The Worst Seasons Ever in the English Premiership

It’s been more than 220 days since Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. last won a Premier League match.  The club has gone through three managers, two sporting directors, and 

one technical director in that span. With just two points from 16 games, the Wolves are on pace for a record-low 5 points if they maintain this form for the remainder of the season. But what are the worst seasons ever in the Premiership?  Let’s take a look.

Derby County 2007-08 (11 points)

Derby County endured misery, torment, and torture, setting an all-time record in the Premiership.

During the 2007-08 campaign, the Rams, who had been promoted via the Championship play-offs, set a new mark for the lowest points tally ever in league history, just 11.  But the records of futility didn’t stop there:  

• Fewest wins (1)
• Most losses (29)
• Fewest goals scored (20)
• Most goals conceded (89) *in 38-game season
• Longest span without a win (32 matches)
• Furthest adrift of 19th place (24 points)

It is still considered the worst season ever witnessed by supporters of any English club. One of the great quotes about that season comes from supporter Simon Kirk, who said, “We still wonder how that ever happened and how we could have been quite that bad?” 

Southampton 2024-25 (12 points)

A year before, Southampton finished fourth in the Championship, winning 26 of 46 games.  A year later, it was one of the worst seasons in English football as the Saints won just twice in 38 matches, finishing with just 12 points, the second fewest ever. They set a new record for the earliest relegation, after just 31 games.  Southampton became just the third team to lose as many as 25 of their first 31 games of a top-flight league. The Saints scored just 26 goals, surrendered 86, a differential of -60, fourth worst ever.

Sunderland 2005-06 (15 points)

You knew the season was doomed when Sunderland lost five straight to kick off the campaign – the first time they had started a top-flight season with five defeats.  And when factoring in the final 15 games of the 2002-03 (the last time Sunderland was in the Premiership), they lost 20 consecutive EPL games, the longest such run in English football history. The 15-point tally remains the third lowest ever. And here’s another stat that sums it all up: no Premier League team lost more games between the 2002-03 and 2005-06 seasons than Sunderland (28) – and remember, the Black Cats were in the second tier for two seasons (2003-04 and 2004-05), yet still set a new mark.

Sheffield United 2023-24 (16 points)

The 2023-24 season was another miserable one for Sheffield United. The highest they were at any point during the campaign was 16th overall, and after their sixth game, they spent the remainder of the season in the bottom three, relegation spots. Sheffield collected just one win and five points through the first 14 matches, leading to Paul Heckingbottom getting fired, who helped this club get promoted the season before.  Sheffield United allowed 104 goals, the most ever in a single season, and the 2.74 goals per game average is the second highest ever (Ipswich Town 1963-64).  They’re goal differential of -69 is tied with the 2007-08 Derby County record for the biggest differential ever. 

Huddersfield Town 2018-19 (16 points)

In the 2016-17 season, Huddersfield Town earned promotion to the top-flight for the first time since 1971-72.  But there were signs the road would be tough in the Premiership as the Terriers became the first side in English league history to gain promotion by giving up more goals than they scored. A couple of seasons later, Huddersfield finished at the bottom with just 16 points – tied for the third lowest total in a Premier League season. They would finish 3-28-7, and of their three wins, one came against Fulham, who also were relegated that season.

Aston Villa in 2015-16  (17 points)

This was an all-time low for Aston Villa as they were relegated for the first time after finishing with just 17 points.  The season started off promising with a 1-0 win vs. Bournemouth, but they wouldn’t win again until game 21.  The season saw multiple managerial changes (Paul Lambert, Rémi Garde, Eric Black,) and Villa would lose 11 straight, and 12 of the final 13 games of the campaign.   Villa would finish with just three wins, 27 losses, and 8 draws. Aston Villa would return to the top flight after three seasons in the Championship.

Sunderland 2002-03 (19 points)

It was a bad omen right off the start as Sunderland failed to score in their first two games – the first time that’s happened in the Premiership since another relegation in 1976-77.  Manager Peter Reid was fired after nine games, but that move didn’t fix anything as Sunderland would win just two more games to finish 4-27-7 that season.  Their 21 goals were the second-lowest within a single season in the Premier League – behind Derby County in 2007-08 and Sheffield United in 2020-21, when they scored 20 goals. It took a couple of seasons, but the Black Cats were promoted back in 2004-05 to the top-flight of English football.

Final Thoughts

Wolverhampton appears to already be destined for relegation, barring a major turnaround.  The all-time English record for a top-flight winless start is held by Bolton, who failed to win any of their first 22 games in 1902-03. Not surprisingly, they were relegated from the First Division.  In English football, promotions and relegations are part of the process, but we could be seeing history as the Wolves could go down as the worst Premier League club of all time.