“How many teams have rallied to survive after being bottom of the English top flight at Christmas?” asks George Jones. “And did any of these clubs do it without sacking a manager.”
“Nigel Pearson’s great-escaping Leicester City team of 2014-15 fit the bill – and then some, since as per George’s follow-up question, he survived the entire season (though not much longer),” writes Jack Hayward, who has gone above and beyond in answering this question. “On Christmas Day 2014, the Foxes were bottom of the Premier League, with only two wins and 10 points. They were still bottom as late as 18 April, when a 2-0 win over Swansea, plus QPR and Burnley dropping points, lifted them into 18th. A few weeks later, they had finished a lofty 14th and laid the foundation for the most extraordinary story in English top-flight history.
“They may be the most famous, but they’re not the team that climbed the most places from bottom at Christmas in the Premier League era. On Christmas Day 2022, Wolves, lacking a new manager bounce under Julen Lopetegui, were bottom of the table, again on just 10 points. A 2-1 Boxing Day win at Everton began a comeback that would see Wolves end the 2022-23 season in 13th place. Leeds United, the side who were 13th at Christmas, would end up being relegated. In the 2013-14 season, Sunderland also mirrored Leicester’s feat, having been bottom at Christmas but managing to climb to a 14th-placed finish under Gus Poyet.
“Even greater than any of the above escapes was West Brom’s in 2004-05. As well as holding up the table at Christmas, they were bottom at kick-off on the final day, when a 2-0 win against Portsmouth, as well as other results going their way, earned Bryan Robson’s men survival, becoming the first team to be bottom of the Premier League on 25 December to stay up.
“If we check the pre-Premier League era, we see even more examples. In the 1990-91 First Division, Sheffield United went into the Boxing Day fixtures at the foot of the table, but had climbed all the way up to 13th when all was said and done. QPR, their festive dropzone-mates (only two teams were relegated that season), finished as high as 12th. The previous season, in 1989-90, Manchester City were bottom at Christmas and finished 14th. Millwall, who were 14th at Christmas, finished bottom.
“The last one I will elaborate on is the 1948-49 season. Huddersfield Town were bottom on Christmas morning, but after the matches played that day, Aston Villa were looking up at the rest – neither team would go down that season. In fact, Villa came back to finish 10th, which is the highest a club has ever finished after being bottom at Christmas.
“For brevity’s sake, here’s every English top-flight team I could find who survived despite being bottom on 25 December, along with the position they finished in.”
1903-04 Small Heath (11th)
1905-06 Bury (17th)**
1906-07 Notts County (18th)
1908-09 Bradford City (18th)*
1910-11 Manchester City (17th)
1914-15 Notts County (16th)
1921-22 Arsenal (17th)
1922-23 Arsenal (11th)
1925-26 Burnley (20th)
1927-28 Portsmouth (20th)
1929-30 Grimsby Town (18th)
1932-33 Wolverhampton Wanderers (20th)
1933-34 Chelsea (19th)
1937-38 Portsmouth (19th)
1946-47 Huddersfield Town (20th)
1948-49 Aston Villa (10th) and Huddersfield Town (20th)
1955-56 Aston Villa (20th)
1957-58 Leicester City (18th)
1965-66 Fulham (20th)
1967-68 Coventry City (20th)
1973-74 West Ham United (18th)
1982-83 Birmingham City (17th)
1986-87 Chelsea (14th)
1987-88 Norwich City (14th)
1989-90 Manchester City (14th)
1990-91 Sheffield United (13th)
2004-05 West Bromwich Albion (17th)
2013-14 Sunderland (14th)
2014-15 Leicester City (14th)
2022-23 Wolverhampton Wanderers (13th)
**Bury began Christmas Day bottom, but Wolves, who went on to be relegated, ended the day bottom.
*Bradford City were overtaken by Leicester Fosse on Christmas Day, who did end up getting relegated.
With thanks also to Tony Digioia, Dean Whearty, David Kelly, Peter Tomlin and Vincent Lacy.
