Premier League–Football League gulf
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English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...
, a gulf has arisen between the finances of clubs from the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
and
English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...
since the First Division clubs broke away to form the Premier League in 1992. Some have argued that this disparity is wider than in other European leagues where the top flight is combined with at least one division below in a league, such as
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
's
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
's
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
's
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...
. However, England has five tiers of single national divisions, compared to only two in Spain and Italy and three in Germany.


Finance

Since the Premier League began at the start of the 1992–93 season, its member teams have received larger amounts of money in TV rights than their Football League colleagues. Prior to the formation of the Premier League, television revenues from top flight matches were shared between the 92 Football League clubs across four unified national professional divisions. The breakaway of 22 clubs to form the Premier League resulted in top flight revenues being shared exclusively between Premier League clubs. The Premier League agreed to maintain the promotion and relegation of three clubs with the Football League, but the Football League was now in a far weaker position – without its best clubs and without the clout to negotiate high revenue TV deals. This problem was exacerbated in 2002 when
ITV Digital ITV Digital was a British digital terrestrial television broadcaster which launched a pay-TV service on the world's first digital terrestrial television network. Its main shareholders were Carlton Communications plc and Granada plc, owners o ...
, the holder of the TV rights for the Football League, went into administration. Many League clubs had invested in ground improvements and the player transfer market with anticipated television funds that never materialized, causing several clubs to enter
receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...
– most notably
Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...
, who were faced with debts of £36 million and almost lost their Football League status as a result. As a result, financial disparity has been cited as a reason for newly promoted teams finding it increasingly harder to establish themselves in the Premier League, thus worrying more about avoiding relegation than even winning the title. In all but four of the 31 seasons since its introduction, at least one newly promoted club filled one of the three Premier League relegation places, and in the 1997–98 season all three promoted clubs (
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
,
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
and
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
) were relegated. The only exceptions, in which all three promoted teams survived, were the 2001–02, 2011–12, 2017–18, and
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
seasons. In 2001–02, the teams were
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
,
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, and Bolton Wanderers; Blackburn and Bolton were eventually relegated in 2011–12, and Fulham in 2013–14. (Fulham have since returned to the Premier League multiple times. In 2018–19 and
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
, Fulham were relegated immediately after only one season back in the Premier League. They were then promoted for a third time in
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
.) In 2011–12, the teams were
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
,
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, and Swansea City; QPR was relegated the following season, and Norwich in 2013–14, while Swansea was eventually relegated in 2017–18. Norwich and QPR both immediately bounced back from their relegations in the following season, earning promotion through winning the Championship playoffs in
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and
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respectively, however, they were both relegated back to the Championship in the seasons that followed. Norwich returned again in both 2019–20 and 2021–22 seasons, where they were once again relegated in both. QPR is still yet to return. In 2017–18, the teams were
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
,
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
, and
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
; Huddersfield were relegated the following season, while the other two teams are still competing in the Premier League. Five years later, in 2022–23, Fulham,
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
, and
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
all avoided relegation. All three teams are still competing in the Premier League. The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". Starting with the 2013–14 season, these payments are in excess of £60 million over four seasons. Though designed to help teams adjust to the loss of television revenues (the average Premier League team receives £55 million while the average
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
club receives £2 million), critics maintain that the payments actually widen the gap between teams that have reached the Premier League and those that have not, leading to the common occurrence of teams returning soon after their relegation. This, however, does not take into account former Premier League mainstays which currently are in the Football League, such as the former
