England’s cup competitions have been roller coaster affairs this season. In the League Cup, Newcastle managed to outlast the two best teams in the country as they first defeated Arsenal over two legs and then beat Liverpool at Wembley to secure their first major trophy in 70 years. The FA Cup, meanwhile, has been just as wild.
The oldest cup competition in the world has long been lauded for its perceived magic, and that has been on full display this term as the majority of the big boys suffered early exits. Runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool were stunned by Plymouth Argyle, the team currently rock bottom of the second tier. Chelsea and Spurs both joined them in exiting at the fourth round stage, while Manchester United were eliminated in round five.
But for an unfortunate few, the famed FA Cup pixie dust has never been sprinkled on their respective campaigns. Here are the only five current top-flight teams to have never won the planet’s oldest competition.
Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace’s love-hate relationship with the FA Cup is a tale of agonizing near misses. Twice, the Eagles have soared into the final, only to fall short at the final hurdle. Their closest brush with glory came in 1990 when they faced Manchester United. After a dramatic 3-3 draw in the final, the two would face off in a replay and it was the Red Devils who would emerge victorious, thanks to Lee Martin’s second-half goal.
26 years later, the two faced off at Wembley once again, and this time around it looked like the South London side would finally have their moment in the sun when winger Jason Puncheon opened the scoring in the 78th minute. Manager Alan Pardew was dancing away on the touchline and surely the trophy would head back to Selhurst Park for the first time, wouldn’t it? Well, unfortunately not.
United midfielder Juan Mata equalized barely three minutes later to send the tie to extra time. Then, in the additional period, Jesse Lingard bagged the winner in the 110th minute.
Luckily, Palace have an opportunity to win the trophy this season, and online sportsbooks think they are in with an opportunity. The Eagles have soared back into the semifinals and they are just two games away from immortality. As such, the popular online betting site Thunderpick Sportsbook currently makes them a 5/1 contender to claim the trophy for the first time.
Fulham
One such team who won’t have an opportunity to hoist the FA Cup for the first time is Fulham, and the reason for that is that they were beaten in the quarterfinals by the aforementioned Palace. Now their long wait for the trophy will extend into yet another season.
The closest the Cottagers ever came to glory came way back in 1975, when they reached the final as a second-tier side. Facing a star-studded West Ham United, the West Londoners fell 2-0 to their cross-city rivals, with Alan Taylor’s brace taking the trophy to Upton Park.
Fulham have also experienced immeasurable pain in the Europa League as well. They reached the final of Europe’s secondary tournament back in 2010 against all odds, but once again, they were beaten, this time courtesy of Diego Forlan’s double for Atletico Madrid.
Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton have become a major force in recent years, continually finishing in the top half of the Premier League, and they look well set to do the same in 2025. Even so, they won’t be lifting any silverware this season after they were dumped out of the FA Cup by divisional rivals Nottingham Forest after a nerve-shredding penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.
The closest they came to glory came back in 1983 when they reached the final. The initial game finished 2-2, but the Seagulls should have won. Gordon Smith was gifted with a late opportunity to secure the trophy, prompting the commentators to bellow out the now-famous line “And Smith must score!” He didn’t, and United won the replay 4-0.
Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth are one of English football’s newest powers. The vast majority of their history has been spent in the doldrums, and they were rooted to the foot of the football league barely 16 years ago. Since then, their rise has been meteoric, securing promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history in 2015, and since then, they haven’t looked back.
Before this season, The Cherries’ deepest tournament run came back in 1957, when they reached the quarterfinals as a third-tier side. The particular trip ended in defeat at the hands of Manchester United, and now the Red Devils’ cross-city rivals Manchester City have the opportunity to dump the South Coast side out at the same stage. If Bournemouth can emerge victorious, however, they will progress to the semifinals for the first time.
Brentford
Much like Bournemouth, Brentford have also spent most of their history in the lower tiers of English football. In recent years, Danish boss Thomas Frank has turned them into an established Premier League force, but that success hasn’t translated into the FA Cup. Their furthest run took them to the sixth round back in 1949. Expect them to progress further than that in the coming years, though, and keep your eyes on this space to see if they can bring their spark to the FA Cup.