Everton narrowly avoided relegation at the end of the 2022/23 season, which means there are still six clubs who have played in every single Premier League season since its inception in 1992/93. Alongside Everton, the other five clubs to have maintained their Premier League status throughout the era are Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. But at the other end of the scale, there are plenty of sides who’ve suffered in the ignominy of relegation to the second tier.
In this article, we will take a look at the clubs who have been relegated from the Premier League most frequently over the years. Note that the statistics are correct as of the end of the 2022/23 campaign. We’ll kick things off by listing all the clubs who have been relegated three or more times from the Premier League.
Teams Relegated Three or More Times from the Premier League
| Team | Number of Relegations | Last Relegated |
|---|---|---|
| Norwich City | 6 | 2021/22 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 5 | 2020/21 |
| Leicester City | 4 | 2022/23 |
| Middlesbrough | 4 | 2016/17 |
| Sunderland | 4 | 2016/17 |
| Crystal Palace | 4 | 2013/14 |
| Watford | 4 | 2021/22 |
| Fulham | 3 | 2020/21 |
| Bolton Wanderers | 3 | 2011/12 |
| Burnley | 3 | 2021/22 |
| Queens Park Rangers | 3 | 2014/15 |
| Birmingham City | 3 | 2010/11 |
| Nottingham Forest | 3 | 2022/23 |
| Sheffield United | 3 | 2020/21 |
| Hull City | 3 | 2016/17 |
As you can see on this fairly substantial list of teams to have completed an unwanted Premier League hat-trick, Norwich City stand alone as the side to have been relegated six times from the Premier League. They’ve only played in the EPL for 10 seasons in total, so their six relegations gives them an appalling drop rate of 60%. West Brom are just behind them with five relegations, but that’s from 13 seasons in the Premier League, so their drop rate is slightly less shocking at around 38%.
Sides to just miss out being featured, i.e. those with a brace of Premier League relegations to their names, include the likes of Newcastle United, West Ham, Leeds and even current champions and treble-winners Manchester City. Many may feel it impossible to say City “deserve” this success, or that their fans have earned it. However, some less cold-hearted neutrals may accept that supporters in the blue half of Manchester endured enough misery in the shadow of the reds, and down in the third tier, that this success is rather overdue.
Teams with Four or More Premier League Relegations
Here we’ll go into a little more detail about the seven clubs who have been relegated from the EPL four times or more. Forget about a hat-trick of demotion, these poor teams have gone the extra mile and made it four seasons of agony!
Norwich City – Six Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1994/95, 2004/05, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2019/20, 2021/22
- Best Premier League Finish – 3rd (1992/93)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 21 (2019/20)
It seems difficult to believe, especially for younger readers, but Norwich City had a decent chance of winning the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93. Indeed, the Canaries were perched at the top of the table for almost half the season, with a team featuring the likes of Chris Sutton, Jeremy Goss and Mark Robbins.
In the end they finished in third position, 12 points behind eventual champions Manchester United. Fast forward just two seasons and Norwich found themselves relegated to the second tier – such is life, and some days you are the pigeon, others the statue! That was despite getting a reasonable total of 43 points, though in those days there were 22 teams in the division and hence 42 games in a season, meaning 43 wasn’t quite as good as it might sound.
It took them a while to get back into the EPL, finally regaining their position at English football’s top table for the 2004/05 campaign. Alas, they only amassed 33 points from their 38 games and promptly got sent straight back down. They went down to the third tier before they were able to claw their way back, eventually making it into the Premier League again in 2011/12. They managed a decent stint (for them) in the top flight, and it wasn’t until finishing 18th on 33 points in 2013/14 that the Canaries faced the drop again.
This time, Norwich came back up after just a season in the second tier, but then went straight back down again after earning just 34 points in 2015/16. After three seasons in the second tier, they popped back up for another single-season stint and promptly earned their worst Premier League points total of just 21 points.
They finished bottom that season, but once again yo-yoed straight back up. Unfortunately for Norwich fans, the club hierarchy did not seem able to learn the lessons of the past and could not fix the issues that have seen hem struggle in the Premier League. So it continued, what goes up, often comes straight back down again (at least for the Canaries) and they finished bottom again 2021/22 with just 22 points in the bag.
