With the business end of the Championship season now upon us, we look back at the last time those fighting at the wrong end of the table were in England’s third tier.
It’s been yet another thrilling campaign in the Championship, often touted as one of the toughest leagues in European football. This season has been particularly engrossing, with just one of the top six teams currently receiving the luxury of the Premier League parachute payments.
Coventry City look on course to end their 25-year stay outside the top tier, with Middlesbrough, Millwall and Ipswich Town looking the most likely to steal the second automatic promotion spot. However, the fight at the bottom of the table is equally exciting.
Sheffield Wednesday’s turbulent 12 months means their place in League One is already confirmed, with a series of points deductions seeing them still on negative points. The other two spots are still up for grabs though. West Bromwich Albion, Oxford United, Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth are those that remain in serious trouble.
Leicester and West Brom are perhaps the biggest names on this list and it once seemed incomprehensible that they would be fighting the drop this season. With that said, when did the relegation candidates last occupy a place in League One?
Portsmouth (Currently 19th – 40 points)
Rewind back to 2008, and the future looked bright for Pompey. They had just lifted the FA Cup and were about to embark on a European campaign in the UEFA Cup. Five years later, they were in League Two.
It’s been a steady climb since. Four seasons in the fourth tier were followed by seven in the third, when they eventually returned to the Championship in 2024.
John Mousinho was the man who brought the optimism back to Fratton Park, racking up an impressive 97 points to win League One in 2024. Despite having clinched promotion before the final day, they rocked up at Sincil Bank in party mode, winning 2-0 to end Lincoln City’s play-off hopes. Ironically, it is the Imps who look set to replace Portsmouth should they suffer relegation this season.
The Hampshire-based side do possess a game in hand on those below them.
Blackburn Rovers (Currently 20th – 39 points)
Blackburn were the second team to win the rebranded Premier League in 1995, pipping Manchester United to the title. Five years later, they were relegated.
Although they soon returned to the top tier, they once again dropped out in 2012 and are yet to find their way back. This period has included a solitary campaign in League One, which came during the 2017/18 season.
Under the guidance of Tony Mowbray, the Lancashire-based side initially struggled with life in their new surroundings, losing four of their opening 11 games. However, they lost just two more from mid-October to finish second on 96 points, two behind champions Wigan Athletic.
Leicester City (Currently 21st – 38 points)
The second former Premier League winner on the list, Leicester’s demise has been one of the shocks of the season. Everybody remembers their famous triumph in 2016, and they added to that in 2021 with a first FA Cup victory.
Their relegation to the Championship in 2023 was unexpected and it wasn’t a surprise to see them instantly return by winning the division a year later. However, they endured another disappointing campaign and once again dropped back down a division following an 18th-placed finish.
The Foxes weren’t expected to face another battle this term, but a six-point deduction last month has thrown their survival prospects into turmoil. Although an appeal has been lodged, League One continues to look a very real prospect.
Leicester were last in the third tier during the 2008/09 season, where they spent just one campaign battling the likes of Carlisle United, Yeovil Town and Hartlepool United. The East Midlands-based side romped to the title, finishing seven points clear of second-placed Peterborough United.
Oxford United (Currently 22nd – 38 points)
Like Portsmouth, Oxford are still fairly new to the Championship. They earned promotion from League One in 2024, the same season in which Pompey won the division.
The U’s had been in England’s third tier for eight consecutive seasons after rejoining the division following a second-place finish in League Two in 2016. That stay looked like it would extend when they entered the final day outside the top six. However, they took advantage of a slip by Lincoln City to gatecrash the play-offs.
Des Buckingham guided his team past Peterborough in the semi final to set up a showdown with Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium. Despite entering the game as the underdogs, a Josh Murphy brace saw them return to the second tier for the first time since 1999.
West Bromwich Albion (Currently 23rd – 37 points)
Put simply, West Brom are in real trouble. They have spent the entirety of the 21st century in either the Premier League or the Championship and have had just one two-year stint in the third tier in their entire history.
The Baggies were relegated from the old Division 2 in 1991, spending two seasons in what is now League One. They earned promotion in 1993 via the play-offs following a fourth-placed finish.
The semi final saw the West Midlands-based outfit drawn against Swansea City, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat in the first leg in South Wales. A 2-0 win at the Hawthorns set up a Wembley clash with Port Vale, who had finished third.
The trip to the capital was a successful one, when West Brom earned a comfortable 3-0 win against the Vailants. Playing the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal only five years ago, trips to Bromley, Burton Albion and Exeter City are now on the cards.
Sheffield Wednesday (Currently 24th – -6 points)
The Owls are no longer a relegation candidate, with their place in League One confirmed following a 2-1 defeat at bitter rivals Sheffield United last month.
Wednesday’s turmoils have been well documented and the search for a prospective buyer continues. Reports emerged earlier this week that they are set to be hit with another 15-point deduction ahead of the next campaign.
It’s been just three years since the four-time English champions were in the third tier. After losing to Sunderland in the play-off semi finals in 2022, they performed the most remarkable comeback a year later.
A 4-0 defeat in the semi final first leg against Peterborough was turned around at Hillsborough, where they eventually progressed on penalties following a 5-1 win. Josh Windass was the hero at Wembley Stadium, bagging the only goal of the game in added time of extra time against Barnsley.