Southampton’s 5-0 home drubbing at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday 15th December resulted in the sacking of their manager Russell Martin. It also meant that the Saints would be bottom of the Premier League table at Christmas. As any football fan knows, the team that is rock bottom when the turkey and crackers come out will invariably be playing in the second tier the season after. But is there just a glimmer of hope for the beleaguered Southampton fans? In this article, we’ll look back at the fates of the sides that were bottom at Christmas … including one side that surpassed all hopes and dreams the very next season.
Image credit IMP1, flickr.
Premier League Clubs Bottom at Christmas
Let’s start with a summary of the fates of all sides who found themselves at the foot of the Premier League table at Christmas, those shown in bold are the teams that avoided relegation.
| Season | Bottom at Xmas (Points) | Finishing Position (Points) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992/93* | Nottingham Forest (15) | 22nd (40) |
| 1993/94* | Swindon (14) | 22nd (30) |
| 1994/95* | Ipswich (12) | 22nd (27) |
| 1995/96 | Bolton (10) | 20th (29) |
| 1996/97 | Nottingham Forest (13) | 20th (34) |
| 1997/98 | Barnsley (14) | 19th (35) |
| 1998/99 | Nottingham Forest (12) | 20th (30) |
| 1999/2000 | Sheffield Wednesday (6) | 19th (31) |
| 2000/01 | Bradford (12) | 20th (26) |
| 2001/02 | Ipswich (12) | 18th (36) |
| 2002/03 | West Ham (14) | 18th (42) |
| 2003/04 | Wolves (11) | 20th (33) |
| 2004/05 | West Brom (10) | 17th (34) |
| 2005/06 | Sunderland (5) | 20th (15) |
| 2006/07 | Watford (11) | 20th (28) |
| 2007/08 | Derby (7) | 20th (11) |
| 2008/09 | West Brom (15) | 20th (32) |
| 2009/10 | Portsmouth (14) | 20th (19) |
| 2010/11 | West Ham (13) | 20th (33) |
| 2011/12 | Blackburn (10) | 19th (31) |
| 2012/13 | Reading (9) | 19th (25) |
| 2013/14 | Sunderland (10) | 14th (38) |
| 2014/15 | Leicester (10) | 14th (41) |
| 2015/16 | Aston Villa (7) | 20th (17) |
| 2016/17 | Hull (12) | 18th (34) |
| 2017/18 | Swansea (13) | 18th (33) |
| 2018/19 | Fulham (10) | 19th (26) |
| 2019/20 | Watford (12) | 19th (34) |
| 2020/21 | Sheffield United (2) | 20th (23) |
| 2021/22 | Norwich (10) | 20th (22) |
| 2022/23 | Wolves (10) | 13th (41) |
| 2023/24 | Sheffield United (9) | 20th (16) |
| 2024/25 | Southampton (5) | TBD |
*Denotes seasons when the Premier League contained 22 teams (20 teams in other seasons).
The Worst of the Worst
Of the 32 Premier League seasons from 1992/93 to 2023/24, looking at the side that was bottom of the pile on Christmas Day, 18 ended up rock bottom at the end of the season too. In addition, 10 sides managed to claw themselves out of last place by the end of the campaign but still went down. Only four sides who were bottom at Christmas did enough to avoid relegation. In other words, based on this very reasonable sample, 87.5% of teams who were propping up the table while the stockings were being filled ended up in the second tier the following season. (And therefore only 12.5% of said teams survived in the top flight for another season.)
Some sides looked dead and buried by the time the festive fixture frenzy arrived. That could certainly be said for Southampton in 2024/25. Indeed of the other sides who failed to make it into double figures by Christmas in terms of points, every single one ended up relegated, with five finishing at the bottom and the other two in the next-worst spot of 19th.
When it comes to the worst of the worst, however, we have to look to Derby County’s shambles of a season in 2007/08 when they mustered a total of just 11 points from their 38 Premier League matches. Clearly you’re not going to be challenging for silverware when your top scorer in the league has just four goals to his name (that ‘honour’ goes to Kenny Miller).
Manager Billy Davies was replaced towards the end of November 2007 after just one league win. The new man Paul Jewell couldn’t turn things around, however, and didn’t even manage one league win with the Rams. If the Saints make it to 12 points before the end of the season, at least they won’t suffer the indignity currently experienced by Derby.
The Beacons of Hope
As mentioned, four sides who were bottom at Christmas managed to pull their stockings up sufficiently to avoid the drop. Coincidentally, and perhaps surprisingly, all four of those sides had only 10 points on the board on Christmas Day. Here’s how they managed their feats of escapology.
West Bromwich Albion, 2004/05 – 17th
One of the greatest relegation escapes in Premier League history, Bryan Robson had come in to replace Gary Megson in November 2004 and promptly lost seven and drew four of his first 11 league matches. The tables began to turn in late January 2005, however, when the Baggies beat Manchester City 2-0 at the Hawthorns.
Mixed results followed but wins against Birmingham, Charlton, and Everton, along with draws against Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Manchester United (at Old Trafford) at least gave them a fighting chance going into the final day. West Brom got the win against Portsmouth and with Crystal Palace drawing and Norwich and Southampton losing, the Baggies were safe by just a single point.
Sunderland, 2013/14 – 14th
Despite earning just two league wins before Christmas, Sunderland made relatively light work of survival in the end. Gus Poyet had replaced Paolo Di Canio and the Uruguayan’s determined and sometimes eccentric approach worked wonders on Tyneside. The Black Cats won four of their final five games of the campaign, including away at both Chelsea and Manchester United, to finish five points clear of the relegation zone.
Leicester City, 2014/15 – 14th
How different recent footballing history would have been had Leicester failed in their survival bid in 2014/15. But just like Sunderland the season before, in the end the Foxes made survival look relatively easy, despite being bottom at Christmas. Nigel Pearson was in charge at the time and he’d masterminded just two pre-Christmas wins in the league (including an eventful 5-3 triumph over Manchester United). But an incredible run of seven wins from their last nine games moved Leicester well clear of relegation, and also gave them plenty of confidence heading into the following season.
As it turned out, Pearson was sacked for his efforts and was replaced by Claudio Ranieri, an appointment many thought would backfire. But of course they miraculously went on to win the Premier League in 2015/16.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, 2023/24 – 13th
Of all the sides to be at the bottom of the pile at Christmas, Wolves are the side to have finished highest in the table by the end of the campaign. The season was slightly different to normal, however, as there was an extended break from EPL action in the middle due to the Qatar World Cup. Still, the players performed admirably in the second half of the campaign under the guidance of Julen Lopetegui (who had replaced Bruno Lage) to finish in 13th position. They managed wins against the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea as they earned a total of 41 points, seven clear of 18th position… a certain Leicester City!