Hull are celebrating their playoff win, but how will they do in the Premier League next season? If past winners are anything to go by, the omens aren't great, but they do have some hope to cling to...
2007 - Derby County
Who They Beat In The Final
West Brom, 1-0.
What Happened Next
Erm, yeah, well. Having taken over a struggling Championship team in mountains of debt, Billy Davies performed miracles getting Derby into the Premier League. The trouble is, he did it a good two years to early (by his own admission), and took a woefully unprepared side into the top flight. A victim of his own 'success', Davies was shown the door as Derby looked to avoid absolute humiliation, but alas it didn't work. The Rams finished the season as statistically the worst team to ever appear in the top flight, with just 11 points and the single, solitary win.
2006 - Watford
Who They Beat In The Final
Leeds United, 3-0.
What Happened Next
While not quite as abject as Derby, Watford's short stay in the Premiership (as it was called back then) wasn't exactly distinguished. Having brought Watford up from nowhere to reach the playoffs, Aidy Boothroyd went for a pragmatic and pretty ugly style of play in an attempt to scrap their way to survival. However, their lack of quality was ruthlessly exposed most weeks, and finished the season ten points adrift of safety.
2005 - West Ham
Who They Beat In The Final
Preston, 1-0.
What Happened Next
Hopelessly unpopular with most fans, Alan Pardew managed to take a stuttering side through the playoffs and followed it up with an exceptional first season back. In an odd season when the Championship winners from the previous campaign (Sunderland) finished rock-bottom with 15 points, West Ham and Wigan finished comfortably in mid-table without too many significant purchases, until the signing of Dean Ashton in January. Add to that the remarkable FA Cup run that saw them lose an uncharacteristically exciting final to Liverpool and you have a cracking return, before the chaos of the following campaign.
2004 - Crystal Palace
Who They Beat In The Final
West Ham, 1-0.
What Happened Next
In much the same way that Neil Warnock did this season, Iain Dowie took Palace from the lower reaches of the division to the playoffs, but unlike Warnock managed to get through to the land of riches and roastings. However, despite an effort that could well be described as 'gallant', Palace were - along with Norwich - the victims of West Brom's miraculous rise from the ashes to survive on the last day. A win from any of their last three games would have been enough to secure survival, but they could only manage three draws and went down by a point. If nothing else the campaign was notable for the 21 goals scored by Andy Johnson - the last time an Englishman managed more than 20 league strikes in a season.
2003 - Wolves
Who They Beat In The Final
Sheffield United, 3-0.
What Happened Next
After years of heavy spending and even heavier expectations, Wolves finally reached the Premiership with a devastating defeat of Sheffield United. Following that was a season of disappointment, the highlight of which was an excellent 1-0 defeat of Manchester United at Molineux. An excellent home record (they won more games at HQ than Bolton, who finished in eighth) was unfortunately coupled with a abject away form. Twelve defeats and no wins on the road meant that Wolves finsihed bottom, albeit on the same total of 33 points as fellow dropees Leeds and Leicester. Wolves of course are still in the second tier, but in comparison with those two they've had a reasonably good time of it.
2002 - Birmingham City
Who They Beat In The Final
Norwich, on penalties.
What Happened Next
After a below-par first half to the campaign, Steve Bruce's famous inspired January transfer window was essentially enough to secure Brum's survival. The signings of Christophe Dugarry, Matthew Upson and Steven Clemence for a total of around £1.25million is widely credited with saving their bacon. A brilliant run of seven wins in nine games in February and March (including back-to-back successes against Liverpool and Aston Villa) kept them in the top flight, where they stayed for a couple more seasons.
2001 - Bolton
Who They Beat In The Final
Preston, 3-0.
What Happened Next
After losing in the 1999 final, Bolton returned to the Premiership and have stayed there under the stewardship of Sam Allardyce, his troupe of aged stars and latterly Gary Megson. They started the 2001/2 season with something of a bang - a 5-0 slaughtering of Leicester followed by a couple more wins put them top of the league and setting the pace. They fell away somewhat towards the end of the season, but survived and of course still play their 'football' in the top flight, despite the efforts of this season past.
2000 - Ipswich
Who They Beat In The Final
Barnsley, 4-2.
What Happened Next
After two failures in the semi-finals, Ipswich finally reached the promised land by thrashing Barnsley, and went on to put in one of the most remarkable performances by any promoted team in years. Helped along by 19 league goals my Marcus Stewart, Ipswich hung around towards the top of the table for most of the season, finally finishing fifth and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, narrowly missing out on a Champions League place. Things didn't go as well the season after, with Europe a possible distraction, George Burley's side went down and haven't returned since.
Nick Miller