Put simply, Aaron Connolly's time at Sunderland never really got going.
He arrived late after a difficult summer dealing with personal issues which he bravely spoke about shortly after moving to Wearside.
But by that time, Frenchman Wilson Isidor was finding his stride as the Black Cats' main man up front in boss Regis Le Bris' favoured 4-3-3 formation.
Connolly needed a run of games to find his rhythm, but that never came.
He scored his only goal in the 1-1 draw at Millwall in one of only two starts, but he did not even come off the bench in Sunderland's next game.