As the Christmas fixtures come thick and fast, the clubs at the bottom end of the table need to start seriously thinking about the threat of relegation. Yes, there have been a few great escapes over the years, but more often than not, if you’re bottom at Christmas, you’re going down.
It has become fashionable for one of the promoted clubs to bring up the rear when Christmas comes around, and 2024/25 saw an extremely predictable relegation battle – if you could call it one – with all three eventually going down. But has this always been the way?
Football FanCast is here to take a look at every club at the bottom of the Premier League at Christmas since December 1992. Just four clubs can claim to be bottom at Christmas and live to tell the tale…
1992/93 Nottingham Forest (relegated)
Sheffield United
20
21
Wimbledon
20
19
Nottingham Forest
20
15
With the original Premier League format being made up of 22 teams, each of the clubs that went down had over 40 points. Sheffield United and Wimbledon escaped, but Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest would end up going down along with Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace – the latter of whom went down on goal difference despite a haul of 49 points.
Every club top of the Premier League at Christmas in history
Football FanCast breaks down every club top at Christmas in Premier League history.
ByAlex Roberts 1993/94 Swindon Town (relegated)
Chelsea
19
15
Southampton
21
14
Swindon Town
21
14
Swindon Town’s only season in the Premier League ended in heartbreak as they were sent back down immediately, while Chelsea and Southampton both made it out of the relegation zone, with Oldham Athletic and Sheffield United taking their places. Where would Chelsea be now if they went down in 1994? Unfortunately, it’s safe to say the Robins never recovered themselves.
1994/95 Ipswich Town (relegated)
Everton
19
19
Aston Villa
19
16
Leicester City
19
14
Ipswich Town
19
12
As the league looked to switch to a 20-team format, four teams went down in the 1994/95 season. A late surge from Aston Villa saw them narrowly avoid relegation, with Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Norwich City and Crystal Palace the unlucky sides to get relegated.
Palace again seemed to be hard done by amid the changes to the league, with the Eagles finishing fourth-bottom despite having the joint-second-best defence in the bottom half. In fact, only 7 of the other 21 clubs conceded more often than Alan Smith’s side, but their lack of goals did for them in the end.
1995/96 Bolton Wanderers (relegated)
Wimbledon
19
15
Coventry City
19
15
Bolton Wanderers
19
10
There may now only be 20 teams in the league, but three teams still had to go down. Wimbledon and Coventry City managed to battle their way out of the bottom three, as QPR and pre-state-funded Manchester City went down. Along with Southampton, Coventry escaped by the skin of their teeth, having amassed the same points tally as their fellow Sky Blues, but with a kinder goal difference. Bolton would stay dead last.
1996/97 Nottingham Forest (relegated)
Middlesbrough
18
15
Blackburn Rovers
17
13
Nottingham Forest
18
13
Blackburn Rovers were the only club in the bottom three on Christmas Day 1996 to stay in the Premier League. Nottingham Forest remained rock-bottom with Middlesbrough and Sunderland rounding off the bottom three come May, heading down to Division One in the process.
Middlesbrough may have stayed up but for their infamous points deduction, which was ultimately the difference between staying up and going down.
To Rovers’ credit, they recovered to finish 13th, albeit by a margin of two points above the drop.
1997/98 Barnsley (relegated)
Tottenham Hotspur
19
19
Everton
19
17
Barnsley
19
14
It would have been a huge shock if either Tottenham or Everton ended up going down – less so for Barnsley. Despite their poor seasons, both ‘big’ clubs managed to stay up, eventually being replaced by Crystal Palace and Bolton Wanderers. It wasn’t all bad for Barnsley as they didn’t finish last, that dubious honour belonged to Crystal Palace.
Everton still took it to the final day as they scraped a draw with Coventry City to stay afloat at the Trotters’ expense.
1998/99 Nottingham Forest (relegated)
Blackburn Rovers
18
14
Southampton
18
13
Nottingham Forest
18
12
Blackburn Rovers had been Premier League champions in 1994/95, but in 1998/99 they went down. Five years is a long time in football. Nottingham Forest once again remained rock bottom after being in the same position at Christmas.
Southampton escaped and were replaced by Charlton Athletic – the Saints’ survival helped by a commendable haul of 28 points post-Christmas.
1999/00 Sheffield Wednesday (relegated)
Derby County
18
15
Watford
18
11
Sheffield Wednesday
17
6
Six points at Christmas is dire, by anyone’s standards. Sheffield Wednesday would go on to get an impressive 25 points after the big day, but it wasn’t enough to keep them in the league. They were joined by Watford and Wimbledon.
Derby managed to escape the drop relatively comfortably as it was Bradford City made to sweat for their Premier League lives come the final day.
2000/01 Bradford City (relegated)
Coventry City
19
16
Middlesbrough
19
15
Bradford City
19
12
Middlesbrough were lucky enough to escape the relegation zone before the season ended, as it was Manchester City who suffered relegation. Boro would nearly triple their pre-Christmas tally to stay in the top flight, while City couldn’t even repeat their halfway total of 18 as they went down with Coventry and Bradford, neither of whom have been seen in the Premier League since.
2001/02 Ipswich Town (relegated)
Derby County
18
16
Leicester City
18
15
Ipswich Town
18
12
The same bottom three that were there at Christmas ended up going down, although the order was a little different. Ipswich made a valiant effort, making it from 20th to 18th, but they weren’t good enough in the end. Leicester City finished bottom, with Derby County just two points above them at the end of the campaign.
Yet another campaign when the bottom club at Christmas couldn’t make it out…
