Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC by 2.0
There’s no shortage of teams who have experienced the high of Premier League football only to suffer relegation and then fall further down the football pyramid in recent years.
Here we pick out six clubs who have slipped significantly from the top flight down to the lower leagues without showing much sign of recovery.
6 – Wimbledon FC (Now MK Dons)
From the depths of Division 4 in 1982/83 to Premier League pioneers just 10 years later, Wimbledon FC’s rise was nothing short of extraordinary. They also stunned Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final to lift the trophy.
After relegation in 2000, Wimbledon found themselves in financial trouble, hit hard by falling attendances and dwindling commercial backing. In a controversial move to stay afloat, the owners pushed for relocation to Milton Keynes — 60 miles north. The club would eventually re-emerge as MK Dons.
For Wimbledon fans, the move to Milton Keynes was a step too far. Refusing to let the club’s identity fade, they set up AFC Wimbledon in 2002. These days, both clubs are competing in League Two.
5 – Notts County
Notts County – the oldest professional association football club in the world – are currently sixth in League Two. County were in the First Division in 1991-92 but were relegated that season so missed out on the first-ever Premier League campaign.
Despite their Meadow Lane home having a capacity of nearly 20,000, they were relegated to League Two in 2015 before they lost their Football League status for the first time in their history in 2019.
After spending four years in the National League, Notts County secured League Two promotion in 2023. But, the 1893/94 FA Cup Champions are still far away from their glory days.
4 – Bolton Wanderers
Bolton failed to stay in the Premier League on two occasions – relegated in both 1996 and 1998 – before returning to the top flight in 2001.
Under Sam Allardyce, the Trotters then became an established Premier League outfit and enjoyed sixth, seventh and eighth-place finishes plus two UEFA Cup campaigns before eventually going down to the Championship in 2012.
Financial problems have badly affected Wanderers in recent years and they dropped as far as League Two. They did manage to get promotion in the 2020/21 season and have stayed at League One since then. As of writing, they sit seventh in the third tier of English football.
3 – Bradford City
Another well-supported club, Bradford remain stuck in the bottom tier of the Another well-supported club, Bradford remain stuck in the bottom tier of the professional football pyramid. But they seem to be making a move upward soon as they are currently first in League Two under Graham Alexander.
They had two seasons in the Premier League following promotion in 1999 but, like Bolton, have had financial problems to deal with and have been in administration twice. There have been the occasional high points, like reaching the 2013 League Cup final in the same year they won promotion to League One via the play-offs, but the Bantams are a long way off where they once were.
2 – Oldham Athletic
Oldham Athletic is the only non-League team in this list. They have been playing National League football since 2023, but a return to League Two could be imminent as they are currently fourth in the division.
The Latics were founder members of the Premier League in 1992 and just about survived in spring 1993 before losing their top-flight status a year later. They spent 21 seasons in the third tier (Division Two/League One) between 1997 and 2018 before slipping into the fourth tier and later non-league football.
1 – Portsmouth
Pompey were regulars in the Premier League in the early 90s and even enjoyed FA Cup glory in 2008 when they beat Cardiff City in the final at Wembley.
The south coast club then made it all the way to the Cup final two years later but were beaten by Chelsea on that occasion and, after that, things quickly went downhill at Fratton Park.
Between 2010 and 2013, Pompey entered administration twice and were relegated three times, before being saved from liquidation when being bought out by the fan-owned Pompey Supporters Trust.
Portsmouth are currently 17th in the Championship and those days of top-flight football and memorable Cup victories seem a very long time ago.
