Top 10 Surprise Packages

There are many reasons why we love the Premier League. The entertainment, the quality on show, the games, the brilliant goals and also the surprise packages.

Surprise packages in terms of football are teams that do a lot better than pretty much everyone expects them to and the Premier League has seen many of them over the years.

The majority of them have been tipped to either be relegated or finish quite low down the table at the start of a season only for them to finish a lot higher by either finishing in the top 10, qualifying for Europe or even win the title like Leicester did in 2016.

Every neutral fan loves an underdog story because it's brilliant to see the so-called lesser teams do well and overachieve and cause some shocks along the way as many of the surprise packages have done over the years.

The majority of the teams in the list were widely tipped to go down at the beginning of their surprise season whilst the others were not expected to do much during their surprise season.

Now here is the list:

Nottingham Forest - 2024-25

Burnley - 2017/18

Reading - 2006/07

Ipswich - 2000/01

Leicester - 2015/16

Sheffield United - 2019/20

West Ham - 2015/16

Wolves - 2018/19

West Brom - 2012/13

Fulham - 2008/09

10. West Brom - 2012/13

West Brom were probably among the favourites to go down at the beginning of the 2012/13 season after losing manager Roy Hodgson to England at the end of the previous season and replacing with Steve Clarke, who had never been a first team manager having been an assistant at both Chelsea and Liverpool.

He and the Baggies very much defied the odds during this season by finishing 8th which remains their highest ever league finish to date.

Their attack was spearheaded by Romelu Lukaku who scored 17 goals in his season on loan from Chelsea and it was his goals that played a major part in them having the season they had.

Their had other good players as well as Lukaku including Ben Foster, Jonas Olsson, Chris Brunt and James Morrison, most of whom were core members of that squad.

9. Sheffield United - 2019/20

Sheffield United were arguably the favourites for relegation at the beginning of the 2019/20 and I'm very sure that I had them down as that as well.

They came up into the Premier League playing a unique style of play which involved overlapping centre backs which I thought would cost them as it would leave gaps in behind their defence for opposing teams to exploit.

But that was never the case as they finished 9th and even put themselves in contention for Europe before a slight drop off towards the end of the season.

There was a good team spirit in their squad and that team spirit played a huge role in them having the season they went on to have.

Manager Chris Wilder worked absolute wonders during this season and had Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp not done what they did, he might've won the manager of the season award.

8. Reading - 2006/07

As far as first ever season's in the top flight goes, Reading had arguably the best one ever in 2006/07 by finishing 8th after probably being tipped to finish quite low down the table.

They went into their debut Premier League season off back of winning the Championship with a record breaking 106 points and they carried the momentum gained from that season into their debut Premier League campaign.

The squad didn't change that much in the summer leading into the season as manager Steve Coppell stuck with the same group of players that got them promoted and it worked as the Royals overperformed massively.

Their highlight of the season was without a doubt their 6-0 win over West Ham which was a result their fans will no doubt have fond memories of.

7. West Ham - 2015/16

The 2015/16 season was West Ham's final season at Upton Park and they went out on a high by finishing 7th.

They were probably tipped to finish in and around mid-table that season as their squad at the time was at best a mid-table squad.

But they went on and and did a lot better than most people thought they would by putting themselves in contention for Europe and beating some of the big clubs along the way including Liverpool (twice), Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City.

They played some brilliant attacking during that season under Slaven Bilic in his first season in charge with Dimitri Payet of course being the star of the show.

Payet he was arguably the reason why the Hammers did so well during this season because of his influential performances on the pitch and the moments of quality he provided.

The Hammers fans have missed Upton Park a lot since they left as the London Stadium doesn't quite generate the same kind of atmosphere due to the distance between the stands and the pitch.

6. Fulham - 2008/09

Fulham went into the 2008/09 season off the back of pulling off a great escape the season before and a lot of people probably had them to finish quite low down the table because of that.

But they did a lot better than most people expected them to by finishing 7th and qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history.

The Cottagers kicked on during this season after spending the previous two campaigns near the relegation zone as Roy Hodgson reconsolidated them as a Premier League club by leading them to a 7th placed finish.

