Is the double drop from the Premier League becoming more common?
Back-to-back relegations to the third tier of English football are becoming more common and this season Burnley could make it a hat-trick after Luton Town and Leicester.
Key points
- Burnley could become the third team in three years to suffer back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One.
- Leicester and Luton were the previous two clubs to drop from the top flight to the third tier in successive seasons.
- Former midfielder Jobi McAnuff said the double drop was caused by mismanagement of the playing squad, not a trend.
Burnley could become the third team in three years to suffer back-to-back relegations from the Premier League to League One, according to BBC Sport. The article notes that Leicester and Luton were the previous two clubs to experience the double drop, and that the path is becoming statistically more common.
The piece recalls that Leicester went from playing Liverpool in the Premier League to facing Notts County, Burton Albion and MK Dons in League One within 15 months. Burnley, currently in the Championship relegation zone, are described as potentially the next club to follow that route.
History of the double drop
The article states that in the first 20 seasons of the Premier League, the double drop happened just once, to Swindon Town, and even then under special circumstances due to a rebalancing of the divisions. It adds that since Wolves were relegated in 2011-12, the double drop has happened four times in 14 seasons, or three times in nine seasons after Sunderland went down in 2016-18.
It notes that Wolves, Sunderland and Leicester all experienced considerable turmoil on and off the pitch during their descent. Sunderland finished bottom of both divisions, winning just 13 of 84 league matches, while Leicester's relegation to League One followed a six-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability regulations.
Despite the fact we've seen Luton and Leicester suffer back-to-back relegations in recent years, I don't see it as a trend that will continue
— Jobi McAnuff
What pundit said
Former Watford and Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff, now an EFL pundit, told BBC Sport that he does not see the double drop as a trend that will continue. He attributed the recent cases to mismanagement of the playing squad, saying Luton had players who felt entitled to stay in the Premier League and Leicester kept too many who did not want to be there.
McAnuff also said that even with a reduction in parachute payments, the financial advantage for relegated clubs will remain massively significant.
