The Cardiff City side which will turn out against Swansea City this weekend will be a world away from the one which strode out at the Swansea.com Stadium at the beginning of the season.
In many ways, the starting lineup as much as anything else has typified the positive and necessary changes Steve Morison has made to the beleaguered Bluebirds outfit he inherited following the departure of Mick McCarthy.
The 3-0 defeat by the Swans at the beginning of the season was another game in which the rightly-maligned use for five centre-backs was deployed, while Leandro Bacuna and Marlon Pack occupied two of the midfield berths.
READ MORE: Mark McGuinness makes 'no-brainer' Cardiff transfer comment
Bacuna and Pack have been jettisoned from the squad all together. While Pack has had his moments and games in which he has showcased just why he has had such a successful career at Championship level, Bacuna has had opportunity after opportunity, none of which he has taken.
Both are out of contract in the summer, though, and they seem nigh-on certain to head out the exit door as soon as their deals are up. You can read more about the players' transfer situations here.
One player who did come on in that Swans game was James Collins. He also started the following game, a 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough, which proved to be McCarthy's final game in the Bluebirds dugout.
The chances of Collins starting or even being introduced from the bench this time around are remote. Cardiff's January additions of Jordan Hugill and Uche Ikpeazu, as well as the return of Max Watters, has pushed the Republic of Ireland international way down the Bluebirds' striker pecking order.
The trouble is that Morison likes a blend of physicality and pace up front, which has demonstrably worked, and most of his strikers fall into two categories. Isaak Davies and Mark Harris have been providing the pace while Hugill and Ikpeazu have provided the brawn, although the latter two have been real goal threats, too.
Ikpeazu was a consideration for Cardiff last summer. He was certainly someone on Cardiff's radar, but the fact Middlesbrough forked out £750,000 for him from Wycombe Wanderers points to the fact that the Bluebirds were probably unwilling to spend that sum anyway.
Besides, McCarthy made a judgment call and preferred to go for a known quantity in Collins, a player with whom he had worked with during his time in charge of the Republic of Ireland and someone with a proven goal record with Luton Town.
But Collins' slow start didn't help as he failed to hit the ground running. He didn't have the physicality of Kieffer Moore nor the pace of the other young speedsters. The fact he missed a few more than decent opportunities in front of goal hardly instilled confidence in the fan base, either.
There are many who sympathise with him, though. He is a wholehearted player who runs himself into the ground every time he puts on the blue shirt. He's a real work horse who really wants to do well and fans can see that. He comes across extremely well whenever he is put up for media duties and there is a real will for him to succeed in the Welsh capital. But given how well the tactics, and team selections, have worked with him out of the side, it's hard to see how he can make his mark in the foreseeable future.
The curious thing is that Collins did not score a single goal in 16 appearances under McCarthy, the man who brought him in, nor did he produce so much as an assist. While under Morison's stewardship, the 31-year-old has netted three times and assisted once in 13 games.
He is by no means a lost cause, three in 13 is hardly an awful return, if we are to wipe the slate clean following McCarthy's departure. But the marked step up by Davies, Harris, Ikpeazu and Hugill, the favoured four-pronged strike force now in rotation, puts Collins in a precarious position.
Davies and Harris are likely to come back better next season, with a full Championship campaign under their belts. Cardiff will also look to add two strikers to assuage the departures of Hugill and Ikpeazu, too, especially with no Kieffer Moore about anymore. They will need that physical edge which is so important in the Championship.
So, what of Collins, who has another year left on his contract? A loan move away would seemingly benefit no one unless it was a last resort to cut down on wages. Could a permanent move be on the cards? It's a problem because Collins, with his experience and his age, will no doubt want more game time, but Cardiff will hardly have a bottomless pit of money to spend in the summer. Given so many out-of-contract players could leave, can they afford to start letting players who are in contract head out the door, too? It's a big enough rebuild as it is this summer and this is a man who has almost 200 club goals to his name, remember.
It's a conundrum and one which is no doubt occupying at least some of Cardiff's thoughts as they turn their focus towards their summer transfer strategy.
The Bluebirds have eight games remaining this season and Collins, one suspects, will get at least a couple of opportunities to prove a point, especially as Morison and Co continue to run the rule over the stars in situ ahead of June's transfer window opening.
