While Grand Slam tennis tournaments and Formula 1 races favor the strongest competitors with better seeds and starting positions, the FA Cup has long been a resolute exception: Every round is drawn at random.

WSJ: FA Cup's Old Habits Die Hard

There was certainly a quick rebound in performance that is the norm with any managerial change, and Di Matteo did take the team on to the FA Cup and Champions League double against improbably long odds.

FORBES: Why Villas-Boas Will Be Under More Pressure at Spurs Than Chelsea

We have 15 games and United have to play in FA Cup and the Champions League so the season is long -- three months -- and we are confident.

CNN: Aguero stunner saves Manchester City

It prevented a third successive FA Cup final going to penalties and provided a memorable moment for the long-awaited return home to London for the competition.

BBC: Chelsea 1-0 Manchester United

Drogba scored 157 goals for Chelsea in his eight seasons at the club, winning three English Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups as well as the London club's long-awaited first European crown.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Fifa's legal committee wrote to Irish FA officials in the north and their FAI counterparts in the Republic outlining their view on the long-running dispute.

BBC: CHOOSE A SPORT

On Monday, the Institute of Groundsmanship, the Football Association and the consultants who oversee Wembley groundstaff held talks in an attempt to find a long-term solution to a problem which reared its head once again during the FA Cup semi-finals on 10 and 11 April.

BBC: Wembley pitch will be relaid indefinitely up to 2023

The club's class of 1990, who lifted the FA Trophy with a 3-0 defeat of Leek Town under the old twin towers, have long been heralded as the greatest in the club's history, with names such as Kenny Lowe, Neil Doherty and cult hero Colin Cowperthwaite ingrained in Bluebirds folklore.

BBC: Underdogs Barrow eye Stevenage upset in FA Trophy final