The 7 EFL Championship clubs with the most irritating fans on social media named by AI | OneFootball

ChatGPT has ranked the top seven second-tier sides with the most irritating online fans

Now more than ever, it is very easy to show your support for your football team, with social media apps being used by almost every English supporter of the game.

It's simple to give your opinion on apps such as X, and then engage and debate with fans of different teams, too.

For the most part, these interactions can be quite civil, but fans of certain teams are almost impossible to talk to, due to their unbearable nature.

To find out who the most irritating fanbase online in the Championship truly is, Football League World has turned to popular AI-based chat service ChatGPT, which has named the top seven worst online fanbases in England's second tier.

7 Watford

You'll find that a lot of irritating online fanbases in the Championship come from sides who have tasted recent Premier League glory, and thus vent their frustrations about their current situation in the second tier.

The Hornets played in the top flight as recently as 2021/22, and made the FA Cup final just over six years ago, so it makes sense as to why AI feels that Watford fans tend to come up in discussions surrounding entitlement.

For a club that has spent more time in the Premier League than in the Championship over the past decade, three consecutive mid-table finishes, and middling prospects for the current season, too, isn't much to be positive about, and ChatGPT feels these demands for improvement lead to a top-seven finish.

6 Sheffield United

Similar to Watford, Sheffield United fans know what it's like to support a Premier League side, and especially in the last few months, results have led to a lot of negative discourse on social media.

They place just ahead of the Hornets on this list, however, as AI believes that Sheffield United's fans have stronger engagement with their club, which can often lead to "foul-mouthed" and "heated" debates, which, ultimately, irritate other fans online.

Especially when it comes to the various Yorkshire derbies that the South Yorkshire side battles over the course of the season.

5 Derby County

Derby County haven't exactly tasted Premier League success recently, but ChatGPT states that the history of the club leads to hot, irritating debates online.

The Rams have a largely passionate fanbase, and that isn't exclusive to the stands, with Derby fans happy to engage with and ruffle a few opposition fans' feathers online.

AI believes that this frequent online engagement spurs negative feedback from rival fans, of which Derby have plenty, which therefore can be seen as quite irritating from outsiders looking in.

Into the top four now, and the West Brom following, like Derby before them, are massive, not just in the number of people they pack into the Hawthornes every game, but also online.

Because of this size and the lofty expectations which come from a fanbase who are desperate to see the Baggies back in the Premier League after becoming a top-flight mainstay during the 2010s, the fanbase can often over-engage on social media.

Plus, if the number of different rivalries contributes to the ranking here, West Brom ranks near the top of the list for that reason alone, with several Midlands sides having to deal with Baggies fans coming over to their social media pages after the game to give their opinions on how the side has done.

3

Leicester City earned the bronze medal on this AI-generated list, and if you want to talk about fanbases who are desperate to return to the glory days, the Foxes are arguably atop that list.

It's been a whirlwind of a decade for Leicester fans. They've seen their side win the Premier League, the FA Cup and go on knockout runs in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, but then on the opposite side of those scales, have had to endure two relegations in the last three seasons.

Because of the past few years, ChatGPT has noticed a "high negativity-comment rate," especially if the Foxes are on the losing side of the result.

From a side whose fans would have been over the moon with competing atop the Championship 15 years ago after just securing League One promotion two seasons prior, to one now that feels understandably frustrated and irritated at their situation, Leicester place in the top three here.

2 Millwall

It was only a matter of time before Millwall made this list. Given the already charged reputation that the Lions' fans have in person, you can imagine that they're quite a handful online, too.

In this case, perhaps not being a side synonymous with the Premier League has helped boost their place on this list, too. Many fans worry about what might happen if a club with the fanbase that Millwall has were to be let loose in the top flight, which only serves to emphasise their status as an irritating fanbase.

However, whilst they're probably deservedly near the top of the tree here, they have been pipped to the post by one side...

1 Stoke City

According to ChatGPT, Stoke City, in fact, have the most irritating online fanbase in the Championship.

Whilst the Potters are often mentioned in various articles online about their obnoxious fanbase, both in their away following and online, Stoke fans haven't had much to cheer about over the past eight years or so, after they finished in the bottom half of the Championship for the seventh consecutive season following their top-flight relegation last term.

So far this season, there has been hope among Stoke fans that this streak of disappointing league finishes can be put to bed, and if Mark Robins can bring this side up towards the top six, then you'd imagine that Potters fans will be increasingly vocal and irritating online, reaffirming their place at the top of this list.