A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated.[1] The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League.
The name is derived from the toy yo-yo which goes up and down a string. In Germany the equivalent term is Fahrstuhlmannschaft and in Spain equipo ascensor, both literally meaning "lift team" or "elevator team". In the Netherlands the term is heen-en-weer club (to-and-fro club).
In England the phrase has been used to describe, among others, Birmingham City, Leicester City, Crystal Palace, Manchester City, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.
West Brom have been the archetypical yo-yo club throughout the first decade of the twenty-first century, during which time they have been promoted four times and relegated three times. This is seen by many to be a direct result of the policies espoused by the club's chairman Jeremy Peace, who has refused to allow the club to spend beyond its means and has insisted on sound financial management. This has tended to leave the club at a disadvantage in the Premier League, when other similarly-sized clubs have tended to spend beyond their means, but strongly placed in Second Division (The Championship) due to the parachute payments received on relegation from the Premier League.
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Birmingham City have been promoted and relegated to and from the top division more times than any other English club, with 12 promotions and 12 relegations.[2]
Birmingham's longest period in one division has been 18 years in the First Division, from 1921 to 1939. Their next longest was 10 years, also in the First Division, between 1955 and 1965.
Elected to Division Two in 1892, Birmingham were promoted to Division One in 1894 and relegated in 1896. Their next promotion came in 1901, and was followed immediately by relegation in 1902 and a third promotion in 1903. This time they lasted five years in the First Division, before relegation in 1908.
The following seventy years (which included breaks for the two world wars) were comparatively stable, with only three relegations and four promotions. After their seventh relegation, in 1979, they were promoted at the first attempt; the same happened in 1984 and 1985, but after their ninth relegation, in 1986, they spent 18 years out of the top flight.
During these 18 seasons Birmingham had two separate spells in the Third Division: from 1989 to 1992 (three seasons), and from 1994 to 1995 (one season).
They were promoted to the Premier League for the first time in 2002. Their first spell in this league lasted four years, but in the four years from 2006 to 2009 they were relegated twice and promoted twice.
In 2011 they were relegated again, and this was the eighth time since 1979 that this had happened to Birmingham. Six of these relegations were between the top two divisions, and two were between the second and third.
Brighton & Hove Albion have had only one brief spell in the top flight of English football, from 1979 to 1983, but in the 53 years since 1958 they have been relegated nine times and promoted ten times.
Founder members of the Football League Third Division in 1920, they remained at that level (Third Division South from 1921) for 31 seasons (38 years, including the break for World War II). Since 1958, the longest period they have spent in any one division has been seven years in the Third, from 1965 to 1972.
After winning promotion to the Second Division for the first time in 1958, they suffered consecutive relegations in 1962 and 1963 to reach the Fourth Division for the first time. (The Fourth Division was created in 1958.) Sixteen years later (in 1979) they reached the other extreme when they won promotion to the First Division for the first time, but 17 years after that (1996) they were back in the Fourth (now known as the Third Division).
In the six years from 2001 to 2006 Brighton experienced three promotions and two relegations, leaving them in the Third Division (now known as Football League One), and in 2011 they were promoted to The Championship for the first time.
Chelsea were considered to be a yo-yo club during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, with three relegations and three promotions between divisions One and Two between 1975 and 1989. During this period they spent eight years in the Second Division and six in the First. Total of 7 promotions and 6 relegations.
Leicester City had three separate spells in the Premier League between 1994 and 2004. The second lasted six years (1996 to 2002), but the other two only one year each (1994-5 and 2003-4). After each of the first two relegations they returned to the Premier League after only one season, but by 2011 they had been out of the top flight for seven seasons. In 2008 they were relegated to League One (the old Third Division) for the first time, but they were promoted back to the Championship at the first attempt, making a total of four promotions and three relegations in 15 years.
Of the 107 seasons that Manchester City have spent in the Football League, only 25 have been outside the top flight. But in the 18 years from 1983 to 2001, they were relegated from the top flight four times; and they even spent one season in the third tier.
