Going down... again
A 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday confirmed Huddersfield’s relegation from the Premier League, and Fulham joined them after getting trounced by Watford on Tuesday in typically hapless fashion.
In this slideshow, we pick out 14 players who suffered the ignominy of multiple demotions throughout their careers…
Marcus Bent
Before an incident in which Bent received a 12-month suspended jail sentence for remonstrating with police officers while in possession of a meat cleaver, he was a useful centre-forward for top-flight clubs of a certain stature.
Bent scored a total of 40 goals in the Premier League, represented 16 professional clubs across his career – and was relegated on four occasions. Alongside Hermann Hreidarsson, the striker went down at both Crystal Palace and Ipswich, before following that up with disappointment at Leicester and Charlton.
Nathan Blake
Alongside Hermann Hreidarsson, Blake holds the record for the most relegations in Premier League history. The Wales international was first demoted with Sheffield United in 1993/94, then twice at Bolton in 1996 and 1998, as well as at Blackburn the following season and again at Wolves in 2004.
Blake got on the wrong side of the law by stealing from a fruit machine in his youth, but has been more sensible and successful in his post-football career. He's set up his own property development company and won an award for Best Supporting Actor at Film Fest Cymru for his role in a short film called The Homing Bird. Beats going down to the second tier for a sixth time.
Steven Caulker
Caulker, a product of the Tottenham academy, impressed in his first full Premier League season with Swansea in 2011/12. Since then, though, the centre-back's career has been haunted by personal problems, injuries and more.
His move to Welsh rivals Cardiff City in 2013/14 didn't work out well, as the Bluebirds (then wearing red) dropped down to the second tier. A move to QPR the following season brought the same result. Caulker has subsequently spent time on loan at Southampton and Liverpool, where he was at times used as an emergency striker. He's now at Alanyaspor in Turkey following a successful stint with Dundee.
Curtis Davies
If Derby go on to win promotion this term, Frank Lampard might be tempted to ship out Davies despite his current importance to the team. The centre-back doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to finishing above the dreaded dotted line, having previously fallen out of the Premier League with West Brom, Birmingham and Hull (twice).
In fairness to the 34-year-old, play-off success with Derby this season would bring him one behind in his own individual promotion vs relegation battle, after going up to the Championship with Luton in 2005 and then the Premier League with Hull 11 years later.
Paul Dougherty
Dougherty (pictured during his time at Chicago Fire) has the unenviable record of having been relegated for three seasons in succession while at the same club. The midfielder, who was still in his teens at the time, played sporadically during each of Wolves's plunges down the divisions between 1984 and 1987. He was joined by his team-mate Geoffrey Palmer, although the right-back did at least manage to escape for a year on loan at Burnley in 1984/85.
Dougherty spent most of the rest of his career in the US, where he picked up a journeyman tag after playing for 16 different teams.
Fabio da Silva
Fabio has failed to beat the drop on three occasions. After suffering his first demotion while on loan at QPR in 2012/13, the former Manchester United full-back suffered the same fate at Cardiff in 2013/14, before again falling into the second tier when Middlesbrough went down in 2016/17.
His twin Rafael has never been relegated and currently plays for Ligue 1 outfit Lyon. Not much of a sibling rivalry there, sadly.
Nigel Quashie
Quashie’s debut season as a professional footballer ended in relegation with QPR – and it was a feeling he would quickly get used to. The midfielder played 18 times as Nottingham Forest fell through the Premier League trapdoor in 1998/99, although he successfully steered clear of the drop at Portsmouth between 2000 and 2005.
Unfortunately for Quashie, normal service was resumed down the road at Southampton, who were relegated on the final day of 2004/05 - thanks in part to Pompey's defeat by West Brom. Quashie joined the Baggies the following year and went down with them too, but the footballing gods took pity on him thereafter.
Rob Green
Maurizio Sarri may be struggling at Stamford Bridge, but at least Chelsea won’t be relegated this season. That’s a relief for third-choice goalkeeper Green, who has already suffered the drop three times in his career.
The first disappointment came at Norwich; the Canaries had their fate in their own hands heading into the final day of 2004/05, but Green shipped six at Fulham and they finished in the bottom three. Further demotions followed at West Ham and QPR, although he did at least help the former back into the top tier in 2012.
Brad Guzan
The American shot-stopper didn’t suffer a single relegation during his first four seasons as a professional – but that’s probably because the concept doesn’t exist in MLS. Guzan joined Aston Villa in 2008 and successfully avoided the drop until 2016, when the West Midlanders went down without a whimper.
Guzan was also on the books when Middlesbrough dropped into the Championship the following year, before returning to the sanctuary of the US’s demotion-free zone.
Hermann Hreidarsson
The imposing Icelandic defender is one of only two players in Premier League history to have been relegated with five different clubs: Crystal Palace, Wimbledon, Ipswich, Charlton and Portsmouth all dropped into English football's second tier while Hreidarsson was on their books.
The 6ft 3in man-mountain, who won 89 caps for his country, recently managed Kerala Blasters India after stints with both the men's and women's teams of hometown club Fylkir... who were relegated in his final season. They should have learned.
Roger Johnson
There was a time when Birmingham duo Johnson and Scott Dann were spoken of as one of the Premier League’s best centre-back partnerships. But whereas the latter remains in the top flight with Crystal Palace, Johnson – who is admittedly three years older than his former team-mate – now turns out for Bromley in the National League.
Johnson won the League Cup with Birmingham in 2010/11 but went down to the Championship that same season. He then suffered back-to-back relegations with Wolves, who fell from first flight to third between 2012 and 2014, and was demoted again with Charlton in 2016.
Paul Garner and Tony Kenworthy
Between 1975 and 1981, Sheffield United fell from Division One to Division Four. Garner and Kenworthy remained at Brammall Lane throughout this period and, remarkably, both helped the Blades back up to Division Two by 1984.
In the 1986/87 season, Kenworthy went close to registering a complete set of three promotions and three relegations. However, United fell from their handsome position of second – which they held at Christmas – to seventh, and narrowly missed out on promotion back to the top tier.
David Wetherall
Wetherall's career highlight came in 1999/2000, when his goal proved decisive as Bradford beat Liverpool to remain in the Premier League. But aside from that joyous moment, the new millennium was a nightmare for both the defender and the Bantams.
Wetherall remained a loyal servant at Valley Parade, but the club plummeted from the top tier in 2001, to the fourth in 2007. The centre-back made over 300 appearances for the Yorkshire outfit, then briefly became caretaker manager in League One when Colin Todd was dismissed. Wetherall, acting as player-manager, was in charge as the club was demoted at that end of that season.
