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Derby had the fewest points in a Premier League season with 11
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Sunderland have suffered three of the worst campaigns in PL history
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Read below for the 10 lowest points tallies in the Premier League era
Losing can become a habit. That’s exactly what happened to these sides.
Many were betting favourites for relegation before the season, but what followed was a nightmare campaign where wins were incredibly infrequent.
Let’s dive into the Premier League records to discover the lowest points tallies in Premier League history - who is the worst team in England's top flight?
Wolves, 2011-12 - 25 points
Wolves won their first two matches of the 2011-12 season, making it all the more surprising they finished with just 25 points. It was a meltdown of epic proportions after parting ways with Mick McCarthy in February.
They won just one league match after December 4th, ultimately finishing 12 points off 17th, which was occupied by QPR, who wrapped up their season with the title-deciding loss to Manchester City.
Wolves, of course, have returned to Premier League live betting since, consolidating themselves as an upper-mid-table side.
Sunderland, 2016-17 - 24 points
Sunderland feature regularly among the worst seasons in Premier League history. The Black Cats had just two points from their first 10 league matches in 2016-17.
While things improved with three wins from four in the following fixtures, they slumped again later in the season on their way to just 24 points for the campaign.
Collecting just five points from the final 14 matches confirmed their fate. Fittingly, the season ended with a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of Chelsea.
Watford, 1999-2000 - 24 points
A final day win over Coventry made Watford’s 1999-2000 season look a bit better than it was.
Graham Taylor had worked wonders to guide Watford to consecutive promotions, but the Premier League proved far too much for the Hornets.
Summer signings were swing and misses, and while they recorded some impressive wins, they were clearly heading for the drop by Christmas.
Sheffield United, 2020-21 - 23 points
Winless through the first 17 matches, Chris Wilder’s Blades were unable to repeat their heroics from their first season back in the Premier League.
Such an historically bad start effectively doomed the club from Yorkshire to relegation even before Christmas, but they won enough games to finish just seventh on this list.
Wilder’s football was a joy to watch during the Blades’ short Premier League stay.
Norwich, 2019-20 - 20 points
While other strugglers ditched their managers, Norwich remained loyal to Daniel Farke through 2019-20.
Despite amassing just 20 points, the Canaries notched wins over Manchester City and Leicester that will live long in the memory of those in East Anglia.
One of the proper yoyo clubs of the Premier League era, it’s not a huge surprise to see Norwich among the teams with the fewest points in a season.
They played some good stuff at times, but simply didn’t have the quality to cope with the top flight.
Sunderland, 2002-03 - 19 points
Sunderland had a stretch in the second half of the season where they lost 15 in a row. The Black Cats scored just 21 goals throughout a 38-game season and cycled through three managers.
Peter Reid, Howard Wilkinson and Mick McCarthy all tried and failed in the hot seat. It wasn’t a squad devoid of talent or experience – this was simply a team in disarray.
The failure of this Sunderland season is made all the uglier by the point tallies of the teams around them. West Ham occupied the final relegation spot with 42, over double what the Black Cats could muster.
Aston Villa, 2015-16 - 17 points
Tim Sherwood’s gilet and Joleon Lescott’s curious pocket tweet are just part of the story of Aston Villa’s calamitous 2015-16 season.
Sherwood led an escape in the previous season, but was gone by October. Remi Garde arrived in early November and didn’t improve the team’s fortunes.
Having sold Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph in the summer, the Villains did not have a squad of Premier League calibre. They conceded 76 goals in 38 league matches and picked up a lone point from their final 13 league outings.
Huddersfield, 2018-19 - 16 points
Huddersfield would have been competing for the top/bottom spot on this list if it wasn’t for Wolves.
While the six points the Terriers took from Wolves didn’t impact their fate, it helped them avoid an unwanted piece of Premier League history.
Relegation was confirmed in March, but hope had gone long before then. They scored just 22 goals all season, and were unable to get anywhere near the standards they showed in their first Premier League campaign.
Sunderland, 2005-06 - 15 points
Mick McCarthy brought Sunderland back to the top flight after the shambolic 2002-03 season.
New signings did not pay off the Black Cats, however, and a five-game losing streak to start the campaign was a worrying sign of things to come.
Sunderland finished with a mere 15 points, they won just three matches and were 15 points behind 19th-placed West Brom.
Derby, 2007-08 - 11 points
Derby are the first team that comes to mind with Premier League flops. Their 2007-08 season is the worst in the PL era and by four points at that.
The Rams were abysmal throughout. They became the second team since the Second World War to be relegated from the top flight in March.
Records were set for the fewest goals scored and most conceded while winning just one match. Billy Davies was replaced by Paul Jewell, but it made absolutely no difference.
Newcastle were the only team to lose to Derby in 2007-08, and that came between a 6-0 loss to Liverpool and a 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.
FIRST PUBLISHED: 27th April 2022
