Why is there such a divide?

Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton all look set to be heading back to the Championship unless their season takes a miraculous turn. If they are to do so then they will become just the third trio of promoted clubs to all get relegated from the Premier League straight back down to the second-tier. The two other times were in 2023/24 (Burnley, Luton, Sheffield United) and 1997/98 (Barnsley, Bolton and Crystal Palace), it is an extremely worrying fact that this is now the second season in a row that this looks likely to occur, and it proves that the gap between the Premier League and the Championship is bigger than ever.

Promoted teams are struggling, even the likes of Leicester and Southampton who were previously established Premier League teams in recent years who both had seasons in Europe, can no longer compete after just one season in the Championship. Continuing to use the Saints and Foxes as an example, when they were last promoted to the Premier League in 2012 (Southampton) and 2014 (Leicester) they both finished 14th in their first season before going on to finish 8th and of course 1st in Leicester’s case.

Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton are on course to become the worst bottom three in Premier League history 😳

They’re projected to finish with a cumulative total of 63 points

Interestingly, the current record of 66 points was set by the bottom three from the season before… pic.twitter.com/G44kMVpqWx

— The Lower Tiers (@LowerTiers) February 24, 2025

A fast decline

The sudden drop off in quality is worrying as before 2023/24 at least one promoted side would give the top flight a good crack every season, with examples being Fulham (10th in 2022/23), Brentford (13th in 2021/22), Leeds (9th in 2020/21) and Sheffield United (9th in 2019/20). With Leeds United looking destined for promotion once again, would anyone realistically see them finishing anywhere but the bottom five?

Excluding the anomaly that was the 21/22 campaign (where all three promoted sides survived) seven of the last nine sides to rise from the Championship have placed in the bottom three, a statistic that could soon rise to 10/12 come the end of the season. The reason behind this all is straightforward and completely down to the financial circumstances of the Premier League and Championship.

Valuation difference

Transfermarkt.co.uk valued the Premier League at €11.76 billion and the Championship at €1.68 billion, to go from operating in a league where the average squad value is €2.48 million to a league where it is €21.82 million is absurd and does not reflect football’s supposed ‘fair game’ at all. Unfortunately, it is also an almost impossible issue to solve, the second tier and below will not attract the same mega-rich owners the Premier League does and if it does then the club will not find it hard to rise up the leagues as Wrexham has. Equally boosting the finances of the Championship would be hard to do as they bring in less revenue. Even if they did give Championship clubs more money to help them compete, the same issue would then be created with League One teams, and the cycle would continue all the way down to grassroots level.

Terrifies me that a Centurion Championship side can only muster 24 points in the Premier League. The financial gap is too big nowadays. https://t.co/pf3WeG4up2

— 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@CCFCMando) May 11, 2024

The Premier League has done it to themselves to the point where the ‘big’ clubs will almost never face the possibility of relegation ever again. The parachute payments given to relegated clubs help support them in the second tier but also make the league economically unfair and it leaves teams like Leeds, Burnley, Sheffield United, Leicester and Southampton all currently too good for the Championship but nowhere near the quality of the Premier League. Parachute payments are also a product of the top tier becoming too money-driven to the point where clubs would simply collapse if they were relegated without them due to huge wage bills.

False dreams

The prospect of promotion to the promised land is becoming less exciting as years go by, with the dread of losing 28 of your fixtures and conceding 104 goals looms as Sheffield United found out last season. Promoted clubs fear going big and spending lots of money on wages, if it goes wrong they will have to instantly revert to a Championship size budget. Nottingham Forest had to buy a whole new squad to survive and Brentford had to have one of the best data scouting networks in the world to stand a chance, mediocrity is no longer enough.

In 23/24 Sheffield United finished with 16 points, the 3rd lowest tally in Premier League history.

They conceded 104 goals, an unwanted record.

In the summer they lost 5 of their 6 top League goalscorers, their goalkeeper and one of their starting centre halves.

And yet a… pic.twitter.com/QR7sCJQeEp

— Dougie Critchley (@DougieCritchley) November 26, 2024

There has always been a gap in quality, the Premier League holds a new challenge to clubs entering the division and we cannot forget Norwich’s yo-yo days, but someone always used to survive in a closer relegation battle with many clubs, now it looks bleak down there with three months of the season to go.