Every Premier League Club Ranked by How Delusional Their Fans Are

For better or worse, football would be nothing without the fans. The lifeblood of any club is those who sit in the stands and show their support, or engage with them on social media wherever they may be in the world. And while sponsorship deals and finances may appear to take precedent in the modern game, the voice of the fans remains powerful, just as long as what they are saying makes sense.

There are plenty of instances, though, where the emotion can get the better of a football fan’s thoughts and lead to hot takes or rhetoric that are quite frankly laughable. And with that in mind, a new study conducted by LiveFootballTickets has discovered which club in the Premier League has the most and least delusional fanbases.

20-16

Kicking things off with the least delusional fans in the Premier League, we have Brighton. Though a mainstay in the top half of the division nowadays, their approach has always been smart, calculated, and has prevented them from reaching above their station. As a result, fans are clear on where they are at and it seems they aren’t expecting anything more.

Bournemouth and Crystal Palace follow, despite their impressive seasons last time out. The Eagles have won their first two major trophies in recent months, yet this has not led to any sudden expectations of continued silverware, especially with key players moving on.

The same can be said of Nottingham Forest, though now they are back in Europe, pressure might grow on them to remain there, and that could lead to some lofty hopes and delusions of grandeur moving forward. Finally, Wolves fans also appear in the bottom five, which perhaps suggests that many supporters are ready to accept the fact that they are relegation candidates.

15-11

Climbing our way up the rankings, we find fanbases that are still relatively grounded, but may be a little more hopeful than they perhaps should be. That begins with Brentford, who may not have what it takes to reach the heights they did under Thomas Frank with the inexperienced Keith Andrews at the helm.

Fulham are next up, with supporters perhaps overshooting with their expectations. After earning midtable security, there may be too much hope for a push towards Europe at Craven Cottage. Equally, perhaps too high a percentage of Burnley fans are expecting Scott Parker to keep them up despite the fact he has failed to do so in his Premier League coaching career thus far.

Aston Villa fans are also ones that are still quite measured in their hopes despite earning top-six finishes in their last two seasons. Perhaps if there had been stronger recruitment, more would be expected of Unai Emery this term. And the final team in the bottom half is Sunderland. One opening-day victory and now the Stadium of Light is potentially filled with too much positive anticipation of what is to come.

10-6

A new stadium brings renewed hope for Everton that they can start to climb back up the table to where they were during their first spell under David Moyes. But if they think that, they could be deemed as being in ‘cuckoo’ land after a tough summer that has only just picked up in recent days.

Leeds fans also fall into the category of slightly more delusional fans, with perhaps some being blinded by their love for the club and by the stature it still has in the British game, while ignoring how poorly manager Daniel Farke has done in the top flight over the years.

West Ham fans have often demanded more attractive football when pragmatic managers have come in and performed well. And once again, it has cost them, as their attempts to do this have seen both Julen Lopetegui fail and Graham Potter head towards the same slippery slope.

As for Newcastle and Tottenham, returns to Champions League football seem to have left some fans hoping for big things that may be a little far fetched.

5-1

That leaves us with the top five, the Champions League elect of delusional fanbases. For fifth-placed Manchester City, it is hard for them to have been delusional in recent years as they have just been used to winning, and understandably, they have come to expect that moving forward too. Similarly, the next best team for the majority of the last decade has been Liverpool, yet their fans are still calling for too much according to the study.

Chelsea fans have become disillusioned at times under the Todd Boehly regime, but that hasn’t stopped supporters from perhaps calling for the old glory days when they should know they aren’t quite there yet. However, the Club World Cup triumph may only enforce that narrative further.

Statements from Mikel Arteta suggesting that Arsenal has been the best team in the Premier League over the last three seasons because they accrued the most points appear to have infiltrated some of the thoughts of Gunners fans, as their delusion leads them to forget that they never topped the charts over that period of time.

However, the most deluded are those who wear the colours of Manchester United. The downward spiral post-Sir Alex Ferguson never seems to end, and the optimism a new manager, signing, or even owners bring appears to be completely unfounded, meaning that the Red Devils faithful tip the scale on this list.