Oldest Premier League Teams in 2022

Having invented the sport we call football today, England is home to the world’s oldest clubs. The foundation of football goes back to the invention of the Sheffield Rules by the oldest football club in the world, Sheffield FC, in 1857, soon after in 1888 the Football League was formed which not only became the first ever football league in the world but took the sport of football to new levels and later made it the professional and popular sport it is today.

Unlike many of its competitors, the English top flight boasts of a variety of teams that have won it multiple times during different eras which only adds to the competition’s intensity and credibility. In 1991, the clubs in the First Division resigned to form the Premier League which is now known as the best league in the world by many accounts. Even in the 3 decades that the Premier League has existed it has been chuck full of surprises and clubs that were successful despite the odds. So, let’s take a glimpse of that history below and find out who are the

oldest Premier League teams in 2022

:

Top 10 Oldest Clubs in the Premier League

Of course, there were several clubs that were older than the ones on this list, like Stoke City and Nottingham Forest, but here we are only going to focus on the clubs that are currently in the Premier League. So, here are the top 10 oldest clubs in the Premier League:

10. Arsenal 

We start our list of the top 10 oldest clubs in the Premier League with the Arsenal. The mighty Gunners are in fact England’s 3rd most decorated club but their humble beginnings set the tone for the club’s identity which centers around community, talent development and fair play. Founded as the Dial Square Football Club in late 1886 by several workers of the Royal Arsenal armaments factory, the club would go on to be renamed the Royal Arsenal a short time after and the names like Woolich Arsenal and Arsenal followed in the decade after the formation of the club.

In fact, the Gunners which is the club’s nickname is derived from the fact that its original founders were workers of a gun factory. Arsenal turned professional in 1891 and joined the Football League in 1893 but would not experience success in the League after Sir Henry Norris’ restructuring the club in the 1910s and the arrival of

as the manager of the club in 1925. Chapman revolutionized the club’s culture and in fact the sport of football as a whole and with him at the helm, and those who followed him after his death in 1934, Arsenal dominated the 1930s, winning 5 league titles and 2 FA Cups.

would go on to have relative success in the 1940s and 1950s but the 1960s saw the Gunners become a mid-table team which prompted the owners to appoint Bertie Mee who helped the club continue their success by helping them once again win the league and FA Cup as well as the club’s first European trophy. Arsenal’s steady success continued during the 1970s but in the 1980s and with the appointment of George Graham as manager, the club once again challenged for the title, winning 2 league titles, an FA Cup, 2 League Cups and a Cup Winners’ Cup.

In the 1996, Arsenal appointed an unknown French manager, Arsene Wenger, as their head coach which drew a lot of criticism but the French tactician soon proved everyone wrong as he became one of the most influential figures in modern football, helping Arsenal win 3 Premier League titles and 7 FA Cups during his 22-year tenure. Wenger also helped Arsenal reach A UEFA Cup and a Champions League final but Arsenal lost on both occasions.

As one of oldest Premier League teams in 2022, Arsenal is the third most decorated club in England after Manchester United and

, with 48 major domestic trophies. Additionally, they are on the longest run of not being relegated in English top flight, having played there continuously since 1913 and having been relegated only once.

9. Southampton 

As one of

oldest football clubs in England

, Southampton was founded in 1885 but back then it was called St. Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association. It’s because of this connection to the Church of St. Mary that they are nicknamed the Saints. Despite not being a successful club as far as the trophies go, Southampton has carved out a reputation for himself for developing young players with the likes Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale and Oxlade-Chamberlain reach the top levels of footballing world in recent years, all of whom are Southampton graduates.

Having been previously playing in the Dell stadium, the Saints started playing at the St Mary's Stadium since 2001. The club has only one major trophy of note and that is their solitary FA Cup win in the 1975-76 season.

Despite being one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and a long streak of staying in the top tier from 1977, Southampton got relegated in 2005. The nightmare got even worse as they went down to third tier of English football a couple of years later, but they eventually got back in 2011 and have been performing well ever since.

As far as the players of import in the club’s history goes, Terry Paine is their record appearance maker with an incredible amount of 815 appearances for the Saints and Mick Channon is their record goal scorer with 228. As one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022,

have been performing well since the appointment of Ralph Hasenhüttl in 2018 and have been performing well this season, currently sitting at the top half of the table, having an outside chance to land in a European competition qualification spot by the end of the season.

8. Tottenham Hotspur

Founded in 1882 as the Hotspur FC as the

oldest football club in London

currently in the Premier League, they are now known as the Tottenham Hotspur. The club is based on North side of the city of London and are neighbors with their local rivals Arsenal, although Tottenham’s honors are significantly fewer than that of Arsenal.

recently moved to their new stadium which is named after the club, a stadium that was built on the same site of their famous former home ground, White Hart Lane.

Tottenham was prominent during the 60s where they achieved a Double of winning the league and the FA Cup in 1960-61 season and became the first club to do so in the 20th century. But they have not been able to win any league titles ever since. The Lilywhites’ other major trophies besides their 2 league titles include 8 FA Cup trophies and 4 League Cup trophies as well as 2 UEFA Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup. They also reached the Champions League final in 2018-19 which they eventually lost.

