in 2002 a year after relegation by securing the Division One title, and marked their return to the top flight with a ninth-place finish – their highest in a decade. After two seasons of newly promoted clubs either being relegated or narrowly scraping survival, West Ham United finished ninth in the Premier League in 2005–06 and almost won the FA Cup (only missing out due to a late Liverpool equaliser and a penalty shoot-out defeat), while fellow promoted side Wigan Athletic enjoyed an even more remarkable season. They were rarely outside the top five in the first half of the season, and then reached their first major cup final – the League Cup final – which they lost to Manchester United. They eventually finished 10th in the final table. Reading reached the top flight for the first time in their history for the 2006–07 season and finished eighth – narrowly missing out on UEFA Cup qualification. Hull City reached the Premier League for the 2008–09 season, the first time they had ever appeared in the top flight and all the more remarkable considering they had begun the decade almost bankrupt in the league's basement division. An excellent start to the season saw them level on points in third place with the leading pack of Liverpool and Arsenal in mid-October, though their season gradually fell away from December onwards and they ended up surviving by just one point. Hull were relegated the following season but made a return to the Premier League several years later by finishing second in the 2012–13 Championship season, with experienced manager Steve Bruce in charge. Hull again survived their first season in the Premier League following promotion, finishing 16th in the 2013–14 season but they were relegated again the following season after drawing 0–0 with Manchester United on the last day of the season. Hull stuck with Bruce after relegation, who in the 2015–16 season got Hull promoted for the second time as manager through winning the 2016 Championship play-off final. Bruce left the club during the summer after disagreements with the board and frustration over the club's lack of transfer activity, leaving Hull in a crisis going into their Premier League season without a manager and an incredibly small squad of only 13 fit senior professionals. The season started well under caretaker manager Mike Phelan, winning their opening two fixtures, including a shock win over