaker sparked some real anger. That was only made worse by some poor recent performances, topped off by their 5-0 hammering by Derby County, which left a lot of supporters looking for the club to prove they had not just given up on this season.
Middlesbrough's Delano Burgzorg arrived on loan to bolster their attacking options, and on deadline day, they signed two very interesting players. Tomi Horvat, a Slovenian international midfielder with a lovely left foot, came from Sturm Graz, while young Swedish defender Noah Eile moved to Ashton Gate from MLS side New York Red Bulls with a reputation as an impressive ball-playing centre-back.
Both look to be very good players who could add significantly to the team this season and for the next few years. But neither has played in the Championship before, and while the hope is they will hit the ground running, it might take a bit of time to adjust to the pace and physicality.
So, have City swapped their best chance of winning now for the long-term future of the team? We will have to wait and see.
