The Premier League's 9th Place Curse

For most clubs, finishing ninth in the Premier League - nowhere near the relegation zone and on the cusp of qualifying for Europe - is cause for celebration.
Between the 2008-09 and 2020-21 seasons though, a period of thirteen years, every single club to have finished ninth in the Premier League - including the likes of West Ham, Aston Villa, and Leeds United - has been swiftly relegated to the Championship.
In this video, HITC Sevens takes a look at the bizarre curse that has blighted teams that have finished ninth, whether there's anything they have in common, and whether Brentford and Brighton fans should be worried.

[@sbassett5572]

I've noticed an even more striking trend... Wait until you dig into what happens to the team that finishes 20th every year!!

[@Isleofskye]

Now this kind of humour we are looking for. Funny and clean. A Partridge..

[@chlcrk]

19th and 18th don't fare much better either 😲

[@matthewlevine2159]

​@@Blacknig69yeah, they get qualified for the famous Championship League.

[@Don_Dewitt]

@@Blacknig69 nah the joke is they get relegated and were the worst team that season, there's no depth to it

[@Spud_Farmer]

I heard that they qualify for the championship

[@lalitthapa101]

There's a reason this Is HITC "Sevens" and not *"Nines"* Alfie was a visionary for avoiding the curse😤

[@txlmu]

I’d like 8s

[@petsburg]

Ha!

[@UnfeelingMonster]

I guess now we know why seven ate nine, it was to kill the curse!

[@Dr.LingLangYT]

oh as a german i say nein because i’d 8 to see him be someten other than seven

[@fakhrianuar]

True because seven "eight" nine

[@AnthTheMackem]

How can we not bring up the 18th 19th and 20th place curse. Every club that finished in those positions got relegated.

[@footballfan_editz]

w 😂

[@tonjie696]

Can I use this joke in other videos? Just different wording.

[@AnthTheMackem]

sure @@tonjie696 🤣

[@tonjie696]

@@AnthTheMackem thank you bro I can finally make people laugh now 😂

[@storyduckleaderonyoutube3158]

@@tonjie696this guy is a Chad for actually asking

[@MrBlazemaster525]

IMO the problem with 9th is it's in that perfect spot of heightened expectations(which can get fans to expect too much) and lower Premiership TV payouts(which would mean you can't spend to the level you'd rationally need to bridge the gap to the top 7, especially with other clubs taxing your hype)

[@Dude0000]

As a Blackburn fan seeing them finish 6th more than once, this is a very good observation that fits us too. Although we got new incompetent owners. They’ve spent money, but managed the club badly and lost all the momentum and financial benefits of finishing in the European places in multiple seasons brought.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

@@Dude0000 mate, sorry bout them Venkys lol

[@chlcrk]

@@Dude0000 I'm honestly surprised they're still there tbh

[@Eibarwoman]

It's even why European football is no guarantee for financial stability for Premier League clubs as Swansea and Leicester have proven.

[@MrBlazemaster525]

@@Eibarwoman European football isn't a cure-all if you fail to reinforce your squad PROPERLY

[@nathan105]

I remember noticing this a few years ago with teams like Bournemouth and Sheffield utd achieving ninth and then never beating it, good luck to Brentford this year!

[@newforestpixie5297]

There’s many old Cherries fans like me whom never thought they’d live to see a finish of 9th in the 2nd tier 😂👍

[@swimfootball6597]

They will easily survive maybe top half

[@grzegorxszymanek1407]

Leeds

[@aashil3424]

I think brentford will drop from last season but still easy 12-14 place

[@renerpho]

@@aashil3424 Brentford currently in 15th, as I write this. They are the only Premier League team who haven't won any of their last 9 matches. And they should actually be in 17th right now (benefiting from points deductions for the two teams directly behind them). Btw, Chelsea is in 9th place right now...

