The numbers that prove this is the worst season EVER for Sheffield football, with both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United struggling

Both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United are locked deep in relegation battles they will do well to get out of, with the Blades 14 points from safety in the Premier League and Wednesday three points back in the Championship.

Numbers provided by football stats guru Peter Løhmann show that in terms of points earned – ie even without the Owls’ six-point penalty for financial misconduct – the two clubs have returned a haul of 45 points in their combined 55 league matches, at a rate of 0.81 points-per-game.

At current, this is the lowest figure in the history of the cross-city rivalry since the Bramall Lane club was formed in 1889, ahead of a 1975/76 season that yielded 0.91 points per game and saw the Blades relegated rock bottom in Division One, while Wednesday stayed in the old Division Three on the last day of the season thanks to a famous 2-1 win over Southend.

It is also by some distance the worst season for Sheffield football fans in terms of goals scored, with goals arriving at a rate of 0.65 per game, 0.27 goals per game lower than in 1975/76.

United have scored 15 times in their 25 matches, with Wednesday having scored 21 times in 30 games. Both sides are the most goal-shy in the respective divisions.

Respective defeats to Fulham and Birmingham City this weekend lost both clubs ground in their respective relegation battles. Never before have both clubs been relegated in the same season.

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