From Leicester’s miracle to modern reality: What’s changed in the Premier League since 2016
10 years ago, the Premier League looked completely different. The 2015/16 season produced one of football's most shocking title wins, with Leicester City defying 5000/1 odds to lift the trophy - a moment that still influences how fans, analysts and Premier League betting markets view what's possible.
That campaign rewrote the rules about power, spending and possibility in English football. But a decade later, the landscape's shifted again – some clubs have risen, others have fallen away, and the league's transformed almost entirely.
How the league table looked
Leicester City
Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Manchester City
Southampton
West Ham United
Liverpool
Stoke City
Chelsea
Swansea City
Everton
Watford
West Bromwich Albion
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
Sunderland
Newcastle United (relegated)
Aston Villa (relegated)
Norwich City (relegated)
Leicester City's dramatic fall
Leicester City's title win is the modern Premier League's defining moment.
A squad assembled on modest means, led by Claudio Ranieri, tore up every financial and tactical obstacle to lift the trophy, finishing 10 points clear of Arsenal.
Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante became household names overnight.
But the years since have exposed how fragile that success was.
Leicester struggled to stay among the elite and were relegated at the end of the 2022/23 season.
They returned to the Premier League the following season after winning the Championship, but suffered relegation immediately.
Their story underlines just how extraordinary 2016 was - and how ruthless the Premier League becomes once momentum disappears.
Arsenal's familiar frustration
Arsenal finished second in 2016, a position that felt frustrating then and stings even more now.
With several traditional title rivals underperforming, that season represented a genuine missed opportunity.
Fast forward to today, and history seems to be repeating itself.
Arsenal currently sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League, playing confident, progressive football and looking well placed to finally end their title drought.
Yet the recent pattern is hard to ignore. They have finished second in each of the past three seasons, leading or contending deep into campaigns before letting it slip.
It leaves a familiar question hanging over this campaign. Will Arsenal repeat 2016 and fall just short again - or will they finally go one better and turn dominance into silverware?
Tottenham's collapse
Tottenham finished third in 2016, looking organised, energetic and capable of mounting genuine title challenges.
Since then, they have nosedived.
Despite winning the Europa League last season, Tottenham now sit 14th and have burned through eight managers in nine years (including Ryan Mason twice and Cristian Stellini as interim appointments).
Stability has been replaced by constant upheaval.
With pressure mounting again, speculation's already building around who might be next if Spurs pull the trigger - raising the prospect of a ninth manager since 2016.
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Relegations in 2016 and what happened next
Norwich City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United went down in 2016, but their recoveries couldn't have been more different.
Newcastle bounced straight back and are now firmly established near the top of the Premier League following major investment and structural changes.
They even ended their trophy drought with a Carabao Cup win last season.
Aston Villa took longer to rebuild but eventually returned to the Premier League and re-established themselves as a competitive side. They sit third at the time of writing.
Norwich, meanwhile, became the classic yo-yo club, frequently topping Premier League relegation odds and bouncing between divisions without ever finding stability. They're now at risk of dropping to League 1.
Today's relegation battle
Fast forward to today, and the relegation picture looks entirely different.
Burnley, West Ham and Wolves currently find themselves at risk - clubs who were in vastly different positions back in 2016.
West Ham finished seventh that season and were pushing for Europe. Wolves weren't even in the Premier League, while Burnley were still finding their feet as a top-flight side.
A decade later, all three are battling to avoid the same fate that caught Villa, Norwich and Newcastle back then.
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Feature image credit: Stock ID: 2506416355
