Fulham were officially relegated from the Premier League on Monday night following a heavy 4-1 defeat at Watford.
The Cottager's have been tipped for relegation to the Sky Bet Championship for the majority of the campaign, having been unable to produce the defensive solidity and attacking nous required in England's top flight.
While a goal from Ryan Babel cancelled out Adbdoulaye Doucoure's stunning opener to give Fulham a lifeline, second-half strikes from Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia would seal Fulham's fate.
Fulham suffer fate as Championship football awaits
Having impressed in the second division last year, emerging as winners of the play-offs while displaying intricate attacking football through the youthful exuberance of Ryan Sessegnon and co., Fulham were tipped to make a decent fist of it in the Premier League.
What's ensued has been quite the opposite. The club currently sit with a tally of just 17 points from 33 games leaving them a massive sixteen from safety having sacked two managers in Slavisa Jokanovic and Claudio Ranieri already. The latter's successor, Scott Parker, has already overseen five defeats in his tenure in a nightmare campaign that's seen Fulham ship 76 goals - seventeen more than Huddersfield, Cardiff and Burnley.
Summer spending failures a sign of the rebuilding job required
When Championship teams fail to make the grade in the top-flight, it can often be attributed to a lack of intent in the transfer market. Opting to stick with what they've got rather than twist their arm and bring in further recruits, previous years have shown investment is necessary for survival.
Yet, a splurge of £100million on twelve new players last summer has proved to be of little use in helping bridge the gap in quality, with signings failing to produce any moments of real quality all season while a desperate lack of impetus going forward has only exacerbated defensive leaks.
The club must now sift through the dead-wood among the squad, embarking on a significant rebuilding job to get back to a once promising position. Indeed, the departure of Callum Chambers and a likely summer exit for Sessegnon will only exacerbate the work Scott Parker will have to face as the Londoners prepare to battle through another gruelling Championship season.