Every Championship team dreams of reaching the promised land that is the Premier League, whether that be in the short or long term. But is the gap in quality between the top two leagues in England growing too much, making survival for newly promoted clubs virtually impossible? And if the gap is widening in such a way, how can clubs act to not only reach the top flight, but remain in it?
Last season saw Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town promoted to the Premier League following promotion in the 2022/2023 season; all three sides were relegated straight back to the second tier.
In fact, Luton were the only one of the three sides who even came close to survival, six points behind Nottingham Forest, who had a points deduction during the season.
The odds don't look too much better for this season's promoted clubs, with Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton enjoying just four wins between them eleven games into their respective seasons.
Leicester are doing slightly better than the other two, with ten points putting them in 15th place, but there's no question that the Foxes are in the relegation fight, at least for now.
One of the reasons for this struggle is the financial gap between the two divisions. Whilst in the Championship, clubs miss out on the Premier League revenue which brings a massive financial boost.
Though clubs earn money for achieving promotion, the clubs already in the Premier League have an automatic advantage, allowing them to invest heavily in their squads.
Some promoted clubs have tried to splash the cash in recent years, but this is often unsuccessful. Vincent Kompany's Burnley for example spent just over £100 million on transfers last summer, investing in young talent from abroad; they finished 19th.
In contrast, Luton spent just £20 million and had a similar outcome, arguably having a better season than the Clarets. Money then is not everything.
There have been rare occasions where all three promoted sides survive, most recently with Fulham, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest all beating the drop in 2022/2023.
While Forest were big spenders the previous Summer, Fulham went for a more middle of the road approach and Bournemouth spent very little in favour of the existing Premier League experience in their squad.
In terms of quality, the Premier League is at an all time high and this bar is being continuously raised. For teams looking to adjust from the Championship, this huge difference is proving very difficult to overcome.
Many see this gap as a financial one, but tactics and experience are vital. The trends introduced throughout the eras of Premier League football pass through the league, with visionary managers such as Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola re-shaping the Premier League entirely with their styles of football.
This is arguably a bigger issue for promoted clubs than money. Adapting to these new styles of play compared to the relatively similar week-in week-out nature of the Championship is tough, hence the poor starts the three clubs have made.
Having a manager without top flight experience makes the task even more difficult, with Southampton's Russell Martin and Ipswich's Kieran McKenna getting their first taste of Premier League management this season.
Though the starts haven't been disastrous for Leicester or Ipswich (with the jury out on Southampton), there is plenty of time to turn the season around, with 27 of 38 games still to be played.
Steve Cooper's Foxes seem to be making the most of his Premier League experience, with less than half of Leicester's games ending in defeat so far this season. There's hope for Ipswich too after their stunning win at Spurs this weekend restored life to their survival bid.
And even though it looks like Southampton's relegation could be a formality, the Saints are no strangers to the Premier League, and while Russell Martin is managing in the top flight for the first time, he has plenty of experience in the division as a player.
The gap between the divisions is clear then, with the promoted clubs all either in the relegation zone or within two points of it. But with a combination of Premier League experience and sheer belief, any of the three promoted sides could be in with a chance if they can turn their seasons around after the international break.
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