[@danbanfield9764]

As a Brighton fan, I feel the reason we broke this is our ownership. After losing Potter and all of those players and staff, most other clubs would have brought in a well known manager and probably been relegated. But we took a risk and I think it's what led to our success. Tony Bloom is a poker player and he knows when to take a risk and when to play it safe. He doesn't always get it right, but he gets it right enough to be successful

[@newforestpixie5297]

I can’t imagine BBC South Sport having to cover southampton fc behind Brighton & B’mouth ! 😁

[@Elcabezon06onxbox]

if the curse is real we better win a trophy before relegation

[@Dr.LingLangYT]

no way brighton fans exist

[@Dr.LingLangYT]

@@Blacknig69 damn if only the rare occurance when brighton fans realise people can live near the big 6 teams stadiums also 🙀🙀🙀🙀🙀

[@Redsak1558]

I’m a Brighton fan

[@jamesboswell9324]

Curiously there's also a famous curse of the ninth that hangs over composers of classical music. It famously started with Beethoven who died while composing his tenth and then very shortly afterwards took down Schubert too. Since then it has curtailed the symphonic careers of (to name the most famous) Bruckner, Dvorak and Vaughan Williams and, most remarkably of all really, Gustav Mahler who believed in the superstition and so tried to sneakily sidestep its fatality by deliberately avoiding the cursed number when he released a symphony that stands in its place calling it simply "Das Lied von der Erde". Soon afterwards he then wrote another symphony that he did number his ninth but then in the midst of composing what would have been his tenth - seemingly inevitably - he died and so left it unfinished.

[@newforestpixie5297]

Awesome . This is the most unexpected educational stat I’ve seen on this or any soccer channel. 😁👍

[@adarshsridhar6051]

Also the number 9 in Chelsea since I think drogba

[@adaldi_]

I know it's the norm in this channel so nobody mentions it, I just want to say 5 videos (all 20+ minutes) in 1 week is amazing. Alfie consistent deep dive content into Football is one of a kind. ❤🎉

[@Machinationstudio]

Brighton and Brentford are so analytical, that they do not believe in superstition, so clearly, the curse wouldn't affect them. That's how superstitions work. Right?

[@evonne_o]

Well we will find out in the next 2 to 3 years...

[@Isleofskye]

Don't talk to me about superstitions and psychics. I had an appointment with a Psychic only last week but she cancelled "Due to Unforeseen Circumstances"....

[@chlcrk]

Isn't that how a lot of horror movies start?

[@Machinationstudio]

Getting 115M for Caicedo helps. @@evonne_o

[@Don_Dewitt]

​@@Isleofskyeba dum dum tissshhhh

[@davidstorey1494]

As a Stoke fan, our biggest problem is we played ourselves. We switched too much from what worked going from tough, physical football to a wannabe young Barcelona team and it didn't work and, we bought a lot of players with ego issues and not wanting to put in the hard work and the ones that did weren't rewarded and flopped hard.

[@jazzrockr]

The biggest thing about the 9th place "curse" or superstition is that things are, at least in the Premier League, that if you detract from the processes that you'd done with the short term goal of improving, you'll end up self-destructing your own chances to survive. And the other stuff may be that "the bigger seven" with their backing by both stupid money and sovereign wealth fund money (that isn't beholden to democracy) and others would plunder your team and force you to have to replace a lot of the core that got you to that point.

[@mikesays08]

I think part of the problem with finishing 9th is that players are likely to be poached from teams above them and if the team doesn’t recruit well they’re weakened, often on larger wages than they’d like and with and unsettled dressing room.

[@guy7541]

The problem being, the rich six persuade players (by offering their Agents huge wads of cash) to join them, thus keeping the status quo. When Moises Caicedo made his debut in Brightons 2-1 victory at Arsenal a couple of seasons ago, the midfield consisted of Bissouma, Mwepu, Mac Allister, and Caicedo, three have been sold and one retired. Many pundits have likened Brighton to Southampton who sold off their Crown Jewels to Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs, the difference being, on the back if their success Southampton changed owners, and their managerial seat became a revolving door like Watford's. Tony Bloom, Brighton's Owner and Chairman believes in continuity, and will not dismiss manager in mid season but will give them a chance to rectify the situation, as he has said in the past relegation does not matter, but progress does. Potters team went 12 games without a victory including a run of sux successive games without scoring a goal, prime reasons for the sack in any other club, but progress was being made both on and off the pitch, whilst the Legend that is Chris Hughton met his untimely end due to Brighton being perceived as an anti-football club after their narrow 1-0 defeat to Man City in the FA Cup semi-final. Tony Bloom decided to change our football philosophy and appionted Grahame Potter (who?). The rest is history.

