The 2024/25 Premier League will have a distinctly southern feel in England. With Burnley and Sheffield United going down and Leeds failing to win Sunday’s promotion playoffs, just a handful of teams in next season’s competition hail from northern towns and cities in England. In total, there will be five teams from the north. The two Merseyside clubs join the two Manchester clubs and Newcastle United as the northern clubs in the Premier League.
That is the fewest number of teams in Premier League history to come from the north. Furthermore, you would have to go back to the 1989/90 First Division campaign to locate a season with five teams from the upper half of the country. If you are looking for any indication of how different the times were in English soccer, Liverpool won that season’s top-flight campaign. Aston Villa finished second with Tottenham pipping Arsenal for third. Manchester United finished 13th, which remains its worst top-flight finish since suffering relegation in 1973/74.
Traditionally, northern England is a hotbed for soccer in the country. Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Everton rank in the top five most successful clubs based on top-flight titles. Only Arsenal, which sits third on 13 league wins, breaks up the northern hegemony of English success. Yet, the northern clubs have failed to maintain their dominance in England. Manchester City and Liverpool are certainly two dominating forces, yes. But, this applies more to widespread control. Whether that be simply the number of teams in the first division or where they are placing in the table, clubs from the top half of the country have been in control for decades.
The shift from northern southern
There were as many as 11 teams from northern towns and cities in the Premier League. For example, the 2008/09 season had 11 teams in the top flight. That included the five currently playing, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hull City, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/premier-league-breaks-new-unique-record/
Author : Kyle Fansler
Publish date : 2024-05-29 15:47:42
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