The last time Liverpool finished outside the top eight in England ’ s top division was in the 1961-62 season , when they weren ’ t even in the top division . They were winning the old Second Division title that year , ending an eight-year spell outside the top flight , one of the rare periods in their history when they have played below the elite . In the 110 seasons they have played league football since promotion from the Lancashire League to the Second Division of the Football League in 1893 , they have finished , on average , eighth . That means they have the highest average finish , all-time , of any club . Their precise average finish is 8.26 , which puts them ahead of next-best Arsenal ( average finish 8.78 , also in 110 seasons ) and third-placed Everton , who have averaged a placing of 9.71 in their 115 league seasons . Daniel Sturridge equalises for Liverpool at Anfield against Manchester United on Sunday . Liverpool players celebrate in the dressing room having won the Division One title in 1990 . Luis Suarez , now at Barcelona , guided Liverpool to second place in the Premier League last season . The average finishing positions have been calculated as part of a MailSport study to explore which English clubs are the ‘ biggest ’ ; 59 different teams of the current 92 in the top four divisions have been considered , having played in England ’ s top division for at least a season . Liverpool ’ s incredible consistency over time means they have only spent 11 seasons of 110 outside the top division . Those were their inaugural season , plus 1895-96 , then 1904-05 , then the eight-year spell between 1954 and 1962 . At the peak of their powers , between 1972-73 and 1990-91 , they finished outside the top two in the top division just once , when they were fifth in 1980-81 . Chelsea , celebrating a 3-2 win at Hull on Saturday , lead the Premier League this season so far . Phil Neal is pictured with the UEFA Cup , Charity Shield , and League Championship trophies in 1976 . Arsenal last won the Premier League title in 2004 , when they went unbeaten for the entire season . Steve McMahon ( centre ) lifts with Division One trophy in 1986 with his Liverpool team-mates . In that 19-year period Liverpool won the title 11 times and their finishing positions in a list looked like this : 1-2-2-1-1-2-1-1-5-1-1-1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2 . Arsenal have been in the top division non-stop since 1919-20 but had 13 seasons in the second tier at times before that . Although famously a top-four team since Arsene Wenger arrived in 1996-97 , they have finished outside the top 10 as recently as 1994-95 ( when 12th ) and were distinctly mediocre and finishing well down the pecking order in the mid-1970s . Everton are one of 10 current league clubs who have played all 115 seasons since the league began in 1888-89 ; the others being Preston , Aston Villa , Wolves , Blackburn , Bolton , West Brom , Burnley , Derby and Notts County . Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has kept the Gunners in the Premier League top four since 1997 . Former Arsenal forward Paul Merson celebrates scoring against Liverpool as the Gunners won the 1991 title . Arsenal broke Liverpool 's dominance of Division One to win the title in 1989 , held by Tony Adams . Kevin Ratcliffe holds the Division One title up , after Everton won the Championship in 1987 . Everton have had an unbroken run in the top division since 1954 and have only ever played four seasons lower down , from 1951 to 1954 and for a single season in 1930-31 before that - when they won the Second Division . Manchester United are the fourth-best club in average finish ( from 111 seasons ) , followed by Villa , Tottenham , Chelsea , Newcastle , Manchester City and Sunderland . The best team in this regard currently outside the Premier League are Leeds . Steven Naismith ( left ) and James McCarthy celebrate during a recent Merseyside derby this season .
1888-89 Liverpool finished outside the top two in the top division just once , winning the title 11 times . Arsenal and Everton follow behind with 8.78 and 9.71 average finishes . Everton are one of 10 current league clubs who have played all 115 seasons since the league began in Between 1972-73 and 1990-91 . Sportsmail 's HOW BIG IS YOUR CLUB ? study finally settles great debate .