And so comes to pass another season of rank mediocrity for Everton, as they were the most accommodating of guests for Manchester City’s final day celebrations and Sergio Aguero’s farewell.
The Toffees slumped to an appalling 5-0 loss at the Etihad Stadium and after wins for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Leeds United, fell to a disappointing 10th place in the Premier League table.
After sitting in second in the standings on Boxing Day, the end result has to be considered a failure. Throughout the season the manager and players have spoken openly about the necessity to secure European football as a minimum and in the end, in terms of placings at least, they’ve fallen well short.
Already thoughts will be turning to the summer and the general consensus among supporters is that while Carlo Ancelotti is not blameless for another moribund term, he needs a better squad to work with before he can be judged appropriately.
But transfers alone will not save Everton. Since Farhad Moshiri bought his stake in the club over five years ago, the approach has tended to be throwing money at issues. With hundreds of millions wasted, the club is no better a position half a decade on.
As much as Ancelotti is used to working with elite players and is regarded as a brilliant man manager for the best around, that calibre of player won’t be arriving at Everton this summer.
Realistically, the vast majority of players supporters want to see head out the door in this window will be at Goodison Park again next season too. Few will be willing to take on underperforming players on bloated wages. Like it or not, the manager will need to get more from the group at his disposal.
The manager has done that in some instances. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has blossomed into a brilliant forward, while Jordan Pickford is playing as well as he has done in his Everton career after a ropey couple of years.
But plenty of plateaued and plenty have regressed. That must change if the Toffees are to avoid another season in the middle of pack in 2021-22.