It's April 2021. Melbourne Victory have just suffered an embarrassing 7-0 loss to Melbourne City, the second thrashing by their rivals in as many months.
Coach Grant Brebner is sacked. The fans are hurting. A once-proud club has hit rock bottom.
Fast-forward a little more than 12 months and it's a vastly different story.
Victory have just missed out on being crowned premiers after finishing second on the A-League Men's table, capping off a remarkable turnaround for a club which languished at the bottom of the table in 2021.
They now take a 15-game unbeaten run into the finals — a club record — and a side overflowing with confidence.
So, just how have they come from the doldrums to arguably the championship favourite?
The Popa Effect
For emerging midfielder Jake Brimmer, there was a defining moment when he knew Victory's fortunes would change.
"It was the minute the boss was announced as head coach of the Melbourne Victory Football Club," 24-year-old Brimmer told ABC Sport.
The "boss" is Tony Popovic, a former Socceroo with an extensive coaching resume.
Popovic led two A-League clubs to premiership titles and won the prestigious AFC Champions League with the Western Sydney Wanderers.
"As soon as [Popovic] was announced as head coach, that was when I knew that the club was going to change and that we'll be right back up there where we belong," Brimmer said, having previously played under Popovic at Perth Glory.
Brimmer's confidence this season is indicative of the team's performance and the star midfielder said it's Popovic who has instilled that belief.
"I knew the expectations … and we've all really jumped on board to what he wanted, and you can see with the results and how everyone's playing," Brimmer said.
"It's all coming together as one now right before the finals. We're in a good headspace and everyone's flying."
Brimmer's first season with Victory was last year when the club's woes were laid bare on and off the field.
"Look, it's not something that I like to think about, having been a part of that team, but it's amazing how quickly things can turn around," he said.
"You fast-forward 12 months and look at us now. I'm so happy for everyone at the club, especially for the fans because they've had to sit through two years of heartache and stress and now we're finally on the right path."
Turnover on and off the pitch
"Last year was a terrible season," admitted Victory's managing director, Caroline Carnegie.
"Everyone felt it: the coach, the players, the administration. Everybody rides the bumps of football together and it was just a terrible feeling around the place," she said.
In the immediate aftermath of season 2021, Victory cleared out its troubled football department and administration, appointing a new director of football in John Didulica.
Carnegie became part of that transformation, stepping in as managing director to become the first woman to lead the administration of a men's club in the Australian Professional Leagues.
A lawyer by trade, Carnegie said the clean-out helped to exorcise the demons of the 2021 season.
"The broad nature of the changes we've had through administration and football meant that we had a clean slate from that [terrible] feeling," she said.
"Everybody was certainly very disappointed in last year and even the year before that, of course, but just coming in with a fresh way of doing things through administration and football … really made a difference."
Carnegie has the unenviable task of placating a sometimes angry fan base, which has toiled through poor performances and COVID-19 restrictions.
The most ardent of supporters showed up at a training session last year with a sign that read: "The line has been crossed."
"Look, I hope [the fans] are feeling pretty good right about now," Carnegie said.
"What we've tried to do very hard this year is make sure our fans, members and active supporters are on the journey."
Carnegie cited bringing all games — and fans — back to its home venue, AAMI Park, as a crucial change.
'Sky's the limit'
Brimmer believes Victory can go all the way and etch a fifth championship onto the club's honour board.
"With this team and with this manager I believe that sky's the limit with us," he said.
"We all jumped on board with what the boss wants and I genuinely believe that we can most definitely go all the way and completely win it."
Victory will face stiff opposition from cross-town rivals Western United, defending champions Melbourne City and the in-form Adelaide United.
The top three sides on the premiership ladder this season were all based in Melbourne, in a sign of progress for football in the city.
Victory face off against Western United in the first of two semi-finals tonight.
