Which football team(s) hold(s) the record for the most consecutive league games without a win?

The English Football League (EFL) was founded, as the Football League, in 1888 and, notwithstanding the departure of the top 22 clubs, to form the Premier League, in 1992, remains the oldest league of professional football clubs in the world. In the better part of a century and a half of professional league football in England and Wales, two clubs have played 36 consecutive league games without a win.

We can all feel that luck sometimes isn’t on our side. When I’m sitting at a roulette wheel betting on red or black, the odds often seem to drift against me for instance. In any case, the unwanted record was originally set by Derby County, who were promoted to the Premier League via the 2006/07 Championship playoffs, but endured a torrid time on their return to the top flight of English football. A dismal start to the season, which nonetheless included the only victory of the 2007/08 campaign, saw the departure of manager Billy Davies, but his replacement Paul Jewell fared little better. Between September 22, 2007 and the end of the season, on May 11, 2008, the Rams played 32 consecutive games without a win – a Premier League record – and were relegated with just 11 points. On their return to the Championship, they failed to win any of their first four games before finally beating Sheffield United 2-1 at home on September 14, 2008.

More recently, Macclesfield Town failed to win 36 consecutive games during the 2011/2012 campaign, while in League Two. The Silkmen sacked manager Gary Simpson after 16 consecutive games without a win from January 2, 2012 onwards, but failed to win again before the end of the season and were relegated to the Conference Premier, having finished bottom of the table with 37 points.