At the same stage of the season two years ago, Tottenham Hotspur went into the March international off the back of a crushing 3-0 defeat to Fulham, a result that looked set to have real repercussions for the climax of the campaign.
There's a similar feel in the present day, although the final outcome could be very different.
In 2023/24, for instance, that loss at Craven Cottage set the tone for a climax to the season that would end with Ange Postecoglou's side in fifth, narrowly missing out on Champions League football.
As for 2025/26, Sunday's crushing home defeat to Nottingham Forest could set the Lilywhites even further down the path toward relegation, with the club's fortunes having declined so drastically in the space of just two years.
Igor Tudor, despite his turbulent tenure, is certainly not to blame for that descent, but he is the man in the crosshairs right now, with a change in the dugout seemingly inevitable.
Spurs managerial target now ready to replace Tudor immediately
In line with Rory Smith's work in the Observer this week, in an era of sporting directors and long-term projects, the status of a manager has been stripped away, no longer the omnipresent figureheads like in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.
Managers still matter, of course, but increasingly they seem the symptom of a club's problems rather than the cause, merely someone to take the blame for the failings above them.
Tudor, in that sense, is just the latest post-Mauricio Pochettino manager in north London to have become the target or scapegoat for wider problems, albeit with it hard to look past the Croatian's dismal return of just one point from five Premier League games in charge.
The 47-year-old's departure has not yet been confirmed in the wake of Sunday's loss, although it appears to be on the horizon, with the i paper reporting that Roberto De Zerbi is ready and waiting to take his place at N17.
Despite reports to the contrary, their belief is that the Italian is 'ready to get his hands dirty' and lift Tottenham away from danger, with the Tottenham hierarchy said to be contemplating hiring him 'immediately'.
De Zerbi, following his dismissal from Marseille last month, is said to be 'refreshed' and keen to get back into work as soon as possible, with discussions taking place behind the scenes regarding Tudor's future in the dugout.
Why Spurs target would be a big upgrade on Adi Hutter
As the report above also outlined, another man to have been linked with the job is fellow free agent, Adi Hutter, with the 56-year-old having been out of work since his own Ligue 1 exit from Monaco last year.
A more experienced and proven coach than Tudor, Hutter could very well represent an upgrade on the current interim boss, but is he really what Spurs are in need of?
Having been stung by appointing a manager with no Premier League experience, to repeat that move would almost be bordering on laughable, with Spurs having seven games left to play to save themselves from disaster.
Whether De Zerbi is any better qualified to be the 'firefighter' that the north Londoners need is up for debate, although his prior work at Brighton and Hove Albion would make him a far better pick than the left-field Hutter.
Of course, De Zerbi has the tendency to add fuel to the fire, as seen in his turbulent time at the Stade Velodrome, although he largely oversaw a positive spell at the Amex, prior to departing after a dispute with owner Tony Bloom over the club's transfer policy.
In a sense, perhaps the Italian was right to have fought back against Bloom's approach, with the Seagulls having not exactly kicked on since his 2024 summer exit, after two mixed seasons under the youthful Fabian Hurzeler.
It was De Zerbi who led the south coast side into the Europa League, finishing sixth and 11th in his two campaigns at the helm, boasting a creditable record of 97 points from 70 Premier League games, while utilising his favoured, yet flexible, 4-2-3-1 formation.
Even for all the chaos at Marseille, the 46-year-old still led the French side to a second-placed finish in 2024/25, prior to ultimately departing the club with a points per game ratio of 1.81 from his 69 games in charge.
Hutter, for comparison, had a slightly slower points per game average of 1.77 from his 93 games at Monaco, albeit while leading the club to second in his first year in charge.
Either way, De Zerbi is the young, exciting candidate who also boasts prior Premier League experience, with that arguably the most important factor when it comes to finding a possible successor to Tudor.