Manchester City ended their 44-year wait for a Premier League trophy last season, but retaining their status as English champions was the main objective for manager Roberto Mancini.
The North-West outfit and their fans were hopeful that they could push arch rivals Manchester United to the wire once again, but they failed to match the Red Devils in the transfer window as they missed out on signing Arsenal star Robin van Persie.
Despite carrying the momentum of their dramatic title win into the new campaign, little did the fans know that they would lose the English crown, an FA Cup final and their manager.
Here, Sports Mole looks back over the last 10 months of City's campaign.
August
While the previous summer had seen an influx of big-name stars, this time it was a different story, as City welcomed Javi Garcia, Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell, Maicon and Matija Nastasic into the club.
The North-West outfit had a Community Shield to compete for before the start of the Premier League, but they managed to get a piece of silverware into the trophy cabinet by coming from behind to win against Chelsea.
A tough 3-2 victory over newly-promoted top-flight side Southampton kicked off their domestic season, while they failed to snatch all three points at Anfield in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, prompting questions over City's form.
September
In the league, City began to find their feet by clinching a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers, but they dropped points yet again as a result of a 1-1 draw with Stoke City. Following last season's dismal Champions League campaign, there were high hopes for City as they began their campaign in arguably the toughest group in the competition.
They were close to nabbing a famous win over Real Madrid, but two late goals were hit past Joe Hart, resulting in a crushing 3-2 defeat. Much to the City fans' discontent, the team failed to get maximum points from Arsenal, while they were booted out of the League Cup by Aston Villa at the Etihad. At the end of an inconsistent month, City were able to wrap it up with a late 2-1 victory over Fulham.
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October
During the month of October, City began to move up the table in the league with consecutive victories over Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion and Swansea City, but it was a different story in Europe.
They were held to a 1-1 draw by Borussia Dortmund and later suffered a loss to Dutch champions Ajax, leaving their hopes of reaching the knockout rounds hanging by a thread, with Hart publicly criticising his side's form.
November
All did not appear to be well behind the scenes where Mario Balotelli was concerned as reports continued to emerge suggesting that the Italian striker could be sold in the January transfer window. He struggled to find form throughout the campaign, but Mancini stuck with his man, who famously wore the shirt, 'Why Always Me?'.
City's league form dipped slightly when they shared a point with West Ham United, but they responded with wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Villa. Before that, their Champions League status continued to worsen following their failure to get a result against Ajax, and they were later dumped out of the competition following a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid.
Despite not winning a single game in Europe so far, City were able to snatch a 2-0 victory over Wigan Athletic after securing a draw with Chelsea on Rafael Benitez's first game in charge as interim boss.
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December
As City hunted for consistency, their form continued to stutter following a 1-1 draw with Everton, while they also failed to qualify for the Europa League due to a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.
A damaging Manchester derby defeat to the Red Devils left the six points off the top spot, but they managed to respond with a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United and a win over Reading to keep them in contention of the title.
The festive fixtures continued to come thick and fast, but City were dealt a blow by one of their former players Adam Johnson, who found the back of the net for Sunderland to plummet City to seven points adrift of leaders Manchester United.
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January
With the transfer window open, there was only one name being mentioned around the Etihad Stadium - Mario Balotelli. While Mancini had been open about his desire to keep hold of the controversial striker, photos emerged of the pair getting involved in a training ground bust-up. Following the incident, it was only a matter of time before Balotelli was shown the door and signed for AC Milan by the end of the window.
On the pitch, City started off the month with a convincing 3-0 victory over Stoke, and they also got their FA Cup campaign off to a bright start with a win over Watford in the third round. It proved to be an unbeaten month for the blue half of Manchester as they defeated Arsenal 2-0, hit as many goals past Fulham and saw off Stoke in the FA Cup fourth round. City rounded off the busy month with a goalless draw with Queens Park Rangers.
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February
City continued their unbeaten run with a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Etihad, but they were dealt a blow in their league campaign when Southampton shocked the English champions with a 3-1 victory on home turf.
Despite their inconsistency in the league, City continued to progress in the FA Cup by seeing off Leeds United in the fifth round of the competition courtesy of a 4-0 win, but they were given a boost when they hit two past Chelsea to snatch all three points.
March
A 1-0 victory over Villa kicked off the month, and having drawn Barnsley in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, City were the overwhelming favourites to reach the final four, and they did just that with a 5-0 hammering of the Championship club.
Despite their positive form in the cup competition, it failed to translate in the Premier League as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton, leaving them further off the pace in the table. However, they were able to respond with a 4-0 win over Newcastle United on home turf.
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April
Despite City swiftly losing their grip on the league title, they were able to get revenge on United in the Manchester derby by securing a 2-1 win at Old Trafford. However, by this point, the three points proved to be rather meaningless in terms of the title race.
While the maximum points may not have helped them in their campaign, it gave them the fuel to secure a 2-1 victory over Chelsea in the FA Cup to send them through to the final at Wembley. Despite claiming a 1-0 win over Wigan, losing 3-1 to Tottenham a day before Van Persie scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa ensured that the title was sent back to Old Trafford.
After their title defeat was confirmed due to the 16-point gap at the time, City secured a 2-1 win over West Ham to round off a month of mixed emotions.
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May
May proved to be a definitive month for City as a goalless draw with Swansea and a slender win over West Brom led up to the FA Cup final, which City lost to North-West rivals Wigan in the final minute of the encounter. Just days after missing out on a trophy, manager Mancini was sacked by the club.
Brian Kidd took control of the first team following Mancini's dismissal and David Platt's exit, but he was able to guide the side to a 2-0 victory over Reading. Ahead of the clash, reports were rife that Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini would become the club's new manager.
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Up until the final day of the season, May had been a largely miserable month for City and the mood didn't improve when Norwich visited the Etihad as the curtain came down on the campain.
Jack Rodwell scored twice, but the Canaries travelled back to armed East Anglia with a 3-2 victory.
With rumours of unrest among the playing squad, it promises to be a testing job for the new man in charge over the summer months.