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...
(who were replaced by
Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...
in 2004 following their relocation from
South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...
to
Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...
),
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...
and
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is nicknamed t ...
, who were founding members of the Premier League and stayed there for between eight and nine years before going down and have yet to return.
Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...
(also a founding Premier League club) saw a 15-year absence from the Premier League, before finally returning for the 2011–12 season but relegated again after 2014–15 and since having adopted a more cautious approach to finances due to unsustainable levels of spending in the Premier League.
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
saw a 16-year absence from the Premier League, before finally returning for the 2020–21 season, under the guidance of
Marcelo Bielsa Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...
. A more extreme example of the struggles associated with adapting to relegation would be that of previous Premier League champions
Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...
, who were relegated from the top flight on 7 May 2012, and struggled to stay in the EFL Championship over the next five seasons before finally dropping to
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
on 7 May 2017, earning the dubious distinction of being the only former Premier League champions to play at that level. This was in spite of Rovers initially spending substantial amounts of money following their relegation from the Premier League, breaking their transfer record to land Jordan Rhodes for £8 million in the 2012–13 season. Rovers would proceed to become a cost-cutting club, due to the exhaustion of their parachute payments across multiple seasons, large amounts of debts beginning to surface reportedly within the region of £100 million, and a lack of investment from their owners
Venkys The V H Group is an Indian conglomerate primarily comprising companies related to the poultry industry, including processed food, animal vaccines, human and animal pharmaceutical and healthcare products. It was founded as Venkateshwara Hatcheries ...
, culminating in their relegation to League One. Another notable example of a former Premier League club that has struggled both financially and competitively, despite being in receipt of parachute payments, would be that of
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
. Having spent beyond their means throughout the club's 11-year tenure in the top flight, Bolton steadily declined with regards to league position in the years following their Premier League relegation in
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, eventually dropping down to League One in
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. That season, the club's perilous financial situation necessitated the sale of their Euxton training ground and a car park in use by the club. The club had amassed debts of £186 million to their previous owner Eddie Davies, of which £171 million was eventually written off in order to assist with selling the club. Bolton Wanderers and its parent company Sports Shield BWFC, have faced multiple winding up petitions from HM Revenue and Customs for unpaid loan debts to various external businesses amounting to approximately £30 million; including an unpaid £5 million loan to BluMarble, a finance company that had provided funds to facilitate a takeover deal for the club in March 2017, and an overdue loan debt of £5.5 million to Prescot Business Park Ltd. Bolton's most recent financial accounts have produced forecasts that predict an annual loss of roughly £11 million, with the club judged "unable to meet ongoing costs". The parent company Sports Shield BWFC was wound up in August 2017 after a court hearing, with initial fears that Bolton would face a points deduction as a result, however the club avoided such sanction. In spite of the club being under a transfer embargo imposed by the Football League for almost two years from late 2015 to September 2017, with the club being limited to free transfers and loans under a pre-determined wage cap, Bolton earned promotion back to the Championship at the first time of asking under manager
Phil Parkinson Philip John Parkinson (born 1 December 1967) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently manager of National League side Wrexham. Parkinson is the only manager to take an English fo ...
in the 2016–17 season. The payments have been also criticised as causing Premier League teams to play more cautiously — playing not to lose instead of playing to win — because the threat of relegation means the loss of payments from the television rights. In fact, as of December 2006, the goals-per-game average is only 2.14, the lowest it has ever been in Premier League history and lower than any other professional league in Europe.
Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
, at the time manager of
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, stated that, Ten years later, these words were re-confirmed by the 2016–17 season final table, which showed a distinct trinary hierarchy. The 7 teams gaining places in European football were between 15 and 47 points ahead of the next group of 10, which were all spanned by a difference of just 6 points. A further gap of 6 points separated those mid-ranking teams from the relegation zone.


