English Footballing Dynasties and Fallen Giants
NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND - The trophies that were won under Nottingham Forest's Brian Clough are presented.
Footballing Dynasties and Fallen Giants
Every dynasty has to fall one day. Some cope with it well, others drift into the wilderness. English Football has witnessed numerous teams have a period of success and then fall off the cliff.
So, who are these fallen giants in English Football and will they ever return to the heights they once reached?
1. Leeds United
With a Champions League semi-final appearance as recently as the 2000/01 season, Leeds snowballed into uncertainty after that. The three times League Champions were a force to be reckoned with in the late 60s and early 70s.
Leeds won two league titles, FA Cup, and League Cup, and reached a European Cup final during that period. After that, success has largely eluded the Yorkshire club with a solitary League title in the 91/92 season to show.
The Whites got relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2003/04 season and spent the best part of the decade and a half in the Championship, even falling down to League One for three years in between.
Leeds United earned promotion back to the Premier League in 2020 and spent three seasons in the league before getting relegated to Championship again. Time will tell if Leeds can regain their good old days but with new owners and a new manager at the helm, there is cause for optimism.
2. Nottingham Forest
Arguably the greatest fallen giant on our list. Forest won back-to-back European Cups in 1978 and 1979, they also won the League Title in 1977. Forest has also won the League Cup 4 times and the FA Cup twice.
Nottingham Forest was one of the giants of English Football in the late 70s and early 80s. They competed on every front under Brian Clough. It was in the inaugural Premier League season when their downturn in fortune started. Forest were relegated from the Premier League in the very first season.
After their relegation, Forest yo-yo’ed between Premier League and Championship for 8 years before eventually staying in the Championship and then sliding down to League One due to bad management both on and off the field.
Nottingham Forest currently is owned by Evangelos Marinakis and managed by Steve Cooper. Forest gained Premier League promotion under Cooper who helped them stay in the league and now they can build on that. Forest under Steve Cooper looks likely to go upwards rather than downwards. The future certainly looks bright and stable.
3. Sunderland
Sunderland was indeed once “THE” team of English Football. They have won six League titles, almost all of them won in and around the formation of the football league. Their last league title was in 1935/36.
Sunderland is not only a fallen giant but they are a fallen asleep giant. The Black Cats’ last major trophy was the 1972/73 FA Cup after that it has been a barren spell. They have spent more time struggling in every league they have played in since their last trophy than competing for major honours. Sunderland once got relegated with a then-record low 19 points in 2003.
The Stadium of Light residents have played more in the Championship and League One than in the Premier League since the turn of the millennium.
Sunderland’s current set-up is very promising, they are owned by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus(Louis-Dreyfus family) and managed by Tony Mowbray, who helped them finish in the play-off place last season but they missed out on promotion. The future certainly looks bright for the Tyne and Wear Side.
4. Sheffield Wednesday
Having just managed to gain promotion back into the Championship after a two-year hiatus, Wednesday is still as far from their glory days as they have been. The Owls have won the League on four occasions, but all four titles were won in the early 1900s-1920s.
Wednesday’s last major honour was the 1990/91 League Cup trophy. Since then, Sheffield Wednesday has struggled to find consistency. After finishing 3rd in the old Division One in 1991, Wednesday was then one of the founding members of the Premier League and also played in the UEFA Cup the following season.
Sheffield Wednesday has since then disappointed domestically. They have been a Championship side for far too long since the turn of the millennium. Dephjan Chansiri, the owner of Sheffield Wednesday, recently sacked Darren Moore after the latter helped the Owl to gain promotion back to Championship from League One.
Out of all the clubs we have listed, Wednesday is the most likely to struggle even further before any talks of a turnaround.
Honourable Mentions
- Portsmouth
- Ipswich Town
- Derby County
- West Bromwich Albion
