Every season, a team is one game away from the Premier League, only to bottle it at Wembley and spend the next decade wondering what might have been.
For the winners, it’s life-changing money, glamour and a spot on Super Sunday. For the losers, it’s usually financial ruin, a fire sale, and a long trudge back to mid-table obscurity.
Sheffield United’s 5-0 defeat at Ipswich leaves them bottom of the Championship with zero points through five matches. Fears are growing at Bramall Lane they could follow a similar path.
These six sides were all one game away from the Premier League, then fell apart. Sliding doors moments that turned into sliding down the leagues.
Huddersfield Town – 2022
Huddersfield finished third and reached Wembley in 2022, only to lose 1–0 to Nottingham Forest. Fans still argue they should’ve had two penalties that day, with referee Jonathan Moss waving them away in his final match.
Carlos Corberán left weeks later, and the club spiralled to the point of handing it to Neil Warnock til end of season. Probably only as a favour, though.
Dean Hoyle sold up to US investor Kevin Nagle in 2023, but the reset never came. By 2024 they’d slipped to 23rd in the Championship and dropped into League One.
Two years after being one game from the Premier League, they were back in the third tier.
Swansea City – 2021
Swansea were once everyone’s favourite “second team” in the Premier League, playing slick football under Rodgers and Martínez. After relegation in 2018, they lost that identity and slid into years of drift.
They did rally in 2021, finishing fourth and reaching Wembley, only to lose 2–0 to Brentford. It looked like a route back, but instead it was the high point before more mid-table obscurity.
Since then, they’ve churned through managers and owners while the football has gone stale. For a club once praised for style, they’ve become painfully ordinary.
At least Snoop Dogg’s on board now. If nothing else, their chances of getting high have improved.
Derby County – 2019
Derby’s 2019 play-off run peaked with that mad night at Elland Road, overturning a 2–0 deficit to dump out Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds. They lost the final to Aston Villa, but that semi will live forever.
They’d also lost the 2014 final, when Bobby Zamora’s late goal nicked it for QPR. Always the nearly men.
What came next was brutal. Administration, transfer embargoes, and points deductions left Wayne Rooney with nine senior pros at one stage.
Relegation to League One followed in 2022. They’re back in the Championship now, but still searching for a manager, an identity, and some stability.
Sheffield Wednesday – 2016
Wednesday made the 2016 play-off final under Carlos Carvalhal, only to lose 1–0 to Hull at Wembley. That was as close as they’ve come to a Premier League return.
Carvalhal left a year later, and the decline set in. Managers came and went, points deductions followed, and they dropped back into League One.
They did bounce back up again in 2023, but the bigger story has been owner Dejphon Chansiri. From asking fans to chip in £2m for wages to players going unpaid, it’s been chaos.
Now they’re odds-on to tumble straight back down. Run into the ground by a madman, it’ll be a miracle if they’re still standing at all.
Reading – 2017
Reading once looked like a model club, winning the Championship in 2006 with a record 106 points. A decade later, they finished third under Jaap Stam and reached Wembley.
The final against Huddersfield ended goalless, then heartbreak. A penalty shootout denied them promotion, leaving fans to wonder what might have been.
Instead of building, they collapsed. Chinese ownership brought financial chaos, points deductions and unpaid wages. The proud “106 club” found themselves sliding into League One.
Supporters have recently spent more time protesting than celebrating. From nearly reaching the Premier League to begging Dai Yongge to sell up, the decline has been brutal.
Barnsley – 2000
Barnsley reached the play-off final in 2000, losing 4–2 to Ipswich at Wembley. One win from the Premier League, one defeat from disaster.
That defeat pushed them back towards their natural home in the lower leagues. Within two years, they were in administration, their very existence threatened in the wake of the ITV Digital collapse.
They survived thanks to a mayor-led rescue, but Barnsley have remained a yo-yo outfit since. Typically, a League One club, with an outdated Oakwell and one of the smallest markets in English football.
The 2000 final was as close as they’ve come. From a potential Premier League return to being nearly extinct in no time.
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