[@newforestpixie5297]

Being a Bournemouth supporter since 1973 doesn’t make me envious of Brighton & Hove Albions’ bigger success than ours because it’s a joy seeing both teams lording it over ‘ the pride of the south ‘ 😁👍

[@guy7541]

@@newforestpixie5297 🤣🤣🤣

[@mikespearwood3914]

@@newforestpixie5297 I'm curious (as an outsider) to know why England's south coast teams aren't very successful?

[@seandelap8587]

Stoke City finished 9th for 3 straight seasons and got relegated not long after although i expect the team was simply on a downward spiral by then already and they simply had been overachieving for years before that before it finally caught up with them but Ipswich finished 5th in the 2000/01 season to qualify for Europe but ended up getting relegated the following season and Reading finished 8th in their debut season in the EPL in 2006/07 but ended up getting relegated on goal difference the following season so it has happened that teams that maybe overperformed one season are simply brought crashing down to earth the following season and just simply aren't equipped to sustain such achievements

[@newforestpixie5297]

Because Stoke City were regularly in Division 1 in the 1970s when I was a nipper I’ll always regard them as more than over achievers !

[@Jonathan-ih7qp]

I think part of the reason Stoke was able to repeat as 9th and stave off the "curse" a little longer was primarily for two reasons: 1) The had pretty well established themselves in the Premier League by that point and were pretty much a mid-table team at leading up to that often finishing in the upper end of the lower half of the table under Pulis prior to Hughes coming in. and 2. Their general style of play and squad composition didn't "advertise" their key assets to bigger clubs that would usually poach their best players. Stoke was mostly known as a team that just knew how to grind and wasn't flashy, so it's not likely that any of their players are going to be highlighted for "beautiful" football all that often. Plus most of the better players on Stoke at this time were either not good enough for the bigger clubs to poach (players like Charlie Adam, Jonathan Walters, and Steven Nzonzi as rough examples) or former stars that the big clubs have already passed on like Peter Crouch, Bojan, Joe Allen, and Shaqiri. For a handful of years, they found the balance of building a squad of players that were good enough to get the job done, but not so good that they would be able to find greener pastures and leave them in the lurch.

[@daddykornflakes]

Like you said, it's pretty much down to the fact that the top 6 or 7 teams (if you include Newcastle) will usually fill the top 7 or 8 places season after season, so 9th is likely to be filled by one the of the other clubs, all of whom are likely to go down at some point sometime in the future. Of these other teams, only Everton, who were once billed as one the the BIG 5 when the EPL began, have managed to dodge the dreaded drop for so long. Also, it's pretty amazing that in Scotland, Aberdeen, who cannot financially compete with the Old Firm, have managed to NEVER be relegated in their entire history.

[@F1Krazy]

It goes even further back if you dig deep enough. Man City finished 9th in 1992/93, then went into decline and were relegated three seasons later; QPR finished 9th in 1993/94 and were relegated two seasons later; Nottingham Forest finished 9th in 1995/96 and were relegated the following season...

