To date six teams have won Premier League titles (Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Leicester City), in this article I will focus on the ten teams that have come closest to joining that list.
10) Sheffield Wednesday
Closest They Have Come: 18 points
Season: 1996/97
Final Position: 7th
75 points was enough for Manchester United to win their second straight Premier League title in 96/97, this was and still stands as the lowest points total of any title winners. It was a hugely competitive season with everyone seemingly taking points off each other, the race for European football in particular was especially tight, with just 12 points separating Newcastle United in 2nd and Wimbledon in 8th. The Owls under the management of David Pleat found themselves top of the Premier League and in the midst of a title challenge going into mid September, after winning all of their four opening games. Their form took a huge nose dive as they went on to lose 4 of their next 5 games. The Owls would then only lose twice for the six months after this, a very impressive spell that was unfortunately undermined by them failing to win any of their last 5 games, losing 4 of them. Sheffield Wednesday lost just 9 times all season, once at home but still missed out on European football as a result of Leicester City winning the League Cup. The Owls drew fifteen games across the season and it was those dropped points that saw them miss out so narrowly. That season was the last time Wednesday finished inside the top 10 in the top tier, they got relegated three seasons later and have yet to return.
9) Southampton
Closest They Have Come: 18 points
Season: 2015/16
Final Position: 6th
The season that will forever be remembered for Leicester City’s 5000/1 title win, also possessed one of the tightest fought races for European places. Just 11 points separated Arsenal in 2nd and Liverpool in 8th, the lowest points margin between the two places in Premier League history. Southampton were very much in the midst of that European race, qualifying for the group stages of the Europa League, just missing out on Champions League football. Ronald Koeman's men were slow out the blocks, they won just 6 of their first 20 games, their form however completely flipped on his head in the turn of the year, winning twelve of their final eighteen games, which saw them skyrocket up the table. This stands as the highest that the Saints have ever finished in the Premier League and the last time they manage to qualify for Europe. Their top scorer from the season Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama would both leave that summer, they were unable to fill the void left from their departures. The 2015/16 Southampton side would arguably rank alongside the Saints' 1983/84 side as the best in the club’s history.
8) Everton
Closest They Have Come: 14 Points
Season: 2013/14
Final Position: 5th
A team that you may have expected to rank higher on this list came closest to winning the title in the 2013/14 season, a campaign that saw Manchester City win their second Premier League title.There was some concern leading into the season for Everton, with them having to adjust to new management with David Moyes leaving to Manchester United after 11 years in charge. Roberto Martinez was the man to take over and he brought in a new brand of attacking attractive football. Heading into the new year they found themselves in one of the lucrative top 4 places, losing just twice. Three defeats in February to Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, saw them slip out of one the Champions League places. The bounced back in style, winning seven on the trot, their best winning streak since 1987. They were back inside the top four but they would miss out on champions league after losing three of their final five games of the season. It was a very successful first campaign for Martinez, but one that should have ended in Champions League qualification. Everton finished the season on 72 points their highest total in Premier League history and eleven points more than what they finished on in the 2004/05 season when they finished 4th. The Toffees despite big investment have not finished inside the top six since the 2013/14 season.
7) Leeds United
Closest They Have Come: 12 Points
Season: 1998/99
Position: 4th
Despite coming 3rd the following season, the 1998/99 stands as the closest Leeds have come points-wise to winning the league, with their rivals Manchester United winning the title with 79 points. When Spurs sacked Christian Gross in September they approached Leeds manager at the time, George Graham to take over who accepted. Graham’s assistant David O’Leary took charge on a temporary basis whilst Leeds approached Leicester City manager Martin O’Neil but he would eventually turn the job down. O’Leary was given the job on a full time basis as Leeds started to find some form and found themselves in the midst of a title challenge come Christmas time. O’Leary introduced a crop of young players into the squad with Paul Robinson, Jonathan Woodgate and Alan Smith all making their debuts for the club. Their title chances took a huge dent as they won just once of their following 6 games. They followed that disappointment with a very impressive 7 wins on the trot, which included a win over the reigning champions Arsenal. The glimmer of hope of a title challenge faded as they won two of their last 6 games. Leeds showed in patches throughout the season what they were capable of but weren’t consistent enough. There was however huge optimism about the future, there were few teams that had as many young exciting players in their squad. Leeds would finish inside the top 4 for the next two seasons and they would make the Champions League and UEFA Cup Semi Finals but they would never come as close to winning the title as they did in 1998/99. Leeds were relegated in the 2003/04 season and have yet to return to the top tier of English football since.
