The Football League consists of 72 clubs all aiming to reach the top and earn promotion to the Premier League. From League Two through to the enthralling Championship, every season sees teams going head-to-head in a bid to go up.
Now, more than three decades since the Premier League was first formed in 1992, all levels of the Football League is packed with clubs who have had a taste of the big time and are striving to experience it again.
In total, ten current Football League clubs featured in the maiden season of the Premier League with each one having different fortunes since that first campaign.
Blackburn Rovers: Champions of England
Blackburn earned promotion to star in the first season of the Premier League and would write their name into the history books. Backed by local businessman Jack Walker, the club was heavily backed to build one of the finest squads in the country. With the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer Alan Shearer leading the line during his formative years with Chris Sutton, Rovers pipped Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United to the title in 1995.
An iconic and revered team, soon the team would struggle, and in 1999, Blackburn were relegated. Coming back up two seasons later, the Lancashire club enjoyed eleven straight campaigns before falling back down in 2012.
Similarly to Leicester City, Blackburn’s title victory is fondly remembered. For football followers keen to see another fairytale triumph, bettors can make Premier League picks by following expert opinions to back their favourite teams each week.
Norwich taking on German Giants Bayern Munich
The Canaries competed in the top-flight regularly throughout the 1980s and were still present for the first-ever Premier League season. Enjoying a stellar campaign, Norwich finished third and qualified for the following season’s UEFA Cup.
Mike Walker’s side famously beat European Football royalty Bayern Munich at the Olympiastadion and triumphed overall to knock the German giants out of the tournament on aggregate. Despite the heroics, the Norfolk club were relegated in 1995 and had to wait nine seasons to return. In recent seasons, Norwich have been tagged as a yo-yo club, earning promotion but then struggling to compete when back in the top flight.
Leeds in the Champions League
One of English football’s famous names, Leeds enjoyed huge success in the 1970s and won the First Division title in 1992 immediately before the Premier League’s inauguration.
Boasting talented players like Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Tony Yeboah, Leeds were exciting to watch and competed at the top end of the table for much of the 90s. It was in 2001 that the side managed by David O’Leary reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
However, while the club looked to be on the cusp of something special, the club was relegated in 2004 due to selling a host of top players amid a financial crisis. The team spent 16 years, even dropping to third tier, before sealing promotion in 2020.
Coventry City’s Premier Record
When the Sky Blues were relegated back in 2001, it brought to an a 34-year run of consecutive seasons in the top-flight. The 21st century has been much less stable, with Coventry dropping down to the fourth tier at one stage.
However, the club is back on an upward trajectory and was a mere penalty kick away from returning to the Premier League in 2023.
Ipswich Town in Europe
Ipswich struggled for the first three seasons in the Premier League and were relegated in 1995. However it was on their return at the turn of the century that the side really shined.
Finishing fifth in 2001 under manager George Burley, the team qualified for the UEFA Cup and defeated Inter at Portman Road. Now flying high in the Championship, fans will be dreaming of a return to those heady days when they played at the San Siro.
Middlesbrough Going All the Way
Middlesbrough have the distinction of reaching both the FA Cup and League Cup final in 1997 despite being relegated in the same year. However, after going one better and lifting the Carling Cup in 2004, they later faced Sevilla in the UEFA Cup final after pulling off some enthralling comebacks.
Summing Up
Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Rangers, and AFC Wimbledon (then Wimbledon) also featured in the first season of the Premier League.
The Saints have enjoyed more than 20 campaigns in the top-flight and reached the FA Cup final against Arsenal in 2003. Sheffield Wednesday also faced the Gunners in the 1993 League Cup final but have now spent more than two decades outside the top flight. QPR, meanwhile, are part of Premier League history, perhaps most famously as the opposition when Manchester City sensationally clinched the title ahead of rivals United in May 2012.
While the top flight is where all clubs in England aim to compete, the Championship is one of the most exciting and toughest divisions in the world and now hosts a plethora of clubs who have experienced the glamour of the Premier League and competition of the second tier.
