After two 500-mile round trips to watch two heavy defeats in a week, Everton fans rightly voiced their frustrations at the final whistle on the south coast.
While Frank Lampard pointed the finger at his fringe players for the midweek Carabao Cup exit, there was no hiding place for the Toffees boss and his squad following the latest Bournemouth nightmare. Tensions came to a head in scenes that are becoming all too familiar for Everton when Alex Iwobi handed his shirt over to a supporter in the away section at the Vitality Stadium.
Iwobi, who has been Everton's standout performer this season, was left visibly upset as he trudged away although suggestions the shirt was thrown back at him appear to be false. Captain Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford intervened and exchanged words with fans with an apologetic Lampard pulling them away and taking the brunt of the ire.
This was supposed to be the start of a new dawn at Goodison Park after scraping Premier League survival with one game to spare last season.
The scenes at the final whistle against Crystal Palace were jubilant but Lampard insisted in no uncertain terms that they cannot be repeated this term.
But as we enter the mid-season World Cup break, Everton are hovering perilously above the relegation zone and there is a feeling flares and bus welcomes won't get them over the line this time around.
The defeat to Bournemouth extends Everton's run to one win in eight in all competitions. They have only scored five in that time and three of those came in the solitary win over Palace in October.
The failure to replace Richarlison is appearing increasingly glaring by the week and questions are being asked of Director of Football Kevin Thelwell for sanctioning the signings of Dwight McNeil, Neal Maupay and the ageing Idrissa Gueye, who has not impressed on his return.
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady appeared to have shored things up at the back but Everton's frailties are beginning to be exposed and their stats are frightening. They have faced a Premier League high 254 shots this term and as Bournemouth's first goal proved, they cannot keep relying on Jordan Pickford.
The World Cup has come at the right time for out-of-sorts Everton but maybe not for Lampard, who has emerged as the clear favourite with bookmakers to be the next manager to lose his job.
The former Chelsea man galvanised the club last season in the survival push following Rafa Benitez's exit and speaks so well about the club and its supporters. He is still liked by many, who feel he needs to be given time to sort the mess left by a host of previous bosses.
But despite brief glimpses of promise, there has been little - if any - improvement in performances during his tenure and that is worrying. Benitez was axed in January last year while the likes of Ronald Koeman and Marco Silva were given the sack before Christmas and it is unclear if Lampard will be in charge for the visit of Wolves on Boxing Day.
The much-maligned Everton board face another big decision but it is clear the problems at Goodison are much bigger than Lampard and the managers that have come before him.
An in-depth strategic review into the running of the club seemingly didn't uncover too much, with key figures on the board keeping their jobs into this season. Owner Farhad Moshiri is reportedly considering selling up too and it appears a clean slate for all, with people with knowledge on how to run a football club at the helm, is the only way forward.
Despite the current economic climate, Everton fans are still making trips up and down the country in their thousands hoping for an improvement, anything for them to get behind. But they are not seeing it and are rightly demanding more, from players and staff.
The continued publishing of new stadium news after defeats is becoming a running joke too and an update after the Bournemouth shambles will likely be derided again.
Everton hope to be at their new Bramley Moore Dock home for the start of the 2024/25 season but if they are not careful, the football being played there will not be Premier League level.
