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Can promoted teams survive?

There is an increasingly stark trend of teams going up to the Premier League coming straight back down, almost as if sides need a specialist in the Championship and another in the division above.

49ers Enterprises — the investment vehicle controlled by the San Francisco 49ers and the majority stakeholder at Elland Road — didn’t set out to run a Championship team. It sought a top-flight acquisition but changed its plans after Leeds were relegated in 2023. Two seasons in England’s second tier have been expensive, largely because Championship clubs are money pits. In 2023-24 alone, Leeds lost £60million ($80m).

Promotion, though, means Premier League revenue, which in turn creates big opportunities, just as it did when Leeds last went up in 2020. If recent briefings are accurate, the 49ers will press the button on the long-overdue stadium development soon (see earlier story on progress). Leeds have a long summer now in which to reorganise their squad, ready for the sharp jump in levels.

The threat of relegation will be very real again. They learned that lesson two years ago and the Premier League has been no less forgiving since. But Leeds suit England’s top flight. I’m one of the people who think the division is enhanced by their stimulatingl presence. 

Thirty-five miles to the west of Leeds, another promotion party broke out last night. Burnley are heading back up, too, driven by their own owners from the United States. It’s taken them just one year to right the wrong of relegation.

Burnley’s shareholders, among them ex-NFL star JJ Watt, were probably more philosophical about the threat of time in the Championship when they bought in. 

Of course, it could be the team that comes up through the play offs that has the real struggle.   If all three promoted teams are relegated (and I think that at the very least Leeds will stay up) pressure will grow to cut back the number of relegated teams to two.

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