Epic failures : This millennium’s top 5 underachieving sports teams

Unless you’ve been living on the moon for the past couple of months, you will be aware that Chelsea FC aren’t doing quite as well as their status of Premier League Champions suggests. To make Blues fans feel a little better, we thought we’d compile a list of other sports teams that haven’t lived up to expectations.

Spain – Football World Cup 2014

Arriving in Brazil as World Cup holders, it would never have crossed the minds of Xavi, Iniesta et al that they could be heading home after the group stages. Yet that is exactly what happened – and in the worst possible manner. A 5-1 hammering by the Netherlands was followed by a defeat to Chile and, just like that, their fate was sealed.

McLaren Formula One – 2015

For a team that has won 182 races and 8 World championships, this season has been nothing short of a disaster. Numerous problems have dogged the MP4-30 car, with many of those relating to the Honda-designed engine. As a result, McLaren have won just 27 points all season and sit ninth in the Constructors Standings.

England – Rugby World Cup 2015

Although the Rugby World Cup has only just finished, England’s participation ended long ago. Ultimately meaningless wins against Fiji and Uruguay sandwiched defeats to Wales and Australia, handing England the unwanted title of being the first host nation to fall at the pool stages of its own World cup.

England – Cricket World Cup 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjowGaf9B3U

The England Cricket Team join the Rugby players in our top 5 thanks to their World Cup ‘performance’ in the spring. England have never been the best at one-day cricket but the class of 2015 arguably reached a new low. Beating only Scotland and Afghanistan was simply not good enough, with a defeat to Bangladesh rubbing salt in the wounds.

USA – Ryder Cup 2002-present

The American Ryder Cup team complete our top 5, thanks to an awful recent record in the competition. Team USA have won the tournament just once since 1999, losing six of the last seven editions. This includes the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ in 2012, when Europe fought back to snatch victory on the final day.