Best middling sides in the Premier League

[Danny]

This one goes out to those mid-table to Europa League spot teams, a lot harder to define tangibly but we can give it a go. These are the smaller sides that packed a punch, that most people enjoyed watching at times cos they never fucked up anyone's childhood, Nostalgia FC. Again this is for a time period, not necessarily upto 4 years as the smaller sides lifespan doesn't always go on for that long...but we at least have to be looking at 2 good seasons. This ain't your Bobby Robson Newcastle's or Kewell and Viduka Leeds type teams, they had reasonable aspirations of top 4 and the league title, this is for the ones below that.

I'm starting from the millennium for this, if you knew how long it took me to write this topic you'd understand why I'd rather get run over than run through another decade of midtable sides. Also I was too young then so maybe some of the more geriatric members like @DeadLinesman or @Bluewolf could help there.

For me if you are to pick a "best" side here it would have to be out of nowhere title winners Leicester, easily. But for entertainment value alone? You can't look past Harry Redknapp's Pompey.

 

Blackburn Rovers 01/02 - 02/03

This was a peak time for Blackburn after their relegations, to win the League Cup and grab a 6th place finish ain't bad going. This was probably an introduction to Rovers for people who were too young to remember the title win, but it was a team full of class; Friedel, Tugay, Matt Jansen, Damien Duff, Berg, and future manager Mark Hughes. Blackburn were for a period of time consistent midtable - UEFA Cup/Europa League hopefuls and this specific side helped set the foundations for a long stint within the league after a recent relegation. This was also Graeme Souness' last piece of silverware he'd win.

 

Middlesbrough 03/04 - 05/06

Juninho, Hasslebaink and Yakubu. The Steve McClaren glory years, before the umbrella and the dodgy Dutch accent, they managed to secure a League Cup win and a UEFA Cup runners up medal during this period. They beat Big Sam's Bolton in the League Cup final thanks to goals from JOB IS GOD and Zenden, the teams were populated with class from the likes of Viduka, Schwarzer, Boaten, Ugo Ehiogu (rip), Mendieta, Stuart Downing, current England gaffer Southgate, and Michael Reiziger. They even made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, this was peak McClaren and throughout the Premier League peak Boro'.

 

Bolton Wanderers 03/04 - 06/07

Jayjay Okocha, Kevin Nolan and Nicholas Anelka, 3 names you wouldn't expect Big Sam to be floating about together. Younger fans will be surprised to know that this Bolton side were entertaining, yes Big Sam loves a bit of hoofball, but Okocha was sublime, Anelka a steal, Ivan Campo too. They had Djorkaeef, Gary Speed, Fernando Hierro, the Israeli giant Tal Ben Haim and Kevin Davies. They were League Cup runners up, had made it to the knock out stages of the UEFA Cup and this team would lay the foundations for another Bolton side to windraw a historic match against FC Bayern in Munich.

 

Blackburn Rovers 05/06 - 07/08

This Blackburn side were entertaining, Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy top goalscorers for them. Mark Hughes at his best, a motivated David Bentley and the Lancashire Pirlo himself David Dunn. This particular side didn't really achieve anything in the Cups, but they were a handful for any of the bigger sides to play including a massive and entertaining 4-3 win against eventual title winners Man Utd at Ewood Park doing the double over United that season.

 

Portsmouth 06/07 - 07/08

Know what I mean 'arry? The Redknapp years, he left Pompey after taking them to the Prem for bitter rivals Southampton, but returned taking Pompey to good midtable football, an FA Cup win and financial turmoil. An example of a team getting an easy ride in the Cup as Pompey faced Ipswich, Plymouth, Preston, West Brom and Cardiff throughout. Top goalscorers were Nwanko Kanu and Benjani but you will also remember the exploits of Niko Kranjcar, Pedro Mendes, Sol Campbel, Glen Johnson, David James, Sulley Muntari, Lassana Diarra, Sylvain Distin and Hermann Hreioarsson.

 

Fulham 08/09 - 09/10

The Roy Hodgson years, Roy was in charge of Fulham for 2 and a half seasons and it was this time period that arguably set him up for jobs at both Liverpool and England. He picked Fulham out of the relegation spots after what you would describe as years of mediocrity in the Prem and took them to a 7th place finish, a European final and two Q/F finishes in the FA Cup. A very Hodgson-esque side but you will remember good performers in Hangeland, Etuhu, Duff, Murphy, Zamora and Clint Dempsey.

 

Swansea City 11/12 - 12/13

The emergence of Brendan Rodgers, Michael Laudrup and Michu's one hit wonder and a League Cup win. Brendan Rodgers had taken over from Roberto Martinez in the Championship and took Swansea to the Premier League playing a similar brand of football. Martinez' side at Wigan was one that leaked goals but provided entertainment up front, Rodgers' Swansea were a more balanced side that scored as much as they conceded almost, but generally bored us with a passing game that lacked the edge that other teams had. Laudrup's Swansea finished two places higher than Rodgers' even though Rodgers' side won more points, but the real star of this period was Michu who under Laudrup helped lead Swansea to there first ever major trophy.

