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The 7 worst Premier League teams in history

Jamie Carragher yesterday suggested this year’s Aston Villa side deserves a place on the list.

SPEAKING ON SKY Sports yesterday, Jamie Carragher suggested the current Aston Villa team could be the worst side in Premier League history, amid their humiliating 6-0 loss to Liverpool.

However, Carragher’s suggestion begins to seem far fetched when you consider that Villa, currently on 16 points, have already surpassed the Premier League’s lowest-ever tally.

With all this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of the worst-ever Premier League teams based on their points tally.

Since the current season is far from over though, we only thought it fair to exclude Villa for the time being.

7. QPR — 2012/13 — 25 points (GD: -30)

Soccer - FA Cup - Third Round - Queens Park Rangers v West Bromwich Albion - Loftus Road Andrew Matthews Andrew Matthews

Despite the presence of some high-profile players in their side including Christopher Samba, Jermaine Jenas and Loïc Rémy, the team who were managed by both Mark Hughes and Harry Redknapp during the campaign finished bottom of the league and were relegated following a goalless draw with Reading on 28 April.

6. Wolves  – 2011/12 — 25 points (GD: -42)

Britain Soccer Wolves McCarthy Fired AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Sacking Mick McCarthy in February failed to arrest the slide, as Wolves won just one of their final 24 matches. It was bad news for Irish internationals Stephen Hunt, Stephen Ward, Kevin Foley and Kevin Doyle among others.

5. Watford — 1999/00 — 24 points

Watford v Manchester Utd PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The newly promoted side went straight back down after a dismal campaign, despite early-season wins over both Liverpool and Chelsea. Graham Taylor’s team only managed three victories thereafter and were relegated with the lowest Premier League points tally ever at the time.

4. Portsmouth — 2009/10 — 19 points (GD: -32)

Soccer - FA Cup - Semi Final - Tottenham Hotspur v Portsmouth - Wembley Stadium EMPICS Sport EMPICS Sport

A rollercoaster of a season whereby Portsmouth finished 20th as well as being runners-up in the FA Cup. Paul Hart and after November, Avram Grant, were both unsuccessful in avoiding this ignominious fate. The team featured some notable players such as Tal Ben Haim, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Papa Bouba Diop, though many of their star names including Nwankwo Kanu, David James and Steve Finnan were in the twilight of their career at the time.

3. Sunderland — 2002/03 — 19 points (GD: -44)

Everton v Liverpool PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

A Premier League low at the time, only to beat their own unfortunate record two seasons later, Peter Reid, Howard Wilkinson and Mick McCarthy (who had only recently before then stepped down as Ireland manager) all tried and failed to resurrect the flailing side. There was plenty of Irish representation in the team, with Phil Babb, Sean Thornton, Kevin Kilbane, Jason McAteer, Mark Rossiter and Richie Ryan all part of the first-team squad that year.

2. Sunderland — 2005/06 — 15 points

Soccer - FA Barclays Premiership - Sunderland v Middlesbrough - The Stadium of Light EMPICS Sport EMPICS Sport

Another season to forget for Sunderland, with Mick McCarthy dismissed as manager in February and Kevin Ball failing to improve the situation subsequently. Somewhat incredibly, just three of the 33 players in their squad over the course of the full campaign weren’t either British or Irish. And there was a strong Boys in Green contingent, with Rory Delap, Gary Breen, Liam Lawrence, Stephen Elliott, Daryl Murphy and Joe Murphy all part of the squad. They ultimately won just three games all season.

1. Derby — 2007/08 — 11 points

Soccer - Barclays Premier League - Derby County v Fulham - Pride Park EMPICS Sport EMPICS Sport

Officially the worst team in Premier League history, it seems unlikely that their tally of 11 points will be broken anytime soon. Captained by Robbie Savage, their notable players included Alan Stubbs, Kenny Miller, Roy Carroll and Robert Earnshaw.  They won just one match all season, beating Newcastle 1-0 on 17 September thanks to a Miller goal. Paul Jewell took over from Billy Davies, who stepped aside on 26 November, but little could be done to prevent their inevitable fate. The fact that Miller was their top scorer with four goals tells you all you need to know about their problems in attack. They were also the first-ever Premier League club to be relegated in March and just the second in post-war English Football league history. They were so bad that Paddy Power even decided to pay out on their relegation just five matches into the season.

N.B. Teams playing before the 95/96 season had a slight advantage, as the season consisted of 42 rather than 38 games, so the Ipswich side that got 27 points in the 94/95 campaign are arguably as bad as some of the teams on this list.

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