Curse of Christmas

The Curse of Christmas refers to a trend where the team at the bottom of the Premier League table at Christmas has been relegated at the end of the season. Since the league began, this has happened in every season except four: 2004–05, when
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...
finished 17th,
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
, who avoided the drop in 2013–14, Leicester City who survived in the following season and Wolverhampton Wanderers who survived the drop in
2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
. Swansea City managed a similar feat by being level on points with bottom club Hull City on Boxing Day, but survived in the 2016–17 season. West Brom were, in fact, still bottom of the table on the morning of the last day of the 2004–05 season (and even at half time in their final match). However, a win over
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, combined with
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
defeats and a draw for Crystal Palace, enabled them to move up three places and thus survive, an achievement since dubbed 'The Great Escape'. West Brom remain the only team to be bottom of the Premier League at Christmas, on the last day, and even at halftime on the last day, and still survive. Every side that lay bottom at Christmas improved their form in the remaining matches – except for Derby County, West Brom, and Portsmouth over the three-year period of 2008 to 2010. This can partially be explained by the January
transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer win ...
, enabling the struggling sides to improve their squads. The three sides to have survived the drop despite being at the foot of the table at Christmas all improved their form by at least 0.64 points per game – just under the equivalent of two additional points for every three matches played. Only three other sides have increased their form by greater than this amount: Sheffield Wednesday (2000), West Ham United (2003) and Sheffield United (2021). Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United had the third worst and worst forms prior to Christmas respectively, while West Ham achieved the highest points total from a 38-game season for a relegated side – achieving more points at the end of the season than the four sides who survived the drop despite being bottom at Christmas. The last time a top-division team had achieved this feat was in the penultimate season of the pre-Premier League First Division, in 1990–91. The team in question was
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, who after 16 matches had no wins and only 4 points, before their form improved dramatically in the second half of the season and a run of seven successive wins helped them to finish in 13th place out of 20. Certain teams are notable for extremely poor seasons as a result of inability to come to terms with the gulf: *
Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
were the first such example in the 1993–94 season, when they won a mere five games out of 42 and conceded 100 goals (still a Premier League record) in their first and, to date, only season in the top flight. One of the few bright spots of the season came when they held
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
(who went on to win the league title and
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
) to a 2–2 draw at home in March, and having lost 4–2 away to them earlier in the season they scored more goals against the title-winning side than any other club in the league that season (bar
Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...
, who were also relegated). * In 2002–03,
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
were relegated having achieved record lows of four wins, 19 points and 21 goals. They returned to the top flight in 2005–06, only to break two of these records - managing just three wins and 15 points - and also equal the record for most losses in a season, 29, which had previously been achieved by
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in 1994–95. As some consolation, they scored more goals (26) than they had the previous time. * In 2007–08,
Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...
, appearing in the top flight for the first time since 2001–02, won just one game out of 38 (beating
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
1–0 at home on 17 September 2007 thanks to a
Kenny Miller Kenneth Miller (born 23 December 1979) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Miller, who played as a striker, is one of only five post-war players to have played for both Rangers and Celtic. Miller began his career at ...
strike), finished with 11 points and scored just 20 goals, thus breaking all three of Sunderland's records. They also set new records for the most consecutive matches without a win (32) and the worst
goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...
(−69), and equalled the record jointly held by Ipswich and Sunderland in achieving 29 losses. Finally, they became the first team to be officially relegated from the Premier League in March, and only the second team ever to achieve just one win in an entire season of an English professional league (the other being
Loughborough Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England, the seat of Charnwood Borough Council and Loughborough University. At the 2011 census the town's built-up area had a population of 59,932 , the second larg ...
in 1899–1900). * In 2018–19,
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, appearing in the top flight for the first time since 2013–14, managed only seven wins all season and were relegated at the beginning of April with five games still to play. Their final tally of 26 points was, however, ten more than the tally achieved by bottom-placed
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
. * In 2019–20,
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
, who returned for the first time since 2015–16, suffered a terrible season and were relegated in bottom place despite a decent start, losing all nine games after the season was suspended because of the effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, scoring only one goal in the process. They set a Premier League record with the fewest away goals in a season and became the fourth team in five seasons to finish below 25 points, relegated with three games to spare after a defeat to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. * In 2021–22,
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
, who bounced back from their relegations, both suffered terrible seasons and finished with below 25 points. They got relegated with four and three games to spare respectively.


Unexpected performances

There have been some strong performances by newly promoted clubs in the Premier League – particularly in its first few seasons. Blackburn Rovers were among the three teams who won promotion to the Premier League upon its formation, and bankrolled by owner
Jack Walker Jack Walker (19 May 1929 – 17 August 2000) was a British industrialist and businessman. Walker built his fortune in the steel industry, amassing a personal fortune of £600 million. He then went on to become the owner and benefactor of Blackb ...
's millions they were able to attract some of the best players in English football – most notably £3.6 million national record signing
Alan Shearer Alan Shearer CBE DL (born 13 August 1970) is an English football pundit and retired football player and manager who played as a striker. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest players in Premie ...
. They finished fourth in their first Premier League season after leading in the early stages.
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
, one of the other promoted teams that season, were among the top five clubs as late as February 1993 and were being tipped as surprise title contenders, but a late slump in form dragged them down to 16th place.


