The Three Newly Promoted Sides Will all Stay Up... and Here's Why

Why the Newly Promoted Teams Will all Stay Up

Whisper it quietly - we are only nine games into the season - but it looks like none of the promoted clubs will be getting relegated this season.

That’s right, after two straight years of the three promoted clubs from the EFL Championship going straight back down, this trend that had started to threaten the future of the footballing pyramid looks to be over.

2022/23 aside, at least one promoted club has ended in the drop since May 2018.

However, all of Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland currently sit outside of the relegation zone having exceeded expectations.

Nottingham Forest, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are the occupants of the unwanted spots.

Why are the Promoted Clubs Doing so Well?

Sunderland are currently flying high in fourth, with 17 points at this stage of the season being the fifth highest tally from any promoted team in Premier League history.

They may have spent £161m on 15 players over the summer, but that is no guarantee of safety in this climate, otherwise clubs like Chelsea would already be streets ahead from the rest.

The capture of former Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka this summer looks to have been one of the best signings from the summer, as the Swiss has three assists, 82% pass completion, 56 ground duels and 26 aerial duels won from nine starts.

Wins like the one against the Blues this weekend, where they had to sit back and accept just 31.1% of possession, was a testament to their resilience, character and ability to pick and choose their moments.

The Whites and the Clarets are still towards the bottom of the order - 15th and 16th - but they are still outdoing their pre-season expectations, which largely tipped Burnley to finish bottom and had Leeds in 18th.

Burnley have made the most from their matches against their fellow rivals for survival, with their three wins coming against Sunderland in August, plus Leeds and Wolves in their most recent fixtures.

They have been swept aside by Tottenham 3-0 and Manchester City 5-1, but these results have not mentally affected them when it comes to facing sides who they are directly competing with - something that didn’t happen back in 2023/24.

As for Leeds, Elland Road is their greatest asset, with their spirited atmosphere up there with the best the league has to offer.

From five home league matches, their only loss was a close-run defeat to Spurs, with good results against Everton, Newcastle and high-flying Bournemouth in Yorkshire.

What Has Gone Wrong for the Established Three?

Nottingham Forest’s downfall this season has been monstrous, from challenging for a Champions League place last year to 18th with five points this term.

Popular boss Nuno Espirito Santos was sacked in early September for personal disagreements with owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Forest had four points from their first three matches of the season at the point of Nuno’s departure.

After 39 days of Ange Postecoglou’s horrid reign and one game of Sean Dyche ball, they are on just five points.

West Ham United’s problems have been on display since minute 45 of their season opener with Sunderland under Graham Potter.

Even since he was given the P45 and replaced by Forest’s old boss Nuno, their Achilles heal continues to bite them.

With nine set pieces conceded this season - three times the rate of any club in the league - it’s no wonder why they keep losing.

From Joao Pedro’s header against them on 22 August to Joe Rodon’s goal last time out, the Clarets will continue to falter if they don’t get a plan in action to deal with dead ball scenarios.

Wolves fans must be questioning whether the decision to offer Vitor Pereira a new contract a month into the season was the right one, given they are still winless.

Last year, Wolves were in the relegation zone for so long, but were mainly excused due to their menacing early season fixture list where they were unable to pick up any momentum.

Ultimately, an excellent run of seven wins in nine games between February and April pushed them far clear of safety.

This time round, the Midlands side have already played all of the newly promoted sides plus others like Everton and Brighton.

Still yet to face Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester United, Wolves’ opponents aren’t getting any easier and the two points they sit on is already six points adrift from 17th place Fulham.

Their squad is quite frankly bang average, having not replaced the likes of Matheus Cunha, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo in the summer.

Jorgensen Strand Larsen hasn’t made much of an impact, with a solitary goal from seven appearances amidst his fitness issues from the start of the campaign.

Conclusion

We may still not even be a quarter of the way through the calendar yet, but all signs are indicating that those who have just come up will survive.

Nottingham Forest are certainly the more likely to survive if Dyche can repeat their Europa League success against the otherwise unbeaten FC Porto - and if they do survive, Fulham could potentially be in danger rather than Leeds or Burnley.

As for the Hammers and Wolves, the future looks bleak, especially given West Ham have already changed their manager with very little signs of improvement.

Wolves can at least cling on to the hope of a turnaround under new inspiration from a potential new face in the dugout, much like last season when Pereira replaced Gary O'Neil, but it's still a dire situation to be in.