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Most frustrating teams to support
There are certain frustrations shared by football fans up and down the country, but there’s no doubt that supporters of some clubs have it tougher than others – and they're perfectly happy to tell you that *their* club is by far the worst to support in England.
They'd prefer it not to be quite such a badge of honour we're sure, but in this slideshow we pick out the 10 most infuriating teams to follow in Britain right now…
10. Sunderland
Sunderland may be flying high in their division right now, but second place in League One represents massive underachievement for a club that regularly averaged attendances in the 40,000s during their time in the Premier League.
The Black Cats have been woefully mismanaged in the last few years, and although they appear to be slowly moving in the right direction after back-to-back relegations, the recent sackings of Didier Ndong and Papy Djilobodji serve as a reminder of how badly run they've been (personality scouting: it's a thing, y'know). Put simply, a club of Sunderland’s size should be nowhere near the third tier.
9. Ipswich
It's safe to say that Ipswich fans haven’t had much to get excited about in recent times. Since suffering relegation from the Premier League in 2001/02, Town have spent each of the last 16 seasons in the second tier, during which time they've finished in the play-off places just twice.
Mid-table mediocrity has been the Tractor Boys’ speciality for much of the last decade, but finishing halfway up the Championship looks like a pipe dream at present. Having finally rid themselves of the unpopular Mick McCarthy late last season, last-placed Ipswich are learning that the grass isn’t always greener.
8. Tottenham
At first glance, Tottenham’s presence in this list might be hard to understand. Mauricio Pochettino is the best manager the club have had for some time, and he’s created a young, vibrant side spearheaded by a world-class academy product in Harry Kane.
Yet frustration abounds in this corner of north London. The lack of transfer business in the summer didn’t go down well among supporters who saw season ticket prices rise substantially ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, while the proposed move to a new 62,000-capacity home has encountered several delays. There’s also the nagging suspicion that Spurs’ best chance to end their decade-long trophy drought may have already passed.
7. Newcastle
Newcastle may not have won a trophy since the 1950s, but they are undoubtedly among the biggest sides in the country. Magpies fans don’t necessarily expect to claim silverware – Kevin Keegan’s entertainers were adored despite failing to win the title in 1995/96 – but they do want to see the club give themselves the best possible chance of doing so.
6. Dundee United
The mid-1980s were heady times for the Tangerine army, who - along with Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen - posed a major threat to the Old Firm duopoly. But fast-forward to 2018 and the mood at Tannadice is a far cry from that of the era when they twice beat Barcelona in 1986/87.
Since dropping out of the Scottish Premiership in 2016, United have found life in the second tier tougher than anticipated. The expectation for the last two seasons has been to challenge for the title, or at least achieve promotion via the play-offs, but both objectives have gone unfulfilled. The Tangerines are now on their fifth manager since relegation, and currently find themselves six points behind top spot in the second flight – albeit with a game in hand.
5. Aston Villa
Villa have been their own worst enemy since suffering relegation to the Championship in 2016. Despite having one of the most talented squads in the division, the Midlanders' stay in the second tier has been a tale of underachievement and heartache, as exemplified by a gut-wrenching play-off defeat by Fulham last term.
Throw some financial turmoil and a change of ownership into the mix, and Villa fans have really been put through the meat grinder since their team bowed out of the top flight. A club of Villa’s stature belongs in the top flight, but their journey since exiting the division has been far bumpier than the club's fans were anticipating. At least their off-pitch situation looks to be improving.
4. Hull City
The term ‘yo-yo club’ is rarely used in a complimentary context, but Hull fans must wish it applied to them. These days the Tigers are more like a broken yo-yo, dangling above the Championship drop zone for the majority of last season and now struggling to find any upward momentum in the opening months of the current campaign.
Hull’s relationship with the top flight has always been an uncomfortable one. They made a decent fist of it under Marco Silva in 2017, but a 4-0 loss to Crystal Palace on the penultimate weekend of the season completed their hat-trick of Premier League relegations. Another demotion could follow in 2018/19 - although this time it's League One that looms.
3. Chesterfield
Back in 2010, Chesterfield were moving into a new 10,000 all-seater stadium and boldly setting their sights on the Championship. Since then it’s been a torrid saga of budgetary woes, a boardroom walkout, a spree of unsuccessful managerial appointments and, finally, relegation to non-league football for the first time in their history at the end of last season.
Before the current campaign began, the Chesterfield faithful were hoping to see their team launch a bid for the National League title. Instead, they're currently languishing in 19th place in the table, a whopping 24 points behind leaders Wrexham.
2. Hibernian
Hibernian’s cup final hoodoo came to a spectacular end in 2016 when Dave Gray’s stoppage-time header brought a 3-2 win over Rangers in the Scottish Cup showpiece to seal the trophy for the Edinburgh outfit for the first time since 1902. It was a day that will live long in the memory of Hibs fans, but the club still has work to do before it can cast off the ‘big-game bottlers’ tag permanently.
Historically, few teams have managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory quite as often as Hibs. The most recent example was a crushing defeat by local rivals Hearts in the penultimate game of last season, a result which denied them the opportunity to stake a claim for the runners-up spot on the final day. This is a club who are chronically prone to ‘Hibsing it’.
1. Stockport County
It’s hard to believe that Stockport were playing their football one division above Premier League champions Manchester City as recently as 1998/99. Even a decade on from that, they were holding Leicester to a goalless league draw at Edgeley Park. Since then, though, Stockport fans have had to endure multiple relegations, administration following a spell of behind-the-scenes chaos, and even the loss of their professional status.
County dropped out of the Football League for the first time in their history in 2010/11, then slumped into the regionalised sixth tier of English football. Despite targeting promotion they’re currently 10th in the National League North, facing an uphill struggle to do so.
