Rafa Benitez signed up for three years in charge of Newcastle back in May.
But three months on, and the current best hope is that he’ll stick it out until the end of the season, having kept them in the Premier League, out of loyalty to the Toon fans.
Bolstered by promotion, he was enthused about the potential of the Premier League’s big underachievers.
Could he get them into the top ten quickly? Top seven, eventually? A cup run?
The reality, boss Benitez has discovered in the last two windows, is that Newcastle can’t/won’t/dare not compete in the crazy world of 2017 transfers .
There seemed to be momentum at the start of the summer.
He agreed a medium-term transfer budget of £70million plus sale proceeds, and apparently, the chance to spend it how he wished. A business plan was constructed by Benitez.
A ridiculously inflated market left that budget looking meagre, unforeseen by manager and club.
And the failure to work quickly and do four deals he wanted early annoyed Benitez .
A squad built for the Championship wasn’t dismantled quickly enough, nor the wage bill — £97m at one point — reduced to an acceptable level.
Around £40m got spent on six new faces. Solid signings with potential arrived, but guaranteed star quality didn’t.
Benitez went into deadline day wanting four players. He ended up signing nobody at all in the window's final two weeks.
Some of his players have felt under-valued and unwanted as Benitez chased replacements and hinted they aren’t good enough.
Aleksandar Mitrovic reckons he isn’t “trusted” by the manager — not surprising, considering this week's retrospective ban for elbowing.
Dwight Gayle, scorer of 23 goals last season as the Magpies came straight back up as champions, has been moody, and was for sale at £20m. But he has told the manager he wanted to stay and has promised to become the player he was.
No 1 keeper Rob Elliot also knows Benitez wanted to replace him with a veteran defensive organiser, despite having four keepers on the books until Tim Krul was loaned to Brighton on Thursday. But Elliot remains first-choice, and deals with it .
The players are in dispute over the level of performance that should be rewarded with a bonus — no-one can work out what success is for Newcastle.
A major crisis was cooled slightly by the win over fellow strugglers West Ham, after opening the season with three straight defeats in all competitions. Benitez signings Mikel Merino, in midfield, and bargain-basement striker Joselu performed particularly well against the Hammers.
But Newcastle failed to relaunch off the back of that result.
Owner Mike Ashley won’t put any extra of his own money in, and wants to sell up. It suits him to have the accounts looking healthy for a prospective buyer — cash in the bank, rather than in the pitch.
Benitez has been frustrated since mid-June, pondering whether to walk out, unhappy at the bracket of players he’s been shopping in, and saying so.
Newcastle need a manager that challenges the owner. But Ashley, paying Benitez £5m a year, was left fuming at being sniped at by his top-earning employee — who no longer regards the Magpies as a long-term project.
This international-break weekend, Benitez — a political man at all his past clubs — will brood with his staff.
How long can it last?
At best, the mission now is to avoid relegation, with Benitez earning every penny of that salary by drilling the squad into over-achieving.
Last week, he insisted “everything” would change after deadline day. He'd work with his players, improve them, build a team, collect some wins and get on with it.
But the damage has been done, longer term.
Benitez will get offers.
Perhaps very soon, from West Ham, who have been close to appointing him before. Certainly by next June, from all around Europe.
If he leaves, Newcastle are owed £5m compensation.
But that’s peanuts compared to the reduction in value of them as a club WITHOUT Benitez in charge.
Lose Rafa, and Newcastle United shrinks into turmoil and unrest.
Ashley won’t get a better chance at having a vibrant, happy club (to sell) than with Benitez in charge, and a fan-base still united behind the manager.
Newcastle’s summer transfer window has ended that long-term dreamy hope.