If Farhad Moshiri were to read through social media comments on Wednesday night, you could forgive him for perhaps thinking "you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't".
Almost three weeks after Everton dramatically secured their Premier League survival with a victory over Crystal Palace, the club's owner addressed supporters directly. Emails were sent out to members, his open letter was prominent on the official website, and of course it was shared on numerous different platforms.
It clearly struck up an instant conversation. Some were sceptical of the content of the long message claiming that some issues had been skirted over, while many were delighted to see a proper form of communication from right at the very top of the Blues. Most will agree this message could have come sooner - but that latter point is vital.
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Evertonians have been desperate for communication at the top of the club for some time and, barring regular messages such as programme notes from club CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale, they've often been a bit too few-and-far-between. Certainly when it comes to the owner.
And so to get a letter like this one has to be seen as a positive step. It doesn't solve all of the problems. Just like on the pitch there's no real quick fix to the issues that have taken place in the past.
But there's a real sense of humility to Moshiri's words which does come through to the reader. He holds his hand up to admit errors that he and those working with him have made in the recent past, and speaks of striving to make sure the same errors do not plague the club in the near future.
It could have been a case of breezing over the season that was and then looking ahead to the future. Instead he put himself under the spotlight in a sense.
One portion of the owner's letter reads: “Mistakes have been made and for that I want to apologise to all of you. It has not been good enough and we need to do better.
"Of course, the stadium alone will not help us achieve our objectives and we are committed to not making the same mistakes again including how we have not always spent significant amounts of money wisely.”
That's been clear to anyone who has watched Everton for a significant amount of time recently, but it's an important step for the owner himself to say it. Even if, when the piece was shared on social media, some of the comments might have suggested otherwise.
That perhaps speaks to the nature of the platform though and, to an extent, the mood of the fans. It has been a rough season for them to deal with, and many are still on edge about the prospect of the club potentially finding themselves in a similar situation next term.
But this has to be considered a welcome start. An admission that things have gone wrong and a strong communication to fans in this sense was a long time coming from one of the two men at the top of the club. Now it has to be seen as a positive thing given it has arrived. From that perspective, supporters can't really have it both ways.
Fans have rightly demanded communication from the very top, and this is it. Whether the contents of the message itself perfectly fit into your views or not, this is something which must receive encouragement now if more is to follow down the line - which we all hope it will.
It can't be the end, however, Rightly, a lot of supporters commended the words from Moshiri - but we all know that actions speak louder.
The owner talks of learning from the mistakes that have led Everton to such a precarious scenario, but only time will tell if that will eventually prove true. The strategic review was mentioned prominently in Wednesday evening's message, which you imagine will lie at the heart of changes in the future.
The appointments of Frank Lampard and Kevin Thelwell, the future choice of an under-23 manager and a new Academy director joining the club after the separation of those roles have all already been placed down to that review. The exact results of it have not been made public, but you would hope that future actions will speak to the success.
And of course the new Fan Advisory Board will be front-and-centre of a lot of future communications between the hierarchy and the fans. Everton are ahead of the curve in this sense with their panel soon to be announced, meaning they can soon get to work with helping create a greater connection with those at the very top of Everton moving forward.
All of that comes in the future though. For now, you can only assess what's in front of you - and that's Moshiri's statement this week.
After months of silence, the owner admitted his faults and promised to do better in the future. Everyone will be together in hoping that sentiment comes to fruition.
