Cup Final Day...

Tomorrow is one of the greatest days in the football calendar : Cup Final day!  There are the finals of both the F.A. Cup (in England), and the Scottish Cup.  So, this seems a good time to have a look at the teams, and a few stats...
The F.A. Cup - as usual, is being held at Wembley.  First held at the original Empire Stadium in 1923, Wembley was home to the final every year (except for the war years, when there was no competition) until 2000.  With the heartbreaking demolition of the old stadium, the final was moved to Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in 2001.  It returned to London in 2007 at the new Wembley.

Although Manchester United hold the record for most appearances in an F.A. Cup Final (18), and the most wins (11), the best record in the competition is undoubtedly that of Wanderers F.C.

Formed in 1859 (as Forest Football Club), and playing at various venues in London, the club first played competitively when the F.A. Cup was introduced in 1871-72.  Winning the first competition by beating Royal Engineers 1-0 at the Kennington Oval, Wanderers reached four more finals, winning them all.

Tomorrow's finalists are Arsenal and Hull City.  While the London club have a record bettered only by Manchester United (17 appearances and 10 wins), Hull are making their first appearance in a final.  In fact, they have only reached the semi-final on one occasion, (back in 1929-30).  Rather ironically, their run came to an end at the hands of the Gunners after a replay at Villa Park.

Arsenal have won five of their last six Cup Final appearances, which is pretty impressive.  However, I don't think we should rule out the Tigers, as only last year, Wigan Athletic lifted the trophy on their final debut.

Hopping over Hadrian's Wall into, let's check out the Scottish Cup Final.

This is a competition that has been totally dominated by Glasgow's "Old Firm" of Celtic and Rangers.  Celtic have won this Cup 36 times, and have finished runners-up on 18 occasions.  Rangers' record is only slightly inferior, with 33 wins from a total of 50 finals.

Queen's Park, the only true amateur club in the Scottish League, are third with 10 wins, although the last of those was in 1900.  What is interesting is that they are the only team to have reached the final of both the Scottish Cup AND F.A. Cup finals.   With regard to the English version, they finished runners-up in 1884 and 1885, losing both times to Blackburn Rovers.

Of tomorrow's finalists, Dundee United have the better record in the competition, having won it in 1994 and 2010.  They have also been beaten finalists on seven occasions, losing three times to Celtic, twice to Rangers, and once each to Motherwell and St. Mirren.

St. Johnstone, like Hull City, are making their final debut. However, they have reached the semi-final stage on eight occasions.  They came close in 1968, losing to a goal in extra-time in a replay against Dunfermline Athletic.  In 2008, Rangers sneaked by them in a penalty shoot-out.

We'll just have to wait and see what happens...