With the vast amounts of cash flowing in the Premier League at present, the prospect of relegation is more frightening than ever.
This season is arguably the tightest relegation battle in Premier League history with nine teams realistically facing the prospect of the drop down to the Championship.
The best football betting odds believe that Alan Pardew’s West Brom are the favourites for demotion as they remain seven points off survival.
However, with so many teams in the mix, football betting is expected to go into overdrive in the campaign’s final months.
In honour of this season’s captivating relegation dog fight, here are five of the greatest ever relegation battles in Premier League history.
1993/94
The final day of the 1993/94 season was dominated by the prospect of Everton, who have remained in the top flight of English football for 40 years, being relegated if they lost at home to 6th placed Wimbledon.
Going into the final day, Everton were in the drop zone, trailing Sheffield United, Ipswich Town and Southampton.
After going 2-0 down after 20 minutes, Everton’s Premier League status was diminishing. However, a stunning comeback including a Graham Stuart winner in the 81st minute, ensured a 3-2 win for the Toffees.
Fortunately for Everton and their manager Mike Kendall, Southampton were beaten by West Ham, Ipswich fought out a goalless draw with Blackburn, and Sheffield United were cruelly defeated in the final minute 3-2 by Chelsea.
Sheffield United were relegated alongside Oldham and Swindon Town. Even a win at Stamford Bridge wouldn’t have been enough to save them considering Everton’s late winner.
1995/96
The finish to the 95/96 still remains one of the most spectacular, nerve wrecking endings in Premier League history.
Going into the final day, Bolton Wanderers and Queens Park Rangers had already relegated to the First Division of the Football League, leaving Southampton, Coventry and Manchester City to fight it out on the final day.
All three sides were level on points after the penultimate game of the season, leading to a chaotic finale.
With all three sides drawing on the final day, Manchester City were relegated after being unaware that they needed to clinch a winner against Liverpool in the remaining 12 minutes of the game.
City decided to hold out for a draw after their manager Alan Ball misinformed the players that Southampton were losing and that a point would secure survival.
2004/05
A first for the Premier League, after the penultimate game of the season, no side was mathematically relegated.
With the sides in the bottom three constantly changing throughout the final three games, at the end of it all it was Bryan Robson’s West Brom, Iain Dowie’s Crystal Palace, Harry Redknapp’s Southampton and Nigel Worthington’s Norwich fighting it out for survival on the final day.
Norwich had survival in their own hands, starting the day in 17th, but 90 minutes later a 6-0 defeat away to Fulham ensured they would finish 19th in the table.
Southampton were also relegated after a 2-1 home defeat to third placed Manchester United, as they ended their almost three-decade stint in England’s top flight.
The real excitement took place at both The Hawthorns and The Valley. Crystal Palace were 2-1 up away to Charlton with eight minutes to go, whilst West Brom were 2-0 up against Portsmouth.
Jonathan Fortune’s equaliser for Charlton guaranteed survival for the Baggies. West Brom became the first Premier League side ever to be bottom at Christmas and survive.
2006/07
A relegation battle draped in controversy, the 2006/07 climax was one of the most enthralling in Premier League history and it largely circled around West Ham United and their Icelandic owner Eggert Magnusson.
The Hammers were optimistic at the end of the summer transfer window after completing the shock double signing of Corinthian’s Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.
However poor form from the pair, alongside the remainder of the West Ham side, cost manager Alan Pardew his job in December and he was swiftly replaced by former Charlton manager Alan Curbishley.
With the relegation odds against them, West Ham played out their skin and received 21 points out of their final nine games, including a dramatic final day win away against the champions Manchester United, confirming their place in the Premier League the next season.
However, the controversy continued to linger after Sheffield United, Charlton and Watford were relegated.
Tevez and Mascherano were owned via a third party, which broke Premier League rules. Mascherano exited the club promptly in the January window to join Liverpool, but Tevez played a crucial role in their survival bid.
Instead of receiving a points deduction, which was widely believed to be the deserved punishment, West Ham instead received a £5.5 million fine, leading to Sheffield United launching an appeal over the relegation at the season’s end.
2008/09
A relegation battle that went to the wire, the climax of the 2008/09 season saw the three relegated teams confirmed in the final two weeks of the season.
West Brom were the first to go after losing their 37th game of the campaign 2-0 at home to Liverpool.
The following week, Sunderland, Hull City, Newcastle United and Middlesbrough fought it out for Premier League survival.
All four sides were defeated on the final day, in a straightforward manner, meaning that Middlesbrough would finish the season 19th, and Newcastle, with their all-time top goal scorer Alan Shearer at the helm, finished 18th after a disastrous season that saw them endure four different managers.
With just 11 games to go in the current campaign, the relegation betting odds will continue to fluctuate until the season’s end.
Free bet offers are continuing to be offered from the UK’s top bookmakers, so with things so tight at the bottom, there is plenty of money to be made with odds changing so drastically all the time.
