Cardiff City's draw with Blackpool on Saturday represented the mid-point of the season. Halfway through the campaign, for the second time running, like it or not, they are in the relegation mix.
Cardiff have now won only two of their last 10 Championship games, form that will see them eventually drop into the bottom three if it is not drastically improved the other side of Christmas.
Many were billing the game against Blackpool as a must-win, despite there being 23 games still left in the season, given the Seasiders are one of the teams currently occupying the bottom three and had seven first-team players unavailable for their trip to south Wales.
But Saturday did little to lift the mood during the holiday season. An hour before kick-off, WalesOnline reported that Cardiff had been placed under a three-window transfer embargo owing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision relating to the first instalment of £5.1m plus interest being owed to Nantes FC for the transfer of Emiliano Sala.
The club insist they are working hard and are confident of resolving the issue before the January window, but no guarantees could be given on that front. You can read the story in full here.
And then, after dominating the game against Blackpool, could only come away with a point from Cardiff City Stadium. It was almost laughable that bona fide Bluebirds flop Gary Madine, who couldn't muster a single goal in 28 appearances for Cardiff following a £6million move from Bolton, captained the visitors, put in an allegedly premeditated horror challenge on Perry Ng, for which he only saw yellow, and scored the equaliser.
It was a heady cocktail and a sobering afternoon, one which really hammered home the situation the club finds itself in at the minute.
Social media was not a fun place to be after the match if you are an ardent follower of Cardiff City. Many supporters appear resigned to a foot-of-the-table scrap for the rest of the season. Confidence levels ranged from "our squad is too good to get relegated" to "League One here we come!"
For what it's worth, this writer is still firmly in the first camp.
In isolation, there has been much from the last two games, against Stoke City and Blackpool, to be positive about. Cardiff have adopted a far more attacking approach, Callum Robinson has continued his fantastic form and Kion Etete, seemingly out of nowhere, looks to be the physical, but technically proficient, forward Cardiff have been screaming out for all season.
But their inability to finish or convert good chances into goals is tough to watch. Those last-gasp moments or half chances which are squandered leave fans with their heads in their hands, week after week. Month after month.
Over the years with Cardiff, especially at home, you just felt they had a goal in them towards the end of matches. With the Canton End booming and the fabled fight and spirit so synonymous with this club willing the players on, City have often pulled off big results late on in matches. That has been sorely missed this term.
One supporter near the press box even mentioned that if Neil Warnock, Malky Mackay or Dave Jones had been in charge, that Blackpool draw would have been a win. Whether hindsight sees in 20/20 or the rose-tinted spectacles were out on that bitterly-cold December afternoon, we'll let you decide.
But if Cardiff are going to shoot up the table more easily than last year, the second half of the season has to look completely different to he first.
The last six weeks began with Vincent Tan optimistically hoping for a play-off push and finished with Cardiff hovering two points above the relegation zone at Christmas. They are just one point better off after 23 games this season than they were last season.
The overarching worry from fans likely stems from Cardiff's year-on-year decline. Since Cardiff suffered relegation from the Premier League, they have finished in fifth, eighth and 19th place respectively. The pattern of perennial slide is one that concerns supporters the most.
The transfer ban has hit at a bad time, just a fortnight ahead before the window opens, because last season, the new year recruitment drive saved the club from a drop to League One. Will they have the ability to add more goals, creativity or defensive steel next month? At the minute, no, but the club are confident that ban will be lifted, so it's a case of wait and see.
"We have got players coming back. We have got players developing. We have Isaak (Davies) coming back, we have Kion pushing," Mark Hudson said of the ban.
"If we do have a window, because there is still a lot going on behind the scenes, we will see what we can do, because it's not definitive that we won't (be able to trade).
"With the group we've got, we have got players coming back in and we are showing signs of development within that.
"The communication from top to bottom is clear. We continue with what we are looking at and there is lots going on behind the scenes. We are planning to see what we can do. But we are developing with what we can do at the moment because the window is not open yet.
"We've got some ideas we are looking at, but I'm not giving you a target list. It would be unfair because the players are at football clubs. There are positions we want to improve on and if we do have a window we will look at that."
Fans are angry at the negativity surrounding the club. They need a win, in figurative and literal terms, because they have had to endure so much in the last three years. This transfer ban is just the icing on the cake.
Vincent Tan has himself admitted he has made mistakes over the years, but without him, would the club still be here? It's a question to ponder. The sheer volume of money he has pumped in, who else is going to take on these debts and liabilities, should Tan decide enough is enough?
In his interview with WalesOnline last month he insisted he was fully committed to the cause, despite others, including family members, around him wanting him to sell up and wash his hands of the whole project.
But how do Cardiff futureproof? And how do they achieve Tan's dream of reaching the Premier League for the third time?
At the time of writing, they cannot sign players for three windows, are in a relegation battle, have to pay millions to Nantes FC and have a rookie manager who is under-fire and in charge of taking the club forward despite a meagre win record in the dugout. As harsh and blunt as that all sounds, those are the facts.
It all bled out into the stands at the full-time whistle against Blackpool, with frustrated boos ringing out in the stadium.
No matter the off-field situation, results are the only thing that can turn this whole thing on its head. The squad now is far better than the one that finished last season in May, everyone appears to be aligned on that front. And there does appear to be at least three teams who are worse than Cardiff this season, at the moment, at least.
But Cardiff's forward players need to start turning these chances into goals, because the numbers make for ugly reading. City have converted just 8% of their shots this season, only Huddersfield Town, with 7%, have a worse conversion rate. Callum Robinson aside, it's not been good enough.
At some point, it will click. It has to click, actually, because the financial implications of dropping into the third tier actually don't bear thinking about. They are not far away, that much is clear, but golden opportunities like a depleted Blackpool cannot continue to slip through their fingers.
In the meantime, Hudson has asked fans to "stick together" with the club in these trying times. A tough ask at the minute, with the outlook appearing so bleak, but these City fans are a loyal, passionate bunch and the club need them now more than ever.
"I understand that there is frustration," the manager said. "It's about sticking together. Everyone from top to bottom has to stick together. The fans, the football club and keep continuing to believe in what we are doing."
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