Tottenham Hotspur have done anything but flourish this season, and Thomas Frank's negative tactics and failure to connect with the fanbase cost him his job.
In truth, though, even the most persuasive of personalities would have struggled to stay afloat after a terrible run of results that has pulled Spurs into a Premier League relegation battle.
It's almost unthinkable, but with the Londoners only five points above 18th-place West Ham United, who have seven points from nine, it's a grim reality that needs facing.
How ENIC Group move forward remains to be seen. However, if Spurs choose against appointing an interim manager, Roberto De Zerbi looks to be among the frontrunners.
Why Spurs are interested in De Zerbi
Tottenham have fallen by the wayside, alright, and in hindsight, Frank wasn't the right man for the job. Too passive, he didn't have the gumption on the ball.
De Zerbi's got gumption in bucketloads, though, and a flowing passing game that could steer Spurs back into the ascendancy.
However, whether De Zerbi, 46, would be the best pick given the current circumstances in north London is another matter. After all, the Italian was sacked by Marseille earlier this week following a string of poor results.
A somewhat abrasive personality that led to several player-coach fallouts at the Stade Velodrome should serve as a cautionary tale for Tottenham as they look to embed a winning culture at N17.
It's not what the Lilywhites need, hence why sporting director Johan Lange is considering appointing a current Premier League boss whose football has drawn plenty of plaudits this season.
Spurs should wait for Premier League manager
De Zerbi's volatile nature should see the Tottenham board steer clear, especially when considering that Heitinga could step in for the remainder of the campaign.
That's a risk in itself, but considering the calibre of coaches on who are supposedly available, such as Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola, it may be the long game that ENIC Group should play.
According to The Times, Iraola is alongside De Zerbi is a top target on Spurs' managerial shortlist, with his Bournemouth contract up for expiry at the end of the season.
While the chances of bringing him over to the capital at the campaign's midpoint are negligible, Iraola is expected to attract a wealth of interest from England and Spain this summer, and with this in mind, Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham is leading the search.
Iraola, 43, has been Bournemouth boss for two-and-a-half years now, taking the Vitality Stadium from Premier League survivors to thrivers, inculcating them with an attractive, front-footed style of football that has led Mikel Arteta to hail him for doing an "extraordinary job".
There certainly are parallels between Iraola's project and De Zerbi's while at Brighton, taking established Premier League outfits on the south coast and fashioning them into contenders in the top half of the standings, but Iraola's man-management skills and personable attitude seem to align more closely with the culture the Londoners are trying to embed.
Last season, Iraola's Bournemouth recorded the fifth-highest xG total in the Premier League. This year, they have remained one of the most creative teams in the country.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Iraola, moreover, is nothing if not resourceful, having effectively lost his entire backline last summer and Antoine Semenyo during the recently shut winter transfer window. Even so, his south coast side remain outsiders in the race for European qualification, ninth in the standings and having avoided defeat for five matches.
While some would point toward Frank having fallen by the wayside after taking the step up to a bigger club at Tottenham, Iraola's brand is more suitable for Spurs' daring identity.