The official ‘Barclays era’ Premier League table: No Leeds, Man City 5th…

If you’ve spent any time on social media of late, you’ll have surely been unable to escape clubs and brands jumping on the ‘Barclaysmen’ trend.

Clubs including Leeds United, Brentford and Brighton have all put up their own take, but received pushback having been absent from English football’s top flight during the ‘Barclays era’.

Brighton and Brentford didn’t get promoted until 2017 and 2021 respectively.

There’s been some debate over Leeds, who uploaded a Mark Viduka compilation soundtracked by Stereophonics. Before their relegation in 2004, Leeds spent three seasons competing in the ‘Barclaycard Premiership’ – so we’re disqualifying them on a bit of a technicality.

The true, proper ‘Barclays era’ is officially classed as between the years of 2004 and 2016, prior to Pep Guardiola’s revolution, when the league was officially branded the Barclays Premier League.

There’s a difference of opinion over which years within that time frame constitute ‘prime Barclays’ if you want to get really granular with it – but safe to say if the likes of Stoke City, Wigan Athletic Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth and Blackburn all feature you’re getting there.

To settle the debate, we’ve compiled the full, cumulative Premier League table from every season between 2004 and 2016.

Manchester United, who won five Premier League titles during that period, unsurprisingly top the table – while the old ‘Sky Four’ of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool complete the Champions League places.

Chelsea also won four league titles during the Barclays era, while Manchester City started their ascent to dominance by topping the table in 2011-12 and 2013-14 – but their earlier fallow years are only enough to see them fifth in the overall rankings.

But the spirit of the Barclays isn’t about which sides were competing for trophies or competing in the Champions League. It’s about your Mortem Gamst Pedersens, your Rory Delaps, your Michus and Yakubus.

Further down the table we have Blackburn in 12th, Stoke in 13th, Sunderland in 14th, Bolton in 15th, West Brom in 16th, Wigan in 17th and Portsmouth in 18th. That’s the sweet spot for prime Barclaysmen.

A total of 37 different clubs competed in the Premier League during the Barclays era, with Blackpool, Cardiff and Derby the one-season wonders. Derby, who infamously notched just 11 points in the 2007-08 season, find themselves adrift at the foot of the table.

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Here’s the official Barclays era Premier League table in full:

1. Man Utd – 969pts, 486 GD
2. Chelsea – 952pts, 483 GD
3. Arsenal – 884pts, 412 GD
4. Liverpool – 810pts, 306 GD
5. Man City – 778pts, 279 GD
6. Tottenham – 750pts, 152 GD
7. Everton – 697pts, 106 GD
8. Aston Villa – 545pts, -125 GD
9. Newcastle – 499pts, -132 GD
10. West Ham – 459pts, -92 GD
11. Fulham – 442pts, -116 GD
12. Blackburn – 380pts, -79 GD
13. Stoke – 380pts, -79 GD
14. Sunderland – 380pts, -174 GD
15. Bolton – 369pts, -82 GD
16. West Bromwich – 362pts, -152 GD
17. Wigan – 331pts, -166 GD
18. Portsmouth – 257pts, -81 GD
19. Southampton – 252pts, 15 GD
20. Swansea – 238pts, -24 GD
21. Middlesbrough – 220pts, -47 GD
22. Birmingham – 203pts, -74 GD
23. Norwich – 191pts, -128 GD
24. Crystal Palace – 168pts, -52 GD
25. Hull – 137pts, -99 GD
26. Charlton – 127pts, -56 GD
27. Leicester – 122pts, 23 GD
28. Reading – 119pts, -50 GD
29. Wolves – 103pts, -86 GD
30. QPR – 92pts, -84 GD
31. Watford – 73pts, -40 GD
32. Burnley – 63pts, -65 GD
33. Bournemouth – 42pts, -22 GD
34. Blackpool – 39pts, -23 GD
35. Sheff Utd – 38pts, -23 GD
36. Cardiff – 30pts, -42 GD
37. Derby – 11pts, -69 GD