Founder members of the Football League Second Division in 1892, City gained promotion to the First Division for the first time in 1899. They spent 63 of the following 73 seasons in the First Division (the top tier), despite suffering relegation six times - of their six spells in the Second Division over this period, the longest was three years, from 1963 to 1966. But they were relegated twice in the 1980s, and two years after another relegation in 1996 they dropped into the Third Division (then known as the Second Division) for the first time in their history - their only season at that level, to date, being 1998-9.
City have now been back in the Premier League since 2002, and since their take-over by Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 they are far more likely in future to be challenging for places in the UEFA Champions League than worrying about yo-yoing.
Middlesbrough changed divisions ten times in the sixteen years from 1982 to 1998.
Following relegation in 1954 they had been out of the First Division for twenty years, and had dropped into the Third Division for the first time in their history (1966-7).
After regaining their First Division place in 1974 they were relegated again in 1982, and in 1986 they dropped into the Third Division again. This time they almost went out of business, but they quickly recovered and two successive promotions took them back into the First Division by 1988. They lasted only one season, and spent three more years in the Second Division before winning promotion to the newly-created Premier League in 1992.
They stayed there for only one season, but regained their Premier League place two years later as First Division champions. Two years later, despite investing over ten million pounds in transfer fees for famous international players, a three-point penalty for failing to fulfil a fixture cost Boro their Premier League status. This time they regained it at the first attempt, and they held on to it for eleven years, but 2011-12 will be their third consecutive year in the Championship following relegation in 2009.
Norwich City are a yo-yo club.[3] In 1972, the club finally reached the pinnacle of the league structure, with their first promotion to the top tier. Since then, the club has spent 21 seasons in the top league and 15 in the second tier. In the 2009/10 season they played in League One after being relegated from the second tier but immediately bounced back to win the League One title.[4]
Prior to World War II, Sheffield Wednesday was one of England's most successful clubs; they won their fourth Football League title in 1930, and they won the F.A. Cup for the third time in 1935. But they were relegated to the Second Division in 1937, and after promotion in 1950 they experienced three more relegations in the next eight years: in 1951, 1955, and 1958. Each time they won promotion at the first attempt, and it was their manager Eric Taylor who referred to this period as "the yo-yo years".[5]
After their fourth promotion in nine years, in 1959, Wednesday remained in the First Division until 1970 (and came close to winning their fourth F.A. Cup in 1966, when they lost a memorable final to Everton). But in 1975 they dropped into the Third Division for the first time, and in 2010 they began their third spell at this level. Since 1970 they have had two periods in the top flight - totalling 14 seasons - but they have never yet repeated the frequent ups and downs of the 1950s.
Sunderland have established themselves as a yo-yo club during the last 20 or so years. They were relegated to the Second Division in 1985 and in 1987 reached the lowest ebb in their history by slipping into the Third Division. They were promoted at the first attempt and by 1990-91 had reached the First Division again, only to lose their status after just one season. They reached the Premiership as Division One champions in 1996 but were relegated a year later. Sunderland returned to the Premiership in 1999 and finished seventh in both of the following two seasons, but by 2003 an increasing difficulty in finding the net had caught up with them and they were relegated from the top flight. They won the newly-named Championship title in 2005 but dreadful Premiership form throughout the 2005-06 season condemned them to yet another relegation. In 2006-07, they were able to win the Championship title to be promoted to the Premier League. This was their 12th movement in 23 years, but since 2007 the Black Cats have managed to stay in the top flight.[6]
In the last 30 years, Watford have been regular movers between the league's four divisions. In the four seasons leading up to 1982, they won three promotions to climb from the Fourth Division to the first. They were league runners-up in their first season as a First Division club, and were F.A Cup losing finalists a year later. But they were back in the Second Division come 1988-89, and slipped into the third tier of the league (by then the new Football League Division Two) at the end of the 1995-96 season. They were promoted back to Division One two years later after winning the Division Two title, and a Division One playoff triumph the following year earned them promotion to the Premiership. But Watford were unable to adjust to the pace of Premiership football and were relegated at the end of their first top flight season in more than a decade. They won the Championship playoff in 2005-06, but last place in the Premiership the following season ensured their 11th movement in 25 seasons.
