Most goals conceded in Premier League history: All-time single-season record
We round up the teams with the most goals conceded in a single season in the history of the Premier League.
Every fresh Premier League season is an opportunity to make history, a chance to be outstanding. Unfortunately for Sheffield United, they're on the verge of breaking a record they did not set out to achieve.
The record for the most goals conceded in a single Premier League season is very much in their sights and they appear to be chasing it with vigour and zeal given their recent form.
United have already secured the record for a 38-game season, inexplicably managing to make Derby's doomed 2007/08 voyage seem like a pleasure cruise by comparison.
RadioTimes.com has rounded up the teams who have conceded the most Premier League goals in history, and you can see where the Sheffield United Class of '24 rank among the leakiest defences of the modern era.
Most goals conceded in Premier League history
5. Fulham (2013/14) – 85 (2.24 per game, 38 games played)
Fulham are the only team on this list not to finish bottom of the league in their miserable season.
More like this
Three managers – Martin Jol, Rene Meulensteen and Felix Magath – failed to steady the ship as the Cottagers went down in 19th place.
A low point of their season came during a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Hull City to wrap up 2013. The game was level at half time, but half an hour later, David Stockdale had shipped six goals, with a patchwork centre-back duo of left-back Jan Arne Riise and midfielder Steve Sidwell unable to prevent a whitewash.
4. Derby (2007/08) – 89 (2.34 per game, 38 games played)
The honour of most goals conceded during a 38-game Premier League season belongs to Derby's Class of '08, formally the worst team in the history of the league.
They recorded just 11 points during the season and shipped a whopping 89 goals during the campaign under Billy Davies and Paul Jewell.
Derby scored just 20 goals during the campaign to post an all-time worst goal difference of -69, with Kenny Miller their top scorer on just four strikes.
The fans suffered a 6-0 thrashing at Liverpool, 5-0 rout at Arsenal, 5-0 hammering at home against West Ham, and somehow found the time to concede six goals on three separate occasions (twice at home) in their last 10 matches of the season.
By entering your details, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.
3. Ipswich (1994/95) – 93 (2.21 per game, 42 games played)
Manager John Lyall – replaced by George Burley mid-season – oversaw Ipswich's horror-show season in 1994/95 as the Tractor Boys finished 21 points off safety in the third of three 42-game seasons.
Ipswich spent every week of the season in the four-team relegation zone from Week 9 onwards.
They conceded precisely four goals on seven occasions throughout the season and conceded almost 10 per cent of their season tally in a famous 9-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.
2. Sheffield United (2023/24) – 97 (2.77 per game, 35 games played)
Earlier in the season, Sheffield United fans endured three consecutive home defeats conceding five or more goals (5-0 to Aston Villa, 5-0 to Brighton, 6-0 to Arsenal), on top of an 8-0 thrashing by Newcastle in September.
They have now conceded at least two goals in every game since that run, including 13 goals in their last three games at the time of writing, with three games left to play.
At this stage, it seems inevitable that the Blades will crash through the 100-goal floor and plumb new depths – how far they descend remains unclear.
1. Swindon (1993/94) – 100 (2.38 per game, 42 games played)
The second season of the Premier League era saw a record set that would remain active to this day. Swindon became the first – and still the only – team to concede 100 goals since the inception of the division.
Swindon conceded five or more goals in six games, including a 7-1 decimation by Newcastle.
Despite their gushing defence, Swindon actually stuck 30 points on the board during the course of the season, nowhere close to the lowest points total in history, even if adjusted to a 38-game season average.
That said, it's hard to offer too much praise to a team who lost 5-0 to Leeds on the final day of the season to hit the triple-digit milestone.
Check out more of our Sport coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
