Ranking the 20 Premier League Pitches

Grounds in the Premiership come in all shapes and sizes, from the palatial meadow of Old Trafford, to the claustrophobic box of Craven Cottage.

With all of the diverse, quality choices, ranking them is a fool's chore, but one I went for nonetheless.

Factors such as history, size and effectiveness (how they affected a team's record) all came into play.

Here's the top 20 pitches in next season's Premier League.

1. Old Trafford (Manchester United)

Year Founded: 1910 (11)

Capacity: 76,212 (1)

The Taj Mahal of English soccer, Old Trafford has housed the world's most famous football club for over a century now.

Nicknamed "The Theatre of Dreams" it trails only Wembley as the second-largest stadium in England.

There's too much history here for it to not be tops on the list.

2. St. James' Park (Newcastle)

Year Opened: 1880 (2)

Capacity: 52,387 (3)

A brilliant combination of size and historical relevance, St. James' Park provides one of the greatest soccer experiences in Europe.

The asymmetrical appearance of the stands stick out like a sore thumb, but to those who love it, they wouldn't have it any other way.

Newcastle shocked the EPL en route to a fifth place finish last season, and their 11-5-3 home record was a big factor in their success.

3. Craven Cottage (Fulham)

Year Opened: 1896 (5)

Capacity: 25,700 (16)

A cozy, little nook in the London borough of Fulham, Craven Cottage is one of the most visceral landmarks in all of English football.

The stadium in built on the site of a royal hunting lodge that was called "Crave Cottage," and has history dating back over 300 years.

Fulham did some hunting of their own at the Cottage last season, only losing five of their 20 home matches.

4. Stamford Bridge (Chelsea)

Year Opened: 1877 (1)

Capacity: 42,055 (8)

Simply referred to as "The Bridge," Chelsea's home ground since 1877 is the oldest in the Premiership.

With a museum and a "Megastore" now in tow, Stamford Bridge has transitioned into its third century of existence well.

Even while Chelsea sputtered to a 6-7-6 record on the road last season, they could count on The Bridge to fuel them a victory, going 12-3-4 on their home grounds.

5. Goodison Park (Everton)

Year Opened: 1892 (4)

Capacity: 40,157 (9)

Home to Everton since 1892, Goodison Park definitely wins points in the unique feature category: a church protrudes into the stadium between two of the grandstands, only yards from the corner flag. The team refuses to play early kick-offs on Sundays so the church can conduct services.

Talk about following your football team religiously.

6. Villa Park (Aston Villa)

Year Opened: 1897 (6)

Capacity: 42,788 (7)

With Wembley being used for the London Olympics, Villa Park will host the 2012 Community Shield match between Manchester City and Chelsea.

A nice blend of size and history, Villa Park only gets downgraded for it's failure to help it's squad in 2011-12; Aston Villa was only 4-7-8 at home.

7. Emirates Stadium (Arsenal)

Year Opened: 2006 (20)

Capacity: 60,355 (2)

Emirates Stadium is a sprawling grounds for sure, but it still kind of feels like a zombie version of its historic predecessor, Highbury.

Plus points for being the second biggest grounds in the EPL; minus points for destroying history to get there.

8. Loftus Road (Queens Park Rangers)

Year Opened: 1904 (10)

Capacity: 18,360 (20)

The smallest-capacity grounds in the EPL, Loftus Road thrives on the cramped, homey atmosphere it provides for its team.

Despite a putrid 3-2-14 record on the road last season, Rangers were able to barely stave off relegation on the strength of a 7-5-7 mark at Loftus.

Anything with that kind of effect on a team's history earns high marks.

9. Anfield (Liverpool)

Year Opened: 1884 (3)

Capacity: 45,362 (6)

Anfield is a historic ground that has housed Liverpool for over a century. There were rumors of trying to replace it with a state-of-the-art 60,000 seat complex in Stanley Park, but those rumors have (thankfully) been scrapped.

