The 2010–11 FA Cup (known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON for sponsorship reasons) was the 130th season of the world's oldest football knockout competition; the FA Cup. A total of 806 clubs applied to enter of which 759 were accepted,[1] a slight drop compared to the 762 clubs accepted into the 2009–10 competition.
The competition commenced on 14 August 2010 with the Extra preliminary round and concluded on 14 May 2011 with the Final, held at Wembley Stadium.[2] Unusually, this was not the last game of the English domestic season nor the only game played on that day. Wembley Stadium was also hosting the 2011 Champions League Final on 28 May, forcing the FA Cup Final to be played at least two weeks earlier. This meant the Final was played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season and, apart from the finalists who were scheduled to play a league match against each other, a full programme of matches was played.
All of the teams that entered the competition, but were not members of the Premier League or The Football League, had to compete in the qualifying rounds.
First Round Proper
Teams from Leagues One and Two entered at this stage, along with the winners from the Fourth round qualifying. The draw was held on 24 October 2010 with ties played on the weekend of 6–7 November 2010 apart from Rochdale vs FC United of Manchester which was the only match played on 5 November 2010. It was broadcast on ESPN kicking off its FA Cup campaign with the Northern Premier League club shocking their League One counterparts 3–2. ESPN's next match was on 6 November 2010, where Cambridge United and Huddersfield Town played out a scoreless draw. ITV1's first coverage was Southport vs Sheffield Wednesday on 7 November 2010 with the League One side trouncing their Conference National opponents 5–2.
The matches were played on 26, 27 and 29 November 2010 with replays scheduled for 7, 8 and 9 December. Hartlepool United v Yeovil Town and Notts County v AFC Bournemouth were both postponed on their original date, 27 November, and again on 7 December. They were finally played on 14 December.
The draw for the second round was notable for the potential meeting of AFC Wimbledon and MK Dons. This would have been the first time the two clubs had met however MK Dons were beaten by Stevenage in their first-round replay.
The draw was held on 28 November 2010 at Wembley Stadium and made by Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Sergio Pizzorno of Kasabian.[16] who bizarrely picked out the balls of the respective clubs that they support (Pizzorno - Leicester City and Gallagher - Manchester City). Premier League and Football League Championship teams also entered at this stage, joining the winners from the second round and completing the entrants. The lowest ranked team in this round was Dover Athletic of the Conference South, the sixth tier of English football. The tie between Wycombe Wanderers and Hereford United was played later than usual due to the fact that the second round replay between Lincoln City and Hereford was delayed. Arsenal narrowly avoided an upset by scoring a stoppage time penalty in their 1–1 draw with Championship side Leeds United. The highly anticipated match in the third round between Manchester United and Liverpool saw United beat Liverpool 1–0 with a Ryan Giggs second-minute penalty. Championship side Leeds United failed to maintain their good showing against Arsenal by losing 3–1. Also Newcastle suffered a massive upset, losing 3–1 to League Two Stevenage.[17]
The draw was held on Sunday 30 January 2011.[19] For the second consecutive round, the lowest ranked team left in the competition was Crawley Town of the Conference National, the fifth tier of English football. They were the first non-League side to make the fifth round since 1994.[20] Of the other 15 teams, 10 were from the Premier League, two from the Championship and three from League One. One match went to a replay, Leyton Orient v Arsenal.
The draw was held on Sunday 20 February 2011.[21]Reading of The Championship defeated Everton in the fifth round, and are the last non-Premier League team remaining in the competition, for the second year running. All seven other teams are from the Premier League.
The draw was conducted by Hope Powell and Fabio Capello at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, 13 March 2011, after the result of the Stoke game, but before the end of the Manchester City game.[22] Ties were played on 16/17 April at Wembley. With Manchester City's victory over Reading, it meant that the Semi-finals of the Cup would be an all-Premier League affair, and in addition, Wembley Stadium would host its first ever Manchester derby game.
In the United Kingdom, ITV were the free to air broadcasters for the third consecutive season while ESPN took over the subscription broadcaster package Setanta Sports held, while S4C broadcast it in Wales.
^"Sam scores again". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 23 September 2010. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
^"Sam's the man". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
^"Marsden tops Cup poll". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 19 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
^"Amari grabs Cup accolade". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
^"Jake rakes in award". TheFA.com. The Football Association. 22 November 2010. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
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