Southampton earliest ever relegated Premier League team – will they also become league’s worst ever side?

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10 points from 31 games 

©TM/IMAGO

This Sunday an event finally occurred that had long been on the horizon. Southampton’s lacklustre 3-1 defeat away to Tottenham, meant, with seven games to go, the Saints were officially relegated from the Premier League. The south-coast side have picked up just 10 points from their 31 games this season to date, and have now become the earliest relegated side in Premier League history. No other team has ever gone down with as many as seven matches still left to play. Throughout the season, under both Russell Martin and Ivan Juric, Southampton have been well below standards. For the Saints faithful it’s been a miserable campaign.

It seems likely that Southampton will part ways with manager Juric at the end of the season. Since he arrived at the club in December, he has lost 12 of his 14 games in charge. A dismal record. Being the earliest ever team relegated from the Premier League isn’t the only unwanted record the Saints could end up with this season. With just seven games left, they are also in danger of becoming the Premier League’s worst ever team. 

At this moment in time, if we take Southampton’s projected points total based on their current record of 0.32 points per game from their opening 31 matches, they would finish the season on 12 points. If the Saints were to finish the campaign on 12 points from 38 matches, it would represent the second worst Premier League season in history; Derby County picked up just 11 points in the 2007/08 season. However, looking at their current form, there’s not much reason to believe that Southampton couldn’t go on to equal or even fall short of Derby’s 11 points.

Of the ten points Southampton have accumulated so far this season, seven of them have come against the bottom five. The one shining light of Southampton’s season to date has undoubtedly been the emergence of 18-year-old Tyler Dibling. The teenager has been a revelation. He may have only scored one goal this term, but his dribbling has menaced even the meanest Premier League defences, and his performances have earned a lot of rumours linking him with some of England’s biggest clubs. Dibling currently has a market value of €25 million, and looks a certainty to leave the club this summer.

Perhaps winning the Championship play-offs last season was something of a poisoned chalice for Southampton. This team simply wasn’t ready for the Premier League. The decision to sack Martin and bring in Juric meant that the team also appeared to lose it’s identity, without results improving. It’s certainly been a season to forget for anyone associated with the club, including goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who has now been relegated with three separate clubs (Bournemouth, Sheffield United & now Southampton).