Who Are The Most Talented Teams In Premier League History?

Once again, as we start a new Premier League season, the table is filled with the have-nots, haves, and have-even-mores. The top of the table, with their unlimited bank accounts, have maintained and/or restocked their all-star rosters, featuring players coming off the bench who would otherwise be the star attraction on lesser teams. Pep Guardiola has to choose his 2 forwards from a group of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Leroy Sane, or Gabriel Jesus. Right there, this current Man City team could be a contender for most talented team ever assembled in the Premier League. With that up front, combined with a mid-field that contains names such as Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, and Rodrigo, it is no wonder that the Sky Blues are the overwhelming favorites to take the title once again. (Not that the other consensus title contender Liverpool is without a glut of hard choices on who to start either.)

So, will one of these teams put on a show that raises them up to all-time team status? Will a new set of stars emerge to lead a different team to become legendary in the same way Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez helped lift Leicester City to unprecedented glory a few years ago? It will be a fun season to watch (and, of course, bet on) but in the meantime, let’s take a look at some of the teams for the last 20 years who rose above them all to be considered the best, most talented groups of players in the 21^st century EPL.

1998-2000 Manchester United 

We’re going to squeeze this team in not just because the 1998-99 team won the rare treble, but also due to the fact that they fielded almost the same line-up in the 1999-2000 season that was, in many ways, just as good if not better than the more infamous season before.

Your treble-winning 1998-1999 starting XI was:

• G Peter Schmeichel
• D Gary Neville
• D Denis Irwin
• D Jaap Stam
• M Phil Neville
• M Roy Keane
• M David Beckham
• M Paul Scholes
• M Nicky Butt
• F Dwight Yorke
• F Andy Cole

The next year, however, they improved their points tally by 12, scoring 17 more goals and winning the title by a whopping 18 points. They continued with their insane subs of Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunner Solskjaer, (who both stayed coming off the bench despite their star-making turns in the 1999 Champions League final) while adding Mikael Silvestre at the back. Truly a magical group assembled by the master Sir Alex Ferguson.

Arsenal 2003-2004

There’s a reason they call this team “The Invincibles.” 38 games. Zero losses. It was and still remains the most revered season in EPL history. Sure they drew 12 games, but that is just nitpicking. On most days, the lineup was just as star-studded as the Man U teams from a few years earlier:

• G Jens Lehmann
• D Ashley Cole
• D Sol Campbell
• D Lauren
• D Kolo Taoure
• M Patrick Viera
• M Freddie Ljungberg
• M Robert Pires
• M Gilberto Silva
• F Thierry Henry
• F Dennis Bergkamp

While one would expect an undefeated season to be reliant on a crushing defense, the 2003-2004 Arsenal team plowed through competition by way of an unrelenting offense, with weapons everywhere, from Henry and Bergkamp up front, to the wings of Pires and Ljungberg, and the offensive-minded Cole, Lauren and Toure. At the center of it all was captain Patrick Viera, who helped Arsene Wenger marshal all this talent into a strong, cohesive and character-filled squad who put together a season that will be hard to match.

Chelsea 2004-2005

As if challenged by Arsenal’s magical season the previous year, Chelsea, in Jose Mourinho’s first season in charge of the club, decided to put up their own record-breaking season, winning their first EPL title with a then record-breaking 95 points. Not only did they outdo Arsenal’s season point total by 5 points, they almost matched them by only losing one game. One of the keys to Chelsea’s success (besides being in year two of Roman Abramovich’s ownership) was the presence of new goalkeeper Peter Cech, who conceded just 15 goals all season and kept an insane 25 clean sheets. The line-up in front of Cech was full of names that would define the Chelsea dynasty for years to come:

• G Peter Cech
• D Paulo Ferreira
• D John Terry
• D Ricardo Carvahlo
• D William Gallas
• M Frank Lampard
• M Claude Makelele
• M Tiago
• F Damien Duff
• F Didier Drogba
• F Arjen Robben

The next year Joe Cole, Michael Essien and Hernan Crespo would add to the Blues attack and lead them to another title.

Manchester United 2007-2008

They won the league against incredibly strong sides from Chelsea and Arsenal, and then won the Champions League title against the same Chelsea team that they edged out for the EPL title. Looking back at the line-up, it’s not hard to see how. Alex Ferguson, through homegrown talent and shrewd signings, assembled a team for the ages, one that still has a few heroes playing at the top of their games 10 years on.

• G Edwin van der Sar
• D Rio Ferdinand
• D Nemanja Vidic
• D Wes Brown
• D Patrice Evra
• M Owen Hargreaves
• M Michael Carrick
• M Cristiano Ronaldo
• M Paul Scholes
• F Wayne Rooney
• F Carlos Tevez

Vidic, Ferdinand and van der Sar were a formidable in back, while up front the trio of Ronaldo, Rooney and Tevez scored 57 of the team’s 80 goals. The next year, Man U repeated as champions with an equally impressive run, as they added the formidable presence of Dimitar Berbatov, and saw Edwin van der Sar get even better, recording a record 14 straight clean sheets.

Chelsea 2016-2017 

It wasn’t necessarily “worst to first” but for Chelsea fans the 2015-2016 season felt like it couldn’t have gone any worse while the 2016-17 season was the complete opposite. 2014-15 had been a magical year for the Blues, winning the league again after a 4 year absence. But the next year was a complete disaster, as Chelsea came in 10^th in the EPL (behind Stoke City and West Ham!) and it signaled the end of Jose Mourinho’s reign as he was fired in December and replaced for the rest of the year by the lame duck reign of Guus Hiddink. When the 2016-17 season rolled around, with new coach Antonio Conte at the helm, most supporters were wary but hopeful that the team could re-establish themselves as part of the Top 6, but little did they know they’d head straight to the top. In retrospect, the line-up seems like a good indication of its imminent success:

• G Thibaut Courtios
• D David Liuz
• D Gary Cahill
• D Cesar Azpilicueta
• M Marcos Alonso
• M N’Golo Kante
• M Nemanja Matic
• M Victor Moses
• M Pedro/Willian
• F Eden Hazard
• F Diego Costa

In the end, Conte would win Coach of the Year, Diego Costa would score 20 goals (Eden Hazard added 17), Thibaut Courtios led the EPL with 17 clean sheets, Gary Cahill, David Luiz, and N’Golo Kante would join Hazard on the PFA Team of the Year, and Kante himself would win PFA Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year. 

Manchester City 2017-2018

And then there’s the most recent super team, Manchester City, who’s lineup today looks remarkably similar to the one that broke most every record just two years ago. Which records? Let’s see:

• Most Points (100)
• Most Wins (32)
• Most Away Wins (16)
• Most Goals (watch all 106)
• Most Consecutive League Wins (18)
• Highest Goal Differential (+79)
• And so on…

Their attack was otherworldly, their midfield was aggressive both offensively and defensively, and the back line seemed impenetrable. And under Pep Guardiola’s masterful direction, all the pieces synched together beautifully, creating amazing soccer on the itch every time out. The line-up included:

• G Ederson
• D Vincent Kompany
• D John Stones
• D Benjamin Mendy
• D Kyle Walker
• M Kevin De Bruyne
• M David Silva
• M Fernandinho
• M Raheem Sterling
• F Leroy Sane/Gabriel Jesus
• F Sergio Aguero

Unfortunately for the rest of the current league is that this super team not only took home last year’s title (although not as easily) is still for the most part intact. Will they be able to win the EPL for the 3^rd year in a row? Take a look at the odds before the season starts and make your bets!