The lowest points totals in Premier League history

The Football Faithful

·26 February 2025

The lowest points totals in Premier League history

The teams who disgraced the Premier League with their presence by playing atrocious football and barely being able to scratch a few wins together.

The so-called Best League In The World™ has had some pretty terrible teams in it over the years, but usually there’s just one big stinker in the bunch per season.

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All three promoted teams have been pretty bad this season, but Southampton have been horrific. The Saints are rooted to the bottom with just nine points from 27 games. It’s been a miserable return to the top division and their struggles could the club enter this list of the Premier League’s worst sides.

The Premier League clubs with the lowest points totals ever:

Portsmouth (2009/10)

Points: 19 | Goal Difference: -32

Portsmouth ended the 2009/10 season with just 19 points, though their low total came as a result of being docked nine points for entering financial administration.

Even without the points penalty, Avram Grant’s side would have still finished bottom of the Premier League after mustering just seven wins for the campaign.

Portsmouth fared rather better in the FA Cup despite their relegation, reaching the final – their second showpiece in just three seasons – before losing to Chelsea at Wembley.

Sunderland (2002/03)

Points: 19 | Goal Difference: -44

The best thing about this season is that it’s not even the worst one Sunderland has suffered. Peter Reid was sacked by October, and the recruitment committee, headed solely by Howard Wilkinson, to find a new manager decided on… Howard Wilkinson.

The ex-Leeds boss was gone by March, after winning just two league games, to be replaced by Mick McCarthy, who oversaw the club’s relegation back to the second tier. A brilliant 2-1 win over Liverpool in December was the highlight of the season, but they failed to win another game for the rest of the campaign, setting a Premier League record with 15 consecutive defeats.

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Aston Villa (2015/16)

Points: 17 | Goal Difference: -49

The Tim Sherwood experience lasted until late October, at which point he had won precisely one league game. Remi Garde took over in November and, to his eternal credit, doubled that record. To be fair to the Frenchman, there was no saving a club that had been rotting from the inside for years thanks to dreadful financial mismanagement over an extended period.

Highlight of the season has to be Joleon Lescott tweeting a picture of a fancy car after Villa were thrashed 6-0 by Liverpool in February. He tried to explain it away by saying he “accidentally” sent it while driving. Sure.

Huddersfield Town (2018/19)

Points: 16 | Goal Difference: -54

Following two magical seasons in which the Terriers gained a miraculous promotion, followed by an even more miraculous survival in the top flight, it finally all came apart last season.

Huddersfield didn’t taste victory until November, when they defeated fellow relegation battlers Fulham 1-0 in a god awful contest, and by January David Wagner had left the club he had steered to unimaginable heights.

They managed to avoid the ignominy of being the first top flight team to not score ten or more away goals in a campaign after they secured a shock 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

High point of the season had to be when a Sky Sports reporter made his way through the crowd to greet the club’s new coach, Jan Siewert. Only it wasn’t him at all. It was “Martin from Wakefield”. Awkward.

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Sheffield United (2023/24)

Points: 16 | Goal Difference: -69

Things were bad for Sheffield United in 2023/24. Promoted the previous season, the Blades headed straight back to the Championship in record-breaking fashion.

Paul Heckingbottom was sacked in December after just one win in 14 games, a run that included an 8-0 hammering at home to Newcastle. The return of former favourite Chris Wilder did little to improve their fortunes as Sheffield United hurtled through the Premier League’s trap door.

Their 104 goals conceded set a new Premier League record.

Sunderland (2005/06)

Points: 15 | Goal Difference: -43

If you thought the 2003 version of Sunderland was bad, just wait until you see the 2005-06 model!

The Black Cats extended their record-breaking losing streak to 20 games at the start of the season, setting the tone for the rest of the campaign. By Christmas they had attained one win and a mere seven points. At the time they set a new low for points gained and would only secure their third win of the season against Fulham long after they were relegated from the division.

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On the bright side, their relegation led to Roy Keane taking over the following season, leading them back to the Premier League by winning the EFL Championship. His appointment gave much-needed stability to the club, until Ellis Short took over the organisation and ruined it all.

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Derby County (2007-08)

Points: 11 | Goal Difference: -69

If you google “worst premier league teams ever’, the Wikipedia page for Derby County’s 2008-09 season comes up on the front page of results. That’s how definitive their badness was that season.

The Rams broke a host of records that season, each one more unwanted than the last: the longest run of games (32) without a win; lowest points total (11) since the introduction of 3 points for a win; the record for the fewest wins (1) in a Premier League season; they are also the only team to have been relegated from the EPL in March, and just the second in the post-war era.

That solitary win came in September against Newcastle United, with whom they also drew later in the season, meaning 36% of their points from that campaign were won against the Magpies.

Read: How Borussia Dortmund recovered from the brink of financial disaster