After nine matches, Sheffield United have made the joint worst start in Premier League history.
The Blades have just one point at this stage. It’s a record only matched by Manchester City in 1995/96 and Sheffield Wednesday in 1999/00.
In both of those cases they went on to be relegated at the end of the campaign.
It doesn’t bode well for United, whose turnaround in form since last term is stark. The South Yorkshire side won many admirers as they finished ninth in their first top flight season in 12 years.
It saw boss Chris Wilder narrowly miss out on being named LMA Manager of the Year to Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp.
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Now they are recovering from a 1-0 home defeat to West Ham United; their fourth successive loss and eighth in the league already in 2020/21.
Yet the good news for the Blades in this strange, behind-closed-doors season is – they’re not alone.
Sheffield United aren’t the only ones having made worst start in history
In the 28 years since the top flight of English football was rebranded as the Premier League, 20 teams have been without a win at this stage of the campaign.
Three of those are from this season, with both Burnley and West Bromwich Albion joining the Blades in the unwanted category.
But the good news – if that’s even what it should be called – doesn’t end there.
Of the 28 worst starts after nine games, four have occurred this term. Fulham are the best of a bad bunch in 2020/21, with four points as things stand.
Despite the joint worst start in almost three decades, Wilder’s team actually haven’t been cut adrift just yet. Well, in the sense that four teams are in abysmal form and only three go down.
The Clarets are arguably in the best position as they have only actually played seven times at this stage. They face Crystal Palace at home this evening.
Results need to improve for the Blades soon – starting with their trip to fellow strugglers West Brom on Saturday.
Yet there is still hope.
