Throughout its 150-year history, the FA Cup has thrown up some memorable giant killings. It’s what makes the romance of the cup. From Hereford and Ronnie Radford’s 30-yard strike against Newcastle on a mud-curdled Edgar Street in 1972, to Ben Watson’s Wembley winner in 2013, the FA Cup really does have a certain magic, where anyone can beat anyone.
The Giant Killers of the FA Cup has analysed the past 25 years of results to unveil exactly who is the competition’s ultimate giant killer…
Biggest Giant Killers
To determine the biggest giant killers of the cup, we analysed the difference in league position between each winner and loser across 25 years of the competition from the Third Round onwards.
Any team which beat opposition placed higher in the English Football League system were awarded points based upon the number of league places between the two sides. The Biggest Giant Killers are those teams with the highest cumulative number of points across the quarter of a century.
Use the tabs below to explore the FA Cup’s Biggest Giant Killers, and the giants of the game who have succumbed to lower opposition more than they would have liked.
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Most Frequent Giant Killers
Discover the teams who have most frequently beaten teams in the FA Cup over the past 25 years. Below you will find the teams alongside the number of times they have beaten a team placed above them in the English football pyramid.
Click the ‘Giants Most Frequently Killed’ tab to view the teams that have also been beaten by lower opposition more commonly than any others in the competition from the Third Round onwards.
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The FA Cup’s Biggest Giant Kills
The FA Cup is all about those memorable moments, when lower league opposition get their dream tie and perform a miracle. Over the last few years in particular there have been some memorable cup runs from the likes of Lincoln City and Luton Town.
But which sides have performed the biggest individual giant killing? Below you’ll find the top 10 biggest giant kills of the past 25 years based upon each side’s position within the football pyramid.
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Methodology
The Giant Killers of the FA Cup uses the positions of teams within the English Football League pyramid to determine who are the ultimate FA Cup underdogs.
Comparing the difference between the winners and losers’ league positions in every game from the Third Round onwards over the last 25 years, teams are then awarded Giant Killer points if they have beaten a team placed higher than them in the pyramid.
The points are representative of how many places the team they defeated are above them. For example, if Liverpool were top of the Premier League and were beaten by Fulham who were bottom of the Premier League, Fulham would earn 19 points as that is the difference in league position.
The league positions studied are based upon each team’s finishing position in the season which the fixture took place.
To explore each fixture from the Third Round onwards over the past 25 years, you can download the full data set by clicking the download icon below.