[@scottytoohotty9992]

Man City also finished 9th in 2007/2008, but they've never looked back since 🤔

[@amstonger]

@@scottytoohotty9992hmmm 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

[@Jbkeditz]

@@amstonger 🤔🤔🤔 sus

[@kyran243]

If they didnt have oil money then they would be in league 1 right now

[@mrgamerthebest]

​@Kyran-er9kw nope they would probably be in midtable because of the academy

[@chlcrk]

Tbf as a Newcastle fan, we got relegated all by ourselves without finishing 9th in the five years before 2009 and 2016. Though we were one win away from 9th in 2011 so we clearly were playing with fire

[@ChArLiE-1chaz9]

Nah you've got oil money now you're fine

[@chlcrk]

@@ChArLiE-1chaz9 I mean, if we were to get relegated with this kind of financial backing, we'd earn a lot of mockery from everyone else

[@redboyjan]

The plastic trophies era is here for you now. The history is wiped

[@rileyjroberts]

3/5 videos being about or loosely about Sheffield United is something I never thought I’d see

[@seandelap8587]

Fun fact Man City are the only team to ever be relegated in English football the season after winning the league during the 1937/38 season although such a scenario is extremely unlikely to repeat itself as far as Man City is concerned

[@nor-wayking6757]

There's 115 reasons it could happen.

[@carltonleboss]

Fun fact: City scored 80 goals when they got relegated in 1937/38. Unfortunately, they conceded 100...

[@karencasey24]

@@carltonleboss then,i guess the average score for city during would be like 5-4

[@trickygoose2]

Was Ossie Ardiles their manager?

[@huyganisto5090]

@@nor-wayking6757probably not anunited fan 😂

[@donnydank9445]

off topic but i always somehow come back to an HITC sevens video, whether that be old or new. Great content!

[@louisjagger2177]

I thought Charlton escaped this curse, given that the season before we went down we finished 13th, and our highest Premiership season we finished 7th. But then I went a bit deeper, and it turned out we sealed our eventual fate in the very first season of our final run in the top flight. Spooky

[@Isleofskye]

While neighbours were top in October, then in the Top 4 for much of the 1988/89 season but had a poor run to finish 10th. Sold a couple. Did not invest and tailed off the second season and never been to The Promised Land before or since in their(our) 138-year-old history.

[@Isleofskye]

It would help if I said:Millwall:)

[@aidanhickey9845]

​@@IsleofskyeSounds like you're talking about the show, lol.

[@Isleofskye]

@@aidanhickey9845 Yes,aidan:)

[@Balotovi]

Brooo, if you think 9th Place Curse is crazy you should do a video about the 19th Place Curse!! I couldn't believe it at first but every single team finishing that place got relegated basically instantly! 🤯🤯

[@Balotovi]

Crap I scrolled like 3 seconds and saw that the same joke was done almost a day ago with 180 likes already, seems like I'm not as funny as I hoped to be

[@RMC06]

This channel might be the best channel of all time

[@gavinfry6612]

Absolutely loved this, thanks for the investigation. 9th is we are safe and are stable, no need to panic as we can stay up and if lucky europe calls. Love the channel mate and the work you do.

[@_spacyzuma]

Hahaha, yet another very entertaining and educational video! Thoroughly enjoyable watch, mate! Keep it up 👍🏾

[@Blmnvr]

I think a bert trautmann documentary would be cool

[@Lythgoemania]

Finally as a Wigan fan found the reason we survived in the Premier League for so long. We just about avoided a 9th place finish in our first season.

[@dronesclubhighjinks]

What a marvelously well-researched and entertaining (to a neutral outside observer) video! My apologies to the fans of these ninth place finishers who are cursed. Thank you for the video!

[@DolFunTheDolhpinVtuber]

My team just finished 9th in our 1st EPL season in Football Manager, I am now worried lol.

[@deborahluck539]

I love your videos! Hi from Las Vegas!!!!!

[@mashbilli]

Crazy intro 🔥🔥🔥

[@darthplagueis8886]

I'm loving this Premier League related content from the last videos.

[@jackhewitt600]

As a Norwich fan i would take finishing 17th every year in exchange for a trophy. Most clubs like Villa , Leeds and Everton focus on league position rather than winning silverware, which is a shame as i imagine Everton fans would love a trophy win after nearly 30 years.

