To Everton’s relief, Premier League history may be ready to repeat itself.
NEIL SQUIRES COLUMN: Everton have been flirting with relegation for a couple of seasons now.The giddy thrill of promotion to the Premier League has already worn off as the land of milk and honey threatens to turn into a bare cupboard of despair for the new boys. Ten matches in, the three clubs who came up last season – Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United – are in the ejector seats, monopolising the relegation spots between them.
Luton and Burnley have won once in the league and Sheffield United haven’t won at all. The Blades’ total of one point is the joint lowest at this stage of any Premier League campaign. If they carry on at this rate they will eclipse Derby County’s low of 11 points in a season from 2007/8.
The Premier League can be an unforgiving environment for promoted clubs, much more so than the old First Division that preceded it. In the period from 1973/4 – when the current three-up, three-down system of promotion and relegation was brought in – up to the formation of the Premier League, 87 per cent of promoted teams stayed up in their first season in the top flight.
Since the introduction of the Premier League in 1992/3 and its rich grow richer mantra, that figure has tumbled to 57 per cent. The disparities in income are tough to overcome.
Manchester United predict their revenues for 2023/4 to be between £650m and £680m. In contrast Luton’s will be somewhere between £135m and £150m. However incoherent United might be, that is nobody’s idea of a fair fight. But it would be good to see the lightweights at least throw some punches.
The Hatters were always destined to be in the relegation frame given the size of their operation. It is remarkable that they are in the Premier League at all given they are playing at an 11,500-capacity stadium with a record signing – Ryan Giles – who cost just £5m.
Sheffield United were also long shots to survive given the lack of ambition which saw them sell Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye in the summer. The big disappointment has been Burnley who took the Championship by storm last season playing some terrific football under Vincent Kompany
