You know that day.

The day you board the flight home from the holiday you don’t want to end; the day you watch the last ever episode of that TV series you love; the day a dear friend or relative has to move out of town.

Your loss may not be permanent but it could be a while until the next holiday, the next show that captures your imagination, or the friend or relative’s return.

For Adelaide United fans, whether they recognise it yet or not, Saturday was that day: a beautiful relationship ended with a loss against Western Sydney in Parramatta.

Señor Gombau and his stylish armada have seduced us for nearly two seasons and, though some could never admit it, the rest of the nation was envious. Rick Springfield might have sung, “you know they wish that they had Josep’s boys”.

But the affair is over and, like lovers wearing rose-coloured glasses, we ignored some obvious signs that the end was near.

Yes, the season hasn’t finished yet. There are still finals and it is possible United will win three straight playoffs to claim that elusive first championship (and if that happens, feel free to send “Dewey Defeats Truman” posters my way).

Nevertheless, even if Adelaide somehow turns its wretched form around in coming weeks, it won’t be with the panache that had us weak-kneed in the first half of the season. Since United’s easy win over a dispirited Newcastle in January, flamboyance has been as rare as form.

Gombau will stay too, but things will change. They have to.

It’s not that he isn’t a good coach. The evidence of his ability is in the remarkable improvement in several United players.

Tarek Elrich has been the most notable beneficiary. Two years ago he was unwanted; three weeks ago he made his Socceroos debut and he will surely be included in the A-League’s team of the season for 2014-15.

Osama Malik, Craig Goodwin and Jimmy Jeggo are now better players too. Malik was already with Adelaide before the squad welcomed its new Catalan overlords.

There’s also little to criticise about the style of play Gombau has brought to United. At its best, it keeps opponents on the back foot and starves them of scoring opportunities.

Tarek Elrich (left) has improved enormously under Gombau. AAP photo

After a year of the players getting used to Gombau’s methods, 2014-15 began brilliantly. The belief that United might roll to a championship with its fluent possession-based game wasn’t confined to Adelaide.

But we were bluffed into believing United held a winning hand.

The weaknesses in the squad have been exposed in the second half of the season. The result has been a record of four wins, two draws and five losses in United’s last 11 matches.

Marcelo Carrusca has been struggling to rid himself of injury in recent months and, in his absence, there is no playmaker who slots comfortably into his position. Other teams know that nearly all United’s attacking threat comes from wide players when the Argentine midfielder isn’t around.

Adelaide has also tried to succeed without having a genuine goal scorer. Its title rivals all have at least two: Besart Berisha and Archie Thompson at Melbourne Victory; Marc Janko and Shane Smeltz at Sydney; Nathan Burns and Roy Krishna at Wellington.

And United has used fewer players than the three aforementioned teams. Given this season’s injury problems, that suggests either a lack of depth or a lack of faith in the younger members on Adelaide’s roster.

It’s not too early to begin looking at signings for 2015-16. There are already players who know they’ll be wearing a different shirt next season, including United’s Nigel Boogaard who will return to his native Newcastle.

Finding a striker has to be top of the shopping list. A central defender to replace Boogaard and another midfield option will be important too.

United has also been unable to hold the lead in several matches. Fixing this problem might mean trading away some of its eye-catching play. We like watching the defenders try to pass their way out of dangerous situations instead of simply booting the ball clear … just as long as it doesn’t result in goals for our opponents.

Next season it’s likely Adelaide will either find the ruthless edge successful clubs have or the team will continue to be praised for its elegance despite not being the league’s frontrunner.

What you probably won’t see is what the first half of this campaign promised – a winning team that became the darling of the sport’s romantics.

At its peak, it delivered the inaugural FFA Cup on a magical night at Hindmarsh, an achievement which will grow in importance as that competition no doubt will.

And that trophy might remind us of our honeymoon for years to come.

Perhaps then, ‘tis better to have loved and lost.

Paul Marcuccitti’s soccer column is published in InDaily on Mondays. He is a co-presenter of 5RTI’s Soccer on 531 program which can be heard from 11am on Saturdays.