Frank Lee
How does one judge the quality of a title-winning team? By points scored? Number of games won? Number of defeats? Or the style in which the title was won? The latter of course is a subjective immeasurable. However, with Manchester City having reached the total of 100 points in winning the Premier League this season (out of a possible 114), there is an argument that they were the best ever. There is no question that they broke a hatful of records last season.
And it’s not only the Gunners that are in the debate for this mythical crown. There are reasons to make a case for a couple of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United sides (1998/99 and 2007/08) and Chelsea in Mourinho’s first season at the club (2004/05). There’s a Betway blog on this subject if you wish to see how a panel of five came to an interesting conclusion on this very subject.
In winning the title without losing a single match 14 seasons ago, Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles team secured 90 points, winning 26 and drawing 12. They were the first team to go through a season unbeaten since Preston North End (who had to play fewer fixtures) in the early days of the Football League back in the 19th century.
It’s a difficult feat to achieve. Chelsea came closest the season after Arsenal did it, losing a solitary game. Mourinho’s side also set the points record of 95 during that campaign, only toppled by City this season, even though Pep Guardiola’s side lost two fixtures. That the Eastlands side scored ten points more than the Invincibles was down to their record number of wins.
Ultimately, Chelsea’s team are not remembered with a great deal of love by the neutrals. Their clinical efficiency did not always entertain and their spiky manager hardly endeared them to neutrals. Manchester United’s sides undoubtedly played with more swagger (and albeit enjoying an element of fortune, they managed to win Champions League trophies to add to their titles in 1999 and 2008), but a general ‘Anyone But United’ feeling often permeated the emotions of others for many seasons. The financial advantage and air of superiority exuded by the club makes it difficult for anyone but their supporters to really warm to them. Add to this a perception that, certainly in the Ferguson era, they were more often than not the beneficiaries of key 50/50 decisions from the officials, and it’s easy to see why Wenger’s team is recalled more fondly.
What about Guardiola’s Manchester City? It’s too early to say how they will be looked upon in the future – as this may partly be shaped by events to come. There is no question that their financial advantage over everyone but their neighbours does not go down too well, although at the same time, it is accepted that their football has been highly entertaining.
However, when you combine the style of Arsenal’s play in 2003-04, their not having a significant financial advantage, the fact they denied both an unpopular Manchester United and a Chelsea side enjoying the first season of Roman Abramovich’s fortune and the achievement of remaining unbeaten, then it is easier to reach one particular conclusion. And for those that recall there was such goodwill to the side that even many neutrals were willing them to complete the campaign unbeaten once they had secured the title with four matches remaining.
That conclusion is that Arsenal in 2003-04 were probably the most popular ever Premier League title winners, and by extension, the most fondly remembered. Going on the records, the only criteria you could call them the greatest was remaining undefeated. In pretty much any other measurable scale, there have been better champions. But football is as much about feelings and memories as statistics and isn’t it nice to be loved?
