On New Year’s Day, Hull City claimed an impressive 1-0 away win against Sheffield Wednesday to put themselves within touching distance of the play-off places.
Fast forward seven months, and the Tigers are now preparing for life in League One after finishing bottom of the Championship.
So, where did it all go wrong?
Well, Hull’s season fell apart when star men Jarrod Bowen and Kamil Grosicki left the club during the winter transfer window.
Bowen left for the Premier League to join West Ham United in a £20m-plus deal, while Grosicki was signed by fellow Championship side West Bromwich Albion.
Before the duo’s departure, Hull won 39% of their league games, picking up 11 victories from their opening 28 games in 2019/20.
Bowen racked up a whopping 16 goals and six assists during that period, while Grosicki contributed a commendable seven goals and four assists.
However, the true importance of the pair was only truly realised when they were gone. Hull’s performances in the second half of the season went downhill rapidly.
The Tigers only managed to win one of their 17 league games following Bowen and Grosicki’s departure, drawing three and losing 13.
The team only took six points from a possible 51 after their key duo left and ended up finishing with a shocking –30 goal difference.
Bowen went on to help West Ham avoid relegation from the top flight, notching up one goal and four assists in 13 Premier League appearances.
Meanwhile, Grosicki earned promotion with West Brom, with his two goals and two assists helping the Baggies to finish second.
They say that football is a team game, but it’s fair to say that Hull were a two-man team during the first half of the 2019/20 season.
Of course, Hull cannot blame their relegation entirely on the fact that they lost their two most influential players midway through the campaign.
But it goes without saying that Hull would have almost certainly avoided the drop if Bowen and Grosicki had stayed with the club.