Mid-tier Premier League clubs and the awkward art of reinvention

Jorgen Strand Larsen, James Ward-Prowse and Tony Pulis
“Wolverhampton Wanderers will be relegated at the end of this season, ending an eight-year stay in the Premier League. In 2018, Stoke City and West Bromwich Albion both dropped into the Championship after 10 and eight years respectively of top-flight football. In 2023, Southampton’s 11-year stint came to an end, while Leicester City went down after eight seasons that included the most remarkable title triumph in Premier League history. Charlton’s seven-year spell in the top division ended in 2007, and they have not been back since. West Bromwich Albion, Leicester and Southampton have all returned for a single season in the top division in subsequent years, but their previous stories are typical of a host of clubs that have tried to narrow the gap to the division’s elite. A pattern is clear. …”
NY Times/The Athletic