There is no sugar coating just how bad this Premier League season has been for Southampton so far. With 10 games remaining, they have picked up just nine points and find themselves eight points adrift of Ipswich Town and Leicester City, 14 adrift of safety.
In May the mood was very different when they secured promotion by beating Leeds United 1-0 in the Championship Play-Off Final, but a 5-0 home defeat to Tottenham in December spelled the end for Russell Martin.
Ivan Juric has been unable to turn things around and Saints are destined for relegation, but how do they compare to others of the past? Keeping to one entry per club, we take a look at five of the worst sides ever to grace the Premier League.
Derby County 2007-08
The Rams gained promotion through the play-offs, but probably soon wished they hadn’t bothered. A 1-0 win at home to Newcastle United in September proved to be their only victory of the campaign.
They conceded six goals on five separate occasions and suffered the ignominy of being the first side in Premier League history to be relegated in March, only managing 11 points across the entire 38-game campaign- although still two more than Saints currently have.
Sunderland 2005-06
The Black Cats’ previous top flight campaign in 2001-02 had seen them reach a record low of just 19 points, but their return under Mick McCarthy three years later proved even worse as they broke their own record.
They endured two different 14 game winless runs, only tasting victory three times in the whole season- and only once at home, their final home game of the season. In total they managed just 15 points
Sheffield United 2023-24
Both of the Blades’ last two seasons in the Premier League have been pretty disastrous, but last season stands out as they conceded an eye-watering 104 goals, more than the previous record of 100 set in by Swindon in 1993-94, a season which had 42 games.
Perhaps the nadir of the season came in September when they suffered an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United. After beating fellow relegated side Luton in February, they only picked up three points in their final 14 games to finish with a total of 16.
Huddersfield Town 2018-19
The Terriers defied the odds when they not only gained promotion to the Premier League by winning the Play-Offs in 2016-17, but stayed up the following season finishing 16th. However, they were unable to repeat the trick in the following season.
Promotion winning manager David Wagner left in January, but successor Jan Siewart was unable to turn the tide, picking up just five points from 16 games to leave Huddersfield with a total of just 17 points.
Aston Villa 2015-16
Having drifted for a few seasons from the highs of three straight sixth placed finishes under Martin O’Neill, Aston Villa lost their status as one of the Premier League’s ever present sides when they went down in tame fashion.
The club had two permanent and two interim managers during the season, with both Tim Sherwood and Remi Garde sacked. It was the first time they had been relegated since 1986-87 and picked up just 17 points.
Where do Southampton rank among these sides?
Southampton’s next game sees them host 17th placed Wolves on Saturday. That is probably their best chance of getting the win they need to overtake Derby’s current record low points total.
Considering they have only tasted victory once since November, it is highly likely they will be somewhere in the bottom five by the end of the season. However, even Sunderland’s 15 points haul feels tough to reach at this point.