Bournemouth's Big Six Record & The Premier League "Bermuda Triangle"

Unless you've been away from social media in the last 48 hours, there is a rather amusing theory doing the rounds on social media that the Premier League has its very own "Bermuda Triangle", and Cherries are part of it.

The supposed zone of "disappearing points" can be found by connecting Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford on a map - the three clubs who have increasingly developed reputations for making life particularly uncomfortable for the Premier League's traditional heavyweights.

From a Bournemouth perspective, there is certainly some substance behind the joke, as the Cherries have spent the last couple of seasons establishing themselves as one of the sides most capable of taking points away from the so-called "Big Six" - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham (I know, we can't believe the last team are still are still regarded as "big" either).

Whilst Boscombe fans would have hoped that this pattern would have continued at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, Liverpool did leave Dorset with all three points after Alexander Isak's second-half goal, but the tight 1-0 scoreline did underline what a tricky afternoon it was for the visitors. 

Result aside, it was another reminder that Bournemouth are no longer simply hoping to compete with the established elite - they increasingly expect to.

Whilst a brief glance at the league table currently might be making fans of the Seagulls and Bees question the narrative with, Cherries currently languishing just above the Premier League drop zone, beyond the immediacy of that observation, the underlying numbers of recent seasons certainly back up at least part of the social media theory.

Since the beginning of the 2024/25 season, Brighton have taken 42 points from 26 Premier League matches against the traditional Big Six - an impressive average of 1.62 points per game.

Bournemouth are not far behind, collecting 35 points from the same number of matches, averaging 1.35 points per game against the division's traditional heavyweights. This puts Bournemouth comfortably among the most successful non-big six sides when it comes to taking points from the established elite.

Brentford, however, provide a rather different story, as the Bees have collected 22 points from their 26 matches against the Big Six, averaging 0.85 points per game. Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa have all performed better over the same period.

So while Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford might make for a catchy social media triangle, the statistics suggest they are not necessarily three identical sides when it comes to upsetting the Premier League hierarchy - Brighton are clearly the standout, and their recent 3-0 battering of Arsenal is testament to this.

Their record against the Big Six has been remarkable, while Bournemouth's numbers provide plenty of evidence that the Cherries belong in the conversation. Brentford, meanwhile, continue to produce the kind of results that keep their reputation alive - that is perhaps why the "Bermuda Triangle" idea is so appealing.

But there is another group who appear increasingly unhappy with the Bermuda Triangle theory - Crystal Palace fans.

A number of Palace supporters have taken to social media to question why their club is not being mentioned alongside Bournemouth, Brighton and Brentford.

And, despite wearing Cherry-tinted glasses, it is not difficult to understand the frustration, as Palace have their own record of frustrating the Premier League's bigger clubs and have consistently demonstrated that they can compete with sides possessing considerably greater resources.

So why aren't they one of the "three Bs"? Well, it's not alliterative for a start, is it?

Some supporters have argued that Palace deserve to be included, which is fully understandable given their trophy pedigree in recent seasons, however others point to the fact that the Eagles have never finished in the top ten of the Premier League, whilst the others have.  

From Bournemouth's standpoint, there is little reason to complain about being included, yet, based on the opening stages of the 2026/27 campaign, when Marco Rose's side have failed to win any of their opening five games, the "three B's" analogy does feel somewhat ill-timed.

Regardless, the fact Bournemouth are now being discussed alongside Brighton as one of the Premier League's most effective Big Six disruptors is another indication of just how far the club has travelled.