CAN ANY OF THE PROMOTED SIDES STAY IN THE PREMIER LEAGUE? - OPINION

The Premier League is known to be relentless and cruel, with the three promoted sides seemingly out of their depth yet again, but do any of them actually stand a chance of staying up this season?

Leicester City

The Foxes were previously Premier League mainstays, playing in all three European competitions during their stay and winning a few trophies along the way, but relegation hit their squad hard.

The likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison are no longer at the club, and the players that remained don’t carry the same fear that they used to.

At times Jamie Vardy, Ricardo Pereira and Wilfried Ndidi were amongst some of the best players in the league in their positions, but the squad is constantly ageing and aren’t who they used to be.

Nonetheless they have shown enough grit in the opening games, an ability to fight against impossible expectations, with the opening day draw against Spurs enough evidence to show they won’t go back down without a fight.

The Leicester of old was a tight knit group who beat teams with their ability to fight for each other for the full 90, and they may need to recall the spirit of The Great Escape to get back to their very best.

It may take a while for Leicester to be back to their best, but we’ve seen teams thrive after survival including the Foxes themselves, so anything is possible for them.

They should stay up convincingly especially if we see the Jamie Vardy of old, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re around the lower mid table area.

Ipswich Town

The Tractor Boys have earned their place in the Premier League after back to back promotions and deserve their spot amongst the 20 best teams in England but could this be a season too early for them?

The squad could be likened to Luton last year, although the Hatters spent a good few years to break into the top flight, but all the same problems seem to emerge.

Unbeatable in the league, and nearly winning it, but the positive signs seem to be there for Ipswich.

Axel Tuanzebe was an ambitious coup last season from Manchester United, a relatively young player with Premier League and Champions League experience who just couldn’t force his way into the starting 11 but was just the player they needed both in the second division and the top flight.

A 0:0 draw for Ipswich against Brighton required some Muric heroics but it proves the foundations are there for a side some may argue are the weakest of the promoted sides, and having Liverpool and Manchester City back to back isn’t the kindest start to a season by a country mile.

But similar to Luton last year it’s a small squad that will fight for every point, and if it was a squad like Leicester’s you would back them to beat the drop easily.

There are no huge expectations this year, it’s been a ride for Ipswich but the fans will enjoy every moment no matter what.

Nonetheless the potential is there, and if they can avoid an injury crisis then you could give them an outside chance of having a second summer in the Premer League.

Southampton

The Play Off final winners, Southampton may well be the least convincing of the promoted sides after four games.

The recent performance against Manchester United sums it up; wasted potential and a team that was killed by relegation.

Heads dropping after the penalty miss at 0:0, ten minutes later they’re 2:0 down and any hope of bringing the game back is gone through no fault but their own.

When your best player in a match is an 18 year old debutant, as good as Tyler Dibling performed, it still shows issues around the squad.

As good a goalkeeper as Aaron Ramsdale is, he may not be enough for survival when they simply can’t score goals.

Ben Brereton-Diaz and Adam Armstrong can’t seem to replicate their Blackburn form in the Premier League, and like Leicester they have lost a lot of key players from previous seasons.

The likes of Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse were exceptional at what they did for the club, and even then they struggled at times to steer clear of a relegation fight.

Without those players it could be said that the squad Southampton had was more suited to the Championship, and when your starting centre backs are Jack Stephens and Jan Bednarek with relatively no competition, the signs aren’t looking good.

Southampton must have a good January window, because the side they currently have will not stay up, considering they were lucky to even make it out of the Championship last season, and the fans may have to worry about their long term future if they do face the drop again.

2024-09-16T09:30:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd