Reaching the Premier League is the objective for each Soccer League membership.
However in recent times it has appeared much less of a prize and extra of a curse.
Final season, all three promoted golf equipment for the 2023-24 marketing campaign – Luton City, Burnley and Sheffield United – have been instantly relegated again to the Championship.
The three who got here up for this marketing campaign, Leicester Metropolis, Southampton and Ipswich City, presently occupy the desk’s ultimate locations – and we might now see all three promoted sides relegated in consecutive seasons for the primary time in Premier League historical past.
So, is surviving within the Premier League turning into tougher for these developing?
Backside three heading in the right direction for lowest ever tally
When Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United went down within the earlier marketing campaign, they’d the bottom mixed tally (66) of any three relegated groups in a 38-match Premier League season.
However this season’s backside three are heading in the right direction to ‘beat’ that tally, with Opta projecting a season-end complete of 58 factors between Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester.
With 28 matches performed, Southampton, Ipswich and Leicester have accrued 43 factors between them.
That is the lowest mixed complete at this stage of any backside three in Premier League historical past.
It’s also six fewer than the mixed tally of 49 of Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United final season and considerably decrease than the second, third, and fourth-lowest totals in Premier League historical past.
Southampton look to keep away from document low
Survival was the objective when Southampton have been promoted by way of the play-offs.
However with 10 video games left, they’ve nearly given up on security as they’re 14 factors adrift of Seventeenth-placed Wolves.
As an alternative, Ivan Juric’s facet are combating to keep away from incomes the tag of the worst Premier League facet ever.
That unlucky title – if we’re judging on factors alone – belongs to Derby County in 2007-08.
Paul Jewell’s facet completed the season on 11 factors, fewer than the earlier document set by Sunderland in 2005-06 once they completed with 15.
Southampton’s defeat by Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday means they’ve fewer factors (9) than Derby had after 28 matches in 2008.
The excellent news for Saints followers is the Rams managed only one level from a potential 30 throughout their final 10 matches of the marketing campaign.
Southampton, due to this fact, want three factors within the subsequent 10 matches to go the undesirable mark set by Derby 17 years in the past.
Even spending large can’t assure survival
Within the final 4 seasons stretching again to the 2020-21 season, seven of the 12 promoted sides have instantly been relegated again to the Championship.
The clear exception in that point is the 2022-23 season, when Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Fulham all survived on the first time of asking.
Forest did so by spending greater than £150m on over 20 new gamers, which contributed to the membership being docked 4 factors within the 2023-24 season for breaching the Premier League’s Revenue and Sustainability guidelines.
Fulham, too, spent large – with an outlay of greater than £100m on the calibre of Joao Palhinha, Andreas Pereira and Issa Diop.
The Cottagers had been a Premier League membership in two of the earlier 4 seasons at that time, which means they’d acquired parachute funds for his or her two relegations to assist them again into the highest flight.
Southampton and Ipswich additionally had outlays of greater than £100m final summer season, exhibiting that spending large nonetheless can’t assure survival.