The next week will prove crucial in determining the immediate, and potentially even long-term, future of Cardiff City Football Club.
As we reach the end of a horrible 2022/23 campaign for the Bluebirds, with only Monday's game with Burnley left to play, City supporters will want to brush over the last 12 months with vanishing paint.
So, how do Cardiff ensure next season is less wretched than this? Well, that all starts in the coming days, with owner Vincent Tan flying into London to meet manager Sabri Lamouchi, who kept his club in the Championship after being appointed in January on a short-term deal with an SOS mission.
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If we are to take Lamouchi at his word, he is happy at Cardiff and, if visions align, wants to move forward and build on what has the foundations of being a good Championship squad.
That, no doubt, will be the central talking point of his meeting with Tan next week. Lamouchi's words after the defeat by Huddersfield a week ago were telling. When asked by WalesOnline if big changes needed to be made to the squad in the transfer window, he replied: "In my opinion, if you are doing just a little change, don't be surprised if you have just something a little different.
"I don't think the owner, chairman or people in the club, the fans, want to live the same season again. Obviously we need a massive decision from the club. Because we were so close [to relegation]. But we will play next season in the Championship, where Cardiff City Football Club are meant to be."
That is the figurative battleground on which the Frenchman's meeting with Vincent Tan will be contested. Cardiff have implemented a transfer strategy of austerity in recent years, since the departure of Neil Warnock, with the owner still reeling from having overspent on sub-par players in recent years. Lamouchi is perhaps suffering the mistakes of transfer windows past.
But even Warnock himself last week offered his own advice to Lamouchi — and Cardiff — when asked by WalesOnline how they could turn their fortunes around next season.
"Sign some good players!" he quipped.
It sounds simple, but it's rarely that straightforward. Cardiff have pointed to the successes of Luton Town and the one season Huddersfield made the play-offs on a tiny budget, but in reality these occurrences are exceptions to the norm.
Unfortunately, football is increasingly a money game. We see it at the very top level and, generally, it's no different in the Championship. Only properly-funded squads consistently challenge at the top of the tree. The last time Cardiff were in the play-offs they spent a decent wedge, bolstered by parachute payments, in the summer of 2019.
Few can begrudge Tan tightening the purse strings, though, after ploughing more than £200million into the club, but it does leave Cardiff caught between a rock and a hard place. They are completely reliant on the owner, but the owner has pulled the money, somewhat.
So, what is the plan?
Is Lamouchi wasting his time? He is clearly ambitious and does not want to spend next season fighting tooth and nail to avoid relegation again next year. He will not be short of offers if a deal is not struck. And it's no wonder he was reticent to offer absolutely positive responses when asked if he was optimistic or positive about his meeting with the owner in the coming days.
“I would like to know what the owner wants to do and after that what we can do," he said, measuredly. “After that to know his decision, I will give my decision and we will see what we can do together. But for sure, Cardiff is a massive club and it deserves to do something different.
“But to do something different is to anticipate, to have a plan and to try to make some smart moves."
Both have their plans, both will put their points across and, in many ways, it may be a case of who blinks first or what compromise can be found.
There are also external factors to be considered at the moment. The tragic Emiliano Sala saga continues to weigh heavily and is onerous both in terms of finances and time.
It was noteworthy that reports in Belgium this week suggest Vincent Tan is ready to sell one of his other clubs, KV Kortrijk. Bournemouth came sniffing but were seemingly left disappointed by the quality of the facilities, while Burnley were thought to be put off by Tan's asking price for the Belgian top-flight club.
It is now thought American investors are looking at Kortrijk. What does that mean for Cardiff, then? If he did sell up, does that free up money for extra wages or even a transfer kitty, when the EFL's partial embargo is lifted in the summer of 2024? Or will the cash get swallowed up and consolidated to offset debt or legal costs?
All this will likely be brought up in the upcoming meeting, with Lamouchi keen to know what funds are in the coffers and what is available to him.
While City are under a transfer embargo, there is little Lamouchi can do about not being able to spend money on signing players. But we are repeatedly told that does not seem to be too problematic, even though Lamouchi did describe the situation as "uncomfortable".
The bigger issue, for want of a better word, is that Cardiff have drastically slashed their player wages and implemented an average wage structure. The calibre of player Lamouchi is going to want to bring in will likely seek loftier remuneration for their services than what Cardiff are offering.
It is widely thought among City fans that while the squad has potential, it is thin. There needs to be six or seven signings, mostly permanent but with a couple of loans, too, who will immediately add quality to the starting XI. There are enough squad players to rotate in or fill in for injuries, but now quality needs to be added.
If we take a look at the rough starting team for next year, Ryan Allsop, Perry Ng, Mahlon Romeo, Mark McGuinness, Jamilu Collins, Callum O'Dowda and Callum Robinson are all good players at this level. Ryan Wintle has been the pick of the bunch in the middle of the park and Joe Ralls has shown us towards the end of the season that he still has big performances in his locker. But the midfield does need a re-jig to add more creativity. Meanwhile, Kion Etete, Isaak Davies and Rubin Colwill are players with potential who need to play a more significant part in proceedings next season.
The above still needs adding to and the level of investment Tan puts in this summer will have a weighty bearing on the successful composition of the squad. Lamouchi knows the potential and is genuinely pleased with the quality of the majority of Cardiff's squad, but concedes it needs more to get to the next level.
Whether Tan has the scope to loosen those purse strings slightly more to facilitate that remains to be seen. But perhaps what gave some encouragement, more than we have had from some time, is Mehmet Dalman's intimation that the harsh financial landscape is smoothening out on the horizon.
"It's how we move on to make sure we're not in this position next year. That means having the right manager, the right number of players and the quality of player that we require," Dalman said.
"We need to be on a sounder footing, be more consistent next season and show proper signs of progress. Our job is not finished here. The pandemic hit the business world hard and had a huge impact on our investment into Cardiff, but the good news is the markets are coming back, there are signs of normality again, and that means we can start to plan ahead."
That, at least, gives hopes of a positive outcome from the crunch Tan and Lamouchi talks next week.
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