The Championship begins on Friday night at Molineux, where Wolverhampton Wanderers host Blackburn Rovers at 20:00 BST. Both clubs come into it from 20th place, Wolves at the bottom of the Premier League and Blackburn in the lower reaches of this division on 52 points from 46 games.
Wolves' relegation was total. Three wins in 38 matches, 11 draws, 24 defeats, 27 goals scored and 68 conceded for a final tally of 20 points. They went winless through their opening 10 games under Vitor Pereira, and although Rob Edwards took over in November and delivered a first victory against West Ham in January, there was never a route back.
Then Edwards went too, sacked over the summer and replaced by Cesar Peixoto, a 46-year-old Portuguese coach taking his first senior role outside his own country after guiding Gil Vicente to sixth in the Primeira Liga. The appointment landed awkwardly, overshadowing a window that had already brought in Kieran Trippier and returned Raul Jimenez to Molineux. Winger Rafiki Said is the only arrival since Peixoto took charge, and the head coach expects more before the window closes on 1 September.
"It's a new era," Peixoto said after a 3-0 pre-season win over Racing Santander. "The past is the past, so now we are going to build a present and a future for the club." He has called for his side to be organised and attacking, and his one competitive outing so far went to plan: 3-0 against Port Vale in the League Cup on 7 August.