Those pundits screaming from the rooftops about how Utd will steal City's thunder this weekend should take three minutes to run their eyes down this list. It is a list of all Cup Finals since the 1974-75 season, when West Ham's skeletal striker Alan Taylor bagged two to help the Hammers beat Fulham. Run your eyes down the columns and look for a final that does not contain the following words: "united", "Chelsea", "Arsenal", Everton", "Liverpool" or "Tottenham". Amazingly, you will find only one, 2007-08's Portsmouth-Cardiff, born of the strangest 4 semi-finalists seen for many a long decade. West Brom and Barnsley were the others in that merry band of four.
1974–75 | West Ham United | 2–0 | Fulham | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1975–76 FA Cup (1) !1975–76 | Southampton | 1–0 | Manchester United | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1976–77 FA Cup (1) !1976–77 | Manchester United | 2–1 | Liverpool | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1977–78 FA Cup (1) !1977–78 | Ipswich Town | 1–0 | Arsenal | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1978–79 FA Cup (1) !1978–79 | Arsenal | 3–2 | Manchester United | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1979–80 FA Cup (1) !1979–80 | West Ham United | 1–0 | Arsenal | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1980–81 FA Cup (1) !1980–81 | Tottenham Hotspur | †1–1 * | Manchester City | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1980–81 FA Cup (2) !(R) | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | Manchester City | Wembley Stadium (original) | 92,000 |
1981–82 FA Cup (1) !1981–82 | Tottenham Hotspur | †1–1 * | Queens Park Rangers | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1981–82 FA Cup (2) !(R) | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Queens Park Rangers | Wembley Stadium (original) | 90,000 |
1982–83 FA Cup (1) !1982–83 | Manchester United | †2–2 * | Brighton & Hove Albion | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1982–83 FA Cup (2) !(R) | Manchester United | 4–0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1983–84 FA Cup (1) !1983–84 | Everton | 2–0 | Watford | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1984–85 FA Cup (1) !1984–85 | Manchester United | †1–0 * | Everton | Wembley Stadium (original) | 100,000 |
1985–86 FA Cup (1) !1985–86 | Liverpool | 3–1 | Everton | Wembley Stadium (original) | 98,000 |
1986–87 FA Cup (1) !1986–87 | Coventry City | †3–2 * | Tottenham Hotspur | Wembley Stadium (original) | 98,000 |
1987–88 FA Cup (1) !1987–88 | Wimbledon | 1–0 | Liverpool | Wembley Stadium (original) | 98,203 |
1988–89 FA Cup (1) !1988–89 | Liverpool | †3–2 * | Everton | Wembley Stadium (original) | 82,500 |
1989–90 FA Cup (1) !1989–90 | Manchester United | †3–3 * | Crystal Palace | Wembley Stadium (original) | 80,000 |
1989–90 FA Cup (2) !(R) | Manchester United | 1–0 | Crystal Palace | Wembley Stadium (original) | 80,000 |
1990–91 FA Cup (1) !1990–91 | Tottenham Hotspur | †2–1 * | Nottingham Forest | Wembley Stadium (original) | 80,000 |
1991–92 FA Cup (1) !1991–92 | Liverpool | 2–0 | Sunderland | Wembley Stadium (original) | 80,000 |
1992–93 FA Cup (1) !1992–93 | Arsenal | †1–1 * | Sheffield Wednesday | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,347 |
1992–93 FA Cup (2) !(R) | Arsenal | †2–1 * | Sheffield Wednesday | Wembley Stadium (original) | 62,267 |
1993–94 FA Cup (1) !1993–94 | Manchester United | 4–0 | Chelsea | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,634 |
1994–95 FA Cup (1) !1994–95 | Everton | 1–0 | Manchester United | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,592 |
1995–96 FA Cup (1) !1995–96 | Manchester United | 1–0 | Liverpool | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,007 |
1996–97 FA Cup (1) !1996–97 | Chelsea | 2–0 | Middlesbrough | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,160 |
1997–98 FA Cup (1) !1997–98 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Newcastle United | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,183 |
1998–99 FA Cup (1) !1998–99 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Newcastle United | Wembley Stadium (original) | 79,101 |
1999–2000 FA Cup (1) !1999–2000 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Aston Villa | Wembley Stadium (original) | 78,217 |
2000–01 FA Cup (1) !2000–01 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Arsenal | Millennium Stadium | 72,500 |
2001–02 FA Cup (1) !2001–02 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Chelsea | Millennium Stadium | 73,963 |
2002–03 FA Cup (1) !2002–03 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Southampton | Millennium Stadium | 73,726 |
2003–04 FA Cup (1) !2003–04 | Manchester United | 3–0 | Millwall | Millennium Stadium | 71,350 |
2004–05 FA Cup (1) !2004–05 | Arsenal | †0–0 † | Manchester United | Millennium Stadium | 71,876 |
2005–06 FA Cup (1) !2005–06 | Liverpool | †3–3 † | West Ham United | Millennium Stadium | 71,140 |
2006–07 FA Cup (1) !2006–07 | Chelsea | †1–0 * | Manchester United | Wembley Stadium (new) | 89,826 |
2007–08 FA Cup (1) !2007–08 | Portsmouth | 1–0 | Cardiff City | Wembley Stadium (new) | 89,874 |
2008–09 FA Cup (1) !2008–09 | Chelsea | 2–1 | Everton | Wembley Stadium (new) | 89,391 |
2009–10 FA Cup (1) !2009–10 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Portsmouth | Wembley Stadium (new) | 88,335 |
So, to those suggesting Salford Rangers are about steal anybody's thunder, I would counter that this final pairing is so fresh, so virgin white, that it cannot do anything but stand out quite nicely by itself. Manchester City, in their first final since 1981, versus Stoke City, in their first ever final. Now, if that's not an occasion to bring the colour back to the cheeks of the FA Cup, I don't know what is...
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