Premier League
Tottenham’s Warning: Six Of The Most Unbelievable Premier League Relegations
Tottenham Hotspur are in free fall and speed-running their way toward an almost unthinkable relegation from the Premier League.
A damaging 3–0 defeat to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Sunday extended Spurs’ winless league run to 13 matches, sinking them to 17th place just one point clear of the drop zone.
For a club that lifted the UEFA Europa League last season, the prospect of a first Premier League relegation and first demotion since 1977 now feels disturbingly real.
But Tottenham wouldn’t be the first club of stature to collapse into the second tier. English football is filled with examples of big teams falling to relegation despite talent, finances, or expectations suggesting otherwise.
Here are six of the most shocking Premier League relegations ever.
1. Middlesbrough (1996/97)
Few seasons have swung so wildly as Middlesbrough’s 1996/97 campaign.
Under Bryan Robson, Boro reached both the FA Cup and League Cup finals an extraordinary achievement while boasting a star-studded trio of Juninho, Emerson, and Fabrizio Ravanelli.
On paper, the squad collected enough points to finish 14th.
In reality, they were relegated because of a three-point deduction for failing to fulfill a December fixture against Blackburn Rovers due to illness and injuries.
They ultimately went down by a margin of just one point making this one of the most infamous administrative punishments in Premier League history.
2. Blackburn Rovers (1998/99)
Champions in 1995, relegated in 1999 the fall of Blackburn Rovers remains one of football’s biggest paradoxes.
The club began the season poorly and crashed out of the UEFA Cup in the first round.
Roy Hodgson departed mid-campaign, replaced by Brian Kidd, but the damage was irreversible.
Too many draws and too little cutting edge condemned Rovers to becoming the first Premier League-winning side to ever be relegated.
3. West Ham United (2002/03)
Few relegations looked as improbable on paper as West Ham United in 2003. The squad was stacked: Paolo Di Canio, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, and the season before, the club had finished seventh.
But three wins in their opening 24 games left them in a crisis. Matters were made worse when manager Glenn Roeder fell ill in April, forcing Sir Trevor Brooking to take temporary control.
West Ham then lost just once in their final 11 matches a heroic late push that still wasn’t enough.
They finished with 42 points, the highest total ever for a relegated team in a 38-game Premier League season.
4. Leeds United (2003/04)
The early 2000s Leeds project was financially ambitious, even reckless.
After reaching the 2001 Champions League semi-final and spending heavily on Mark Viduka, Robbie Fowler, Robbie Keane, and Rio Ferdinand, the club gambled on consistent top-four finishes.
When they missed out on Champions League football in 2002, the financial model collapsed.
A fire-sale of stars ensued, performances deteriorated, and the slide became irreversible.
Leeds’ relegation was confirmed with two games remaining the beginning of a long, painful decline for a club that had been among Europe’s elite.
5. Newcastle United (2008/09)
The chaos surrounding Newcastle United in 2008/09 made relegation seem almost inevitable but the scale of the collapse still shocked English football.
It began with the abrupt resignation of Kevin Keegan amid frustration with the club’s transfer policy.
A revolving door followed Chris Hughton, Joe Kinnear, then a return for Hughton, then Alan Shearer for the final eight games.
Despite the homecoming hero’s presence, Newcastle managed just one win under Shearer and finished 18th, a single point short of safety.
6. Leicester City (2022/23)
The decline of Leicester City is one of the most dramatic in recent memory.
Winners of the Premier League in 2016 and the FA Cup in 2021, Leicester had become a top-six challenger.
But financial constraints, a ballooning wage bill, and lingering post-COVID losses left the club unable to strengthen the squad.
A disastrous start put them in early trouble, and despite a final-day victory against West Ham, they still went down.
Even more alarming, Leicester now face the threat of dropping from the EFL Championship to EFL League One following a points deduction a staggering fall for a recent champion.
