English Football's Most Stressful Teams

Who are the most stressful teams in English football?

Sheffield United (Premier League) - 8.04 out of 10

Sheffield United were England's most stressful team in 2023/24, with a stress score of 8.04. The main factors contributing to this high stress score include a meagre win rate of only 8%, 0.18 own goals per match, and conceding an average of 2.74 goals per match. They also lost 68% of games in front of their own fans.

After being promoted from the Championship last season, the Blades faced an uncompromising return to the top flight. They set new records for conceding the most goals in a season (104) and goals conceded at home (57) and ultimately were relegated straight back to the Championship. As early as November, they sacked Paul Heckingbottom after 739 days in charge and brought in Chris Wilder as the new manager.

Forest Green Rovers (League Two) - 7.62 out of 10

Forest Green Rovers ranks second with a stress score of 7.62. Despite a higher win rate of 24% compared to Sheffield United, the team’s stress factors include a significant home loss rate of 61% and poor discipline, with 2.52 yellow and 0.17 red cards per match. Also, the club has seen a drastic decrease in attendance by a quarter compared to last season and has had considerable instability, with seven permanent managers in the previous five seasons.

After being relegated from League One in 2022/23, they suffered the indignity of back-to-back relegations and will now drop out of the Football League after seven years.

Burton Albion (League One) - 7.10 out of 10

Burton Albion is the third most stressful team to support, with a stress score of 7.10. The team’s win rate is slightly better at 26%, but managing just three shots on target per game and picking up 2.65 yellow cards per game contribute to the stress. 

The Brewers' pass completion rate of 65% is also among the lowest, with fans fuming over their inability to keep possession. Additionally, the Brewers have a loss rate of 52% in front of their own fans. and sacked two manager in the season before Mark Robinson became the new Burton Albion Manager on 4th June 2024

Sheffield United were the most stressful Premier League team to support in 2023/24, with a ‘stress score’ of 8.04/10

In the Premier League, Sheffield United and Burnley, the most stressful teams to support, were relegated, Vincent Kompany leaving the latter on 14th June. However, the other relegated team, Luton, only ranked seventh, thanks to a lack of red cards, increased attendances, and relative managerial stability.

On the other hand, it’s no surprise that the three least stressful teams also occupied the top three places in the Premier League. Manchester City fans, in particular, had a stress-free season, as they were unbeaten at home, had seven shots on target per match, and completed 89% of their passes.

With a score of 6.47/ 10, Rotherham United were crowned the most stressful team to support in the 2023/2024 Championship season

In the EFL Championship, another two relegated teams, Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town, were the most stressful for fans to watch. Rotherham has a pitiful 2.3 shots on target per match, while Huddersfield are known for their frequent managerial changes, with eight coaches in the last five seasons.

Unsurprisingly, Leicester City is the league’s least stressful team, as they were promoted as champions. Despite narrowly missing out on the playoffs, Hull City’s fans also have a low-stress score.

You won’t find a more stressful team to support in League One than Burton Albion, despite avoiding relegation

In League One, in addition to Burton Albion, other anxiety-inducing teams include Fleetwood, which had one of the worst red card records in England, and Cheltenham, which had a woeful pass completion of just 60%.

Despite failing to secure promotion, Peterborough was among the league’s least stressful teams, and the champions were Portsmouth.

Forest Green Rovers named as the most stressful team to watch in League Two, as back-to-back relegations confirmed

Finally, in League Two, Forest Green’s back-to-back relegations made them the most stressful team to support, followed by Salford City and Morecambe.

Champions Stockport were the league’s least stressful team, and they were joined among the least stressed fans by Wrexham, who are still riding the wave of their Hollywood fairytale.

What else have we learnt about England’s most stressful football teams?

On their way to being relegated to the Championship, Sheffield United picked up just three wins from their 38 games, for a dismal rate of 8%. However, they were still a couple of games from matching Derby County’s record of picking up just one win in the 2007/08 season.

Losing is always bad, but it’s worse in front of your own fans. Sheffield United and Burnley lost 13 of their 19 home games, giving them both a home loss rate of 68%.

The same name appears again, with Sheffield United letting in 104 goals in 38 matches this season. Unfortunately, those are record-setting numbers, taking the Blades past the 100 goals conceded by Swindon Town in 1993/94.

