Derry City fans will be hoping that tonight's trip to Galway United marks a turning point in what has been, so far, an underwhelming campaign.
Nine games in, they sit sixth in the table - five points off fifth place, seven from the top - and their league position feels almost flattering considering the reality on the pitch.
Strip away the goals of Michael Duffy, and they’d be rock bottom.
Duffy has five of their eight league goals this season. Without him, Derry’s entire attacking output would resemble a team in crisis.
And maybe that’s exactly what this is.
A crisis in slow motion - masked by the occasional flash of individual brilliance but lacking the structure and clarity that real progress demands.
This is not a squad that should be languishing in the bottom half.
The off-season transfer activity was expensive, and ambitious.
Carl Winchester, Kevin Holt, Shane Ferguson, Dom Thomas, Liam Boyce, Gavin Whyte and Robbie Benson - players with proven quality and experience were added in droves.
Brian Maher stayed on as their number one despite strong external interest.
Adam O’Reilly, one of the league’s standout midfielders last season, also remained at the club.
The pieces, at least on paper, are there.
On grass, or more accurately, on the artificial pitch at the Brandywell, things have looked disjointed, leggy, and at times, devoid of any clear identity.
Watching Derry this season has often felt like watching a collection of talented players thrown together without an idea of what the end product is meant to be.
They’ve started the campaign as a team that looks to be struggling without a purpose. Nothing that says, 'This is how we play. This is how we win'.
Take last Friday night’s defensive errors against Drogheda. Three goals conceded from setpieces. Three.
Now they face a Galway side who thrive off set plays, physicality, and intensity. It’s hard to look at tonight’s fixture without a sense of dread for Derry.
Winchester shows good energy in the middle of the pitch, sees plenty of the ball, but things seem to fizzle out the moment the pass leaves his boot.
There’s a lack of aggression and movement around him. It’s all just a bit... flat.
O’Reilly has had his moments, but without tempo and urgency, Derry struggle to control games.
Defensively, the backline lacks mobility, which becomes a major issue against high-pressing sides or in transition.
The profile of the squad, skewed toward older, experienced players, brings with it a very real concern around injuries and recoveries.
It’s not that they’re bad players - far from it.
But when you ask players at the twilight of their careers to play on an unforgiving astro pitch, with brutal travel distances on top, your risk levels increase.
It’s worth highlighting the Brandywell pitch here. Ruairí Keating’s recent serious injury reignited the conversation around the impact of the artificial surface, although we don't know what impact it had.
Several players and managers have voiced concern. When a player goes down badly, it always raises a red flag.
The pitch not only affects performance, it’s also putting players at risk and increasing chance of potential long-term absences.
And yet, despite all this, there’s still hope. Because the talent is undeniable.
Duffy is arguably the form player in the league right now.
Patrick Hoban and Liam Boyce may have similar playing profiles, but both can score goals.
Paul McMullan is capable of creating chances, while Thomas and Whyte have attacking quality in abundance.
When fit, Dummigan can dominate the flow of a game from midfield. O’Reilly is still one of the league’s best box-to-box operators.
The question is no longer about talent.
It’s about turning that talent into something well structured.
Something that functions as a team.
Derry need a defined playing style, a style of play that allows their better players to shine while plugging the weaknesses we’ve seen at the back.
Most of all, they need consistency. A run of results. A bit of momentum. Because right now, they’re drifting.
The league is unforgiving this season. Galway are a nightmare to break down and will be a tough test tonight. No team fears Derry. And that’s a problem.
If Tiernan Lynch can get this group to click, they could go on a run and climb into European contention.
But if they continue down the path they’re on - disjointed and inconsistent - it could be a long and disappointing campaign.
For a club that’s invested as heavily as Derry have, mediocrity simply isn’t good enough.
