THE Seattle Seahawks face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX at the Levi’s stadium on Sunday – a repeat of the 2015 final – so lets have a look at how the Premier League table looked 11 years ago at the time of Super Bowl XLIX, and where are these teams now?
20th – Leicester City
23 games had been played at this point, and the Foxes were rock bottom with 17 points. Nigel Pearson actually kept them up, winning 7 of their last 9 games and finishing in 14th with 41 points. The season after, a certain Italian arrived and we know what he did.
It’s a lot worse now for Leicester fans, as the club are without a permanent manager, they’ve just been deducted six points, and they’re 20th in the Championship on 32 points, remaining out of the relegation zone only on goal difference.
19th – QPR
QPR were only above Leicester by two points, but ended the season at the foot of the table with 30 points. The R’s have failed to return to the Premier League since, and are currently 11th in the Championship on 43 points, just four off the play off places.
18th – Hull City
Hull City was the last team that filled the relegation zone, tied on points with QPR and ahead of them by goal difference, and finished the season in the same position with 35 points. The Tigers are now third in the Championship, only four points behind both first and second, and are in a strong position to return to England’s top division for the first time in 10 years.
17th – Burnley
The first team in this list who are currently in the Premier League, were sat just above the relegation zone by one point. Unfortunately, they fell to 19th place come the end of the season, and were relegated on 33 points. Relegation seems a certainty once more for Burnley, who are 19th in the Premier League with just 15 points.
16th – Aston Villa
Villa sat 16th on 22 points, and finished the season in 17th, surviving the drop by three points. Villa actually made the FA Cup final this year, but lost the second most games this season, QPR the only side with more, but crucially claimed more victories than their relegation rivals.
Talking about victories, Villa now sit third in the Premier League with 14 wins from 24 games, having won a record-equalling 11 games in a row in all competitions. Only Arsenal and Man City lead Villa – Unai Emery’s side are close behind with an impressive 46 points.
15th – West Brom
The Baggies were tied with Villa, but took the 15th spot on goal difference. Tony Pulis was in charge, and won 22 points in the second half of the season, taking West Brom to 13th with 44 points. However, they’re now 22nd in the Championship in the relegation zone, and haven’t won a game since December.
14th – Sunderland
The Black Cats had 23 points after 23 games, sat 14th in the league. By week 38, Dick Advocaat’s Sunderland fell to 16th with 38 points, and actually won the least amount of games alongside Burnley, with seven, however they drew a massive 17 games, keeping them in the league.
Sunderland remain in the Premier League 11 years later, having experienced a double drop and two promotions in that time, and now sit eighth in the table on 36 points, above the likes of Spurs, Everton and bitter rivals Newcastle.
13th – Crystal Palace
The current FA Cup holders also had 23 points after 23 games, but were ahead of Sunderland by a goal difference of three. By the end of the season, the Eagles jumped up to 10th, finishing with 48 points.
It’s been an eventful few months for Palace: they’ve lost to sixth tier Macclesfield and failed to defend their first major honour, Oliver Glasner has announced that he’s leaving, their captain Marc Guehi has left for City and Mateta’s trying to force a move – it’s not going well – but they’re 15th in the league on 29 points, and playing in Europe for the first time ever in the Conference League.
12th – Everton
The Toffees were 12th on 26 points, managed by Roberto Martinez. They gained one position by May, ending the season with 47 points. Everton are now 10th in the league on 34 points. Nothing much else to say really.
11th – Newcastle
Newcastle were 11th with 30 points, 10 points above the relegation places. Alan Pardew was in charge of the Geordies this season, and dropped four places to 15th, finishing one point better off than their noisy neighbours.
11 years on, Newcastle remain in 11th, having scored 33 and conceded 33 goals, resulting in 33 points. Eddie Howe’s side have just been knocked out of the Carabao Cup after a loss to Man City, after winning that competition last season for their first major trophy in 70 years.
