If Tottenham Hotspur suffer their first relegation in almost 50 years, the winter transfer window will go down as a major reason why.
Those in charge of the circus, namely Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham, later rationalised Spurs' inactivity due to the fact that the players who were then out injured would soon be returning to action.
At the time, it was much easier to commend the hierarchy for not panicking in trying circumstances. Our situation wasn't anywhere near as perilous as it is now.
Still, the overwhelming majority thought we'd left ourselves short in attack after Brennan Johnson was sold and Mohammed Kudus sustained a significant quad injury. Since then, three managers have tried and failed to fit a square peg into a round hole down the right-hand side, with balance proving almost impossible to come by.
The most annoying thing is, there was an obvious solution on the table that surely wouldn't have allowed us to sink into our currently dire state.
Tottenham's Ademola Lookman oversight was criminal
Tottenham weren't completely inactive in the winter. Thankfully, we signed another runner in midfield (Conor Gallagher) and a left back for the future (João Souza). Just what we needed.
Souza has barely featured, while Gallagher has so far been a disaster. He's played plenty since joining the club, yet I'm struggling to recollect a single positive contribution since the second half of the 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
I still believe that utilising him higher up and allowing him to crash the box is the only way to deploy the Englishman effectively.
Signing Gallagher to unnecessarily high wages reflected the board's misguided priorities. He wasn't a player we required, and the move seemingly compromised a swoop for the attacker we so desperately needed.
Ademola Lookman was begging to be bought in January, having failed to secure a move away from Atalanta last summer. We were tenuously linked then, and supposedly boasted an interest midway through the season, but opted against making the £30m move that probably would've saved us from the abyss.
Lookman instead waited until the very end of the window to be scooped up by Atlético Madrid, who'd sold Giacomo Raspadori to Bergamo two weeks prior. They perhaps couldn't believe the Nigerian was still available.
Events since have been incredibly predictable. Tottenham's imbalanced and depleted attack has floundered, while Lookman has thrived in the Spanish capital. His fourth goal contribution of the Champions League knockout stages sent Atléti into the semifinals of the competition for the first time in almost a decade, having teed up the opening goal against the Lilywhites in our infamous round of 16 tie.
Lookman is a star winger who'd have improved us immeasurably. Signing him for £30m amid an injury crisis would've been the complete opposite of a "panic buy", but rather a shrewd and necessary piece of business that any competent recruiters would've overseen.