Tied 5th) Norwich City
Closest They Have Come: 12 points
Season: 1992/93
Position: 3rd
After finishing 18th in the 1991/92 season and the sale of Robert Fleck to Chelsea, Norwich were being tipped by many pundits for relegation in the inaugural Premier League season. They showed they were no pushovers from the get go, as they came back from 2-0 down at half time on the opening day to win 4-2 against one of the title favourites Arsenal. Norwich continued to prove doubters wrong and found themselves top of the table heading into October, with 23 points in their first 10 games. They lost their spot at the top in October after two heavy defeats to Blackburn (7-1) and Liverpool (4-1). Despite a disappointing October, Norwich were still mounting a title challenge and they found themselves back on top of the league in early November after a Mark Robins hat trick secured them a win away to Oldham. A fourth straight win against Wimbledon in early December saw Norwich extend their lead at the top to 8 points. They came up against the eventual champions Manchester United next and lost the tie 1-0, with Mark Hughes getting the winner at Old Trafford, despite this they would go into Christmas top of the table. However a 6 match winless run and the Canaries went almost 8 hours without a goal. This time period seriously dented their title challenge as they lost their lead at the top. 30 points in their final 18 games, would see them finish 3rd.
Tied 5th) Nottingham Forest
Closest They Have Come: 12 points
Season: 1994/95
Position: 3rd
Newly promoted Sheffield United have received lots of plaudits this season and as impressive as the Blades have been no newly promoted team has made a bigger impact that Nottingham Forest did in the 1994/95 season. Never out of the top-six throughout the season, Forest seemingly mounted an unexpected serious title challenge, finding themselves in 2nd place going into November. Their first loss of the season came at the end of October against Blackburn at home, a 5 match winless run followed, which saw Forest drop to 5th. Their title challenge came to an effective end at the turn of the year, with a poor run of form that saw them win just twice in the first two months of 1995. Forest ended the season in style, winning 9 out of their last 11 games, which included a 7-1 win away to Sheffield Wednesday. They ended the season 12 points adrift of champions Blackburn and their impressive campaign saw Forest’s manager Frank Clark win the LMA Manager of the Year award. To this date, no newly promoted team has ever finished higher in the Premier League that Forest did in 1994/95. Striker Stan Collymore who scored 22 goals that season, was sold to Liverpool for a national record fee of £8.4 million. Forest were unable to find an adequate replacement for Collymore and Clark resigned that next year, whilst Forest were relegated in the 1996/97 season.
4th) Aston Villa
Closest They Have Come: 10 points
Season: 1992/93
Position: 2nd
The first of the teams to finish as runners-up on this list, Aston Villa finished second in the inaugural Premier League season. Ron Atkinson’s side didn’t get off to a great start, they won just once in their opening six games. Villa’s fortunes began to change after they managed to complete the signings of Ray Houghton and Dean Saunders from Liverpool, with the latter arriving for a club record £2.5million fee. A 3-0 win at home to Crystal Palace began a 10 match unbeaten run that saw Villa soar to the top of the table. In that 10 match spell, they defeated Liverpool 4-2, with Saunders going back to haunt his former club with a brace and had also defeated fellow challengers Manchester United 1-0. A surprise 3-0 away loss to Coventry City on Boxing Day, was followed by eight wins from ten, which included wins over Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea and most importantly restored Villa’s lead at the top of the League. In what many considered a title decider, Aston Villa went to Old Trafford in mid March and came away with a 1-1 draw, keeping their lead at the top. With 6 games to go, Villa were still sitting top of the league. A home draw on 10th April against Coventry surrendered their lead at the top, but they responded well with wins against Arsenal and Manchester City, keeping the pressure on the Manchester side with just one point separating the two teams with three games left to go.
