This time last year, Newcastle United had just won their first domestic trophy for 70 years and were on their way to securing Champions League qualification for the second time in three seasons.
It is amazing how much can change in 12 months.
Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Premier League leaders Arsenal, while not a disastrous result in itself, was another disappointment in a season which may well be spiralling out of control.
Could Newcastle really still go down?
Eddie Howe's side have now lost each of their last four matches in the Premier League, and nine out of their last 12.
A total of 16 league defeats mean that Newcastle have now lost as many games as Tottenham and West Ham. Only Burnley and Wolves have lost more this season.
It also means that Newcastle currently sit 14th in the table, eight points above Spurs in 18th, knowing that five more points would guarantee survival.
It is a decent gap, and one which is reflected in Opta's assessment that Howe's side have just a 0.15% chance of being relegated -- a figure dwarfed by Tottenham's 58.44% chance and West Ham's 38.21%.
That said, Newcastle's remaining fixtures -- Brighton (H), Nottingham Forest (A), West Ham (H) and Fulham (A) -- all come against teams with something still to play for.
A defeat to Fabian Hürzeler's side, coupled with a win for Spurs against Aston Villa in between the two legs of Villa's Europa League semifinal, would see that gap close to five points and really set the alarm bells off at St James' Park.
What has gone wrong for Newcastle this season?
An ultimately unsuccessful summer transfer window has had Newcastle playing catch-up right from the start.
Howe's side won just one of their first six league games during a period overshadowed by the eventual sale of Alexander Isak to Liverpool.
The two players tasked with replacing him -- Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa -- have struggled for form, meaning young Danish striker William Osula has been leading the line in recent games.
Anthony Elanga, another big money arrival on Tyneside in the summer, has just one assist and no goals in 30 Premier League appearances for the club.
Injuries have also played their part -- Bruno Guimarães in particular has struggled to stay fit -- while speculation over the futures of the likes of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Tino Livramento cannot have helped.
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A big week for the Newcastle ownership
A fifth defeat in five games in all competitions has come at the wrong time for Howe, with Newcastle's ownership due to convene for their annual meeting at Matfen Hall in Northumberland this week.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, Jamie Reuben and other figures from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) are set to be in attendance.
Howe himself has stressed he is open to conversations around the future of the club.
"It's something we do every year. But obviously things will be slightly harder for me this time," Howe said.
"I'm sure there will be conversations on the team and how we have performed. I sort of welcome that to a degree."
Nonetheless, as the Newcastle boss approaches the end of his worst season at the helm, there will likely be talk around whether he is still the right man to take the club forward.
On top of that, with rumours circling over the weekend linking former director Amanda Staveley with a £2 billion ($2.7bn) consortium that was considering an approach to Newcastle, the situation on Tyneside is looking at its most unstable since the PIF takeover in 2021.