To provide a more objective view, The Daily Mail conducted a study using the following criteria:

• League titles won
• All-time average league position (with first place in the Championship counting as 21st overall, first in League One as 45th, and so on)
• Total top-flight points
• Total top-flight seasons
• Average attendance over the last 10 seasons
• European Cups won (including the Champions League)
• UEFA Cups won (including the Europa League)
• FA Cups won
• Cup Winners’ Cups won
• League Cups won
• Annual revenue
• Squad value
• Social media followers (Facebook, X, and Instagram)
• Year founded
• England caps won by players while representing the club
• Number of England players capped while at the club
• Club World Cups won

The rankings aim to balance historical success with modern relevance, offering a clearer picture of each club’s standing within the English game, regardless of their current league standing.

92-81

The unwanted label of the smallest club in English football goes to Harrogate Town who, until the last six seasons, had spent their entire history in non-league football. They are closely followed by Bromley, Barnet, and Salford City, with the latter likely to climb the rankings in the future given their high-profile owners, including Gary Neville and other members of Manchester United’s famed Class of ’92.

Barrow, whose stadium features on the list of the ugliest grounds in British football history, comes in at 88th. Newport County also rank low, having failed to replicate the success of other Welsh clubs in the English pyramid, with their highest-ever finish in the second tier coming in the pre-war era.

Accrington Stanley’s main claim to fame remains their 1989 milk advert, in which one child famously asks, “Accrington Stanley, who are they?” They are ranked as the 85th biggest club in England, meaning the question still resonates today.

Slightly larger are Crawley Town, Cheltenham Town, and Colchester United. Rounding out the smallest clubs in the country is Stevenage, whose average attendance hovers between 3,000 and 5,000 and who have only existed since 1976, while also contending with close proximity to much larger clubs.

80-71

Burton Albion, Exeter City, and Cambridge United embody the “little club with a big heart” image, with all three featuring in the lower reaches of the study. However, few clubs may feel more hard done by in the rankings than AFC Wimbledon, who place 76th, just one spot above Crewe Alexandra.

They are technically a phoenix club following the liquidation of the original Wimbledon side that famously won the FA Cup in 1988, when the Crazy Gang made them one of the most talked-about English clubs of the 1980s. That history, however, has not been factored into this ranking. Instead, only their modern existence from 2002 onwards has been counted, during which they have impressively climbed back up to League One.

Northampton Town’s only top-flight season came in the 1965/66 campaign, but Gillingham and Mansfield Town have spent more time higher up the pyramid and are therefore ranked slightly above them. Tranmere Rovers reached Wembley five times in the late 1980s and early 1990s under Johnny King, winning the Football League Trophy and reaching the League Cup semi-finals, achievements that earn them a 71st-place ranking, just ahead of Walsall.

70-61

Shrewsbury Town have reached the FA Cup quarter-finals and the League Cup semi-finals during their 139-year history, while Wycombe Wanderers have reached the final four in both competitions across their 138-year history. Somehow, though, MK Dons – formed just 22 years ago – are ranked higher in 68th place, despite their relatively small fanbase, which has even been described by AI as “tinpot,” with away fans often outnumbering home supporters at a stadium that regularly has over 20,000 empty seats.

Stockport County sit in 67th, while Oldham Athletic come in 66th, with their 12 top-flight seasons helping to balance out a recent history of financial turmoil that once threatened to derail the club. Doncaster Rovers and Lincoln City have been stably in and around League One and League Two, while Swindon Town pip Peterborough United to be the second-biggest in this segment – the lowest-ranked club from those who took part in the first Premier League campaign in 1992/93.

Chesterfield come in at 61st. Founded in 1867, they are the sixth-oldest club in the EFL, and no team has won England’s fourth tier more often, having done so four times. They also reached the FA Cup semi-final in 1997, beating Nottingham Forest on the way to a historic appearance at Wembley Stadium.

60-51

Leyton Orient’s social media following of 277,000 sees them rank only 63rd in the EFL for online presence, which certainly plays a role in them being placed as just the 60th biggest club overall. That comes as little surprise given they are a stone’s throw from Arsenal and Tottenham, and may forever live in their shadows as a result. Port Vale, who only have Stoke City to contend with locally, are not faring much better and come in at 59th.

Grimsby Town recently became the first fourth-tier side to beat Manchester United, doing so in the League Cup, but fewer people may realise they have spent 12 seasons in the top flight during their history. Even so, that isn’t enough to rank them above Bristol Rovers, Rotherham United, or Oxford United. The latter won the League Cup in 1986 and have enjoyed their fair share of giant-killings in recent years, including a 3-2 win over Swansea City while in League Two and a 4-0 victory over West Ham in League One.

Hollywood-owned Wrexham may not have the long history of some other clubs, but their current trajectory is promising enough to place them 54th. Their huge social media following and rapid rise from non-league to the Championship have made them one of the most talked-about clubs in the country. They rank just below FA Cup winners Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, while Plymouth Argyle benefit from being the biggest – and one of the only – clubs across Cornwall and Devon in order to come in at 51st.

