Foxes fairytale, stumbling giants and manager mayhem

If the champions were a surprise package, the collapse of previous holders Chelsea also sent shockwaves throughout the season, along with managers on the move, a parochial relegation fight between north-east of England rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland and a top-four battle that went down to the final day.

So as the dust settles on another Premier League season, how will this turbulent, exciting campaign be remembered?

Leicester City went from celebrating Premier League survival and 5,000/1 outsiders in May 2015 to champions inside 12 months - when the story of football is told this season will be forever associated with the Foxes.

The signs, at least some of them, were in evidence in that renaissance as they won seven of their final nine games last season but to suggest the transformation would lead to them being presented with the Premier League trophy at an exultant King Power on Saturday, 7 May 2016 would have been dismissed as the work of a fantasist.

Leicester provided the footballers of the year in England striker Jamie Vardy and Algeria forward Riyad Mahrez, with 24 and 17 goals respectively, while France midfielder N'Golo Kante was not far behind. The trio are a tribute to the meticulous scouting model employed at the club.

Vardy cost just £1m from Fleetwood in May 2012, Mahrez £400,000 from French second-tier side Le Havre in January 2014 and Kante £5.6m from Caen in August 2015. That is just £7m for the inspiration behind a Premier League title, with credit to former manager Nigel Pearson for those first two deals.

And at the heart of all was the man who arrived at Leicester to replace the sacked Pearson. Claudio Ranieri's appointment was, at best, unheralded and followed a spell when he was dismissed by Greece after losing to the Faroe Islands.

Against all odds - like the Foxes - the Italian led his team in masterly fashion from the 4-2 opening day win against Sunderland, managing expectation and pressure superbly while winning the hearts and support of neutrals with his humble, yet charismatic style.

Leicester's title win - a prolonged shock to sport's system - takes its place in the greatest sporting achievements of all time.

Five clubs had their highest ever finish in the Premier League:

Leicester are champions (previous best of eighth in 1999-2000)

Tottenham finished third (previous best of fourth in 2009-10 and 2011-12)

Southampton will finish no lower than sixth (previous best of seventh in 2014-15)

Watford finished 13th (previous best of 20th in 1999-2000 and 2006-07)

Bournemouth will be no lower than 16th (first season in Premier League)

It was 7 May 2015 and all was well at Stamford Bridge. Manager Jose Mourinho had brought the Premier League back to Chelsea, signed a new four-year contract and spoke of building a team for a 10-year dynasty.

In one of the most startling, chaotic declines of any champion team and manager, Chelsea's fortunes collapsed to such an extent that seven months later Mourinho was sacked by owner Roman Abramovich after just four wins from 16 league games.

From day one and the row with Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro against Swansea City, when she went out on to treat injured Eden Hazard without his permission, and was subsequently removed from first-team duties which led to legal action, Mourinho's Chelsea tenure went into meltdown.

Players he counted on when winning the Premier League such as Hazard, Diego Costa - who scored 20 league goals in the title win - and Cesc Fabregas were ineffective and anonymous.

The end came amid the rancour of a 2-1 loss at Leicester City on 15 December, after which Mourinho claimed some players had "betrayed" his work. Two days later he was gone - a spectacular downfall complete.

Blackburn Rovers dropped from first to seventh after winning the title in 1994-95 - and Manchester United did the same after being crowned champions in 2012-13. Chelsea's drop was even more acute and demonstrated their fall from grace.

Leicester City's feat will be regarded as the greatest in Premier League history - and it has been helped along the way by the giants stumbling at the wayside.

Chelsea's downfall has been chronicled while Manchester City's hopes of regaining the title they won twice in recent years was undermined by rampant inconsistency, a lack of performances worthy of an expensively assembled squad and, perhaps, the announcement in February that manager Manuel Pellegrini would be replaced by Pep Guardiola that provided the backdrop to the closing months of their season.

Manchester United's league season was dull under manager Louis van Gaal, with only the occasional sparkle of victories at Liverpool and Manchester City. They were so poor for so long it was a minor miracle they sustained a top-four challenge until the final day.

Arsenal told us the same old story of promise until the turn of the year then fragility when the pressure is on. This was, in many ways, the season Arsene Wenger and his players had waited for as their usual rivals stuttered - and they still could not take advantage.

(BBC)