Power Ranking the 19 English Premier League-Winning Teams (1993-2011)

How do you choose the best of the best?

We're not sure, but we know that in the years since the Premier League became a thing in 1992, there have been some really spectacular football teams that have made their mark on it. However, the top prize and the spoils have been dominated primarily by three mega-clubs (save for a rogue stunning Blackburn Rovers squad): Manchester United (who takes up 12 winners' spots), Chelsea and Arsenal. 

It was difficult to take 19 incredible teams and place them in a meaningful power ranking order, but we tried the best we could. Many, many of these sides are likely interchangeable, and there were some seriously close calls. As always, you're welcome to tell us how you feel about these many magnificent teams, those spectacular seasons of yesteryear and anything else you'd like in the comments. 

The Rovers take the bottom spot due to their lack of staying power in the high ranks of the Premiership and the fact that they won the league with more losses on the season than any other side—but still, what a team.

It was a close Premiership race, with Blackburn Rovers only barely edging out a beleaguered Man United by a point, but in the end they were the ones who won out, taking home their first major trophy in more than 60 years. 

The title was the culmination of years of hard work and big spending from owner Jack Walker and manager Kenny Dalglish, who helped take the Rovers from their status as a struggling Second Division side to the champions of England spot in just about four years. 

Rovers' X-factor came in the form of striking duo Alan Shearer, who still holds the Premiership's top scoring record, and imposing attacker Chris Sutton. Together, they scored 49 league goals for the Rovers and helped bring them the title. 

Manchester United has won the Premiership 12 times since its inception, so much of this list is ranking the team against itself, which presented many challenges. But a smattering of transfer flops, tough home losses and woes in Europe put this side near the bottom of the list. 

After a closer shave the previous season, the Red Devils got off to a similar rocky start as Fenerbahçe broke their 40-year unbeaten home record and teams like a strong Newcastle United and Southampton were getting the better of them in the league. Chelsea would beat them at home for the first time in two years with a 2-1 victory.

Similarly disappointing were several of the Red Devils' new arrivals, among them Karel Poborský, who struggled to break into the first team having to compete with David Beckham, and Jordi Cruyff, son of the great Johan Cruyff, met a similar fate and was eventually shipped out on loan to Celta Vigo. 

Still, the season could hardly be called a bust. A young midfielder named David Beckham began making his mark at Old Trafford and would go on to win the PFA Young Player of the Year award. One of the club's greatest cult heroes of all time had his breakthrough season in '96-97: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Norwegian international initially tapped as a backup striker for Andy Cole and Eric Cantona, made his name as the club's top goal scorer that season with 18 league goals. 

It seems strange to place a squad which included the likes of Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel and won the first-ever Premiership by 10 points so far down this list. However, due to a shoddy first half of the season, where the Red Devils struggled to score and floundered against a largely dominant Aston Villa and surprising contenders Norwich City. Disciplinary problems also ensued with new signing Cantona, who got in trouble for spitting at a fan when the Devils visited his old club, Leeds United.

Of course, bolstered by newcomer Cantona and an increasingly present Ryan Giggs, they still managed to come from behind and win the league by 10 points. 

Another close race for the title—with the Gunners winning out by only a point and ultimately being so far down the list only because of the teams who netted six losses in winning the title, they had the largest draw-loss combination—Arsenal proved to be a powerhouse in Arsene Wenger's first full season with the club, becoming the second English side to win the double (the league title and FA Cup) twice.

It was the culmination of a path of improvement Wenger had put the club on when he took over the season before after a turbulent string of interim managers. He added some strategic new additions to the lineup, among them Emmanuel Petit, winger Marc Overmars and fresh-faced striker Nicolas Anelka, who joined the likes of more established teammates like Ian Wright and David Seaman.

The Gunners' dominance was best manifested in two unstoppable field partnerships: Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit in defensive midfield and the deadly striking duo of Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp. 

The reign of Ronaldo continued at Old Trafford, where he not only helped lead the Red Devils to a second consecutive Premiership title, but he finished as the league's top goal scorer with 31 goals, and in winning the Golden Boot that season, Ronaldo tied with Alan Shearer's record for most goals scored by a Golden Boot winner in a 38-game season.

But things didn't start off rosy for the Red Devils. Star players Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were lost early on in the season to suspension and injury, respectively, and Man United even spent some time after the first few matches in the relegation zone. But their woes didn't last long, in part thanks to Chelsea's struggles following José Mourinho's departure (they would go on to take second in the league with only three losses) and in part due to the clutch performances of Carlos Tévez, who stepped into the striker role and scored some key goals in the absence of some first-team attackers. 

United's performance also helped English football return to the top of the UEFA rankings list, eclipsing La Liga for nearly a year beginning in May and returning to the top spot for the first time since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. 

