Every Top Flight Club's Best Premier League Season
By Charlie Stewart
The new Premier League season is just a month away, and we can hardly wait.
It promises to be an exciting campaign, with many sides hoping to close the gap on last season's runaway leaders Liverpool.
Here are the best ever Premier League campaigns from all of next season's top flight clubs.
1. Arsenal - 2003/04
Arsenal's 2003/04 side is one of the most iconic and recognisable teams in Premier League history.
The Gunners scored the most goals and conceded the fewest as they dominated the 2003/04 season - finishing 11 points clear of Chelsea in second place and not losing a single game all season.
Thierry Henry strolled to the Golden Boot, scoring 30, and Arsene Wenger's side were awarded a special golden trophy to commemorate the first Premier League side to win a league title without defeat.
2. Aston Villa - 1992/93
The 1992/93 season may seem bizarre to younger readers, with a top five that featured Aston Villa, Norwich, Blackburn, and QPR.
In the inaugural Premier League season, Aston Villa finished second, behind only Manchester United.
Dean Saunders and Dalian Atkinson scored 13 and 11 respectively, while a 21-year-old Dwight Yorke was beginning to make his name.
But the standout player for the Villans was veteran defender Paul McGrath, who finished the season with the PFA Player of the Year award - one of only three defenders to win the prize in the Premier League era.
3. Brighton and Hove Albion - 2019/20
The last season may not seem so spectacular for the Seagulls, but it is statistically the highest finish in their history.
In their third season of top flight football, Brighton finished in 15th place, accumulating 41 points. Summer signing Neal Maupay proved to be a hit, finishing as the club's top scorer with ten.
4. Burnley - 2017/18
While Sean Dyche's methods may not be glamorous, they certainly are effective, and this was proven by Burnley's 2017/18 season.
The Clarets began their season with an incredible statement, racing into a shock 3-0 first half lead against title holders Chelsea on the opening day.
And they did not stop there. Burnley ended the season in seventh place - sealing qualification for European football for the first time since 1967.
5. Chelsea - 2004/05
Jose Mourinho made an immediate impact at Stamford Bridge, proclaiming himself as "a special one" in his first press conference.
And it's fair to say he backed up his confidence with results.
Chelsea set a then-record of 95 points, losing just once all season.
What was perhaps more impressive was the defence. In his debut season, summer signing Petr Cech conceded just 15 goals all season and kept an astonishing 25 clean sheets.
6. Crystal Palace - 2014/15
Crystal Palace's 2014/15 season did not get off to the best of starts. Under Neil Warnock, the Eagles found themselves in 18th place after winning just three from their first 20 fixtures.
But then along came Alan Pardew.
Despite his reputation, the former Palace midfielder did an excellent job of turning around their fortunes - winning ten of the last 18 games as they finished tenth.
7. Everton - 2004/05
Champions League qualification has always been something that Everton have always aimed for, and they came closest to sealing it in the 2004/05 season.
David Moyes managed to guide his side into the top four - finishing three points ahead of arch rivals Liverpool. Australian legend Tim Cahill finished as the Toffees' top scorer in his debut season at Goodison Park, bagging 11 league goals.
Their Champions League campaign was short-lived, however, as they were knocked out by Villarreal in the qualifying rounds.
8. Fulham - 2008/09
The highlight of Fulham's history is undoubtedly their run to the Europa League final in 2010, and none of it would've happened had it not been for their 2008/09 season.
With the meanest defence outside of the top three, Roy Hodgson's men finished in seventh place - an incredible achievement given that they had stayed up on goal difference just a year earlier.
9. Leeds United - 1999/00
For Leeds, the beginning of the Premier League came a year too late. The Yorkshire side won their last top flight title in the 1991/92 season - one year before the Premier League era.
Their best finish in the new era came in the 1999/00 season, as they secured Champions League qualification with a third place finish under manager David O'Leary.
In his debut season at Elland Road, English forward Michael Bridges finished as the club's top scorer, netting 19 times in the league and finishing only behind Kevin Phillips, Alan Shearer, and Dwight Yorke in the Prem's goalscoring charts.
10. Leicester City - 2015/16
One of the biggest underdog stories in sporting history, Leicester's 2015/16 season was nothing short of miraculous.
After the departures of manager Nigel Pearson and veteran Argentine Esteban Cambiasso, not much was expected of the Foxes.
However, they laid down a marker immediately with back-to-back wins against Sunderland and West Ham in the opening two games, and never looked back.
Jamie Vardy set a new record after scoring in 11 consecutive games, and relatively unknown summer signing N'Golo Kante was establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in the league.
