NORTHAMPTON TOWN

For four decades, Northampton had been a picture of Football League stability, although not necessarily in a good way. They neither went up nor down, until the 1960s suddenly brought chaos, excitement and a journey nobody at the County Ground had seen coming.

The key figure was Dave Bowen, a Welsh international who had faced Pele at the 1958 World Cup and returned to Northampton as player-manager the following year. By 1961, he had guided them to promotion, setting in motion one of the most remarkable rises in English football.

The Cobblers then smashed in 109 goals to win the Third Division in 1963, before reaching the First Division in 1965. By that stage, Bowen was juggling club duties with managing Wales, but Northampton’s rise had been so rapid that the club had not really had time to grow around it.

The top flight was simply too much, too soon. Northampton lacked the resources, infrastructure and experience to survive at that level, and their stay lasted a single season, still the only top-flight campaign in the club’s history. Once the slide began, it gathered pace. Defensive problems followed them into the Second Division, relegation came again, and Bowen resigned in 1967. Two years later, Northampton were back in the fourth tier.

PORTSMOUTH

Portsmouth’s points deduction in 2010 placed them in rare Premier League company, with Middlesbrough the only previous club to have been docked points in the competition. For Pompey, administration was not just a punishment, it was the start of a steep fall.

The nine-point penalty effectively ended their hopes of survival, even though they still reached the FA Cup final that season. Behind the cup run, the club was in chaos. Ownership passed from Sacha Gaydamak to Sulaiman Al Fahim, then Ali Al Faraj, Balram Chainrai and eventually the administrators, with debts climbing to £135m.

Portsmouth were denied a licence to play in the Europa League and also lost manager Avram Grant. Vladimir Antonov then took over, only to be arrested over alleged asset stripping at a Lithuanian bank, with reports stating he fled before extradition could take place. Pompey entered administration again in 2012, were docked another 10 points and dropped into League One.

A further 10-point penalty followed when they came out of administration, and the slide continued. Portsmouth went straight through the third tier and, for a spell in 2013-14, were even battling to avoid relegation into non-league football.