West Bromwich Albion – Five Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 2002/03, 2005/06, 2008/09, 2017/18, 2020/21
- Best Premier League Finish – 8th (2012/13)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 26 (2002/03 & 2020/21)
West Brom were founder members of the Football League way back in 1888. However, they were in the third tier of English football when the Premier League first got underway in 1992/93. But 10 year later, the Baggies had hauled themselves up to the top flight. With Gary Megson at the helm, West Brom couldn’t compete, however, and finished the 2002/03 season in 19th place with just 26 points on the board (their joint-lowest Premier League total).
The Baggies boinged straight back up after finishing as runners-up in the second tier, and only narrowly avoided relegation from the EPL in 2004/05 when they finished with just 34 points – their victory over Portsmouth on the last day of the season ensuring they remained in the top flight by just a single point. Their total of 34 points remains the lowest total earned by a team in the Premier League while avoiding relegation.
Unfortunately for the Baggies, they couldn’t repeat the trick the following season when they finished in 19th place on 30 points. It took just two seasons to get back up to the EPL, but the Baggies then finished rock bottom of the Prem for the first time. They did exactly the same when next playing in the top flight, nine years later when they got through four managers (including caretakers) while earning a mere 31 points.
Much like Norwich, the club have not managed to use experience to their advantage and appear to be a little too good for the Championship but not quite good enough for the Premier League. West Brom proved this the last time they were in the EPL, in 2020/21, when they finished 19th and equalled their worst total of 26 points.
Leicester City – Four Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1994/95, 2001/02, 2003/04, 2022/23
- Best Premier League Finish – 1st (2015/16)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 28* (2001/02)
*Leicester earned 29 points in 1994/95, but that was a 42-game season so had a lower points-per-game rate.
Leicester City are one of only three sides (along with Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers) to have both won the Premier League title and also to have suffered relegation from it. They are the only side to have won the title and been relegated more than twice, however.
Leicester’s first taste of the Premier League came in 1994/95 after getting promoted through the play-offs the season before. It was a short stay in the top flight, however, as the Foxes earned just 29 points from their 42 games and got sent back down. They bounced back immediately though, again through the play-offs, and then enjoyed a six-season run in the EPL.
That ended badly in 2001/02, however, when they got through four managers in quick succession as they limped to a total of just 28 points from 38 games and finished at the bottom of the division. They lost 5-0 on the opening day against Bolton, who had been in the second tier the season before, and that rather set the tone for what was a truly dismal campaign.
Despite that, however, once again the Foxes came back after just a season in the second tier, this time having gained automatic promotion after finishing in second position. Alas, they lasted only a single season in the EPL and went back down at the end of the 2003/04 campaign after finishing in 18th place on 33 points, six short of 17th-placed Everton.
Leicester then had 10 seasons away from the top flight, including one in the third tier, but in 2013/14 they took the Championship by storm under the managership of Nigel Pearson and won the division with a brilliant total of 102 points. Pearson had a decent enough campaign the following year as the Foxes finished 14th, but the manager was still sacked and replaced by former Chelsea boss, Claudia Ranieri. It was to prove a masterful appointment as – against all the odds – he led Leicester to the Premier League title in 2015-16.
The Foxes enjoyed a decent run in the top flight after that, finishing 12th the following season but then 9th, 9th, 5th, 5th and 8th, the most recent seasons under Brendan Rodgers (who was appointed in February 2019). And then it all went to pot in 2022/23 as Leicester lost six and drew one of their first seven matches.
They improved a little but ultimately there was a feeling that Rodgers had lost his touch somewhat or that the squad hadn’t been sufficiently strengthened to compete effectively. Either way, with just two wins between mid-February and the end of the season, Leicester ended in 18th position on 34 points and went down to the second tier. In April they had ditched Rodgers and whilst new boss Dean Smith enjoyed some decent results at the start of his tenure, it soon went pear-shaped.
