Tottenham Hotspur have been in the top division of English football since the 1978-79 season, a 48-campaign stay that has seen them play 1,866 league games, score 2,841 league goals and move to a state-of-the-art new stadium.
Yet with 12 games to go in their 2025-26 Premier League campaign, they are perilously close to the relegation zone — sitting 16th and just five points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United after failing to win any of their last eight league matches.
If Tottenham were to drop into the Championship it would be one of the biggest stories in the English game so far this century, particularly given that Manchester United are the only club in the country with a higher-capacity home ground than them and also that the north London side reached the Champions League final as recently as 2019, and won the Europa League just last season.
There is still a long way to go, of course — and the dismissal of Thomas Frank and appointment of Igor Tudor as interim head coach may lead to an improvement on the pitch — but nevertheless, what would arguably be the most notable relegation since Manchester United went down in 1973-74 is a very real prospect.
So with that scenario in mind, The Athletic lists the 20 current Premier League clubs by how long they have been in the English top flight and details the stories of their most-recent relegation from it and eventual return to the domestic elite.
Editor’s note: The English top flight has existed since the 1888-89 season and was part of the Football League until 1992, when the Premier League was formed (and became the top division).
Arsenal: in the top flight since 1919-20
Arsenal were relegated from the old First Division at the end of the 1912-13 season and played two campaigns in the second tier before competitive football was suspended in the summer of 1915 as a result of the First World War.
The north London club finished that second season (1914-15) in fifth position but upon the resumption of the game — in one of the most controversial episodes in the history of English sport — were ‘elected’ to the top flight to replace Tottenham, despite the fact Barnsley and Wolverhampton Wanderers, who had finished above them in the second tier in 1914-15, stayed down.
Arsenal have been in the top flight ever since, with this campaign their 100th in a row in it. In this period, they have won the title 13 times, with their worst finish being 20th in 1924-25 (out of 22 teams, with the bottom two getting relegated).
It all means that there are now just seven people in the United Kingdom who were alive when Arsenal last played a league game outside the top flight of English football in April 1915.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1912-13
Arsenal preparing to kick off the 1919-20 First Division season – they have been a top-tier club ever since (Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)
Everton: in the top flight since 1954-55
Everton are the second-longest serving club in the top flight — and have actually spent the highest number of total seasons in it.
This campaign is their 72nd in a row in the division, following a narrow promotion ahead of Blackburn Rovers at the end of 1953-54. They have won the title four times in the intervening years, doing so most recently in 1986-87 under Howard Kendall.
The Merseyside club have had several brushes with relegation during their on-going top-flight stay, notably beating Wimbledon in their last game of 1993-94 to stay up and also surviving on goal difference in 1997-98 at the expense of Bolton Wanderers. More recently, they were in trouble for much of the second half of the 2021-22 campaign but three wins in the May under Frank Lampard ensured they maintained their long-running top-tier status.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1950-51
Liverpool: in the top flight since 1962-63
The joint-record 20-time title winners have been in the top division for more than 60 years running now, and haven’t finished outside the top eight once in this time.
They had been relegated in 1953-54 and spent eight seasons in the Second Division before returning to the top tier under Bill Shankly.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1953-54
Manchester United: in the top flight since 1975-76
Manchester United’s relegation in 1973-74 came just six years after they became the first English club to win the European Cup (today’s Champions League). They bounced back at the first time of asking, however, after manager Tommy Docherty kept his job despite them going down.
United have, for the most part, had an outsized presence in the domestic game over the ensuing years — winning the title in 13 of the Premier League era’s first 21 seasons following the competition’s launch in 1992-93.
The 2024-25 campaign, when they finished 15th, was their worst in the top flight since 1973-74.
This is United’s 51st season in a row in the First Division/Premier League, which makes them, along with Arsenal (100), Everton (72) and Liverpool (64), one of four clubs to be on a current streak of more than 50 campaigns in the division.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1973-74
Manchester United fans on the Old Trafford turf after relegation had been confirmed in 1974 (PA Images via Getty Images)
Tottenham Hotspur: in the top flight since 1978-79
Tottenham came 22nd and bottom of the First Division in 1976-77, despite the fact that six teams won fewer games than their 12. They also scored more goals than 11th-placed Leicester City.