Even if you’re losing, fans like to see attacking play, but Rotherham United averaged just 2.3 shots on their opponents’ goals per match. With just four and three goals, strikers Tom Eaves and Jordan Hugill struggled to find the net.

Fewer things are more frustrating than seeing your team give the ball away, so spare a thought for fans of Cheltenham Town, who had an average pass completion of just 60% this season.

Chelsea have had a turbulent couple of seasons, which continued with their 109 yellow cards in their 38 games, a Premier League record. Chelsea’s youthful team picked up six yellows in their Christmas Eve tie with Wolves, and their most booked player was Moisés Caicedo, who had eleven.

Red cards cause massive frustration for fans, whether their anger is directed toward their own players or the officials. Two teams picked up nine red cards during their 46-game seasons, Salford City and Fleetwood Town.

Seeing your strikers getting caught offside is another thing that drives football fans mad, and Derby County fans suffered this the most last season, with 2.8 offsides per game. However, the Rams still gained promotion back to the Championship, making those offsides a minor issue in an otherwise successful season.

While they aren’t always converted, penalties are a gilt-edged chance to score a goal, so giving them away can be costly. Notts County conceded more penalties per match than any other team, with 0.37. They gave away 17 in total, way more than West Ham and Fleetwood in second with 10.

As if Sheffield United didn’t have enough going against them this season, they also scored the most own goals, with seven in total and 0.18 per game. They also became the first-ever Premier League team to score two own goals after the 75th minute.

One of the best indicators of a disgruntled fanbase is if they stop turning up for the games, which is the case for Forest Green Rovers. They saw attendances drop by a quarter from 3,204 in League One last season to 2,413 in League Two this year.

It’s well known that Watford’s owners, the Pozzo family, aren’t averse to making a change when things aren’t working. That’s clear from the fact that Watford has had no fewer than 12 permanent managers in the last five seasons. Such instability shows that the club isn’t performing on the pitch and can be unsettling for the fans.

Author Comment and Methodology

“Yet another English football season is over, and with promotion jubilation and relegation heartbreak all suffered across English football in equal measure, the stress of watching your favourite team never dies down. So, as Euro 2024 takes centre stage this summer, which English football teams have caused their fans the most stress in 2023/2024?

“Using Fbref data from across all four of England’s fully professional divisions for the 2023/2024 regular season, we’ve compiled a range of factors to reward each team with a ‘Stress Score’ out of 10; accompanying factors include win rates, goals conceded per match, attendance figures, offsides, and much more!

“There are some notable trends in our research and it’s fair to say some teams have not left their fans with much to cheer in the slightest over the past year. Sheffield United’s return to the Premier League was seemingly one to forget, and the Blades ranked as by far and away the most stressful team to support in English football, followed by Forest Green Rovers.

“Nevertheless, stress isn’t always linear to failure and some teams have achieved their ambitions whilst causing their supporters a great deal of worry in the process. Burton Albion wouldn’t have wanted to deal with a relegation battle at the start, but that’s what they got, and the fans were also treated to a managerial change along the way. As a result, the Brewers place third in this index with a ‘Stress Score’ of 7.10/10. 

“Whether you’re taking a much-needed break from the pilgrimage of following your team home and away for the summer, or watching England at Euro 2024 to get your football fix, rest assured that the new season will once again bring up a rollercoaster of emotions.”

Methodology

We analysed each club in the Premier League, Championship, League One, and League Two on the following factors, giving each a normalised score out of ten before taking an average of these scores. For each factor, data from the 2023/24 regular season (excluding play-offs) was used, except for the number of managers, which looked across the 2019/20 to 2023/24 seasons.

All factors were sourced from FBref, except pass completions for Leagues One and Two, which were taken from WhoScored, and the number of managers, which were sourced from the next manager blogs on OLBG

• Win rate    
• Home loss rate    
• Goals conceded per match    
• Shots on target per match    
• Pass completion    
• Yellow cards per match        
• Red cards per match        
• Offsides per match    
• Penalties conceded per match        
• Own goals per match        
• Year-on-year attendance difference    
• Permanent managers (last five seasons)

Permanent managers excludes any caretaker or interim managers. Managers who have managed a team twice during the last five seasons were counted twice, and any joint managers were counted as one.