The 5 Best Squads Ever to Play in the Premier League

There can be no denying Manchester City were the deserved winners of the 2017/18 Premier League title.  Not only did they win the league, they did it in style, playing some fantastic football and ending the season on 100 points.

Pep Guardiola’s team finished with 106 goals to their name, 19 points ahead of 2nd placed Manchester United and with 22 more points than Liverpool, who have been praised this season for their excellent attacking play.  Not only that, Manchester City conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League, finishing with a plus 79 goal difference.

Therefore, it is little wonder many fans of football, including the contributors of this recent article on the Betway blog, have lauded the 2017/18 Manchester City team as being up there with the best we have seen since the league was formed in 1992.

Statistically speaking, the newly crowned Premier League champions certainly seem to be the best ever to play in the league.  They won more points, scored more goals, had the best goal difference, won by the greatest margin and picked up the most wins of any title winning team to date.

Yes, this was a manager and group of players put together at huge cost but throwing money at a team does not guarantee success and the way Manchester City have played this season has been superb.

 

 

However, they have lost games, including a defeat at Anfield against Liverpool and at home to local rivals Manchester United.  This is perhaps their one main failing of the season and why the Arsenal team of 2003/04 is regarded by many as being the best to every play in the Premier League.

That was the only time since the turn of the 19th century a team has gone the whole season without tasting defeat.  The defence must take huge credit as this is where many long undefeated runs are based but Arsenal were an incredible attacking force, with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp forging a great partnership up-front.  Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg also had major roles to play from wide midfield and Sol Campbell was the key man at the back.

To go a full Premier League season unbeaten, along with other commitments in the domestic cups and Europe, is a phenomenal achievement and one we may not see again for a very long time.

When assessing Manchester City’s point haul for this season, one cannot help but look back at the Chelsea squad of 2004/05.  This was Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge at Stamford Bridge and the defensive quality of the team was astounding as they went on to set the record for the highest points total of 95 prior to the 100 achieved by Manchester City this season.

Claude Makelele was the fulcrum of this team and allowed the forwards to break with freedom while providing cover to the defence when necessary. Chelsea conceded only 15 goals in winning the title that season, keeping 25 clean sheets in the process.  For those who enjoy the defensive side of the game, this Chelsea team was a masterclass.

When discussing the 5 best squads to every play in the Premier League, it is impossible to ignore Manchester United.  The Red Devils tasted great success under Sir Alex Ferguson and two squads in particular come to mind, starting with the 2007/08 team.

This is a team who had a bit of everything, a top goalkeeper in Edwin van der Sar, the central defensive partnership of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic plus Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez further forward.

Ferguson came into his own with his tactical brilliance throughout the season and while Manchester United only finished 2 points clear of Chelsea, they went on to lift the Champions League.

Finally, we come to the 1998/99 Manchester United squad who swept all before them at home and abroad.  They finished above Arsenal to win the Premier League title on the final day of the season, coming from a goal behind to defeat Tottenham 2-1 on the final day of the campaign.  A 2-1 win over Newcastle United in the FA Cup followed before the dramatic injury time victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final.

It was the first time in history an English team had completed the treble and with the level of competition so high in the Premier League and Champions League now, we may never see the likes of it again.

Chelsea fans may feel they have another squad who should be included in the list and Leicester City produced the biggest upset we have seen in years to win the title in 2016/16.  However, the 5 squads mentioned above must be considered the best ever to play in the Premier League.

Nearly 13 Years Have Passed and Michael Owen is Still NUFC’s Record Signing

Michael Owen became the most expensive signing in the history of Newcastle United Football Club when he joined for a fee of around £16 million in the summer of 2005.

Many predicted this transfer would help Newcastle in becoming a force in English football, and a club who would spend whatever was necessary to attract the best players and push for major honours. But, almost thirteen years have passed, and Owen remains the most expensive player in the history of Newcastle United Football Club.

As transfer fees throughout football have grown exponentially, clubs have been forced to spend more in order to keep themselves in with a chance of cutting it among the best teams domestically and across Europe.

Unfortunately for the loyal fans of Newcastle United, their club’s failure to make those big marquee signings could be the reason why they are no longer thought of as one of the big boys in English football.

History of NUFC’s Transfer Record

When Harry Clifton joined Newcastle from Chesterfield for a fee of £8,500 in 1938, the club broke their transfer record which had stood for ten years. This length of time between Newcastle breaking their transfer record was itself a record until 2016.

In the summer of 2015, it was ten years since Owen had become Newcastle’s record signing and that equalled the time between Jack Hill and Harry Clifton. In 2016, the previous record was broken and this summer it will be thirteen years without the club breaking its record transfer fee.

Newcastle had gotten close to matching the previous time between breaking their transfer record, with it being nine years between Alan Shearer and Michael Owen. Which was surprising, considering they broke their transfer record seven times between 1993 and 1996.

