Who are the 3 biggest clubs in the football league

I've never thought of Bolton as being a big club but to be fair they've won 4 fa cups, and spent 73 seasons in the top flight. They've won more trophies than West Ham and had more seasons in the top flight but could you really say Bolton are a bigger club? It's a difficult one to define.

If you compare our history to other cubs it would be difficult to justify putting us in the top 20 biggest clubs, but I still wouldn't swap being able to see my club win a trophy and reach a European cup final, with being able to say we'd won something well before I was even born.
 
Jonny Ingbar said:
Its such a subjective question everyone has different criteria.

For me the clubs history is important, but modern history will always outweigh a clubs achievements before that and the longer so the less weight of attach.

Support is relevant, of course.

Trophies and consistent competitiveness counts, both domestic and European.

Ultimately the current standing and performance of a club has a big influence, albeit that can change quickly.

I think there's a group of around a dozen clubs that you could select from, but narrowing it down is practically impossible.
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I get what you mean, but in the last 20 years, only 5 EFL clubs have won a major trophy.

Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Swansea and Wigan.

I personally wouldn't class any of them as one of the 3 biggest in the Football League.
 
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If you're looking at post war achievements then there's an argument for Derby, WBA, Bolton, Norwich, Birmingham, Stoke, Ipswich and.....Middlesbrough
 
Difficult to quantify, we're in the top 20 for all time average attendances, and seasons spent in the top flight, but we don't have the weight of silverware to match.

Going on perceived stature, I would say Sunderland, Wednesday and Derby County.. don't kill me! 😀
 
TeaCider said:
I get what you mean, but in the last 20 years, only 5 EFL clubs have won a major trophy.

Middlesbrough, Portsmouth, Birmingham, Swansea and Wigan.

But I personally wouldn't class any of them as one the 3 biggest in the Football League.
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No, me neither, but it's a factor.

Currently Watford and Burnley are bigger clubs than some others due to their PL seasons I think, but the whole debate is a bit pointless to a degree because everyone disagrees.
 
I'm not even sure the trophy haul is that relevant. Would anyone really say Blackburn or Leicester are bigger than (hate to say it) Newcastle even though they have both won the Prem and League Cup fairly recently?

In terms of the EFL I'd also give an honourable mention to Norwich.
 
CommanderComcast said:
I'm not even sure the trophy haul is that relevant. Would anyone really say Blackburn or Leicester are bigger than (hate to say it) Newcastle even though they have both won the Prem and League Cup fairly recently?

In terms of the EFL I'd also give an honourable mention to Norwich.
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Newcastle have won more trophies, averaged higher attendances, and spent more seasons in the top flight than both of those clubs. They're undoubtedly a much bigger club.

A fairer argument would be whether Blackburn and Leicester are bigger clubs than say West Ham. They've both won more trophies than West Ham but I still feel West Ham are a bigger club.

It's all very complex when you analyse it. So many factors contribute towards defining what makes a club 'big'.
 
We are still 16th in the all-time Premier league table. So Blackburn, Boro and Sunderland
 

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As it’s so subjective, surely there’s a mathematical way to remove the subjectivity?

Assign points for league position 1 to 92 but weighted so that more recent seasons are worth more than stuff that happened in 1923 for example. Factor in attendances, performance in cups.

Any other metrics need to be considered?
 
I’d say Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday are both a good shout. Both clubs have won multiple titles and cup competitions, both have large stadiums and a large fan base. I’m not sure about Sheffield Wednesday’s facilities but Sunderland is known to have a very good training and academy set-up.

After those two it’s possible to name other clubs based on success many years ago. The likes of Burnley, Preston, Huddersfield, Ipswich and Portsmouth have all at some point won things.

The one caveat for all clubs mentioned is success has changed for them. None are capable of winning a top flight title and those that have did it almost a century ago. The most recent success was Portsmouth winning the FA Cup in 2009. Success for all clubs in modern times is promotion to the Premier League and establishing themselves as a mid table club.
 
ForssAwakens said:
Sheff wed definitely the biggest
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Hate to say it but has to be Sunderland for me.

Trophies - Sunderland (8) Sheff Wed (7)

Seasons in top flight - Sunderland (86) Sheff Wed (66)

Historical average attendance - Sunderland (25.893) Sheff Wed (21.430)
 
For me it's not about just trophies it's basically how the club is perceived. Blackburn undoubtedly have had success but nothing about them gives off an impression of a big club, and they've spent a lot of time in the wilderness.
I'd say Sheff Wed and Sunderland
Then pick from Boro, Derby, Sheff Utd, maybe West Brom.
Forest were the obvious one until they were promoted.

I don't think these things are set in stone though and whther someone could be perceived as a big club changes over time. I mean are Sheff Wed really now a big club?
 
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Trophies won seems a fair comparison in which case, as mentioned above, it's Blackburn, Sunderland and Wednesday.

All time record (points per game) would also be a useful indicator, potentially weighted by level/division?

Not sure attendances comes into at all - surely your attendance/support is a geographical quirk only and not indicative of on field success?

Once you get into the EPL there's arguably global fanbase to consider but I would consider the teams with the largest global support would correlate with trophies won anyway? I.e. glory supporters!
 
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