Top five Premier League teams to be relegated, including 2003 West Ham as Leeds struggle to survive

Leeds boast the likes of England international Kalvin Phillips, Brazilian sensation Rafinha and Patrick Bamford.

So it looks like they have enough on them to stay awake.

While Burnley are seasoned professionals at staying in the league, they have been doing so since 2016 on a shoestring budget.

But better teams have fallen, as the list below shows.

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Newcastle – 2008-09

THE 2008-09 season was a complete disaster for the Toon.

When they were relegated, Newcastle had seen FOUR different managers put together only seven wins.

Kevin Keegan, Joe Kinnear, Chris Hughton and club legend Alan Shearer took charge of the club.

But it was Shearer, who vowed to keep the Magpies on top, who oversaw the eventual and somewhat inevitable demise, finishing 18th just one point from surviving.

For a team the size of Newcastle and with a squad that included Michael Owen, Damien Duff, Nicky Butt, Obafemi Martins, José Enrique, Joey Barton and Mark Viduka, playing in the Championship was completely strange.

They would go on to win the league and return straight to the Premier League, but for such a strong team to go down was remarkable.

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Leeds – 2003-04

A LOT like Newcastle, Leeds fell into the ‘too big to fail’ group of clubs.

But in 2004 the Elland Road giants slipped out of the top flight and didn’t return for 16 years, even breaking into League One for three seasons during that time.

In 2003–04, Leeds won just eight games en route to finishing 19th in the Prem, shipping a league-high 79 goals, with the club in financial crisis.

The Yorkshire side also had a strong squad, with the likes of Viduka, Paul Robinson, Nicky Barmby, Alan Smith, Aaron Lennon and James Milner on the books.

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West Ham – 2002-03

EVEN the magic mark of 40 points wasn’t enough for the Hammers in 2002-03.

To this day, West Ham’s tally of 42 points that year is the highest for a relegated team.

For context, the East London giants also secured 42 points in 2017-18…and finished 13th.

But for a team that features Jermain Defoe, Paolo di Canio, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Les Ferdinand, David James, Trevor Sinclair and more? Craziness.

In the end, the star-studded team finished two points behind Bolton, who sit in 17th place.

Stranger still, it took West Ham two tries to get back to the big time, eventually making it through the Championship play-offs despite finishing sixth.

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Blackburn – 1998-99

IN 1993-94, Blackburn won the Premier League trophy. In 1997-98, they finished sixth.

And at the start of the 1998-99 season, they were set to compete for a second title, this time with Roy Hodgson.

Rovers featured the likes of Duff, Stephane Henchoz, Chris Sutton, Kevin Davies, Tim Sherwood and Tim Flowers.

Despite that, Blackburn finished the season in 19th place after winning a dismal five games.

Hodgson was sacked midway through the disastrous campaign with no player on the team scoring more than five league goals.

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Middlesbrough – 1996-97

EVEN the heroics of Juninho and Fabrizio Ravanelli could save Boro in 1996-97.

The Italian striker scored 31 goals in all competitions, including an opening-day hat-trick in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool, with the wizard of the Brazilian midfield behind him.

Despite that though, Middlesbrough slumped in the second tier after finishing two points from safety.

After a strong start to the season, winning three and losing only one of their first six games, Boro failed to win a single match between September 21 and December 26.

Under player-manager Bryan Robson, Middlesbrough finished 19th, one point behind 18th-placed Sunderland and two from Coventry and Southampton, who survived by the skin of their teeth.

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