Are Derby County the worst Premier League team ever?

The statistics are cringe-worthy – on Saturday Derby became the first Premier League team to be relegated in March. They have recorded just one win all season and have scored a measly 16 goals, which averages out at just one every two games. It isn’t just relegation form – it’s also a case of whether Derby are actually the WORST team ever, or at least the worst team ever to play in the top division since the formation of the Premiership/Premier League in 1992.

After surprising the Football world by gaining promotion to the “Promised Land”, the Rams have been an embarrassment. Even a change in manager and a raft of signings in January made absolutely no impression on their league position. After heavy defeats to Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal in the opening weeks, relegation looked a sure thing.

Boss Paul Jewell has described the campaign as a “long, hard season, a terrible season and a very difficult time," and no one would disagree with the straight-talking Derby boss. Ultimately, though, Jewell should take a lot of the blame for this dismal season – he has failed to rouse the club in his spell at Pride Park and his honesty in recent weeks has failed to inspire an already dejected bunch of players.

The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is sometimes massive. A number of middling clubs have had some awful seasons in the top division of English football. This has to come down to money as clubs like Sunderland and Watford have twice failed in embarrassing fashion in recent seasons.
 
For crimes against football, this Derby side will surely always make a “worst of” list, but here are four other teams who will forever be remembered as being rubbish:
 
Swindon 1993/94: In terms of conceding goals, it is unlikely anyone will do as badly as Swindon. The Robins conceded exactly 100 during this campaign and, despite the best efforts of Jan Aage Fjortoft, finished the campaign 13 points from safety. In a warning to Derby, Swindon were also relegated the following season, which goes to show what a losing run can do to a team. This Swindon side’s record of conceding goals will probably never be beaten as they played 42 games in those days.

Ipswich 1994/95: These Tractor Boys will always be remembered for the 9-0 humiliation at Old Trafford which remains a Premier League record. This mauling contributed to 97 goals conceded, 36 goals scored and a feeble 27 points. Derby’s worst result so far this season was their 6-0 defeat at Anfield in September.

Watford 1999/00: Similar to Billy Davies at Derby, Graham Taylor worked miracles simply to get the Hornets into the Premiership via a play-off final win. A run of just six points from 20 games in the middle of the season was the final nail in the coffin. In comparison, the Rams have picked up just six points in their last 24 games.

Sunderland 2005/06: Somehow Mick McCarthy managed to do worse than Sunderland’s 2002/03 season which had been presided over by Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson. In 2002/03 the Mackems bagged just 19 points, yet during this campaign they managed only 15. Derby currently have just 11 points to their name.

Along with being the first Premier League team relegated in March, Derby need another record to really challenge for the position of worst ever Premier League team – but they are not going to concede more than Swindon or Ipswich, unless they suffer a few 10-0 defeats between now and May.

However, they are in great danger of faring worse than the Sunderland 2005/06 team, so perhaps Jewell and his boys do have something to play for in their final six games – namely five points.

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