Since 2002, West Bromwich Albion have provided a classic example of the yo-yo. Between 2002 and 2010 they were promoted to the Premier League four times and relegated back to Division One (known since 2004 as The Championship) three times, and 2011 was the first year since 1999 that they were not involved in either a promotion or a relegation battle, in most cases right up to the last match of the season.
Albion were promoted in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2010; they were relegated in 2003, 2006 and 2009. In 2005 they achieved what has become known as "The Great Escape", when they became the only club ever to avoid relegation from the Premier League after being in bottom place at Christmas. In 2007 they reached the final of the Football League Championship play-offs, losing 1-0 to Derby County.
In 2000 Albion had been in real danger of relegation to Division Two right up to the last day of the season, and in 2001 they reached the Division One play-offs, losing in the semi-finals to Bolton Wanderers.
Albion had also spent two years in the Third Division between 1991 and 1993, after being relegated from the top tier in 1986.
West Ham United have been another yo-yo club since 1977/78 when they were Relegated to Div 2. In 1980/81 they got promoted to Div 1 only to go back down in 1988/89. They were promoted again in 1990/91 but only for one season as they were relegated at the end of the 1991/92 season. They achieved an instant return to the top flight by finishing second in the Barclays League Division One 1992/93. They were once again relegated in 2003/03 but achieved promotion via the Play Offs in 2004/05. They were almost relegated in 2006/07 but stayed up after winning seven of their last nine games of the season, cumulating in a 1-0 win against Manchester United in the final day of the season to ensure survival. However they were once again relegated to the second tier in 2011 after finishing bottom of the 2010/2011 Premier League under Avram Grant.
Wolves were one of the most famous yo-yo clubs during the 1980s. They began the decade on a high by winning the League Cup in 1980, only to suffer relegation to the Second Division and narrowly avoid bankruptcy two years later. They regained their First Division status at the first attempt, only to endure successive relegations over the next few seasons and slip into the Fourth Division for the first time in 1986. Fourth Division championship glory came two years later and the following year Wolves were Third Division champions and promoted to the Second Division. During the 1980s, Wolves had moved divisions seven times in eight seasons. They have spent all but one of their 17 subsequent seasons in the league's second tier (Second Division, Division One and now the Championship), having been in the Premiership during the 2003-04 season. Wolves won the Football League Championship title in 2009, and are now assured of their safety in the Premier League for next season.
Total number of relegations and promotions between the top two tiers of English football as of the beginning of the 2011-12 season. This does not include promotions and relegations between other tiers of English football.
In German, yo-yo clubs are referred to as Fahrstuhlmannschaften (lit. lift teams or elevator teams). Arminia Bielefeld and 1. FC Nuremberg have been promoted or relegated 15 times between the first-tier Bundesliga and the second-tier 2. Bundesliga. VfL Bochum, Karlsruher SC and MSV Duisburg with 11 moves each are also considered to be yo-yo clubs in German club football, as well as Hansa Rostock (16 moves) and Union Berlin (12) if the league system in the former East Germany is included in the statistics.[7]
Bofoakwa Tano have been promoted or relegated nine times since finishing bottom in 1979. They were promoted back to the top flight in 1982, but were relegated again in 1985. The club reappeared in the top division in 1989-90, by which time the league had switched to winter. They were relegated again in 1990-91, promoted back in 1994-95, relegated in 1996-97, promoted in 1997-98. In 1999 they finished third from bottom, but avoided another relegation by winning a play-off. However, they were relegated again in 2006-07.
