FA Cup

History

The FA Cup, or the English Cup as it was customarily called well into the 1930s, was set up in 1871, the same year that Reading were founded. Along with Darwen and Notts County, Reading were the first of the English League clubs, or former clubs, to enter the FA Cup (in 1877), although the Scottish team, Queen's Park, had entered the first competition. Reading might even claim priority because Reading Hornets had entered the previous season before merging with Reading. Their best performances are reaching the semi-finals in 1926-27 and 2014-15, and the quarter-finals in 1900-01, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2015-16.

FA Cup Rounds

The current scheme of FA Cup rounds consisting of four qualifying rounds, six rounds, a semi-final and a final, was only introduced in the 1925-26 season. The previous schemes (excluding preliminary and extra preliminary rounds) are summarised in the following table:

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 SF F
1871-72 R1 R2 R3 SF F
1872-73 R1 R2 R3 R4 SF F
1873-76 R1 R2 R3 SF F
1876-79 R1 R2 R3 R4 SF F
1879-84 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 SF F
1884-88 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 SF F
1888-96 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 R1 R2 R3 SF F
1896-00 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 R1 R2 R3 SF F
1900-04 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 IR R1 R2 R3 SF F
1904-05 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 IR R1 R2 R3 SF F
1905-06 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 R1 R2 R3 R4 SF F
1906-14 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 R1 R2 R3 R4 SF F
1914-25 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 R1 R2 R3 R4 SF F

Finals

The full details of the finals are given on a separate page. A summary of the winners is as follows: Arsenal (14), Manchester United (12), Chelsea (8), Liverpool (8), Tottenham Hotspur (8), Aston Villa (7), Manchester City (7), Blackburn Rovers (6), Newcastle United (6), Everton (5), Wanderers (5), West Bromwich A (5), Bolton Wanderers (4), Sheffield United (4), Wolverhampton W (4), Sheffield Wednesday (3), West Ham United (3), Bury (2), Nottingham Forest (2), Old Etonians (2), Portsmouth (2), Preston North End (2), Sunderland (2), Barnsley (1), Blackburn Olympic (1), Blackpool (1), Bradford City (1), Burnley (1), Cardiff City (1), Charlton Athletic (1), Clapham Rovers (1), Coventry City (1), Derby County (1), Huddersfield Town (1), Ipswich Town (1), Leeds United (1), Leicester City (1), Notts County (1), Old Carthusians (1), Oxford University (1), Royal Engineers (1), Southampton (1), Wigan Athletic (1), Wimbledon (1).

Summary of Results

PL W D L GF GA GD P3/PL
TOTAL 393 161 97 135 653 592 +61 1.476
HOME 202 105 49 48 416 243 +173 1.802
AWAY 180 51 47 82 225 336 −111 1.111
NEUTRAL 11 5 1 5 12 13 −1 1.455