The 2009-2010 season saw the Blues win their first double, becoming the seventh English club to do so. It was a close race, but they managed to finish just one point ahead of Manchester United to win the league championship, a culmination of the rejuvenation of the side started by Guus Hiddink and extended into dominance by Carlo Ancelotti. 

Some transfer moves proved to pay off, including the shedding of flop Andriy Shevchenko and the arrival of Yuri Zhirkov, who struggled initially with a knee injury but recovered and helped Chelsea complete a stunning, albeit ultimately unsuccessful run in the Champions League.

The key to Chelsea's success? Goals, goals, goals. They broke a Premier League record by collectively scoring 103 goals in a single season, an achievement not seen in English football since Tottenham Hotspur in the 1960s. Striker Didier Drogba proved a dominant force, scoring 29 league goals and 37 goals in all competitions, becoming the Premiership's top goal scorer for the second time and taking home the Premier League Golden Boot also for the second time. 

The recently knighted Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his third consecutive Premier League title, becoming the first manager to achieve the "three-peat." Despite a slight drop in form in the last handful of matches that season, the Red Devils still finished with a 10-point lead over second-place Arsenal in the table.

Ryan Giggs celebrated a decade with the club and did so in style, and in his final season at Old Trafford, Teddy Sheringham gave some of the best performances of his career, finishing as the club's top goal scorer and earning the PFA's Player of the Year award.

They struggled, however, in league competitions, but made it to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, eventually being edged out by Bayern Munich despite a valiant attempt, including a Ryan Giggs goal on the second leg. 

The season brought United its ninth Premier League championship, and they did so with an impressive run of form with only five draws and five losses in league competition, but it was one particular United player whose name was on everyone's lips: Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo had been on the squad since 2003, but this season is what skyrocketed him to the status he has today. He won the PFA Young Player of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Year in the same ceremony and two other United players, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, also made the shortlist for the latter. 

The Blues repeated the Premier League success of their previous season, appropriately enough, their 100th season as a club. They finished at the top of the league a comfortable seven points above second-place Manchester United and defeated their northern rivals to clinch the title. 

They faltered a bit midseason, but the season was bookended by dominant streaks at the beginning and end, and thus Chelsea remained at the top of the table. Another big-money signing from Roman Abramovich was Ghanaian holding midfielder Michael Essien, who was brought on for £24.4 million and returned on Abramovich's investment with power and skill. At the end of the season, Essien was nominated for the Ballon d'Or and the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year awards. 

The most recent Premiership title has gone to the Red Devils, making it their 12th victory since the league's inception and making them the most successful club in English football history in terms of first division titles with 19 in all. An all-around strong side, United's Dimitar Berbatov and Nani led the league in goals and assists, respectively. Sir Alex Ferguson broke a record of his own as well, becoming the club's longest-serving manager over Sir Matt Busby.

This past season saw United tie its own record of most consecutive unbeaten matches (29), the departure of a long-serving Gary Neville and the arrival of Javier Hernández, a.k.a. Chicharito, who hit a hot streak toward the end of the season and scored 20 goals in all competitions, becoming the first player since Ruud van Nistelrooy to do so on his debut season. Newcomers Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley were loaned out to Sunderland and Wigan, respectively, and have now returned to Old Trafford and show promise this season after having time and experience elsewhere, indicating a promising future for Sir Alex's side.

Following their sealed "three-peat" in the previous season, Manchester United came back for title No. 4. A "four-peat." Which doesn't sound as pretty, but is quite a feat. 

Although the Red Devils did not seem likely to return for a fourth title at the start of the 2002-03 season, they not only did, but went unbeaten in an impressive 18 consecutive matches and only lost five on the season. The extra spark this season came with the arrival and subsequent explosion of Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who would become the Premiership's leading goal scorer with 25 league goals.

The Gunners finished at the top of the league by a comfortable seven points over next contenders Liverpool, with 26 wins and only three losses on the season and finishing the season with a 13-match winning streak. 

The key to the Gunners' success came in the form of their striking force, particularly in their X-factor, Thierry Henry. Henry emerged as the Premiership's top goal scorer with 24 goals and 42 goals in all league competitions and winning the Premier League Golden Boot for the first time in his career.

Additionally, Arsenal defeated Chelsea to win the 2001-02 FA Cup, giving the Gunners their third double and making them the second English side to win it thrice. 

"You'll never win anything with kids."

Those were TV pundit Alan Hansen's now-infamous remarks about the Manchester United squad that rose up the table to knock out a dominant Newcastle United and become the first English team to win the double twice. 

Thinks looked ominous for the Red Devils at the start of the season, with Eric Cantona still serving a suspension for his assault on a fan the previous season and the likes of Paul Ince and Andre Kanchelskis being sold before matches began. To make matters worse, Sir Alex Ferguson had brought on a host of young, unproven players: David Beckham, Paul Scholes (he scores goals), Gary and Phil Neville and Nicky Butt. "Fergie's Fledglings" were coming into their own.

