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The 40 Biggest Clubs In England Have Been Named And Ranked

The 40 Biggest Clubs In England Have Been Named And Ranked

The ultimate debate has been decisively answered (probably).

Alex Reid

Alex Reid

The 40 biggest clubs in the English football system have been ranked by their size, revealing a clear No 1 - twice as big as their nearest rivals.

The Athletic undertook this mammoth task, rating teams on eight categories: Crowds, Global Fanbase, Major Trophies, Recent Major Trophies, League Finishes, Player Quality and Commercial Revenue.

Manchester United finished well clear in first place with a points tally of 12 (the lower the better), with Liverpool were a distant second on 24. Chelsea pipped Arsenal - historically London's biggest team - to third spot, while Manchester City came fifth above Tottenham.

Everton, one of England's traditional big five, were only strong enough for joint eighth place alongside Wolves and below Newcastle.

West Brom fans may be as startled as anyone to see their club, very much a yo-yo team in the Premier League era, are apparently the 12th biggest club in England. Obviously there's a lot to unpack here.

First all credit to The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke who captained this study safe in the knowledge the list would later be torn apart and questioned by know-nothings. So here we go!

Tottenham fans will be delighted to know their club ranks first for Player Quality, while Manchester City finished fourth - below rivals Manchester United. Which is an interesting one.

Also West Ham finished above ninth-placed Liverpool in the Crowd category, which, well, we know the London Stadium is big. But that doesn't feel quite right at all.

Still, Man United romped home as they triumphed in Global Fanbase, Crowds, Commercial Revenue and Recent Major Trophies (last 20 years).

Yet Liverpool fans can probably feel content they are England's No 1 side when it comes to Major Trophies and Average League Finish. Which is sort of the point, some might argue.

Chelsea above Arsenal is also a controversial one. No doubt that Chelsea have a big edge in recent success and current financial muscle, but Arsenal are the bigger team in terms of historic honours and UK-based support.

So a lot to argue about - naturally - but The Athletic's full ranking of England's 40 biggest clubs is below.

1. Manchester United

2. Liverpool

3. Chelsea

4. Arsenal

5. Manchester City

6. Tottenham

7. Newcastle

8= Everton

8= Wolves

10. Aston Villa

11. Leicester

12. West Brom

13. Leeds

14. Sunderland

15. West Ham

16. Burnley

17. Sheffield United

18. Blackburn

19. Birmingham

20. Southampton

21. Middlesbrough

22. Stoke

23= Sheffield Wednesday

23= Nottingham Forest

23= Derby

26. Norwich

27. Huddersfield

28. Portsmouth

29. Fulham

30. Crystal Palace

31. QPR

32. Cardiff

33. Brighton

34. Charlton

35. Bristol City

36. Watford

37. Preston

38. Millwall

39. Coventry

40. Hull

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

All imagery: PA Images/The Athletic

Featured Image Credit:

Topics: Manchester City, Liverpool, Football News, Football Lists, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Everton, Arsenal