by Matthew Adams

Created on: April 09, 2009   Last Updated: September 07, 2009

The FA Cup is the oldest cup competition and began in 1871, as a proposal by Alcock. Since, it has expanded to include all the teams in the football league as well as some non-league teams.

The first winners of the FA cup were Wanderers. They beat Royal Engineers 1-0 to the win the first FA Cup. In the 20th Century, the more familiar London club of Tottenham were the first to win in 1900 when they beat Sheffield Utd 3-1 in the final replay.

By then the cup had expanded, due to the football league. League and cup football coincided happily enough, with the cup undoubtedly providing some great finals and a chance for smaller clubs to play and beat higher league teams. Most did not, but then some did.

Giant kills, were probably a little more regular in the early FA Cups. One great giant kill was when Millwall beat Arsenal in the 1930s, who were comfortably the best team in the country at the time. When Colchester beat Leeds 3-2, in the 1960s, that too was a surprise. Mansfield's 3-0 rout of a good West Ham team was another upset worthy of note in the same decade.

When Tottenham won the league and FA Cup double in 1961, it was the first time for an English club. Since, the FA Cup and league domestic double have been won by Manchester Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal a few times.

Without any other cups, there was not so much fixture congestion. As such, it was generally the case that if a tie were drawn, then it would be replayed. Then, it would be replayed again and so on until a team won a game. This was applicable to the final also, which now is never replayed. Quite possibly, the best-replayed final was between Tottenham and Man City in the 1980s whereby Spurs would win 3-2.

However in the 1990s, the FA Cup replays have had to be trimmed down to cut fixtures. Only one is allowed now, with penalties and extra time used as a decider. In the final, there is no replay with penalties and extra time used.

Generally, classic cup finals have been somewhat rare. However, there have been some great ones such as the Blackpool-Bolton final in the 1950s, which Blackpool won 3-2, with a cup final hat-trick from Morteson. In the 1970s Utd and Arsenal clashed in 3-2 thriller. With 3 goals being scored in the last 10 minutes of the game, it was a great finish. In the 1980s the Spurs-City final produced a great final replay as well.

This era has seen Arsenal and Utd emerge as the dominant clubs in the FA Cup, with an overall 21- cup wins between them, ten and eleven. Historically, the most FA Cup wins.

Controversy abounded when Manchester Utd did not enter to defend the FA Cup in 2000. This due to fixture congestion, and a World Club Championship which conflicted. At any rate, this was a blow and left the FA Cup without defending holders.

The last final to be staged at Wembley was between Aston Villa and Chelsea. Chelsea winning 1-0 in a dull final. Since, Cardiff has held some finals and now the new Wembley hosts it.

So, the FA Cup is a grand old cup contest. With a history and heritage that has seen a few classic finals, a good number of great games and then some upsets as well. Quite possibly, the best club cup in the world.

Learn more about this author, Matthew Adams.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.