Could all three promoted sides survive the drop this season?

It’s very rare that a season goes by that a promoted team doesn’t get relegated from the Premier League.

However all three teams promoted from the Championship last season have given themselves a good fighting chance in this campaign.

Difficult

A lot of promoted teams find it difficult to adjust to the top flight after promotion but Swansea, Norwich and QPR have all held their own so far this season. They have also achieved some impressive results along the way.

Impressed

I have to admit I really thought that Norwich would struggle on their return to the top flight. However they have been outstanding and tried to play football the right way under the shrewd Paul Lambert. They have approached games with no fear and have been rewarded for it.

My regulars readers must but bored of me stating my admiration for Swansea over the last couple of years. Even when the Swans were in the Championship they impressed me. They have stayed faithful to the style of football that got them promoted and they deserve to stay up.

I read somewhere recently that they are in the top six for pass completion rates in the whole of Europe, now that is impressive. Even against the likes of Manchester United they saw more of the ball than their opponents.

Signings

QPR have been ticking along nicely but are just three points outside the relegation zone. The Hoops have the spending power to bring in new signings in January though. Rangers boss Neil Warnock has stated that he wants to add four or five players to his squad in the winter transfer window.

Caution

At this point last season newly promoted Blackpool had amassed more points than the trio but were relegated after a blistering start to the campaign. The Tangerines were a bit gung ho in their approach to the Premier League and suffered a dramatic loss of form in the second half of the season.

I do believe that both Norwich and Swansea are stronger teams than the Blackpool of last season. They have better all round teams and setups. It’s difficult to see either dropping like Blackpool did in the second half of the season.

Defence

Swansea have conceded just three goals at the Liberty Stadium and teams are finding hard to get the ball off the home side. QPR’s recent draw in Wales was something of a rarity because in the second half QPR actually had a bit of the ball.

The Swansea backline and the outstanding Michel Vorm in goal are good enough to keep Swansea in the Premier League, as I predicted at the start of the season when everybody was writing off Brendan Rodgers men.

Window

The transfer window could prove vital for all three sides to strengthen their squads. QPR are likely to dip into the transfer market as I previously mentioned but it wouldn’t harm either of the other two to reinforce their squads, if the money is available to strengthen.

Survival

All three sides have had a decent first half to the season and are in with a good chance of staying up. The likes of Wigan, Bolton and Blackburn currently look the most vulnerable at the bottom of the league. All three Lancashire clubs have had a few decent results in recent weeks but they still look like poor teams.

I really wouldn’t bet against Swansea, Norwich and QPR surviving the drop this season. It says a lot about the strength of the second tier of English football that teams can now come up to the Premier League and compete so well.

Will all three promoted sides survive the drop into the Championship?