Big clubs that sat 20th after five games, and where they finished

Tottenham Hotspur go into the October international break bottom of the Premier League and still without a league win. The Premier League winner odds are led by the usual contenders, while Spurs are looking at the other end of the table. They are not the first big club to sit last at this stage, and the five below went on to very different finishes.

Everton, 1994-95: bottom in September, FA Cup winners in May

Mike Walker’s Everton took one point from their first five games and sat 22nd in what was then a 22-team league. They did not win until their 13th league match, and Walker was sacked in November. Joe Royle replaced him and won his first game 2-0 against Liverpool.

Survival came with a 1-0 win at Ipswich Town in the penultimate game. Everton finished 15th, then beat Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup final, with Paul Rideout heading the winner.

Manchester City, 1995-96: relegated on goal difference

Alan Ball’s first season at Manchester City began with one point from five games and City bottom. Four wins in five matches later lifted them out of the relegation zone, but they could not stay out.

A 2-2 home draw with Liverpool on the final day was not enough. Coventry City and Southampton also drew and finished above City on goal difference, so City went down in 18th on 38 points.

West Ham United, 2002-03: too many points to go down

West Ham had finished seventh under Glenn Roeder the season before, but one point from their first five games left them bottom. Roeder collapsed after a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough on 21 April 2003 and was found to have a brain tumour, which was successfully removed.

Trevor Brooking took seven points from the last three games as caretaker. A 2-2 draw at Birmingham City on the final day still could not save them. West Ham went down on 42 points, at the time a record for a relegated side in a 38-game season.

Tottenham Hotspur, 2008-09: from two points to eighth

Juande Ramos’s Spurs had two points from five games and were bottom. After eight games they still had two points, and Ramos was sacked on 25 October 2008.

Harry Redknapp won his first game 2-0 against Bolton Wanderers the next day, then drew 4-4 at Arsenal. Spurs climbed to eighth on 51 points and reached the League Cup final, which they lost to Manchester United on penalties.

Newcastle United, 2015-16: Benitez arrived too late

Steve McClaren’s Newcastle had two points from five games and were bottom. They climbed off the foot of the table but never far enough, and McClaren was sacked on 11 March 2016.

Rafael Benitez took over the same day with 10 league games left and won three of them. Newcastle were relegated on 11 May, when Sunderland beat Everton 3-0, and finished 18th on 37 points. They beat Spurs 5-1 on the final day.

What it means for Spurs in 2026-27

Spurs have two points from five games, both from goalless draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton. Their only goals came in the 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa. That matches their 2008-09 points total with a worse goal difference, making it their worst Premier League start after five games.

Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham has backed Roberto De Zerbi, pointing to the chances Spurs created in the draws with Forest and Everton. Their next game is at Manchester United on 10 October.

Of the five clubs above, two recovered and three were relegated. Relegation and top-half markets are part of football betting on every Premier League season, and the 2008-09 Spurs side is the precedent this one will hope to follow.