If Mark Hughes feels a lingering sense of frustration over Manchester City's decision to call time on his squad overhaul at Eastlands, he should relish the fact that a similar challenge appears to lie in front of him at Craven Cottage.
Fulham's season will not be defined by days such as these but the defeat by City is a pretty good indication of the task that lies in wait.
Even the most diehard Fulham fan would admit they overachieved under Roy Hodgson. Last season, Hughes's predecessor created a system built around Bobby Zamora that maximised every ounce of ability from a side with seemingly palpable limitations; they rarely suffered injuries and their style of play was so clearly defined.
But Hughes has inherited a squad which needs modification.
Some in SW6 have argued that Danny Murphy is struggling to impose his will on games to the same extent he did in the past. Similarly, at 37, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer will soon need to be replaced, even if his much-mooted move to Arsenal fails to materialise in January.
Schwarzer could not be faulted yesterday but this was an occasion when Zamora's absence was keenly felt.
Andy Johnson's return to regular action is a timely boost but he does not thrive on the same long-ball service that Zamora does. As Fulham struggled to cope with City, they resorted to what they know best.
Hughes has not yet altered Fulham's style, or adapted a system to cope with the loss of Zamora - 14 goals in as many matches explains their present plight, not any deficiencies at the back.
Midfield is, perhaps, where City are at their strongest and Roberto Mancini's preference for strangling opponents in the middle of the park made his team look worldbeaters. Murphy and Dickson Etuhu were overrun by City's defensive triumvirate of Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure and Nigel de Jong and never got a foothold in the game.
"On too many occasions when we were a little bit too passive, we needed to be closing people down quicker than we did," Hughes said. "If you allow top quality players, which these Man City guys definitely are, the likelihood is that they'll make you pay.
"Obviously, we lost a little bit of belief after the first goal. One thing you don't want to do is concede early. Unfortunately, we allowed them too much time and space in which to create.
"Over the next few months we really want to put in place where we want this club to go. At the moment we're still learning about certain players. So yesterday was another wake-up call for a number of us."
Hughes must learn quickly before Fulham find themselves in a relegation scrap. Their flirtation with Martin Jol in the summer led to a relatively late appointment of Hughes and he only brought in two faces in Moussa Dembele and Carlos Salcido.
The former has showed promise but is sidelined until mid-December with an ankle problem. Salcido started well but following return from injury did not do well against City, failing to cope with their movement from the outset.