Manchester City are used to winning from the front – but not even they can beat the record for the champions with the shortest time ever spent top of the league
(Image credit: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Manchester City could end up winning the title – despite only being top for two matchdays out of 38 all season long.
The Citizens topped the table two weeks into the season before they dropped two points to Newcastle United and wouldn't get back there until they beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in February. That following weekend, two more dropped points away to Nottingham Forest would see the Gunners re-assume their place top.
It seems strange to see Manchester City play catch-up in the title race – but you only have to look 26 miles down the road to see the record for a championship-winning side with virtually no time spent top…
Burnley won the title without finishing a single matchday top – until the last game of the season
The Burnley Division One championship winning squad of season 1959-60 (Image credit: Allsport/Getty Images)
Burnley is one of the smallest towns to have ever supplied an English top-tier-winning team – and though they've spent most of their 2022/23 season top of the Championship… things were very different back in 1959/60 for the Clarets.
Firstly though, let's just confirm that we're looking for a championship-winning team in the top tier and that the team in question had to be top of the league after each matchday. In 1959, Burnley topped the table between 25 and 26 August after Matchday 2 but slipped to third after rivals completed their second fixtures. Anyone can be top of the league if you play the opening fixture of the campaign, right?
Bearing that mind, the Championship-winning Clarets of '60 only climbed to the summit of English football on the final day of the season, scoring their winning goal with 60 minutes of football to be played of the campaign.
Not only that, the side were unusual for a few other reasons. Burnley won the title with one of the lowest post-war point tallies (55), one of the smallest goal averages (1.39), and one of the highest numbers of goals conceded (61). But far from being unworthy champions, the Lancashire outfit were admired for playing some of the most free-flowing, continental-style football in the league.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"Smooth, skilled football that was a warming advertisement for all that was best about British football," Jimmy Greaves called it at the time. Maybe things aren't too different from Vincent Kompany's style.
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.
