After you all enjoyed – and unanimously agreed with – our list of the 10 best Premier League teams ever we thought it needed a follow-up: the 10 best Premier League sides who didn’t win the title.
Some ground rules. Some of these are easy, because their clubs have never won the Premier League. Others, though, are fiddlier; these are teams who never won the league, not clubs. We’ve carefully and scientifically applied wildly subjective criteria to determine whether specific sides from your Arsenals and your Chelseas or the Manchester United Football Clubs of this world are eligible or not, so you don’t need to worry about it.
Again, we’ve picked out single standout seasons but the award can often reflect a couple of seasons really but most importantly if a similar squad had won (or would go on to win) the league within our arbitrarily applied timeframe and measure of squad similarity, they can’t be members of this gang. Essentially: Liverpool 2013/14 – yes, Liverpool 2018/19 – no, Arsenal 2022/23 – to be confirmed.
The bestest teams are here, if you still haven’t been riled up by it. So let’s get on with the very best of the shameful losers.
10) Aston Villa 1992/93
2nd: P42 W21 D11 L10 GF57 GA40 Pts 74
The first ever Premier League season established one key early trend: Manchester United winning the league.
But the rest of the table now looks gloriously absurd to our weary old Big Six-accustomed eyes. For much of the season, United’s biggest challengers were Norwich, who still finished third despite a late collapse and have the distinction of being the highest-placed Premier League finishers with a negative goal difference and who themselves make a compelling case for a place on this list. Blackburn were fourth in a bit of foreshadowing with QPR in fifth, Sheffield Wednesday seventh, Tottenham eighth, Arsenal 10th and Chelsea 11th. Those who claim Manchester City were irrelevant before winning the dodgepot lottery will no doubt feel pretty silly to learn they finished ninth in that inaugural season right in there among their future Big Six colleagues.
But the actual inaugural runners-up were a first-rate Aston Villa side, who earned a spot in the UEFA Cup first round for their troubles. Again, it was a very different time.
Best XI: Spink; Barrett, McGrath, Teale, Staunton; Richardson, Houghton, Parker, Froggatt; Saunders, Atkinson
Other notables: Bosnich, Cox, Small, Yorke, Regis, Daley
9) Arsenal 2014/15
3rd: P38 W22 D9…
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