Claudio Ranieri's side finished ten points clear of Arsenal in second place, while Riyad Mahrez scooped the PFA Player of the Year award.
11. Liverpool - 2019/20
If you'd told any football fan in 1990 that Liverpool wouldn't win another league title for 30 years, they'd have laughed at you. The Reds were the dominant force in the 70s and 80s - going trophy-less just once in the 18 seasons prior to the Premier League's inception.
After several near misses, the title drought was ended in style, as Jurgen Klopp's side walked to first place.
With 99 points and the best defensive record in the league, Liverpool finished 18 points clear of Manchester City in second and established themselves as one of the best Premier League sides of all time.
12. Manchester City - 2017/18
Manchester City have had immense success in the past decade, and their best season undoubtedly came in 2017/18.
City raced into an unassailable lead right from the start, winning 19 of their first 20 games while breaking all sorts of records.
Pep Guardiola's side ended the season as the only team to hit 100 points in the Premier League, as well as scoring the most goals in a single season with 106.
13. Manchester United - 1999/00
While the treble season may be more memorable, it was the season after which saw Manchester United record their best ever Premier League points total.
From the second week of the season onward, the Red Devils remained in the top three and had first place locked down from February.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side finished the season on 91 points - 18 clear of Arsenal in second, and their highest tally in a 38-game Premier League season (they got 92 points from 42 games in 93/94).
On top of this, United scored 97 league goals, which is their highest number since 1960. Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke got 39 between them.
14. Newcastle United - 1995/96
The 1995/96 season was the first Premier League campaign to be 38 games long instead of 42. Newcastle fans will wish that they had the extra four games.
The Magpies ended the season four points off champions United, despite holding a 12-point lead over the Red Devils at one point in February.
A run of five defeats in eight, including an enthralling 4-3 loss at Anfield which inspired a piece of iconic Martin Tyler commentary, allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's side to leapfrog Kevin Keegan's Newcastle and claim the trophy.
Les Ferdinand won the PFA Player of the Year award thanks to the 25 goals he scored in his debut season at St James' Park.
15. Sheffield United - 2019/20
At the beginning of the season, Sheffield United were favourites for relegation. With a squad that lacked recognisable names and top flight experience, experts and fans wrote off the Blades from the beginning.
Chris Wilder's side made all these people look stupid, as they cruised through the 2019/20 season. The Blades never dropped below 15th all season, and even contested for a European place before eventually settling in ninth spot.
Their achievements resulted in a huge boost to the reputation of manager Chris Wilder, who had taken over at Sheffield United when they were in League One just four seasons earlier.
16. Southampton - 2015/16
After finishing seventh a year earlier, Ronald Koeman managed to build on his success at St Mary's with a sixth place finish in 2015/16.
With the help of new recruit Virgil van Dijk from Celtic, the Saints ended with the fifth-best defensive record in the league.
The highlight of the season for Southampton may well have been the 1-0 win at Old Trafford, which was sealed with a late goal by Charlie Austin on his debut.
17. Tottenham - 2016/17
One glance at the 2016/17 table makes you wonder how Tottenham didn't win the league that season. They scored the most goals, conceded the fewest, and won 12 of their last 13 games.
Furthermore, Harry Kane won his second consecutive Golden Boot with 29 goals - despite missing eight games through injury - and Dele Alli notched a further 18 from midfield and scooped the Young Player of the Year award.
Yet somehow this was not enough, as Spurs finished seven points behind Antonio Conte's Chelsea.
18. West Bromwich Albion - 2012/13
Jose Mourinho's former assistant Steve Clarke had a tough job on his hands when he took over from Roy Hodgson, following his departure from the Hawthorns to manage the English national team.
But the results from Clarke were impressive. With the help of Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku, West Brom played attractive football as they found the net 53 times - their second-highest total in a single Premier League season.
The Baggies had challenged for European football for most of the season, finding themselves as high as third in November. Their second half of the season was less impressive, however, and they settled in eighth place.
19. West Ham United - 1998/99
West Ham's 1998/99 squad boasted an array of talent, with superstars such as Paolo Di Canio, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand, and Ian Wright. It's no wonder that they managed to finish fifth ithat campaign.
Despite having the lowest goal difference of anyone outside the bottom six, Harry Redknapp's side managed to accumulate 57 points, securing qualification for the Intertoto Cup.
20. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 2019/20
Since their promotion in 2018, Nuno Espirito Santo's men have gone from strength to strength, and their most recent season proves that.
Wolves finished in seventh place for the second season in a row - this time with two more points than the previous campaign.
Wolves' achievements were furthered by an impressive run in the Europa League which saw them reach the quarter-finals.