The Rare English Clubs With First Major Title Since 2000

Only a few English clubs have been incredibly able to clinch their first major title since 2000, which is quite rare.

The 2024/25 campaign is coming to an end. It has been a remarkable season for the unlikely champions.

There are sides which ended their long trophy drought or those who clinched their first major title ever. Tottenham, Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are examples of those sides.

Spurs won a title for the first time in 17 years with their success in the Europa League, the Magpies’s EFL Cup victory ended a 70-year drought while the Eagles’ unexpected victory against Manchester City in the FA Cup final marked their first-ever silverware as a club.

Breaking the deadlock, a series of failures or even a trophy curse could be exhausting and take ages to deal with. Such may impact the teams’ confidence to turn the tables. The same goes for those who struggle to win their first major title.

However, sometimes they only need a stroke of luck with the help of the right manager.

Crystal Palace owe their glorious first major title to Oliver Glasner. The Austrian boss, who only arrived in the second half of the 2023/24 campaign, stole the spotlight as he guided them to a 10th-place finish, their highest position in the EPL.

This season, the former Frankfurt and Wolfsburg boss managed to finally lead them to make their debut in Europe next season, alongside their first trophy in hand.

Since the millennium, not many English clubs have been able to clinch their first major title. Only three teams have done so.

However, all of them are currently no longer competing in the top flight.

Middlesbrough (League Cup 2003/04)

Middlesbrough was the first English club to win their first major title in the new millennium.

Under Steve McLaren, along with a number of foreign stars in the squad, such as the Netherlands’ Boudewijn Zenden and former Valencia key player in the 2000s, Gaizka Mendieta, alongside Juninho Paulista and Australian goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, they managed to become one of the promising dark horses in the Premier League.

McLaren, who took charge of the team in 2001, carried on the positive work initiated by Bryan Robson as he guided them to the FA Cup semi-final.

The former Manchester United captain brought them to become FA Cup and League Cup finalists in 1997 and 1998.

In the 2003/04 campaign, their long-awaited first trophy finally arrived.

Gareth Southgate and Co. were able to eliminate two EPL giants, Spurs and Arsenal, in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

In the summit, Middlesbrough met the fellow dark horse, Sam Allardyce’s Bolton Wanderers, who saw off Liverpool and Aston Villa on the road to the final.

The final was held in Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, as Wembley was still under construction.

Boro quickly took the two-goal lead early on as Josep Desire Job opened the scoresheet in the second minute, quickly followed by Zenden’s penalty in the seventh minute.

Bolton Wanderers’ Kevin Davies netted a lifeline in the 21st minute as his low strike to the near post was not cleared out by Schwarzer.

However, the Australian goalkeeper found redemption by making three crucial saves to keep Bolton at bay, including two attempts from French star Youri Djorkaeff.

It was the victory they had been waiting for since their promotion to the top flight in 1996. Boro also finished seventh in the league, which is the highest position in their Premier League history.

The Teesside club even went on further to reach the final in the 2006 UEFA Cup under McLaren.

Sadly, they slumped to a heavy 4-0 loss to Sevilla in the summit. That was the end of McLaren’s tenure, and they were relegated four years later.

They returned to the EPL in 2016 only to go down again in the following season. It was their last campaign in the top flight.

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Wigan Athletic (FA Cup 2012/13)

Wigan Athletic were one of the dark horses in the Premier League during the early 2010s, normally at the beginning of the campaign.

Yet, the Latics’ slew dip in the second half of the season always cost their position in the table.

Under the current Portugal national team boss, Roberto Martinez, they had the same trend of performance.

Yet, in 2012/13, the Spaniard achieved something beyond their own wildest dream, winning their first major title, the FA Cup, by beating the English champions, Manchester City, 1-0 at Wembley.

Their road to the summit was not exactly bumpy.

Callum McManaman and Co only saw off one tough opposition, the fellow EPL side, Everton, in the quarterfinal.

Roberto Mancini’s men were undoubtedly favourites with their star-studded squad. However, the final game did not turn out as they expected.

Wigan employed a low-block defence with counterattacks relying on McManaman’s pace and acceleration supported by the ex-Ivorian international, Arouna Kone.

Unfortunately, Wigan squandered at least three chances to open the scoring. On the other end, the goalkeeper, Joel Robles, was instrumental in denying three attempts from Carlos Tevez and Co.

The Latics’ winning goal was finally scored just a few minutes before the final whistle. The substitute Ben Watson headed home to the far side of the post following Shaun Maloney’s corner kick.

Roberto Martinez’s men did something impossible in the club’s history, which remains their only major silverware to date.

Ironically, Wigan finished 18th in the league in the same season or suffered relegation despite earning one spot in Europe.

It was also their last campaign at the top flight to date. Wigan are currently competing in the third tier.

Swansea City (League Cup 2012/13)

In the same season, another unlikely team also clinched their first major title.

Swansea City had a much better campaign compared to Wigan, especially in the Premier League.

Under the former Danish star in the 1990s, Michael Laudrup, they played an offensive and attractive game relying on ball possession, which is a non-typical style of play for the non-elite teams in England.

Swansea managed to finish ninth in the final standings and snatched the EFL League Cup after dismantling Bradford City 5-0 at Wembley.

Ashley Williams and his teammates were already the favourites in the summit after knocking out Liverpool and Chelsea previously.

To win the game for Swansea City, Nathan Dyer and Jonathan de Guzman netted a brace each plus another goal from Michu.

Sadly, Laudrup did not stay long. His second season had dismal results as they sat at the lower table.

The Danish boss was eventually dismissed in the middle of the season and moved to the Middle East instead to lead Qatar’s Lewkhiya, despite the rumours of Barcelona and Olympique Marseille’s interest in appointing him as their new manager.

The Swans stayed in the top flight till the 2017/18 campaign after finishing eighth, their highest position in the top tier under Garry Monk in 2015.

That was their last season in the Premier League. They are currently still in the second tier.

Main Photo

Credit: IMAGO / Newscom World

Recording Date: 24.02.2013