Results by Opponent

PL W D L GF GA GD P3
1 Aldershot Town1 11 6 2 3 24 19 +5 20
2 Gillingham 6 4 2 0 13 7 +6 14
3 Bristol Rovers 7 4 2 1 9 5 +4 14
4 West Bromwich A 7 4 2 1 13 10 +3 14
5 Colchester United 6 4 1 1 17 8 +9 13
6 Brentford 5 4 1 0 12 3 +9 13
7 Newport County 9 3 3 3 20 15 +5 12
8 Huddersfield Town 5 3 2 0 10 5 +5 11
9 Cheltenham Town 4 3 1 0 8 4 +4 10
10 Burnley 5 3 1 1 6 4 +2 10
11 Watford 6 3 1 2 9 9 0 10
12 Cardiff City 8 2 4 2 10 13 −3 10
13 Torquay United 5 2 3 0 6 3 +3 9
14 Welling United 5 2 3 0 4 2 +2 9
15 Walsall 4 2 2 0 6 1 +5 8
16 Southport2 4 2 2 0 6 2 +4 8
17 Tottenham Hotspur 7 2 2 3 8 10 −2 8
18 Manchester United 16 1 5 10 14 35 −21 8
19 Warmley 3 2 1 0 10 1 +9 7
20 Slough Town 3 2 1 0 8 4 +4 7
21 Millwall 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 7
22 Stevenage 4 2 1 1 5 2 +3 7
23 Birmingham City 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7
24 Swansea City3 5 2 1 2 6 9 −3 7
25 Swindon Town 7 2 1 4 8 13 −5 7
26 Wycombe Wanderers 2 2 0 0 10 1 +9 6
27 Hendon FC 2 2 0 0 6 0 +6 6
28 Kettering Town 2 2 0 0 8 4 +4 6
29 Clifton4 3 2 0 1 15 12 +3 6
30 Hendon 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 6
31 Hereford United 3 2 0 1 4 1 +3 6
32 Newbury 2 2 0 0 4 2 +2 6
33 Wealdstone 3 2 0 1 3 2 +1 6
34 Norwich City 5 1 3 1 6 6 0 6
35 Southend United 3 2 0 1 5 5 0 6
36 Portsmouth 4 2 0 2 4 5 −1 6
37 Southampton5 7 2 0 5 8 22 −14 6
38 Grimsby Town 5 1 2 2 9 8 +1 5
39 Coventry City 3 1 2 0 6 5 +1 5
40 Bristol City 4 1 2 1 5 5 0 5
41 Weymouth 2 1 1 0 9 4 +5 4
42 Blyth Spartans 2 1 1 0 8 3 +5 4
43 South Reading 2 1 1 0 6 2 +4 4
44 Bromley 2 1 1 0 6 3 +3 4
= Chester City6 2 1 1 0 6 3 +3 4
46 Enfield 2 1 1 0 6 4 +2 4
47 Stoke City7 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4
= Wrexham 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 4
49 Blackpool 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 4
50 Bradford City 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4
= Liverpool 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
= Maidstone United 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
= Shrewsbury Town 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
= Tranmere Rovers 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
55 Dagenham 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
= Halifax Town 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
= West End 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1 4
58 Hayes 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4
= Peterborough Utd 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4
60 Hull City 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
61 Sunderland 3 1 1 1 4 5 −1 4
62 Bolton Wanderers 4 1 1 2 4 6 −2 4
63 Plymouth Argyle 4 1 1 2 2 4 −2 4
64 Aston Villa 5 1 1 3 6 13 −7 4
65 Chesham Generals 1 1 0 0 11 0 +11 3
66 Chesham Town 1 1 0 0 7 1 +6 3
= Southall 1 1 0 0 7 1 +6 3
68 Leyton 1 1 0 0 6 0 +6 3
69 Corinthians 1 1 0 0 8 3 +5 3
70 Bristol St George 1 1 0 0 7 2 +5 3
71 Bedminster 1 1 0 0 5 0 +5 3
72 Bishop's Stortford 2 1 0 1 7 3 +4 3
73 Bognor Regis Town 1 1 0 0 6 2 +4 3
74 Hotspur 1 1 0 0 5 1 +4 3
75 Dartford 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3
= Grays Athletic 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3
= Oxford City 1 1 0 0 4 0 +4 3
78 Bridgwater Town 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3
79 Sheffield United 3 1 0 2 5 3 +2 3
80 Ilford 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 3
= King's Lynn 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 3
= Yeovil Town 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 3
83 Barking 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
= Crawley Town 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
= Leyton Orient 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 3
= Merthyr Tydfil 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2 3
87 Erith & Belvedere 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
= Richmond Association 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
= South Norwood 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 3
90 Doncaster Rovers 2 1 0 1 4 3 +1 3
91 Milton Keynes Dons 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 3
= Uxbridge 1 1 0 0 3 2 +1 3
93 Barry Town 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Castleford Town 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Chesterfield 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Derby County 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Eastleigh LSWR 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Marlow 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Sutton Town 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
= Wisbech Town 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1 3
101 Bedford Town 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
= Everton 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
= Gainsborough Trinity 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 3
104 Notts County 2 1 0 1 4 5 −1 3
105 Sheffield Wednesday8 3 1 0 2 4 6 −2 3
106 AFC Bournemouth9 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 3
107 Rochester 2 1 0 1 3 6 −3 3
108 Crystal Palace 7 0 3 4 4 11 −7 3
109 Chelsea 3 0 2 1 3 5 −2 2
110 Fulham 4 0 2 2 1 3 −2 2
111 Manchester City 5 0 2 3 1 13 −12 2
112 Cambridge United 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
= Exeter City 2 0 1 1 1 2 −1 1
114 Barnsley 3 0 1 2 5 8 −3 1
115 Bury 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
= Oxford United 2 0 1 1 1 4 −3 1
117 Nottingham Forest 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 1
= York City 3 0 1 2 3 7 −4 1
119 Newcastle United 4 0 1 3 5 13 −8 1
120 Preston North End 3 0 1 2 4 23 −19 1
121 Old St Paul's 1 0 0 1 3 4 −1 0
122 Blackburn Rovers 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
= Eastleigh 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
= Kidderminster Harriers 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
= Old Carthusians 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1 0
126 Aberdare Athletic 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Brentwood Town 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Brighton & Hove A 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Darlington 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Guildford City 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Old Etonians 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Queens Park Rangers 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
= Swifts 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0
134 Leicester City 2 0 0 2 1 3 −2 0
135 Dulwich 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
136 Oldham Athletic 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3 0
137 Northampton Town 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 0
138 Bradford Park Avenue 1 0 0 1 1 5 −4 0
139 Arsenal 4 0 0 4 3 8 −5 0
140 Ipswich Town 2 0 0 2 1 6 −5 0
141 Luton Town 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6 0
142 Wolverhampton W 2 0 0 2 0 6 −6 0
143 Upton Park 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
144 Royal Engineers 1 0 0 1 0 8 −8 0
1 includes Aldershot
2 includes Southport Central
3 includes Swansea Town
4 includes Clifton Association
5 includes Southampton St Mary
6 includes Chester
7 includes Stoke
8 includes The Wednesday
9 includes Bournemouth & BA