Are Brighton and Brentford untouchable? Premier League history says otherwise

Brighton's meeting with Brentford on Sunday once again leaves the rest of the Premier League watching the success of these two sides. Known for their smart systems and flawless transfer work, these clubs seem to be making no mistakes.

Both clubs were taken over by their current owners while still in League One. Under Tony Bloom and Matthew Benham, the teams that rose to the top flight have become a permanent fixture of the league. This season they could challenge for Champions League places, and may even achieve more.

But history tells a different story. The Championship and League One are full of clubs that were once held up as examples for the Premier League but later fell. Wimbledon finished in the top nine in three of four seasons in the 1990s, and did so without a stadium of their own. Bolton played in Europe for two seasons in the 2000s and narrowly missed out on the Champions League by three points in the middle of that decade.

Southampton and Swansea City were competing with big clubs in the 2010s, shortly after their promotions. Leicester City won the title in the 2015/16 season, won the FA Cup in 2020/21, and reached the semi-finals in Europe in 2021/22.