[@memofromessex]

Please can you do a video on whether West Ham are any good? I can't make my mind up, they seem to both overachieving and underachieving at the same time

[@MrBlazemaster525]

That would depend on how they reinvest the Rice and (possibly) Paqueta fees

[@andrewestham8442]

Trust me mate, as a hammers fan my opinion on the club is also that we r overachieving one week and then shitting the bed and deserving relegation the next🤣 toxic relationship with the club but aye that’s what the love of the game is all about, through thick and thin you support your club, wouldn’t have it any other way tbh ⚒️

[@chlcrk]

I think that's just who West Ham are. Capable of beating both Manchester clubs then losing to Luton and Sheffield United, or that season's equivalents

[@karencasey24]

conference league winners but involved in tight relegation battle, i have no idea too

[@joelkivisto]

idk but they had a really strong game today

[@richardfinlayson1524]

Good on you Alfie always interesting 👍

[@LocalNoob_2]

the fact that the top 6 clubs haven"t finished 9th despite all of them being 7th,8th,10th or even 12th in some seasons but never 9th is mad,it is bound to happen sooner or later i know that this video will forever be in the back of my mind whenever a big club finish 9th 😭

[@nathanguillaume1247]

My thoughts on this video: 1. A three-peat only happens if you do something 3 times in a row. I couldn't tell if you were saying Stoke did that or 3 times in 4 years. 2. Brighton and Brentford have had great recruitment with data analytics over the past decade, but I think other teams will catch up and they will eventually be relegated

[@depekthegreat359]

Oh!!!Yet this is a totally harsh way though in the English First Division but those who finished in the ninth position since 2008 were financially mismanaged by their owners and some not so good signings,good friends!!!These are their mistakes but finishing in the position of a team is a sign of progression of the team runs on and off the pitch,good friends!!!🙏

[@tommyluco]

It is probably a combination of things. Being 9th (and overachieving) often comes along with losing talent to bigger clubs & not being able to compensate for lost talent with new talent as this usually takes time to rebuild. Also most clubs like Villa and West Ham are often managed by people who shouldn't hold a position of so much responsibility... With Brentford i'm less worried about that though.

[@S050683]

Anything above 20th is open top bus worthy given how we played against Palace. Hopefully we grow into it because at the moment we're in trouble.

[@lewisepicfootycontent5934]

Brighton 21-22 definitely broke the curse

[@godfreemorals]

That's what the curse wants them to think... it's coming for them 💀💀💀

[@nofraser]

@@godfreemorals doubt it

[@spiritual84]

I remember 1 year ago, looking at Man Utd's opening fixtures of Brighton and Brentford, and thinking "that's alright". I severely regret my naivety and have never looked at these two teams the same again.

[@carltonleboss]

Oof

[@BMcfarlane1996]

To be fair we had beaten you 4-0 the previous season at the amex in cr7's only ever trip to the amex, so you shouldnt of been taken us lightly

[@spiritual84]

@@BMcfarlane1996 yeah but that was at home man. You guys were the only team last year to beat us at home, so forgive me for having a bit of optimism. Incidentally you guys were also the only ones who did the double over us last season so.. yeah won't be making that mistake of being overconfident again. Brighton is proper tough opposition.

[@MA1R]

Genuinely love watching these videos amazing work as always

[@Celery999]

Great video once again. Think a KZbinr needs to take the step to discuss the Dark History of Scottish Football, the c*ild abuse that has knowingly plagued the league since the 70’s. The lack of coverage and limelight in general is appalling but it’s understandably a scary prospect to openly discuss. While Celtic were clearly the most prominent offenders, Rangers, Hibs, Dundee United and Partick Thistle were all heavily involved as well and not many KZbinrs have the aptitude and ability to discuss such a sensitive topic but I feel that Alfie could portray this issue professionally and with maturity as he always do regarding a topic that needs to be brought to relevance even if it is such a disturbing topic.

[@davidking9222]

All teams have a natural position Original big 5 (never go down since home teams kept the gate) - Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool. Utd. Spurs Next 5 (Go down but generally return swiftly - Villa, Chelsea, City, Newcastle, West Ham Next 7 (Go down, and generally come back - Leeds, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Southampton, Sunderland, West Brom, Wolves. =17 Premier League clubs. Everyone else is just visiting.

[@Donzacuceron]

Alfie I'm curious where did you pick up the "Well," in that tone of voice that you do? Its not something that you did before but now its a few times every video. I assume someone you know does it and you picked it up subconsciously?

[@aknozjuoeng5256]

Meanwhile Southampton, even never finished in 9th, still relegated. And next could be us (Wolverhampton), even we never finished in 9th.

[@TylerTrailer1]

You should do a video where you predict where a teams latest starting 11 will be in like 7 or less years

[@PassivesAbseits]

Now I see the 9th place team and the 10th place team both desperately trying to lose their final games by as many goals as possible without raising suspicions... and then the Manager after the game asks "Have you not seen HITC Sevens Video? You just don't want to finish 9th!"

[@nicocorbo4153]

My immediate reaction of "WHO!?!?!" when you said savio nsereko

[@suzannelooms7658]

How about making a video about managers who move on for a better career with a bigger club: Sam Allardyce (from Palace), Graham Potter (from BHA) etc. Where are they now?

[@tino6440]

This is why palace simply choose to finish 12th every season

[@sampeck6826]

Yes now Alfie. What did you think of our battering vs wednesday. Saw you above me in East

[@frankmyers7189]

Always like your comments about football

[@JeremyAweda]

Hey Alfie, when are you going to release your prediction vídeo?

[@renerpho]

As I write this (after 32 matches played), Brentford haven't won any of their last 9 matches, the only Premier League team to do so, and have dropped to 15th in the process. The only reason they aren't close to the relegation zone right now is that Everton and Nottingham Forest directly behind them have both suffered points deductions. If Brentford continue like this then they'd be lucky to avoid relegation.

[@jonathanfrimerman8855]

It hit Brentford Brentford finished 9th Now they are just 4 points off relegation

[@mattheendpod2659]

The “rich six” love it.

[@BALHAM69]

#thepeopleschannel a video on the Bangladesh premier league and the rise of Bashundhara kings would be good A team who went into the top flight after promotion and won the last four league titles now! Are they the next Newcastle? Are they a team to keep a eye on next few years? Thanks Alfie 😊

[@munachiatuegbu4099]

You should do a Premier league prediction

[@albiesamazingchannel]

POV: You're a fulham fan and they finiashed 10th last season 😎😎😎😎

[@jordnchn7907]

cant help but sense alfie's pessimism about english football/premier league in the recent or maybe not recent videos... maybe a massive 1hr long video about how broken football is (nvm he already made one) or maybe about the superleague's existence in the premier league? we need some banter videos back! bit depressing in the recent videos hahaha

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

Clubs like crystal palace etc should take loans amounting to hundreds of millions to spend on transfers eg offering 150 million for one player, offering salaries of 650,000 pounds per week for individual players to break into the top 6. Risk big win big

[@Joe-MT]

Any chance for a video about Maltese Football ⚽ 🇲🇹 Thank you

[@kyliemiu]

it's not a curse. it's players doing well and then sold to the bigger clubs

[@GMBlunderfish1]

In 2004/05 Spurs qualified for the ChampionSHIP by finishing 9th in the Prem… but Tottenham stayed up and got a run of UCL qualifications which climaxed in the biggest game in Europe, a Champions League FINAL at Atlético de Madrid…

[@KingofWolves3277]

Can't wait for Chelsea to finish 9th

[@MrReese]

The big issue for almost all clubs that are neither funded by a state nor are a "big 6" (or 7) club in the Premier League is that they cannot compete at the highest level internationally (which most players want to do when they are good enough) and that they have to sell their best players to the "big 6" (or 7) teams. Constantly coming up with rabbits out of hats, i.e. finding new talent that they can sign, develop, and then sell for lots of money again just to repeat it all over again is a cycle that is often not sustainable over a longer period of time. This is especially a problem in most big leagues because of investors with seemingly endless amounts of money. It is a bit less of a problem in Germany because of the 50+1 rule, making it possible for clubs like Union Berlin to reap the rewards for working well, using money wisely, and fielding a team that plays well together, thus finishing 4th and playing in the Champions League next season. All that being said, still hoping for that Austrian Wunderteam video 😇✌.

[@unlockedaccount]

thumbnails are getting better

[@i_eat_crayons1012]

also I like how u put wolves in front of man utd in ur thumbnail lol

[@beauallen9872]

A “nine days' wonder” is said to be something that creates a short-lived sensation… Can’t see the curse changing any time soon, we all know it’s unrealistic to stay up on cloud 9 forever ☁️☁️☁️

[@Ryzonie]

What is the narrators of HITC on KZbin channel name?

[@zeforte7868]

I wouldn’t consider the 9th place a curse for relegation, I do see the similarities between all the clubs who have finished in that spot over the years, even though someone like burnley have finished in 8th and met a similar fate, but the Premier League as a whole is a revolving door, as every club outside the top 6 and Everton (who will probably be there soon enough) has spent time in the championship in the same period you have mentioned in this video

[@XpcAdam]

need to do a video on birmingham alfie

[@franze4]

4:41 goddamn 😂 just like you said, that does explain why he just stopped working, lucky guy

[@SantomPh]

9th is the "so what" place which offers no European place but isn't the bottom 10. There are professional mid table teams like Villa and West Ham whose goals are really to finish 8-10th and keep themselves in the PL. Some clubs feel they can improve on the 9th place but catastrophically fail. Leicester and Brighton are the exceptions but it was due to having particularly good squads who took advantage of the big 6 slipping up.

[@GenialHarryGrout]

This is a new twist on what was the second season syndrome.

[@jonathanfrimerman8855]

Have so say Fulham bournmouth and norm forest are breaking this curse this year Bournmouth are on the up under Areopagus same with north forest under Nuno Fulham are also pretty comfortable spor

[@nrmleigh]

9th is the top of the EPL relegation zone.

[@namelesskings3393]

I watched this 9 hours after Alfie posted this

[@hoppywern9057]

This is a world record for intro length, even for alfie

[@bewy3635]

Can we have a what’s going on at Leeds united video? Utter chaos with the loan clauses and barely any movement in the market along with a poor start to the championship season

[@Echo_Recon_01]

from False 9 to Fools 9. real quick by the way it's a good observation as well. 👍

[@spiderswebb11uk]

Classic West Ham. That was my first year as a season ticket holder.

[@LanceVanceDance1986]

In my bets Knowing the form West Ham are in they could go down if they continue like that and Brentford I think will go down too in the same season. And the other one I think will get relegated is Nottingham Forrest although they haven’t got 9th. As for the newly promoted teams. I think they’ll all stay up since Leicester just had an unlucky season before, Ipswich are a bit of a dark horse etc

[@Snapsportscards]

As an Albion fan I do not appreciate the thumbnail Alfie 😂

[@bhab04editz]

Same lmao

[@jonkr81]

me : Hey Alfie should do a whats going on at Brentford vid... wait.. where did they finish last year? oh....

[@ForEverton12]

shocked that Everton haven’t finished 9th in that time

[@robindunning2046]

First of all.I do not think Brighton Will finish 9th this season or anything season. I think that Brighton will now only ever finish in the top 6. But the other difference is that Brighton have a totally different culture to all of these clubs

[@jimbob-robob]

I'm wondering what sparked the interest into this arcane revelation...

[@christophercopley6474]

I'd like to see a video on the madness around mbappe over the last 3 seasons he seems every year to be leaving never does and picks up an even bigger contract at the end of it as seems the case again

[@siler22]

there is top 6 (top 7) rest 12 teams who can go up fight for European place or go down, and there is Crystal Palace just existing, looking miserable for so long yet comfortably safed by same old face season after season

[@charlieblockclocksnow]

That's the palace way. They don't do a thing yet they sit there every season without fear

[@he_football]

I feel like when they finish 9th these teams don't get taken seriously and soon people wise up and start taking them seriously

[@petsburg]

If the ghost goal vs Villa was given, then Sheffield United would not have been relegated.