Anfield does lose points, however, for not helping its team through a disastrous 2011-12 campaign. Liverpool was 6-9-4 at home last season, compared to a nearly-as-successful 8-1-10 on the road.

10. White Hart Lane (Tottenham Hotspur)

Year Opened: 1899 (7)

Capacity: 36,310 (10)

Just a solid pitch all around, it's modern with a hint of antique, and big without feeling artificial.

Never a bad place to see a football match, White Hart also gains points for helping Tottenham to a 13-3-3 home record last season.

11. Etihad Stadium (Manchester City)

Year Opened: 2003 (18)

Capacity: 47,726 (5)

Manchester City's Etihad Stadium feels a little hollow and artificial, another move in a long line of attempts to be like Manchester United.

The ground is pristine and sprawling, but there's no history.

That being said, they do get points for their side's 18-1-0 home record last season.

12. Stadium of Light (Sunderland)

Year Opened: 1997 (T-13)

Capacity: 49,000 (4)

If you think "Stadium of Light" isn't going to get points for having an awesome name, then you my friend, are seriously mistaken.

I don't like that it was built in 1997, but I do like that it embraces its modernity by hosting almost 50,000 people.

13. The Hawthorns (West Bromwich Albion)

Year Opened: 1900 (8)

Capacity: 26,500 (15)

When you host an unremarkable club, and have decent-but-unremarkable history and capacity numbers, it's important to distinguish yourself in a different way––and The Hawthorns does just that.

At an altitude of 551 feet, the stadium is the highest grounds in England. Not quite Coors Field or Mile High Stadium, but it's something.

Negative points scored here, however: The team was more successful on the road than they were at home last season.

14. The Boleyn Ground (West Ham United)

Year Opened: 1904 (9)

Capacity: 35,303 (11)

Let me put this as simply as I can: When you inspire a movie as epic as Green Street Hooligans, you can do no wrong in my book.

I will go see a game at Boleyn before I die, and I will sing this song. I don't care if I get beat up for being a poser or a journo.

15. St. Mary's Stadium (Southampton)

Year Opened: 2001 (17)

Capacity: 32,689 (12)

Doesn't blow anybody away in any one area, but its a four-star-rated UEFA stadium with a beautiful pitch.

Southampton finished squarely in the dominant trio of the Championship last season, in large part due to their 16-4-3 record at St. Mary's.

16. Carrow Road (Norwich City)

Year Opened: 1935 (12)

Capacity: 27,033 (14)

Carrow Road is a quaint, if not unremarkable, venue to watch a soccer match.

There's not much to distinguish itself from the crowd (unless you count the adjoined Holiday Inn), particularly the club's 7-7-6 record there in 2011-12.

The team is working to modernize the grounds, but they've got a ways to go.

17. DW Stadium (Wigan Athletic)

Year Opened: 1999 (16)

Capacity: 25,138 (17)

Like so many others toward the bottom of the table, Wigan Athletic's DW Stadium suffers from insignificance and lack of history.

The team's 5-7-7 home record didn't do it any favors.

18. Britannia Stadium (Stoke City)

Year Opened: 1997 (T-13)

Capacity: 28,383 (13)

There's not a whole lot working for Britannia.

It's boring, scoring below-average in history and capacity. It's relatively modern-looking, but not enough so to make up for its lack of historical significance.

There's just not a whole lot to like here.

19. Madejski Stadium (Reading)

Year Opened: 1998 (15)

Capacity: 24,161 (18)

Below average in historical context. Below average in capacity. Below average in uniqueness.

The boring Madjeski Stadium gets a rating of "blah."

20. Liberty Stadium (Swansea City)

Year Opened: 2005 (19)

Capacity: 20,532 (19)

If you were built in 2005, you can afford to host more than 20,000 people. Small stadiums are only cool when given a lush historical context.

Next please.