Burnley, Leeds, and Sunderland Are Haunted by the "Yoyo" Team Curse

Burnley, Leeds, and Sunderland will begin their journey in the English League 2025-2026 in just a few days. This journey will be overshadowed by a trend, or a sort of curse, of becoming a "yo-yo" team that rises to a higher division and then falls back the following season. Will they be able to endure and break this curse?

Reaching the Premier League is the primary ambition for clubs in the second tier. However, remaining in the top tier is not an easy matter either. The widening gap between the quality of teams from different divisions poses a challenge for teams that are promoted.

In the last two seasons, three teams that were promoted to the English Premier League were immediately relegated back to the Championship. When Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United were relegated right after their promotion from the Championship two seasons ago, this phenomenon merely seemed to repeat a moment that had occurred in the past, specifically in the 1997-1998 season.

However, when a similar situation occurred with Southampton, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town last season, the phenomenon of yo-yo teams seemed to have become a trend or even a curse. Moreover, those three teams even faced relegation again with little resistance.

These three teams collectively gathered only 59 points, fewer than Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United in the previous season, which totaled 66 points. The struggle to avoid relegation last season also concluded with four matches remaining, the earliest in Premier League history. The best-promoted team, Leicester, finished with a 13-point gap from the 17th position, the largest difference between relegation and safety in the league's history.

Football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, stated that money is clearly a contributing factor to promoted teams being relegated the following season. With the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), the financial ecosystem of the English League greatly benefits clubs that have already established themselves in that tier.

Established clubs are allowed to lose up to 105 million pounds over a three-year period, while newly promoted teams are often limited to 61 million pounds. This disparity makes it nearly impossible for promoted teams to compete on an equal footing.

"Newly promoted clubs are at a disadvantage," he told BBC Sport.

However, despite the unsupportive financial ecosystem, the six previous promotion teams indeed failed to adapt well to the new competition. They forgot that the English League operates at a different level, making it difficult to insist on maintaining many aspects from the previous tier.

Southampton, for example, has risen in status as a team that plays dominantly, attacking, and having more ball possession (65.6 percent) than any other team in the Championship. However, when competing in the English League, they struggle to compete with a similar idealism. This is especially true when the team has already conceded goal after goal due to attempts to pass the ball from the back.

Coach Russel Martin refused to adjust his tactics, resulting in a record of one win and 13 losses in 16 matches, with the team conceding 36 goals and scoring 11 goals. The decision to dismiss Martin also came too late, leaving the club unable to be saved.

On the contrary, Leicester chose to dismiss Steve Cooper much earlier than many had anticipated. They then appointed Ruud van Nistelrooy, who quickly led the club into the relegation zone, and subsequently set a record in English football by losing eight consecutive home matches without scoring a goal.

Therefore, adapting the game is very important when a promotion team moves up a level. Timing is also a crucial factor to consider when a club changes coaches. Mistakes in selecting a coach can have fatal consequences. The same applies to player recruitment.

The English Premier League is a league that is far more demanding both physically and technically. Clubs will be tempted to assemble a larger squad to meet the demands of playing against tougher opponents, but the recruited players must have the right profile.

Leeds interprets this as a need to strengthen physical aspects. The seven new players of Leeds have an average height of 190 centimeters, demonstrating their strong belief that the difference between staying in the top league and being relegated directly lies in height, strength, and the ability to win aerial duels in both penalty boxes.

On the other hand, Leeds must tackle the challenge of adapting to a different approach in the English League. Moreover, they won the Championship with a dominant style of play. Continuing to use that approach when facing Premier League teams that also dominate possession, apply high pressing, and are lethal in counterattacks is not an easy task.

However, the team coached by Daniel Farke seems unlikely to undergo a complete transformation. "We are talking about the way we want to play, how we want to approach this season, and how we will not change our approach," said winger Wilfried Gnonto to The Athletic.

"The level is high, but we want to be aggressive, we want to dominate the match. Hopefully, that is what will happen. When you play against top teams, it is not always possible, but it is good to have this kind of approach and mentality," he added.

Burnley recognizes the importance of addressing physical disparities in order to survive in the English League. Burnley's Performance Director, Damian Roden, stated that the most significant difference between the second-tier teams and the first-tier teams lies in the physical aspect.

To that end, Burnley will strive to prepare for this and remain tactically adaptive at all times in the upcoming season. "We are preparing for this season with the same principles as we did last year, to be a hardworking, high-intensity, and dynamic team," he stated on the club's official website.

"The difference lies in the physical disparity between the Premier League and the Championship. We were almost at the top of the physical statistics last season in the Championship, but when compared to the statistics of the Premier League, we would not be near the top," he stated again.

Meanwhile, Sunderland, which is eager not to waste the opportunity to return to the English League after an 8-year wait, realizes that massive player spending does not guarantee their survival in the top tier. However, Sunderland seems to be investing quite wisely by recruiting key players.

Sunderland, which spent £132 million to recruit 11 players, has strengthened its midfield by converting Enzo Le Fee's status to a permanent transfer after a loan from AS Roma. They also brought in Granit Xhaka from Bayer Leverkusen and midfielder Habib Diarra from Strasbourg.

Burnley, Leeds, and Sunderland will make every effort to maintain their positions in the Premier League. If their efforts are successful, the competition in the Premier League will no longer be monotonous, becoming an arena limited to only 17 teams.