There has been little to salvage from the demise of Cork City, but for four ex-players it has presented them with an opportunity to progress further in their careers, at the unlikely surroundings of Hartlepool United.
Denis Behan, Joe Gamble, Leon McSweeney and Roy O'Donovan were all previously team-mates at Cork, now they are a band of brothers within the 'Monkey Hangers' dressing room, where nobody can decipher their Munster accents.
It has been a strange journey for the quartet, who all arrived at Victoria Park in different periods, but each of their departures from Leeside can be linked back to turbulent times at their former club.
Less than 24 hours after the newly-formed Cork City Foras Co-op played their first competitive game against Derry City, their thoughts will be on the League One clash with Southend.
However, Behan insists that he is glad that he got 'out of the mess' that ultimately brought the end of Cork City and is determined to make the most of his second chance in English football.
'It is a little bit freakish that four of us ended up here at club in the north-east of England. But we are all enjoying it and are focused on helping the club climb up the table,' Behan told Sportsmail.
'I didn't know that Leon [McSweeney] was here when I agreed to join the club, but it definitely made it a lot easier for me to settle in. Since then Joe [Gamble] and now Roy [O'Donovan] have joined, so we have a bit of a Cork posse here.
'In one way it is sad that we are not still playing for Cork as we all had a great bond with the fans and people there, but the situation there has led to us all getting another chance to make it in England.'
The four have more than a former club in common - each of them were previously told by English clubs that they were not good enough to make it as professional footballers.
Determined not to give up on their dream, they landed at Turner's Cross. There, three of them picked up league winner's medals, with the exception of McSweeney.
But then the financial rumblings began. As Arkaga took over from Brian Lennox, O'Donovan was sold to Sunderland and McSweeney departed for Stockport.
Despite winning the FAI Cup in 2007 - thanks to a goal from Behan - Arkaga allowed the club to slip into examinership.
Tom Coughlan came in, but his reign went from bad to worse. Behan was sold to Hartlepool last summer, with Gamble eventually joining him.
'I would have liked if he [Coughlan] was up front with us from the start,' said Behan of the ructions.
'There was no transparency. Month after month it just snowballed with problem after problem. I felt that I couldn't trust him anymore and it was relief that Hartlepool came in for me when they did.
'Don't get me wrong, I would have loved to stay at Cork. I had plans to get married and I was doing some coaching, but I knew that I had to move on.'
Behan and O'Donovan, who is on loan from Sunderland, live in County Durham, while Gamble and McSweeney are based in Hartlepool. They don't hang out with each other everyday, but the bond that they formed back in Cork is still just as strong.
Life is quite different now, playing against the likes of Leeds United and Norwich City, while there is no fear over their wages or their chairman.
They are back playing football at a high level and have come out of the Cork mess with a renewed hunger.