The top flight of English football, what is now known as the Premier League, started back in the 1992-1993 season. Over the last 33 season, and now into the 34th season, the Premier League has produced a lot of excitement and drama for fans all around the world.
In today’s article, we take a look at some high-level facts of the English Premier League’s history. Keep reading below, as we’re sure there are some interesting tidbits that you’ll learn today.
To note, the remaining information presented in this article is from the 1992-1993 season up until the end of last season, 2024-2025. As of the time of writing this article, it is November 2025; there is no data included from the current 2025-2026 season.
The 51 Clubs of the Premier League — From Ever-Presents to One-Season Wonders
Clubs that have played every season
For starters, there have been 51 different clubs in the English Premier League. Of those 51 clubs, only 6 have managed to play in the Premier League every single season. Those clubs include:
- Manchester United
- Liverpool
- Tottenham
- Arsenal
- Chelsea
- Everton
Of the six clubs that have played in every season of England’s top flight football, only Tottenham and Everton have not won the Premier League. Tottenham’s highest finish was second in the 2016-2017 season. Everton’s highest finish was fourth in the 2004-2005 season.
Newcastle United and Aston Villa are no strangers to England’s top football division, with both clubs playing in 30 seasons in the Premier League. That is followed by West Ham and Manchester City, who have played in 29 and 28 seasons respectively.
Clubs with the Fewest Premier League Appearances
At the other end of the spectrum, there are four clubs (of the 51 total) who have only played in one season of the Premier League. Promoted one season and relegated next season to never return again, at least so far. These clubs include:
- Swindon Town (1993-1994)
- Barnsley (1997-1998)
- Blackpool (2010-2011)
- Luton Town (2023-2024)
There are four clubs, Oldham Athletic, Bradford City, Cardiff City and Huddersfield who have played in two Premier League seasons. Surprisingly, Cardiff City is the only club of those four who didn’t have both of their seasons in the Premier League back-to-back.
Cardiff played in 2013-2014 Premier League season, were relegated and didn’t return again until the 2018-2019 season, at which point they were again relegated at the end of the season.
Premier League Champions: Who Has Lifted the Trophy?
Over the 33 completed Premier League seasons to date, there have been 7 different champions. While it is no surprise that Manchester United has been crowned as the Premier League champions the greatest number of times, can you remember the remaining 6 clubs who have won England’s top division?
They include:
- Manchester United – 13x Premier League Champions
- Manchester City – 8x Premier League Champions
- Chelsea – 5x Premier League Champions
- Arsenal – 3x Premier League Champions
- Liverpool – 2x Premier League Champions
- Blackburn – 1x Premier League Champions
- Leicester City – 1x Premier League Champions
A graph can be seen below to show a visual of United’s dominance over the Premier League since its inception.
Manchester United’s Premier League Dominance
It is without a doubt that Manchester United have dominated the Premier League since its inception. They have won 13 titles, which is 5 more than any other club (City). Those 13 titles mean they have won the Premier League about 39% of season, which is a staggering number.
However, United haven’t won a Premier League title since the Sir Alex Ferguson era has ended. In fact, the last time United won the Premier League was in the 2012-2013 season, which is over 12 seasons ago now.
United’s league ranking over all 33 seasons of the Premier League can be seen in the graph below.
The graph outlines the tremendous glory they had in throughout the earlier years of the Premier League but also the significant struggles they have had more recently, which resulted in a 15th place finish in the 24-25 season, an all-time low.
Manchester City’s Modern Era of Success
Conversely, if you look at Manchester City who have the second highest number of Premier League titles, the picture is quite different. As graphed below, all of City’s Premier League wins have come in the last 14 seasons, where they have been routinely competing for the title, never falling below 4th position.
To note, the blank parts of the graph starting in the 96-97 season is when City was relegated from the Premier League.
Premier League Points Trends: Winners vs. Last Place Clubs
Finally, we’re going to focus on the points tally for both the winning club and the last place club over the life of English Premier League.
How Often do Clubs Reach 90+ Points?
