Summary
The start of the Premier League season holds great importance for the entire campaign.
A slow start in the highly competitive Premier League can lead to managerial sackings and relegation concerns.
The worst Premier League seasons are analysed based on performance after 10 matches in the season.
The first few weeks of the Premier League season often set the tone for the rest of the campaign. While the outcome of a team's season is rarely decided in the opening matches, a bad start can lead to managerial sackings and concerns about relegation before the turn of the year. In the highly competitive Premier League, a slow start can often be fatal.
Here is a closer look at the worst starts to a Premier League season, including two different Sheffield United teams and Swindon Town from the 1993/94 campaign. Manchester City's squad from 1995/96 also feature in the top eight of this list.
Ranking factors:
After 10 matches: This list looks at the worst starts after 10 matches.
Points: The lower the number of points a team has after 10 games means they are higher up on the list.
Goal difference: When teams are level on points, they are separated by goal difference.
Points deductions not included: Teams who suffered points deductions during the season are not included.
8 Worst Starts To a Premier League Season
Rank
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8 Crystal Palace - 2013/14
3 points, -15 GD
Crystal Palace's Tony Pulis holding a Premier League award
Crystal Palace are the only team on this list to survive the drop. After 10 matches, the Eagles only had three points following a win against Sunderland at Selhurst Park on 31st August 2013. Ian Holloway was sacked by the club in mid-October and replaced by Tony Pulis a month later. The Welsh manager inspired a turnaround in form, winning three out of four matches in November and December.
Palace's resurgence under Pulis continued in the new year, with five victories in a row in March and April 2014. This included 1-0 wins against Chelsea and West Ham. Eventually, they finished 11th, 12 points clear of the relegation zone.
7 Huddersfield Town - 2018/19
3 points, -17 GD
huddersfield-town-2019
After gaining promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, Huddersfield Town managed to stay up in their first season under David Wagner. They suffered from second season syndrome in the 2018/19 campaign, though, picking up only three points in their first 10 matches. The Terriers' first win came on 5th November 2018 against Fulham, which sparked a three-game unbeaten run.
Wagner was dismissed in the new year after a poor run of form and replaced by Jan Siewert. Huddersfield were officially relegated from the top-flight on 30th March 2019, which was the joint-earliest relegation to the second tier since Derby County in 2008, who picked up only 11 points. Siewert's managed to reach 16 points, finishing bottom of the Premier League.
6 Swindon Town - 1993/94
3 points, -18 GD
Swindon Town's Micky Hazard competing for ball with Roy Keane.
After beating Leicester City in the Division One play-off final, Swindon were promoted to the English top-flight for the first time in their history. It was far from a dream start for the Robins, though, losing their first four games, conceding 14, and only scoring twice. In the first 10 matches, Swindon only registered three points. Their first win of the season came against Queens Park Rangers on 24th November 1993.
At the end of the campaign, the Robins were relegated from the Premier League, finishing on 30 points at the bottom of the table. They conceded 100 goals across the season, a record that stood until earlier this year when Sheffield United let in 104 in the 2023/24 campaign.
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5 Manchester City - 1995/96
2 points, -12 GD
City have won six out of the last seven Premier League titles, but in the 1995/96 season, they were relegated from the English top-flight. After a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day, they endured a disastrous run of form, losing their next eight matches. This was followed by a home draw against Leeds United and a 6-0 away defeat at Anfield, meaning they had only two points from 11 games.
The blue side of Manchester never recovered from this disastrous start, eventually finishing on 38 points, which meant they were relegated to the Football League First Division on goal difference. They made a return to the Premier League and, as already alluded to, the 21st century signalled much happier times for City supporters.
Manchester City Relegations 1990s and 2000s
Season
1995/96
1997/98
2000/01
4 Sunderland - 2016/17
2 points, -13 GD
Sunderland had a number of great escapes in the mid-2010s, finishing 17th twice in the 2012/13 and 2015/16 campaigns. It proved that the 2016/17 Premier League season was the one that finally saw the Black Cats fall out of the division's trapdoor, finishing bottom on 24 points. They only managed to get two points from their first 10 matches, including draws against Southampton and West Bromwich Albion.
David Moyes' side threatened a resurgence in November and December, picking up three wins in four matches. They struggled to maintain this, though, winning only two out of their last 20 games, meaning they were demoted to the Championship.
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3 Norwich City - 2021/22
2 points, -22 GD
norwich-city-2021
Norwich City came into the 2021/22 season looking to avoid a record-breaking sixth relegation from the Premier League. After six matches, it wasn't looking more likely than ever as they lost every game. They picked up draws against Burnley and Brighton & Hove Albion but followed this up with defeats to Chelsea and Leeds United, meaning they were on two points from their first 10 games.
The Canaries picked up five wins across the campaign, finishing on 22 points and at the bottom of the table. This was the club's sixth relegation from the top-flight since 1992, which is one more than West Brom, who have five.
Norwich City - Premier League Relegations
Season
1994/95
2004/05
2013/14
2015/16
2019/20
2021/22
2 Sheffield United - 2020/21
1 point, -12 GD
Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder
Chris Wilder's Sheffield United threatened to qualify for the European places in the 2019/20 season, eventually finishing ninth on 54 points. They struggled to build on this in the following campaign, picking up only one point from their first 10 games. Remarkably, they lost seven out of the 10 matches by only a one-goal margin.
It didn't get much better in the following months, with the Blades on only two points from their first 17 games. Wilder was sacked in March and replaced by Paul Heckingbottom. They finished the season on 23 points at the bottom of the table, meaning a return to the Championship.
1 Sheffield United - 2023/24
1 point, -22 GD
Sheffield United players
Heckingbottom returned the Blades to the Premier League after two years in the Championship. It wasn't a happy return for Sheffield United, though, as they picked up only one point from their first 10 matches. This included a 2-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, which saw Ange Postecoglou's side score in the 98th and 100th minutes.
Wilder was reinstated as the club's manager on 5th December, replacing Heckingbottom this time. He was unable to inspire a turnaround in form, with the Blades finishing bottom of the pile again on 16 points. They were relegated to the Championship alongside the two promoted clubs, Luton Town and Burnley, the first time that this had happened since the 1997/98 season.
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