'Leeds look to data' - how promoted clubs hope to buck relegation trend
- Published
How each promoted side starts the season is one of the best indicators when it comes to survival chances.
Every promoted side over the past 10 seasons with 11 points or more after 10 games has survived, while taking fewer than that has meant an almost guaranteed return to the Championship.
It will be worth bookmarking this article and returning to it on 1 November. That's when all three promoted teams should have played 10 matches - although fixture dates can still be changed.
Incidentally, the two survivors - despite poor starts - were Bournemouth in 2015-16 (eight points after 10 games) and Nottingham Forest in 2022-23 (five points after 10 games).
BBC Radio Leeds sports editor Jonathan Buchan gives his verdict on summer business:
Leeds have their own theory when it comes to avoiding relegation. Physicality.
That has been the word of the summer so far at the club, who have a strong internal belief that the difference between staying up and going straight back down is height, strength and an ability to win aerial battles in both boxes.
Leeds' first seven signings of the summer have an average height of 6ft 2in, which gives you a sense of that thought process.
Realistically, they need the majority of these signings to hit the ground running to have any hope of survival, and their early recruitment will certainly help that.
However, they also need the new faces at the other promoted clubs to falter and an established Premier League side, or two, to have difficult campaigns.
Their data may breed confidence in avoiding relegation, but football is played on grass, not spreadsheets.
But a fast start is crucial.