10 years ago, the Premier League looked completely different. The 2015/16 season produced one of football's most shocking title wins, with Leicester City defying 5000/1 odds to lift the trophy.
That
campaign rewrote the rules about power, spending, and possibility in English
football. But a decade later, the landscape's shifted again – some clubs have
risen, others have fallen away, and the league's transformed almost entirely.
How the
league table looked
- Leicester City
- Arsenal
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Manchester United
- Manchester City
- Southampton
- West Ham United
- Liverpool
- Stoke City
- Chelsea
- Swansea City
- Everton
- Watford
- West Bromwich Albion
- Crystal Palace
- Bournemouth
- Sunderland
- Newcastle United
(relegated)
- Aston Villa
(relegated)
- Norwich City
(relegated)
Leicester
City's dramatic fall
Leicester
City's title win is the modern Premier League's defining moment. A squad
assembled on modest means, led by Claudio Ranieri, tore up every financial and
tactical obstacle to lift the trophy, finishing 10 points clear of Arsenal.
Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, and N'Golo Kante became household names overnight.
But the
years since have exposed how fragile that success was. Leicester struggled to
stay among the elite and were relegated at the end of the 2022/23 season. They returned
to the Premier League the following season after winning the Championship, but
suffered relegation immediately. Their story underlines just how extraordinary
2016 was – and how ruthless the Premier League becomes once momentum
disappears.
Arsenal's
familiar frustration
Arsenal
finished second in 2016, a position that felt frustrating then and stings even
more now. With several traditional title rivals underperforming, that season
represented a genuine missed opportunity.
Fast forward
to today, and history seems to be repeating itself. Arsenal currently sit six
points clear at the top of the Premier League, playing confident, progressive
football, and looking well placed to finally end their title drought. Yet the
recent pattern is hard to ignore. They have finished second in each of the past
three seasons, leading or contending deep into campaigns before letting it
slip.
It leaves a
familiar question hanging over this campaign. Will Arsenal repeat 2016 and fall
just short again, or will they finally go one better and turn dominance into
silverware?
Tottenham's
collapse
Tottenham
finished third in 2016, looking organised, energetic, and capable of mounting
genuine title challenges.
Since then,
they have nosedived. Despite winning the Europa League last season, Tottenham
now sit 14th and have burned through eight managers in nine years (including
Ryan Mason twice and Cristian Stellini as interim appointments). Stability has
been replaced by constant upheaval.
With
pressure mounting again, speculation's already building around who might be
next if Spurs pull the trigger – raising the prospect of a ninth manager since
2016.
Relegations
in 2016 and what happened next
Norwich
City, Aston Villa, and Newcastle United went down in 2016, but their recoveries
couldn't have been more different.
Newcastle
bounced straight back and are now firmly established near the top of the
Premier League following major investment and structural changes. They even
ended their trophy drought with a Carabao Cup win last season.
Aston Villa
took longer to rebuild but eventually returned to the Premier League and
re-established themselves as a competitive side. They sit third at the time of
writing. Norwich, meanwhile, became the classic yo-yo club, frequently bouncing between divisions
without ever finding stability. They're now at risk of dropping to League 1.
Today's
relegation battle
Fast forward
to today, and the relegation picture looks entirely different. Burnley, West
Ham, and Wolves currently find themselves at risk, clubs who were in vastly
different positions back in 2016.
West Ham
finished seventh that season and were pushing for Europe. Wolves weren't even
in the Premier League, while Burnley were still finding their feet as a
top-flight side. A decade later, all three are battling to avoid the same fate
that caught Villa, Norwich, and Newcastle back then.
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