It’s probably the biggest argument among football fans today; who is bigger than who? Rival clubs across the country will claim to be a greater presence in the game than their mortal enemies but who really stands above the rest? Southampton or Portsmouth? Newcastle or Sunderland? Liverpool or Manchester United?

The rankings below are determined by points allocated based on historical success and support – the two main contributors to a club’s stature.

Point system

Seasons – 4 points for top flight season, 3 points for 2nd tier season, 1 point for 3rd tier season, 0 points for 4th tier or lower, 4 additional points for Champion’s League season and 3 additional points for Europa League season.

4 points for top flight season, 3 points for 2nd tier season, 1 point for 3rd tier season, 0 points for 4th tier or lower, 4 additional points for Champion’s League season and 3 additional points for Europa League season. Trophies – 10 points for top flight championship, 6 points for FA Cup win, 4 points for League Cup win, 12 points for Champion’s League win, 7 points for Europa League win, 4 points for 2nd tier title, 1 point for lower league title.

10 points for top flight championship, 6 points for FA Cup win, 4 points for League Cup win, 12 points for Champion’s League win, 7 points for Europa League win, 4 points for 2nd tier title, 1 point for lower league title. “Nearlies” – 4 points for FA Cup final appearance, 2 points for FA Cup semi-final appearance, 2 points for League Cup final appearance, 1 point for League Cup semi-final appearance, 7 points for Champion’s League second place.

4 points for FA Cup final appearance, 2 points for FA Cup semi-final appearance, 2 points for League Cup final appearance, 1 point for League Cup semi-final appearance, 7 points for Champion’s League second place. Fanbase- Average home attendances had been taken for every club since their inception. A combined attendance has been found to which each club’s record has been converted to a percentage. However, several people have complained that past attendances are now irrelevant and the only accurate measure of fanbase is current home attendance. As such the same method has been used but with average home attendances from the 2014–15 season. To ensure that history and support were measured equally; each club was allocated their percentage of 23,574 points (the total number of success points of all clubs).

Non-league clubs are not included in the ranking.

Rankings

*all data correct as of 20th June 2016

Rank Change from 2015 Club Pts 1 – Manchester United 2506 2 – Arsenal 2057 3 – Liverpool 1950 4 +1 Manchester City 1669 5 +1 Newcastle United 1551 6 -2 Chelsea 1492 7 – Everton 1466 8 – Aston Villa 1436 9 +1 Sunderland 1370 10 -1 Tottenham Hotspur 1308 11 +1 Leicester City 1074 12 +1 Derby County 1066 13 -2 West Bromwich Albion 1043 14 – West Ham United 1038 15 – Wolverhampton Wand. 957 16 +1 Sheffield Wednesday 951 17 +1 Leeds United 912 18 -2 Nottingham Forest 910 19 – Stoke City 906 20 – Southampton 902 21 +4 Middlesbrough 865 22 -1 Blackburn Rovers 849 23 -1 Sheffield United 834 24 +2 Birmingham City 786 25 -2 Bolton Wanderers 778 26 +1 Norwich City 765 27 -3 Burnley 753 28 – Preston North End 697 29 – Crystal Palace 685 30 – Ipswich Town 641 31 +3 Portsmouth 632 32 – Fulham 627 33 +2 Brighton & Hove Alb. 612 34 +2 Huddersfield Town 573 35 +6 Watford 569 36 +1 Charlton Athletic 564 37 +2 Swansea City 560 38 -5 Cardiff City 554 39 -8 Hull City 540 40 -2 Queens Park Rangers 539 41 +1 Bristol City 524 42 +4 Bradford City 518 43 +2 Coventry City 493 44 -1 Reading 462 45 -5 Blackpool 445 46 -2 Barnsley 439 47 – Luton Town 401 48 – Notts County 391 49 – Millwall 350 50 – Bury 330 51 n/a Grimsby Town 326 52 -1 Rotherham United 324 53 +2 Plymouth Argyle 323 54 -2 Brentford 309 55 -1 Oldham Athletic 298 56 +1 AFC Bournemouth 297 57 -1 Swindon Town 273 58 +1 Leyton Orient 267 59 +2 Bristol Rovers 266 60 -2 Port Vale 262 61 -8 Wigan Athletic 258 62 -2 Chesterfield 254 63 +4 MK Dons 248 64 -1 Oxford United 226 65 -1 Walsall 217 66 -4 Doncaster Rovers 211 67 -2 Southend United 208 68 -2 Gillingham 190 69 -1 Carlisle United 181 70 – Shrewsbury Town 168 71 – AFC Wimbledon 163 72 -3 Crewe Alexandra 162 73 – Northampton Town 159 74 -2 Peterborough United 138 75 -1 Cambridge United 129 76 – Scunthorpe United 122 77 -2 Exeter City 120 78 -1 Colchester United 118 79 – Hartlepool United 113 80 +2 Mansfield Town 108 81 -1 Rochdale 102 82 -1 Newport County 94 83 +1 Wycombe Wanderers 87 84 -1 Yeovil Town 83 85 +3 Burton Albion 78 86 – Accrington Stanley 65 87 – Stevenage 63 88 -3 Fleetwood Town 62 89 n/a Cheltenham Town 58 90 -1 Crawley Town 46 91 – Barnet 43 92 -1 Morecambe 28

Statistics

Liverpool just pip Manchester United to the title of ‘most successful club’ in English football, accumulating 1165 points, five more than United.

just pip to the title of ‘most successful club’ in English football, accumulating 1165 points, five more than United. The least successful club in the Football League is Morecambe who didn’t tally a single success point.

who didn’t tally a single success point. Everton have spent more time in the top flight than any other club – 111 seasons.

have spent more time in the top flight than any other club – 111 seasons. Eight clubs have never fallen out of the top two tiers of English football; Arsenal , Chelsea , Everton , Liverpool , Manchester United , Newcastle United , Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United .

, , , , , , and . The biggest club to have never won the top flight was Leicester City but is now West Ham United .

. The biggest club to have dropped as low as the third tier is Aston Villa .

. The biggest club to have never won the FA Cup is Leicester City .

. The best supported club in England based on average attendance is Manchester United .

. Rotherham United are the biggest club to have never graced the top flight.

are the biggest club to have never graced the top flight. Whereas, Exeter City are the biggest club to not have played in either of the top two divisions.

are the biggest club to not have played in either of the top two divisions. The biggest clubs in each of the top four divisions are Manchester United , Newcastle United , Sheffield United and Portsmouth .

, , and . The smallest are Bournemouth , Burton Albion , Fleetwood Town and Morecambe respectively.

, , and respectively. The biggest English club to have never won the Champion’s League or European cup is Arsenal . The smallest club to do so is Nottingham Forest .

. The smallest club to do so is . The biggest underachievers in the Football League currently are Portsmouth who are two divisions below their ‘natural level’.

who are two divisions below their ‘natural level’. The biggest overachievers are Burton Albion and Bournemouth who are competing two divisions above their ‘natural level’.