Villa Park memories

Villa Park, the venue for the Watford v Manchester United tie on 14 April, has staged more FA Cup Semi-Finals than any other ground.

Villa Park's sequence of 54 Semi-Final matches began more than a hundred years ago. Tottenham Hotspur beat West Bromwich Albion 4-0 there in 1901 but there were only six more matches until after the Second World War.

Villa Park really became established as a Semi-Final venue in the 1960s and '70s, with ties once being played there in twelve consecutive seasons.

Blackpool won at Villa Park in 1953 to set up the "Matthews Final" and Spurs and Arsenal won their in their Double years of 1961 and 1971 respectively. Unfancied Plymouth Argyle, Luton Town and Watford lost there in the '80s - but Crystal Palace shocked Liverpool with a 4-3 win in 1990. Liverpool's Semi-Final replay with Second Division Portsmouth two years after that was the first to be settled on kicks from the penalty mark.

And who could tire of seeing re-runs of Ryan Giggs' masterpiece of a goal against Arsenal in another replay in 1999? United won 2-1 after extra-time in their Treble season.

Altogether 43 different venues have been used for FA Cup Semi-Finals. These include a school ground in Edinburgh, a ground on a racecourse in Derby, three cricket grounds, a rugby ground in Huddersfield, Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and the old Wembley.

Kennington Oval in London, now famous for cricket, hosted both Semi-Finals of the first ever FA Cup competition in the 1871-72 season. Wanderers and Queen's Park drew 0-0 in their tie but Wanderers won a place in the Final, also played at the Oval, because the Glasgow team couldn't afford to travel back to London for a replay.

The biggest crowd at a Semi-Final match is the 80,407 who saw a replay between Derby County and Birmingham City at Maine Road in 1946.

So why was one Semi-Final of "The English Cup" actually played in Scotland? One of the 1885 ties took place at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh at a time when a sprinkling of Scottish clubs played in our competition. Queen's Park, from Glasgow, defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0.

Saturday's clash at Villa Park will be the fifth time Manchester United and Watford have done battle in The FA Cup. United have the upper hand so far with two wins.