Two of the three sides relegated from the Premier League last season were immediately returning to the Championship having won promotion the season before. That’s not the kind of news that newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, Newcastle United, and Huddersfield Town will want to be reading but can they survive in the Premier League next season?
Target Fortress
Home form is the key to staying up if the exploits of those teams promoted last season are anything to go by. Relegated Middlesbrough and Hull City played 57 away games and between them won a total of three matches. Only good home form in the first half of the season kept relegation survivors Burnley afloat but can the newly promoted trio fare any better? Perhaps not; the early football betting markets are offering odds of 7/4 on two of the newcomers being relegated.
It’s not as if the Premier League is full of sides that are difficult to beat away from home. Forget the top seven teams; the remainder of the league are all there to be beaten, with 13 teams losing at least five times on home territory. Then again, the three Premier League newbies lost a total of 14 home games between them in the Championship last season. If those three sides want to survive, seven or eight home wins is the minimum requirement.
Newcastle and Brighton are possibly going to be able to achieve that level. Whether Huddersfield can is another question altogether. Few teams have been able to win promotion with such an appalling record as the Terriers had in the last couple of months of the season. They ended the season with a blaze of glory, winning the play-offs, but didn’t win any of their last five games over 90 minutes. Their only goal celebration came following an own goal. However, when you have a negative goal difference for the season and lose 15 matches, it’s looking like the 2017/18 farewell tour already for Huddersfield, and even top fan Patrick Stewart (aka Captain Jon Luc Picard) might not be able to save them.
Survival is Possible
The squads that won this trio promotion are going to need a lot of strengthening if they want to stay in the Premier League. None of the promoted sides have the finances to go out and buy two or three top class players who might keep them in the division. Newcastle will spend a few million but promoted sides always find it difficult to sign top players. They don’t have the money to start with and can’t attract those who live for European football.
It’s a case of signing overseas players that few fans will have heard of and getting in touch with the elite clubs in the Premier League to see who they can get on loan for the season. The chase for Chelsea’s emerging star Tammy Abraham makes sense; the youngster seems to be on his way to Newcastle.
Getting promoted doesn’t have to end in failure. Bournemouth have worked wonders in the past two seasons but have also been spending a fair amount too. They are a long way from the club that nearly went out of business a few years ago. Do the three promoted sides decide to go for it and spend millions knowing the riches that await them the longer they stay in the Premier League? Buying players with experience of the Premier League is the best way forward rather than putting all your eggs in one basket with an overseas player who may or may not come up with the goods.
Winning promotion is a dream for Brighton and Huddersfield, while Newcastle United fans will simply believe they are back where they belong. Those dreams can soon turn into nightmares though and a swift return to the Championship is always a possibility. The simple fact is that finishing 17th in the Premier League would be a good season.