Over the last 33 seasons, England’s top football division has only had the winning team reach 90 or more points on 12 occasions.
Interestingly enough, Manchester United have only reached over 90-points on 3 different occasions (93-94, 99-00, 08-09), while Manchester City have done it 4 times (17-18, 18-19, 21-22, 23-24).
The remaining clubs who have won the league with 90+ points include Chelsea (04-05, 05-06, 16-17), Liverpool (19-20), and Arsenal (03-04).
On the whole, the number of points the Premier League champion has earned is trending upwards season after season. While there are peaks and troughs as evident in the graph below, the total point tally is increasing as can be seen in the linear trendline on the graph (up and to the right).
Additionally, it should be noted that the 17-18 season is the only season in the Premier League history in which a club has scored 100-points or more. Manchester City scored exactly 100-points that season, meaning they only dropped 14 points out of 114 total possible points.
Liverpool came close in the 19-20 season when they scored 99-points.
To note, Arsenal is the only team to ever go a whole season without losing a match. In the 03-04 season, Arsenal won league with 90 points, finishing with 26 wins and 12 draws.
However, on two occasions clubs have come close to joining Arsenal.
In 04-05 Chelsea had just one loss (and won the league) with 29 wins and 8 draws. And in 18-19, Liverpool had just one loss, 30 wins, 7 draws and finished on 97 points but ended in second place after Manchester City won the Premier League with one extra point (98-points, 32 wins, 2 draws, 4 losses).
Premier League Clubs with the Lowest Points Tally
At the other end of the spectrum is the points tally for the club that ranks in the last place for each Premier League season. The highest point tally for the last place team was 40 points, which was Nottingham Forest in the 92-93 season.
However, we should note that back then there were 22 teams in the Premier League, so each club had an additional four matches per season (42 matches total). So, Forest might not have scored has many points if they were on the standard 38-match season which the Premier League is now known for.
It wasn’t until the 95-96 season that the rules changed, only allowing 20 teams in the Premier League. It has remained that way ever since.
The lowest points tally ever recorded was by Derby County in the 07-08 season, in which they earned just 11-points (1-win, 8-draws, 29-losses). And in the most recent season that just passed, 24-25, Southampton finished with12-points (2-wins, 6-draws, 30-losses) and came close to tying Derby for the lost points tally ever.
However, in that 24-25 season, Southampton’s 30-losses gave them the record for the most losses in a single Premier League season.
In total, there have only been 7 times in the Premier League history when the losing club has registered a points tally of less than 20-points.
As can be seen in the graph below, the points tally for the losing club continues to trend downward (opposite that of the winning club). The top clubs continue to get better and better, while the losing clubs continue to fall short.
It will be interesting to look back in another decade to see if this trend continues or as clubs continue to be bought by wealthy owners, will there be less of a gap between the best and worst clubs in the Premier League?
Summary: Three Decades of Premier League Drama
Well, that’s it for this article. In this post, we took a look at the last 33-years of England’s top football division. Since the 92-93 season, the top flight of English football has been known as the English Premier League. Which in the last decade or two, is arguably the best domestic football league in the World in regards to skill, physicality, and commercial appeal.
In total, there have been 51 clubs who have played in the Premier League, 6 of which who have played in every single season since 92-93. However, there are only 4 clubs who have only played in the Premier League one season.
The Premier League has been won by 7 different clubs, in which Manchester United holds the record with 13 titles. Manchester City hold the highest points tally at 100 points, the only team to ever crack 100-points in a single season. While Derby County hold the record for the fewest points ever recorded in a season with 11.
What are your thoughts on the history of the Premier League? Are there any facts presented in this article that surprised you? Did you know that there have been 51 different clubs play in the Premier League and are there any guesses for who the 52nd club might be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Stay tuned for future posts and please send us a message if there is a specific topic you would like to see covered. Additionally, if you have any ideas on how we can improve these articles, please send them our way too.
As always, thanks for taking the time to read these posts!
JC
All data in this article is from fbref.com so, thanks to them!
Main photo by Benjamin Elliott on Unsplash