Since English football’s first championship season in 1888/89, there have been 23 different winners of the title known until 1992 as the 1st Division championship, and from 1993 onwards, the Premiership.
All 23 of those clubs still ply their trade in the three top divisions in English football.
The Premier League has raised the profile, wages, revenue and exposure of English football to heights not imaginable in the late 1980s.
However, it has also realistically restricted the possible pool of winners, with the dominance of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea being briefly disturbed by Blackburn Rovers in 1995.
As the Premier League enters its 20th season, it is worth reflecting on some of the clubs that were former giants of the game, and whether they ever will be again.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
The answer to two great trivia questions: Forest are the only club to have won the championship the year after being promoted from the second tier. They are also quite possibly the only club in Europe who have won more European (Champions League) Cups than they have domestic titles.
Their success could be put down to one man – Brian Clough. One of the greatest English managers the game has seen, a recalcitrant, ascerbic, brilliant coach who never got the England job due to his desire not to be pigeon-holed. He spoke his mind and was without doubt “The Special One” years before Mourinho was born. He achieved miracles with Forest but it was old hat to him, as he’d done the same thing with Derby County earlier in the 1970s.
But his legacy to the game was the Forest side he guided from the 2nd Division to a European Cup win in the space of three seasons. Currently Forest ply their trade in the Championship, and made the play-offs last season. However, Brian Cloughs are thin on the ground these days so their chances of repeating the dizzying heights of 1977-79 seem slim.
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY
For a while last season, South Yorkshire’s Owls looked like they might drop to League 2, the 4th tier of English Football. They are without doubt the biggest club to have dropped the furthest in their recent tumultous history.
Sheffield Wednesday have won the same number of titles as Chelsea (4). However, their last win was in 1930. In 1992, they had a chance to snatch the title on the penultimate day of the season, but a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace saw them share second place with Manchester United, behind winners Leeds United. The following year they were runners up in both the League Cup and FA Cup, losing both finals 2-1 to Arsenal, the FA Cup only after a replay which was decided in the last minute of extra time.
Despite huge support and with one of the biggest home grounds in the country in Hillsborough, it has been a sliding level of success since then. The Owls came close to the Championship play-offs in 2008 but were relegated to the third tier in 2010, four seasons after climbing out of League One.
Their hopes for success and a restoration of their former lofty status appear to be pinned on new owner Milan Mandaric, who bought the club last season and cleared their debts. Mandaric has had a chequered past as a football chairman. He was arrested in 2007 on charges of corruption but was released without charge.
Under his ownership, Leicester City were relegated from and promoted back to the Championship. He went through four managers in one season while at Leicester – one of them, Gary Megson, is Wednesday’s current boss. If Milan’s money can talk, perhaps the Owls might dream of better days.
SUNDERLAND
One of the twin North-East giants (with fierce rivals Newcastle United), Sunderland sit sixth on the ladder of most League titles. However, 5 of their 6 titles were earned before World War One. They faded as a force in top flight football after being relegated from the 1st Division in 1958. Their fortunes were turned around not by a League success, but by an act of giant-killing that has become FA Cup folklore. In the 1973 Final, as a 2nd Division club close to relegation, they beat reigning holders and Euro powerhouse Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley.
The Black Cats have led a yo-yo existence in recent times, constantly bouncing between the Premiership and the Championship. In 1999, they won the Championship with a then-record haul of 105 points. In 2003, they were relegated with a then-record low of 19 points.
After an excellent start to last season, manager Steve Bruce had to stave off a relegation dogfight at the end of last season. He has bought well and wisely according to many pundits, and perhaps 2011/12 is the year that Sunderland re-establishes some degree of consistency. While not a realistic chance of usurping the Big 4 or 5, the Black Cats could settle in the upper half of the league, and score more than 19 points!
Coming up: Huddersfield Town, Leeds United and Burnley. And are Liverpool now officially asleep?
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