The aftermath of Celtic's heavy defeat to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night has been pretty brutal. No punches are being pulled by pundits, journalists and some supporters in the analysis.
In isolation, the match in Madrid isn't anything to get too upset about beyond the demoralising scoreline. The red card ruined the game as a contest, after all.
However, defeats of this nature - and poor points returns - have become a trend for Celtic in the UEFA Champions League. The question for many is - are the club using the resources available to them in the best way possible?
For The Scottish Daily Mail's Stephen McGowan, it would seem the answer is no. He reckons the club pursued a transfer policy in the summer that has held back the ambition of Brendan Rodgers. He's pointed out that all of the arrivals in the transfer window fit the same profile, and had similar salary demands.
Writing in his Saturday column, McGowan said: "Rodgers returned to Glasgow in the summer with ambitions to restore the club to a competitive state on that stage. Thanks to Celtic's transfer model, he's being asked do it with one hand tied behind his back.
"This summer's new signings generally followed the same prototype. Aged between 18 and 23, they had all received international recognition at some level. They were prepared to accept a salary in the ballpark of PS10k to PS16k a week. And their transfer fees came in below PS5million.
"In Scotland, that policy is enough to deliver trophies and titles. In the killing fields of the Champions League, it's not fit for purpose. It's not just giants like Paris Saint-Germain, Lazio, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid inflicting the pain. In the last decade, Celtic have lost ties in UEFA competitions to Maribor, Malmo, AEK Athens, Cluj, Copenhagen, Ferencvaros, Midtjylland and Bodo-Glimt."
Celtic must find financial balance that marries ambition with stability There are counter-points to McGowan's verdict, of course. Celtic may argue that they invested heavily in contract renewals for the club's top stars, for example. They are likely earning much more than the newcomers. Tying down Callum McGregor, Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O'Riley to long-term deals doesn't come cheap.
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But there is a solid point to all of this. With Celtic retaining tens of millions in the bank, supporters want to see those resources utilised to their maximum. I would imagine very few fans want hoarded cash.
The majority of Celtic's wealth is generated by ordinary fans buying tickets and merchandise. The club must find a balance between financial security and ensuring that the money coming into the company is invested in the team on the park.
This season it's an easy conclusion to reach that they have gone too far in one direction. As Chris Sutton points out today, January must be the time to start providing fans with some hope that this club does want to give itself the best chance possible of performing in Europe. Excuses are rapidly running out.