The Birds were a sad shadow of their previous selves, and it was hard to accept just how far - and how quickly - they had fallen. The warning signs were there in their opening 0-4 loss to Club Dinosauria, and while they bounced back to win 5-2 against The EV at home, it would turn out to be the peak... and, in fact, their only league win of the season.

What followed could only be described as an unmitigated disaster. It would take time to sink in, but there were desperately few positives to take; Carpmael Rovers would send Grilled crashing out of the cup with an 8-4 scoreline, and the Birds' defensive fragilities would only become more exposed, as the weeks went on.

After an embarassing 0-5 loss to Chemistry, Gennady Dvorak and Low Aik Jia beat a hasty exit from the club, further eroding what little confidence Grilled had left. Leadership figures Tian Yonghang and Moey Xin Seng fought to arrest the tailspin, but nothing worked, and only a two-all draw against Deinos, with relegation already assured, saved them from the wooden spoon.

If there were bright spots, they had to come from the youth setups; academy chief scout Tham Beng Li unearthed Chan Ze Han for the Wings, and the teenager would soon be hailed as their best prospect in a generation, edging even Moey himself. The Rancher Rabbits would reap more immediate results, as they sold Chee Yao Teck for over eight million dollars, in an unprecedented deal.

The Birds' downfall would bring about much self-reflection, cumulating in the board electing to swallow the bitter medicine all at once, with instructions to Djan Bacelar to tear it all down. This saw Grilled shed more of their senior stars, with Hariharan Prabhu, Yuki Irie and Rinor Isufi hocked off too, and while the coffers have indeed been filled, it remains to be seen whether they can stay competitive, even in Division Three.