Manchester United next? Eight teams who won the title from 15th or lower
Manchester United fans will be hoping the arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo can be a catalyst for an Old Trafford revival after a dismal 2024/25 that ended with Ruben Amorim’s side firmly in the bottom half of the table.
Despite that, the Red Devils are still sixth favourites to become Premier League champions in 2026, but only eight sides have won the title after finishing 15th or lower the previous season since the inaugural top-flight campaign of 1888/89.
Everton – champions in 1914/15 from 15th in 1913/14
1914/15 was the final season of professional football before World War One saw the game suspended until 1919. Everton would hold on to the reigning champions tag for those five years, finishing one point above second-placed Oldham Athletic – the Latics’ highest ever position in the football pyramid. The previous campaign saw the Toffees escape relegation by just five points.
Manchester City – champions in 1967/68 from 15th in 1966/67
Before Sheikh Mansour’s billions propelled Manchester City to the top, the Citizens only had two league titles to their name. The first came in 1937, with the following season ending in the drop to give the club the unwanted distinction of becoming the only reigning champions to suffer relegation.
A second top-flight triumph came in 1968, when Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison guided their side marginally clear of local rivals Manchester United a year after finishing 21 points behind the Red Devils.
Everton – champions in 1927/28 from 20th in 1926/27
1927/28 will always be remembered as the season Everton legend Dixie Dean scored a record-breaking 60 league goals. Unsurprisingly that seemingly unsurpassable feat secured the Toffees the title, one year after the club narrowly escaped relegation. Dean still managed to find the net 21 times even though his side ended the campaign just one spot clear of the drop zone.
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Liverpool – champions in 1905/06 from 1st in Division 2 in 1904/05
Everton aren’t the only club on Merseyside that have defied the odds in a title race. Back in 1905 Liverpool became the first club to win the top flight straight after gaining promotion from the second tier. The Reds enjoyed a long spell in Division One from that point, not suffering another relegation until 1955.
Everton – champions in 1931/32 from 1st in Division 2 in 1930/31
Everton have some serious form for becoming champions a year after a lowly finish and their 1931/32 campaign tops the lot. Dean was the hero yet again, bagging 45 goals in the league after the Toffees came up as Division Two winners.
An embarrassing relegation to the second tier for the first time in the club’s history, just a couple of seasons after the 1928 title, was met by an incredible resurgence from the Goodison Park outfit.
Tottenham – champions in 1950/51 from 1st in Division 2 in 1949/50
Tottenham Hotspur’s first ever league title in 1951 came a season after the Lilywhites won the Second Division. Arthur Rowe’s men finished four points clear of Matt Busby’s Manchester United and featured future double-winning boss Bill Nicholson and a very famous right-back who would repeat the back-to-back-champions accomplishment as a manager.
Ipswich Town – champions in 1961/62 from 1st in Division 2 in 1960/61
That man is none other than England’s World Cup-winning mastermind Alf Ramsey, who led Ipswich Town to their first and only Division One title in 1962. Incredibly it was the Tractor Boys’ maiden campaign at the highest level, having played in the Third Division South just five years prior to topping the English football pyramid.
Nottingham Forest – champions in 1977/78 from 3rd in Division 2 in 1976/77
While Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and Ipswich all lifted the title a season after winning promotion, Nottingham Forest remain the only club to achieve that incredible feat without coming up as champions. Brian Clough’s side finished third in the second tier in 1977 but a year later an outstanding 26-game unbeaten streak saw them top Division One.
Two successful continental campaigns in the years that followed gave the club the unique distinction of having more European Cups than domestic league titles.
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