Their team was set up to be strong defensively and tough to beat as those were the characteristics of a Roy Hodgson team and their organised defence was key to the season they had as they conceded 34 goals which was the fourth best defence in the league behind Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

5. Burnley - 2017/18

Burnley I'm sure were widely tipped to go down at the beginning of the 2017/18 season after losing two key players in Michael Keane and Andre Gray.

But they defied the odds by finishing 7th and qualifying for Europe for the first time in their history and they even stayed in the top 10 for the entire campaign.

There were early signs that they were going to have a great season as they started the season really well, including an impressive opening day win at Chelsea, and were even in and around the top four in the lead up to Christmas.

I remember Sean Dyche being linked with a number of jobs during this season because of how good a job he was doing and the Clarets fans will have been delighted that he stayed.

Had Pep Guardiola and Man City not done what they did that season, I'm very sure Dyche would've won the manager of the season award.

4. Nottingham Forest - 2024/25

Forest were probably tipped to go down or at least be in and around the relegation zone at the start of the last season and after being in and around there in the previous two seasons.

But they only went on and did a lot better than most people thought they would by competing for Champions League football only for them to fall away at the end and finish 7th.

They spent most of the season inside the top four and there was a strong feeling that they were going to qualify for the Champions League until maybe the final month of the season which was when the pressure got to them.

Their team was build on a good solid defence with Mats Sels in goal, who won a share of the golden glove with David Raya, and a solid centre back partnership of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo.

They also had players in attack who could win them games in Morgan Gibbs-White, who provided the creativity as well as a goal threat, and Chris Wood, who scored the majority of the goals by netting 20 times.

3. Wolves - 2018/19

Wolves's team from the 2018/19 season has arguably been the best newly promoted side in recent times as they finished 7th and qualified for Europe in their first season back in the top flight which was some achievement.

There was a lot to be expected from them heading into that season because of the way they won the Championship the season before and the amount of money they were spending.

But I don't think many people expected them to finish 7th because of them being a newly promoted team and how tough a league the Premier League is.

Nuno Espirito Santo built a very good side capable of competing higher up the Premier League during this season as it had a strong defence which included captain Conor Coady and a reliable keeper in Rui Patricio, two workmanlike midfielders in Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, and two strikers capable of scoring goals in Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez.

They were a very good team to watch on the counter attack and also took points off most of the so-called big six.

2. Ipswich - 2000/01

Ipswich were probably expected to finish in and around the relegation places at the start of the 2000/01 season as they were a newly promoted team.

But they defied the odds by finishing 5th and just two points outside the top four to qualify for Europe in their first season back in the Premier League.

They spent most of the season inside the top four and it looked like they were going to finish up there until the final few games of the season with their defeat at Charlton being the result that ended their hopes.

They were spearheaded in attack by Marcus Stewart who scored 19 goals during that season with only Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink scoring more.

Manager George Burley won the manager of the year award that season and deservedly so because of what his team achieved that season.

1. Leicester - 2015/16

Leicester's team from the 2015/16 season had to be my no.1 simply because they won the league and a lot of people will probably agree with me.

They went into the season off the back pulling off a great escape the season before and were tipped by a lot of people to go down after sacking the manager that masterminded that great escape in Nigel Pearson and replacing him with Claudio Ranieri.

Their odds were 5000/1 at the start of that season and they only went on to defy them by going on to win the title and by some distance as well.

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez were of course the two main standout performers in this team because of the goals they both scored and how influential they were.

But the rest of the team played their part of well with Wes Morgan and Roberth Huth providing defensive security at the back, Kasper Schmeichel making the big and important saves between the sticks, and both Danny Drinkwater and N'Golo Kante bringing lots of energy to the midfield and especially Kante, who never stopped running for the entire season.

Their title winning season will go down as one of the greatest stories in sporting history and arguably the greatest story in football.

MY TOP 10:

1. Leicester - 2015/16

2. Ipswich - 2000/01

3. Wolves - 2018/19

4. Nottingham Forest - 2024/25

5. Burnley - 2017/18

6. Fulham - 2008/09

7. West Ham - 2015/16

8. Reading - 2006/07

9. Sheffield United - 2019/20

10. West Brom - 2012/13