Underdogs are always cheered on in any game in hopes of becoming a success story in the league. It’s a great feeling to know about their stories. Maybe this is because, deep down, we’re all hoping for a positive ending for everyone despite the competition.
However, there are teams in the English Premier League that were not only the underdogs that made it through adversity. In an amazing feat, there are some that were also able to greatly exceed everyone’s expectations that all of us are just left in awe.
Find out if your favourite team has made it in our list of underdogs succeeding astronomically in the Premier League.
Burnley FC, 2017/18 Season
For the first time since the mid 1970’s, the Clarets were to play in the consecutive top flight seasons after their finish at the 16th place in their 2016/17 campaign. Later on, they became the crowd’s favourite team that was relegated.
A majority of people rooted for them but what came as a total shock was their opening day victory over defending champions Chelsea. Furthermore, they went on to prove that it was not just pure luck that made them win when they displayed an opening run of form that made them lose only one match in their opening eight.
It was even more impressive considering that their first choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton was abruptly cut off the action due to an injury in just the fourth game of the campaign. It was reserve player Nick Pope and his form that came into the rescue and helped the team immensely to get to the top six in the middle of December.
When the season came to an end, Burnley managed to sit in the seventh place after failing to pick up a win in their last five matches of the season. It wasn’t all that bad though since it was enough for Burnley to compete in the Europa League qualifying rounds for the first time since the 1966/67 season.
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Leicester City FC, 2015/16 Season
It’s arguably the biggest turn of events in football history when Leicester City lifted the Premier League Cup in the 2015/16 season. Before their shocking victory, the team ended their 2014/15 campaign at the 14th spot which was a progress after their ten year absence.
Things looked like it was going to be a repeated performance for the Leicester City since they were tipped to finish in a similar position in the next season. However, Claudio Ranieri turned it all around when he lead his team to the premiership.
Odds were not in their favour but the team as well as its players broke records that season. One of them is Jamie Vardy who broke the record for most consecutive games scored in after he made goals in 11 matches on the trot. For the whole season, the English striker found the net 24 times and was named Premier League Player of the Year.
Ipswich Town FC, 2000/01 Season
As one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992/93, Ipswich Town was able to bag the title for the old second division before that season. However, after three seasons at the top, the team plunged down, only going just as high as the 16th place since then.
Tipped off for relegation, Ipswich started the season as if stuck in the same fate with a 3-1 defeat away at Tottenham. However, people were surprised to see the team shoot up the table with a run of just one defeat in ten games.
In the new year, Ipswich Town was able to be the fourth-highest placed team in the EPL. Later on, they managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup for the first time since 1982 after ending the season at fifth place.
From their efforts, Marcus Stewart closed in on the second spot in the race for the Golden Boot while boss George Burley was awarded the Premier League Manager of the Season title.