I actually think the parachute payments masks the real issue of 'relegation trauma'. Many sides that get relegated appear shell-shocked the following season as though their world has been shattered, especially those sides that lived well beyond their means.
It looks like being a while before...
pdc started well with a couple of wins but then got tonked 6-1 by Villa and hasn't won since. Interestingly, in the matches since then 9 out of the 14 they've conceded have been in the final quarter of the match. This would suggest that either PDC couldn't make good substitutions or the players...