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After six straight losses Sunderland are looking down the barrel and are on course to be the worst side, statistically speaking, in the Premier League. Although they have time on their hands, after eight games they have managed just a solitary point, whilst Derby County, the team with the lowest points total as of now, had already managed five points and had even won a game.
With all of this being said, now looks like the perfect time to look at the five worst sides to have played in the Premier League. Sunderland, occupy two of the top five spots and are increasingly looking like making it three out of five. In any case, here is the list.
Ipswich Town (1994/95) – 27 points in 42 games
At number five on the list is Ipswich Town. Although Bradford City only managed 26 points in 2000/01 season, it was a 38-game season and Ipswich sneak into the top five as theirs was a 42-game season. The Tractor Boys now hold the unwarranted record of conceding the most goals in a Premier League campaign with 93 goals at a staggering average of 2.2 goals conceded each game.
The lowest point of their campaign came, when they were humiliated 9-0 by a rampant Manchester United side, who were trying to overhaul Blackburn Rovers. An aging squad wasn’t able to cope up with the rigors of the Premier League and they managed to win just seven games in the entire season. They also hold the distinction of having lost the most Premier League games in a season, an honor they share with Sunderland and Derby County.
Watford (1999/2000) – 24 points in 38 games
Creeping in at number four, but only just, is Watford, vis-à-vis their horrendous campaign, right at the turn of the millennium. It all started ever so well for the hornets with victories over Liverpool and Chelsea and it looked as if the side which won back-to-back promotions, might just stay up. But, unfortunately for the Hornets, all good things must come to an end and the wheels came off pretty rapidly for them.
After they beat Chelsea on the 18th September, they only managed to win just three games in the rest of the campaign. They couldn’t score goals, were defensively poor and didn’t have too much in the form of reinforcements. As a result, they ended up finishing with 24 points, which was then a record low for the Premier League.
Sunderland (2002/03) – 19 points in 38 games
At number three is none other than Sunderland, whose history of bad seasons in the Premier League, started with the 02/03 season when they finished bottom with just 19 points from 38 games. Not only did the Black Cats finish with the lowest point tally in the history of the Premier League, they also never really looked like they were going to stay up.
They ended the season having changed managers thrice and winning just four games and scoring a meagre 21 goals at the Stadium of Light. Not only that, they also went on a run of 15 consecutive losses that season, a record that still stands to this day. Not even their talisman Kevin Phillips could do anything about that.
Sunderland (2005/06) – 15 points in 38 games
If Sunderland fans were hoping that history will not repeat itself, they were disappointed. Not only did they finish the season with the lowest point tally in the League, they also played under three managers and lost an incredible 29 games, a Premier League record that stands to this day.
The worrying thing for the Black Cats was the fact that not only were abysmal, none of their new signings clicked and they only scored 26 goals in the entire season. A number made all the more silly by the fact that Thierry Henry alone, scored more goals than the club. And Sunderland had managed to do the impossible, they had surpassed their own record in a matter of few seasons. The Black Cats will be hoping that at least this time around, history doesn’t repeat itself.
Derby County (2007/08) – 11 points in 38 games
Without a shadow of doubt, the worst side to have ever played in the Premier League was the Derby County side that played in the 07/08 season. And the stats don’t lie. They have the joint record for most losses, 29, lowest point total with just 11 points and the only team to have been relegated by March. They were so bad that you have to wonder as to how they made it in the first place.
They won just a single game all season and the unfortunate opponent that time around was Newcastle United. Their top scorer was Kenny Miller with just four goals and they scored just 20 goals all season, whilst conceding 89- a record for a 38-game season. All of which means that Derby County were without a doubt, statistically or otherwise, the worst team to have ever played in the Premier League.
