- Burnley faces the classic yo-yo dilemma as they struggle to maintain top-flight status.
- Smart structures and data-driven choices help smaller clubs defy modern footballing gravity.
- Historical examples show that reckless spending rarely breaks the cycle of relegation.
Burnley remind me of Norwich City a few seasons ago. It seems at least one or two clubs have recently taken turns to be the “yo-yo” club.
Too small to succeed?
The term “too big to fail” is common in business. The idea that there are certain institutions that simply can’t be allowed to fail and therefore the cards are nearly always stacked in their favour.
Arguably the opposite can be true- there are some clubs that once they hit a certain level of success the only way is down.
The yo-yo
Initially, Burnley avoided a relegation mistake Norwich made by sticking with Sean Dyche. For a period of time, this worked, and they became known as several “well-run” clubs.
The problem is that even these clubs can have a shelf life at the top level. Phil Parkinson’s Hull seemed to disrupt for a while, as did Mark Hughes’ Stoke, and Roberto Martinez’s Wigan.
One of the worst “be careful what you wish for” examples was Charlton – Alan Curbishley got them to a solid seventh, but the race to reach the next level has resulted in a club currently far away from its Premier League peak.
Breaking it
How to break the yo-yo curse is a challenge Burnley now have to face. The sad fact is in recent times that money alone won’t do it.
While they are top flight now Fulham and Aston Villa had periods where they spend hundreds of millions and still got relegated.
Have a game plan
Ultimately the likes of Burnley can defy the curse of the yo-yo club by finding a structure to work with.
Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford have all defied conventional wisdom by making smart managerial choices, player trading and effectively using data.
Paul Lambert managed to keep us up before jumping ship thanks to creating a strong team unit. Chris Hughton’s approach wasn’t pretty but for a season he kept us in the league.
Stick or twist
Time will tell whether Scott Parker keeps his job at Burnley and gets a chance to get them back into the Premier League. It is a difficult decision for any board to make and potentially a very expensive one.
Hopefully, he will get a chance to look at Norwich City’s previous promotion campaigns and learn both how (and how not to) get back to the top level and stay there.
