Burnley were the most optimistic of the three promoted sides at the start of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
Under Vincent Kompany, the Lancashire outfit collected 101 points in the Championship. The club were so happy with the Belgian boss that they even sanctioned a £100 million outlay on new recruits in the summer.
However, things have gone pear-shaped for the Clarets since the beginning of the campaign. They have made one of the worst starts to a Premier League season after collecting just four points from their opening 13 matches.
Burnley have lost all seven home games, with just a solitary away win at Luton Town to their name.
Sheffield United haven’t fared much better as they are just a point above them in 18th place after losing ten matches.
However, Luton have shown great promise in the last few weeks as they have climbed out of the relegation zone after an excellent 2-1 success over Crystal Palace.
Are Burnley enduring the worst Premier League start of all time? Who has the worst Premier League points total in history and will Burnley beat them?
We look at some of the worst Premier League starts.
The five worst Premier League starts after 10 games
Sheffield United – 2023-24 (PTS 1, GD -22)
The Blades secured the unwanted record of being the worst in the competition’s history after losing 5-0 to Arsenal last month.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side picked up only a solitary point against Everton but ended up losing nine of their opening ten games with a minus-22 goal difference.
Sheffield United – 2020-21 (PTS 1, GD -12)
The previous record of worst Premier League start also belonged to United before they beat their own record this season.
Chris Wilder’s side suffered a severe case of second-season syndrome during the 2020-21 campaign when they registered only a solitary point from their first 10 matches, but their goal difference was minus-12.
Norwich City – 2021-22 (PTS 2, GD -22)
Norwich City’s first season back in the English top flight in 2021-22 went terribly wrong. The Canaries picked up their first point after losing their first six consecutive matches.
Following such a disastrous start, no one was surprised when they were relegated to the second tier after finishing bottom.
Sunderland – 2016-17 (PTS 2, GD -13)
Sunderland had a nightmare start to the 2016-17 season as they collected just two points from their opening 10 games.
They had barely managed to survive in each of the previous two seasons, but their time in the top flight finally ended in 2016-17.
Manchester City – 1995-96 (PTS 2, GD -12)
There was a time when Manchester City were not the best football club in England.
In 1995-96, the Citizens created the record of making the worst starts in the English league by picking up just two points from their first 10 matches. They were ultimately relegated.
The five worst Premier League starts after 13 matches
Sheffield United – 2020-21 (PTS 1, GD -17)
The Blades recorded only one point from their opening 13 matches in 2020-21. They went down to the Championship after finishing bottom of the table.
Burnley – 2023-24 (PTS 4, GD -22)
While both United and Luton have improved in November, the Clarets have lost all three top-flight matches this month. That has put them second in the worst Premier League starts list.
Queens Park Rangers – 2012-13 (PTS 4, GD -16)
Queens Park Rangers had a nightmare start in the English top division in 2012-13, going winless in their first 13 matches.
They improved during the second half of the season but still easily finished at the bottom of the table.
Sheffield United – 2023-24 (PTS 5, GD -23)
Paul Heckingbottom’s side collected four points in November to move ahead of Burnley in the standings.
Sheffield Wednesday – 1999-00 (PTS 5, GD -22)
Sheffield Wednesday endured a miserable start in the Premier League in the 1999-00 season.
The Owls won only one game from their opening 13 matches, and they went down to the second tier at the end of the campaign.
Five lowest Premier League points total in history
Derby County – 2007-08 (PTS 11)
Derby County were in dreamland after they beat West Bromwich Albion in the 2007 Championship play-off final to secure promotion.
But their euphoria turned into a nightmare as a highly miserable league campaign saw them registering the lowest points in the history of the competition. The Rams won only once and lost 29 of their 38 matches.
Sunderland – 2005-06 (PTS 15)
Hopes were high for Sunderland at the start of the 2005-06 campaign after they clinched automatic promotion from the Championship.
However, a nightmare start soon ended their excitement as they recorded the second-lowest points in the competition’s history. In 38 Premier League matches, the Black Cats only registered 15 points with three wins and six draws.
Huddersfield Town – 2018-19 (PTS 16)
David Wagner pulled off an incredible feat when he led Huddersfield Town to Premier League safety at the end of the 2017-18 season.
However, the German manager left the club by mutual agreement in January 2019 after a disastrous start to the top-flight campaign. By the end of the season, the Terriers had only collected 16 points with a minus-54 goal difference.
Aston Villa – 2015-16 (PTS 17)
Aston Villa’s 28th consecutive campaign in the English top division ended in humiliation as they posted one of the fewest points in the league’s history to go down.
Only three wins and eight draws secured them a meagre 17 points, while the remaining 27 matches ended in defeat for the Midlands club.
Sunderland – 2002-03 (PTS 19)
Peter Reid spent nearly eight years as Sunderland manager but his reign at the Stadium of Light ended in October 2002 after five defeats in nine games.
Following his dismissal, they appointed Howard Wilkinson and then Mick MacCarthy but they both failed as the Black Cats posted a lowly 19 points to suffer relegation.
With 13 of 38 fixtures played, Burnley sit on four points – a similar performance from their next 25 should see them hit 12 points – a step above Derby’s 11, but a disastrous outcome by any other measure.
If there’s some hope, it would be the Blades in 2020/21 – after collecting a single point after 13 games, they went on to pick up 22 more in their next 25 games – still relegated, but at least in the 20s.
Burnley would take that points total if offered it today.
