ONCE the inevitable had been confirmed and Hull City were condemned to make the long walk back to the Championship, all that remained left to endure was the wake.
It came on Sunday, May 9, 2010. Liverpool's visit to the KC Stadium was to be the Tigers' last stand in the Premier League before being plunged into a world of spiralling debts and financial gloom.
There was a brave final show of defiance against the fallen giants from Merseyside, with homegrown rookies Mark Cullen and Will Atkinson providing a sliver of hope, but a 0-0 draw summed up a flat mood.
The dream was over. Few, if any, of the 25,030 expected City to return in a hurry.
Three years and three months later, however, and top-flight football is back in East Yorkshire.
Welcoming Norwich to the KC Stadium on Saturday, the Tigers' remarkable rebirth is completed with the first of 19 visits from the Premier League roadshow.
The mood between the two landmark dates could hardly be in greater contrast.
While City bowed out of the top flight with little more than blind faith under football management consultant Iain Dowie, they return under Steve Bruce with arguably the strongest squad in their 109-year history.
One look at Dowie's final team-sheet underlines an incredible three-year transformation. Five of the 13 players used against Liverpool (Bernard Mendy, Steven Mouyokolo, Geovanni, George Boateng and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink) would never be seen again in black and amber.
A further three (Matt Duke, Anthony Gardner and Craig Fagan) would be gone within a year, while Atkinson and Cullen can now be found swimming in the footballing backwaters of Southend and Luton respectively.
Only Paul McShane, who has since been out on loan with Crystal Palace and Barnsley before his own personal renaissance, has survived to tell the tale from one era to the next. The defender, like most, will shudder at the memories of Spring 2010.
When City settled for a goal-less draw against Liverpool, a fixture that also proved to be Rafa Benitez's last in charge of the Reds, it was the 30th and final point of their dispiriting second season in the top flight.
Just two wins – 2-1 against Manchester City and 2-0 versus Fulham – came from the last 24 games. Six points were all that came from a possible 39.
The run famously sent history-making manager Phil Brown out to pasture on gardening leave and invited Dowie in for what remains his final manager's role.
One win from his nine games in charge failed to earn the temporary boss an extended deal as City surrendered to their fate with barely a whimper.
If the sell-out contest with Liverpool was City's last supper, the Premier League feast has begun all over again.
Under the hugely successful ownership and management team of Assem Allam and Bruce, those dog days of 2010 have been pushed gratefully to the darkest corner of supporters' minds.
A 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday could not deliver the fairytale return but the anticipation surrounding this weekend's clash cannot be dimmed.
Where the last Premier League team in these parts was a limited but honest bunch, littered with apathetic journeymen, City can again boast a team to be proud of. Gone are the financial liabilities, replaced by valuable assets.
Against Liverpool in 2010 there was a conga line and gallows humour on the terraces. There was relief it was finally over. Now, three years on, there is only excitement that it starts all over again.
The last Premier League game at the KC Stadium (May 9, 2010)
Hull City 0 Liverpool 0 City: Matt Duke, Bernard Mendy, Steven Mouyokolo, Anthony Gardner, Andy Dawson, Kevin Kilbane (Geovanni 77), George Boateng, Tom Cairney, Will Atkinson, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink (Craig Fagan 84), Mark Cullen. Subs: Boaz Myhill, Nick Barmby, Seyi Olofinjana, Liam Cooper, Paul McShane