Andy Cole became the first million-pound player in the club’s history when he signed for £1.75m in 1993. A year later, Ruel Fox and Darren Peacock both broke the record within a month of each other, and a year later Warren Barton and Les Ferdinand were also record breakers.

Faustino Asprilla was signed for £6.7m in February 1996, but his record fee was shattered when Shearer joined the club before the start of the 1996/97 season. The £8.3m difference was a rise of 123.88% on the previous record fee paid out.

Michael Owen’s transfer fee was over £1m more than what the club paid for Shearer nine years earlier and still remains as Newcastle’s record signing, much to the dismay of the Toon Army.

The Rise of Transfer Fees Since 2005

When Owen joined Newcastle in 2005, his fee was nowhere near as much as the British or World record at the time.

The British record transfer fee was £29.1m paid by Manchester United for Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United in 2002. The world record fee was £46.6m for Zinedine Zidane, who joined Real Madrid from Juventus for that fee in 2001.

Since then, both of these records have been shattered several times and currently stand at £198m for the world record fee and £89.7m for the British record. That £89.7m is the record fee paid out by a British club, which was achieved when Paul Pogba joined Manchester United in July 2016.

However, the overall British transfer record is the £105m Barcelona paid to Liverpool for Philippe Coutinho in January 2018.

Taking football inflation into account, the approximate £16m paid for Owen would equate to around £80m in the market today, according to a recent Betway blog post.

Three Iconic Former NUFC Players and How Much They Would Be Worth in Today’s Transfer Market

Newcastle in the Transfer Market Since 2005

Newcastle have spent money in the transfer market since signing Owen, with three of their top five most expensive players in history being signed in 2015.

However, taking the fact that Owen would be worth around £80m in the market today and he’s still their record signing, shows that the club have spent nowhere near enough to keep up with their rivals.

Newcastle’s most expensive signing since Owen joined the club is Georginio Wijnaldum, who cost £14.5m from PSV in July 2015, and there have also been several players signed for around £12/£13m.

Nobody expects Newcastle to be spending as much as the £80m Owen would reportedly be worth today, but their failure to bring in a marquee signing and at least keep up with most other bottom-half Premier League teams is a big worry for their fans.

Only five Premier League clubs have a lower record transfer fee than Newcastle, with even historically tight spenders Crystal Palace and Leicester City having records nearing £30m.

When Owen signed for Newcastle, the club were hoping to push on and constantly challenge for at least a top-six position. Now, they are in the bottom half of the table having last year been playing in the Championship.

Their failure to keep up with other clubs in the transfer market could be the main reason why they haven’t fulfilled the promise they showed and why they haven’t gone on to become a force in English football.

The Premier League weekend of derbies

This weekend is set to be one of the most exciting in the 2017-18 Premier League season. Whilst the Merseyside derby is always an exciting fixture, the majority of people will be focused on Sunday’s Manchester derby instead. There are plenty of Betfair bets on Premier League you may want to consider placing this weekend, and the derbies are no

The Premier League action also kicks off with a London derby as David Moyes’ West Ham United take on defending champions Chelsea at the London

At the start of the season, most pundits and fans’ Premier League predictions had both Manchester City and Manchester United competing at the top of the table. While the two clubs occupy the top two positions in the table, Pep Guardiola’s side have already opened up an eight point lead at the top and have the opportunity go 11 points clear of their neighbours with a victory at Old Trafford this weekend. Manchester City have managed to gain this impressive advantage thanks to sensational performances from world class players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane. United players such as Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku have performed well for their club, but their inability to pick up a win away at other ‘Big 6’ clubs has led to City gaining a huge lead at the top of the

Both clubs have managed to afford these players thanks to the large sums of money they have available to spend. Since the Abu Dhabi takeover of Manchester City in 2008, both clubs have been spending large sums of money. It’s only been in the last few seasons where both clubs have increased their spending by regularly spending over £100 million in new players every season. The infographic below looks at the transfer spending of both clubs and the players they have spent it on in the past decade.

The Best London Clubs

 

London is home to some of the biggest and best football clubs in England, with at least two London clubs finishing in the top 4 of the Premier League in the past 15 seasons.

The defending Premier League champions are Chelsea, although one look at the Paddy Power football odds will tell you that the trophy is unlikely to make a return to Stamford Bridge at the end of this season, with Manchester City’s dominating displays seeing them take an early lead at the top of the table.

The likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and West Ham all have a rich history in English football and each have been home to some legendary players, from Sir Geoff Hurst to John Terry.

While Chelsea, Tottenham and Chelsea will be having hopes of getting into the top 4 at the end of the season, West Ham, under new manager David Moyes will be hoping the Scotsman can turn their fortunes around and take them up the table into a more respectable position.

We have created the following infographic which takes a look at these four London clubs and some of the interesting statistics behind them.