Middlesbrough – Four Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1992/93, 1996/97, 2008/09, 2016/17
- Best Premier League Finish – 7th (2004/05)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 28 (2016/17)
Middlesbrough played in the inaugural Premier League season having been promoted from the second tier after finishing as runners-up. It didn’t go well for them, however, as they got relegated with 44 points on the board (back when the division had 22 teams). They had two seasons in the second tier before getting promoted as champions. Their 1995/96 Premier League campaign wasn’t bad either, as Bryan Robson led Boro to a 12th-place finish.
Middlesbrough finished in 19th position the following season and got relegated after being docked three points for not fulfilling a fixture. Had they not been docked the points, they’d have stayed up. Luckily for Boro, they bounced back to the EPL after just a single term in the second tier and thus began a fine run of 11 seasons in the top flight.
During that time, Boro enjoyed some good seasons under former or future England managers Terry Venables, Steve McClaren and Gareth Southgate. Indeed it was Southgate who was in charge when Boro next suffered relegation, in the 2008/09 season, after which Southgate was given a couple of months in the Championship before he was sacked. Boro’s loss was – eventually – England’s gain.
Middlesbrough most recently played in the Premier League in 2016/17… but it was for just one campaign, and a season that saw Boro earn their lowest-ever points total in the EPL with just 28 points from their 38 games. It could have been worse though: Sunderland finished below them on 24 points!
Sunderland – Four Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1996/97, 2002/03, 2005/06, 2016/17
- Best Premier League Finish – 7th (1999/2000 & 2000/01)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 15 (2005/06)
Sunderland’s first run in the Premier League lasted just a single season (1996/97) when the Black Cats were unlucky to be relegated despite having earned 40 points. They were pipped to 17th place by Coventry City who won their final-day match to finish on 41 points. Two campaigns in the second tier followed before the club managed to return to the top flight. Powered on by the goals of Kevin Phillips, the Black Cats finished seventh in the Premier League in both 1999/2000 and 2000/01, but then things went pear-shaped.
A 17th-placed finish in 2001/02 on 40 points rang alarm bells, but the following season was appalling. The Black Cats won just four games all term and ended rock bottom on just 19 points. Things would be even worse than that when Sunderland were next in the top flight, however: in 2005/06 they managed just three wins as they ended the campaign on just 15 points.
Despite that poor showing, they bounced back after just a season and then enjoyed a fine run of 10 seasons in the EPL. Well, they enjoyed nine of them at least. Their last year in the Premier League came in 2016/17 when they finished bottom on 24 points. To rub salt in the wounds, they got relegated to the third tier the following season (though at the time of writing they are back in the Championship).
Crystal Palace – Four Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1992/93, 1994/95, 1997/98, 2004/05
- Best Premier League Finish – 10th (2014/15)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 33 (1997/98 & 2004/05)
To say Crystal Palace were unlucky to get relegated in the inaugural Premier League season is understating things somewhat. After all, they amassed a very respectable total of 49 points and looked well set for another season in the top flight. But then bottom club Oldham Athletic won five of their final nine games, including their last three, to pip Palace to safety on goal difference.
Palace bounced straight back up and then straight back down. They had another single season in the EPL in 1997/98 before it took them six campaigns to get back up after finishing bottom of the pile. Once more they lasted just a single year in the Prem (2004/05) before another relegation.
But that proved their last relegation (to date) because since they got promoted to the top flight at the end of the 2012/13 campaign, they’ve had an impressive run of 10 seasons in the EPL, most of which have seen the Eagles finish comfortably clear of the bottom three.
Watford – Four Relegations
- Seasons Relegated – 1999/2000, 2006/07, 2019/20, 2021/22
- Best Premier League Finish – 11th (2018/19)
- Fewest Premier League Points – 23 (2021/22)
The final side with four Premier League relegations is Watford, who first made it to the EPL for the 1999/2000 campaign, but finished bottom on just 24 points. Their next taste of top-flight action came in 2006/07, again for just a single season, and again with them ending up rock bottom (on 28 points). A five-season Premier League run came between 2015/16 and 2019/20, but they ended up going down in 19th position on 34 points.
Watford’s most recent experience of the top flight came for the 2021/22 campaign, but they again failed to shine, finishing 19th on just 23 points this time around, which is also about the number of managers the club has had in the last 10 years or so!