1990s

In the second season of the Premier League, newly promoted
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
finished third – the same position which was occupied by another newly promoted side,
Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
, the following year. Except Ipswich Town in 2001, this was the last time a newly promoted club finished in the top five.
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
finished 12th in the 1995–96 season after promotion, but 10 games into the season they occupied fourth place – high enough for UEFA Cup qualification - – and were being touted as outsiders for the Premier League title. In 1996–97, newly promoted
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
achieved top-flight survival for the first time since 1986 by finishing ninth and also winning the
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
to end their 33-year trophy drought. Middlesbrough had been relegated from the Premier League in 1997 two years after promotion (though only through a points deduction) and were promoted back at the first attempt, and in their first Premier League campaign following relegation they finished ninth in the Premier League and only narrowly missed out on UEFA Cup qualification. Sunderland were promoted to the Premier League as Division One champions with a new record of 105 league points in 1999 and marked their return to the top flight by finishing seventh and only missing out on UEFA Cup qualification on goal difference.


2000s

Charlton Athletic's return to the Premier League as Division One champions for the 2000–01 season was marked with a ninth-place finish – their highest for some 50 years. In 2001–02, Blackburn Rovers returned to the Premier League two years after relegation and marked it with their first League Cup triumph, and a late surge in form following the trophy win took them clear of the relegation zone to a tenth-place finish.
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
returned to the Premier League 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 West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
finished ninth in the Premier League in 2005–06 and almost won the FA Cup (only missing out due to a late
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
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 Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
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 Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
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 Michael Christopher Phelan (born 24 September 1962) is an English professional football coach and former player who is currently a coach at Manchester United. Born in Nelson, Lancashire, he spent most of his playing career at Burnley, Norwich ...
, winning their opening two fixtures, including a shock win over champions
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
on the opening day of the season, however as expected, Hull struggled throughout the season and were relegated, not helped by discontent amongst fans over the club's ownership, along with the lack of investment with regards to player transfers and effective preparation while the club was up for sale, and poor performances on the pitch.
Marco Silva Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (; born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a right-back, currently manager of club Fulham. He played for a variety of Portuguese clubs, finishing his career with a six-year spell at ...
replaced Phelan in January and rejuvenated the team, getting some good results, in particular in a 2–0 home win over
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and a point away at
Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...
, however the damage had been done in the first half of the season, and Hull finished 18th. The following summer saw a large number of player departures and a new manager joined Hull, Leonid Slutsky. Stoke City returned to the top flight at the same time as Hull's promotion, having been in exile for 23 years and returned in reasonable style with a 12th-place finish. Stoke have since established themselves as a consistent mid-table Premier League club, under the management of
Tony Pulis Anthony Richard Pulis (; born 16 January 1958) is a Welsh football manager and former footballer who last managed Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis obtained his FA coaching badge at age 19, followed by his UEFA 'A' licence aged 21 – making him on ...
and more recently
Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former player who is the manager of Bradford City. During his playing career he usually operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United, an ...
, finishing 9th in the league for three consecutive seasons between 2013–14 to 2015–16, before eventually relegated in 2017–18.
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, who had two spells in the Premier League between 2002 and 2008, returned to the elite for the 2009–10 campaign one season after relegation and secured a ninth-place finish, the club's best in decades and one of their highest ever.


