Best Premier League Debut Seasons

Nottingham Forest (94/95)

Arguably the best Premier League debut season was Forest’s return to the top flight in 1994/95. With Stan Collymore and Bryan Roy banging in the goals they finished 3rd and qualified for the UEFA Cup. En route they beat Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford - the Red Devils' only home Premier League defeat that season.

Ipswich (00/01)

Having won promotion via the play-offs, little was expected of Ipswich, but they took the division by storm winning 20 matches including impressive away wins at Leeds, Liverpool and Everton. Goals from Marcus Stewart, saw them finish fifth - securing UEFA Cup football. The following season they were relegated.

Wigan (05/06)

They may have been everyone’s favourites for the drop, but nobody told Paul Jewell’s team. By late October they were riding high in second place and although they slipped out of contention later on, 10th place represented a fantastic season for the Latics. Also reached the Carling Cup final to cap off a memorable campaign.

Reading (06/07)

After securing top-flight football for the first time in their history, many believed the Royals would struggle. An opening day fight back against Middlesbrough signaled their intent and they also managed draws against Manchester United and Chelsea. Season high was a 6-0 hammering of West Ham as Reading finished eighth, just three points behind sixth-placed Everton.

Blackburn (92/93)

After winning promotion to end a 26-year top-flight exile Blackburn signaled their ambition by breaking the English transfer record to sign Alan Shearer from Southampton. Shearer repaid their faith with 16 league goals, while Mike Newell added 13 goals. Rovers finished in an impressive fourth place, just three points behind second-placed Aston Villa.

Newcastle (93/94)

Newcastle's debut Premier League campaign saw them finish third and secure UEFA Cup qualification. The Magpies finished with a +41 goal difference, largely down to the returning Peter Beardsley and a young Andy Cole who managed an impressive 59 Premier League goals between them.

Man City (02/03)

This was City’s last season at Maine Road and, perhaps inspired by a desire to leave their home of 80 years on a high, they over-achieved and finished ninth. These days a ninth-placed Premier League finish would probably get Mark Hughes fired but considering that they had been relegated two seasons previously, it was a decent effort by Kevin Keegan's team. High of the season was a 3-1 win against arch-rivals Manchester United.

Blackburn (01/02)

Throughout the season it had looked like Blackburn would be involved in a relegation scrap but, inspired by their Carling Cup triumph and aided by Andy Cole's goals, Rovers clawed their way up the table to finish 10th. Middlesbrough (95/96)

Who knows what Boro may have achieved had they not suffered a disastrous mid-season slump which saw them lose 11 out of 12 games. In the event they finished a respectable 12th and managed home victories over Chelsea and Liverpool.

Bradford City(99/00)

One of the unlikeliest Premier league teams and widely tipped to make a swift return to the Championship, Paul Jewell’s team confounded the pundits by staying up. Highlight of the season was a final day victory over Liverpool, which ensured survival. Unfortunately, the reprieve was short lived, relegation the following season precipitated a slide through the divisions.

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