West Brom were tipped as one of the pre-season favourites to trouble the top spots by the end of the campaign.
That still might happen, of course, but with a quarter of the season gone it looks unlikely, with the Baggies currently placed in the relegation zone.
Cardiff City, meanwhile, appear to have found their rhythm over the last week or so, coming away from their last three games with seven points, meaning they sit just three points off the play-off spots as things stand.
While it's difficult to pinpoint Cardiff's recent successes or attribute them to a player or two, it does leave you scratching your head to think that Steve Bruce, who on Monday morning was sacked, allowed three players to leave the club this summer and all of them have had parts to play in the Bluebirds' early-season positives.
For many City supporters, West Brom loanee Cedric Kipre has been the standout player of the season. He has held Cardiff's defence together at times, been a colossus in the air and is a breath of fresh air with the ball at his feet. The ironic thing is, if Birmingham City, West Brom's rivals, hadn't taken Auston Trusty on loan from Arsenal from under Cardiff's noses, the Bluebirds would likely not have gone in for Kipre.
But as the Trusty door closed, the Kipre one opened and how glad Cardiff are now to have him at their disposal. The centre-back has shown a brutish strength and unerring consistency across the season so far and he has become one of City's undroppable stars.
His early-season performances make the Baggies' decision not to include a January recall clause in his loan terms seem utterly bizarre, especially as only three teams have a worse defensive record than West Brom this season.
And then there is Callum Robinson, at the other end of the pitch, whom Cardiff signed for a chunky £1.5million on transfer deadline day. Perhaps that price tag makes his Baggies exit a little more understandable, but the early signs seem to suggest that it's very good business from Cardiff's perspective.
Strikers who pose a serious goal threat cost decent cash at this level and it was encouraging to see Vincent Tan dip his hand into his pocket, again, to bring the forward to the Welsh capital. His inclusion has seen City's attacking output go through the roof and that is no coincidence.
In the first eight games of the season, all of which were started by Max Watters, Cardiff scored only four goals. In the five games in which Robinson has started, the Bluebirds have netted nine times, bagged 10 points and the Republic of Ireland international has been directly involved in five goals himself.
His goal against Wigan Athletic on Saturday was exactly the reason he was brought to the club. He had one sight at goal, thanks to a lovely through-ball from Niels Nkounkou, and he immediately pulled the trigger, rifling the ball past Ben Amos to put City ahead. He boasts a confidence that Watters just doesn't have at the minute - that's the difference a bank of Championship goals behind you can have.
Romaine Sawyers has perhaps had less of an impact. He started the season really brightly, scoring the winner against Norwich City in the season opener and stringing together some tidy displays. But away from home he has struggled to make a meaningful impact, while he was quiet in last week's midweek showing from the off against Blackburn Rovers.
But he has shown enough quality, and scored two goals, in the early portion of the season to suggest he will play a big role in Cardiff's campaign.
There is clearly a reason West Brom allowed all three to leave, but the Baggies losses have been big gains for Cardiff. And Cardiff deserve to take some credit, too, for spotting their quality and eking the best out of it.
And it's not an exaggeration to say if City are to have a successful season, all three will have to play sizeable roles throughout the campaign - just as they have done up to this point.
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