Having taken just one point from the first 24 on offer, any hopes Fulham had of quickly securing an instant return to the Premier League had soon evaporated.
A campaign that began with much optimism, despite a poor 12 months prior, ended with the Cottagers just as close to the relegation zone as they were to the top half of the division.
Fulham did, after all, have an experienced manager in Felix Magath who could boast three Bundesliga title successes to his name, combined with a talented group of players who looked likely to take the second tier by storm.
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Magath was shown the Craven Cottage exit in mid-September, with his side bottom of the table and already 16 points adrift of an automatic promotion place.
While Kit Symons did manage to steady the ship somewhat, winning four of his first eight games in charge, it remained a constant struggle for the West London outfit, whose supporters just could not wait for the season to come to an end.
Five key results
Nottingham Forest 5-3 Fulham, September 17, 2014: Despite kicking off the season with five defeats from their opening six games, with the other ending in a 1-1 draw against fellow relegated side Cardiff City, club chiefs decided to throw their weight behind Magath in the hope that he could turn things around. The German continued to struggle, however, and after two more defeats he was finally handed his P45.
Fulham 4-0 Bolton Wanderers, October 1, 2014:
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Symons was the early frontrunner to take over, and he certainly did his job prospects little harm with this hugely impressive result. A crushing midweek victory over fellow strugglers Bolton helped lift Fulham above their opponents, just days after picking up their first win of the term away at Birmingham City.
Fulham 3-0 Charlton Athletic, October 24, 2014: Despite being the overwhelming favourite among supporters to take over, the Fulham board certainly took their time over making Symons the club's permanent manager. In fact, it was not until October 29 - days after another comfortable home victory - that the Welshman was given the full-time job. The 3-0 win lifted the Cottagers out of the drop zone, and at long last they could begin to look up.
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Fulham 0-5 Watford, December 5, 2014: A six-match unbeaten run in the league finally came to an end when the Whites slipped up against local rivals Brentford in the first of a crushing league double. Fulham would bounce back with three wins from their next four, again highlighting their reverse in fortunes under Symons, but a 5-0 home defeat against Watford proved that there was still a lot of work to be done.
Fulham 1-4 Brentford, April 3, 2015: Fulham would win just two of their 16 games between the end of January and mid-April, which left them still camped inside the bottom third of the division. The lack of quality of the bottom three ensured that Symons's charges were never truly in danger of the drop, but this heavy reverse against their arch rivals was certainly tough to take in the end-of-season run-in.
Best Player - Ross McCormack
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The Scotland international will no doubt have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders following an £11m switch from Leeds, but he can be more than happy with his first-season return at Craven Cottage.
A tally of 17 goals in a team that struggled for large parts is not bad at all, especially considering that he was often deployed in deeper positions and alongside constantly-changing strike partners. McCormack will now be expected to match - and perhaps better - his goalscoring rate in his second season in West London.
Most Improved Player - Marcus Bettinelli
Despite making a couple of errors, the Chelsea-linked youngster certainly made an impression at Fulham after being given a chance to shine. Back-to-back seasons out on loan, first at Dartford and then Accrington Stanley, helped mould the England hopeful into a well-rounded keeper.
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Having established himself as first-choice stopper at Craven Cottage, the grounding is now there for Bettinelli to push on for both club and country in the coming years.
Best Signing - James Husband
The Englishman was brought in on loan for the closing month of the campaign, adding some much-needed quality down the flank. A straight swap could now be on the cards should Boro wish to keep hold of Amorebieta, which would probably be a good move for all involved.
Best Goal - Lasse Vigen Christensen vs. Huddersfield Town
Another player who impressed this season before being struck down by injury. This 77th-minute strike, which came just two minutes after Huddersfield had equalised, contained plenty of individual brilliance.
Hugo Rodallega failed to control Dan Burn's hopeful punt up field, but Christensen made something from nothing by linking up with his teammate on the edge of the box, before sticking it through an opposition player's legs and tucking home.
Must Do Better - Fernando Amorebieta
One of the players who remained from the squad relegated from the Premier League in 2014, Amorebieta's biggest impact for Fulham this season was actually away from Craven Cottage. His late strike against Brentford in the playoffs while on loan at Middlesbrough helped him win the acclaim of many Fulham supporters.
If he is to remain on the banks of the Thames next term, though, then he must simply up his performances at full-back. Against Brentford in particular he was given a torrid time and was eventually shown his marching orders, before being farmed out to the Smoggies.
End-of-season grade: D-
Fulham badly struggled for any sort of consistency throughout the campaign and, while they did finish the season on something of a high by seeing off promotion-chasing Middlesbrough in a Craven Cottage thriller, a 17th-place finish left a lot to be desired. Improvements need to be made over the summer, but Symons looks as though he could be the man to bring further stability in the coming season with a few more tweaks, especially as he has now relinquished his assistant role with Wales to fully focus on the Cottagers.
Daniel Lewis
