The EPL’s Promoted Teams: A Primer

At the conclusion of each campaign the Premier League says goodbye to three relegated clubs and hello to three who move up from the Championship to replace them. In 2022 it was Burnley, Watford, and Norwich that were sent down, and Fulham, Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest who came up.

NMA will offer in-depth fantasy analysis of these three promoted clubs as the beginning of the season draws near, but for now let’s greet the newcomers with a quick introduction.

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Fulham FC

Location: London, on the banks of the Thames

Founded: 1879 as the St Andrews Cricket & Football Club

Manager: Marco Silva (July 2021), who took over after Fulham were relegated at the end of 2020-21 and then brought the team back after just one year in purgatory.

Abbreviation: FUL

Nickname: Cottagers

Stadium: Craven Cottage (capacity 19,359)

Colors: Black & (sometimes striped) White

Rivals: Chelsea, Queen’s Park Rangers, Brentford

Last Season In Top Flight: 2020-21

Route to Promotion: Championship #1

2021-22 Stars:

• Aleksandar Mitrovic (2022 Championship Player of the Season, 2022 Championship Golden Boot with 43 goals)
• Fabio Carvalho (11 goals, 8 assists, recently transferred to Liverpool)
• Harry Wilson (10 goals, 19 assists)

Fun Facts:

• Fulham is Chelsea’s noisy neighbor, a mere mile walking distance west of Stamford Bridge, which is actually in London’s Fulham neighborhood (go figure).
• Craven Cottage was featured in the 1995 music video for the song “Beautiful Life” by Swedish band Ace of Base. Fast-forward to the two-minute mark for proof.

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AFC Bournemouth

Location: Dorset County, on the coast of the English Channel

Founded: 1899 as Boscombe FC; name changed to AFC Bournemouth in 1971

Manager: Scott Parker (June 2021)

Abbreviation: BOU

Nickname: Cherries

Stadium: Vitality Stadium, Dean Court (capacity 11,364)

Colors: Red and Black

Rivals: Southampton, Portsmouth, Brighton & Hove Albion

Last Season In Top Flight: 2019-20

Route to Promotion: Championship runners-up

2021-22 Stars:

• Dominic Solanke (29 goals)
• Phillip Billing (10 goals, 10 assists)
• Mark Travers (2022 Championship Golden Gloves)

Fun Facts:

• The club chose the name AFC Bournemouth so that it would appear first in alphabetical lists of English clubs.
• Harry Redknapp’s first managerial position was at Bournemouth in 1983.

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Nottingham Forest

Location: West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, on the banks of the River Trent

Founded: 1865

Manager: Steve Cooper (September 2021)

Abbreviation: NFO

Nickname: Foresters, Garibaldis, Tricky Trees

Stadium: City Ground (capacity 30,445)

Colors: Red

Rivals: Derby County, Leicester

Last Season In Top Flight: 1998-99

Route to Promotion: Play-off Winner (finished 4th in regular season)

2021-22 Stars:

• Brennan Johnson (16 goals, 10 assists)
• Lewis Grabban (12 goals)
• Keinan Davis (January loanee from Aston Villa; 5 goals in second half of season)
• Scott McKenna (defender, Supporters’ Player of the Year)

Fun Facts:

• Forest was the first club to officially wear red. Arsenal adopted the color in 1888 after Forest donated a full set of red kits to the London club upon its founding.
• The 23 years between Nottingham Forest’s previous Premier League season and this season is the longest absence for a previous Premier League club within the Premier League era thus far.

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So there you have it, a quick overview of the three newest EPL clubs. Interestingly, each manager won promotion after his first season at the helm, Fulham’s Marco Silva doing it with a team that had just gone down under Bournemouth’s Scott Parker.

Anyway, now you’ll know what we’re talking about if we reference the “Garibaldis” or “Tricky Trees,” or if we say a match will take place at “City Grounds.”

And as a bonus, those of you who are too young to remember now know what “Ace of Base” is, too. You’re welcome!

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Stats and info referenced in this article were sourced from myfootballfacts.com, en.wikipedia.org, afcb.co.uk, playmakerstats.com, worldfootball.net, www.footyfair.com, and footballleagueworld.co.uk.

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