Manchester City Sets Premier League Record With Four Consecutive Titles

Manchester City’s current squad stands out in the Premier League era after securing four consecutive titles, according to former goalkeeper David James. City made history by becoming the first team in English top-flight football to win four successive titles, clinching the latest with a 3-1 victory over West Ham, surpassing Arsenal by two points.

Historically, Huddersfield Town (1923-1926), Arsenal (1932-1935), and Liverpool (1981-1984) each won the old First Division three times in a row. Manchester United achieved this feat twice in the Premier League era (1998-2001 and 2006-2009). Pep Guardiola’s team ended the campaign with a nine-match winning streak and are unbeaten in their last 35 matches across all competitions, recording 29 wins and six draws—the longest such run by a Premier League team.

City have an opportunity to make further history on Saturday by potentially securing back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles against Manchester United. James, who played for City between 2004 and 2006, believes Guardiola’s champions have solidified their status as the Premier League’s finest.

"They’re up there. The fact they’ve broken the record means that no one’s done better than them over that period," James told Stats Perform. "From the moment they first won that Premier League title to now, they have been head and shoulders better than anyone else."

Pep Guardiola has now clinched his sixth Premier League title with Manchester City, making him just the fourth manager to win as many as six English top-flight titles, alongside Sir Alex Ferguson (13), George Ramsay (6), and Bob Paisley (6).

James highlighted the team’s unity and celebratory spirit. "It’s thoroughly deserved and one of the funny things that I love is the way they celebrate. You would think after four in a row that it would be, okay, lads, let’s get back in and worry about the FA Cup on the weekend. They celebrate like they haven’t got another match!"

He added, "This is a group of players and staff who are all with each other, all behind each other, all enjoying all these moments. I can’t think of a team who’s had that much dominance over that period of time. They just keep breaking records, don’t they?"

Statistical Dominance

Over the last four seasons, City’s total of 359 Premier League points is 49 more than any other team. They have averaged 2.4 points per game and won 73.7 per cent of their league matches.

While James does not believe City’s class of 2023-24 has been as relentless as the treble winners of 2022-23, he notes their consistent control during the run-in. "I think it’s interesting when we look at the whole season because I don’t think there’s been a spell where City have absolutely smashed teams," James said.

"I’ve followed a lot of the games this season where they’ve won but haven’t been overly impressive, especially compared to last season. But in a way, I could detect from the beginning of the season there was something different about the way Pep was approaching it."

Strategic Approach

"I don’t think it was all the guts and thunder of last season," James continued. "They always had it under control and it was just like a Mo Farah finish; they put the afterburners on at the end."