Huddersfield’s survival in the Premier League means that not one of the 15 teams promoted in England’s top five divisions last season have been relegated 12 months later.
File image of Huddersfield Town players. Reuters
The Yorkshire club are guaranteed to finish above at least one of Swansea or Southampton, who are scrapping to avoid the final relegation place, after securing a point at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
With the Championship’s other promoted clubs, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion, already safe, it is the first time since 2011-12 that none of the trio who have come up to the Premier League have gone straight back down.
On that occasion Norwich, Swansea and Queens Park Rangers survived. The only other time all three newcomers have stayed up in the Premier League era was Fulham, Blackburn and Bolton Wanderers in 2001-02.
But, uniquely, this year the survival pattern has been replicated throughout the league pyramid with Sheffield United, Millwall and Bolton staying up in the Championship, Portsmouth, Plymouth Albion and Doncaster Rovers surviving in League One and Lincoln City and Forest Green Rovers maintaining their League Two status.
Even AFC Fylde, Ebbsfleet, Maidenhead and Halifax stayed in the fifth tier National League after winning promotion the previous season.
Updated Date: May 11, 2018 16:00 PM
