Will Derby’s infamous worst-ever Premier League season be beaten?

Having been guided to the promised land of the top flight by manager Billy Davies, the Rams were ready to take on the ultimate challenge.

But things quickly fell apart into what is arguably the most shambolic Premier League campaign ever by a team.

But Sheffield United and Luton, two of the three new arrivals in 2023/24 have been heavily backed for relegation.

Some have hinted, they could be some of the Premier League's worst ever. The football odds for tomorrow and beyond don't paint a rosy picture for either of them.

But will the Blades or Hatters be anywhere near as bad as Derby were in that infamous season?

What happened to Derby?

Billy Davies took over at Derby in 2006 with a mission to get the Rams back to the top flight. He did it in his first season in charge.

While the club and fans celebrated, in hindsight it could have been too much too soon for the club.

Promotion happened in a whirlwind, for which Derby were ill-prepared financially and structure-wise.

A false dawn

Derby started the 2006/07 Premier League season with a draw, holding their own against Portsmouth, but reality quickly kicked in.

The Rams lost their next four matches, conceding an average of three goals per game. A 1-0 victory earned against Newcastle steadied the ship briefly.

Derby's 1-0 win over Newcastle early in the season however, proved to be the only one that they would collect all season.

Despite the club having started the new season having made 10 signings in the transfer market, nothing would come together.

In the 2007 January transfer window, Derby brought in another nine players in a desperate move and replaced Davies with Paul Jewell. Absolutely nothing worked and the disjointed club saw players failing to produce both quality and effort.

Derby's final tally of points was a meagre 11 and they ended the season with a goal difference of negative 69.

From that campaign and into the following season back in the championship, Derby failed to win 38 matches, a record in English football.

Are Sunderland the worst EPL team of all?

Derby were bad. But Sunderland produced two truly dreadful seasons in the Premier League.

In the 2002/03 campaign, they went through three managers as they tried to stay up.

But with just 21 goals scored, only four wins and a fifteen-match EPL losing streak, it was a nightmare for the Black Cats.

But it wasn't their worst in the top flight. The Black Cats didn't go on a spending spree in the transfer market ahead of their 2005/06 season after winning promotion back to the Premier League.

That was a huge foreshadowing of what was to come. Sunderland won only one home game all season and tallied 15 points, setting a record-low.

Five worst Premier League seasons

Derby (2007/08) - Points: 11

Sunderland (2005/06) - Points: 15

Huddersfield (2018/19) - Points: 16

Aston Villa (2015/16) - Points: 17

Sunderland (2002/03) - Points: 19

Can the Blades or Hatters be as bad?

Ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season, both Sheffield United and Luton Town were odds-on favourites for relegation.

Neither look to have the financial clout to end the season with anything but a drop back to the second tier for a rebuild.

But there is a sadder undercurrent here.

The gap between the Premier League and Championship is getting wider, the financial gulf is growing. It may get to a point where reaching the top flight just isn't worth the cost of promotion.

If teams don't spend, they have no chance of surviving. But spending millions on new players just to try and snatch the smallest chance of bridging the gap and earning survival doesn't sound like a great.