While Everton have made significant progress during this Premier League campaign, major questions remain about the team, and these were exposed badly in Sunday's defeat to Sunderland.
It was particularly evident how much the Toffees need new recruits at full-back and most of all right-back, where Jake O'Brien struggled and gave away the ball, leading to Sunderland's first goal before being replaced.
That this happened on the same day that team captain, long-time and hugely popular club servant and former starting right-back Seamus Coleman finally said goodbye to Everton, was apt timing.
Solving this seemingly endless positional problem will be a top priority for David Moyes when the summer transfer window opens.
But full-back will not be the only area of his side that needs strengthening and additional reinforcements if the Toffees are to make any further progress.
And that is the issue because what these last few weeks have underlined is how far Everton still are from being truly competitive in the League.
The defeat today showed an inconsistency and weakness in the team that needs to be addressed over the summer and into next season.
Neither side played well, and it had the feeling of an end-of-season game where the two teams had little to play for.
That was not the case, though obviously, as both Everton and the Black Cats could still claim a European place.
Such hopes are now basically over for the Blues with this loss, and so thoughts at the Hill Dickinson will turn to the transfer window and next season.
One critical issue is the problem the Toffees have sustaining any positive form and building on the momentum they have created. Too often, an annoying inconsistency creeps in.
Once more, Everton scored just before halftime, and that should have enabled them to go on and win the match, which was a poor contest, but of course it didn't happen.
Instead, Sunderland responded and scored three times in the second half to turn the game right around and claim the points that have helped them still be in the hunt for Europe with one fixture left, at the home team's expense.
With Europe effectively gone, Everton need to try and finish the season on a high in their last game at Tottenham next Sunday, as significant prize money is still up for grabs.
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