Irish club Finn Harps are known as a yo-yo club due to the regular frequency of the club's relegation and promotion to and from the League of Ireland Premier Division and League of Ireland First Division. Drogheda United swapped Divisions every season between 1993/94 and 2000/01.
Dutch football club FC Volendam are known as the Heen-en-weer club (The to-and-fro club): they won promotion from the Eerste Divisie to the Eredivisie in 1959, were relegated in 1960, were promoted in 1961, were relegated in 1964, were promoted in 1967, were relegated in 1969, were promoted in 1970, were relegated in 1972, were promoted in 1977, were relegated in 1979, were promoted in 1983, were relegated in 1985, were promoted in 1987, were relegated in 1998, were promoted in 2003 and were relegated in 2004. In 2008 FC Volendam promoted once again, only to finish last and be therefore relegated the following year. For the 2009-10 season, the club is playing in the Eerste Divisie.
Starting in 1979 and ending in 1987, SK Brann were promoted in every odd-numbered year and relegated in every even-numbered year. This is the world record for consecutive relegations-promotions. They have stayed in the top division since the final promotion of this sequence.[8]
The Polish club Wisła Płock is often referred to as a yo-yo club (wańka-wstańka in Polish). They were promoted to the Polish First League in 1994 (known as Petrochemia Płock at the time), but were relegated after one season. Promoted again in 1997, they again were relegated after one season. Their next promotion came (after shortening their name to Petro Płock) in 2000, and this time they managed to avoid relegation after one season. However, the next season (known now as Orlen Płock) they were again relegated. In 2002, reverting to the original name Wisła Płock, they were promoted to First League, and finally enjoyed relative stability, even reaching the Polish Cup final in 2003 and winning it in 2006. However, relegation was again in order in 2007, and they haven't returned to First League since. In spite of this "yo-yoing," Wisła have avoided the fate of other relegated clubs in Poland, such as bankruptcy (e.g. Szczakowianka Jaworzno) or further relegation to lower divisions (e.g. Raków Częstochowa).
Karşıyaka SK relegated from first level in 1964, 1967, 1972, 1991, 1994 and 1996. Karşıyaka also played in third level between 1973–1980 and 2001-2003. Also Sakaryaspor has an interesting statistic. They promoted in 1981, relegated in 1986. But they promoted again after 1986/87 season. However they could only stay in first level for 3 seasons and relegated again in 1990. They came back to first level for a single season : 1998/99. They were back again in 1st level in 2004/05, but relegated same season. They won 2005/06 play-offs and promoted to 1st level again, just to relegate after one season. They almost repeated same thing when they reached play-offs in 2007/08 but this time they lost and finally "stayed" in 2nd level for a 2nd season in row. Finally Samsunspor relegated from first level in 1975, 1979, 1983, 1990, 1992 and 2006 and promoted to first level in 1969, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1991, 1993 and 2011. Samsunspor currently plays in the Süper Lig, who is first level of Turkish League.
Adanaspor is one of the most yo-yoed teams. They promoted to first league in 1971, relegated in 1984, promoted again in 1988, relegated again in 1991, promoted in 1998, relegated in 2001 and promoted to first league last in 2002. They suffered from financial difficulties between 2003–2006 and relegated to Third League, who is Fourth level of Turkish League in 2006 after three successive relegations. They also didn't any match at third level in 2005-2006 season. But they recovered to Bank Asya First League in 2008 after two successive promotions.
| No. | Team | Promotions | Relegations | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham City | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 2 | Leicester City | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 11 | 10 | 21 |
| 4 | Bolton Wanderers | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 9 | 9 | 18 | |
| West Bromwich Albion | 9 | 9 | 18 | |
| 7 | Sunderland | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| 8 | Middlesbrough | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 9 | Derby County | 7 | 8 | 15 |
| 10 | Sheffield United | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| 12 | Man United | 6 | 5 | 11 |
| 13 | Tottenham | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| 13 | Liverpool | 4 | 3 | 7 |