Firing up the Foxes: 10 surprise league champions who can help inspire Leicester to the English title

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Leicester City are closing in on a remarkable prize, the English Premier League title. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:44am, 1 Apr 2016Updated: 10:44am, 1 Apr 2016

With Leicester City well placed to become the English Premier League’s most unlikely champions, we look at 10 other clubs who shook up the established order and claimed surprise titles:

Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough and assistant manager Peter Taylor with the English League Championship trophy after it had been presented to Forest in 1978. Photo: AP

NOTTINGHAM FOREST (England, 1977-78)

Promoted from England’s second tier the previous season, Brian Clough’s Forest took the top division by storm to win the league by seven points from European champions Liverpool, who they also defeated in the League Cup final. Clough had bolstered his ranks by signing England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, Scotland midfielder Archie Gemmill and no-nonsense Scot Kenny Burns, who was re-converted from a striker to a centre-back, but the team were otherwise unchanged. Forest won the European Cup the following season and then retained it in 1980, making them the only club to have won the tournament more times than their own national championship

IPSWICH TOWN (England, 1961-62)

Ipswich, in their first season after promotion, were crowned champions of England for the only time in their history in a league where Tottenham, bolstered by signing of Jimmy Greaves, were arguably even stronger than when they won the double of league and cup in 1960-61. Ipswich’s success eventually saw Alf Ramsey get the England job. In 1966, Ramsey led England to their only World Cup title.