On April 5th Fulham were six points from safety but three wins in four games have given them a chance to join the late-revival survivors club which includes:
Luton Town 1983-84
Luton had some good early results on returning to the First Division, but soon began to struggle. Relegation loomed, but they had a good late run, losing only two out of nine matches before visiting Manchester City. Victory would assure survival and Raddy Antic's 86th-minute goal delivered it. David Pleat did his famous post-match jig across the Maine Road turf and Antic said: "The memory of David jumping across the pitch will live with me all my life."
Oldham Athletic 1992-93
Joe Royle's team had to win three games in seven days and rely on other results to go their way to stay in the Premier League. They beat title-contenders Aston Villa 1-0 and Liverpool 3-2 at Boundary Park. They knew a win in their last game, at home to Southampton, coupled with defeat for Crystal Palace at Arsenal, would mean safety. Palace lost 3-0 and Oldham won 4-3. "Our strikers were injured and I couldn't see us winning a game of tiddlywinks," said Royle. "But we never gave up."
Coventry City 1996-97
By all but ending Liverpool's title hopes, Coventry resurrected their own of staying up. After a 2-1 win at Anfield on April 6, Gordon Strachan's side lost one of their final five games. The last, a 2-1 win at Tottenham, kept them up. "No one expected us to win at White Hart Lane but the players dug deep," said Coventry's goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic.
Bradford City 1999-00
"I'd won three Premier League titles with Manchester United but this game was as big as any I played in," said Lee Sharpe after the 1-0 win over Liverpool on the last day. Bradford seemed set for a rapid return to the First Division until a 1-0 win at Sunderland sparked a revival. They beat Wimbledon and, after a loss to Leicester, knew a win against Liverpool would keep them up. David Weatherall's header achieved that.
West Ham Utd 2006-07
A season that saw the sacking of a manager and a large fine for improper transfers seemed destined to end in relegation. But Carlos Tevez, whose arrival resulted in a £5.5 million penalty, started the fightback with a goal at Blackburn on March 17th. They won five of their next seven games and avoiding defeat at Manchester United would mean survival. They won 1-0 thanks to Tevez. Manager, Alan Curbishley, said: "People said if we could get some results I'd see the difference in the players, that's what happened." - Sachin Nakrani
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