10 Longest Absences From The Premier League

The Midlands has been very poorly represented in the Premier League in recent years, with only Leicester from the East and Aston Villa and Wolves from the West. Gone are the days when the region had almost a third of the league’s members, as the likes of Derby County, Birmingham City and Coventry City become longer running absentees with each passing year.

Coventry had enjoyed a thirty four year spell in the top flight before their relegation in 2001, though they never once finished in the top half of the table during the nine years of that run that followed the Premier League’s creation, only surviving by the tiniest of margins in 1997 when they won their final fixture whilst Sunderland lost to an 85th minute goal.

Their subsequent descent through the divisions hit its lowest point in 2017 when the club were relegated to the fourth tier for only the second season in their entire history, though they quickly recovered and will grace the Championship once more in the upcoming season by virtue of having topped League One when play was suspended.

Though they are now closer to returning than they have been in over a decade, Coventry’s problems are far from over. They currently lack a stadium and their financial situation remains somewhat perilous.