By Tony Attwood
As I guess we all know, no club has won the FA Cup three times running since Blackburrn Rovers in 1886. Before them, one team, Wanderers, also did it three times in a row. In the past 131 years (or to be more accurate 122, to account for the war years) no team has won the Cup three times in a row.
But over the years a few teams have managed to dominate cup finals and occasionally come close to that elusive three in a row.
Looking at clubs in that category in the era since the second world war, Newcastle were the first dominant team, winning it three times in five years – 1951, 1952 and 1955.
Arsenal however never had much of a reputation in the FA Cup, appearing in four FA Cup finals pre-war (winning two) and just two (1950 and 1952) in the post war era until Bertie Mee came on the scene.
Then in 1971 and 1972 Mee took Arsenal to two successive finals – winning just the first, to complete the double in 1971 by beating Liverpool. The following year we lost 1-0 to Leeds.
Manchester United were the first team to emulate Newcastle with three finals in short succession in a run in which Arsenal also cropped up becoming the first post-war team to get to three finals in a row.
Man Utd appeared in 1976 (losing to Southampton) in 1977 beating Liverpool and 1979 losing to Arsenal.
Arsenal’s run meanwhile started in that intervening year losing to Ipswich in 1978 (that one was painful) beating Manchester United 3-2 in 1979 with Sunderland’s last minute winner which I think he’s still celebrating, and then ludicrously losing 1-0 to West Ham in 1980.
That run of three appearances in a row is incredibly rare, but Arsenal did it again at the start of the new century, losing to Liverpool in 2001, beating Chelsea in 2002 and then beating Southampton in 2003. In fact Arsenal made it four appearances in five years beating Man Utd on penalties in 2005. That is the best run of any team since Blackburn Rovers three in a row:
| Season | Winners | Score | Defeated finalists | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | Liverpool | 2–1 | Arsenal | |
| 2001–02 | Arsenal | 2–0 | Chelsea | |
| 2002–03 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Southampton | |
| 2004–05 | Arsenal | 0–0 | Manchester United | Won on pens |
Chelsea’s best run then occurred winning the cup three times in four years in 2009, 2010, and 2012.
| Season | Winners | Score | Runners up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | Chelsea | 2–1 | Everton |
| 2009–10 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Portsmouth |
| 2011–12 | Chelsea | 2–1 | Liverpool |
Our current run started of course in 2014, beating Hull, and then beating Villa the following year to win the cup each time. And so we were now approaching our third final in four years, achieving that for the second time.
This final makes Arsenal the all time most successful club in the FA Cup, and Mr Wenger the all time most successful manager.
This will be our 20th final – one more than Manchester United. Liverpool come third with 14 finals and Newcastle and Everton joint fourth with 13.
| Club | Wins | First final won | Last final won | Runners-up | Last final lost | Total final appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 12 | 1930 | 2015 | 7 | 2001 | 20 inc 2017 |
| Manchester United | 12 | 1909 | 2016 | 7 | 2007 | 19 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 8 | 1901 | 1991 | 1 | 1987 | 9 |
| Liverpool | 7 | 1965 | 2006 | 7 | 2012 | 14 |
| Aston Villa | 7 | 1887 | 1957 | 4 | 2015 | 11 |
| Chelsea | 7 | 1970 | 2012 | 4 | 2002 | 12 inc 2017 |
As the table above shows there is quite a difference between the top six clubs in terms of FA Cup wins, in that neither Tottenham nor Villa have won the FA Cup in the current century. Tottenham however have the most successful run in terms of the final, having lost just one in nine, although they have not been to the final in 16 years. And given that the FA Cup is the competition in which they have the most success, that is quite a long period.
Just to go back a step to the semi-finals and updating the chart to include this season we have…
| Team | Appearances | Won | Lost | % success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | 29 | 20 | 9 | 69% |
| Manchester United | 28 | 19 | 9 | 68% |
| Everton | 26 | 13 | 13 | 50% |
| Liverpool | 24 | 14 | 10 | 58% |
| Aston Villa | 21 | 11 | 10 | 52% |
| Chelsea | 22 | 12 | 10 | 45% |
| West Bromwich Albion | 20 | 10 | 10 | 50% |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 9 | 11 | 45% |
| Blackburn Rovers | 18 | 8 | 10 | 44% |
Thus showing that although Tottenham do indeed have a remarkable level of achievement once they get to the final, they actually have a lower percentage success rate in the semi-finals.
Just to finish off all the charts, since if we lose Chelsea will win the Double, so here is the list of FA Cup and League Championship Double winners.
| ason | Club | Trophies Won | Number of Doubles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | Preston North End | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1897 | Aston Villa | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1961 | Tottenham Hotspur | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1971 | Arsenal | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1986 | Liverpool | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1994 | Manchester United | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
| 1996 | Manchester United | Championship FA Cup |
2 |
| 1998 | Arsenal | Championship FA Cup |
2 |
| 2002 | Arsenal | Championship FA Cup |
3 |
| 2010 | Chelsea | Championship FA Cup |
1 |
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Does Arsenal have good players or great players? Is the current Arsenal squad good enough?
In 1973 , we almost made it to the final , losing to THAT great Sunderland team in the sf.
You missed out United in 1999 as far as past Double winners go …
After initially being told by Arsenal that i had been unfortunate in the ballot they then came back on two separate occasions and offered me two tickets
Crazy ended up with five . Life is strange for sure could be an omen
Lets hope the lads want to win(of course they do) i mean the want seeps out into their demeanor and shows in their performance, we cannot ask for more than that.
OT: Corruption News
It would appear that the Swedish press thinks there is widespread corruption in football. Any bet the British press keeps its head in the sand?
https://www.rtnnewspaper.com/2017/05/swedish-match-fixing/
It is the referees _JOB_ to ensure a safe game:
There is no mention of 😈 Mike Riley (or PGMO) in the article.