2022-23 season now officially Chelsea’s worst Premier League season ever

Last night’s defeat at Manchester United has confirmed this season to be our worst Premier League season ever, in just about every measure.

That dubious honor used to belong to 1993-94, our second season in the Premier League after it was carved out of the upper echelon of the English football pyramid in 1992. We finished 14th (of a then 22-team division), with 51 points from 42 games (1.214 pts/game), and just 49 goals scored (1.167 gls/game) with a negative-4 goal difference.

Amusingly, we actually qualified for a European competition by virtue of handily losing the FA Cup final to Manchester United, 4-0. But because United won the league and thus qualified for the Champions League, we got the chance to go to the Cup Winners’ Cup (and reach the semifinals before losing to eventual winners Real Zaragoza).

The first season of a 38-team Premier League, in 1995-96, threatened to dethrone the futility of 1993-94, but an 11th-place finish with 50 points from 38 games (1.316 pts/game) with 46 goals scored (1.211 gls/game) was just good enough to beat that out. 2015-16 matched those points-totals with a slightly higher placement (10th) and many more goals (59).

2022-23 has absolutely demolished most of those records.

Making history!

BEHOLD

Points: 50 (1995-96; 2015-16) — current: 43; max: 46
Points-per-game: 1.214 (1993-94) — current: 1.162; max: 1.211
Position: 14th (1993-94) — current: 12th; possible: 11th-14th

Wins: 12 (1995-96; 2015-16) — current: 11; max: 12
Losses: 17 (1993-94) — current: 16; max: 17
Losses, 38-game season: 15 (1997-98)

Goals: 46 (1995-96) — current: 37
Goals-per-game: 1.167 (1993-94) — current: 1.000
Goal difference: (-5) (1994-95) — current: (-9)

The only way is up, right?

“I think there’s talent in the squad [but] it was another reality today. [This] is the situation and it’s going to take time to change that.”

-Frank Lampard; source: Football.London

Hope you like a challenge, Mauricio!