Maybe the pre-season pessimists who predicted Leeds United's Premiership demise had a point after all.
Yesterday's embarrassing defeat at the hands of Everton would certainly suggest there is credence to the belief that Peter Reid's side are among the favourites for relegation.
The words pathetic, useless and heartless don't even begin to describe an inept display which even eclipsed the shameful 4-0 drubbing at Leicester earlier in the month.
Furious manager Reid, who has been at pains to argue with the doubting critics, will rightfully feel let down by his under-performing players.
His return to the blue half of Merseyside, where he enjoyed seven successful years with the Toffees, is one he will clearly wish to forget with haste.
He now has a huge task on his hands to turn things around before the rot truly sets in.
With only the one win in seven Premiership games United have let in 10 goals without reply in the last three consecutive defeats.
It is a worrying trend of form.
Blackburn, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal sit menacingly on the horizon while a Carling Cup tie with the reds of Manchester also sits nicely within the schedule.
More performances like this against such exalted company and United could find themselves well and truly dragged into the relegation mire by the time they set off south for the trip to Portsmouth on November 8.
It was clear from the very start that a woeful United were going to struggle against an Everton side keen to lift themselves after a slow start to the campaign.
Both sides had started the afternoon on five points but in reality the gulf between them was massive as make-shift right winger Steve Watson fired a hat-trick and Duncan Ferguson scored his first headed goal in five years.
Across the pitch Leeds were second best as the midfield struggled to cope with the lively running of Steve Watson, Thomas Gravesen and James McFadden and the shambolic defensive partnership of Roque Junior and Zoumana Camara was torn apart with ease by the pace of Thomas Radzinski and the power of man-mountain Ferguson.
Using the flanks to great affect, Watson on the right and young Scottish international McFadden on the left, the Everton wide men utilised the time and space gifted to them by the out-of-sorts Lamine Sakho and Jermaine Pennant to tease and torment the unprotected Dominic Matteo and Gary Kelly.
The home side had already squandered a host of good chances before they finally made the expected break-through in the 26th minute.
Junior's poor clearance was hooked into the path of Watson who traded passes with Ferguson before hammering a volley into the roof of the net.
Ferguson then blasted a glorious opportunity wide and Radzinski struck the foot of a post before Watson grabbed his second as Robinson's clearance fell to him 35 yards from goal and he lobbed it back into the empty net.
Two minutes later it was 3-0 as the United heads dropped to an all time low.
This time it was Ferguson who made the most of some half-hearted defending as he nodded in Tony Hibbert's cross.
The game was barely 40 minutes old but it was already over for Leeds.
Reid made three changes at half-time but the flow of goals against was not stemmed as Watson completed his hat-trick in fine style.
David Unsworth's deep cross-field ball from the left found the former Newcastle and Aston Villa man un-marked at the far post and he had enough time to take it down with his chest and delicately lob a neat effort over Robinson.
It could have been much worse as substitute Wayne Rooney squandered a couple of late chances. He could have scored three and the scoreline would still have been kind on awful Leeds.
Everton: Martyn; Hibbert, Yobo, Stubbs, Unsworth; Watson (Kilbane 75), Carsley, Graveson, McFadden (Linderoth 86); Ferguson, Radzinski (Rooney 75).
Leeds United: Robinson; Kelly, Junior, Camara, Matteo; Pennant (Bridges 45), Morris, Johnson (Olembe 45), Sakho (Lennon 45); Smith, Viduka.
Referee: P Durkin (Dorset).
Leeds' man of the match: Paul Robinson.