Written by a DBS Football guess writer - Follow Him on Twitter @RealJoeFranklin
When a club is promoted from the Championship to the Premiership, it is never an easy feat to settle in to the league that is often hailed as 'the best in the world'. Norwich, Queens Park Rangers and Swansea all have points to prove as they enter what now seems to be the top tier of English and Welsh football.
Norwich have forced their way forward with back to back promotions, QPR earned promotion after several seasons of Championship football, and Swansea had also seemed settled in the Championship since their promotion from League 1 in 2005.
Transfers are seen as the most important factor when a club wants to move up the ranks, so how have the Premier League's newest arrivals acted in this summer's market?
Norwich have been busiest in terms of bringing in new players, but only three of the seven have come from Premier League clubs, and two of those (De Laet-Manchester United, Naughton-Tottenham) are loanees. The other is the signing of James Vaughan from Everton for £2.5million. The remaining transfers are Pilkington (Huddersfield, £2milllion), Morrison (Millwall, £2.8million), Elliot Bennet (Brighton, undisclosed), and Johnson (Leeds, free). Manager Paul Lambert has also let go of Daley, Gill, Habergham, and Askou, receiving no transfer fee for any of them.
Lambert has explained that he intended to bring in players who are hungry for success, and wanting to fight for a place in the team, regardless of which team and league they come from. This is understandable, but there is no use in a team of players who are barely established at Championship level when coming up against sides like Manchester City who have completely transformed in the last couple of years. For example, when captain Grant Holt plays his first match in the Premiership against Wigan on 13th August, he will have played in four divisions in as many seasons. It shall be interesting to see how Norwich fare for the entire season.
QPR have not been as active, as they seem to have had complete focus on keeping star asset Adel Taarabt, which cannot have been easy with PSG lining up a big money move for the Moroccan. However, signings such as Danny Gabbidon, Jay Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer are sure to provide QPR with more balance and quality throughout the team. Pascal Chimbonda has also been released, and he is a player who has previous experience in the Premiership, but could barely force his way into the team last term. QPR have also not received any transfer fees for the players who have left, showing how room needs to be made at clubs that are intent in the transfer market.
Swansea have also only signed 3 players thus far; Danny Graham (Watford £3.5m), Steven Caulker (Tottenham, loan) and Jose Moreira (Benfica, undisclosed). These are no doubt quality signings, and I cannot wait to see how Swansea's passing method of play works out in the Premiership. One of the key players of last season, keeper Dorus de Vries, has been offloaded to Wolves for free, and he had proved to be an incredibly valuable part of the team, keeping a great number of clean sheets. Also, Darren Pratley (free) has moved on to sign for Bolton, proving there is already Premier League quality in the squad.
Teams in recent years have been promoted from the Championship, and cemented their place in the top tier, if only for a couple of seasons. Teams such as Wigan, who are contenders for the drop again this year, have now been in the Premiership since 2005. Other clubs such as Sunderland, and particularly Stoke, have also excelled in the Premier League.
So the question is, can the new Premiership minnows survive, or will they make a swift return to the second division from whence they came?
Written by a DBS Football guess writer - Follow Him on Twitter @RealJoeFranklin
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