10th – Stoke
Only 10th by two points, Mark Hughes’s side are the first in the top 10. By the end of the season, they finished ninth with 54 points. Now managed by Mark Robins, the Potters are 12th in the Championship table, tied on 42 points with Birmingham, one place below QPR.
9th – Swansea
Swansea just edged Stoke by one point, to take ninth place in the Premier League. With Garry Monk leading the charge, they kept Stoke at bay, finishing eighth with 56 points. However, much like the Potters, Swansea are also now in the Championship, three points behind Stoke with 39, but sat four places below at 16th.
8th – West Ham
The Hammers were eighth with 36 points at the time of Super Bowl XLIX, and are the first side to have a positive goal difference at this stage of the season, with +8. However Big Sam’s Claret and Blues dropped four places to 12th, losing their positive goal difference and finishing the year with 47 points. They also qualified for the Europa League after winning the financial fair play table.
Nowadays, after becoming European Champions by winning the Conference League in 2023, Nuno Espirito-Santo’s side are in a relegation battle, sat 18th in the Premier League, six points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th.
7th – Liverpool
The current Premier League holders were two points above West Ham on 48, sat seventh in the table, and ended up in sixth come the final day, with 62 points. The 20-time champions have found it difficult to defend their league triumph this season, as they find themselves in sixth place on 39 points, having already lost more games this season than they did in the entirety of last.
6th – Tottenham
Spurs had 40 points at this stage of the season, two above Liverpool, and jumped up to fifth by the end of the season, winning 24 more points to end with 64. Just over 10 years later, and – believe it or not – European Champions and Europa League holders Spurs are sat 14th in the Premier League with 29 points, just nine off the relegation places.
5th – Arsenal
Arsenal had the better of Spurs by two points, and were fifth in the league with 42 points. In the final 15 games of the season, the Gunners amassed 33 points to finish in third and claim their place in the Champions League. They also won the FA Cup this season after beating Aston Villa 4-0.
Arsenal have finished second in the league for the last three seasons, and this year, Arteta’s side sit top of the Premier League on 53 points, clear of Man City by six. They’ve also made their first final in eight years, where they’ll be facing City in the final of the Carabao Cup.
4th – Southampton
Well, you were probably thinking, ‘Where’s Southampton? Were they in the Championship?’ No. They were fourth. Yes fourth. Tied on points with Arsenal, but ahead by +1 goal difference, the Saints were sat fourth in the Premier League table.
Managed by Ronald Koeman, it was a team including the likes of Graziano Pelle, Dusan Tadic, Sadio Mane and more, but unfortunately they dropped down to seventh, finishing two points below Liverpool with 60, but still qualified for the Europa League. Today they’re 14th in the Championship on 40 points, having won 10 games, drawn 10 and lost 10.
3rd – Manchester United
Managed by Louis Van Gaal, Man United were third, just one point above both Arsenal and Southampton on 43, and gained 27 points in three months to finish fourth with 70. Since then, it’s not been smooth sailing for the Red Devils. Despite winning two FA Cups and a Carabao Cup, they’ve lost two Europa League finals, finished 15th in the table last year, and have now had 10 full-time managers since Sir Alex Ferguson.
After sacking Ruben Amorim in January, Michael Carrick was appointed United’s new interim manager, and he has played three, won three, beating Man City, Arsenal, and Fulham, keeping United in fourth place with 41 points.
2nd – Manchester City
Ahead of their red neighbours by five points, Manuel Pellegrini’s Man City were sat second in the league with 48 points. They remained in that position for the rest of the season, finishing with 79 points, falling eight behind the eventual champions.
They have since appointed Pep Guardiola – his achievements require no explanation – and this season they’re currently second in the league, six points off Arsenal.
1st – Chelsea
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea were top of the table on 53 points, and ended the season as champions with 87. This season they’re now managed by Liam Rosenior – after waving goodbye to the likes of Tuchel, Lampard and Maresca – and sit fifth in the Premier League on 40 points, one off Man United.
Full Table
