“Arsenal were 40-1 to win the Premier League at the start of the season,” notes Alex Norton. “In betting terms, who apart from Leicester are the most unlikely English champions?” After enjoying a weekend away in the newspaper archive, we found – with one frustrating exception – pre-season odds for all champions of England since the mid-1960s.
None come anywhere near Leicester’s 5,000-1 miracle in 2015-16. In fact, in the Premier League era, Leicester are the only team to win the title with odds in double figures, never mind quadruple.
The next most unlikely winners, according to the bookies, were Manchester United in 2006-07. After three years without a league title, they were 13-2 to usurp José Mourinho’s rampant Chelsea.
Many people thought Sir Alex Ferguson was finished. They were truly, madly, deeply wrong: he won the league in five of his remaining seven seasons at Old Trafford.