Leeds United’s 25-time precedent to avoid history repeating itself

Leeds United know bouncing back to the Premier League at the first time of asking won’t be easy. Fortunately for them, they have 25 examples of teams doing exactly that to learn from as they begin preparations for the start of the Championship season.

The Whites brought an end to their three-year stay in the top flight last month with a 4-1 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the season being enough to see them drop into the second tier. Leeds are no strangers to the Championship and having spent 16 years outside the top flight prior to their promotion in 2020, they are all too aware of how challenging the league can be.

Burnley are the most recent example of a relegated Premier League side finding immediate success, though. Vincent Kompany’s rejuvenated Clarets racked up 101 points on the way to winning the Football League title at a canter and many will be tipping them to go on and re-establish themselves in the top flight next season and follow in the steps of Fulham, who completed the feat the season before.

Marco Silva’s side were the outstanding Championship side during the 2021-22 season, ensuring their stint outside of the Premier League was a short one. The Cottagers have been something of a yo-yo club in recent years and they bounced back from relegation at the first time of asking back in 2019-20, too, going up via the play-offs alongside Leeds and West Bromwich Albion.

Watford, Newcastle United, Hull City, Norwich City, QPR and West Ham United all provide semi-recent examples of how to get the job done, with many returning to the top flight via a play-off final win at Wembley Stadium. Parachute payments have helped the above clubs, of course, when it comes to rebuilding squads or securing their best talent.

That said, plenty of teams managed to complete the feat before the introduction of parachute payments in 2006-07, with the likes of Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Leicester City, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest winning promotion the year after they were relegated.

Teams who have bounced back after Premier League and the season they were relegated:

Crystal Palace – 1992/93

Nottingham Forest – 1992/93

Leicester City – 1994/95

Bolton Wanderers – 1995/96

Nottingham Forest – 1996/97

Middlesbrough – 1996/97

Charlton Athletic – 1998/99

Manchester City – 2000/01

Leicester City – 2001/02

West Brom – 2002/03

Birmingham City – 2005/06

Sunderland – 2005/06

Birmingham City – 2007/08

Newcastle United – 2008/09

West Brom – 2008/09

West Ham – 2010/11

QPR – 2012/13

Norwich – 2013/14

Burnley – 2014/15

Hull City – 2014/15

Newcastle United – 2015/16

Fulham – 2018/19

Watford – 2019/20

Fulham – 2020/21

Burnley – 2021/22