It's easy to wax lyrical about managers when things are going well.
It doesn't seem too long ago that Steve Burr penning a new deal with the club was heralded as the start of new chapter, one that would see Chester FC move themselves away from the lower reaches of the National League and towards a return to the Football League.
For me, though, it was a marriage that was always doomed to end in divorce. It never felt quite right.
We had some great memories under Burr, no doubt, but the club was little better off when he left than when he arrived over two years previous. The only true gauge of success.
Having been assistant to Burr, Jon McCarthy had to overcome not just the tag of inexperience but also the notion that he was too much involved in what had gone beforehand. He had to become his own man, with his own ideas and his own vision of where this football club should be.
His work with the Community Trust gave him a more deeper understanding of the fundamental principles than any other candidate who could have put themselves forward for the role.
A fine playing career that saw him spend many a successful season at the likes of Birmingham City and Port Vale, playing under managers such as John Rudge and Trevor Francis gave him an excellent platform on which to build.
He had a fine audition, winning three of his four games in charge at the end of last season after taking over on a caretaker basis, but he didn't necessarily have the popular vote.
The decision to bring back players who may have otherwise been cast aside by another manager was a masterstroke.
Tom Shaw has been one of the finest midfielders in the National League this season, Johnny Hunt looks a different player to the one we saw last season, Ryan Astles is the colossal centre back every fan yearns for and James Alabi has repaid McCarthy's faith in him, despite some unwarranted crticism along the way, and has a big future ahead of him.
Having faith can reap rewards.
Chester have one of the smallest budgets in the league, we all know that. But McCarthy has never taken issue with it, never put pressure on the board in order to preserve the financial stability of the club. We don't live in the Stephen Vaughan era (thank God), the budget is the budget and if you want to well then you'll pretty much have to be a better manager than 95% of the guys in your league. There's no Gregg Blundell's, Daryl Clare's or Ryan Lowe's that can be brought in for a quick fix here and there.
Ask yourself a question. Given Chester's limitations when it comes to signing players, who would you want to lead the Blues forward?
Would Mickey Mellon or Mark Cooper do what McCarthy has done? I doubt it. Danny Cowley is the closest to McCarthy in the way he operates.
We are still very much in the infancy of McCarthy's reign.
If anything, the footballing side is probably accelerating at a faster pace than off the pitch. When the two reach equilibrium then things can really kick on.
It's the nature of the football fan to want more, to want to see a new signing when things may not be going according to plan, but you have to stay the course and be realistic about what can be achieved.
The club was founded with the principles of sustainability and community, that is something that can never be forgotten or compromised. If losing your club once isn't enough to show you what can go wrong then I don't know what is.
A two-year-deal for a manager who understands every facet of the club and who has proven himself a shrewd tactician is the biggest signing that could have been made.
Here's to moving forward.