They retained the services of manager Keith Burkinshaw and were rewarded with promotion at the first time of asking in 1977-78, edging Brighton & Hove Albion out on goal difference despite winning just two of their final eight matches.
The London club have been in the top flight ever since, with their second-place showing in 2016-17 their best performance in this time.
As for their worst, that was — as things stand — last season under Ange Postecoglou when they came 17th.
Tottenham are, along with Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United, one of five clubs that have been in the top flight continuously since the introduction of three points for a win in 1981-82 (it had been two before).
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1976-77
Chelsea: in the top flight since 1989-90
Chelsea are the sixth and final club that have played in every Premier League season, being promoted to the top flight for the 1989-90 campaign.
Their last relegation, in 1987-88, came in unique circumstances: They finished 18th in the 21-team First Division and while the three sides below them automatically went down, the London club entered a four-team play-off contest with Middlesbrough, Bradford City and Blackburn (who had come third, fourth and fifth in the Second Division).
Chelsea won their two-legged semi-final against Blackburn but lost 2-1 on aggregate over two games in the final to Middlesbrough and were thus demoted. This system has only been used twice and in the first instance, which was the season before, top-flight Charlton Athletic triumphed to remain in the First Division.
Like Manchester United and Tottenham before them, Chelsea kept faith in their manager (Bobby Campbell), were promoted back to the First Division straight away and have been there ever since.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1987-88
Action from Chelsea’s play-off final with Middlesbrough in 1988 (Allan Olley/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Manchester City: in the top flight since 2002-03
This is Manchester City’s 24th consecutive season in the top division, following promotion in 2001-02. The 16th-place showing in 2003-04 is City’s lowest since they returned to the top tier, with their fortunes as a club transformed following the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008.
The 2009-10 campaign, when they came fifth, is the last time they finished outside the top four.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2000-01
West Ham United: in the top flight since 2012-13
Like Tottenham, West Ham are playing in a big stadium and battling for top-flight survival.
They are the highest-placed team on this particular list who have never won the title at any point, with third place in 1985-86 their best finish in the top tier.
As for their best showing since returning to the top flight permanently in the 2012-13 season, that’s when they came sixth in 2020-21 under David Moyes.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2010-11
Crystal Palace: in the top flight since 2013-14
Crystal Palace have been in the top tier since winning the 2012-13 Championship (second tier) play-off final against Watford thanks to Kevin Phillips’ extra-time penalty.
That is 13 seasons in a row now, and they have finished from 10th to 15th position in all of the previous 12. Palace are, typically, in 13th right now and should, really, enjoy another season at the top table in 2026-27.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2004-05
Phillips seals Palace’s return to the Premier League – they have been there ever since (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Brighton & Hove Albion: in the top flight since 2017-18
This is Brighton’s second and longest spell in the top tier of English football, following a four-season stay from 1979-80 to 1982-83.
They are, right now, an established presence in the division — but we know how quickly things can change in an era of ever-widening financial differences between the biggest and even mid-size clubs.
Brighton will almost certainly make it 10 campaigns in a row in 2026-27, which is an achievement not to be sniffed at.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1982-83
Newcastle United: in the top flight since 2017-18
Newcastle’s recent relegations in 2008-09 and 2015-16 were seismic; a proud club suffering the ignominy of demotion to the second tier. They bounced back at the first time of asking on both occasions, however, and have stayed in the top division since re-entering it in 2017-18.
There appears to be little chance of another relegation any time soon, with this campaign being their second in the Champions League since that return to the top flight of English football nine seasons ago.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2015-16
Wolverhampton Wanderers: in the top flight since 2018-19
Wolves’ eight-season stint in the top flight will almost certainly come to an end in May, as they are bottom of the table and 17 points short of the safety of 17th place with 11 games to go.
They have done well to last this long back among the elite, though, and along the way have had two seventh-placed finishes and made the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2019-20.
Their last relegation from the top tier in 2011-12 was also a foregone conclusion long before the end of the season, with the club winning just one league game after December 4. They were then relegated again to League One (third tier) a year later before working their way back to the Premier League in time for the 2018-19 season.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2011-12
Wolves contemplating relegation from the Premier League in 2012 (Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images)
Aston Villa: in the top flight since 2019-20
Aston Villa, like Newcastle, were notable casualties of the 2015-16 season — with the Birmingham side dropping out of the top flight for the first time in the Premier League era (their last campaign in the second tier before 2016-17 came in 1987-88).