 

Southampton 13/14 - 15/16

This one is slightly unusual because Southampton had a managerial change throughout this period alongside some major changes to the team, over 3 years they had 6 first teamers sold and replaced. You could really make the argument that this is two generations of sides, Poch's Saints and then Koeman's. But I just think the way in which they replaced players and moved on is almost unheard of for a side in midtable to do over 3 years so we'll chuck them together. These Saints sides were best known for a young Adam Lallana, a wonderkid left back in Luke Shaw, Dejan Lovren making his name in England, Wanyama and Schneiderlin, Sadio Mane who eventually left for Liverpool (like the rest), the one season wonder Graziano Pelle and of course the loveable Scouse rogue who helped oversee Saints' rise from League One and secured himself a season at his boyhood club Liverpool, who was deceptive as he looked stiff on the ball but could actually play, the man the myth the legend....Rickie Lambert. This Saints side were attacking, thrilling and entertaining, they finished 8th, 7th and 6th and in the final season were only 4 points off of a Champions League spot, they also finished as runners up in the League Cup final as they were beaten by United with Zlatan scoring two, I even think they may have had one disallowed.

 

Leicester City 15/16 - 16/17

I've broken the rules as Leicester did play in the Champions League and surpassed those Europa League spots. But Leicester City had no right winning the league, they had just fought off relegation, their expectations would have been just to stay up, maybe midtable. They were littered with talent amongst some decent/average players and nobody knew, Vardy, Mahrez, Kante, Albrighton, Schmeichel. The done the unthinkable, were the unstoppable. The following season was a drop off, but they topped their Champions League group including Porto, they beat Sevilla in the Round of 16, only lost to Atletico by a 1 goal margin, so close to a semi-final against the biggest club in the world Real Madrid. With Wes bloody Morgan playing.

 

Wolves 18/19 - 19/20

Two solid seasons for Wolves where they finished 7th both times, earning a spot in the Europa League. The brand of football isn't particularly exciting but they've had great individual players that provide the excitement in the likes of Adama Traore who went from speed merchant to henchman who can unlock a defence with ease, Ruben Neves and those long range goals, an absolute coup (or not, Jorge Mendes) in signing Moutinho, Diogo Jota now at Anfield and Jimenez who is hands down one of the best strikers in the league, not to mention honourable shouts for the likes of Conor Coady and Wily Boly at the back. They also had a decent run in the Europa League before getting knocked out by eventual winners Sevilla in the Q/F, not to mention doing the double over City last season whilst also picking up a lot of draws against the top 6 in the season prior

 

[Cicero]

Everton 2005-2010 was always a pain in the arse

[RandoEFC+]

9 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Everton 2005-2010 was always a pain in the arse

Our exclusion here is clear evidence that @Danny is yet another recruit to the great nationwide anti-Scouse conspiracy .

[Danny]

11 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Our exclusion here is clear evidence that @Danny is yet another recruit to the great nationwide anti-Scouse conspiracy .

Or it is my pro-scouseness agenda that I would rank you in a list of top 4 nearly rans with your Newcastle's, Villa's, Spurs and Leeds 

[RandoEFC+]

3 minutes ago, Danny said:

Or it is my pro-scouseness agenda that I would rank you in a list of top 4 nearly rans with your Newcastle's, Villa's, Spurs and Leeds 

@Storts

[Storts]

7 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

@Storts

Haha not dignifying him with a response 

[Danny]

19 minutes ago, Storts said:

Haha not dignifying him with a response 

Not even fishing stortsy but Harry Redknapp era, Martin Jol, was defo the right description for those teams

[Spike]

Anybody that talks shite about 2004-2012 everton has to answer to me , big timmy and thirty of his samoan usos

[Happy Blue]

Got to be Liverpool

[Dr. Gonzo]

Charlton from that one year where Charlton tried to qualify for the CL

[Carnivore Chris]

The side under Sparky as manager was another.

Got into the UEFA Cup twice, beating Man United(twice), Arsenal and Chelsea(this is when nobody could get near the "top 4") in the same season, getting to 3 domestic cup finals and with a quality bunch of bunch of players (some absolute bargains) in Friedel, Tugay, Gamst, Neill, Emerton, Warnock, Nelsen, Bentley, Samba..

Always a top striker in the line up as well from Bellamy, to McCarthy to Santa Cruz. Could have done better in the UEFA Cup, but a tough, physical side to beat and Arsenal, especially, hated going to Ewood. It was a fortress then.

The atmosphere was cracking around then. I used to get smashed on a Friday night then go to Ewood on a Saturday afternoon after no sleep the night before, before carrying on the sesh all Saturday night as well. The good old days. How I handled all that is another question though...

 

[Carnivore Chris]

I've actually just realised that you already mentioned that side .

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

12 minutes ago, Cazza said:

This I find hard to believe.... Were the highlights in Black and white or displayed as cave  drawings?

