Assuming LA Galaxy-bound Steven Gerrard does not 'do a Lampard' and return on loan to the Premier League, there will be many "lasts" for the Liverpool captain and his club to get used to.
This time next month, Gerrard will play in a Merseyside derby for the final time, while a last competitive appearance for the club will come on May 24th against Stoke City - on the condition that they do not reach the Europa League and FA Cup finals.
That presents an interesting dilemma for his manager as the final fixtures rain in against his office window.
Is Brendan Rodgers almost compelled to start his captain in those important fixtures, regardless of the dynamic of the team and the fact that the club is still involved in the FA Cup, League Cup, Europa League and the battle for the Top Four?
Although he showed that he can still be decisive as shown by his goals against Wimbledon, the limits of his influence in the tougher fixtures would not make him an automatic choice on paper.
The prospect of reduced game-time in future was the sticking point which convinced Gerrard to leave this summer.
Yet at least this season, he has still managed to play the full 90 minutes in 89.5 per cent of Liverpool's Premier League matches this season which is very solid for a 34-year-old.
Only once has he not played at all in the league and that was in the 4-1 win over Swansea just before Christmas.
The expected glut of fixtures means rotation is inevitable with Gerrard likely to see his share of minutes. But in the heat of battle against the league's top clubs, should he be an automatic choice within the scarlet mist of sentiment?
Even unconsciously that question could colour Rodgers' thinking when formulating starting XIs and game-plans for the challenges ahead.
There is another question for the long-term. How do you replace a talismanic figure like Gerrard - albeit one who has faded lately with age?
Every club has found itself in that situation where a key figure leaves a profound gap that needs filling. Indeed, Liverpool have struggled to move on from Luis Suarez, bungling the succession by bringing in Mario Balotelli, who may not have been a signing Rodgers was wholly in favour of in the first place.
But it is more the presence, rather than the actual footballing ability that needs replacing when it comes to Gerrard, given that he has been a constant in the dressing room for nigh on two decades.
As we discussed on Team 33 this week, players with unique characteristics like Gerrard (as a personality in this case) often cannot be replaced like-for-like. Take Manchester United for example. Following the departure of Roy Keane, they struggled to find a player who could make a mark in midfield.
Interestingly the key engine room lynchpin in recent years has been Michael Carrick who was anything but a like-for-like replacement for Keane. But he has brought his own distinct characteristics to the role.
Jordan Henderson has been earmarked for the captaincy and if he is to be the successor, it is important that he is allowed to grow into the role in his own way and be his own type of leader, rather than to be compared with what came before.
There is also the potential that the lightning rod of leadership could be electrified beyond the person in possession of the armband to a range of squad members as happened to a degree at Arsenal after Thierry Henry left as the young players experienced a sense of liberation.
And that could well happen at Anfield if nurtured correctly.
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