2010s

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
returned to the top flight for the first time in seven years, a season when the team had to win against
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
at
Craven Cottage Craven Cottage is a football ground in Fulham, West London, England, which has been the home of Fulham F.C. since 1896.According to the club'official website The ground's capacity is 22,384; the record attendance is 49,335, for a game against M ...
in order to survive but were relegated straight back to The Championship after a 6–0 defeat. After the 2008–09 season, the club were relegated to
League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
, only to win the league at the first time of asking despite an opening day 7–1 record league loss to
Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...
. The season after in 2010–11, Norwich earned their place back amongst the elite by gaining the second automatic promotion spot in the a Championship, with many pundits tipping the team for immediate relegation. However, they were consistent for most of the season, never being in any real danger of relegation, before finishing the season in 12th position. Norwich remained a Premier League club for two more seasons under the management of
Chris Hughton Christopher William Gerard Hughton (born 11 December 1958) is a professional football manager and former player. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland national team. After making his professional debut aged 20, Hughton spen ...
but were relegated in the 2013–14 season, with the club sacking Hughton towards the tail end of the season as Norwich sat just above the relegation zone in 17th, appointing Neil Adams only to be relegated by not winning any of their remaining five games. Norwich bounced back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, under new manager Alex Neil, after winning the 2015 Championship play-off final against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
, however their stay back in the Premier League was short lived as Norwich finished 19th in the 2015–16 season. They returned again in 2019–20 but were relegated again in last place after a terrible season despite a shocking 3–2 win over defending champions Manchester City. Their fate was sealed with a 4–0 defeat to
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
. They bounced back and returned for 2021–22, but were once again relegated after finishing at the bottom of the table. Swansea City also returned to the top flight at the same time as Norwich's promotion, having been playing below the top division since their relegation in 1983, and were also in danger of leaving The
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
itself in 2003, only for a 4–2 win over
Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving from Boothferry Park in 2002. The club's t ...
on the final day at
Vetch Field The Vetch Field was a football stadium in Swansea, Wales. It was used for football matches and was the home ground of Swansea City until the club moved to the newly built Liberty Stadium in 2005. Opened in 1912, the ground held around 12,000 ...
to confirm their survival. Two seasons later, in 2004–05, the team won
League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
, under the guidance of
Kenny Jackett Kenneth Francis Jackett (born 5 January 1962) is a former professional football player and manager, who is currently Director of Football at club Gillingham. A skilful left-footed player, able to play in defence or midfield, Jackett was cappe ...
, before following this up three seasons later, by winning League One under
Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish football coach and former professional player, currently as head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza ...
gaining a club record 92 points in the process. In the 2010–11 season, Swansea finally won promotion to the Premier League being the first Welsh team to do so, under
Brendan Rodgers Brendan Rodgers (born 26 January 1973) is a Northern Irish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Leicester City. Rodgers began his career as a defender at Ballymena United, where he stayed ...
, after beating his former team Reading 4–2 in the play-off final at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
. The season proved successful for the Welsh team, despite being heavily tipped by many pundits to be relegated. They returned in reasonable style finishing in 11th position, only one goal away to being in 10th position. Their season saw surprise wins over
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
, and
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. The team also despite being newly promoted, scored the fastest goal of the 2011–12 season, when
Andrea Orlandi Andrea Orlandi Stabilin (born 3 August 1984) is a Spanish former footballer and who played as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He currently works as a scout as well as a pundit for LaLiga+ and Spanish outlet La Media Inglesa, specialize ...
scored within 24 seconds against
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
in a 4–4 draw at the
Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...
, a match that also confirmed Swansea's place in the 2012–13 Premier League season. In the 2012–13 season, Swansea qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League by winning the 2012–13 Football League Cup and finishing ninth in the Premier League. They would spend a further five seasons in the Premier League before being relegated on the final day during the 2017–18 season after a 2–1 loss to also relegated Stoke City. In 2015,
AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football club based in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest division of English club football. Formed in 1899 as B ...
