Tottenham Are Last in the Premier League. Here Are the 5 Most Shocking Relegations Ever

Five games into the Premier League season, Tottenham Hotspur are in last place. No wins, 2 draws, 3 losses, 2 goals scored. This is the club that won the Europa League in 2025.

If you're American, here's why that matters more than a bad start in the NFL. English soccer has no worst-to-first draft. It has relegation. The bottom 3 of the Premier League's 20 teams get sent down to the second division, the Championship, and 3 teams come up to replace them. You lose the TV money, you lose your best players, and some clubs take a decade to get back.

Spurs haven't been relegated since 1977. This is their 49th straight season in the top flight. It's early, and there's a 2-week international break to regroup. But they finished 17th in each of the last 2 seasons, 2 points clear of the drop last May, and they went through 3 managers last season alone.

Could it actually happen? It's happened to bigger surprises. Here are the 5 most shocking relegations in Premier League history.

5. West Ham United, 2002-03

42 points. The most ever by a relegated team.

"Too good to go down." That's what everyone said about this team, and you can see why. West Ham had Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, Michael Carrick, Glen Johnson, Paolo Di Canio, Frédéric Kanouté and England goalkeeper David James.

They won 3 of their first 24 games. Over the worst of the winter, the Telegraph counted, they took 6 points out of a possible 42. In April, manager Glenn Roeder collapsed after a game and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and club legend Trevor Brooking took over. West Ham didn't lose again.

On the last day they drew 2-2 at Birmingham, but Bolton beat Middlesbrough, and that was that. "There's not disbelief today because we knew at Christmas we were in trouble," Brooking said.

42 points is still the record for a relegated team in a 38-game season. Most years, 40 is enough.

4. Newcastle United, 2008-09

From 2nd place to the Championship in 12 years.

In the mid-1990s Newcastle finished 2nd in back-to-back seasons under Kevin Keegan, playing some of the most exciting soccer in the country. In 2008, Keegan came back as manager. He quit on Sept. 4, fighting with the owners over transfers. "I have been left with no choice other than to leave," he said in his statement. He later won £2 million from the club at an arbitration panel.

The club cycled through caretakers and a new manager. The last man in was Alan Shearer, the Premier League's all-time leading scorer, hired with 8 games left. He won one of them. On the final day, May 24, 2009, Newcastle lost 1-0 at Aston Villa on a Damien Duff own goal and went down. Every team around them lost too, so a draw would have saved them.

"We have not been relegated today," Shearer said. "We have been relegated over the whole season because we haven't been good enough."

3. Leeds United, 2003-04

Champions League semifinalists 3 years earlier.

In 2001 Leeds made the semifinals of the Champions League, with a young team everyone thought would win a title soon. The club had borrowed heavily to build it, betting on more Champions League money. When Leeds missed the Champions League the next 2 years, the money wasn't there, and the club had to sell its stars. Rio Ferdinand went to Manchester United.

By 2004 there was almost nothing left. Relegation was confirmed on May 2 with a 4-1 loss at Bolton. Mark Viduka scored a penalty and then was sent off 6 minutes later. It ended 14 straight years in the top division, and Leeds didn't get back to the Premier League until 2020. "It is the worst day of my career," said caretaker manager Eddie Gray, who'd been at the club for 40 years. The Telegraph's Henry Winter summed it up: "From Mestalla to Millmoor in three years."

2. Leicester City, 2022-23

Champions at 5,000-to-1 in 2016. Relegated in 2023.

Leicester's 2016 title might be the greatest upset in sports history, at least by the betting odds. Bookmakers had them at 5,000-to-1 before the season. They added the FA Cup in 2021 and played in Europe.

Then they took 1 point from their first 7 games of 2022-23. Brendan Rodgers, the manager who won the FA Cup, was fired in April. On the final day Leicester beat West Ham 2-1 and did everything they could. It didn't matter. Everton beat Bournemouth 1-0 on a second-half volley by Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Leicester went down by 2 points. Leeds went down with them that afternoon, beaten 4-1 at home by Tottenham. Harry Kane scored twice.

1. Blackburn Rovers, 1998-99

Premier League champions in 1995. Relegated in 1999.

Blackburn were the first Premier League champion that wasn't Manchester United. Steel magnate Jack Walker bought the club, Kenny Dalglish managed it, and Alan Shearer scored 34 goals to win the 1994-95 title.

4 years later, they were gone. Roy Hodgson was out on Nov. 21, 1998, the day a 2-0 home loss to Southampton dropped Blackburn to the bottom of the table. His replacement, Brian Kidd, couldn't turn it around. The end came on May 12, 1999, at home against, of all teams, Manchester United. It finished 0-0. The point helped United toward their famous treble. It wasn't enough for Blackburn, and the first team ever to take the Premier League away from United was relegated in front of 30,436 at its own stadium.

Walker, the man who paid for the title, wasn't having any pity. Asked about the prospect of playing at Grimsby the next season, he snapped back: "Have you ever been to Grimsby, lad? Great fish. There's nothing wrong with Grimsby."

Honorable mentions

Manchester City, 1995-96. On the last day, City were drawing 2-2 with Liverpool when manager Alan Ball heard that a draw would be enough. He told Steve Lomas to kill time by the corner flag. The rumor was wrong. Striker Niall Quinn, who'd been subbed off, ran down the touchline yelling that they needed another goal. City went down on goal difference.

Ipswich Town, 2001-02. They finished 5th in 2000-01, and George Burley was named Manager of the Year. The next season they played in Europe and got relegated.

Manchester United, 1973-74. Before the Premier League. The legend says Denis Law, a United hero playing for City, relegated his old team with a backheel goal in the derby. He didn't, not really. Birmingham won that day too, and United were going down no matter what.

So, Spurs?

Five games is not much of a sample. Here's the number that matters: in Premier League history, only 4 teams that were in last place on Christmas Day have stayed up. Tottenham have until Dec. 25 to get off the bottom.

Their next game is at Manchester United on Oct. 10.

Would a Spurs relegation top this list? Tell us in the comments.