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| Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton have all gained promotion to the Premier League but, will they show up big? (Photo credit: GOAL) |
The English Premier League witnessed a better-forgotten experience of three newly promoted sides in Luton, Burnley, and Sheffield United. Lovers of the league would hope they don’t ever experience such mediocrity again.
Many would travel back to the 2007/2008 season, the year of an unenviable Derby County with the lowest ever point tally since the Premier League started in 1992. The colorless trio that came up and went down briskly will do a lot more to convince anyone they deserve to be in the top flight.
Although Vincent Kompany led Burnley to an uninspiring season, the Bayern hierarchy appreciated his attractive football.
You can say the same for Rob Edwards; he had a style, but his squad quality couldn’t match up with his ideas. But one excuse no one can make for the three teams is their defensive embarrassment; none of them understood the art of defending.
Sheffield United started the season with Wes Foderingham in goal after scoring lots of goals. Paul Heckingbottom fired, Ivo Grbic stepped up, and Burnley replaced James Trafford with Arijanet Muric in the second half of the season, all to no avail.
Let’s look at the three teams coming up: Leicester City, who have a lot of financial breach charges to deal with; Ipswich Town; and Southampton, who beat Leeds United 1-0 at Wembley in the promotion playoffs final.
Beyond the expected FA charges, the Foxes' first challenge upon returning to the Premier League will be the departure of their manager, Enzo Maresca. As Maresca departs for Chelsea, no one has emerged as his replacement.
Ipswich Town will also be grappling with issues regarding their manager. Despite Kieran McKenna's connection to the Chelsea position, the Blues' decision to select Maresca has made the Ipswich manager a front-runner for the Brighton position, and he could potentially sign a contract extension with the Tractor Boys.
Southampton is back with many of the boys they went with, but they don't have to worry about the man in their dugout. Russell Martin is excited about his job, and he hopes to have quality funds to improve the team over the summer.
Fans of the world's most popular league, regardless of their actions, will expect intense competition; they will not tolerate bonus teams, as demonstrated last season; we anticipate a strong performance from Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton. Let the season begin.