The end of the 2021/22 season no doubt came as a mighty relief for everyone associated with Everton, not least those in the boardroom.
The prospect of relegation would have been an embarrassment for a club that has made so many mistakes in recent years, and a damning indictment on the way it has been run in that time. The fact the Blues saved themselves in dramatic fashion in the penultimate match of the campaign does not absolve those issues in any real sense.
The last couple of weeks have been a welcome opportunity for fans to sit back and not have to worry about their club's game-by-game results. Finally the stress of the situation has been lifted from the shoulders.
But, replacing that, has been the need for a real direction. This was a disgraceful situation for Everton to find themselves in, how are those in charge planning to make sure this doesn't happen again?
Publicly they've been met with silence. Ongoing, deafening, confusing silence.
Farhad Moshiri still hasn't been seen at Goodison Park since the 5-2 defeat to Watford in October. He was pictured next to Frank Lampard when the new manager was unveiled, but he's not yet seen the boss on the touchline.
Bill Kenwright, the man who first brought the investor to the club, has been similarly quiet at the end of the campaign. He was at least visible in those crucial matches towards the end of the season, taking his seat in the directors' box, but what is his role in the future?
What even is to come next for the club? Surely that's a question the chairman of a club such as Everton should be answering right now. But no. So far at least, it's been silent.
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The scenes at Goodison Park at the back end of the campaign were fantastic. Supporters banded together in brilliant fashion to put aside any negative energy and fully get behind the players in the exact manner they needed to secure the right results.
Let's not forget though that there were a number of protests around the very running of the club earlier in the season. Hundreds gathered outside Goodison on a cold January evening to parade banners around the ground, chant their displeasure against the board and demand for much better.
At the heart of those concerns was a need for greater communication from those at the very top. If fans don't know what the board aims to do or what they are thinking about the situation as things stand, how are they supposed to react?
The '27 Campaign' sought to highlight the governance and management of the club in the last six years, recognising the investment that Moshiri has brought but also decrying the position the Blues had sleep-walked themselves in to.
They called on the owner to make management changes to bring about an improvement in performance, to communicate through official club channels in the future, and to engage with fans directly to allow them to express their concerns where they felt it would really matter.
Those involved in the campaign argued that the board and senior management were the primary reasons for the club's under-performance in recent years. Crippling finances, at least one very questionable managerial appointment and sub-par performances on the pitch were all connected.
Just because Everton survived by the skin of their teeth in the Premier League doesn't mean that those concerns have gone away. Popular fansite Grand Old Team recently ran a survey which polled almost 4,800 Evertonians on their views on numerous issues - including trust in current incumbents on the board of directors.
Only 4% of those who answered were 'happy' or 'very happy' with how the club is run from the board - down 68% from the previous year. 90.7% believed that Moshiri could or should improve his communications with supporters.
76% were either unsatisfied or very unsatisfied with the performance of Everton's chairman. Only 3.2% answered 'yes' to the question 'Is the current Everton board fit for purpose and doing a good job running Everton?'
Those are just a flavour of the results, and no doubt the club would argue that's from a very small pool of what is a huge fanbase - which is understandable in a sense. But, at the same time, it's no excuse to avoid these valid questions.
Communication at this stage is the absolute bare minimum. After what has been the worst campaign for a generation at Goodison, why are fans being left completely in the dark about what has just taken place and what the plan is for the future?
Everton say they have completed a strategic review and point to multiple recent decisions as evidence of that. The appointments of Lampard and Kevin Thelwell, and the separation of the under-23s managerial role and Academy Director position being the main examples.
But, this was a review that was very much behind-the-scenes. Evertonians don't know all of the questions the review asked, how deep it went nor have they been given a timescale for when the changes are hoped to have an influence. Has the club embarked on a two-year process, a five-year plan or longer? What restraints will govern its implementation? Supporters are likely to be far more understanding if there is transparency about what they can expect and a willingness to explain what progress, in the board's view, looks like.
Yet again, a lack of communication could hold the club back.
Some might argue that there would be backlash if there was communication at this stage, as there was when Kenwright's words were published immediately after the rousing away win at Leicester City.
But we have reached a crucial juncture. This is a moment in the club's recent history where communication, leadership and a real strategy are essential.
A continued silence, leaving fans to fester on what has been a shambolic campaign, does nobody any favours. You can't hide behind what was a positive attitude to end the campaign, because who is to say that the club won't find themselves in more dire straits in the future?
To allay those concerns Moshiri, Kenwright and everyone involved with the board must have stronger communications with supporters. If they want to even begin to change the attitudes around themselves, they need to directly address the concerns that clearly many still have.
For now, the silence has been deafening. But that cannot continue.
