Five Mistakes That Send Premier League Teams into Relegation
By Alex McCain
It’s that time of the year again.
The Premier League is entering it’s annual finale, and with only one matchweek to go it’s a toss-up between Hull City, Sunderland and Newcastle for who stays up and who plummets to the division below. By now, every other team in the bottom half is either safe –such as Leicester or Aston Villa — or doomed — namely QPR and Burnley.
As the final desperate scrap is only days away from commencing, let’s take this opportunity to dissect the concept of relegation, and perhaps then we can say where it all goes wrong.
Buying From Previously Relegated Sides
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When a team departs from the top-flight, the more critically acclaimed players of those teams tend to not go in the same direction, as other Premier League teams may need to swoop for such talent.
This — I believe — is very much hit-and-miss. Whilst there have been some diamonds that have been unearthed from the rough — such as Charlie Adam who jumped ship from sinking Blackpool to Liverpool — this isn’t always a wise move.
Some players simply lack the experience or tenacity of a survivors’ squad, and don’t really add much to their newest strugglers. QPR exemplify this well, as midfielder Leroy Fer and centre-back Steven Caulker will now face back-to-back relegations.
Squandering Vast Amounts of Money
The only thing more financially disappointing than a big-money signing not performing is liquidation; something club owners would agree on unanimously.
When a manager is handed a war chest by his board of directors, it’s a sign of both trust and ambition, but quite often both of these are broken in an instant when a footballer is brought in who is either overpriced or simply does not rise to the Premier League challenge.
This isn’t an issue exclusive to the bottom half of the table, but tends to only to prove fatal to those teams in this section.
Hull, for example, sit in the relegation zone with £10 million signing Abel Hernandez failing to live up to the demanding reputation his price tag saddled him with; having found the net only 4 times in 24 appearances for The Tigers.
Unrest Off The Pitch
Sometimes the biggest issues that are terminal for a club’s Premier League status are those that don’t involve football at all.
Having a player be involved in negative publicity would surely have a major psychological impact on the team’s morale. This may just be conjecture, but I can’t imagine Adam Johnson’s conviction as a sex offender would be well received by his teammates.
Making a Weak Leader Tackle a Strong Problem
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When a club’s season begins to crumble, and a manager is shown the door, it should be the logical decision to appoint a confident figure to reassure those involved at the club that the situation will be resolved.
This isn’t always the case.
Newcastle United give us the best example of this, having hounded out Alan Pardew after consistently underwhelming performances, he was replaced by the managerially inept John Carver – a man who has overseen 8 defeats in the last 9 games and may yet get his side relegated.
Pardew, on the other hand, found employment once again at Crystal Palace. A club who showed that appointing the right man to resolve the issues of the former manager will yield far better results; quite ironic, given the nature of Pardew’s dismissal at Newcastle.
Just Not Being Good Enough…
Lastly, and most prominently, is simply a team’s lack of quality.
There will be teams willing to fight until the very last kick of the very last minute, but won’t make the cut based on a lack of talent. It’s unfortunate, arguably unfair, but it happens nonetheless.
There we have it, the prevailing problems that have plagued Premier League sides, currently plague Premier League sides, and will most likely continue to do so in the near and far future.
Looking ahead to next week, let’s see if any of these diagnosed issues make themselves known…