The sharpest scalpel was held by Gary Neville during the post-mortem of Manchester United's generational nadir at Brentford.
Having had 48 hours to assess the cadaver, Neville presented a traffic light system on Monday Night Football assessing United's recruitment since Sir Alex Ferguson headed upstairs in 2013.
Two players were rated green, seven made amber and 24 were filed under red. Even the two greens, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bruno Fernandes, had caveats. Also read: How United have coped without Casemiro in the six games he hasn't appeared in Ibrahimovic suffered such a severe case of second-season syndrome he did not play again after he was hooked at the interval against Burnley on Boxing Day.
As of August last year, it was fair to suggest Fernandes had reserved his best form for matches with the turnstiles locked. The list of 'major signings' comprised of permanent outfield additions, so there was no Lee Grant or Odion Ighalo.