Looking to history for

SUNDERLAND are by no means the first club to fall from the Premier League to League One, although not since Wolverhampton Wanderers five years ago has a team done it in two years.

Some have settled in the third tier, others like Wolves, have got back into the top division. Leicester City even managed to win it.

Last year, two sides – Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic – made the drop, but both are set to return to the Championship next season.

There are, then, plenty of lessons for the Black Cats as they look to plot their way back.

Too often some people treat English football as if it started in 1992, but in this case, it really is relevant to look only at the modern era, where taking away the riches of the world’s football league can have such a devastating effect.

We ask the football writers who cover those clubs on a daily basis how Leeds United, Leicester and Nottingham Forest bounced back after dropping into League One and our resident Bradford City fan to tell us why they have not. By Joe Mewis, Leeds Live

Relegated from the Premier League:

2003-4

Time in League One: Where are they now?

Championship 2007-10 Settled in the

What caused them to end up in League One?

Leeds did what is these days know as “Doing a Leeds”. There’s even a Wikipedia page about it. Relegation to the third tier was the culmination of the financial mismanagement of Peter Ridsdale “living the dream”, which backfired when they missed out on Champions League qualification in 2002-03. Two years on they were in the Championship, and they were still feeling the squeeze three seasons later, going into administration prior to the final game of 2006-07, suffering a 10-point penalty and dropping out of the top two divisions for the first time.

How did they find it when they got there?

The club were only allowed to take their place in League One after agreeing to a 15-point deduction from the Football League and barely had a squad at the start of August. A trolley dash saw 10 players signed in one 24-hour period as Dennis Wise and Gus Poyet scrambled to put a together a disparate group of players.

How did they rebuild and bounce back?

This rapid-fire rebuild reaped immediate rewards as Leeds won their first seven games in one of the most enjoyable early-season campaigns since the David O’Leary days, but their progress stalled after Poyet left for Spurs and Wise jumped ship for Newcastle. Leeds finished fifth, but lost to Doncaster in the play-off final. With visiting teams treating a trip to Elland Road as a cup final, Leeds struggled to make the most of having the biggest gate receipts and being the biggest draw for players. It wasn’t until the arrival of Simon Grayson, a manager Paddy McNair’s disappointment after relegation was confirmed and, right, the long-suffering Sunderland fans will be hoping the Black Cats can bounce back

with experience of getting teams out of League One, that things begin to click again. After a play-off semi-final loss to Millwall in their second season in the third tier, the club nailed some key signings in Patrick Kisnorbo, Richard Naylor and Max Gradel, while the likes of Robert Snodgrass, Jonny Howson, Brad Johnson, Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio came good. Grayson’s mixture of youth, experience, grit and flair needing time to gel but Leeds were able to seal a final-day promotion when they came back to defeat Bristol City and claim second place. Sunderland will be seen a huge scalp next season, so the Black Cats will need to construct their squad the right way to avoid an extended stay.

Rob Tanner, Leicester Mercury

Relegated from the Premier League:

2001-02

Time in League One: Where are they now?

2008-09 Re-established in the Premier League, which they won in 2016

What caused them to end up in League One?

Leicester City had been battling financial ruin when they were caught up in a unique relegation battle. It was a freakish season in many respects as City went down with 52 points. City had no stability that season. Martin Allen started it as manager but fell out with owner Milan Mandaric over his refusal to sign Jimmy Floyd

Hasselbaink, who Mandaric had lined up. Then Allen refused to bid for Celtic striker Derek Riordan and eventually resigned in August. Gary Megson took over but left 41 days later to join Bolton Wanderers. Ian Holloway took the reins but couldn’t stop the rot despite a massive turnover in players – especially goalkeepers. They were relegated after a goalless draw with Stoke at the Britannia Stadium.

How did they find it when they got there?

Nigel Pearson steadied the ship with assistant Craig Shakespeare and built a workmanlike and solid side. With Matty Fryatt and Steve Howard leading the attack, they had a classic big man, little man partnership and City became a very assured and compact side. They went 23 games unbeaten at one stage and Pearson was the first City manager for five years to last the entire season.

How did they rebuild and bounce back?

Pearson takes all the credit as he rebuilt the squad on a budget and provided a game plan and a level of organisation that proved very effective. There was a strong bond within the squad and a good focus. He turned around a sinking ship and set it on a new path.

Paul Taylor, Nottingham Post

Relegated from the Premier League:

1998-99

Time in League One:

2005-08

Where are they now?

Championship Settled in the

What caused them to end up in League One?

Gary Megson. He arrived in January 2005 to take on the task of leading Forest out of relegation trouble. He never really looked like doing so.

Michael Dawson and Andy Reid departed for Spurs in January, for a combined £7m, robbing the team of a lot of quality at both ends of the pitch.

Forest signed Neil Harris, Jack Lester and Scott Dobie to bolster their firepower, but despite many experienced players, the team’s inability to find the back of the net – particularly away – was critical. One victory in their final 11 matches sealed their fate.

How did they find it when they got there?

Initially, very hard. Megson had alienated many senior players and the poor form largely continued into the first half of next season.

Forest were closer to the relegation zone than the promotion places when he effectively resigned at half-time during a 3-0 defeat at Oldham in February 2006. A couple of thousand Forest fans had spent much of the first half noisily chanting for his head.

Forest made a remarkable surge towards the top six under caretaker managers Frank Barlow and Ian McParland. A 10-match unbeaten run – including eight wins – had people daring to dream, after many had written off their hopes.

But an unexpected defeat at

Hartlepool United, followed by draws with Bournemouth and Bradford, ended that dream.

How did they rebuild and bounce back?

Getting out of League One required more graft than guile.

Colin Calderwood’s appointment was a turning point. He knew the lower leagues well, having enjoyed success with Northampton, and immediately began to turn things around.

The key was accepting that, for many sides, playing Forest was a huge occasion – particularly at the City Ground. Many teams set up with the intention of stopping Forest from playing, so games often became a war of attrition.

They lost in the play-off semi-finals to Yeovil during their second full season in the third tier, despite taking a 2-0 lead into the second leg. They somehow managed to lose 5-2 at the City Ground.

Even in Calderwood’s second season they looked like missing automatic promotion following a 1-0 defeat at Doncaster in March 2008. They had only seven games left – and a 12-point gap to second-placed Carlisle.

Calderwood did a post-match interview claiming they could still do it. I didn’t realise he was still standing right behind me when I loudly labelled that thought “deluded”.

But was proved right, as they won six of their seven remaining games to snatch second place on the final day, ironically beating Yeovil 3-2.