MATT BARLOW: Luton and Co aren’t an embarrassment to top flight. Survival is harder than ever for newly promoted teams in the Premier League
- This year’s promoted sides make up four of the bottom three teams in the league
- Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United have all struggled for points so far
- Only once have three promoted teams to the top flight gone straight back down
With just nine points between them after eight games of the season, this is by some distance the worst start to a Premier League season by the trio of freshly promoted teams.
It does not bode well and has unleashed a torrent of ridicule across social media platforms, phone-in shows and opinion columns by those mortally offended by clubs refusing to sacrifice good sense and risk their long-term security for their armchair entertainment.
Former Tottenham forward Garth Crooks has been public enemy number one at Kenilworth Road since mid-September when he declared Luton ‘down by Christmas’. Crooks has thus far declined an invitation from Hatters boss Rob Edwards to visit the club and take a closer look at how they operate.
Luton have four points and six goals from eight games, identical to Nottingham Forest at this stage last season, when the court of public opinion was slating their reckless spending spree.
Luton Town’s captain Tom Lockyer looking dejected after his disallowed goal vs Tottenham
Paul Heckingbottom’s Sheffield United are yet to win a Premier League game this season
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Forest escaped, promptly engaged in another summer of wild recruitment and continue to progress under an excellent manager, Steve Cooper. At this rate, they might avoid flirting with relegation this season. Although the auditors of Financial Fair Play will be paying close attention.
At Luton, they are doing things differently with good reason, and most fans are entirely on board with the approach. The majority stayed behind on Saturday to give Edwards and his players a rousing ovation despite losing to 10-man Spurs.
Ten years ago to the day, they were sharing six goals with Aldershot in the Conference, as nobody connected to the club needs reminding.
The identity and unity, the tight bonds created with supporters became the most precious assets as they mended a broken club and climbed back to the top.
‘We do not borrow or seek investment from those who have no interest in us or our community,’ as Luton’s chairman, David Wilkinson, put it on Saturday. ‘We spend the club’s income on the club and don’t expect an investment return.’
Promoted teams
Points and goals for promoted teams after eight games in the last five years:
23/24 Luton, Sheffield United, Burnley – 9 points (19 goals)
22/23 Forest, Fulham, Bournemouth – 24 points (25 goals)
21/22 Norwich, Watford, Brentford – 21 points (19 goals)
20/21 Leeds, West Brom, Fulham – 17 points (27 goals)
19/20 Norwich, Sheff United, Villa – 23 points (30 goals)
They may well go down and if they do, they will be stronger with the finances in place to build the new stadium they have been trying to build for as long as anyone cares to remember.
True, stepping up and surviving in the Premier League is difficult. Perhaps harder than ever with extra wealth from European football, VAR, five subs among new factors playing in favour of the established elite.
That does not make the promoted teams ’embarrassing’ or ‘shocking’. If people can’t take Luton seriously, that’s their problem.
Burnley and Sheffield United are going about it differently.
Burnley are closer to the Nottingham Forest model, under newish ownership, searching for new direction and spending freely, mostly on young players, and committed to an expansive style of football.
Sheffield United seem to be in a deeper mess. That they have failed to stabilise and grow through four years of Premier League money and parachute support since promotion in 2019 suggests they are poorly run, still living hand to mouth and praying for a takeover rescue.
Only once have the three teams promoted to the top flight gone straight back down since the Premier League formed. That was Bolton, Barnsley and Crystal Palace in 1997/98. If there is a repeat this season, each of the trio will have its own circumstances as they did then.
Burnley took the lead against Chelsea this weekend at Turf Moor, but went on to lose the game
Bellingham: The undisputed golden boy
The Golden Boy award has grown in stature in 20 years since its introduction by Italian newspaper Tuttosport as the annual prize for Europe’s best young (Under 21) male footballer in Europe.
Last year it was claimed by Gavi of Barcelona. This year, with the 25 candidates set to be revealed on Thursday for a prize to be awarded in December, it is difficult to see beyond Jude Bellingham, whose start to life at Real Madrid becomes more impressive by the game.
On Tuesday, he scored in a 3-2 win in Napoli in the Champions League and, on Saturday, added two more against Osasuna in La Liga. Ten goals in 10 games mirrors Cristiano Ronaldo’s start to life in Madrid and has prompted flattering comparisons from those old enough to remember Alfredo di Stefano’s elegant style and goal threat from midfield. Surely, there are many glittering prizes in store for Bellingham.
Jude Bellingham has taken to Madrid like a duck to water, smashing in ten goals in ten games
Stuttgart superstar gives Kane a run for his money
Harry Kane has delivered on his promise to score goals for Bayern Munich but Serhou Guirassy is the centre forward lighting up Germany, with 13 in his first seven games of the season. Guirassy is a 27-year-old Guinea international born in France who was wanted by Everton when he left Rennes for Stuttgart last year.
Morecambe hits pause for international break
Just as they were last month, Morecambe are the only club postponing a League Two fixture for international call-ups, with four players on duty and another on stand-by. These include Michael Mellon, a 19-year-old striker called into the Scotland U21 squad after a prolific start to the season.
On loan from Burnley, and son of former Tranmere boss Micky Mellon, he has scored six this season. Also involved for their countries are JJ Kiernan, who scored a hat trick in a 3-1 win against Colchester on Saturday, with Northern Ireland’s U21s, Eli King with Wales U21 and Jacob Bedeau with Grenada.
Leslie’s cap to remain at Argyle
Jack Leslie’s England cap, posthumously presented to his family by the FA this year in recognition of his call-up in the 1920s before the Plymouth forward was dropped from the squad when the selection committee realised he was black, was handed to Argyle on Saturday.
It will go on permanent display in the boardroom, also named in Leslie’s honour at Home Park. ‘To us it is a symbol of a wrong being righted,’ said granddaughter Lyn Davies.
Cheers for Cheltenham… at last!
Street parties in Cheltenham. It’s probably not the sort of record he hoped to break when he signed on a free from Crystal Palace in the summer but congratulations to striker Rob Street, scorer of Cheltenham’s first goal of the League One season.
Rob Street finally broke Cheltenham’s goal drought as they finally scored in League One
Keane fleas Israel amidst unrest
Robbie Keane has made a promising start to his managerial career at Maccabi Tel Aviv. They were top of the league and through the qualifiers into the UEFA Conference League but Israeli football came to a halt this weekend with matches postponed after the attacks by Hamas from Gaza. Keane and his assistant Rory Delap were reported to have fled the country.
Altrincham, among the most famous FA Cup giant-killers to have never played in the EFL, are on the move in the National League with five wins in a row, up to fourth and gearing up to tackle 1994 FA Cup semi-finalists Oldham Athletic in the fourth qualifying round, on Saturday.
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