Sheffield United have sounded the distress signal once again.
"Chris Wilder returns with proven leadership and an unparalleled understanding of Sheffield United," read a club statement, just 88 days after the beginning of now-aborted experiment saw him depart.
If COH Sports, the club's American chiefs, did not fully appreciate that before, they do now.
A shock U-turn by owners low on footballing literacy is an admirable move, the smartest they could make at this moment, and yet the bail-out suggests that significant questions remain.
Sacking Wilder following May's injury-time play-off final defeat to Sunderland, the sorest end to a season of 92 points, always appeared an unnecessary gamble in a sport and a division where stability and patience frequently pay.
Replacing him in a structural vacuum with Ruben Selles, a coach with neither the promotion credentials nor the force of personality to lead through upheaval and Wembley's psychological wounds, looked even more ill-advised.
Six defeats from six competitive games, one league goal scored and 12 shipped, was enough hard evidence of an error.
But continued tactical confusion, defensive chaos after two weeks to reset with reinforcements, and fan anger were stark reminders that there appeared scant process to trust.
The players cannot be absolved of blame, of course. Selles could not legislate for dependable goalkeeper Michael Cooper letting in two of the five United shipped at Ipswich through his legs, or for promising early build-up that ended with a string of overhit crosses.
But the humiliating second-half collapse at Portman Road, United ragged and exposed with each home attack, laid bare the alarming lack of confidence in and fostered by the new regime.
Just as it did with Slavisa Jokanovic, a detached approach deemed too methodical around the training ground jarred with several players and staff given the human-centred leadership it replaced.
This time there were no quizzical gestures from Selles towards angry travelling fans as there had been at Middlesbrough before the international break. His expressionless face wore his fate.
Wilder said only weeks ago during a Sky Sports appearance that his summer departure "stung", but was always determined to resist any bitterness before the surprise call consequently came. He feels the care for and pull of his club too strongly.
There is no manager better placed to reimpose order on the pitch and restore belief in the stands. He is the battery power at Bramall Lane; its great energiser and connector. No surprise that the atmosphere at the club's training ground when he returned on Monday was described as "buoyant".
While last season brought some criticism of a playing style deemed too cautious - pragmatism, it could be argued, was necessitated by injuries and significant squad churn - Wilder's detailed eye for defensive structure from front to back will be vital. The sample size is small but United rank bottom of the Championship so far for shots conceded, challenges lost, aerial duels surrendered and dispossessions. Sydie Peck has been overrun in midfield, further hindered by wingers Louie Barry and Andre Brooks being too high and wide out of possession.
What is sure to prompt an upturn are the motivational techniques and the clear messaging around which his management style revolves.
As well as familiar faces whose frustration is likely to be assuaged by Wilder's return, a late flurry of transfer activity - an ironic nod towards his previous wishlist before the "new direction" of a player trading model was pursued - has offered some much-needed experience in the shape of Japhet Tanganga, Ben Mee and Danny Ings.
Supporters are relishing rather than dreading Saturday's visit of Charlton. The Kop can revive its songbook for a local hero.
It will feel special because the first recoupling came with baggage: the memories of a painful exit during the pandemic, the futility of an ignominious Premier League campaign that damaged players and supporters. Even in the overarching achievement of last season - amid ownership change, a points deduction, a squad rebuild and significant injuries - a curious fan debate took hold when winning football did not feel exciting enough. When Tommy Watson's winner for Sunderland at Wembley sent a despairing Wilder straight down the tunnel, scar tissue coarsened.
But the Selles aberration has served as therapy; a reckoning with expectations and limitations, a deeper appreciation of where strength - and weakness - exists, an understanding that United and Wilder are better together.
The issue of course is that it will not and cannot always be that way.
The ownership deserves credit for quick and contrite action to remedy the mess of its making, but the footballing world will legitimately paint a picture of wider dysfunction.
Wilder's third chapter has the potential to deliver a legacy more wide-ranging than the personal one he has long cemented after dragging the club from the guts of League One to the Premier League, but only with support and strategy: for a succession plan, for a structure around him that recruits and leans on more footballing knowledge.
United chiefs have been conspicuous in their absence when it comes to communicating with supporters beyond official statements. While a new safe standing area and fan zone have been positive initiatives, wider questions remain about recruitment, a vision for the women's team, the proposed new training facility that Wilder warned was overdue in an interview with Sky Sports six years ago. Perhaps that is telling.
The deepness of their commitment and financial capability is also still unclear, though Monday's statement insisted promotion remains the aim. Sky Sports understands that conversations - first reported by local media - have indeed taken place between the existing owners and the previous one, with a potential route back to some form of involvement for Prince Abdullah.
For now - with a 13-point deficit on the Championship leaders rather than the two-point deduction with which they started last season - and in their final year of parachute payments, United must simply climb the table.
There is nobody better to help them do it.
