Nottingham Forest 1994-95

In the inaugural season of the Premier League, a Brian Clough-led Nottingham side crashed out of the league, finishing bottom of the ladder. This would mark the end of Clough’s managerial career, leaving Frank Clark with the task of bringing Forest back to England’s elite tier.

Clark did so at the first attempt, finishing second in the 1993-94 Football League First Division but Clark’s biggest achievement with Forest came in the 1994-95 season when the newly promoted side went undefeated in their first 11 league games and finished third at the end of the season, the highest finish of any promoted side to date.

Their first five performances remain the best of any promoted side since the Premier League’s inception, as captain Stuart Pearce led Forest to defeat Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Everton and Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-1 draw with Manchester United being the only blip in their campaign kick off.

Blackburn Rovers 1992-93

In the early days of the Premier League, it seemed any team could make an early impact, as was the case with the 1992-93 Blackburn Rovers squad.

Despite finishing sixth in the 1991-92 Second Division and barely making promotion, the Rovers' recorded the second-best start of any promoted Premier League side and found themselves top of the ladder early in the season.

Manager Kenny Dalglish signed 21-year old superstar Alan Shearer for a record fee of £3.6m, and the Englishman provided the firepower in the early fixtures as the Rovers recorded victories over Arsenal, Manchester City, Coventry and Nottingham Forrest.

But things took a downward turn when Shearer was injured just after Christmas and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Despite this, Blackburn finished fourth at the end of the season and scored the most goals of any other Premier League side.

Bolton Wanderers 2001-02

Having an impressive start to a season does not always lead to an impressive finish and the 2001-02 Bolton side proved this.

Wanderers qualified for the 2001-02 Premier League season after defeating Preston North End in the previous season’s English League First Division play-off final.

It all started well for the Trotters in the following season as they recorded an opening round 5-0 win over Leicester City, and followed that up by defeating Middlesbrough and Liverpool as star striker Michael Ricketts provided the goals.

Three wins from three saw Bolton record an impressive start however, it quickly unravelled as the Wanderers went on to win only six more league games and finished in 16th place.

Despite the disappointing finish to the season, the first three games for the Wanderers remains one of the best starts for any promoted side and led to the Trotters remaining in the Premier League until relegation in the 2011-12 season.

Portsmouth 2003-04

A Harry Redknapp-led Pompey dominated the 2002-03 Football League First Division, claiming the title as they gained promotion to England’s top division for the first time in 15 years.

Portsmouth managed a solid start to the 2003-04 Premier League season going undefeated in their first five games as former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur striker Teddy Sheringham scored five in five.

Redknapp’s side recorded a first-round win over Aston Villa and Sherringham provided a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. Pompey even managed to pull out a draw against the Invincibles with a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

It quickly went south for Portsmouth mid-season though as they found themselves in the relegation zone with consecutive defeats to Blackburn, Birmingham and Charlton. However, they rediscovered their early season form in the latter stages of the season as they lost just one in 10, finishing 13th in the process.

West Ham United 2005-06

The Hammers only just managed to scrape their way into the 2005-06 Premier League season, after finishing sixth in the previous year’s Championship and qualifying by winning the play-off final against Preston.

West Ham were subsequently tipped to be relegated but surprised many as they lost just one of their first seven fixtures. The Irons managed convincing wins against Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa with their eventual top goal scorer Marlon Harewood netting a hat-trick against Villa.

By October they were in fourth place but a mid-season slump saw them fall down the table. Despite things not going their way in the league, the Hammers managed an impressive cup run in the FA Cup leading to a cup final against Liverpool only to suffer a heartbreaking loss on penalties.

West Ham eventually finished ninth in the league after wins against the likes of Arsenal saw them regain their early form and qualify for the first round of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup.