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#2 Leeds United (1992/93)
Leeds United were the surprising winners of the 1991/92 season – the final season in which the old Division one was the top league in England prior to the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992/93.
They’d managed to overhaul Manchester United thanks to the efforts of players such as Gordon Strachan, Lee Chapman, Gary McAllister and Eric Cantona, but for Howard Wilkinson’s side, things were about to change dramatically.
In the opening season of the new Premier League, Leeds were basically dire. They didn’t win an away game all season, were thrashed at home 1-4 by bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest, and battled relegation – eventually finishing 17th, just two points away from slipping out of the Premier League entirely.
Football folklore would suggest that the sale of Eric Cantona to Manchester United – who won the league – was the catalyst, but while Cantona’s arrival may have galvanised United, he can’t be to blame for the downfall of Leeds.
Instead, former Leeds players have blamed the introduction of the back pass rule in 1992 – a rule that prevented their defence from resetting by passing back to goalkeeper John Lukic, a tactic they’d commonly used in seasons past. Whatever the reason, it was a simply woeful title defence.
