The Premier League is part and parcel of football fan's lives all over the world and has been entertaining us for the best part of 30-years, but do you know how the globally adored league materialised?
During the 1980s there was a lot of talk of an English ‘super league‘ in which only the elite clubs would participate. In 1992 the chairmen of the ‘big five‘ clubs, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, met with then managing director of London Weekend Television, Greg Dyke, to discuss the possibility of forming a breakaway league.
The reasoning behind this new league was to allow clubs to receive a much larger share of the TV rights money and to provide a platform for fans to watch the top teams in England from their own homes on a regular basis. In the end, Sky won the bid to show the live games for the new Premier League and football in England as we know it has never been the same since.
Who are the ever-present Premier League teams?
Since the first-ever Premier League season in 1992 all the way through to the 2020/21 campaign, only six teams have remained ever-present. Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Everton are those clubs and in this article, we are going to look at how each of these ever-present teams of the Premier League era have performed over the years.
Arsenal
The Gunners finished 10th in the inaugural Premier League season but managed to keep their fans happy by lifting the League and FA Cup. Arsenal claimed their first Premier League title in the 1997/98 campaign under the guidance of Arsen Wenger who also claimed the FA Cup that season. Three runners-up finishes followed but the Gunners won another league title along with the FA Cup in 2001/02 but finished second once against the following season. The 2003/04 campaign saw Arsenal create Premier League history as they became the first team to win the title without losing a single match. The Gunners haven't won a Premier League title since then but have had a gluttony of 3rd and 4th place finishes and even finished runners-up in 2015/16, but recent years have seen them finish 5th, 6th and last season 8th.
Premier League wins: 3
Chelsea
Chelsea finished in 11th place in three of the opening four Premier League seasons and it wasn't until the 1996/97 campaign that they achieved anything noteworthy. A 6th place finish and an FA Cup win in 1997 saw the start of Chelsea's Premier League revival as the club claimed 4th spot and the League Cup a year later. Chelsea remained in the top six through to their first Premier League win in 2004/05 and returned to lift the title for a second time 12-months later. After going 3-years without a league win, Chelsea returned to the top of the table in 2009/10 and again in 2014/15 and 2016/17, establishing themselves as one of the most successful sides in Premier League history.
Premier League wins: 5
Everton
Despite being one of the ‘big five' teams when the Premier League was formed Everton have struggled to establish themselves amongst the top teams. Bottom half finishes in each of the opening three Premier League campaigns set the tone for the Toffees, with the 1993/94 season seeing the Merseysiders escape relegation on the final day. The 1994/95 season saw them lift the FA Cup under Jow Royal who also guided the club to their first top-half finish (6th) in the following season. However, the next six campaigns all ended with bottom half finishes which included another final day of the season escape from relegation in 1998. Since David Moyes' appointment, Everton have claimed top-half finishes in 13 of their last 18 Premier League campaigns and achieved their highest-ever finish of 4th during the 2004/05 season. The Toffees are now under the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti and are set to move into a brand new stadium, making for a bright future for the blue half of Merseyside.
Premier League wins: 0
Liverpool
Liverpool have always finished in the top half of the Premier League table but never really challenged for the title until the 2001/02 season when they finished as runners-up to Arsenal. The Merseysiders finished in the top five in each of the next six seasons and claimed another 2nd place finish in 2008/09 but two 7th, one 6th and an 8th place finish followed before another runners-up campaign in 2013/14. The disappointment continued as Liverpool had to settle for another 2nd place finish in 2018/19 but last season Liverpool final ended their Premier League hoodoo as they ran away with the title in 2019/20, ending the tired old cliche of being a ‘cup side‘ during the Premier League era, and it will be interesting to see how many titles Liverpool can go on to claim with Klopp at the helm.
Premier League wins: 1
Manchester United
United have been a dominant force in the Premier League since day one, claiming the title in the first-ever season. Fergie's men returned to claim the title again the following season but had to settle for second spot in 1995. This only seemed to spur Manchester United on as they secured back to back league titles in 1995.96 and 1996/97. Arsenal claimed the Premier League trophy in 1997/98 but United returned with a vengeance to win the title the next three seasons on the run. United finished third in 2001/02 but won the title again the following season before going three seasons without another win until they yet again claimed another three league wins on the run in 2006/07, 2007/08 and 2008/09. The last 10-years have been less successful despite United claiming the Premier League title twice more, in 2010/11 and 2012/13, with the club finishing as low as 7th in 2013/14 and going with a league title success in their last seven campaigns.
Premier League wins: 13
Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs finished 8th in their first Premier League campaign, finishing above arch-rivals Arsenal, and saw striker Teddy Sheringham claimed the Golden Boot with 22 goals. The Londoners have been regular European qualifiers, whether that be the Intertoto Cup, UEFA Cup/Europa League, or the Champions League during the Premier League era. However, Spurs never looked like challenging for the Premier League title until the 2015/16 season when they finished in their highest position of 3rd and went one step further the following campaign with a 2nd place finish but slipped back to 3rd in the 2017/18 season. Jose Mourinho is now in charge at White Hart Lane and with Premier League titles under his belt, it will be interesting to see if the ‘special one‘ can work his magic and finally claim Tottenham's first Premier League title.
Premier League wins: 0