For any modern Tottenham Hotspur manager, Mauricio Pochettino remains the benchmark, with the Lilywhites never truly getting close to the highs they achieved during the Argentine's five-year tenure.
There were four top-four finishes in succession in the Premier League, alongside a surge to the Champions League final in 2019, all while Pochettino brought through an exciting, youthful crop of future superstars.
A piece of silverware may have remained elusive, but this was still a golden period for those in north London, with Roberto De Zerbi now the man tasked with edging the club back to such lofty footing.
The priority, in the short term, is survival, yet beyond this season, the Italian will need to build toward a brighter future, ensuring not everyone currently on board will be in it for the long haul.
The winners and losers of De Zerbi's appointment at Spurs
There is a sense that the real losers of this appointment could well be the Tottenham hierarchy, if things are to go south, with the ENIC regime gambling on a typically combustible coach at a time when the club simply needs someone to steady the ship.
Alas, looking to De Zerbi's impact on the pitch, there are those among the current crop who may well find themselves out of the picture moving forward, with Pedro Porro potentially under threat considering the manager's tendency to deploy a midfielder at right-back on occasion, be it Pascal Gross or Jack Hinshelwood at Brighton.
In midfield too, the steady, ability-winning traits of Joao Palhinha are likely to be at odds with the possession-heavy style of the new boss, with that also likely to be an issue for January arrival, Conor Gallagher, considering he boasts a pass accuracy rate of just 80% in this season's Premier League.
That said, having overseen the rise of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister for a brief time at the Amex, De Zerbi could be the perfect man to nurture the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray toward superstardom, the latter having been a particular shining light even during Igor Tudor's dismal reign.
There will also be an element of intrigue regarding Mohammed Kudus, when the Ghanaian does return to action, with the fleet-footed forward having at one stage come close to joining Brighton in 2023, prior to moving to West Ham United.
When fit and firing again, Kudus is likely to be installed off the right flank in De Zerbi's 4-2-3-1, while the playmaking role in the centre could well belong to Spurs' new Christian Eriksen.
Spurs' new Eriksen could be perfect for De Zerbi
It was in something of a 4-2-3-1 that Pochettino's teams of the past flourished, with the aforementioned Eriksen having been a centre-piece of that side, be it off the left or in a number ten role.
During Pochettino's time in charge alone, the Dane racked up 58 goals and 75 assists in 255 games in all competitions, proving the real creative outlet in support of the free-scoring Harry Kane and Heung-min Son.
In the modern day, in the absence of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, Spurs are missing that playmaking jewel, albeit with there having been flashes from £52m signing, Xavi Simons, in recent weeks.
The Dutch sensation was particularly impressive on what looked like a breakthrough night at home to Atletico Madrid, scoring twice in that 3-2 win, while proving such a menace in between the lines, registering five 'key passes' in total.
Watching the 22-year-old twisting and turning, while rifling home from range, very much felt like witnessing Eriksen in his pomp, albeit with greater athleticism, with that a comparison that was even made in his pre-Tottenham days, back in 2023.
Indeed, Dutch Eurosport expert Kevin Van Nunen made that connection during Simons' time at PSV Eindhoven, following Eriksen's own prior rise at Ajax:
“The typical modern playmaker, [Simons'] very creative and able to give an assist as well as making goals,” he told Eurosport UK.
“I named Christian Eriksen as a comparison for a reason, especially as Simons is at a similar point in his career as when Eriksen had his breakthrough at Ajax."
An Eriksen-shaped figure appears perfect for new boss De Zerbi when looking back to the impact that Gross made under the Italian on the south coast, the German playmaker racking up 31 Premier League goal involvements in 2022/23 and 2023/24 combined, creating 27 'big chances' in that time.
There was perhaps greater versatility to Gross' game, considering he could operate at right-back, although he was regularly deployed by De Zerbi as the number ten, ensuring Simons should well sparkle in a similar role moving forward.