The 5 Worst teams to ever play in the Premier League

 Southampton's season is going wrong everywhere for the club. The club never looked ready for the Premier League and relegation is all but done for the Saints. But the Premier League has had it's fair share of underwhelming teams over the years. So where do Southampton rank among the all-time worst? Here's a look at five of the most forgettable sides to play in the Premier League.

Aston Villa - 2015/16

A force to be reckoned with in the late 2000s, Villa were on a steady decline since the departure of Martin O’Neill in 2010. One of the seven ever-present members of the premier league back then, they finished with just 3 wins and 17 points in the league. The sales of key players Fabian Delph to Manchester City and Christian Benteke to Liverpool and the club’s failure to replace them proved to be costly. Despite winning the first game of the season 1-0 at Bournemouth, it went downhill for Villa and Tim Sherwood was sacked by late October. New manager Remi Garde could not steady the ship and proved to be highly unpopular with the fans especially after dropping the highly rated youngster Jack Grealish. He was sacked in March and relegation was confirmed on 16^th April after a 1-0 loss to Louis Van Gaal’s United. This season marked Aston Villa’s 28 year stay in the top-flight. It was a harsh wake up call to the club and it took them 3 years to get back into the premier league.

Southampton - 2024/25

9 points from 27 games. This is equivalent to Derby’s infamous 11 point season in the league. Since Ralph Hussenhuttl was sacked, no permanent Southampton manager has won more than 2 games in the Premier league. Nathan Jones, Russell Martin, Ruben Selles and now Ivan Juric have all failed at the South Coast. In a season which has highlighted the gap between the Championship and the Premier league, the Saints are playing a level below their other two fellow promoted clubs Ipswich and Leicester. The Saints started the season with just 1 point from 9 games and Russell Martin’s fate was sealed in December. Their top scorer in the league is Joe Aribo with just 3 goals which sums up their struggle on the pitch. With a lack of goals and a squad struggling to adapt to the top flight’s demands, Southampton return of the Premier league has been nothing sort of disastrous for the club in the short term and quite possibly in the long term as well.

Sheffield United - 2023/24

Conceding a whopping 104 goals in 38 games, with a goal difference of -69, Sheffield United’s return to the Premier league under Paul Heckingbottom was full of defensive instabilities and horrible performances. The club became the first team in English Football history to concede 5 or more goals in 4 consecutive home games in all competitions after being dismantled 6-0 by Arsenal. This was not even their heaviest defeat of the season, having been drubbed 8-0 by Newcastle at Bramall Lane earlier in the season. The arrival of Chris Wilder in December did not make things better as relegation was confirmed after 5-1 defeat away at St James Park which summed up how the season went for the Blades. A season defined by defensive nightmares, the Blades will be hoping to avoid another painful stay in England’s second tier.

Sunderland - 2005/06

Two seasons after breaking the top flight record for the lowest points in the league, The Black Cats were back to break records again. Similarly underprepared like their 2002/03 season, they won only three times in 2005. Mick McCarthy was replaced by former player Kevin Ball, but Sunderland’s fate was all but sealed by then. A season which started with 5 consecutive defeats ended with just one home win all season on the penultimate matchday of the season. They finished with just 15 points as the fans had to endure another forgettable chapter in the club’s turbulent history with a need for a painful rebuild.

Derby County - 2007/08

The infamous 11 points season, Derby County’s 2007/08 campaign remains the worst in Premier League history, a season defined by humiliation, poor recruitment, and a squad that never looked capable of competing. Promoted under Billy Davies, the Rams were horribly unprepared for the top flight, winning just once all season—a 1-0 victory over Newcastle in September. By March, with just 10 points on the board, they became the earliest team ever to be relegated from the Premier League. Paul Jewell, who replaced Davies in November, failed to turn things around, with the team finishing on a record-low 11 points and a goal difference of -69. A forgettable season for Derby fans, it remains an example for clubs getting promoted on how to not arrive into the new season.

By Parth Gokhale