As the Championship campaign nears its conclusion, there have been plenty of surprising moments.
However, it is fair to say that Sheffield Wednesday’s terrible status at the start of 2026 has not surprised many people.
It has been well documented that the Owls’ finances have been wrecked as a result of Dejphon Chansiri’s controversial ownership, whose dramatic 10-and-a-half year tenure as chairman at Hillsborough ended in October when the club went into administration.
Even before such restrictions were implemented, many Wednesdayites had resigned themselves to at least one season back in the League. One in 2026/27 follows a huge exodus of senior players and former manager Danny Rohl last summer, leaving Henrik Pedersen with a depleted squad that has been at the bottom of the Championship standings for more than half of the season.
In September, the Owls briefly outperformed their Steel City rivals, Sheffield United, who began the season with five consecutive losses under Ruben Selles. However, Wednesday has been punished 18 points on two separate occasions, and they are still in negative territory as the season nears its end.
As a result, they are on track to set the unwelcome record of the lowest points total in Championship history since the division was rebranded in 2004, having previously suffered the EFL’s earliest-ever relegation at the hands of the Blades on February 22nd with a 2-1 loss at Bramall Lane.
With that said, Football League World investigated which seven teams are currently the worst-ever in the division’s history in terms of points earned throughout a 46-game season.
7 Ipswich Town – 2018/19 (31 points)
Ipswich Town, who were relegated seven years ago with only 31 points in a disastrous season at Portman Road, are scheduled to be dropped from this list by the start of the next season.
Following Mick McCarthy’s departure in the later stages of the 2017/18 season, the Tractor Boys opted to move in a new direction under Paul Hurst, who had nearly missed out on promotion to the second tier as Shrewsbury Town manager in the League One play-off final.
However, Hurst’s appointment proved disastrous, as he won only one game in command before being controversially removed by ex-Norwich City manager Paul Lambert in October 2018.
Ultimately, the veteran Scot could not turn Town’s fortunes around, and they were relegated as the division’s bottom team after winning only five games all season, finishing 13 points behind safety.
6 Barnsley – 2021/22 (30 points)
Barnsley are in ‘equal’ sixth place, having scored only 30 points in the 2021/22 season and going through three different permanent or interim head managers.
After losing in the play-off semi-finals the previous season to Valerien Ismael, the Tykes replaced him with Markus Schopp, but the Austrian was fired in November 2021 after only one win in 15 games and a run of seven straight losses.
Poya Asbaghi was then appointed, but he was unable to arrest the rot that had set in, and the Swede resigned after the South Yorkshire side’s relegation was sealed with two games remaining against Huddersfield Town in April 2022.
Barnsley even finished four points behind Derby County, who were deducted 21 points throughout the season for entering administration and violating financial laws.
5Bolton Wanderers – 2015/16 (30 points)
Bolton Wanderers fans will not have good memories of the 2010s, and the Trotters appear on this list for the second of three relegations suffered during that decade.
Indeed, just four years after leaving the Premier League, the Lancashire club was relegated to League One for the first time since 1993, with just 30 points from 46 games.
Neil Lennon, the former Celtic manager, led the team for the bulk of the season before being replaced by Jimmy Phillips on an interim basis in March 2016.
Again, the Whites only won five league games, setting an unwelcome record of going a whole season without a victory on the road.
4Rotherham United – 2004/05 (29 points)
The Rotherham United squad for the 2004/05 season is ranked fourth overall, and the first since the English Football League rebranded the Championship.
The Millers had previously spent three consecutive years in the second tier after being promoted from what is now League Two and League One in 1999 and 2001, but they would not return to this level until 2014, finishing with only 29 points from 46 matches.
With the South Yorkshire club relegated to the bottom of the table for the majority of the season, Ronnie Moore resigned as manager in January 2005, with Alan Knill and Mick Harford taking over at Millmoor.
It took until November 2004 for the team to win a league game against Leeds United, after which they were 15 points behind Nottingham Forest at the bottom of the table and 21 points behind Crewe Alexandra, who survived on goal difference.
3 Rotherham United – 2023/24 (27 points)
Unfortunately for Rotherham fans, this is not the first time the South Yorkshire club has been on this list, and the 27 points earned in their most recent Championship season of 2023/24 will not be the last.
The Millers have built a reputation as a ‘yo-yo’ club between the Championship and League One over the last decade, with the Reds’ promotion back to the second division in 2021/22 being the fourth since their play-off victory against Leyton Orient in May 2014.
However, the aforementioned season marked the Millers’ third relegation to the third division in seven years, with the club only remaining outside the bottom three for five matches throughout the season, all of which occurred before October 2023.
This saw both Matt Taylor and Leam Richardson handed their P45s throughout the campaign, with two of their five wins coming after the start of April 2024, the month in which their relegation was sealed with a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle at the New York Stadium, with the Pilgrims finishing 21 points ahead of the Millers in 21st place.
2Blackpool – 2014/15 (26 points)
Second on this list is the 2014/15 Blackpool season, which was a complete disaster for Tangerines fans for a variety of reasons.
Throughout this time period, it was well reported that the Seasiders were experiencing major financial difficulties as a result of the Oyston family’s contentious ownership.
As a result, Jose Riga was left with an extremely thin squad and began the season with just one win in 14 games, prompting his dismissal and replacement by ex-Birmingham City manager Lee Clark, almost immediately after being fired at St. Andrew’s following an 8-0 loss to eventual champions AFC Bournemouth.
Clark’s first win in command came against his previous employers, but with only five wins in total this season, the Lancashire club finished 20 points inside the relegation zone on 26 points, 13 points below 23rd-placed Wigan Athletic.
1,Rotherham United – 2016/17 (23 points)
As previously stated, Rotherham are the most prominent team on this list, with the Millers presently having the Championship’s lowest-ever points total of 23, achieved in the 2016/17 season.
Following Neil Warnock’s departure, Alan Stubbs took over as manager of the Millers, but the Scot was fired in October 2016 after winning only one of his 13 league games in charge, and his successor, Kenny Jackett, resigned after only 39 days in charge after failing to win any of his five games.
Paul Warne was then appointed temporary manager before being given the permanent position in April 2017, four days after a 1-0 defeat to Fulham secured their relegation to League One after three years.
However, Sheffield Wednesday’s on-pitch troubles in 2025/26 are expected to push this unwelcome tally down to second place.
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