When you hear the term ‘yo-yo club’, the team that springs to mind probably depends on the era that you started watching football.
For me, it’s West Bromwich Albion, who were promoted from the Championship four times and relegated from the Premier League on three occasions between 2002 and 2010.
Ipswich Town are the latest club to slip into a yo-yo existence, where they are too good for one division but seemingly not good enough for the league above, with Gary O’Neil’s side heavily tipped to go straight back down after promotion last term.
The three clubs Ipswich must emulate to shed the yo-yo tag
This is the fifth successive season in which the Tractor Boys have been in a different division, achieving back-to-back promotions to the Premier League in 2022/23 and 2023/24, before relegation in 2025 was followed by promotion.
It took them until November 10 to claim their first win when they were last in the top flight, but they ticked that off straight away this season, beating Sunderland 2-1 in Saturday’s opening game.
You would think that clubs who return to the Premier League at the first time of asking would be more likely to survive, but that’s rarely the case. In fact, 10 of the past 13 teams who gained an immediate return to the top flight went straight back down.
For example, it has happened to Burnley twice in the past four seasons: after dropping out of the Premier League in 2022, promotions in 2023 and 2025 were followed by relegations in 2024 and 2026 respectively.
But the Clarets are also one of just three clubs since 2013 to buck the trend, having been relegated in 2014/15, won the Championship the following campaign and stayed up in 2016/17.
The other two are Newcastle United, in 2017/18, and Fulham, who finally beat the drop in 2022/23 after one-season spells in the Premier League in 2018/19 and 2020/21.
So, what did these clubs get right and how can Ipswich follow their lead? Here are three reasons why the Tractor Boys are better-placed for survival this time around.
A settled defence
For Burnley in 2016/17 and Newcastle the season after, survival was built on an impressive defensive record. The Clarets finished 16th but had the 11th-best defence in the Premier League, while only six teams in 2017/18 conceded fewer goals than the Magpies, who ended the campaign 10th.
If Ipswich are to stay up, they must significantly improve on the 82 goals they conceded during their 2024/25 relegation season - and there are reasons to suggest they can.
After a leaky start to life in the Championship last term, the Tractor Boys kept 11 clean sheets from Boxing Day onwards to end the campaign with the joint second-best defensive record in the division.
Their back four against Sunderland featured three members of last season’s squad: captain Dara O’Shea, centre-back Jacob Greaves and left-back Leif Davis, who were also all part of the relegation campaign. Completing the defence was summer signing Issa Diop, who has spent the past eight years in the Premier League with West Ham United and Fulham.
Burnley’s 2016/17 defence had similar continuity, with three first-choice players - goalkeeper Tom Heaton, Ben Mee and Michael Keane - all relegated with the club two seasons earlier.
The likes of O’Shea, Greaves and Davis will have learnt from their experience two seasons ago, which should help Ipswich tighten up at the back.
Finding the right blend
Ipswich’s longest-serving players could be especially important considering the number of signings the club have made this summer.
The Tractor Boys have spent around £150m on 12 first-team players and could beat Sunderland’s record outlay for a newly-promoted club, of £161m, which was set last season.
Admittedly, Ipswich spent more than £100m two summers ago and still went down, but they can follow the blueprint of Fulham in 2022/23.
The Cottagers made some excellent signings to help them finish 10th, including Bernd Leno, Joao Palhinha and Willian, but the team was built around a spine of existing players such as Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Harrison Reed and Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Ipswich’s starting XI against Sunderland featured seven summer additions, with Julio Enciso and opening goalscorer Emersonn impressing, but also four survivors from last season’s squad, while another, Jack Clarke, came off the bench to bag the winner.
While Sunderland showed last season that a complete overhaul of the starting XI can bring success, O’Neil would be well-advised to maintain that blend of familiar figures and fresh faces.
A streaky streak
For Ipswich, the big unknown is in the dugout.
Kieran McKenna led the club from 12th in League One to the Premier League, so it felt like a huge blow when the Northern Irish manager stepped down in June, after delivering a third promotion in four seasons.
However, O’Neil has twice led sides to survival in the Premier League - Bournemouth in 2022/23 and Wolves the following campaign - and the way he did it could benefit the Tractor Boys.
Both clubs had fairly streaky form, with the Cherries taking six points from 13 games mid-season, then 18 from nine matches in March and April. It was the reverse at Wolves, where a run of 22 points from 11 fixtures was followed by five points from 10.
There are similarities with Newcastle in 2017/18 and Fulham in 2022/23. The Magpies took one point from nine games in late 2017, while four straight wins were followed by four successive defeats in the spring.
Fulham also had runs of four wins and four defeats, while at one point they didn’t draw a single game for three months.
In a relegation fight, it is better to be streaky than to pick up wins here and there, as a bad run can be followed by bursts of points that move you much closer to survival.
Ipswich drew 10 games in 2024/25 but won just four, so if O’Neil still has a streaky streak, the Tractor Boys will pick up more victories and have a better chance of shedding the yo-yo tag.
