The Premier League is the pinnacle of European club football. This has been a fact for a while now. For almost two decades the English first tier of football has been the competition that draws the top players, the most viewers, and of course most money.
The latter is what made it so good due to the equal distribution of TV rights and high sponsorship rates. But, not all clubs in this league are created out of identical cloth.
Those that have dominated the competition which was established in the early 90s are named the Big Six of English games. If you haven’t heard of them by now we are talking about Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester City.
The reason for belonging to this exclusive group is not only tied to the on-field success but also to the prestige and the financial prowess of the owners. While the latter matters in today’s football more than ever, the trophy cabinet still speaks volumes of one’s success. That’s why we’re going to talk about the times when each of these teams managed to lift the famed Premier League Trophy.
Manchester City
We are going to start with the most dominant club of the last ten years in England. City gained traction with their new owners from the Middle East in the early 2010s and never looked back. Today, they have seven Premier League titles all of them won since 2008 when the Abu Dhabi owners took over. Their last one was a product of dominant display during the 2022/2023 season.
The first success happened in 2011. You can expect many more to go their way considering they have Pep Guardiola at the helm and superstars such as Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Julian Alvarez. Even at the moment, Man City is the favorite to win the PL with outlets such as oddschecker.com favoring them to win the whole thing once again.
Manchester United
When it comes to the Premier League and the Big Six, Manchester United is the most massive club in the bunch. The sad thing is that their glory days are long forgotten even by the hardcore fans. The entire history of United in the Premier League is tied to the reign of Sir Alex Ferguson.
So, it’s no wonder that the Red Devils haven’t managed to sniff the title race since the glory days of the red-nosed Scotsman. The last title by the Man UTD came back in the 2012/2013 season on the backs of Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Rio Ferdinand, and the Serbian rock Nemanja Vidic. In the meantime, a decade has passed and United hasn’t come close to winning a title.
With them comfortably sitting 13 points behind Liverpool this year they have no chance of winning the trophy at all for the 2023/24 season. Will the glory days go back again? Who knows. But at the moment things do not look so good.
Arsenal
Arsenal is another team from this group who failed to mount a serious titled challenge in years. Yes, one could argue that they had a nice chance just last season, but it was seen as destiny that the Gunners would bottle their opportunity. They’re close to the top this year, but nothing is guaranteed with little less than half a season remaining on the schedule.
Their best years came and went by under the supervision of the French maestro Arsene Wenger. Arsenal last won the PL in 2003 after The Invincibles season. After going undefeated through 38 games no one would have expected that Arsenal wouldn’t have won the competition for two decades.
Chelsea
The primary reason why Arsenal failed to win any silverware in the league for two decades is the insurgence of Chelsea. Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003 and altered the landscape of English football forever. In the last twenty years, Chelsea was the most successful English club managing to win the league on multiple occasions, pairing it with a few Champions League trophies.
Despite their current transitional phase, which suggests they won’t be competing for the title anytime soon, Chelsea boasted the talent of Christian Pulisic for several seasons, adding depth to their squad. Their last successful season came in 2016/17 under the guidance of Antonio Conte.
Liverpool
While historically seen as one of the biggest clubs in Great Britain, Liverpool wasn’t as successful in the age of the Premier League as before it. In fact, they have waited for their last title for 30 years. They finally managed to break the spell in 2019/2020.
While they were a constant threat in the era of Jurgen Klopp they were unlucky to have one of the strongest teams of modern game in Man City competing with them. In the meantime, they have managed to win a couple of European trophies here and there keeping them on the football map.
This year, they are at the top once again having to go against Pep and his City team. One could argue that we haven’t had a more interesting title race than we’re having this year in a while, making the competition justify its name as the world’s best football competition.
Tottenham Hotspur
We are going to wrap up our tale on the Big Six of the English game with Tottenham Hotspur. They are last on this list for one simple reason – they haven’t won the Premier League title yet. Their best chance was a few years ago when Leicester City beat them to it in a once-in-a-lifetime title race. But, that’s behind us, and Tottenham has plenty to look forward to.
As far as finances go they are one of the best, if not the best led teams in the world. Spurs have a new stadium and are playing a fun type of football led by Big Ange. Nobody should be surprised if they manage to mount a serious title charge in the next few years and win the whole thing. In the meantime their trophy cabinet is empty.
Summary
Premier League is a modern and premium football competition that relies a lot on its glorious past and tradition. That’s why we have the so-called Big Six topping the league year in and year out.
Of course, these places are up for grabs as teams such as Newcastle United and Aston Villa lurk looking to break the wheel on the PL dominance by the Big Six making them one of them in the process.