2016/17 threw up a lot of surprises, but one of the biggest was the identities of the clubs promoted from the Championship into the Premier League. Sure, people expected Newcastle United to get back up to the top division – after all, they’ve got history, including title challenges and Champions League runs in the Premier League era – but the other two clubs to make it up the ladder were Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town – two clubs who’ve never made the Premier League before.
Will they be able to stay up and establish themselves as Premier League regulars, as the likes of Swansea and Southampton have done? Or will they end up as part of the so-called “yo-yo club” with the likes of Sunderland and Middlesbrough? Who knows.
Also read: 5 players from the Championship who can light up the Premier League in 2017/18
Since the Premier League started in 1992/93, there have been 49 different clubs competing in the division, including the upcoming season’s new boys. But with this being the 26th season, it’s easy to forget about some of the clubs who we’ve seen in there, especially if they’ve withered away since. Here are five clubs you probably forgot – or didn’t know – played in the Premier League.
#1 Coventry City
If you’re a younger fan, you’d probably be amazed to know that Coventry City – relegated into League Two last season after finishing 23rd in League One – ever played in the Premier League. They’re currently more well-known for being one of the worst-run clubs in England thanks to the stewardship of shady hedge fund SISU, and have to share their ground with new owners, Rugby League side Wasps.
As a matter of fact though, the Sky Blues were actually Premier League mainstays back in the 90s. They were one of the founding clubs of the Premier League in 1992 and although they always struggled – surviving on the final day of 1996/97 thanks to a win over Tottenham – at times they also provided some real high points.
1997/98 saw them finish 11th in the Premier League with one of the best home records in the division, and they also had the league’s joint top scorer in Dion Dublin. 1999/00 meanwhile saw them feature the likes of Robbie Keane, Gary McAllister and Mostapha Hadji as they finished 14th but famously defeated Arsenal 3-2 on Boxing Day.
Unfortunately for Coventry their luck ran out in 2000/01 and they were relegated into the Championship. And since then it’s gone from bad to worse as they’ve seen administration and a further two relegations. Today they’re about as far away from the Premier League as it gets.
#2 Swindon Town
Like Coventry, Swindon Town are currently languishing in League Two following a relegation from League One in 2016/17. Unlike Coventry though, their time in the Premier League was anything but memorable – more blink-and-you’ll-miss-it – as they only spent one season in England’s top flight, in 1993/94.
They were led to the Premier League by then-player/manager Glenn Hoddle, who took over in 1991/92. In 1992/93 – the inaugural Premier League season – they defeated Leicester City 4-3 in the first-ever Division One Play-Off final to gain promotion into England’s top division. But rather than being a turning point for the Robins, it turned out to be their highest point.
Hoddle departed in the close season to take over at Chelsea, leaving his assistant John Gorman in charge, but Swindon just couldn’t deal with the step up in class and finished rock bottom of the Premier League, only winning five games all season and conceding 100 goals, a record which still stands today.
1994/95 saw a second consecutive relegation for Swindon and success has been hard to come by since – they’ve been up and down from League One to League Two on a number of occasions, have headed into administration and come back out, and even saw a wild Paolo di Canio take over the managerial position for a short time. Another climb to the Premier League seems downright impossible at this point.
#3 Oldham Athletic
Another of the founding clubs of the Premier League, Oldham had made it into the top flight thanks to the managerial skill of the legendary Joe Royle, who took over the club in 1982 and then lead them in a steady climb up the old Division Two table until they gained promotion to the top division in 1990/91, two seasons before the inauguration of the Premier League.
From the start, they struggled at the top. 1992/93 saw them finish 19th – one place above the relegation zone, as the Premier League had 22 teams at the time. 1993/94 promised to be different, as they even made it to the FA Cup Semi-finals. They were literally minutes away from a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the semi-final, but a Mark Hughes goal in the last minute of extra-time took the tie to a replay, and Oldham were hammered 4-1.
The Hughes goal marked a turning point and Oldham failed to win any of their final seven league games before being relegated. Joe Royle left them for Everton, and Oldham ended up slipping into Division Two – now League One – in 1996/97. And since then they’ve stayed there – 2002/03 saw a play-off run but they couldn’t win promotion, and a couple of years later saw them flirt with liquidation before a late takeover bid saved the club.
The last two seasons have seen them finish 19th in League One, which means they’re now flirting with relegation into England’s basement division of League Two, and the likelihood of the Latics climbing the divisions seems smaller and smaller each year.
#4 Barnsley
Another one-season wonder, Barnsley won promotion to the Premier League in 1996/97 after finishing as runners-up in Division One behind champions Bolton. It was the first time they managed to get into England’s top division after 99 years of being members of the football league, but unfortunately it would be their only stay there.
While they reached the FA Cup quarter-finals in 1997/98 – even beating Man United along the way – they still finished 19th in the league, a solid five points away from survival. Manager Danny Wilson – the mastermind behind their promotion – then abandoned ship for Sheffield Wednesday, and the Tykes didn’t come close to another Premier League run, instead finishing 13th in Division One in 1998/99.
A year later they managed to make the play-off final – the last one at the old Wembley Stadium – but lost to Ipswich and shortly after, they were relegated into Division Two and were also hit with administration, with the town’s mayor stepping in for a takeover to save the club.
Recent seasons – since 2013/14 – have seen them bounce from the Championship into League One and back, and although they finished a solid 14th in the Championship’s mid-table last season, they’re not expected to be pushing for promotion in 2017/18.
#5 Wimbledon
Even though the previously listed clubs are long-forgotten by the Premier League, at least they still exist. The same can’t be said for Wimbledon, who were relegated in 1999/00 after a pretty amazing 14 years in the top flight, during which time they became one of the founding clubs of the Premier League.
Always one of the top flight’s smallest clubs – they didn’t even have their own ground during their Premier League run, instead sharing Selhurst Park with Crystal Palace – even when they were relegated nobody could’ve predicted what would happen in the Crazy Gang’s future.
In August 2001 – just over a year after their relegation – the club announced their intention to up sticks and move from south London to Milton Keynes, about 56 miles away to the north-west. The Crazy Gang’s fans were naturally horrified, but with the club in financial difficulty the move went through and in 2004, businessman Pete Winkelman put together a consortium to buy the club.
Soon after, Wimbledon was essentially no more. The side were renamed as Milton Keynes Dons, and they now consider themselves having been founded in 2004 – meaning the old Wimbledon basically no longer exists. Since then, they’ve languished in England’s lower divisions – a Championship appearance in 2015/16 being their highest point. And even if they ever did gain promotion to the Premier League, they would probably be considered first-timers, just like Huddersfield. It’s a sad situation even a decade or so on.
