15 Most Successful English Clubs if Man City Trophies Were Stripped
· GiveMeSport
The latest news around Man City could shake up the trophy list, here's how it could play out.
Manchester City 's place among English football's most decorated clubs has been thrown into question after the club were reportedly found guilty of 114 breaches of the Premier League 's financial rules.
The breaches relate to the period between 2009 and 2018, during which City won three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups . Any sanction is expected to be subject to appeal, and stripping titles remains the most extreme outcome on the table, but it raises an obvious question: what would the all-time honours list look like without them?
The rankings below assume all seven of those trophies are forfeited and handed to the runner-up in each case.
Seven competitions count as major trophies:
The Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, Intercontinental Cup and Inter-Cities Fairs Cup are not included. With those parameters set out, here's how an updated English clubs trophy list looks.
Five FA Cups account for most of West Brom 's major honours. Their only league title came in 1919/20. The Baggies haven't lifted major silverware since 1968.
Four league titles, the last in 1930, and the 1991 League Cup keep Sheffield Wednesday in the top 15. The Owls were extremely successful once upon a time, but it's a completely different story in the modern day.
Three league titles in the 1950s made Wolves one of the dominant sides of the era. The 1980 League Cup is their most recent major honour.
Brian Clough's back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980 remain the defining achievement of Nottingham Forest 's history. Only Liverpool have won the competition more times among English clubs.
The Premier League is dominated by a few teams, leaving some of the country's biggest clubs to never win it.
Sunderland are the surprise beneficiaries of the reallocation. City beat Gus Poyet's side 3-1 in the 2014 League Cup final, so the Black Cats would claim a first triumph in that competition and move level with Forest and Wolves.
The 1994/95 Premier League title is Blackburn Rovers ' standout modern achievement. Their 2002 League Cup is the only major trophy they have won since. Currently in the Championship, it could be a while before Rovers add to their tally.
Newcastle United 's 2025 League Cup win over Liverpool ended a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy and moved them clear of Blackburn.
Everton 's last major honour remains the 1995 FA Cup. Nine league titles, the last in 1987, make up the majority of their total. The Toffees are still among the country's most successful outfits despite a 31-year trophy drought, which is rather impressive.
Tottenham ended a 17-year wait for silverware by beating Manchester United in the 2025 Europa League final in Bilbao. That was their third UEFA Cup/Europa League title, while eight FA Cups remain the bulk of their haul.
Aston Villa 's 2026 Europa League triumph, a 3-0 win over Freiburg in Istanbul, gave the club a first major trophy since 1996 and a second European title to sit alongside the 1982 European Cup. They sit one behind City in this reshuffled list.
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