If you have ever heard the terms ‘Elevator Team’ or ‘Yo-Yo Club’ before, and wondered what they meant, you are not alone. Like much football lingo, it’s not immediately obvious what these may refer to.
The good news is that they both refer to the same thing: a club that is frequently promoted from one league only to be relegated again within a few seasons afterwards. Clubs that never really settle in one league but constantly bounce between the two.
It’s an interesting place to be for supporters of those clubs – dominating one season and celebrating at the end of it, only to suffer through massive losing streaks the next season and end it in crushing disappointment.
That’s the very simple definition of a Yo-Yo Club or an Elevator Team, but for a little bit more detail on these phrases, read on.
Two Phrases for the Same Thing
It is not out of the realms of the possible that you might hear someone refer to an Elevator Team, but that tends to be more those based in the United States of America. It is much more common to hear a team referred to as a Yo-Yo Club, given that that is more understandable to a British audience. Regardless of the phrase used, the likelihood is that you will be able to get your head around what is being implied by the words. This is a reference to a football club that never seems to be able to survive in one league or another for very long, instead bouncing between the two.
@curiousreporterthe2nd A solotuion to yo yo clubs in English football #premierleague #championship #relegation #yoyoclubs #bundesliga ♬ sonido original – ♾
The notion of being a Yo-Yo Club is of being a team that is too good for one division, such as the Championship, but isn’t good enough for the Premier League. As a result, they will often win promotion out of the lower league but then get relegated from the top-flight, ending up yo-yoing between the two divisions rather than settling in one for a period of time. In the first decade of the 21st century, for example, West Bromwich Albion were promoted four times and relegated three times, soon becoming known as the archetypal Yo-Yo Club that was neither in one place or the other.
The reason why the Elevator Team phrase is there is that it isn’t just British clubs that can suffer this tag. At one point in their history, for example, the Argentinian club Quilmes Atlético Club was promoted 11 times and relegated 12, which is a record for the country. There are similar stories from the likes of Brazil, France and Germany, to name just a few countries. Even so, it is often British clubs that are most often caught in the trap of bouncing from one division to another, such as the 15 promotions and 17 relegations suffered by Grimsby Town, making them the prototypical example club.