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No Premier League title is ever handed out in December, but it’s still interesting to look at who has won the most points over a calendar year.
Ancient civilisations each established their own concepts of time and when history definitively began. Their calendars, meanwhile, also differed.
Most, including the Romans, followed a lunisolar calendar before those wise 13th-century Chinese folk laid the foundations for the calendars that the vast majority of modern societies use today.
For Premier League lovers, August to May is the only period of time that appears consequential: the football calendar. Your typical football season occupies two years, but imagine, in a dystopian world. if campaigns began on the first day of the Gregorian calendar (January 1).
We always hear about so and so accumulating an X amount of points in a calendar year, but such statistics are futile. They mean nothing. But, what if the football calendar altered and the season started on January 1 before ending on December 31? Sounds like FIFA’s next grand scheme to reshape modern football, right?
Here are the ten teams that recorded the most points in a calendar year since the Premier League’s 1992 inception.
While the 2005/06 season ended in Chelsea’s second consecutive title victory under Jose Mourinho, 2006/07 was the beginning of yet another period of Manchester United dominance with Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm.
The Red Devils began their first of three successive title-winning campaigns in sensational form. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo purred despite wink-gate at the 2006 World Cup as United won 17 of their first 21 games of the season.
Their stellar start to the 2006/07 campaign helped them to an impressive 92-point haul in 2006.
Manchester City were pushed all the way by Liverpool in 2018/19 and many would argue that we haven’t seen two teams simultaneously perform to the level that those sides did at the backend of that campaign.
In order to fight off Liverpool’s resistance, City had to be perfect down the stretch and they won their remaining 14 league games to win the title.
Five of their six losses in 2019 came at the start of the 2019/20 season.
A stuttering end to the 2011/12 season saw Man Utd succumb to the most dramatic moment in Premier League history as Sergio Aguero handed the title to their sky blue neighbours.
Determined to rid themselves of the previous campaign’s disappointment, the Red Devils acquired Robin van Persie from Arsenal in the summer and the Dutchman made an immediate impact at Old Trafford.
Van Persie was dominant in Fergie’s last season at the club as they eventually lifted the title in 2013 after winning 16 of their opening 20 league games.
The Red Devils ended the 20th century in style as they won their final 11 games of the 1999/2000 season to waltz to the title.
Arsenal had attempted to displace Fergie’s United as the Premier League’s supreme force having won the league in 1998, but the Manchester club responded by winning three successive titles, including the Treble in 1999.
2000, too, was a memorable year for the club as they lost just twice at the start of the 2000/01 season on their way to yet another title.
While there were later title triumphs, 2008/09 United was arguably Sir Alex’s last great side.
The Red Devils, who were beaten in the Champions League final by Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona, began 2009 in imperious form.
They won 17 of their first 20 league games of the calendar year to pip Liverpool to the title by four points, and while there were some struggles at the start of 2009/10, United ended the year having accumulated 95 points.
The inception of the Centurions.
Pep Guardiola’s debut season in Manchester was difficult, to say the least, but the Cityzens did embark on an impressive run to conclude the campaign and finish in the top four.
They took this momentum into 2017/18 where Guardiola morphed his Man City side into, arguably, the best we’ve ever seen on these shores.
They were unbeaten through 22 games and won 19 of their final 21 games to round off 2017.
Liverpool‘s majesty in 2019 has already been mentioned. City’s perfection to conclude 2018/19 meant they agonisingly missed out on the title despite losing just once all season.
In the end, draws against Leicester, West Ham, Manchester United and Everton proved costly.
Nevertheless, Jurgen Klopp’s side capitalised on City’s indifferent start to the following season and never looked back. They began 2019/20 undefeated through 27 games and rounded off the calendar year winning 16 of their last 17 outings to amass 98 points.
Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea became just the second side in Premier League history to notch over 100 points in a calendar year. They did it in 2005 amid back-to-back title wins.
The Blues played 38 times that year, winning 32, drawing five, and losing just once. José’s side were as stout as any side in the competition’s history, while their remarkable efficiency at transitions was unlike anything English football lovers had ever seen.
This was an incredible Chelsea side with one of the all-time great managers leading the way.
Manchester United rallied at the end of the inaugural Premier League season to win the title by ten points and their form failed to waver at the start of a stellar 1993/94 campaign.
The revolutionary between-the-lines magician Eric Cantona was in majestic form as United became the first side to notch 100 points in a calendar year.
The Red Devils ended 1993 with 102 points, but they were helped by playing 43 times that year. Thus, while their points haul is the second-best of all time, their points-per-game is inferior to several teams on this list.
Manchester City also benefitted by playing a LOT of games in 2021. Nevertheless, their 110-point haul is, by some distance, the most amassed by any side in Premier League history.
They lost four times down the stretch to conclude 2020/21, but their 15-game winning streak midway through the season meant their title victory was never in doubt.
Guardiola’s side would claim back-to-back titles in 2021/22, with the foundations of that success being laid at the end of the calendar year. City won ten games on the bounce to ensure they finished 2021 as the most productive Premier League outfit ever over the course of a calendar year.
