So yesterday /u/appletesla4728 commented it seemed like there was less Northern PL teams than there were 10/15 years ago. On the face of it, it seemed like there was a slight change but nothing major. However, I thought there definitely must be some trends so as an extremely bored unemployed man, I decided to have a deeper look into it.
How the geography of the PL has changed since it's induction: https://i.imgur.com/TzSsdlP.png
So first of all, here's how I've distributed teams: https://i.imgur.com/EO48yeD.png
This isn't official and more simply how I felt each team fit.
As we can see from the graph, Northern teams have always dominated, but there has been a decline in the last decade. From the lowest amount of Northern teams being 8 in 94/95, 98/99 and 04/05 to 8 being the highest since 2012 in 14/15, 16/17 and 20/21. London teams have been incredibly consistent, always having between 5 and 7 clubs in the PL. The Midlands has been fairly consistent with only 6 seasons having more or less than 3 or 4. The South outside of London always had a pretty poor showing, but did have a great recent spell before Watford and Bournemouth got relegated last season. The East has always had a poor showing, never having more than one team since 94/95. The West is even more disappointing with Swindon's only season in 93/94 being the only appearance of a Western team in the PL. Finally, Wales was largely irrelevant to the PL until the last decade when they suddenly had a team most seasons.
How the geography of the PL has changed since it's induction with London included with the South: https://i.imgur.com/rBSmOJz.png
As somebody from the South outside of London, I prefer to separate London from the rest of the South. However, this does show this last decade has had more Southern teams than Northern teams in the PL for the first time.
How the North has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/h0e5347.png
There is a slight error at the beginning here with Middlesbrough but it's nothing major.
Teams represented: Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Oldham Athletic, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday, Bolton Wanderers, Sunderland, Barnsley, Bradford City, Wigan Athletic, Hull City, Burnley, Blackpool and Huddersfield Town. (19 teams)
So there's a lot on here because I wanted to explain how it has evolved. The larger boxes at the bottom list the teams every 5 seasons so you don't have to try and keep track of who's still in the PL since the beginning. Seems like the teams themselves changed a lot, there was usually 9/10 Northern teams in the PL for it's first 20 years. Quite impressive considering that makes up half the league. There is a downturn though that begins with Blackpool being relegated in 11/12 and Blackburn and Bolton going the next season. Since then the North hasn't quite recovered.
Future prospects: It looks like Sheffield United will go down this season and there is a chance one of Newcastle or Burnley could join them. With none of the current top 6 of the Championship being Northern, this could lead to the North starting next season with a join low of 6 teams. Barnsley and Middlesbrough still have shots at the play-offs however.
How the Midlands has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/kWeEdlL.png
Teams represented: Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Coventry City, Leicester City, Derby County, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Wolverhampton Wanderers. (9 teams)
Although not as well represented as the North, the Midlands has always had a fairly consistent number of teams. However, there is a change with Forest, Coventry and Derby being the regulars in the 90s with Stoke, Birmingham and West Brom replacing them later on. Villa are pretty much the only consistent team with 17/18-19/20 being the only seasons missed, although Leicester had a decent run in the 90s and look unlikely to leave any time soon.
Future prospects: West Brom look likely to be relegated but aside from that Villa, Leicester and Wolves seem set to be PL regulars for the foreseeable future. However, there doesn't seem like much additions from the Championship with Stoke in 10th and then Forest in 16th being the highest placed Midlands teams.
How London has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/wg89mNH.png
Teams represented: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Queens Park Rangers, Tottenham Hotspur, Wimbledon, West Ham United, Charlton Athletic, Fulham. (9 teams)
Despite having the same amount of teams as the Midlands, London has consistently sat at around 6. Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs being ever-present certainly helps this. West Ham have been in the PL for most seasons and Wimbledon, QPR, Crystal Palace, Charlton and Fulham all had decent runs. Interestingly, we haven't had a new London team since Fulham's promotion in 2002. Also, if you have the chance, have a look at Palace in the 90s, from 93/94 to 98/99 they were relegated 3 times and promoted twice, as yo-yo as it comes.
Future prospects: Fulham may well be relegated but Palace seem fairly safe for now and the other 4 London teams are all aiming for Europe. From the Championship, Brentford are looking to finally get promoted but London's next highest Championship teams being Millwall (12th) and QPR (17th), London could drop down to 4 for the first time if Brentford once again bottle promotion and Palace's aging team head the way many suspect.
How the South has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/AJfqoEj.png
Teams represented: Southampton, Watford, Portsmouth, Reading, Bournemouth and Brighton and Hove Albion. (6 teams
A fairly poor showing form the South with much of the area's success being focussed in London. Aside from Watford's sole season in 99/00, Southampton were the South's only representatives for the first 11 years. They were relegated in 2006 but not before Portsmouth had taken their place, Watford and Reading then being promoted led to a high of 3 in 06/07, surprisingly without Southampton. The low point was 10/11 and 11/12 with no Southern teams in the PL before Southampton and Reading came back up for the 12/13 season. However, the South recently hit it's all time high with Southampton, Watford, Bournemouth and Brighton consistently participating in 3 seasons before our current one.
Future prospects: Brighton are in danger but should be good enough to survive and I doubt Southampton's terrible form will drop them low enough to be relegated. In the Championship, Watford, Reading and Bournemouth make up 3 of the play-off spots meaning the South could again go up to 3, possibly 4 teams.
How the East has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/b058cNe.png
Teams represented: Norwich City, Ipswich Town.
Not great from the East. Norwich and Ipswich both participated in the first 3 seasons but since then have only played in 8 seasons between them, being relegated on 5 of those 8. They now currently sit at 0 teams.
Future prospects: Norwich look set to return to the PL, so the East may go back up to 1. However with Ipswich 8th in League One and Colchester 21st in League Two, Norwich is the area's only hope.
How the West has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/n6uUQDl.png
Teams represented: Swindon Town
Not much to say here, Swindon were promoted for the 93/94 season, were shit and went straight back down and the West hasn't been represented since.
Future prospects: Bristol City are the West's best hope, currently 11th in the Championship. Nobody else really has a chance anytime soon.
How Wales has been represented: https://i.imgur.com/KQWapop.png
Teams represented: Swansea City, Cardiff City.
Wales weren't represented in the PL until the 10/11 season and then had 8 continuous seasons, thanks to Swansea's 7 year run. Cardiff's promotion in 12/13 meant the 13/14 season had an all time high of 2 teams. However, with Cardiff's relegation in 18/19, we've now had 2 seasons without any Welsh representation.
Future prospects: Swansea currently sit in 4th in the Championship and are hoping to return whilst Cardiff sit 2 points off the Play-Offs in 8th. Perhaps 2 Welsh teams in the PL may well happen sooner rather than later.
TL;DR:
This post was way longer than anticipated
The North has been the best represented area in every PL season
The North has declined in the last decade and it may decline further
London has been incredibly consistent
The South is on the rise
The East and the West have been pretty poor
Wales had a good decade and may well get back to it
An incredible 19 Northern teams have played in the PL
Of the 9 London teams to have played in the PL, at least half of them have played in each season
