Oldham Athletic
1991-94
Oldham were one of the surprise clubs who were founder members of the Premiership a year after achieving promotion to the old First Division in 1991, ending a 68-year absence from the top flight.
Joe Royle oversaw a team that played attacking and entertaining football. They survived their first season fairly comfortably, finishing three places and nine points above the relegation places.
However in the Premiership’s inaugural year of 1992-93 they stayed up only on goal difference thanks to a free-scoring nature, their 63 goals being 15 more than the side they tied with on 49 points, Crystal Palace. Ian Olney finished as the leading scorer with 13 goals.
However they were unable to find the net with such regularity the following season, scoring only 42 times, and were relegated after failing to win any of their final eight games. Royle left for Everton in November of the following season and was replaced by another former Goodison No9, Graeme Sharp.
Where are they now? 16th in League One
Wimbledon
1986-2000
The ‘Crazy Gang’, of course, reached their zenith in 1988 with the FA Cup triumph over Liverpool’s ‘Culture Club’, as John Motson so memorably exclaimed. Just 10 years earlier the south London club were finishing their debut season in the Football League and after appointing Dave Bassett as manager in 1981 they made it into top-flight football just five years later.
A team famed for the snarl, muscle and aggression of Vinnie Jones in midfield and John Fashanu up front, also had added guile from the likes of Dennis Wise and Terry Gibson.
Most had Wimbledon down for relegation in their first top-flight season but after winning four of their first five games they found themselves top on 1 September. By the season’s end they had finished a remarkable sixth but Bassett moved on to Watford and was replaced by Bobby Gould. Despite yet more managerial changes, Wimbledon maintained their first division status and booked a place in the inaugural season of the Premiership under Joe Kinnear. They would stay there until suffering relegation on 14 May 2000, 12 years to the day after they won the FA Cup.
Where are they now? The club relocated to Milton Keynes and became the MK Dons, who will be in the League One play-offs if they fail to win automatic promotion on Sunday. AFC Wimbledon, formed by the fans, are 15th in League Two.
Swindon Town
1993-94
Swindon’s lone season in the top division saw them ship exactly 100 goals, a record that stands today. Glenn Hoddle had signed up as player-manager in 1991 and steadied a ship which had been rocked by a financial scandal a year earlier. Swindon had won promotion to the old Division One but admitted to multiple charges of making illegal payments to players and were stripped of the right to go up.
Hoddle’s impact in his first managerial job was felt in his first full season with a finish just outside the play-off positions. The following year Swindon beat Leicester City in the play-off final to win promotion to what was then the Premiership.
Hoddle left to take over at Chelsea before the season started, which meant a promotion for his assistant and former Tottenham team-mate John Gorman. The team struggled, winning only five league games, and were relegated after finishing bottom with 30 points, 10 behind also relegated Oldham in what was a 42-league game season.
Where are they now? Fourth in League One, soon to contest the play-offs
Barnsley
1997-98
Despite lasting only one season in the top tier Barnsley claimed some notable scalps, including a 1-0 win at Anfield. But they also suffered multiple heavy defeats to some of the bigger teams, including 5-0 at Arsenal, 6-0 at West Ham and at home to Chelsea, and 7-0 at Old Trafford.
Danny Wilson’s team, which featured a number of internationals, were able to exact a degree of revenge on Manchester United by knocking them out of the FA Cup in a fifth-round replay at Oakwell.
The veterans Neil Thompson and Paul Wilkinson left the club and Wilson broke Barnsley’s transfer record in signing Macedonia’s Gjorgji Hristov for £1.5m – who managed eight goals in 45 league games – and brought in the Welshman Darren Barnard, who played more than 200 games for them, and the South African Eric Tinkler, who made almost 100 appearances there.
Despite beating their south Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley were unable to arrest a slump in form and won only one of their last nine games. They were relegated, second from bottom, after taking 35 points from 38 games.
Where are they now? 13th in League One
Wigan Athletic
2005-13
A little over 25 years after their entry to the Football League when they replaced nearby Southport when they failed to get re-elected in 1978, Wigan reached the top flight. The arrival of the visionary Dave Whelan as owner in 1995 sparked the extraordinary rise.
Paul Jewell was the manager who completed the club’s journey to the top and Wigan defied expectation by finishing 10th in their first season and reaching the League Cup final.
They continued in the top division, notably under Steve Bruce and Roberto Martínez, until their relegation under the latter in 2013, days after they had won the FA Cup with a shock victory over Manchester City.
Where are they now? Will be relegated to League One on Tuesday night if Rotherham avoid defeat at home to Reading
Blackpool
2010-11
“This is the most unbelievable moment of my life. I’ve jumped on the best ride of my life and I don’t want to go home.” Ian Holloway was addressing the sea of tangerine-clad Blackpool fans in May 2010 after completing an open-top bus tour along the town’s promenade. Having achieved promotion to the Premier League for the first time, Blackpool were promptly relegated, but Holloway stayed on for another 18 months.
In the summer of 2009 they had made Charlie Adam’s move from Rangers permanent to signal their assault for a return to the top flight, having finished 19th in the previous Championship season. The Scottish midfielder duly scored 16 league goals to become the top scorer, with good support from Brett Ormerod and DJ Campbell.
After overcoming Cardiff City in the play-off final they opened their Premier League account with a 4-0 win at Wigan but the ride got bumpier from then on. Despite twice beating Liverpool and winning at home to Tottenham, Holloway’s side could not replicate those performances against the teams around them. They were relegated on the last day of the season at Old Trafford, losing 4-2 in a game they were, at one point, leading 2-1.
Where are they now? Will play in League One next season after being relegated from the Championship
