Between the three new clubs to the Premier League this season (Bournemouth, Norwich and Watford), only one point from the possible nine was earned.
For the Cherries, it was their first ever match in the top flight. Maybe their stay in the Championship was a little brief (only two seasons). Facing a weak Aston Villa team, it was quite clear that their biggest problem this season will be finding the net. They have spent £19 million on new signings, but most of that went to defenders. Up front, they’re mostly relying on what worked well last season, and in the debut Premier League appearance for them, it didn’t look good,
Norwich didn’t get the kind of return they were hoping for as well. The team that made it back to the Premier League through some play-off drama hardly made any noise in the transfer window this summer, and look very unimpressive as they hosted Crystal Palace, a club that’s been building itself quite nicely over the last couple of years, making their way towards mid-table finishes and not dramatic battles against relegation. Norwich lost 3-1 at home, not looking like the better side for most of the 90 minutes.
Watford were the most impressive of the new faces to the league. This is the club’s third trip to the Premier League (although they’ve had division 1 seasons in the past, before the change in 1992), and they’ll be trying to make it more than a one-year thing for the first time. They’ve changed managers (Quique Flores was brought in) and have been very busy bringing in non-British talent to steer the ship towards safety, getting their goals in the 2-2 draw against Everton from Odion Ighalo and Miguel Layun.