Getting back into the elite of English football isn't always as easy as it seems.

More than a third of the teams to have been relegated from the Premier League in its first 22 seasons have yet to win promotion back into the top flight.

There have been a total of 73 relegations from the division between its formation in the 1992-93 season and the end of the 2015-16 campaign, with some teams being included in that figure more than once.

As many as 24 of the relegated clubs are still in the lower leagues of English football, with 11 of them having been down there for five or more seasons.

Some big names are included amongst those clubs such as Derby, Leeds, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday.

Just over a quarter of the relegated sides managed to get promoted back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. They include teams such as Birmingham (who have done it twice), Newcastle, Nottingham Forest (also twice), Norwich, Manchester City, West Ham and West Brom.

Another 10 sides managed to get promoted back into the Premier League after a period of over five years in the Championship, such as Sheffield United, Leicester City and Crystal Palace .

However, four teams have struggled to get themselves back into the top flight and one of the following managed to slip even further. Here are the four examples...

Ipswich Town

As one of the founder members of the Premier League, Ipswich enjoyed three seasons at the top table before relegation in 1994-95. They re-joined the Premier League in 2000-01 for just two seasons before ending their association with the top clubs for the last 14 seasons.

Town are always on the periphery of the play-offs, but in recent seasons have fallen short, finishing 7th last season. There are big questions about owner Marcus Evans’ reluctance to spend on transfer fees, manager Mick McCarthy’s tactics and which areas of the squad will need addressing this summer.

The club are at a crossroads. They either push on and spend bigger than they have for the extra quality or they simply just finish between sixth and tenth every year.

Sheffield Wednesday

Their best season for a while came last year when suffering play-off final heartache to Hull City. It has been 16 years for The Owls since they last played in the Premier League, after eight straight seasons at the top.

Relegation to League Two hasn't helped their cause, but neither was the disastrous period after relegation from the Premier when manager after manager tried to stop the slide, but failed.

Owners came and went and the glory days of the early 90s were distant memories. In January 2015, their fortunes changed when the club was sold to Thai businessman, Chansiri. He appointed the Portuguese coach Carlos Carvalhal, the club's 11th manager in 15 years, in June last year and since then Owls fans have seen a turnaround of events.

Nottingham Forest

The days of Europe, titles and Brian Clough live long in the memory because sadly that's what Forest fans only have left.

After dropping out of the top flight in 1998-99, Forest have found it harder than most to get back to happier times. 17 years on and despite constant changes of managers and owners, the club just do not appear able to compete.

The transfer embargo has now been lifted and so the club can start to buy players after recruiting a new manager earlier in the summer. Good times ahead? Maybe, but with the likes of Aston Villa and Newcastle coming down, it won't be easy.

Coventry City

For 34 seasons, Coventry played in the top flight before it all went wrong at the end of 2000-01 season.

Since then it has been a steady decline and worse than most, as the club slid helplessly into the third tier of English football. Amongst wrangling over owners and grounds, the club made a brave attempt at promotion last year, but ultimately only finished 8th. Back in the mid-1990s Coventry City were financially stable, the perennial ‘Houdini’ club of football with only Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool having stayed longer in the top-flight for a continuous spell.

By the late-90s, CCFC Directors had grandiose dreams for the club which outweighed their business sense and started to spend on transfer fees and wages at a rate that far exceeded the income the club received.

They even left their Highfield Road home for a bigger stage amid debts of approximately £60m. Administration came, as did demotion to League One, and the whole sorry tale is of owners who never had a clue.

It's a long way back now for the men from Coventry.

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