They spent three seasons trying to return to the big time, losing in the Championship play-off final in the second of them, before securing promotion via that same route a year later.
They are now well established back in the Premier League and under manager Unai Emery (who was appointed in late 2022) are currently third in the table, having reached the Champions League quarter-finals last season.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2015-16
Brentford: in the top flight since 2021-22
The 2021-22 season was Brentford’s first in the top flight since 1946-47, with the gap of 74 seasons the longest between appearances in the division.
That relegation in 1946-47 ended a five-campaign stay in the top division that had begun in 1935-36 (seven seasons of English league football were cancelled as a result of the Second World War) and Brentford subsequently moved up and down the leagues for the remainder of the 20th century and well into the 21st.
Then under Frank, the recently-departed Tottenham boss, they lost the 2019-20 Championship play-off final to local rivals Fulham, before getting over the line the following season by beating Swansea City in the same game.
The club have done well since then and under Frank’s replacement, Keith Andrews, are currently seventh in the league.
Brentford’s best-ever top-flight finish is fifth, which was achieved in 1935-36 under Harry Curtis — a manager who plied his trade at Gnome Athletic and Gillingham before taking charge of the west London club in the mid-1920s. Could Andrews match or surpass that come May?
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1946-47
Bournemouth: in the top flight since 2022-23
This is Bournemouth’s fourth season in a row back in the Premier League following promotion in 2021-22.
Their first-ever campaign in the top tier was in 2015-16, with the south-coast club then surviving in it until they went down at the end of 2019-20.
They took just two seasons to get promoted again, and will almost certainly be in the division in 2026-27 given their current position of ninth.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2019-20
Fulham: in the top flight since 2022-23
Fulham have been relegated out of the Premier League three times from 2013-14 onwards, but have returned on each occasion.
This is their fourth season in a row in the top tier, finishing a comfortable 10th, 13th and 11th in the previous three. The last time they finished higher than 10th in the division came in 2011-12 (ninth).
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2020-21
Nottingham Forest: in the top flight since 2022-23
Like Bournemouth and Fulham, Nottingham Forest were promoted at the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign and have remained in the top tier.
Unlike Bournemouth and Fulham, however, Forest are former champions: Winning the title in 1977-78. That triumph under Brian Clough, remarkably, came in their first season back in the top flight following promotion from the Second Division in 1976-77.
After that, they were relegated three times in the 1990s, with the last of them — in 1998-99 — not seeing them return to the top flight until 2022-23.
They are in a battle to survive right now, though, and it remains to be seen whether they will reach five seasons in a row in the top tier.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 1998-99
Forest’s last relegation from the Premier League came in 1999. There’s a risk of a repeat in 2026 (Gary M Prior/Allsport)
Burnley: in the top flight since 2025-26
This is Burnley’s first season back in the top tier following relegation in 2023-24 and it looks like being a fleeting visit — Scott Parker’s team are nine points adrift of safety and it would take a huge improvement for them to stay up now.
Relegation would be their fifth out of the top division from 2009-10 onwards, while their 7th-place showing in 2017-18 marked their highest finish in the top flight since coming sixth in 1973-74.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2023-24
Leeds United: in the top flight since 2025-26
Under Daniel Farke, Leeds will be hoping to make it back-to-back seasons in the Premier League come the start of 2026-27; and they look far more likely to achieve this now than they did two months ago.
Their initial return to the Premier League in 2020-21 marked their first appearance in the top division since 2003-04, but they were relegated after three seasons.
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2022-23
Sunderland: in the top flight since 2025-26
Sunderland were the last team still unbeaten at home in the top tier this season, but their loss to Liverpool at The Stadium of Light last week ended that record.
The club have returned to the division following back-to-back relegations in 2016-17 and 2017-18 that saw them drop from the Premier League to League One.
They are in 11th place right now, with the 2010-11 campaign the last time they registered a top-10 finish in the top flight (10th).
Most recent relegation from top flight: 2016-17