Promoted English Premier League trio keen to avoid fate of immediate predecessors

LONDON – Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland all return to the English Premier League this season with the primary objective of avoiding the fate that has befallen their immediate predecessors.

For two successive seasons, the trio of promoted clubs have found the top flight a treacherous transition and failed to survive, tumbling straight back down to the Championship.

Their performances last season offered evidence of a growing gap between the Premier League and second-tier as Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton were all relegated weeks before the end of the campaign.

The Saints also narrowly avoided the ignominy of a record low total of points in a Premier League season.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, it was Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United who were relegated after a single season in the top flight.

Burnley have returned in haste, however, finishing second behind Leeds last season as they conceded a Championship record-low 16 goals.

For the first time, two teams reached 100 points in the same Championship campaign, with Leeds’ superior goal difference proving decisive. This would hold out hope that both teams have sufficient quality and depth to stay out of relegation trouble.

“We’re coming off a season where we achieved something which was unprecedented,” said Burnley manager Scott Parker, when he previewed the new season’s prospects in July.

“What we did last year was nothing short of remarkable.

“We’ll go and face this challenge this term with full commitment, desire and a real excitement about it, like we did last year. There are different dynamics, but it’s one where we’re hoping to go in there and be ourselves and try to be successful.”

Leeds’ German manager Daniel Farke has plenty of experience of the perils of the Premier League from when he was in charge at Norwich City and was far less bullish as he looked for reinforcements in attack.

“We know in the offence we are not ready for Premier League level,” he said, but also suggested it was a problem they could remedy before they start at home to Everton on Aug 18.

Sunderland are back after an eight-year absence, advancing through the play-offs, and have made significant investment in reinforcing their squad, reportedly spending more than £110 million (S$190.5 million) on new players.

“The collective ambition is there to see and there is a desire to become stronger,” their French manager Regis le Bris said at the announcement of his new three-year contract earlier in August.

“I can feel the energy and intent to push forward and we need that in the next challenges we will face.”

Despite the spending and positive sentiment, the forecast for the newcomers is bleak.

The Opta supercomputer suggests all three will continue the pattern of the last two campaigns and go down, while other forecasters also have low expectations.

But the example of survival for modest clubs like Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion suggests the recent trend could be bucked.

“The last two seasons it was well-documented that teams that come up get relegated from this division but, like always, I always mention to the players that these are the challenges that we relish,” said Burnley’s Parker. REUTERS