Ron Atkinson’s side cracked under the pressure, losing all three of their remaining games, which included a loss at home to Oldham Athletic who were fighting relegation, this result confirmed Manchester United as champions. The ten point margin doesn’t tell the full story of Villa’s title challenge of 1992/93, they were still in the race going into the penultimate game of the season, a poor end to the season, coupled with an incredible run of form from United cost Villa dear. The season is one that despite the disappointment at the end, many Villa fans will look back in pride, Paul McGrath’s display at the back was instrumental throughout the season and he was awarded the PFA Player of The Season award at the end of the year. Ron Atkinson was sacked the next year after a poor start to the 1994/95 season and was replaced with Brian Little who Villa found some success under, managing to finish into the European qualification places for three consecutive cases, however the 1992/1993 season remains the only Premier League season that Villa have managed to mount a serious title challenge. Villa were an ever present in the Premier League until their relegation in the 2015/16 season, they now will be looking to maintain their status in the top flight with the resumption of football this Wednesday.
3rd) Tottenham Hotspur
Closest They Have Come: 7 points
Season: 2016/17
Position: 2nd
There was a bitter taste left in the mouth of Spurs fans’ with the way the team ended the 2015/16 campaign, they failed to win any of their last four games, surrendering 2nd place on the final day of the season to arch rivals Arsenal in a 5-1 defeat to already relegated Newcastle who had also been reduced to ten men. Pochettino looked to strengthen the side in the summer by bringing in two players from his former side Southampton, Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane, with the latter failing due to a failure to agree personal terms (Daniel Levy is undoubtedly regretting this one). Spurs would start the season with a twelve match unbeaten run, but found themselves outside the top 4 as they had drawn as many games as they had won. A loss to revitalised Antonio Conte Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge in late November ended their unbeaten run and it was shortly followed by a further loss at Old Trafford. Three days after disappointment in Manchester, they won 3-0 at home to Hull, which was the start of a run that saw them win six on the bounce and climb up the table into second place. In the midst of the run they beat Chelsea 2-0 with a Dele Alli brace in an emphatic night at White Hart Lane. The side looked stronger than the previous campaign, the arrival of Wanyama sured up the midfield, whilst Heung Min Son was having a more productive campaign since his move from Germany the previous summer. Spurs would drop points in the end of January with draws away to Manchester City and Sunderland, whilst their nine match unbeaten run came to an end with a disappointing display at Liverpool, which saw the previously aforementioned Sadio Mane scoring twice. The gap between Spurs and leaders Chelsea was now nine points, with thirteen games to go.
Unlike the previous season, Spurs finished in superb fashion winning twelve of their final thirteen games of the season, which included a 6-1 thrashing of Leicester at the King Power Stadium in the penultimate match of the season and a 2-1 win over Manchester United in their final game at White Hart Lane. Unfortunately for Pochettino’s side, Chelsea did not falter and secured their fifth Premier League title with a 1-0 win away to West Brom on 12th May. Spurs ended on 86 points for the season, which in the previous season would have been enough to win the title, the North London side were unfortunate to come up against a rampant Chelsea side who broke the 90 points barrier. No team scored more or conceded less than Spurs in the league and in their final season at White Hart Lane, they went unbeaten the entire season at the Lane in all competitions. They also equaled a club record by winning their final fourteen home league matches of the season, White Hart Lane had become a fortress in it's final year. Harry Kane continued his incredible scoring form into the next season, he broke Alan Shearer’s record of league goals in a calendar year with 39 and also became Europe’s top goal scorer of 2017, ending the seven-year dominance of Messi and Ronaldo. A serious rebuild job will be needed in North London this summer if Mourinho's men are to challenge for the title once again.
