The battle to be the most successful football club in England is a storyline spanning decades, with fans arguing until they're blue in the face over the number of awards in the trophy cabinet.
Trophies are the currency of success in football – they are what so many conversations around the sport resort to.
At the start of each season, the football betting markets attempt to predict which teams will be adding to their trophy cabinet during the campaign. Of course, the favourites do not always prevail.
The most successful teams in England have had multiple periods of sustained success, some recent, others in generations past.
English Clubs With Most Trophies
Throughout the era of Premier League outright odds, the below list has evolved, as droughts have extended and clubs have bolstered their hardware collection.
A treble for Manchester City in 2022/23 saw the club edge closer to Chelsea's tally of 34 major honours and it is surely only a matter of time until the Citizens take fourth place on the list.
Here are the most successful football clubs in England, according to this list of major honours - though many argue that some of the competitions should not be counted in such standings…
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Three times winners of the First Division in the 1950s, it is a long time since Wolves were competing at the top of English football, but that is not to downplay the club’s history.
They have played in eight FA Cup finals, winning half of them, and lifted the League Cup in 1974 and 1980.
Over the last few decades, Wolves have been something of a yoyo club, enduring several stints outside the topflight. They returned to Premier League predictions in 2018, however, and even had a Europa League jaunt in 2019-20.
Nottingham Forest
It is no secret the majority of Nottingham Forest’s hardware was accumulated during the glory years under the incomparable Brian Clough.
Forest were domestic champions in 1977-78, and added consecutive European Cups in a period which made them one of the competition’s most influential sides.
Such a spell forever cements Forest’s berth among England’s biggest clubs. A prolonged outside the Premier League came to an end in 2022 thanks to the leadership of Steve Cooper.
Newcastle United
Newcastle won the Intertoto Cup in 2006 and the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup back in 1968-69, but they have not lifted major silverware since the 1954-55 FA Cup.
This is a club loyally and loudly supported, yet their trophy tally has been stuck in the mud. Given their new financial position, we could see Newcastle add to their tally in the coming years.
New ownership is looking to change that. The Magpies have had to play the role of bridesmaids over the last few years, with numerous runners-up finishes since 1955.
Everton
Nine-time champions of England and five-time winners of the FA Cup, Everton have a history of success.
The Premier League era hasn’t always been kind to the Toffees, and they are have been through a difficult last few years, but they are evidently one of the most successful English clubs.
Everton’s most recent silverware was lifting the FA Cup in 1995. How long will the blue half of Merseyside be waiting for their next trophy?
Aston Villa
Aston Villa topped this list from the end of the 19th century through to the 1960s and they are the team of several famous football fans, including Tom Hanks and Prince William.
The groundwork was done in the 1890s with a collection of league titles and FA Cups. Villa have only won the topflight once since 1910.
In the early 1980s, however, the Villains became just the fourth English team to lift the European Cup and followed it up with the European Super Cup a year later.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham have twice won the First Division and lifted the UEFA Cup on two occasions. Despite only a couple of league crowns, the Lilywhites completed an historic double in 1961.
Only two teams (Arsenal and Manchester United) can better their tally of eight FA Cups at the time of writing.
Spurs have only won a couple of trophies since 1991, but have a few near-misses to their name with a Champions League final appearance and a few seasons of legitimate Premier League contention.
Chelsea
Just like City, Chelsea have an ownership change to thank for their fourth place here. The Blues had one league title, three FA Cups and two League Cups when Roman Abramovich took over.
Those numbers now read seven, eight and five with a quarter of European trophies for good measure. Can the Blues get back to the top of English football in the coming years?
Chelsea’s success has not been the smoothest with regular managerial changes and squad overhauls, but the Blues have a knack for lifting trophies even in seemingly disappointing campaigns.
Manchester City
It speaks to the impact of Manchester City’s current owners that they are up to joint-fourth on this list.
Seven of their nine league titles have been won since 2012, and the same goes for their League Cup haul. City, of course, completed the domestic treble in 2018-19.
City have enjoyed a sustained period of dominance, setting records on a regular basis and they completed the true treble in 2023 after winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Those glories opened up further opportunities for silverware, with Pep Guardiola’s team picking up the UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup in late 2023. In 2024, they added a fourth successive Premier League title and in doing so, became the team to win the most English titles in a row.
Their relentless collection of trophies suggests they will continue to climb this list throughout the 2020s and more European glory could be on the cards in the not-so-distant future.
Arsenal
There is an argument Arsenal have had the most sustained success in the history of English football.
Since their first league title in 1931, the Gunners have been champions of England in every decade apart from the 1960s and 2010s. They also have the most FA Cup wins and final appearances (14 and 21).
Despite the invincible peak reached under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal have not generally been quite as prolific as others. The Emirates faithful will be hoping that changes under Mikel Arteta in the coming years.
Manchester United
Much is made of Manchester United knocking Liverpool off their perch for the most league titles.
The Red Devils still have the most topflight crowns in English football with 20, but they have been overtaken by their bitter northwest rivals in total trophy count.
United are 20-time league winners, 13-time FA Cup winners and three-time Champions of Europe.
Under Jose Mourinho, they became the fifth club ever to achieve the ‘European Treble’, and completely dominated the English game across the 1990s and 2000s.
Liverpool
Liverpool extended their lead atop the list of the most successful football clubs in England with an extra-time victory over Chelsea in the 2024 Carabao Cup final.
The Reds have been Champions of Europe on six occasions (three more than any other English club) and have 19 league titles to their name.
First enjoying success at the start of the 20th century, Liverpool accumulated more silverware over the following decades before becoming the force of English football in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Jurgen Klopp era has brought further glory to the red half of Merseyside, with the end of their league title drought and a sixth Champions League.
In Klopp’s final season, how much more silverware will the country’s most successful club add to their collection?
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