earned promotion to the Premier League by winning the 2014–15 Football League Championship under the stewardship of young English manager
Eddie Howe Edward John Frank Howe (born 29 November 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the head coach of Premier League club Newcastle United. A defender during his playing career, Howe spent most of his playing ...
. The promotion formed part of an incredible rise up the Football League with the club having been close to liquidation only ten years prior when they were in League Two, and as recently as 2008 had gone into administration and nearly lost their
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
status. The club have since surprised many by consolidating themselves in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, finishing 16th in their first season in the top flight and then an impressive 9th in their second season, in spite of having limited spending power in relation to modern day Premier League figures. Key to Bournemouth's success was keeping a core of home-grown players together that had risen through the leagues with the club,
Harry Arter Harry Nicholas Arter (born 28 December 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for club Nottingham Forest. He began his career at Charlton Athletic, progressing through the club's youth academy befor ...
and
Marc Pugh Marc Anthony Pugh (born 2 April 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder. He has played in the English Football League and Premier League for Bury, Shrewsbury Town, Luton Town, Hereford United ...
establishing themselves at the highest level, having been lower league players beforehand. They stayed in the Premier League for five seasons before getting relegated in 2019–20 on the final day of the season. They returned for the 2022–23 season and avoided relegation. In 2017,
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history after finishing second in the 2016–17 EFL Championship, having missed out on top spot to
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...
on the final day of the season after failing to win any of their final three games. Their first Premier League season went well and they secured their Premier League status after a 1–0 victory against
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
on 4 May 2018, finishing in 15th place. They have since maintained their Premier League status for a further five seasons finishing in 17th, 15th, 16th, 9th and 6th in the 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 seasons respectively, with the later season resulting in their highest ever finish in the top flight and their first-ever qualification for
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Also in 2017,
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
also earned promotion to the Premier League for the first time in their history by winning the 2017 Championship play-off final, having finished in 19th place in the Championship the season prior and having only had a £12 million playing budget in their possession, a significantly lower figure in comparison to other clubs such as
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, who were backed by the wealthy
Recon Group Tony Jiantong Xia () is a Chinese businessman. He is the chairman, CEO and owner of Recon Group. Early life and education Xia was born in Quzhou, Zhejiang. At the age of 14, he left home to attend university in Beijing. He was amongst the fir ...
and were in receipt of parachute payments. Many had tipped Huddersfield to struggle in the Championship in a similar manner to previous seasons, however the club made an unexpected appointment in former Borussia Dortmund II manager David Wagner, who employed a high-tempo pressing style of play and made shrewd acquisitions in the transfer market, mainly utilising loan deals from larger clubs and with
Christopher Schindler Christopher Wolfgang Georg August Schindler (; born 29 April 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg. After beginning his career with 1860 Munich, he moved to English club Hudd ...
being the club's record transfer at £1.2 million. They finished 16th in the 2017–18 season, after drawing with
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
and
Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
. However, Huddersfield was relegated in the following season, suffering relegation in the month of March; becoming only the second team in Premier League history to achieve this feat. Manager David Wagner left Huddersfield by mutual consent in January with the club rooted to the bottom of the table having only earned 11 points throughout the season, and his replacement Jan Siewert could not mastermind an unlikely survival, losing eight of his first nine games in charge; a solitary victory against
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
, plus a later draw vs.
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, left Huddersfield finishing on 16 points and 20 points adrift of safety. In 2018,
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
was promoted to the Premier League only five years after enduring a "double drop", being relegated from the 2011–12 Premier League and 2012–13 Football League Championship. In the 2018–19 Premier League season, Wolves finished seventh and earned 57 points, the most by a promoted team since
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
's 66-point finish in 2000–01. They also qualified for the 2019–20 UEFA Europa League through league position. In 2019,
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
, who returned to the Premier League after 12 years, finished ninth in the 2019–20 season with 54 points, only missing out on European football by five points. They were the second promoted team in as many seasons to finish with at least 50 points and did not lose a single away game until December when they lost 2–0 at
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
.


