The 10 English clubs who most need a trophy: Leeds, Man Utd, Arsenal…

Manchester City and Liverpool’s domination of English football in recent years has left some historic giants feeding on their scraps.

Still, in the not too distant past we’ve seen the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham and Crystal Palace end trophy droughts – leaving others in their place as the hungriest for silverware.

We’ve ranked the 10 clubs in English football who could do with a trophy the most.

This is Leeds’ first season back up in the Premier League.

Consolidating their place back at English football’s top table is the priority for now. They found out last time that’s easier said than done. It’s a multi-year process.

Still, Daniel Farke’s side have made it to their first FA Cup quarter-final in over two decades, and now they’re just one win away from a first Wembley cup match since the 1996 League Cup ( Coca-Cola back then – ask your dad) final defeat to Aston Villa.

Not since 1992 has the club won a major trophy with the last league title before the Premier League era. And not since that year’s Charity Shield have they won at Wembley, with plenty of play-off heartbreak in the years since.

Winning something, and winning at Wembley, would have a transformative healing effect on one of English football’s historic giants. Eighteen years in the Football League have been pretty bruising on the club’s sense of self-esteem.

AKA ‘What Have You Done For Me Lately?’

However his tenure ends, Eddie Howe will always enjoy legend status on Tyneside for ending the Magpies’ mammoth 70-year domestic trophy drought.

But it’s been another underwhelming season of struggling to juggle European and domestic commitments.

Howe ( probably ) has enough goodwill in the bank, but delivering another trophy in 2026-27 would go a long way in rebuilding trust and belief that this project still has legs.

There’s a growing restlessness among the Chelsea fanbase about the club’s (lack of) direction under the BlueCo ownership.

In fairness, after a shambolic start, there has been exponential improvement season on season. Until now – the Blues appear to have hit the skids after last year’s top-four finish, UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup.

It’s not even been 12 months since their last trophy, but winning the FA Cup would at least symbolically and spiritually see Chelsea return to the vibes of the Roman Abramovich era.

Scattergun recruitment, constant managerial changes, chaos behind the scenes – but very rarely starved of silverware.

‘Winning isn’t important, it’s the only thing that matters’ is famously Juventus’ club ethos. Chelsea are probably the closest equivalent to that in English football – forget talk of ‘projects’, ‘philosophies’ and ‘holistic approaches’; just win.

Liam Rosenior would do well to keep that in mind.

As long as Unai Emery has Villa punching well above their weight in the Premier League, a lack of silverware will always be excused.

But upsetting the old guard to challenge for the top four is proof that they’re capable of winning cups.

In fact, before arriving at Villa Park, Emery always had more of a reputation as a cup specialist – masterminding one-off games and two-legged knockout ties – with no fewer than four Europa League titles under his belt.

Come to think of it, lifting that trophy in Istanbul would be the perfect way to cap off their excellent 2025-26 campaign.

Villa famously have a proud European history , and their manager is Mr Europa League. Thirty years since their last major trophy – the time is now.

Birmingham City, Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Portsmouth. In the last 20 years, you can count on one hand the number of genuine outsiders that won lifted the domestic cups. And they all had their fair share of luck along the way.

It’s probably asking a bit too much to ask Brentford to beat Europe’s elite clubs to silverware, given they continually rank among the lowest in the Premier League in terms of wage outlay and transfer spend .

Still, last season Crystal Palace demonstrated the value of taking the FA Cup seriously. We dare say that day at Wembley will live longer in the memory than every 12th-place finish combined.

Ironically, the same cold, hard data-led approach that has Brentford overachieving in the Premier League so spectacularly is probably the same one that says not to expend too much energy on the cups.

It’s now five years of Premier League consolidation. They’re comfortably midtable and have an outside chance of European football.

Taking points off Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle United under Keith Andrews is evidence they’re capable of achieving something special in the cups if they really went for it.

It’s very tempting to copy and paste the above entry and change a few key words. Take out Keith Andrews, stick in Andoni Iraola. All the same principles apply.

Bournemouth have spent nine of the last 11 seasons in the Premier League. They’re playing some remarkable football under their current coach and now boast countless big wins over infinitely better-resourced sides.

By any measure, this is the greatest period in the Cherries’ history. The only thing missing is a memorable cup run. At least a semi-final.

Completing our trifecta of well-run ‘B’ clubs, Brighton are arguably the most impressive of the lot.

Next year will mark an uninterrupted decade in the top flight, in which they’ve acted as a model club in buying low, selling high and perpetually building.

They’re now part of the Premier League furniture and their stability means it’s hard to see them going anywhere.

In fairness, they have made it to two FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley – narrowly, respectably, lost to the two Manchester clubs. It’s about time they go a step or two further and emulate their M23 rivals.

Nineteen top-flight campaigns in the modern Premier League era. Fifteenth in the all-time table, ahead of the likes of Crystal Palace, Brighton and Sunderland.

As Fulham close in on a fourth successive season in the comfortable bosom of midtable, serious questions need to be asked over the nature of their limp FA Cup exit to second-tier Southampton.

Sort it out, Fulham. Surely the biggest club in English football who have never won a trophy.

Erik ten Hag ended the Red Devils’ six-year trophy drought with the League Cup in 2023.

Even after a turbulent second season, he earned a stay of execution by defeating Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

But the clock immediately resets for a club of their size and expectations. They couldn’t make it three trophies in three years, with defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final capping off by far their worst season of the modern era.

This season’s first-hurdle losses to Grimsby and Brighton extend their current trophy drought to two years. Jim Ratcliffe will be feeling the pressure if that goes on to three or more. Tick tock.

QUIZ: Can you name every club to win the English league title?

No explanation necessary. It’s been six years. Enough is enough.

Everything is there for Mikel Arteta’s Gunners. Can they see it over the line? Their limp display in the League Cup final leaves that question open.

It’s almost unthinkable, but if they don’t win anything this season they might just dethrone 2001-02 Bayer Leverkusen