Despite coming into the season as a newly-promoted side, the manner in which Wolverhampton Wanderers won the League One title last term led many to predict a playoff challenge in 2014-15.
An unbeaten pre-season campaign raised hopes of pushing for back-to-back promotions, although the club had a fairly low-key transfer window during the summer.
Even so, Kenny Jackett went about pushing for the top six in the early stages of the campaign, and his side certainly showed signs that they are capable of flirting with the playoffs.
Just three points separate them from sixth place at the turn of the year, and Wolves will be confident of closing that gap during the second half of the season.
August
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Wolves faced a tricky start to the campaign with the visit of automatic promotion candidates Norwich City, but they benefited from a red card to clinch a 1-0 win over the Canaries in their first match back in the second tier. There was disappointment in the opening round of the League Cup, however, as Jackett's side were stunned by League Two outfit Northampton Town at Molineux.
Their first league defeat of the season swiftly followed, although quite how they lost 1-0 to fellow Championship newcomers Rotherham United will still be puzzling them. It was back to winning ways in their next outing, though, as Bakary Sako's goal was enough to see off Fulham at Craven Cottage.
A late Mark Hudson own goal handed them victory against Cardiff City by the same 1-0 scoreline, meaning that Wolves had played and beaten all three of the newly-relegated sides in their first four league games of the campaign. They finally came up against a side who were in the Championship last season when they hosted Blackburn Rovers, and they ran out 3-1 winners to end the month just one point off the top.
September
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September began in disappointing fashion as Wolves were held to a stalemate by struggling Blackpool, although the point was enough to put Jackett's side joint top temporarily. Another draw followed against Charlton Athletic as Wolves continued to struggle against the teams they were expected to beat.
They put an end to that unhelpful habit in their next match, however, as Nouha Dicko's goal saw them past Bolton Wanderers. They then completed an unbeaten month with a third draw in four as Reading rescued a dramatic point in a six-goal thriller at the Madejski Stadium.
October
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Their seven-match unbeaten streak came to a disappointing end at the start of October, with Sako's 71st-minute strike a mere consolation in a 3-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town. Sako was on the scoresheet again three days later, but this time his goal was enough to earn a point against Wigan Athletic.
Jackett's side looked to be cruising to a first win in four against Millwall at The Den, but somehow they blew a three-goal lead in a remarkable final 25 minutes and were forced to settle for a point against the Lions. They bounced back from that disappointment with an impressive victory over high-flying Middlesbrough, however, while they made it consecutive wins to end the month by coming from behind to beat Leeds United.
November
Wolves began November as one of four teams level on points at the top of the table, but a dreadful run of form proved costly. They began with a 0-0 draw against Birmingham City in what was Gary Rowett's first match in charge of the Blues, and that turned out to be their one and only point of the month.
A double from Ipswich Town's Daryl Murphy downed Jackett's men at Portman Road, but it was to get much worse for the Midlands outfit. They were smashed 5-0 by Derby County four days later before conceding three times in the final 25 minutes to lose 3-0 at home to an out-of-form Nottingham Forest side.
Three more goals arrived in the final 15 minutes of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Brentford, leaving Wolves to have picked up just one point from a possible 15 in November, conceding 14 goals and scoring just one in the process.
December
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Unsurprisingly, that run saw Wolves plummet down to mid-table, and they dropped into the bottom half for the first time since August courtesy of a 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth in a match that saw Jackett's side finish with nine men. However, they finally put an end to their five-match losing streak and kept a first clean sheet in more than a month with a late victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.
They needed another late goal in their next match as Danny Batth rescued a point with an 88th-minute equaliser against 10-man Brighton & Hove Albion. Things did begin to improve after Christmas, however, with Dicko's strike enough to hand them victory over Watford at Vicarage Road.
Wolves ended the year with a four-match unbeaten streak as they gained a measure of revenge on Brentford, beating the Bees 2-1 despite being reduced to 10 men. That result saw them climb up to eighth in the Championship table, with just three points now separating them from a return to the top six.
Star man: Bakary Sako
Must do better: Rajiv van la Parra
Where to strengthen in January: Attack
Position at start of 2015: 8th
Mid-season grade: B+
To see Wolves' remaining fixtures in 2014-15, click here.
Barney Corkhill
