The teams to have conceded the most goals in a Premier League season have inevitably endured painful campaigns.
Such seasons are scattered throughout the Premier League era, and the majority of teams were favoured for relegation in Premier League odds even before the season kicked off.
The list below features two teams from the same season and four teams who didn’t finish bottom. All 10, unsurprisingly, were relegated.
Barnsley (1997-98) - 82
Barnsley started the 1997-98 season with a win over Crystal Palace on matchday two, injecting some hope after preseason pessimism.
It wasn’t to last, however, as the Tykes suffered a number of heavy defeats throughout the campaign.
Chelsea, West Ham, Arsenal, and Manchester United beat the South Yorkshire club by five or more goals.
They were one of the four teams listed here to avoid finishing bottom, but the season still ended in relegation.
Burnley (2009-10) - 82
Thirty points was enough to finish 18th in 2009-10.
Burnley shipped 82 goals throughout the campaign, though, and were on the end of some drubbings from Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, and others.
Up against it throughout the season, the Clarets had brief hopes of extending their Premier League stay but it wasn’t to be.
Wolves (2011-12) - 82
A narrow escape in 2010-11 was followed by a miserable 2011-12 at Molineux.
Mick McCarthy struggled and was ultimately replaced by Terry Connor, who didn’t right the ship in the West Midlands.
Wolves didn’t keep a clean sheet from the end of August until April.
Unlike others listed here, the season wasn’t packed with heavy defeats, but a couple of thrashings ended McCarthy’s tenure.
Connor was in charge for 5-0 defeats to Manchester United and Fulham. They finished the season with only 25 points.
Norwich City (2021-22) – 84
There was optimism about Norwich’s Premier League credentials after dominating the Championship in 2020-21. Such hope was quickly proven foolish.
The Canaries were outclassed throughout the 2021-22 Premier League season.
Swapping Daniel Farke for Dean Smith didn’t fix their issues as they continued to ship goals.
A difficult fixture list early in the season got Norwich off to a nightmare start and things never really improved from there, even if Smith made the heavy defeats less frequent.
Fulham (2013-14) – 85
Fulham cycled through Martin Jol, René Meulensteen or Felix Magath in the dugout to escape the rut they were wedged in during the 2013-14 season. None of the managers had much luck.
The defeats were frequent, although they were not as humiliating as many of the other teams on this list.
Goals were leaked in twos, threes, and fours, with the fives and sixes proving an exception rather than the rule.
Interestingly, two teams conceded more shots than Fulham during the 2013-14 campaign. It wasn’t much consolation for the west London club, though, who spent the next four seasons in the Championship.
Luton Town (2023-24) - 85
Football betting markets gave Luton Town little chance of avoiding relegation in 2023-24. Reaching the Premier League was a fairytale, and the Hatters put up more of a fight than many expected.
Despite conceding 85 goals, Luton finished 18th with notable results against Liverpool, Newcastle, and Brighton.
Rob Edwards’ team won one of their final 17 games, with their defence leaking goals throughout the season.
They posted the worst expected goals against mark in the league in 2023-24 despite Sheffield United conceding 19 more goals.
Derby County (2007-08) - 89
Derby made unwanted history with their tally of 11 points in 2007-08.
Given how shambolic the season was, it’s a surprise they are only fourth on this list and only third in goals conceded per match.
The Rams conceded six goals in a game on three occasions in their last 10 outings.
The first seven matches of the season featured heavy defeats to Tottenham, Liverpool, and Arsenal.
There weren’t any meaningfully positive moments. It was the most consistently miserable season in Premier League history.
Ipswich Town (1994-95) - 93
Like Swindon, Ipswich’s historically porous defence had to cope with a 42-game season. Luton and Derby actually conceded more goals per match than the Tractor Boys.
A 9-0 defeat to Manchester United was the undoubted lowlight as Ipswich finished bottom of the Premier League table.
The East Anglian club returned to the top flight in 2000 and recorded a surprising fifth-placed finish.
They were relegated again in 2001-02 but conceded 29 goals fewer than in 1994-95.
Swindon Town (1993-94) - 100
A 5-0 defeat to Leeds on the final day of the season was a generous effort from Swindon to lovers of round numbers.
Their season was long gone by that point, of course, after keeping four clean sheets in 42 league matches.
The campaign was littered with one-sided matches after shipping five to Liverpool and Southampton in their first four fixtures.
The heaviest loss was a 7-1 against Newcastle, but that was hardly an outlier in the club’s only season in the top flight.
Sheffield United (2023-24) – 104
Sheffield United flew past Swindon’s record tally and did so in four fewer league matches.
Paul Heckingbottom and Chris Wilder oversaw a season in which the Blades conceded 2.74 goals per match.
That’s the most by any team in the English top flight since Ipswich’s mark of 2.88 in 1963-64. This was a historic season for all the wrong reasons at Bramall Lane.
With only three wins, United were not far off breaking Derby’s record for the worst Premier League season of all-time. This record will take some beating.
*Credit for the photo in this article belongs to Adobe*
