We were on decline since 2015, that's true. It had to do with some missed opportunities in previous years but also that was the start of us losing key players. We remained competitive due to Marotta and the management still (with Allegri as one of the few who was capable working with that kind of player turnover), since we managed to replace the leaving players somehow and keeping a strong XI with solid depth each year. But that was not sustainable long term. We wasted too much money those years on players that didn't pan out, short term solutions and players that didn't fill a need for us. It's something that won't be noticed immediately but over a couple of years it starts catching up to you
