Welcome to the 2007/08 season review, as Bob James recalls all the highs and lows from an historic promotion winning campaign.

Today in part one we take a look back at where it all began. After the despair of missing out on the 2006/07 Play-Offs, Tony Pulis faced the task of rebuilding a squad and plotting another promotion push for the new campaign.

Nobody could have imagined the start to the season, which brought about a fresh wave of optimism.

As Sir Paul McCartney might have sung, it's a long and winding road that leads to the Premiership door.

And as the Chinese proverb goes, "The longest journey starts with a single step."

Few, especially those callers to "Praise and Grumble" who consistently underestimated the resolve of the chairman and manager, would have imagined that the first small step at Cardiff way back last August could have culminated in such a journey's end.

Even the most resilient marine or the toughest paratrooper would have found this season's long march a real "yomp."

It hadn't exactly been a perfect summer.Following on from the bitter disappointment of failing to reach the play-offs last May, more frustration followed when several of the loan players who had been instrumental in City's rise in 2006-07 didn't sign permanent contracts.

Lee Hendrie opted to join relegated Sheffield Utd still flush with Premiership parachute money, Andy Griffin signed for Derby County flush with Premiership promotion cash, and Salif Diao's fitness meant that he didn't sign for anybody.

(Carl Hoefkens in action against Newcastle Town in the opening pre-season friendly, prior to his move to West Bromwich Albion)

Meanwhile, Carl Hoefkens had made his expected move to West Brom and Darel Russell, less predictably, returned to Carrow Road, with both transfers precipitated by the prospect of not receiving a fee if they had moved twelve months later.

It was hardly the ideal prelude to the season, a season which, as ever in the Championship, was sure to be hotly contested.

But faced with the frenzied calls for a flood of new signings, thank goodness there was a clear head whose response, as ever, was not to be panicked.

Tony Pulis is nothing if not street-wise in the ways of Championship football, and set about his task with the calm judgment that was needed.

(Richard Cresswell speaks to World following his move from League 1 side Leeds United)

True to form, he showed real astuteness in the transfer market, signing a seasoned goal-scorer in Richard Cresswell to add to Jon Parkin, a previous loanee who did make a permanent move. Dominic Matteo followed, and there was good news about Rory Delap and John Eustace, who both completed a testing pre-season training schedule to announce themselves fit for the new campaign. That was as good as two new signings.

Yet the side which stepped out onto the Ninian Park turf on that warm August afternoon contained just six members of the previous season's squad. As is his wont, the manager had looked to the loan market as he started to rebuild, with Ryan Shawcross and Stephen Wright arriving in the back four.

And it was the relatively unknown Shawcross, plucked from Manchester Utd's seemingly bottomless pit of talented young professionals, who made an instant impact by scoring the winner at Cardiff, where Steve Simonsen also saved a penalty.

It was a good start to the season, but disappointment was to follow.

(Ryan Shawcross celebrates his winning goal in the opening game of the season at Cardiff City)

The almost statutory annual first round League Cup defeat against lowly opposition, Rochdale, was compounded by the news that skipper and player of the season in 2006-07, Danny Higginbotham, was about to move to Sunderland, albeit for a big fee.

With Clint Hill still feeling his way back after a long-term injury, Jody Craddock was signed on loan from Wolves to plug the gap in the middle of defence and helped the side to victory in a tough-looking fixture against newly-relegated Charlton in front of the TV cameras in the first home game.

Two games gone, a depleted squad, but top of the league! Not many of us would have believed that with two games to go, we would be in the same position and that after the final match, the Premiership door would be opened.

(Coming tomorrow, we take a look back at September to December, where the Potters ended the period on a ten game unbeaten run.)