See You Next Year. Same time, Same Place?

This season’s FA Cup Semi-Final draw raises the distinct possibility that the 2024 Final will be contested by the same two clubs that fought out the 2023 Final.

Both Manchester City and Manchester United are clear favourites in their respective last four ties against Chelsea and Coventry City.

If the two matches go the way of the form book then it would become only the second time in FA Cup history where two consecutive FA Cup Finals have been contested by the same two clubs.

The only other occasion occurred almost 140 years ago when Blackburn Rovers defeated Queen’s Park for the second year running in the 1885 Final.

So FA Cup history is going to be made this season, isn’t it? Well, not if the four past occasions where this back-to-back repeat Final scenario presented itself is anything to go by. Where odds-on favourites have often fallen at the final hurdle.

It would be a wait of 53 years following Blackburn Rovers’ double win over Queen’s Park before the possibility of a repeat occurrence of the same two clubs contesting two consecutive FA Cup Finals happened again.

The 1937 FA Cup Final saw Sunderland run out 3-1 winners over fellow First Division club Preston North End after being behind at half time. Raich Carter was amongst the goals for Sunderland. He would go on to become the only player to win the FA Cup both before and after World War II, doing so again for Derby County in 1946.

In 1938, respective Quarter Final victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Brentford saw Sunderland and Preston North End reach the last four again and the two clubs were subsequently separated in the Semi-Final draw.

Preston North End were paired with eventual Division Two Champions Aston Villa and goals from Hugh O’Donnell and George Mutch at Bramall Lane sent them back to Wembley with a 2-1 victory.

Sunderland were favourites to defeat Huddersfield Town in their Semi-Final having beaten them at home and drawn away in the League, and after finishing seven places higher in the table. But Will MacFadyen, Bob Barclay and Pat Beasley had other ideas as the Terriers ran out 3-1 winners to prevent a second successive Final between Sunderland and Preston North End.

The next opportunity for a repeat FA Cup Final occurred 31 years later in the 1968-89 season, one year after West Bromwich Albion had defeated Everton 1-0 at Wembley, with Jeff Astle netting the winner and scoring in every round.

A 1-0 win by Everton over Manchester United in the Quarter Finals and a 2-1 victory by West Bromwich Albion against Chelsea took the two clubs into the Semi-Finals just one year after meeting in the Final, and the fates of the draw kept them apart.

As it turned out neither club would return to Wembley with both teams suffering 1-0 defeats in their last four game. Everton had beaten Manchester City home and away in the League and finished 10 places above them but a late Tommy Booth strike exacted revenge for the Citizens.

Cup holders West Bromwich Albion faced relegation threatened Leicester City in their Semi-Final, but the form book was thrown out of the window in their match, too, as an almost as late-in-the-game Allan Clarke effort won the match for the Foxes.

Four years later an even bigger upset in the Semi-Final would prevent a repeat Final. Leeds United had defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the Centenary Cup Final in 1972 with Allan Clarke once again grabbing the all-important goal.

Leeds United defeated Derby County 1-0 in their Quarter Final match in the following 1972-73 season, whilst Arsenal overcame Chelsea 2-1 in a replay. Once again the FA Cup draw kept the previous season’s two Finalists apart.

Billy Bremner scored his customary Semi-Final goal to give Leeds United a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, whilst Arsenal had the formality of seeing off Second Division club Sunderland.

Arsenal would end the season as runners-up in Division One but that would count for nothing in their Semi-Final at Hillsborough. Vic Halom and Billy Hughes gave Sunderland a 2-0 lead with less than a quarter of the game remaining, and although Charlie George netted late on it was the Second Division club who would make it to Wembley where they went on to create even more FA Cup history.

Arsenal were involved again the next time the possibility of a back-to-back repeat FA Cup Final presented itself. In 1998 the Gunners had won 2-0 against Newcastle United as part of a League and Cup Double and they were seemingly on their way to repeat the feat in the 1999 season.

Arsenal defeated Derby County 1-0 in their Quarter Final match thanks to a very late winner by Nwankwu Kanu. Newcastle United sailed through their Quarter Final tie 4-1 against Everton and were drawn against the other North London club in the Semi-Finals.

Alan Shearer scored twice in extra time to inflict a 2-0 defeat on Tottenham Hotspur and take the club back to Wembley.  They’d have to wait to learn who their opponents would be as Arsenal and Manchester United played out a goal-less draw at Villa Park.

The two clubs returned to the same ground to play in what would not only be the last ever FA Cup Semi-Final replay, but arguably one of the best Semi-Finals ever. The game once again went into extra time after Dennis Bergkamp had cancelled out David Beckham’s first half goal, but it would be a memorable solo goal by Ryan Giggs that would prevent a repeat FA Cup Final.

And it would be Manchester United and not Arsenal who would go on to win the Double that season, eventually going on to claim the first ever Treble.

And this season Manchester United are red-hot favourites to reach Wembley again as they take on Championship side Coventry City, whilst in the other Semi-Final current Premier League leaders Manchester City face Chelsea languishing in mid-table in what has been an indifferent season.

But anyone banking on a second successive Manchester Derby in this season’s FA Cup Final needs to take heed of the four times such a possibility has happened in the past, where at least one of the clubs failed to turn up for their second date, despite being favourites to do so.

Addendum

Despite doing their level best to prevent a back-to-back repeat FA Cup Final from happening, Manchester United did see off Coventry City thanks to a penalty shoot-out and a controversial VAR decision. And so the red half of Manchester joined Manchester City in the Final, after City had defeated Chelsea 1-0 a day earlier (also after Chelsea really should have won it).

So 139 years after Blackburn Rovers met Queen’s Park in their second successive FA Cup Final, the two Manchester clubs will repeat the feat. Blackburn won both their games, but will Manchester City do the same?