Steve Perryman is the Spurs player with the most appearances for the club with 854 appearances and the legendary Jimmy Greaves is their all-time top goal scorer with 266 goals for the club. Spurs’ current manager is Antonio Conte who hopes to steer Spurs, as one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022 to their supposed rightful place which is winning trophies, a fact that the club is almost allergic to. Only time will tell if he will succeed or not.

7. Burnley

One of the original founding members of the Football League is the East Lancashire based club

, which was itself founded in 1882. Burnley was one of the first clubs that pushed to professionalize football by paying players and organizing a professional league in 1888. They are one of the few clubs who have won all four professional divisions of English football and they have been playing at their home ground Turf Moore since 1883, only a year after the club’s foundation.

As one of the oldest football clubs in England, Burnley has experienced 2 periods of major success in its 138-year history, in the 1920s and 1960s, with the latter being the most successful period of the club where they won the league and also reached the Champions League (European Cup) quarter-finals a year later in 1961. All in all, the club has won 2 league titles and an FA Cup.

The club’s record appearance maker is Jerry Dawson who represented the club 569 times. The club’s record goal scorer however is George Beel who played for Burnley in the 1920s and scored 188 goals in 327 matches. As one of the

oldest Premier League teams in 2022

, Burnley has been finishing in the mid-table, or avoiding the relegation consistently since their promotion to the Premier League in 2016.

This is mainly because of their crafty and beloved manager,

, who has built a team that is notoriously hard to score against which has even led to them qualifying for a European competition after more than 50 years. The odds may be stacking up against them in this season however as they are stuck in the relegation zone. Then again, the odds are always against Burnley but somehow Dyche always saves them from trouble in the end!

6. Watford

A club that very well not be a part of the Premier League by the end of 2022 since they are locked in a relegation battle right now, is Watford who are one of the

oldest football club

. Having been founded in 1881 as Watford Rovers, they became officially known as Watford Football Club in 1898 when Rovers merged with another local club. Watford join the Football League in 1920 and have been playing at Vicarage Road, their current stadium, since 1922.

Despite being one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022, Watford has spent most of its history in the lower leagues of English football. However, the club experienced a decade of moderate success between 1977 and 1987 under the management of Graham Taylor, where they rose from the 4th tier to the top flight, culminating in them finishing 2nd during the 1982-83 season.

The club’s record appearance holder and record goal scorer is the legendary Luther Blisset who played for the Hornets between 1976 and 1992, having scored 186 in 503 appearances. Since the start of the Premier League

has had several seasons in the competition but for the most part they have been immediately relegated after each promotion, a fact that may very well happen again this season.

5. Manchester City 

Manchester City is not only one of the most successful English teams in the last decade, they are also one of the

top 10 oldest clubs in the Premier League

, having been founded in 1880. However, the Cityzens were not always the giant of English football they are today since the club has gone through different eras of extreme success but also failure. The Cityzens have played in a number of stadiums, currently residing at the Etihad stadium, after they moved from their long serving home ground Maine Road in 2003.

Even prior to Abu Dhabi United Group takeover of the club in 2008, which ushered in an era of incredible success for the club, Manchester City was considered as a respectable club in England with the club’s first era of success happening during the 1960s when they won the League, European Cup Winners’ Cup, FA Cup and League Cup with the likes of Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison at the helm. In 1992, they became one of the founding members of the Premier League but suffered couple of years which saw them being relegated to the third tier of English football for the third time in club’s history.

They did however recover from it and came back to EPL in 2002 and have since risen exponentially in success and stature. With huge investments from the Abu Dhabi United Group, they have brought in immense foreign and domestic talent which has led to 5 Premier League titles and they are on the cusp of winning the 6th. Manchester City has had many great players in its history with some of the recent being Vincent Kompany and David Silva but their record appearance maker is Alan Oakes with 682 appearances and their top goal scorer is of course the legendary Sergio Aguero with 254 goals.

who are one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022 have won the English top flight league 7 times, 5 of which are Premier League titles, as well as 6 FA Cup and 8 League Cup titles which makes them one of the most decorated teams in England. They are also the only team to complete a domestic Treble in 2018-19 season where they won the PL as well as both domestic cups. Curiously, Man City also holds the record for the most 2nd tier of English football title wins with 7 Second Division/Championship titles!

4. Manchester United 

The most decorated English team of all time needs no introduction as Manchester United are also one of the oldest football clubs in England and are known all over the world for their immense success, especially under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson which was mostly in the Premier League era. The Red Devils were founded in 1878 as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, but in 1902 changed their name to Manchester United and made the move to their current stadium, Old Trafford, in 1910.

The club’s history boasts of several periods of extreme success as they have won the league a record 20 times, 13 of which were in the Premier League era, as well as winning 12 FA Cups, five League Cups, three UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA Europa League, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, one UEFA Super Cup, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. It honestly would take an entire article to count all of Manchester United’s achievements.