It was 2003 or 2004 

[RandoEFC+]

We were always fun but I don't think you'd really call it nostalgia. We were always just reliably there. The teams mentioned at the start were all pretty good over achievers with a few good players and felt easy to get behind at the time. The short lived nature of many of them is probably what adds to their appeal. The only other one I remember quite fondly was that Newcastle side who finished about 5th with Ba and Cisse up front and Pardew as manager. Just describing that as a scenario now seems hilarious.

[Danny]

2 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

We were always fun but I don't think you'd really call it nostalgia. We were always just reliably there. The teams mentioned at the start were all pretty good over achievers with a few good players and felt easy to get behind at the time. The short lived nature of many of them is probably what adds to their appeal. The only other one I remember quite fondly was that Newcastle side who finished about 5th with Ba and Cisse up front and Pardew as manager. Just describing that as a scenario now seems hilarious.

That Newcastle side was class but their drop off was remarkable, couldn’t put them in the list as there was really only one season of it. Same goes for Charlton @Dr. Gonzo, though you forget Charlton’s sibling club at the time due to the Darren (and Marcus) Bent connection, Ipswich Town.

[Lucas]

The Southampton period of 2012 to roughly 2017 I would say. A club that went from relegation flirts to a solid top half team and half the bloody league wanting all their players.

It was Pochettino's foundations for Southampton which Koeman benefitted from. Completely changed the dynamic there from Nigel Adkins.

Bare in mind they were just above the relegation zone in mid January. It didn't look great.

Poch comes in, no real pedigree, 9 days later they smash the champions Man City 3-1 playing a high intensity press, and then comfortably made a midtable finish with notable wins over Liverpool and Chelsea. All this with exactly the same players.

One full season later, he's led them to 8th, their highest placed finish in years and left for Spurs.

Koeman inherited a good squad of well coached players and they added the likes of Tadic, Mane and Pelle and had two successive finishes of 7th and 6th, playing great football, turning over all the Top sides and earning a brief venture into Europe. Quite a change from a club notoriously flirting with relegation. 

That club would go on a season later and play their first major Cup final in absolute ages narrowly losing 3-2 to Man Utd.

But that was just testiment to where this club were now at. A solid Premier League team.

[Dave]

Wimbledon 95 to 98. We've never seen such men like this since.

[Smiley Culture]

Stoke City. 

Absolutely infuriated everyone. At a time when people were going weak at the knees for Barca, Spain and tiki-taka, little Tony Pulis and his gang of Monstars turned up and shithoused the Premier League for a few years. Arsenal gavr three points to Stoke annually at seeing their game at the Britannia on the day fixtures were released, Rory Delap could throw a ball into next week and they had Boaz Myhill shitting his pants that much, he’d rather have given away a corner than a throw in to them. You don’t get “can they do it on a cold night in Watford?”, do you? Got into Europe as well. Halcyon days for the Prem and European Football. 

[Danny]

28 minutes ago, Smiley Culture said:

Stoke City. 

Absolutely infuriated everyone. At a time when people were going weak at the knees for Barca, Spain and tiki-taka, little Tony Pulis and his gang of Monstars turned up and shithoused the Premier League for a few years. Arsenal gavr three points to Stoke annually at seeing their game at the Britannia on the day fixtures were released, Rory Delap could throw a ball into next week and they had Boaz Myhill shitting his pants that much, he’d rather have given away a corner than a throw in to them. You don’t get “can they do it on a cold night in Watford?”, do you? Got into Europe as well. Halcyon days for the Prem and European Football. 

FA Cup final too

[Dan+]

On 08/02/2021 at 12:18, Smiley Culture said:

Stoke City. 

Absolutely infuriated everyone. At a time when people were going weak at the knees for Barca, Spain and tiki-taka, little Tony Pulis and his gang of Monstars turned up and shithoused the Premier League for a few years. Arsenal gavr three points to Stoke annually at seeing their game at the Britannia on the day fixtures were released, Rory Delap could throw a ball into next week and they had Boaz Myhill shitting his pants that much, he’d rather have given away a corner than a throw in to them. You don’t get “can they do it on a cold night in Watford?”, do you? Got into Europe as well. Halcyon days for the Prem and European Football. 

The league is without a doubt stronger for having sides like that. Burnley are the nearest thing to it but to be honest they're not as good and their record at home to the top sides is generally awful, which totally undermines the whole thing anyway.

[Rick]

On 08/02/2021 at 12:18, Smiley Culture said:

Stoke City. 

Absolutely infuriated everyone. At a time when people were going weak at the knees for Barca, Spain and tiki-taka, little Tony Pulis and his gang of Monstars turned up and shithoused the Premier League for a few years. Arsenal gavr three points to Stoke annually at seeing their game at the Britannia on the day fixtures were released, Rory Delap could throw a ball into next week and they had Boaz Myhill shitting his pants that much, he’d rather have given away a corner than a throw in to them. You don’t get “can they do it on a cold night in Watford?”, do you? Got into Europe as well. Halcyon days for the Prem and European Football. 

Now we have the ‘lite’ version in Burnley.