It was a gamble on the part of Sir Alex, but one that paid off. They struggled a bit to find their footing, and the lack of consistency hurts them a bit in this ranking, but when the newcomers paired up with veterans like Roy Keane and Steve Bruce, strides were made and United rose up from a 10-point deficit in the table to win the double. And established players like Eric Cantona still pulled their weight, with Cantona ending the season on his feet as the club's top goal scorer. 

Guess you can win with kids.

The Red Devils repeated their "three-peat," winning three titles in a row for the second time in the Premier League's two-decade history after a battle with fierce rivals Liverpool. 

Following their prowess over the course of the season, five Manchester United players were nominated for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, including Rio Ferdinand, Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs, with the latter taking the title home. Six Red Devils were also named to the PFA Team of the Year, including all the aforementioned plus Patrice Evra, who made an impact toward the end of the season despite time on the sidelines to injuries and suspensions.

2009 saw the Red Devils reach the Champions League final after a dominant run in the competition, only to be bested by Barcelona.

A favorite taunt of Chelsea's opponents towards the club has always been "You ain't got no history." But with three Premiership titles since the league's inception, it's clear the Blues are starting to write a rich one for future generations of fans. 

The Blues, with new manager José Mourinho in charge and owner Roman Abramovich on his second season with the club, began rebuilding after they lost out on the previous league title to Arsenal's "Invincibles." Abramovich made some decisive big-money signings, among them defender Ricardo Carvalho (who would later reunite with Mourinho at Real Madrid) and striker Didier Drogba. 

The new signings and their tenacious manager helped bolster Chelsea to Premier League dominance—the Blues only gave up one loss in league play on the entire season. 2004-2005 proved to be a particularly successful season for one Blue in particular—Frank Lampard—who had had his breakthrough season the year before, scored some key spectacular goals and cemented his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world.

The Red Devils, riding high after their treble the previous season, finished the season 18 points ahead of their nearest competitor, Arsenal, and finished another season with just three losses in league matches. United gave a generally consistent performance, bolstered by more solid, high-volume goal scoring from Dwight Yorke.

United struggled to replace goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who had been a dominant force in the Red Devil defense throughout the '90s, and first attempt Massimo Taibi turned out to be a flop. Despite this significant loss, the Red Devils still dominated the Premiership throughout the season.

Although a squad that would a season later be in the spotlight for controversy (particularly surrounding Eric Cantona's notorious "kung-fu kick" on a Crystal Palace fan in 1995) a season later, United's repeat-champion squad looked unstoppable. 

And early on in the season, they were. They had a 16-point lead on the rest of the competition through January with just one league loss in the first half of the season. It looked as though the side would collapse in the spring, losing out on the Coca-Cola Cup and struggling with disciplinary issues, particularly with star striker Cantona, who was sent off twice in a month. 

But, the Devils would go on to win the double and the players attributed to ushering in United's second golden age—Ryan Giggs, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane—all performed to the best of their abilities and kept fans at Old Trafford on their toes. 

Another close race for the Premiership ensued in the 1998-99 season, with two clubs emerging as serious contenders, but it was Manchester United who pulled away over Arsenal, who were victorious the year before by one point in the league standings.

But despite the closeness of the Premiership title race, the '98-99 season turned out to be the most successful in the club's history in terms of trophy haul and they became the first English side ever to complete the treble: the FA Cup, the Premiership and the UEFA Champions League.

Newcomers Dwight Yorke and Jaap Stam made their mark as part of an overhauled lineup working alongside established Old Trafford icons like Roy Keane and Peter Schmeichel (whose career at the club ended on a very high note with a Champions League winners' cup to his name), and their combined efforts only saw three league losses the entire season. 

We couldn't not have a team called "The Invincibles" in the top spot.

A victory so sweet that the Premier League made a new special gold trophy just to honor the Gunners' spectacular season, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal squad not only won the Premiership in 2004, they were the first English side since Preston North End in the 1880s to go unbeaten for an entire season and carried on their unbeaten streak to 49 matches before Manchester United finally toppled them the following season with a 2-0 win.

But aside from gold, goals and glory, what made The Invincibles so memorable was, of course, the players and that impeccable 4-4-2, filled to the hilt with the sort of massive talent and even bigger personalities which make the beautiful game so engaging.

"Mad Jens" Lehmann in the goal. Patrick Vieira, whose retirement left a hole which the Gunners are still trying to fill today. The technical brilliance of Robert Pirés. And, of course, the striking duo consisting of two Arsenal legends: Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, with the latter scoring 30 season goals that helped bring the title to Highbury once again.