The five best league finishes by promoted clubs in the Premier League era | OneFootball

Every season of the Premier League sees three new sides promoted to the top flight, but which of these sides have had the best seasons?

Most sides who come up from the Championship (formerly Division One) have their sights firmly set on survival, with 17th place, and previously 19th (22-team league until 1995/96), being seen as very successful first seasons in the big league.

The ever-expanding gap between the Premier League and lower league football in England has made the leap even harder for clubs, but some have bucked the trend in the 30+ years of the new league, with a select few even qualifying for Europe.

Let’s look at the five best league finishes by promoted clubs in the Premier League era - in the case that two sides have the same position, points tally and then goal difference will be taken into account.

5. Sunderland 1999/2000 – Seventh

31 Oct 1999: Niall Quinn of Sunderland celebrates his goal against Tottenham Hotspur with team mates Stefan Schwarz and Kevin Phillips during the FA Carling Premiership match at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England. Sunderland won 2-1. MandatoryCredit: Clive Brunskill /Allsport

The Black Cats had won Division One at a canter, accumulating a then-record 105 points. This momentum carried them into the Premier League in 1999/2000, as they missed out on European qualification on goal difference to Aston Villa.

At Christmas, Peter Reid’s men were third in the table but fell off to finish seventh, which remains their joint-best Premier League finish. Kevin Phillips was the clear standout, smashing in 30 league goals to win both the Premier League and European Golden Boot. He and Niall Quinn remain an iconic partnership in the club’s history.

4. Ipswich Town 2000/01 – Fifth

17 Mar 2001: Martijn Reuser celebrates scoring the winner for Ipswich Town during the FA Carling Premier League match against West Ham played at Upton Park in London. Ipswich won the game 1-0. Picture by Steve Bardens. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK /Allsport

The Tractor Boys had last been seen in the Premier League in 1994/95, where they suffered the ignominy of a 9-0 defeat to Manchester United. Several seasons of narrowly missing promotion followed before George Burley took them up in the 1999/2000 playoffs.

What followed was a spectacular fifth-placed finish, with Marcus Stewart leading their charge into the UEFA Cup with 19 league goals. It was the club’s best league season since Bobby Robson’s 1980s heyday.

Sadly, the tractor quickly ran out of gas as they were relegated the following season despite Portman Road playing host to European football. They haven’t been back in the big time since.

3. Blackburn Rovers 1992/93 – Fourth

3 May 1993: Blackburn Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish during the FA Carling Premier League match against Manchester United at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. Mandatory Credit: Shaun Botterill /Allsport

Rovers' golden period under Jack Walker began the season before when they hired Liverpool’s title-winning manager Kenny Dalglish, who returned to the game after taking some time off following the trauma of the Hillsborough stadium disaster.

Promotion came through the playoffs and Walker then flexed his financial muscle by signing Alan Shearer for a then-British record transfer fee from Southampton, as well as future title winners Graeme Le Saux and Henning Berg.

They arguably would have challenged Manchester United for the title if not for a midseason injury to Shearer, but they would only have to wait two years until their ultimate success came.

2. Nottingham Forest 1994/95 – Third

17 OCT 1994: STAN COLLYMORE CELEBRATES AFTER SCORING NOTTINGHAM FOREST's SECOND GOAL AGAINST WIMBLEDON IN THE FA PREMIERSHIP AT THE CITY GROUND, NOTTINGHAM. Mandatory Credit: Mike Cooper/ALLSPORT

Forest had been relegated in Brian Clough’s last season, which meant they spent their first year in the second tier since 1976/77 (they won the league in 1977/78 upon promotion but this is a post-1992 list). They bounced straight back up with Stan Collymore at the heart of everything.

Stan the Man’s form continued in the top flight, banging in 22 league goals to help Frank Clark’s side to a seriously impressive third-place finish, meaning UEFA Cup football would be on show at the City Ground the next season.

This was as good as it got for Forest as Collymore left for Liverpool and a failure to replace him adequately meant they got relegated just two seasons later. One more yo-yo between the leagues came before they were consigned to lower-league football for 23 straight seasons (1999-2022).

1. Newcastle United 1993/94 – Third

Newcastle forward Andy Cole (L) battles with Peter Atherton during the FA Premiership match between Newcastle United and Sheffield Wednesday at St James' Park on October 22, 1994, in Newcastle, England. (Photo by Chris Cole/Allsport UK/Getty Images)

The Magpies top this list above Forest by virtue of their better goal difference, which is +41 to +29 in their favour. Both sides earned 77 points from the then-42 league game season.

Kevin Keegan had taken over in February 1992 with the club facing relegation to the third tier of English football. Less than 18 months later, he brought them into the Premier League as champions and immediately set about making them one of the best sides in the country.

Peter Beardsley was signed, returning to both his boyhood club and a side he had played for in the 1980s and was partnered up top by Andy Cole. The pair hit a combined 55 league goals - Cole’s 34 landing him both the Golden Boot and PFA Young Player of the Year.

The free-flowing football that became synonymous with Keegan led to a third-placed finish behind Blackburn and champions Manchester United, which meant UEFA Cup football for the Geordies. Soon, Newcastle would be challenging for the title in the most exciting period of their modern history.