Top 5: Premier League Survival ‘Great Escapes’

Huddersfield Town were relegated from the Premier League after losing 2-0 to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

The Terriers have only won three of their 32 league games and are 19 points off safety with only six games to go, meaning it is now impossible for them to avoid the drop.

We’ve known for a long time that the West Yorkshire club would be a Championship side next season and it looks likely that Fulham will be joining them, as they find themselves 16 points off 17th placed Burnley, despite having spent big in the summer transfer window.

Cardiff City are looking likely to be the third side to lose their top-flight status after just one season with their controversial 2-1 loss to Chelsea seeing them sit five points adrift of safety.

However, the Bluebirds and boss Neil Warnock will know there have been many cases in the Premier League where teams have looked dead and buried only to come back and make a miraculous escape.

Here we delve into the top five of these ‘great escapes’ in the Premier League era which will give Cardiff City fans hope that they can survive and continue to reap the financial rewards being a member of England’s top-tier offers.

5. West Bromwich Albion – 2004/2005

With just 11 games to play, West Brom found themselves at the bottom of the Premier League table and seven points adrift of safety.

The Baggies had won only two of their 27 games and had the worst attacking record in the league, with only 23 goals.

On the final day, the West Midlands club were still at the foot of the table, though were only two points off survival after an upsurge in form.

A 2-0 victory over Portsmouth – thanks to goals from Geoff Horsfield and Kieran Richardson – was just enough for Bryan Robson’s side, as they finished in 17^th spot after none of their relegation rivals winning their last game.

4. Portsmouth – 2005/06

In their third consecutive season in the top-flight, Portsmouth looked almost certain to go down with 10 games to go.

They were eight points adrift, had the worst attacking record in the league and hadn’t won in eight league games, so it didn’t look good for the Hampshire side.

However, Pompey, whose boss Harry Redknapp and rejoined them in December, then went on a six-game unbeaten run to put them back in contention for Premier League survival.

Then two wins against Sunderland and Wigan Athletic in their final four matches saw Harry Redknapp’s men complete the job, avoiding the drop with a game to spare.

3. Fulham – 2007/08

Six points off safety was where Fulham sat with only five games left of the 2007/08 season.

Roy Hodgson took charge of the West London club midway through the campaign after a poor run of form under Lawrie Sanchez had put them in the relegation battle.

However, winning four of their last five, including a fantastic 3-2 comeback win at Manchester City, saw the Cottagers give themselves a fighting chance.

Hodgson’s escape artists topped it off with a narrow 1-0 win over Portsmouth on the final day to send Reading and Birmingham City down.

2. Leicester City – 2014/15

In the season before Leicester City completed their fairy tale run to the Premier League title, they narrowly avoided being sent immediately back to the second tier.

It was their first season back in the top division since 2004, and with only nine games to play, the Foxes were seven points off safety and hadn’t won in eight games.

However, Nigel Pearson’s men went on to win seven of their last nine games to climb out of the bottom three.

To top it off, they thrashed already relegated QPR 5-1 on the final day of the season to finish 14th.

1. West Ham United – 2006/07

In a turbulent season for West Ham, Icelandic businessman Eggert Magnusson bought the club in November 2006, and sacked manager Alan Pardew a few weeks later.

This did little to steady the ship as the Hammers, who had appointed Alan Curbishley as manager, then won just one of their next 12 matches.

Despite stunning the world of football to sign Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez at the start of the campaign, the Hammers found themselves dead last in the table, 10 points adrift off safety with just nine games to play.

But the East London side produced something close to a miracle by winning seven of their last nine matches, including a 1-0 final day win at champions Manchester United – thanks to Tevez’s sixth goal in nine matches.