Fulham, having finished a strong ninth under Martin Jol in 2011/12, were tipped for another mid-table finish, with top half a strong possibility.
Instead, the season went from good to bad and it was the loss of key players from the previous year that would prove the club's undoing as Fulham finished poorly.
Sports Mole takes a look at the Cottagers' season to see where it went right and wrong for the Londoners.
August
Last season's top-scorer Clint Dempsey made it clear in the summer that he intended to leave the club, but despite this a Mladen Petric-inspired Fulham thumped Norwich 5-0 in the season opener.
Then, despite taking the lead, they went down 3-2 to Manchester United in a battling performance at Old Trafford, before being beaten at Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup.
However, the month was to end with many personnel changes as midfield dynamo Moussa Dembele moved to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the transfer window, along with Dempsey on deadline day, with Dimitar Berbatov coming in from Manchester United.
September
September started with a thumping defeat away to West Ham United as the loss of two of their starting midfielders started to hit.
However, the Whites responded in style after the international break as they beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0 at home with their new Bulgarian helping himself to a brace.
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They followed that win with victory at Wigan Athletic, but the month ended on a low note as they fell to defeat at home to Manchester City despite leading.
October
A previously tight Fulham defence was undone twice by Southampton set pieces as Jose Fonte snatched a late equaliser for Southampton in a pulsating 2-2 draw.
Chris Baird scored a rare goal in a 1-0 win at home to Aston Villa before more defensive woes befell Jol as Fulham were twice pegged back in the last five minutes to draw 3-3 with Reading to end the month with Fulham sitting pretty in seventh.
November
High-scoring draws remained the norm for Fulham as the season moved into its third full month. It started with Steve Sidwell earning Fulham an undeserved point in a 2-2 draw with Everton.
Then came arguably the club's game of the season. Fulham found themselves 2-0 down at the Emirates, but managed to turn it around to lead 3-2 before Olivier Giroud levelled matters once more. Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer then saved a last-minute penalty kick from Mikel Arteta.
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Despite scoring at will by this point, Fulham would end all six games in November without a win as defeats to Sunderland 3-1 at home and Stoke City away came before a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
December
Fulham had dropped to 11th by this point and the poor run was showing no signs of ending as they were turned over 3-0 at Craven Cottage by Tottenham Hotspur.
The Cottagers recorded a long overdue win at home to Newcastle United as Hugo Rodallega headed in the winner in a 2-1 victory, but five days later they handed local rivals Queens Park Rangers their first win of the season.
A difficult festive period for Fulham ended with just one point from their next three games - a 1-1 draw at home to Southampton sandwiched in between a thrashing by Liverpool and a disappointing home defeat to Swansea City.
Fulham were by now in the thick of it and had dropped to 14th.
January
The new year started with a win from the unlikeliest of sources - away from home to West Bromwich Albion. Alexander Kacaniklic rolled in the winner as the Whites took it 2-1.
Then it was time for the FA Cup, but the first game proved little respite from the league as the Whites were held to a replay by Blackpool. Giorgio Karagounis scored there and he followed it up with a strike against Wigan, although Fulham were pegged back to draw 1-1.
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In the Cup replay Fulham scraped through 2-1 after extra time but were back to losing way in the league as they were undone by David Silva, whose brace helped City to a 2-0 win.
Another defeat in Manchester followed, this time to United in the FA Cup, but January ended the way it started with a victory - 3-1 against West Ham.
It was to be a disappointing transfer window, too, as Jol could only bring in loan signings. Urby Emanuelson, Emmanuel Frimpong, and Eyong Enoh all arrived until the end of the season.
February
Despite an unfortunate defeat to United at the Cottage, Fulham managed a run of form that would pull them away from trouble at the bottom of the league.
This started with a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road against Norwich City, before the month ended with a 1-0 win over Stoke, in which Schwarzer was again penalty hero with a save from Jonathan Walters.
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March
The run continued into March with a 2-2 draw at Sunderland, although the Whites were devastated to have thrown away a two-goal lead at the Stadium of Light.
Then came an unlikely win at White Hart Lane as Berbatov and Jol came back to bite their old side; Berbatov scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win.
April
Fulham moved to within a point of the fabled 40-point mark with a thrilling 3-2 win over QPR, in which the visitors were unfortunate not to equalise.
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However, that would be the last high point of the season, as the Cottagers went on a miserable run of form to end the year - starting with a late defeat to Newcastle at St James' Park.
A lucky point at Villa brought Fulham their 40th point but they were not to taste victory again in April as first Chelsea, then Arsenal and finally Everton were all to beat the Whites to nil.
May
In May already-relegated Reading embarrassed Fulham at the Cottage by winning 4-2, which was followed by another home humiliation - this time at the hands of Liverpool.
The campaign would end in style though thanks to a 3-0 win away at League Cup winners Swansea City, with young winger Alexander Kacaniklic in particular impressing in the Wales sunshine.
Matt Domm
