Burnley manager Scott Parker is held aloft by fans after securing promotion to the Premier League. AFP/VNA Photo

Paul Kennedy

Southampton and Leicester are already down and barring a miracle, Ipswich too will be relegated from the Premier League.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out these are the three teams promoted from the EFL Championship last season. And it’s also plain to see the gulf in class between England’s two top divisions is widening at a mindboggling pace.

This week Leeds and Burnley secured promotion to the Premier League. One of four other teams in the second tier will join them following the play-offs.

While it’s one thing getting promoted, staying up is a whole different ball game.

Their managers know this only too well. Burnley’s Scott Parker brought Fulham to the Premier League in 2020, and was sacked a year later after they were relegated.

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has trodden a similar path. He led Norwich City into the Premier League in 2019 and, surprise, surprise, they too were relegated a year later under Farke.

So while it’s clear to see both Farke and Parker are talented managers when it comes to winning promotion, both have failed miserably at the job of staying in the Premier League.

There’s no way either of them will be replaced before a ball is kicked next season, but the pair are well aware that staying in the Premier League for a newly promoted side is probably the most difficult managerial job in football.

Both clubs will receive a bucket load of money to spend, but in reality, and listening to experts discuss this very subject on podcasts this week, it will probably only amount to around US$60 million to buy new players. That’s nowhere near enough for a squad overall.

I watched Ipswich and Leicester play last week, with both losing to Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.

Their style of play was akin to most in the Premier League. Playing out from the back, trying to bypass the high-press, only going long as a last resort.

And maybe this is their problem. They are just not good enough to compete with this type of football.

I remember back in 2008 when Stoke City were promoted under manager Tony Pulis. They played horrible football and fast became a team none of the so-called elite wanted to face.

But guess what? It worked and Stoke stayed in the Premier League for ten years, reaching an FA Cup final and even playing in Europe.

Maybe those newly promoted into the top flight next season should take a leaf out of Stoke's book. Winning ugly is much better than a beautiful loss. VNS