Failure to address the goalkeeping situation in the summer has returned to haunt Everton and leaves Tim Howard as the main talking point lately, none more so than the goals conceded in Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Arsenal.
Despite manager Roberto Martinez sounding out the need for a long-term solution when Howard had a spell out injured last season, the situation went untouched this summer, something that looked a dubious decision at the time, and increasingly so with each passing match.
Regardless of the doubts surrounding Howard's waning ability, age alone was a reason to address the goalkeeping department in the summer transfer window. Howard turns 37 before the end of the current campaign -- Everton needed to be looking to the future.
Add advancing years to this steady post-World Cup decline, and it is clear why a long-term replacement should have been a priority once the disjointed 2014-15 season finished.
In the one position in which a consistent, reliable presence is required, the American is a nervy figure appearing only a moment away from a costly error. Teammates look to their goalkeeper to inspire confidence as the last line of defence, but the only thing Howard inspires is nerves.
As Arsenal scored twice in two minutes, while not solely the fault of the man between the sticks, those nagging doubts returned, particularly on the back of a number of questionable recent concessions. Constant set piece problems merely highlight the Howard issue; the toxic combination of slack marking, failure to clear lines, and a goalkeeper withering in plain sight is proving fatal.
Goalkeepers should command their penalty area. When there is no command of the six-yard box, never mind the penalty area, the alarm bells ring that much louder. This failure has regressed to such a point that Howard now seems afraid to leave his goal line. The faith the defence once had, which took a sizeable hit last season, must be close to disappearing entirely.
The six-yard box, the area Howard should be dominating without exception, has become a welcome area for opposing players, something exemplified by four of the last seven goals conceded being headers in the six-yard box.
Howard rooted to his line as opponents steal in for the cheapest of goals is a too-common sight. Arsenal's two goals totalled a combined distance of around six yards -- the freedom afforded opposing players is simply unacceptable.
The errors and questions asked began to fade as Howard found a modicum of form in the closing stages of last season, with both goalkeeper and teammates improving to pull away from the depths of the division. This improvement continued into the new season, but progress halted with two errors in defeat to Manchester City.
A man-of-the-match display to earn a point at Tottenham the following match suggested City stood as a mere blip, but this recent run of form suggest the heroics at Spurs are the exception and the norm is the error-strewn keeper prominent for much of this season and last. Respite is short-lived these days.
This was the fourth successive match in which the opposition has profited from an incident with Howard at the centre. Poor marking from teammates has not helped, with the two central defenders sharing the blame in this Emirates defeat, but it is this lack of authority within the goalmouth inflicting most damage.
Teams are targeting this area of weakness. Not known for their crossing or willingness to throw balls into the box, Arsenal profited twice and came close on several occasions. Video replays of Laurent Koscielny nodding into an empty net as Howard grasps at fresh air get worse with each viewing.
Calls for understudy Joel Robles to fill the breach grow louder once more. Though prone to a slow start, tending to need several matches to find a consistent level, the alternative gathers traction with each Howard misdemeanour.
Robles is likely to start in the midweek League Cup tie with Norwich, and the former Wigan player will look to replicate the form shown during his brief spell in the team last season. Having curtailed a penchant for punching, command of the penalty and six-yard areas is a crucial area Robles has the edge.
Good goalkeepers earn their team points as demonstrated by Arsenal's Petr Cech swooping at the feet of Gerard Deulofeu and denying the visitors an unlikely point in the closing stages. Commanding and decisive whenever called upon, the Arsenal No. 1 proves the value attached to bolstering a weak goalkeeping department with a shrewd summer signing.
Cech has the ability to prevent wins dropping to draws, draws becoming defeats. That is the difference between the dependable and the unpredictable, those keepers winning points and those costing them.
Martinez must decide whether to stand by a goalkeeper gifting points rather than saving them, though the answer seemed to surface here. As Phil Jagielka departed through injury, the captain's armband passed Howard.
Such a move suggests Martinez's unwavering belief in his No. 1 is intact. Time will tell but on the majority of evidence offered in the last 18 months, this stubborn resolve looks unwise.