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As the 3rd round of the FA Cup was played last weekend, many lesser-known clubs around England got their 15 minutes of fame. Nottingham Forest's 4-2 win over Arsenal was the most memorable match.
Forest is one of many former Premier League sides that have been stuck in the lower leagues ever since getting relegated from the top-flight. However, as a Championship team, they aren't far from returning to the Premier League. They only need one successful season.
Many other former Premier League clubs find themselves in much tougher circumstances. Their fall from grace has been spectacular and here's a closer look at five former Premier League clubs that are currently stuck in the lower leagues below the Championship.
#5 Wigan Athletic
Wigan played in the Championship last season, but they got relegated following a miserable year in which they won only ten matches. The former solid mid-table finisher in the Premier League has become a yo-yo club between the second and the third tier of English football.
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2013, Wigan got close to bouncing back straight away as they reached the Championship playoffs, but it wasn't to be. They lost in the semifinals 2-1 to Queens Park Rangers in extra-time with a Charlie Austin penalty sealing Wigan's fate.
The moderately successful season was followed up with a horror show. In 2014/15 Wigan managed to collect only 39 points and off to League One they went. The 2013 FA Cup winner found life easy in the third tier, so they came straight back to the Championship as league winners, but only for one season.
Currently, it looks like history might be repeating itself. Wigan is once again leading League One - suffering only three losses so far - and they look set to get promoted again, but once again, there will be a danger of going back down straight away.
#4 Portsmouth
Portsmouth is another relatively recent FA Cup winner who's taken a nose dive through the league pyramid. Just a season ago, they were even in League Two, and not for the first time. They played four consecutive seasons in the fourth tier before getting promoted last Spring as League Two champions.
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2010 - only two years after their cup success - Portsmouth played in the Championship two seasons before dropping down even further. In 2013 and 2014, Pompey even suffered consecutive relegations as the team struggled to adapt to life in League One and ended up finishing bottom.
Portsmouth hadn't played in the third tier since the start of the 90's. They were a stable Championship, or Division One as it was called back then, side before finally breaking through to dreamland in 2003. Only a couple of seasons before relegation, Portsmouth achieved two successive top 10 finishes in the Premier League.
Fortunately for them, compared to the last time, this season in League One is going much better for the team. They ended up with only 32 points in 2012/13, which is nine less than they currently have. Lead my manager Kenny Jackett, who won League One with Wolverhampton in 2014, Portsmouth is sitting 6th, on course for at least a playoff finish.
#3 Blackpool
While Wigan and Portsmouth could get a step closer to returning to the Premier League with this season, the same doesn't apply to Blackpool. It might actually be the opposite. They are in League One just a few points away from the relegation zone. Having won only one of the last ten matches, it actually even looks likely that they will be in the middle of the survival dogfight come May.
It was a Cinderella story with Blackpool when they got promoted to the Premier League in 2010. They started the century as a fourth tier side. After flying throw the divisions, they had three seasons in the Championship before the big break.
Led by the colourful Ian Holloway, Blackpool's debut season in the Premier League featured a double over Liverpool and a strong end of the season run, which saw them lose only one of the last five fixtures, but sadly it wasn't enough for them to hold on to their place in the league. Wolves edged them with a one-point advantage.
Following the only season in the top flight, Blackpool basically went back to where their rise once had begun. And the fall was much quicker than the rise. They were a League Two side last season, managing to return to the third tier only via the playoffs. Thanks to goals from Brad Potts and Mark Cullen, Blackpool beat Exeter City 2-1 in the playoffs final.
#2 Blackburn Rovers
During the start of the Premier League era in 1992/93, Blackburn Rovers was one of the best sides in England. Kenny Dalglish was the man in charge and Alan Shearer was banging on the goals when Blackburn won the third Premier League season in 1995. However, just four years later they were relegated.
Luckily for the Rovers fans, Blackburn was back in the Premier League after missing only two seasons and they formed into a solid midtable side that even had a couple of 6th place finishes. But things changed rapidly in 2011/12.
The club's takeover by the Venky's family in 2010 marks the start of the downfall of the former Premier League champion. The Venky's fired Sam Allardyce in December 2010 and replaced him with inexperienced Steve Kean. He led the team to safety in 2010/11, but couldn't do so a season later which saw Blackburn finish 19th.
When Kean was finally let go in September 2012, the damage was already done and the club is still paying for it. Following five straight seasons in the Championship with the best finish being 8th in 2013/14, Blackburn was relegated last season. Nottingham finished above them and the relegation zone thanks to goal difference.
The season in the third tier, which is the first one for the club there since 1979/80, started with two consecutive defeats, but they have done well since then. Blackburn is currently 3rd, chasing down Shrewsbury Town, who holds a 5-point advantage.
#1 Coventry City
Out of all former Premier League sides, Coventry City has fallen the hardest. They are currently in the not so glamorous surroundings of League Two. Doing well there, sitting 3rd, but not where you would expect a club of their stature to be.
Coventry had five seasons in League One before eventually dropping down a division. They had nine consecutive Premier League seasons until relegation hit in 2001. Before that, they had been in the top flight since 1967/68. Considering the current state of things, it's funny to look back and note that Manchester City actually got relegated as well in 2000/2001. Oh, how differently things have worked out for the two.
After spending a decade in the bottom ten of the Premier League, Coventry also mostly settled for bottom half finishes in the Championship. An 8th place finish in 2005/06 was the highest they could achieve. And much like it was in the Premier League, where they flirted with relegation multiple times, their luck also ran out in the second tier. Relegation came in 2011/12 following a 23rd place finish.
In League One, the story was the same. Coventry formed a club that mostly finished in the bottom half, and last season another 23rd place finish dropped them to League Two. It's a bizarre sight to see them there.
Coventry still plays at the Ricoh Arena, which was opened in 2005. Its capacity is over 32 500, which is twice as much as most League Two clubs. There are three clubs in the league whose home stadium doesn't even hold 6000 people.
