There is more than one way to skin a cat, and certainly not every club is able to stay in the Premier League at their first attempt. For every team such as Stoke and Swansea, there are several other clubs such as Wolves and Blackpool who fail to adjust to the standards of the Premier League elite.
Consequently, clubs can tend to yo-yo between the top division and the Championship. Burnley and Queens Park Rangers have demonstrated this. Both clubs were relegated at the weekend after one season in the top flight. But the similarities end there.
Burnley have been prudent with their financial expenditure and over the past five years have a transfer surplus of almost £6m. QPR on the other hand have sought short-term solutions and signed players on high wages. These hired guns have left the club with a net transfer spend over the past five years of more than £68m. This season alone, QPR spent £35.5m compared to Burnley’s outlay of £9.5m.
While QPR were promoted at the first attempt after they were relegated from the Premier League in 2013, Burnley required four seasons to return to the top division. However, next season Burnley will hope to maintain the majority of the squad that played in the top division and will keep hold of their manager Sean Dyche. Conversely, QPR will face another season of transition as players come and go, with a new manager expected at the helm. It will be interesting to see if prudence and stability will win over profligacy and short-term thinking.
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