50-41

Barnsley, like several of the other clubs mentioned, are another side that struggle geographically. Yorkshire is packed with football clubs, and Barnsley’s lowly Championship position leaves them just outside the top half of this ranking. Reading, meanwhile, look set to slide from 49th place as their ongoing financial rot continues to accelerate the club’s decline, with Notts County – the oldest club in England – sitting 47th, just ahead of Millwall.

Hull City come in at 46th, with all five of their top-flight seasons having arrived relatively recently. Bournemouth were once an unknown quantity until Eddie Howe, backed by new ambitious ownership which ranks highly among the Premier League, guided them through three promotion-winning campaigns between 2009 and 2015 and into the Premier League, where they now remain. It is a similar story for Brentford, with the pair widely regarded as the smallest clubs currently competing in the promised land at the summit of the English football pyramid.

Swansea City also feature in this section, though they sit below Blackpool, who were founded as far back as 1887 and famously won the 1953 FA Cup – a final later dubbed the ‘Sir Stanley Matthews Final’ after his starring role in a 4-3 victory over Bolton Wanderers. Bristol City round out this group in 41st place, despite never having won a major honour.

40-31

Luton Town can point to a League Cup triumph and 17 top-flight seasons to bolster their case. However, their five-season stint in the fifth tier weakens their argument in the long-running debate with Watford over which half of the Beds-Herts derby is the bigger club. Sandwiched between them are Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City, with the latter able to lay claim to being Wales’ biggest club thanks to their 1927 FA Cup win – still the only time a Welsh side has lifted the trophy.

Queens Park Rangers sit just behind Brighton & Hove Albion, who have made excellent use of a modern, data-driven recruitment model for both players and managers in recent years, even reaching the Europa League. Further down, Huddersfield Town – the first club to win three consecutive top-flight titles between 1924 and 1926 – are thoroughly deserving of their place in 34th.

Elsewhere, Portsmouth’s history includes back-to-back league titles in 1949 and 1950, as well as FA Cup victories in 1939 and 2008. Coventry City may not match that silverware haul, but they can boast an FA Cup of their own and 34 seasons in the top flight, having more commonly operated at Championship level. Somewhat surprisingly, Norwich City are ranked 31st, despite a reputation as little more than a yo-yo club.

30-21

For much of their history, Crystal Palace have been a humble and personable football club, often viewed as a likeable second team by many supporters. In more recent times, however, they have become a thorn in the side of opponents, and in 2025 – under the guidance of Oliver Glasner – they reached their third FA Cup final and finally lifted the trophy. They followed that success just a few months later by claiming the Community Shield with a victory over Liverpool.

A total of 21 Palace players have gone on to earn a combined 96 England caps, underlining their rise to 30th in the rankings of England’s biggest football clubs. Recent history has been far kinder to the Eagles than to Preston North End, who last featured in the top division back in 1961. However, with two league titles and two FA Cups to their name, Preston remain 29th, just behind Fulham and Ipswich Town, the latter bolstered by a UEFA Cup triumph.

Birmingham City’s 57 seasons in the top flight place them 26th, while Southampton’s six million social media followers reflect their sustained presence in the Premier League in recent years. Bolton Wanderers supporters still dream of a return to the glory days that brought four FA Cup wins, while those in Staffordshire would relish a return to cold, wet Tuesday nights at Stoke City under Tony Pulis. Burnley and Middlesbrough, both of whom have ventured into European competition in the 21st century, rank 22nd and 21st respectively.

20-11

Derby County may hold the unwanted title of having the worst team in Premier League history, but their overall pedigree is enough for that low point to be somewhat masked. With 65 top-flight seasons, two league titles and an FA Cup to their name, they still rank 20th – narrowly behind four-time FA Cup winners Sheffield United and Leicester City, whose finest hours over the past decade include a Premier League and FA Cup triumph.

Leeds United fans may be baffled to learn that their club ranks no higher than 17th, but a history littered with runners-up medals – finishing second in the league on five occasions and losing three FA Cup finals – suggests they are not quite as big as they often make out. Their four million social media followers also rank relatively low compared to other Premier League clubs, despite their raucous fanbase suggesting otherwise.

Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and West Bromwich Albion all rank higher. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are another club that believes it should be placed higher than the study suggests. However, while their two European Cups give the City Ground faithful reason for confusion, Forest’s lack of sustained success remains their downfall, with their pomp largely confined to the late 1970s as they look up at Wolves and West Ham.

10-1

With six Champions League titles – double Manchester United’s tally – and the same number of top-flight league titles, Liverpool are England’s most successful team. Thanks to the recent success of the Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot eras, they can now also lay claim to being the country’s biggest club, boasting the most top-flight points, the most League Cups and the most UEFA Cups. Their average league position of seventh is also higher than any other club.

That leaves Man United, with their 188 million social media followers, in second place, and Arsenal third despite still searching for their first European honour. Chelsea and Manchester City’s domestic dominance in the 21st century, funded by foreign ownership, sees them rightly take fourth and fifth respectively. Tottenham sit sixth, having won eight FA Cups and three UEFA Cups, including last year’s Europa League victory over the aforementioned Red Devils.

Everton’s 123 top-flight seasons is more than any other club, and with nine league titles and five FA Cups, they comfortably cling to a top-10 place despite recent battles with relegation. They edge out 1982 European champions Aston Villa, as well as Tynewear rivals Newcastle United and Sunderland.