Christmas Day shopping
“Has a new signing ever been announced on Christmas Day? Either before the transfer window existed or perhaps even in the modern era. Surely a club has got the good news of an impending January transfer out there early to cheer up fans,” writes Ian Jolly.
“I’d like to direct you to Ludek Miklosko signing for my club, QPR, in 1998,” begins Matthew Blake. “After a loan spell we wanted to complete the deal in order for him to play on Boxing Day, however West Ham didn’t accept an offer until late on Christmas Eve. After a check of the rules, it turned out that if the QPR admin staff faxed over the relevant papers he’d be clear to play before the FA’s offices opened again a few days later, as long as the contracts were dated and completed appropriately. This was done on Christmas morning and Ludo kept goal the next day in a 2-0 home win for the Rs against Norwich. Vital points (or possibly a Christmas miracle) as we ended up staying up on goal difference. An archived report on it can be seen here – and while we never say never, I can’t see us signing anyone else on Christmas Day anytime soon.”
Knowledge Christmas archive
“Given that Peterborough have only won once on Boxing Day in 15 years, who are the most and least successful teams at Christmas?” asked xAnder50nx in December 2011.
Davy Allen sent us a lovingly crafted spreadsheet on the subject and it turns out you really don’t want to mess with Norwich City on Christmas Day. They’ve played on 25 December five times and won every time. Admittedly, those games all took place between 1925 and 1948, before the Deal Or No Deal Christmas Special was a distraction in Norfolk, but it’s an impressive feat nonetheless. At the other end of the festive spectrum come Darlington. They’ve played 10 times on Christmas Day – including a humdinger of a 5-4 defeat against Accrington Stanley in 1951 – and won only once.
“Have any footballing thespians ever treaded the boards in panto?” mused Chris Callaghan, also in December 2011.
Manchester United run an annual pantomime, which is written by and stars the club’s youth players. This year’s (2011) panto included skits on Wayne Rooney and David de Gea. One youth player appeared in a Rooney shirt with a Shrek mask and gave a mock-interview about how his hair transplants had changed his life. Anderson was teased about his weight, while De Gea’s run-in with the doughnut police was also recreated. In years gone by, the Newcastle favourite Peter Beardsley has appeared in Sleeping Beauty (“he impressed as King Pedro of Gallowgate in a part written specially for him,” in 1999 according to this OSM account), and even though he has returned to the stage since, he seems to be in the minority. Vinnie Jones shunned pantomimes for bigger things (like Midnight Meat Train, we assume), declaring as he set off for Hollywood: “I want to be a big player. I’ve been offered pantos and turned them down – they didn’t do Frank Bruno any favours.”
Can you help?
“Chelsea are firmly in the title race despite what their manager says,” writes Will Nichols. “But who was the last team to win the English top flight without a shirt sponsor? Has it been done more recently in another country?”
“Before the fixtures on 15 December, Aston Villa were sixth in the Premier League and had a goal difference of -1 with Manchester United 13th with a GD of +1. In League One, Bolton were eighth with a GD of -1 and Wigan were 16th with a GD of +1 while in League Two, Grimsby were seventh (GD -1) and Colchester were 18th (GD +1). What’s the highest position a team has finished with a negative goal difference and what’s the lowest position a team has finished with a positive GD,” asks Paul Gage.
“At the world darts championships, France’s Thibault Tricole wore a shirt with the badge of his local team, Lorient, on the back in an unpaid partnership with the club,” notes Niall McVeigh. “Which other non-football athletes have included a football crest on their kit, whether officially licensed or otherwise?”
“I was thinking recently about the coin toss in cricket, and how it can give a significant advantage to the winning captain for obvious reasons. Does winning the coin toss in football have any benefit? I know it can be an advantage for penalty shootouts, but what about matches in normal time? Does winning the coin toss mean you are statistically more likely to win the match,” asks Philip Hemmings.
“Has a penalty kick ever been among the nominations for a Goal of the Month contest? If so, what was the context?” asks Sean Kennedy. “For example, very thin pickings that month or an expertly dispatched Panenka.”
• Mail us any of your questions and answers. Thank you for all of them again this year. The Knowledge will be on a break until 8 January. See you then.
