WITH 46 OF THE 106 TOP-FLIGHT championships to their names, the reds of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are unquestionably the supreme forces in English football — but it was not always so.

Liverpool and United had enjoyed some early successes, but until Herbert Chapman began to secure his place in Highbury’s marble halls with the first of Arsenal’s 13 titles in 1930-31, the mighty triumvirate did not dominate the landscape. With six championships, six FA Cups and a name that was revered wherever football was played, the most successful club before the emergence of Arsenal was Aston Villa. Their position of fifth in the Fink Tank table is a reflection of this and is boosted by the fact that only Everton have spent more seasons in the top division.

But Everton fans will feel a little aggrieved at their position just below Leeds United and Villa, given that they are the only club to pass the century of seasons among the elite and are second only to their neighbours, Liverpool, in the points tally. Nor is Everton’s status purely a product of longevity — with nine titles, they outstrip all but the big three in what is surely the most important measure of success.

And talking of titles, where are Chelsea, the hot favourites to win a third successive Premiership crown in 2006-07? The answer is way back in fourteenth place. The clinical efficiency with which they habitually dispatch weaker opponents now has not yet banished the club’s historic reputation as talented dilettantes.

Leeds’s elevated position just behind the top three is eloquent testimony to the singular talents of Don Revie. The club had achieved nothing of note before Revie led them into the old first division in 1964, but the sheer consistency he fostered has earned them the right to consider themselves one of the foremost clubs.

BILL EDGAR

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