Relegation from the Premier League is supposed to come with a safety net. Parachute payments, a squad built for the top flight and the pull of a big name are meant to make the Championship a place to regroup and go again — yet it doesn't always play out like that.

For a handful of clubs, it leads to more despair. The type of which happens right before their very eyes as they watch on powerlessly. In the Premier League era, only five teams have gone straight from the top flight to the third tier in back-to-back seasons.

Each collapse has had their own cocktail of chaos that has led to their downfall. Whether its managerial churn, boardroom neglect, financial sanctions or a mass exodus of talented stars, here is how every one of them unfolded.

Swindon Town (1993-94 & 1994-95)

Swindon were the original team to suffer back-to-back relegations. Promoted under Glenn Hoddle, they lost their player-manager to Chelsea before a ball was kicked, and assistant John Gorman stepped up for the club's first and only top-flight campaign.

It went badly. Swindon won just five of their 42 games, conceded 100 goals and finished bottom with 30 points. The slide continued in Division One.

Gorman was sacked in November 1994 and replaced by player-manager Steve McMahon, who reached a League Cup semi-final but could not stop a 21st-place finish. With the league restructuring, four clubs went down that year, and Swindon were one of them.

They've spent the 21st century bouncing between the third and fourth tier of English football.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (2011-12 & 2012-13)

Wolves' unravelling began with a 5-1 home defeat to West Brom in February 2012, which cost Mick McCarthy his job. Assistant Terry Connor took over and failed to win any of his 13 games in charge, and Wolves finished bottom with 25 points.

The Championship brought more problems. Ståle Solbakken lasted until January before Dean Saunders became the club's fourth manager in 12 months. Wolves finished 23rd on 51 points and dropped into League One. However, under Kenny Jackett, they bounced straight back as champions with 103 points, a third-tier record.

Since then, they've risen back to the top-flight, possessing one of the greatest ever Championship sides, and later building one of the best cult sides in Premier League history under Nuno Espírito Santo, later reaching Europe and becoming a Premier League staple again. That run ended in the 2025/26 season, as they returned to the second tier, the club's most recent relegation from the Premier League.

Sunderland (2016-17 & 2017-18)

Sunderland's decline is perhaps the most documented of the lot, playing out in the first series of Netflix's Sunderland 'Til I Die to a world audience.

After years of narrow escapes, the Black Cats finished bottom under David Moyes in 2016-17 with just 24 points. Simon Grayson was sacked after one win in his first 15 league games of the following season, and successor Chris Coleman fared little better.

Relegation was sealed by a 2-1 home defeat to fellow strugglers Burton Albion. Sunderland finished bottom of the Championship on 37 points, making it 61 points across two seasons. The recovery took four years in League One, ending with a 2-0 play-off final win over Wycombe in 2022.

Their rise back has been nothing short of deserved. A return to the top-flight came in 2025, as they shocked everyone to qualify for European football, finishing eighth after a stunning campaign.

Luton Town (2023-24 & 2024-25)

Luton's story was the opposite of Sunderland's: a club punching above its weight rather than crumbling from within.

Rob Edwards guided the Hatters through their first Premier League campaign with the division's smallest wage bill. They won but finished 18th on 26 points, the fewest of any club in the all-time Premier League table, with relegation confirmed by a 4-2 final-day defeat to Fulham.

Many tipped Luton to challenge for promotion. Instead, Edwards left in January 2025 and Matt Bloomfield could not halt the slide. A 5-3 defeat at West Brom on the final day left them 22nd on 49 points.

Now, they are in the midst of a new era, led by former Arsenal and England midfielder, Jack Wilshere. His energetic style of play has seen Luton become one of the most entertaining sides in the EFL, as they eye a return to the Championship.

Leicester City (2024-25 & 2025-26)

This remains one of the most striking falls from grace, as Leicester found themselves in League One, a decade after one of football's greatest triumphs. Leicester, the 5,000-1 champions of 2016, finished 18th in 2024-25 with 25 points as neither Steve Cooper nor Ruud van Nistelrooy could keep them up.

The Championship proved worse. Martí Cifuentes was sacked in January 2026, interim boss Andy King lost all four of his games, and a six-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules followed.

Former Foxes player Gary Rowett was brought in to save them, but a 2-2 home draw with Hull City confirmed relegation with two games to spare. Leicester finished 23rd on 46 points, returning to the third tier for the first time since 2008-09, having spent 56 seasons in the top flight.

The long journey back to the top has faced many issues, with Russell Martin's tenure proving to be an incredibly controversial one as look to navigate League One.

Every Premier League Club Relegated in Back-to-Back Seasons

*Includes a six-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules.