Second season syndrome

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Second season syndrome is the now-common phrase that is used to describe a downturn in fortunes for a football club two seasons after its promotion to the Premier League of English football - particularly if the first season after promotion had brought a strong finish.^[1] The syndrome actually predates the Premiership, and could be seen in the cases of Swansea City (1981-1983) and Millwall (1988-1990) in the old First Division. Second season syndrome has also been used to describe other sports where a successful first season has taken place, followed by a poor second season^[2] as well as individual sportspersons.^[3] In the US, this event (more commonly applied to athletes than teams) is known as a sophomore slump.

1 Examples
2 References

[edit] Examples

Since the creation of the Premier League in 1992, the following seasons have seen the following clubs suffer from "second season syndrome".

[edit] 1996-97

Middlesbrough were promoted to the Premier League as Division One champions in 1995, and started the following season in fine form, occupying fourth place in late October and looking like serious contenders for a European place. Despite a dismal run of mid-season form which saw them lose 10 out of 11 games, they still finished 12th in the final table - comfortably clear of the relegation zone. That summer, manager Bryan Robson paid some of the highest transfer fees of that era for high profile foreign stars included Fabrizio Ravanelli and Emerson. The new signings performed well, but Middlesbrough were relegated the following season in 19th place. Ultimately, they were only relegated due to a three-point deduction that had been imposed in January for cancelling a fixture against Blackburn at late notice.^[4]

[edit] 2000-01

In 1999, Bradford City returned to the top flight after an absence of 77 years, after coming second to Sunderland. The Bantams stayed up the following season, with a then Premier League record low of 36 points. A 1-0 victory on the final day of the season over Liverpool with a David Wetherall goal ensured City and not Wimbledon stayed up. However just days after the season finished, manager Paul Jewell sensationally left the club and was succeeded by his assistant Chris Hutchings. Hutchings struggled and was sacked after just one win from 12 league games. He was replace by Jim Jefferies but City remained in the bottom three for the rest of the season. Relegation was confirmed several games before the end of the season with a 2-1 defeat at Everton, with both Benito Carbone and Robbie Blake missing penalties. The club has since run into financial trouble, been in administration twice, and had a further two relegations.^[4]

[edit] 2001-02

Ipswich Town gained promotion to the Premier League in 2000 as Division One playoff winners, and in their first season back at the highest level, they finished fifth to gain UEFA Cup qualification. But they won just one of their opening 17 Premier League fixtures the following season, leaving them bottom of the table in early December. A run of seven wins from eight games looked to have saved them as they stood 12th at the end of January, but another setback pushed them back into the drop zone and defeat to Liverpool on the final day of the season confirmed their relegation.^[4]

[edit] 2003-04

Manchester City reached the Premier League as Division One champions in 2002, and finished ninth the following year - their highest finish for a decade. But the following season they finished 16th and their survival had only been put beyond all doubt in the penultimate game of the season, although their superior goal difference had effectively confirmed their safety and relegated the two teams below them a week earlier.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] 2006-07

West Ham United were promoted to the Premier League as Football League Championship playoff winners in 2005. The following year they finished ninth in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final, where only a late equaliser and a penalty shoot-out triumph by Liverpool prevented them from winning their first major trophy since 1980. But a dismal start to the following season saw Alan Pardew sacked in December, and as late as March they were 10 points adrift of safety. But a dramatic upturn in fortunes, engineered by a core group of players including Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, saw them beat the drop and finish 15th.^[5]
Wigan Athletic reached the top division of English football for the first time ever in 2005, and were many people's favourites for an immediate return to the Championship. But they were in the top six for much of the first half of the season, occupying second place in late October, and finished 10th in the final table. They also reached their first ever major domestic cup final, reaching the Carling Cup final but losing 4-0 to Manchester United. The following season brought a major struggle, and Wigan only managed to stay up on goal difference with a surprise away win over Sheffield United, who were relegated instead.^[6]

[edit] 2007-08

Reading are struggling in their second season of Premier League football after a relatively successful first season where the team finished 8th, narrowly missing out on qualification for the UEFA Cup by one position. Reading's second season however has been different in that the team have been struggling to get out of the lower half of the Premier League table. After a 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Sunderland, manager Steve Coppell admitted that Reading are suffering from second season syndrome. This was confirmed following their relegation on the final day of the season.^[7]