2020s

In 2020,
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, who returned to the Premier League after 16 years, finished ninth in the 2020–21 season with 59 points, the most by a newly promoted side since
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
in the 2000–01 season, only missing out on European football by three points, having an outside chance of qualifying to the Conference League until the final day, however both
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
and
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
won their fixtures. They were the third promoted team in as many seasons to finish with at least 50 points, and didn't lose a single game at home all season against the Premier League Big Six. In 2021,
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...
returned to the top flight after a 74-year absence, making their debut in the rebranded Premier League. They finished 13th in the 2021–22 season with 46 points, never being in the relegation zone all season, and with the signing of
Christian Eriksen Christian Dannemann Eriksen (born 14 February 1992) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team. He is renowned for his vision, technique, passing, and fre ...
the team won 7 of their last 11 games.


Second season syndrome

Second season syndrome is a downturn in form suffered by a team in their second season after promotion, having performed relatively well in their first season. In the Football League, Swansea City were a notable example of this so-called syndrome. Once they got promoted to old Division One in 1981–82 and led the league before finishing 6th, but they were relegated following season and in the next three years they crashed into Division Four and narrowly avoided relegation to the Conference. Swansea City were able to return to top flight only 28 years later, competing in the Premier League until 2017–18. Another notable example was Ipswich Town, who were promoted to the Premier League after a five-year exile and finished fifth in 2000–01, qualifying for the
UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, but were relegated a year later. In 2005–06, for instance, newly promoted
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
and
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
finished ninth and tenth in the Premier League (it was Wigan's first season as a top division club) and were runners-up in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
and
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...
respectively. The following season, however, they narrowly avoided relegation with respective 17th and 15th-place finishes. In 2006–07, Reading were playing top division football for the first time in their history and finished eighth in the Premier League, with only a defeat on the final day of the season preventing them from qualifying for the UEFA Cup. A year later, however, a drastic loss of form in the second half of the season saw them dragged from mid-table to occupy the final relegation place, and they were relegated on the last day of the season. Another example is
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
, who after securing ninth position with over 50 points, were then relegated in 2010–11 after suffering a horrific downturn in form despite claiming the Carling Cup. Indeed, that season saw a surprisingly high number of points claimed by the clubs that went down, with West Ham United finishing bottom with 33 points, which would have secured 17th place the previous year, and Birmingham and shock 'new boys'
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
both going down on 39 points. In 2017–18
Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
were playing Premier League football for the first time in their history, and top flight football for the first time since 1972 and finished 16th, securing top flight status with 1 game to spare. However, they were relegated next season after winning a mere 3 matches from their first 32 and becoming just the second club ever to be relegated in March (after Derby County). This could in part be attributed to ''burn out'', newly promoted or under resourced clubs lack the strength in depth of larger established teams leaving them more vulnerable to injuries of key players and exhaustion from lack of rotation allowing players to rest. The same can be said about
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
who began the
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
season with just two points from 14 games after finishing 9th the previous season. They got relegated with six games to spare after a 1–0 defeat against
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. Another example is
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
, in the 2021–22 season they finished 9th in their first season back in the top flight after a 16-year absence, getting 59 points along the way, the most for a newly promoted side since Ipswich Town in the 2000–01 season but only managed to beat the drop on the last day of the season in 2021–22, finishing 17th with 38 points, 21 fewer than the previous season. Second season syndrome is far from guaranteed, however; after surviving their first season back in the Premier League in 2014–15 by six points,
Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
stunned the football world by
winning Winning may refer to: * Victory Film * ''Winning'' (film), a 1969 movie starring Paul Newman * '' Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman'', a 2015 documentary by Adam Carolla and Nate Adams Music * ''Winning'', an album by Ten Foot Pole, 2022 ...
the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
the following season. In addition, in Bournemouth's second season, they managed to finish 9th after a strong performance from them at the end of the season. Furthermore, in
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
's second season after their third promotion, they managed to finish 7th and qualify for the Europa League — their best in 54 years. Another example is
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
in the 2020–21 season. They only survived by a point in the previous season when they were promoted but finished 11th in 2020–21 with over 50 points thanks to a strong start, including an incredible 7–2 win over defending champions Liverpool.


Project Big Picture

Project Big Picture was a plan proposed by leading Premier League clubs
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and their owners
Joel Glazer Joel Glazer (born March 31, 1967) is an American businessman and sports team owner. He is part of the Glazer family, who control First Allied Corporation and HRG Group, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL), and Manche ...
and
John W. Henry John William Henry II (born September 13, 1949) is an American businessman and investor and the founder of John W. Henry & Company, an investment management firm. He is the principal owner of Liverpool Football Club, the Boston Red Sox, ''The B ...
. The plan would have diverted £250 million to support Football League clubs and reduce the size of the Premier League to 18 teams. It was opposed by the Premier League leadership and the UK government's
Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport , type = Department , logo = Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport logo.svg , logo_width = , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = Gove ...
.
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
expressed support for the plans. It was reported that other Premier League teams had either expressed concerns about the plan or were opposed to it. Despite being one of the teams that would seemingly benefit from the project, it has been said that
West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...
were "very much against" it. Critics of the plan stated that it would put the "Big Six" clubs into a position of control over all of English football. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' described the plan as a "brazen power grab", and "a hostile takeover spun as a rescue package" by the top clubs. However, the plan was supported by EFL chair
Rick Parry Rick Parry (born 23 February 1955) is the current chairman of the EFL, the former chief executive of Liverpool, the original CEO of the Premier League and a board member at New York Cosmos. Career Rick Parry was educated at the Kings School Ch ...
and the vast majority of EFL clubs. In a virtual meeting on 14 October 2020, all 20 Premier League clubs rejected the proposal, but agreed to further financial assistance to League One and League Two teams.


See also

*
Doing a Leeds "Doing a Leeds" is an English football phrase which is synonymous with the potentially dire consequences for domestic clubs in financial mismanagement. The phrase arose after the rapid decline of Premier League club Leeds United F.C., who inve ...
*
Premier League parachute and solidarity payments The Premier League distributes a formulaically derived financial payment to each English Football League (EFL) club every season. There are two mechanisms with which funds are calculated and distributed; these are known as "Parachute Payments" and " ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Premier League-Football League gulf English Football League Premier League