Brendan Rodgers might be able to see the storms on the horizon. In the wake of a 4-1 FA Cup hammering atNottingham Forest, theLeicester manager was angry.
He warned that there were players who could have achieved everything. They need to look in the mirror and see if they are good enough to be here.
Rodgers' message seems to have fallen on the heads of people. A run of six successive defeats has seen the Foxes plummet to the bottom of the table.
After Steve Cooper's appointment earlier in the season, the win in February gave Forest a boost and they went on to win the FA Cup and return to the top flight.
Despite a summer that saw them sign enough players to fill a first-team squad thanks to a spend of more than £150m, the momentum has stopped after their promotion. The side is 19th in the table and kept off bottom spot byLeicester.
For the first time in this millennium, the rivals will face off on Monday Night Football, live on Sky Sports.
Since then, a lot has happened at both the King Power Stadium and the City Ground but, having taken very different routes to get there, both are currently in the same situation.
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Rodgers' public warning to his players following that defeat at Forest may have seemed surprising, given he was criticising a squad that had won the FA Cup for the first time in their history.
The cup exit came on the back of a disappointing season for Rodgers' side in which they finished 12th in the league.
It was clear from Rodgers' words that the time was right to change his squad.
Financial constraints meant that the manager was only able to bring in two players, reserve goalkeeper Alex Smithies and defender Wout Faes, while 12 other players were allowed to leave.
Rodgers said he respected the owners' frugal approach to the window but admitted "it's a really challenging situation not being able to refresh this team."
The storm clouds that Rodgers could see have most definitely arrived over the King Power Stadium, with the team going into Monday's game with Forest on the back of two straight defeats.
After their defeat at Spurs, Rodgers was unsure if he would still be in charge at the end of the international break.
When asked if he thought he'd keep his job, the Northern Irishman said he didn't know.
Jamie Redknapp fears for the manager's job security after he spoke to Sky Sports after the game.
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The decision to keep Rodgers in charge of the club may be influenced by the club's finances.
Rodgers has the same issues that need to be resolved. The 22 goals they have conceded is the most in the history of the league. The theme of last season's goals conceded from set plays is still alive and well.
Rodgers and his coaches can't improve their players' ability to keep the ball out of their net.
There are signs of fragile confidence in the squad. Youri Tielemans admitted he was happy for the "fresh air" provided by linking up with the Belgium camp for this month's international matches, while the team has dropped more points than any other team this season.
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The manager and his staff may have stopped communicating. The fact that Rodgers couldn't "freshen up" his squad in the summer has contributed to their continued troubles.
Managers often try to reignite a squad in order to sustain success.
Rene Meulensteen, a long-term member of Sir Alex Ferguson's staff at Manchester United, said in an interview that more than anything, it was his success that made him so successful.
When building a team, you go through a building process, a performance process, and then you go into decline.
To be able to avoid that decline, you have to be able to refresh.
Rodgers was able to build a squad that came within touching distance of the Champions League on two occasions but has been unable to stave off the decline.
It isn't as though the squad isn't good. The likes of Harvey Barnes and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have become quality first-term contributors.
Even though they are both in their 30's, they are still relied on byLeicester. Evans has been a regular in the defence that has leaked a record number of goals.
At the end of the season, Rodgers has a lot of first-team players who have contracts that are up. While he is still including Tielemans and Daniel Amartey on matchdays, several other players are surplus to requirements.
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Since that heavy defeat at the City Ground, Forest's fortunes have been going in a different direction.
Their return to the top flight after a run of just three losses in 23 games was celebrated with a stunning spending spree in the summer in a bid to equip Cooper with a squad capable of avoiding an immediate return to the Championship.
More than £150m was spent on 23 new players and 24 of them were allowed to leave the City Ground. The fifth-highest spenders in the premier league were Forest, and Rodgers looked at the other teams.
Much of the increased responsibility is on Cooper. The manager has performed miracles since taking charge, lifting Forest from the bottom of the Championship to the premier league in less than a year, but just four points from their first seven games has lowered the mood.
Cooper lamented the "self-inflicted" problems his side were having after the 3-2 home defeat to Cottagers.
Cooper has had to deal with a lot of turnover, so mistakes are not surprising. The six players who played more than 30 times for Forest last season are no longer with the club.
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Dean Henderson, Taiwo Awoniyi, Neco Williams, Jesse Lingard, Lewis O'Brien and Harry Toffolo have all played more than five times for Forest since they returned to the top flight.
Cooper was grateful for the backing provided by Marinakis in the summer, but trying to forge a coherent team from the many unfamiliar tools now at his disposal is going to be a challenge.
Cooper doesn't know if he'll get that time. Marinakis has churned through managers since taking the keys to the City Ground in May 2017, with Cooper his sixth permanent boss during that time, and he is not likely to be encouraged by what he has seen.
Cooper and Rodgers are in the same situation as they were seven months ago, with both looking for the formula that will lift their clubs out of the bottom half.
Rodgers needs to get more from a group of players that have become too comfortable with their surroundings, while Cooper needs to make sure his new recruits adapt to their new environment.
The manager that has been able to make the most progress over the international break is likely to be the one that leads their team to a crucial victory on Monday night.
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