The trophy cabinet and the trapdoor: English clubs who won a cup and were relegated in the same season

Football has a habit of delivering its cruelest blows at the worst possible moments, and nothing illustrates that more sharply than a club lifting a major trophy and dropping out of the top flight in the same season. It has happened across multiple countries, and each time the story is slightly different but the heartbreak is the same.

 

Norwich City, 1984-85

Norwich City's 1984-85 season was both a triumph and a disaster at the same time. The Canaries beat Sunderland 1-0 in the League Cup final at Wembley on 24 March 1985, with Sunderland defender Gordon Chisholm turning Asa Hartford's shot into his own net to settle the tie. Despite winning the cup, Norwich were already deep in a relegation fight and could not save themselves, eventually finishing the First Division in 20th place on 49 points.

The cruelty did not stop there, because as League Cup winners they had earned a place in the following season's UEFA Cup, only for the Heysel Stadium disaster in May 1985 to result in an indefinite ban on all English clubs from European competition, stripping them of that opportunity entirely. Norwich were the first English club to win a major trophy and be relegated in the same season.

 

Birmingham City, 2010-11

Birmingham City's League Cup victory on 27 February 2011 remains one of the most memorable upsets in the competition's modern era. Arsenal were overwhelming favourites, but Nikola Zigic headed Birmingham in front before Robin van Persie equalised. Then, with less than two minutes remaining, a long ball from goalkeeper Ben Foster led to a fumble from Wojciech Szczesny, and Obafemi Martins poked the ball home in front of 88,000 supporters at Wembley.

Ten weeks later, Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League on the final day of the season, going down on goal difference alongside Blackpool and West Ham after losing at Tottenham, while results elsewhere did not go their way.

It was the second time an English club had combined a major trophy with relegation in the same season, 26 years after Norwich. As cup winners, Birmingham played in the Europa League group stage the following season despite competing in the Championship, having beaten Nacional of Portugal in the play-off round to get there.

 

Wigan Athletic, 2012-13

Wigan Athletic's FA Cup win in May 2013 stands as one of the most stunning results in the competition's history. Already in serious trouble at the bottom of the Premier League, they beat Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley thanks to Ben Watson's header deep into stoppage time, and three days later their relegation was confirmed.

Wigan became the first club in English football history to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season. The cup run had clearly drained a squad that was already stretched to its limit by a survival fight, and the two demands running in parallel through the final weeks of the season proved impossible to manage.

As FA Cup holders, they qualified for the Europa League group stage the following season while playing in the Championship, went unbeaten in their opening three group matches, then lost their final three all by a single goal, and finished bottom of the group.