Southampton’s Class of 2024/25 in Danger of Becoming Premier League’s Worst Ever Team

It may yet one day be a sports quiz question: who was the only team that Southampton beat in the 2024/25 Premier League season? The answer is Everton, who the Saints downed 1-0 in November 2024 thanks to an Adam Armstrong goal. The win ensured that the Saints did not break the record for the worst start to a Premier League season – that honour is bestowed upon Sheffield United, who twice have had just one point to their name after ten games of the campaign have elapsed.

But after 22 games of the 2024/25 season, Southampton still only have that solitary win over the Toffees to their name. Add in their three draws for an exotic points tally of six; on a pro rate scale, that means that the Saints are marching at a ratio of 0.27 points per game.

Amateur mathematicians will take that 0.27 and multiply it by 38 to give an expected points haul of 10.3, assuming that they don’t improve under head coach Ivan Juric (or whoever his successor may be). Why is this so of interest? Well, if Southampton were to finish the season on just ten points, that would make them the worst team in the entire 33-year history of the Premier League. Other records could yet fall in the wake of the sorry Saints…

The Anatomy of Awful

Southampton logoAnecdotally, the gulf in class between the Premier League and the Championship is growing wider. The history books confirm as much, with promoted sides almost pre-destined to be relegated back to the second tier. So hard to escape is this phenomenon that some promoted clubs have basically refused to spend any money in the transfer market.

Instead, they’ve banked the revenue gains of being a Premier League side, before budgeting for next season – in the Championship – armed with their first bounty of parachute payments.

Young Recruits

Southampton took a slightly different tact. They spent around £103 million on new players in the summer of 2024, with the ten new faces all aged 26 or under. They might have future-proofed by signing young assets with room to grow, but that also equates to inexperience – particularly at Premier League level, with the Saints’ new recruits experiencing just a handful of EPL appearances between them. Short term pain for long term gain, and all that.

The problem is that the bigger picture is hard to see in the midst of the misery and anger of a failing team, with Southampton’s young recruits evidently, painfully, not cut out for the top level. So records are in danger of being broken, and not positive ones either. The fewest wins in a single Premier League season is one, which was set by the legendary Derby County side of 2007/08. Southampton have won once already, as we’ve learned, but will they land another victory to send them clear of the Rams’ unwanted record?

Unwanted New Records

The most defeats suffered in a single Premier League season, meanwhile, is 29, with Sunderland (2005/06), Derby County (2007/08) and Sheffield United (2020/21) all suffering that fate. This Southampton vintage has lost 18 of their 22 games for a total loss ratio of 81%. Now, if they were to lose 81% of their 38 games, they would be on track for 30.7 defeats… therefore, another unwanted record would fall.

The good news for the Saints is that they should, in theory, be saved from some other milestones. The most goals conceded in a single Premier League season is 104, which were shipped by Sheffield United in 2023/24. At their current rate, Southampton are on track to concede 86… dismal, yes, but not record breaking.

The fewest goals scored in a Premier League campaign is 20, so the Saints have 16 games in which to score the six goals required to take them clear of that all-time low. They may just have enough about them to succeed… but, then again, they may not.

The Worst Teams in Premier League History

There are no shortage of candidates for the position of worst Premier League team in history, and ultimately, it depends upon the measure used to decide who is the baddest of the bunch.

Derby County 2007/08

Derby County logoIn terms of pure points won, that Derby County vintage of 2007/08 simply cannot be beaten. They mustered just eleven points from their 38 games, yet things could have been so different given that, by the end of September, they had beaten Newcastle United and drawn with Portsmouth and Bolton.

At a ratio of five points from eight games, Derby were tracking at 0.62 points per game – over the course of a 38-match season, that would have been enough for a 23-point tally. The Rams would still have been relegated, but at least some of their humiliation would have been spared.

However, they fell off the proverbial cliff from October onwards, embarking on five, six and seven game losing streaks, with the odd draw separating those. With arguments over bonus payouts, a change of manager and a lack of money being spent on new players, Derby’s 2007/08 is the magnum opus of miserable Premier League seasons.

Sunderland in 2005/06 & Sheffield United in 2020/21

Sunderland FC logoFine entries into the canon of worst Premier League campaigns in history are offered by Sunderland in 2005/06 and Sheffield United in 2020/21. Both lost 29 of their 38 games played, with the Black Cats delivering a uniquely bad proposition to their fans: they won just one game on home soil all season long. That’s a lot of disappointment to contend with.

And that Sunderland era boasts another unwanted record. The Black Cats lost 15 Premier League games in a row prior to being relegated in 2003, and when they returned to the top-flight in 2005/06, they proceeded to lose five more – combined, those 20 consecutive losses are the longest losing streak in EPL history.

Sheffield United of 2023/24

Sheffield United FCA special mention to Sheffield United of 2023/24, who conceded goals at a rate of 2.73 per game. They shipped five or more on seven occasions, with the nadir being a 0-8 embarrassing at Bramall Lane at the hands of Newcastle United. Their goal difference of -69 means that, in theory, they were worse than their opponents to the tune of nearly two goals, on average, in every game… the fact they won 16 points in itself is a miracle.