William Arthur Bonds is a former professional footballer and manager, who is most often associated with West Ham United with whom he spent 27 years as player and manager. He played 799 first-team games for West Ham in a career spanning 21 seasons.
The 2001 FA Cup final was a football match between Arsenal and Liverpool on 12 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 FA Cup, the 119th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup, and the first in the competition's history to be staged outside England, due to the ongoing reconstruction of its usual venue, Wembley Stadium. Arsenal appeared in their fourteenth final to Liverpool's twelfth.
Alan David Taylor is an English former professional footballer best known for his goalscoring exploits with West Ham United in their FA Cup success of 1975, culminating in two goals in that season's final.
The 2006 FA Cup final was a football match played between Liverpool and West Ham United on 13 May 2006 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2005–06 FA Cup, the 125th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Liverpool were participating in their 13th final, they had previously won six and lost six. West Ham were appearing in their fifth final, they had previously won three and lost once. This was the last final to be held at the Millennium Stadium while Wembley Stadium was rebuilt. Liverpool had won the first final to be held at the Millennium Stadium in 2001, when they beat Arsenal 2–1. The match has been called The Gerrard Final due to Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's volleys and is widely regarded as one of the greatest cup finals in the history of the competition.
The 1978 FA Cup final was an association football match between Arsenal and Ipswich Town on 6 May 1978 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1977–78 FA Cup, the 97th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Four-time winners Arsenal were appearing in their ninth final, whereas Ipswich Town were making their debut at Wembley and in their first FA Cup final. Each team had progressed through five rounds to reach the final. Ipswich had needed a replay in the fifth round to proceed past Bristol Rovers while Arsenal won all of their ties at the first time of asking and went into the final as clear favourites.
The 1925 FA Cup final was an association football match contested by Sheffield United and Cardiff City on 25 April 1925 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by the Football Association. Sheffield United won the game with a single goal.
The 1933 FA Cup final was a football match between Everton and Manchester City on 29 April 1933 at Wembley Stadium in London. The deciding match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, it was the 62nd final, and the 11th at Wembley. The 1933 final was the first where the players, including goalkeepers, were issued numbers for identification. Everton were allocated numbers 1–11 and Manchester City numbers 12–22.
In the finale to the 1970–71 FA Cup season, the 1971 FA Cup final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley on 8 May 1971.
The 1998 FA Cup final was a football match between Arsenal and Newcastle United on 16 May 1998 at the old Wembley Stadium, London. It was the final match of the 1997–98 FA Cup, the 117th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition, the FA Cup. Six-time winners Arsenal were appearing in their thirteenth final, whereas Newcastle United, having also won the competition six times, appeared in their eleventh final. It was the third time both teams faced each other in a FA Cup final; Newcastle won the previous two encounters in 1932 and 1952.
The 2007 FA Cup final was played on Saturday, 19 May 2007 between Chelsea and Manchester United. It was the 126th FA Cup Final and the first to be played at the new Wembley Stadium. Chelsea beat Manchester United 1-0 thanks to an extra-time goal from Didier Drogba, completing a domestic cup double for the Blues in the 2006–07 season, as they had already won the League Cup Final in February. Manchester United were favourite for winning a double of their own as they had recently beaten Chelsea to the Premier League title two weeks earlier. The game was widely considered to be a disappointment by pundits and fans alike. As a result of Manchester United and Chelsea having already been guaranteed qualification for the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Cup entry for the FA Cup winner/runner-up went instead to the highest positioned Premier League team who had not already qualified for Europe: Bolton Wanderers.
The 2006 FA Community Shield was the 84th staging of the FA Community Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the Premier League and FA Cup. The match was played between 2005–06 FA Cup winners Liverpool and 2005–06 Premier League champions Chelsea on 13 August 2006 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Chelsea were appearing in the competition for the sixth time, while Liverpool were making their 21st appearance. It was the final Community Shield to be held at the Millennium Stadium following the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium.
The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008. The final was the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the 2007–08 Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by The Football Association. It was the 127th FA Cup Final and the second to be held at the new Wembley Stadium following its redevelopment. Portsmouth won the match by a single goal, scored by Nwankwo Kanu in the 37th minute.
The 1989 FA Charity Shield was the 67th Charity Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup. It was held at Wembley Stadium on 12 August 1989. The match was contested by Arsenal, champions of the 1988–89 Football League and Liverpool, who beat Everton in the final of the 1988–89 FA Cup. Watched by a crowd of 63,149, Liverpool won the match 1–0.
The 2011 FA Cup final was the 130th final of the FA Cup, the world's oldest domestic football cup competition. The final took place on 14 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 88,643 spectators and a British television audience of more than eight million. The clubs contesting the final were Premier League clubs Manchester City and Stoke City. The match was Stoke City's first FA Cup final, and Manchester City's ninth.
The 1979 FA Charity Shield was the 57th Charity Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup. It was held at Wembley Stadium on 11 August 1979. The match was contested by Liverpool, champions of the 1978–79 Football League and Arsenal, who beat Manchester United in the final of the 1978–79 FA Cup. Watched by a crowd of 92,800, Liverpool won the match 3–1.
The 2014 FA Cup final was an association football match contested by Premier League clubs Arsenal and Hull City at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 17 May 2014. It was the 133rd FA Cup final overall and the showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by the Football Association (FA). Hull made their first appearance in an FA Cup Final, while Arsenal equalled Manchester United's record of 18 final appearances.
The 2014 FA Community Shield was the 92nd FA Community Shield, an annual English football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup. The game was played between Arsenal, who beat Hull City in the final of the 2013–14 FA Cup, and Manchester City, champions of the 2013–14 Premier League. Watched by a crowd of 71,523 at Wembley Stadium in London, Arsenal won the match 3–0.
The 2015 FA Cup final was an association football match played between Arsenal and Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 May 2015. Organised by the Football Association (FA), it was the 134th final of the Football Association Challenge Cup, the world's oldest football cup competition. En route to the final, Arsenal defeated Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion, Middlesbrough, Manchester United and Reading. Aston Villa secured victories over Blackpool, Bournemouth, Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool in the rounds before the final.
The 2017 EFL Trophy Final was an association football match that was played on 2 April 2017 at Wembley Stadium, London. It was played between League One teams Coventry City and Oxford United. The match decided the winners of the 2016–17 EFL Trophy, a 64-team knockout tournament comprising clubs from League One and League Two of the English Football League (EFL), as well as 16 Category One academy sides representing Premier League and Championship clubs. It was Coventry's first appearance in the final and the second for Oxford, who were beaten by Barnsley in the previous season's match.
The 2017 FA Cup final was an association football match between London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea on 27 May 2017 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. It was the 136th FA Cup final overall of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup, organised by the Football Association (FA). This was a rematch of the 2002 FA Cup Final and the first final since 2003 in which the sides had won once in the Premier League against one another, with a 3–0 victory for Arsenal in September 2016, and a 3–1 win for Chelsea the following February. The game was broadcast live in the United Kingdom by both BBC and BT Sport. BBC One provided the free-to-air coverage and BT Sport 2 was the pay-TV alternative.
