At one point late last season, Everton looked very much on course for a European place as they seemed to be coming into their best form at exactly the right time.
However, at precisely the time when the Blues needed to produce two or three more wins after beating Chelsea 3-0, the wheels fell off, and the team was unable to win any of their last seven matches.
Just four or five more points would have given Everton a European place, and that could have certainly strengthened their clout in the upcoming transfer window.
While there were the usual hard luck stories in several of those results, especially, for example, the Merseyside derby loss and the 3-3 draw against Manchester City at the Hill Dickinson, in truth, as so often in the past, the Toffees did not convince they were capable of getting over that line when it mattered.
Although obviously avoiding what has become recently the almost ubiquitous late-season relegation fight was clearly a sign of progress, ultimately, the end of this campaign felt like a failure and robbed Everton of something solid to take from it.
And in fact, the club finished in exactly the same position of thirteenth and just one point better off than last season, when David Moyes took over a side halfway through the campaign looking almost certain to be relegated. So you could ask how much progress has really been made?
Hopefully, the owners will still be able to give Moyes a substantial amount of funds to further strengthen a squad which has several major holes and needs significant additional depth to try and push on for Europe, and even maybe, whisper it, a trophy run next season.
While there are questions about the future of the wingers Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Grealish, Tyler Dibling and Tyrique George, Everton must also urgently address the issue of a right-back replacement for the departing Seamus Coleman, bring in competition for Vitalii Mykolenko on the other flank, and, critically, improve the striking options.
There are a few players from Moyes' previous club, the now-relegated West Ham United, who could possibly solve some of those problem positions.
Among them are Jarrod Bowen, a player Moyes brought to the London club and who the Blues were said to be tracking last year, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who Moyes is said to admire a lot.
Bowen is surely leaving the Hammers and will be a target for several Premier League clubs given his quality and experience. He netted nine times last season for a struggling side and might have made the England squad for the World Cup if he had been at a more successful club.
Having European football to offer him could well prove a decisive factor in where the England star eventually ends up.
Last summer, the Toffees struggled to bring in the more high-profile talent they were pursuing, and while a number of signings were successful, especially players like Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who is my choice for Player of the Season, it surely impacted the ability of the squad to get over that European qualifying line.
We can only hope that the end-of-campaign dip and failure to secure a European place have not unduly impacted the Blues' ability to attract the calibre of player they will need to ensure that this scenario does not happen next season.
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