[@vertron]

This

[@zioreturnsgaming]

Day 69 Dream OFC XI all the OFC teams played as one nation in international Football not giving up on this

[@willharris4551]

Oh come on, we survive second season syndrome just to have a new curse to deal with????

[@therandomgeek85]

I think it's because when teams do well and finish in 9th the vultures start circling and they lose key players/staff to the big 6 or bigger European teams 🤔

[@cerirees2238]

Then I sure hope Palace finish 9th this season. Never thought I'd say that.

[@alaskanmalamute101]

I'd like to see a vid on the rise of Brighton, Newcastle, Aston Villa in the same video like a comparison, as there rise has been very similar at the same time. Also can they stay there? We've seen what's happened to the smallest club Premier League champions Leicester City.. 2022-23 4th Newcastle 6th Brighton 7th Aston Villa 2021-22 9th Brighton 11th Newcastle 14th Aston Villa 2020-21 11th Aston Villa 12th Newcastle 16th Brighton 2019-20 13th Newcastle 15th Brighton 17th Aston Villa 2018-19 13th Newcastle 17th Brighton 5th Aston Villa (Championship Playoff Promotion) The only team I can confidently see staying up there is Newcastle as there clearly have the fan base to be a Big 6-7 club There's only a handful of clubs with the support to break in to the top 6 imo Newcastle, Sunderland, Aston Villa this really just going off stadium capacity cos if your not filling at least a 40,000 stadium it be tough to ever grow in support to match a big 6 clubs revenue. if you can't at least match a Chelsea in the matchday side of revenue because it will take a decade of success to catch a Chelsea on Sponsorship & Merchandise side of revenue. Man City have been premier League champions for like a decade and Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea still massively outperform them on the retail, matchday side, lucky they have Saudi sponsors willing to fill the gap 🙊 (Basically revenue from fans) Retail, Merchandise, Apparel, Products 2021-22 £106.1mil Man Utd £94.3mil Liverpool £92.8mil Chelsea £77.3mil Arsenal £37.3mil Man City £31.9mil Tottenham Premier League Matchday Revenue 2021-22 £75.2mil Man Utd £53/seat/game £58.9mil Arsenal £52/seat/game £57.6mil Liverpool £57/seat/game £55.5mil Tottenham £54/seat/game £39.5mil Chelsea £51/seat/game £39.5mil Man City £38/seat/game £36.1mil Newcastle £37/seat/game £23.4mil West Ham £21/seat/game (Figures from sportsjournal.io) In theory Man City could still get relegated in the future if suddenly the performances slipped Saudi pulled out, there back to been a midtable revenue premier league side at best. Respect to Luton for not spending millions on players they are investing in there stadium yea they might go back down straight away but let's be honest they have no chance of sustaining a premier league position with there ground, better to invest some of that 100mil in your facilities take the drop and have another run on the promotion with the parachute payments and be in a better position 2nd time round become a yo-yo club can be not a bad thing if done right. There fans seem onboard with the plan. Problem is alot these yo-yo clubs overspend on players aiming for midtable then get relegated leaving them in a financial nightmare even with parachute payments. Can Hull City ever be an established club when we don't even own our own ground..let's be honest the council are never gonna invest in it the extra capacity of a 2nd tier on north,south, east would increase capacity by 8,500 bringing the MKM to around 34,000 even if we was in the premier League 5 years they probably wouldn't touch it..if city owned there own ground it would be done on the 1st or 2nd year. Although Acun Ilicali is keen to improve the MKM stadium capacity and facilities himself so it may still happen.

[@trancemisfit]

Who do you support in premier league? i cant tell from the videos you post

[@archstanton6102]

He supports Hull City

[@ethandalton6480]

No one, he's a Hull City fan

[@DomenBremecXCVI]

There's something super fun about a team that finished the season in the relegation zone and still playing European football the next year with the help of a cup win. Can you delve into that?