The tedious nature of the fallout from Everton's defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, in some respects, is a welcome show of consistency. If only that were a quality shared among Premier League officials, and maybe we'd all be talking about a different story to kick off this week.
All jokes aside, though, the discourse from the Merseyside derby so often tends to be the same - especially considering Everton's record at Anfield over the course of the last 23 years. It all boils down to one simple notion - Blues supporters being told how they should feel about their side.
Funnily enough, they don't need random pundits or fans from other clubs to tell them what they should collectively be thinking. They don't even need articles such as this one, if we're going to really get down to the nitty-gritty of it.
READ MORE: What Everton fans did after derby defeat as Frank Lampard's Anfield prediction comes true
READ MORE: Frank Lampard explains what Everton must not do in relegation battle with Burnley
Debate about the refereeing decisions on Sunday afternoon will probably continue throughout the week and potentially beyond. That's to be understood after such a big match, even though there are some who still confusingly believe that the referee got all of his decisions right at Anfield.
But there is also conversation about the way Everton approached the match. They set up to sit back and be as organised as possible while out of possession, hit their hosts on the break whenever they could, and perhaps go into some tough tackles or time-wasting tactics to get under the skin of Jurgen Klopp's side.
Many are already saying that the Blues shouldn't have done that, though. Because, of course, the better option for a team starting the match in the relegation zone would have been to go toe-to-toe with a side challenging for four trophies this season.
Why didn't Everton just do the honourable thing, play Liverpool at their own game, and roll over easily? How very dare they? If you're seriously asking those questions in the wake of this match then there's nothing else that can really be said.
Now the point absolutely has to be made at this juncture that, objectively, the Blues did not play well on Sunday. They were out-played by Liverpool, who deserved their win in the end as they had the better quality. That cannot be denied and isn't being denied by the majority of Evertonians.
And, in future Merseyside derbies, those travelling to Anfield will likely hope for a scenario in which their side don't have to play in that manner. In an ideal world, it would be nice to be able to take on Liverpool in a style that might be more attractive to the neutral sitting on their couches.
But that's not what Everton need to focus on. Frank Lampard and his squad should be absolutely aware of that.
With the scenario as it stood before the match - considering the form of both sides, the gulf between them in the Premier League table, the confidence of the respective players and the pressures on their shoulders - it was decided that the best way for the Blues to get anything would be to frustrate their opponents as much as possible.
Everton's first half drew a lot of comparisons to tactics utilised by Diego Simeone or Jose Mourinho to good effect. Drag your opponents down to a level they don't want to be at, or are not comfortable with, and try your best to be as clinical as possible at the other end of the pitch.
Where the Blues fell down is with the latter aspect. They created openings, but they represented half-chances in the end rather than clear-cut opportunities as they couldn't find the right quality.
That, combined with some more errors at the back end of the pitch, was the real undoing of Lampard's side. How they set up was not.
They played the situation that was in front of them and for a large portion of the game it was working in their favour. Two substitutions in the second half eventually proved crucial for Liverpool, and as previously mentioned, their quality eventually told for the final stages.
But one of the most grating things for Evertonians to now have to deal with is the onslaught of opinions from elsewhere on how Everton should have set up. Or, worse still, what their thoughts on the club's current plight at the bottom of the table are.
Let me just stop everyone right there and say... no-one cares.
The one and only motivation for Lampard, his squad, the club staff and the fans collectively should be to solely focus on themselves. That's the long and short of it.
The manager has made that clear in recent press conferences, but in general the context of those comments has been with regard to positive results that Burnley have picked up. He's right, his side shouldn't focus on what other sides are doing, but they other shouldn't be bothered by what anyone else thinks either.
Everton could go into their next match against Chelsea with very similar tactics they utilised against Liverpool, despite being at home. If they can improve their quality at both ends of the pitch, with a home crowd behind them, it could be effective.
A lot of supporters wouldn't be too disappointed for that gameplan to become a reality again. The Blues showed a lot of fight in the face of real adversity on Sunday afternoon, even if it was proven to them that pure desire isn't enough - you do needed added quality as well.
You won't find many Evertonians wishing their side had matched up Liverpool's tactics and been completely turned over, as they undoubtedly would have been. You will find a lot of supporters and pundits from other sides believing that, though.
But they don't matter. It's all about me, myself and I for Everton right now.