2nd) Newcastle United
Closest They Have Come: 4 points
Season: 1995/96
Position: 2nd
Newcastle looked to try and improve on their previous campaign in which they finished 6th, in the summer they brought in Les Ferdinand, David Ginola, Warren Barton and Shaka Hislop, who would all prove to play key roles in the club’s title race. Kevin Keegan’s side started the season in emphatic style winning nine of their opening ten games. Their good form didn’t stop there and as a result found themselves with a ten point lead over second placed Manchester United going into Christmas. A 2-0 loss at Old Trafford on 27th December 1995 didn’t derail the Magpies as they extended this lead to 12 points on 20th January 1996, with just 15 games remaining. The Toon Army looked destined for their first Premier League title and a first league title since 1927, however Manchester United who had been boosted by the return of Eric Cantona started to enjoy a surge in form. Newcastle were starting to crack under the pressure, they dropped points away to West Ham and Manchester City, and then saw their 100% home record end at the hands of their title rivals, cutting the gap to just one point. Newcastle looked to have bounced back in style with an impressive performance against West Ham at St James’ Park on 18th March but then followed this up with three losses in their next four games, a spell which included a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool in one of the most iconic games in Premier League history. Alex Ferguson seemed to be 'living rent free' in Kevin Keegan’s head, Ferguson’s mind games provoked the infamous “I’ll love it if we beat them” rant, following Newcastle’s 1-0 win away at Leeds.
A 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest three days later left Newcastle needing to beat Spurs on the final day, and Manchester United needing to lose against Middlesbrough, if the title was to come back to Tyneside. In the end, a 1-1 draw proved academic as Manchester United beat Boro 3-0, winning their third Premier League title. Keegan had taken over the side just four years prior when the side were battling relegation in England’s second tier, there was no disputing how great a job Keegan had done at the club despite the disappointing end to the campaign. Keegan would resign as manager on 8th January 1997, with Kenny Dalglish taking over, the Magpies runners up to Manchester United for a second consecutive season. The following season the Magpies finished outside the top ten and did not return to the top five of the Premier League until the 2001–02 season, when they finished 4th under Bobby Robson. With a potential Saudi billionaire takeover in the horizon, we may see Newcastle challenging once again in the not so distant future.
1st) Liverpool
Closest They Have Come: 4 points
Season: 1995/96
Position: 2nd
In two weeks time, Liverpool look destined to finally remove their name from this list. They may be alongside with Manchester United as one of the most successful English teams in history, but they have yet to win a title since the inauguration of the Premier League in 1992. They have finished runners up on four occasions (double the amount of any team on this list), the first coming in the 2000/01 season when they finished above Manchester United for the first time in the Premier League era but finished seven points behind title winners Arsenal. They came closer in the 2008/09 season, finishing just four points off Manchester United on 86 points, losing just twice all season. They came even closer again in the 2013/14 season, in a tragic collapse that can draw comparisons so the previously mentioned Newcastle 1995/96 season, they finished just two points behind champions Manchester City. However, the closest they have ever come to breaking their duck, came last season finishing just one point behind Manchester City. That doesn’t tell the full story though, as Liverpool’s points total of 97 was the third highest points total in the history of the English top flight, only behind the Champions Manchester City’s 98 points winning total and City’s previous 100 point campaign. To put it simply, Liverpool's points total would have been enough to win 25 of the previous 26 Premier League campaigns. Liverpool's one defeat the whole season was a costly one as it came against City, they did remain unbeaten at home for a second straight season and matched the club's record thirty wins in a season.
Liverpool would go top of the table after a 4-0 away win over Bournemouth on 8th December 2018. They would remain at the top until early March, when a 0-0 draw at Goodison to arch rivals Everton would surrender their lead to City. Despite Jürgen Klopp’s side winning their final nine games of the season, they were unable to recapture first place and City won their fourth Premier League title. The 2018/19 Champions League winning Liverpool team will go down as the greatest team to finish runners up in Premier League history, at The Best FIFA Football Awards, Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson were named in the FIFA FIFPro Men's World XI, with Alisson being named as The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper, van Dijk runner-up for The Best FIFA Men's Player, whilst Klopp was named as The Best FIFA Men's Coach. Mo Salah and Sadio Mané shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whilst four Liverpool players also finished inside the top seven of that year's Ballon D'Or voting. It is only a matter of weeks (if that) until this Liverpool side get the title they truly deserve and end one of the most unfortunate streaks in footballing history. Liverpool fans will be hoping this is not a flash in the pan and the start of a dynasty similar to the one they created in the 1980s.
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