I don't know about it never being on the cards, and the 'deluded' bit.
The way we finished last season, I thought two solid, experienced 'big' signings (I know 'big' is difficult to pin down at this level - but I would define them as older, experienced players with a league background) and we would have a squad capable of challenging for the title.
But they didn't arrive and instead we went down a different path.
There's no denying we had a poor summer transfer wise, which is frustrating as now we're left playing catch-up yet again. I think it was a missed opportunity, what with the budget increase and the Newsham cash freed up.
In that sense, the title was gone before we even kicked a ball, yes. But I think the chance was there over the summer to upgrade the team and, for whatever reason, we didn't put the legwork in and missed out.