Throughout all these successful eras there were many great players helping United win those trophies including great players like

,

, Sir Bobby Charlton and Ryan Giggs who is also the club’s record appearance maker, having appeared in a mind-boggling amount of 963 matches for Manchester United and making himself the most decorated Premier League player with 13 winners’ medal. Another of Manchester United’s legends is Wayne Rooney who is also the club’s record goal scorer with 253 goals, only four more than the legendary Bobby Charlton.

Because of the nature of their success, Manchester United has had many intense rivalries with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City over the years, with the latter two being United’s local rivals. But after the retirement of their greatest ever manager,

, the club has been stagnant in recent years with them failing to reach their high aspirations. Even with all of that said, United is one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022 as well as being the most decorated team in England.

3. Everton 

The only club from the city of Liverpool to appear on our list of top 10 oldest clubs in the Premier League is the Everton Football club. The Toffees were founded 142 years ago in 1878 as St Domingo FC which. They too alongside several other clubs on our list, were named after a church of the same name but they were later renamed as Everton FC. With 9 league trophies, Everton have the 4th most league titles in England only behind Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal and they were considered to be one of the best teams in Europe during the 1980s.

The Toffees who have played at their home ground of Goodison Park since 1892 were one of the giants in English football before the World War II but after the war they experienced a loss of form until they rose to the top of English football for periods in the 1960s and 1980s. the club has won 9 league titles with the last one being during the 1986-87 season as well as 5 FA Cup trophies, 2 League Cup trophies and a European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Everton’s record appearance maker is Neville Southall with 750 appearances and their top goal scorer of all time is the exceptional Dixie Dean who scored an amazing 383 goals for the club. As one of the

oldest Premier League teams in 2022,

Everton seemed like a perfect choice for the Iranian businessman Farhad Moshiri as he mounted a successful takeover for the club in 2016 and since then Everton has been heavily investing in buying players in order to break into the top teams of the Premier League but the club has completely failed to do so and is currently in a relegation battle!

2. Wolverhampton Wanderers

Despite being one of the oldest Premier League teams in 2022, Wolverhampton Wanderers have not spent much time in the competition since its inception in 1992. Although they have been going through a revival since their purchase by the Chinese group Fosun in 2016. The club however was founded in 1877 as the St. Luke's F.C. but later changed its name to Wolverhampton Wanderers or as its commonly referred to ‘Wolves’.

Wolverhampton has played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and has won several major trophies since. Wolves’ most successful era was in the 1950s where under the management of Stan Cullis they won the league 3 times which would be the only times Wolves won the league. They also finished the decade with their fourth and last FA Cup title. However, the club did also enjoy a bit of success in the 70s as they reached a UEFA Cup final and won two League Cups.

The club’s record appearance maker is Derek Parkin with 609 appearances and their record goal scorer is Steve Bull with an incredible record of 306 goals for the club. The club’s local rivals are another one of the oldest Premier League teams, West Bromwich Albion, and their clashes are known as the Black Country Derby.  The legendary Billy Wright who is undoubtedly one of the best English players of all time and has captained England for a record 90 matches, is arguably Wolves’ best player ever and has a statue in his honor outside Molineux stadium.

With a plethora of international players, mostly from Portugal,

has experienced a resurgence these past couple of years and they only wish to build upon that success by maybe winning a cup trophy or qualifying for Europe, they are certainly in the mix to do one of those things this season but let’s see if Bruno Lage can actually do it! 

1. Aston Villa

Aston Villa is currently the

oldest football club in the Premier League

, having been founded in Aston district of the city of Birmangham in 1874. The club soon became one of the best clubs in the Midlands of England and by 1887 had won their first ever FA Cup trophy and a year later they became one of the founding members of the Football League. Since 1897 Aston Villa has played in their home ground, Villa Park. Although the ground has been renovated a number of times, it is one of the oldest in the country.

Being one of the most successful English clubs, Aston Villa has won 7 league titles as well as 7 FA Cup trophies. Although despite being one of the founders of the Premier League in 1992, they have failed to win any league titles ever since but they are one of only 5 English clubs who have won the European Cup or Champions League as we know it today. As one of the oldest football club in the Premier League, apart from their early success in the 2 decades that followed the club’s foundation, Aston Villa’s most successful period was during the 1980s.

In the mid-70s, after what was a process of rejuvenation for the club, they got back to the First Division with manager Ron Saunders and went on to win the league title in 1980-81 season, the last time the club would do so, and in the following season despite Saunders quitting his job half way through the campaign, Aston Villa went on to win the European Cup in a 1-0 match against Bayern Munich. They also managed a comfortable 3-1 win against Barcelona in the European Super Cup match, and lifted the trophy.

Aston Villa has had many great players over the years with their record appearance maker being the Scotsman Charlie Aitken with 657 and their record goal scorer being Billy Walker with 244 goals in 531 appearances. As the oldest football club in the Premier League, Aston Villa’s best Premier League finish was in the competition’s first season in 1992-93 where they finished second behind Manchester United. Their 24-year run of staying in the Premier League ended in 2016 but they managed to get back to it 3 years later and they hope to get back to their glory days with players like

, Watkins and Bailey.

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