In 2004/05 Sam Allardyce's Bolton experienced their best Premiership campaign ever. The shrewd 'big man' steered the team to their first ever trip in continental competition.
At one point, Bolton were in a good position to finish fourth but in the end they had to be content with a tilt at the UEFA Cup.
Birmingham City and Blackburn both finished in the lower half of the standings. They were let down by their poor exploits inside their opponents' penalty areas.
Blackburn scored a meagre 32 goals. Their tally was the least in the league. Only Blackburn and West Brom scored less than Birmingham's total of 40 last season.
The Rovers failed to score in 17 matches and the Blues fired blanks in 13 encounters.
Allardyce succeeded in capturing reliable players in the twilight of their careers at the start of the campaign. That move bode him well as the season progressed.
These included Fernando Hierro, Radhi Jaidi and Vincent Candela.
But, his best move was when he signed striker El Hadji Diouf from Liverpool on a season loan.
Bolton hit a negative patch in December when they suffered four consecutive defeats. However, in the final spurt to a European berth, they lost only once in seven games.
They raised many an eyebrow at the way they stood up against bigger sides. They had an away draw at Chelsea, a draw at Highbury and a win against the Gunners at the Reebok, and a home win over Liverpool.
In the domestic knockout contests, Bolton lost at home after extra time (3-4) to Tottenham in the third round of the League Cup and went out to eventual winners Arsenal at home (0-1) in the quarter-finals.
Steve Bruce seriously thought that he could have been dismissed in the second phase of the season when City won only once in eight outings.
Earlier in the season he declined to join Newcastle as manager before the Magpies went for Graeme Souness.
Despite the poor season, the Birmingham defence was excellent in the fight to keep the club away from the relegation mire.
Matthew Upson and Kenny Cunningham proved they are among the best defensive duos in the top flight.
Full-back Mario Melchiot was perhaps Bruce's top signing, even if ex-Liverpool striker Emile Heskey had left his mark with his finishing up front. He earned a call back into the England squad.
Steve Reid's tenacity and hard tackling rallied his team-mates in the Rovers' midfield.
Manager Mark Hughes, having replaced Souness at Ewood Park, did a decent job even if his boys received some harsh barracking for the unorthodox way they approached their games. They had six players sent off in the league.
Rovers' harshest criticism came for the rough tackling against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final.
In the League Cup they bowed out to third grade side Bournemouth at home after a penalty shootout in round two.
Birmingham lost both of their ties at St Andrews - 0-1 to Fulham in the third round of the League Cup and 0-2 to Chelsea in round four of the FA Cup.