Everton have refused to roll over after a frustrating summer transfer window, and they are sixth in the Premier League with the international break upon us, only closer after losing so many of their stars.
The Friedkin Group haven't found any buyers yet, but after the window slammed shut, the wantaway owners put Everton up for sale after less than two years.
It certainly sheds some dim light on the events of the off-season. Everton failed to make the requisite improvements to David Moyes' squad, while selling a number of their biggest stars.
REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
Iliman Ndiaye and Beto both left, for example, with Brennan Johnson arguably the standout signing of the summer.
Why Brennan Johnson's struggling at Everton
It should be clear that Johnson is not, in fact, anywhere close to being a standout signing for Everton. The Welsh winger has been abject since joining from Crystal Palace this summer, with Dwight McNeil headed in the opposite direction. A straight swap.
Things weren't right for either winger in their settings at the time, so it made a fair amount of sense. However, Johnson is probably offering less right now than McNeil did last season, with finger-pointers arguing that the 25-year-old is among the most culpable for Everton's stuttering attack.
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Brennan Johnson's Premier League Struggles
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Well, it was stuttering, in any case. Thierno Barry is in the form of his career right now, and Tyrique George is thriving too, showing so much promise on the left wing.
Johnson needs to do more, of course. He has in the past shown himself to be a clinical attacker, skilled in timing his runs into the box and finishing off moves. None of that has been on show at the Hill Dickinson - or indeed with Crystal Palace last year.
Johnson has been a disappointment, but he's not the biggest letdown of the campaign thus far, with one of Everton's more senior players involved in something of a fiasco right now.
Everton superstar has been a bigger letdown than Johnson
Everton are battling their way through the 2026/27 season. They are sixth in the Premier League and into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, with a tie against Fleetwood Town awaiting there.
It's a real shame, with the Friedkin Group's incompetence having ruined Moyes' transfer plans, that Jack Grealish finds himself cut from contention, having been one of the shining lights of a gloomy summer.
Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Grealish may well be finished at Everton. The 39-time England international won the treble with Manchester City and once cost them £100m to bring over from Aston Villa. A loan to Everton last season resurrected his career in the Premier League, but he has potentially thrown it all away following a disciplinary breach last month.
Grealish has missed five matches, and there's no telling whether he will be welcomed back into Moyes' squad after the international break. Into his second year on loan with the Toffees, the talismanic playmaker is needed, to be sure, but Moyes will not brook players skirting rules and failing to turn up to training, even after forging a bond with the player last season.
Johnson's arrival in McNeil's place was not something that stoked the fire in Evertonian bellies. He has been out of sorts for a while, and it was accepted as a pragmatic purchase to add depth to the wings.
When fit and in form, Grealish is one of the first names on the teamsheet. No longer. Football Insider have reported this month that there is virtually no chance of the 31-year-old earning a permanent contract at the Hill Dickinson after his recent antics.
Jack Grealish and Everton manager David Moyes
It's a real shame, but if bridges are burned over the coming months, it might only be to secure for Grealish a bit-part role for the remainder of the campaign, as Moyes fights to defy the odds and make something out of a shallow squad.
In this, Grealish has certainly been a bigger letdown than Johnson this season. At least Johnson turns up and tries.