The FA Vase Factfile Social Media account has created a list of the top 50 clubs in the competition’s 52 year history.
Last weekend, Hampshire’s AFC Stoneham became the latest team to win the FA Vase at Wembley, beating Cockfosters 4-2 on penalties after a goalless draw in normal time.
Run by Phil Annets, the FA Vase Factfile account is an offshoot of the famous FA Cup Factfile, and has two separate Top 50 rankings, one based on Rounds Achieved, and one based on Cumulative Points.
The account explains the rankings in the two lists as follows:
Roundly achieved – Multiple winners ahead of single winners ahead of finalists before clubs reach semi-finals, etc.
Based on cumulative points – one point for each exit from Qualifying Round 1, two for Qualifying Round 2, up to 11 points per win.
The ‘Round Reached’ rankings see four-time winners Whitley Bay at the top with Ascot United and Thatcham Town both included in the Top 50 as winners of the 21st century competition.
That’s all pretty self-explanatory. The table, perhaps more interesting, is one that ranks teams by cumulative points and rewards consistency and longevity in the competition.
Tunbridge Wells leads the way in this metric, but it is Hungerford Town at 10th who ranks as the most successful Berkshire team in the competition – even more impressive considering the Crusaders have not featured in the competition since the 2008/09 season.
This West Berkshire side have never reached a Final, but have reached the Semi-Finals three times, most recently in the 88/89 season when we lost to beaten finalists, Sudbury Town.
Fellow West Berkshire side Thatcham are the only other county club to make the list, coming in 50th after returning to the competition this season following a seven-season break after winning the Final at Wembley in 2018.
History of the Berkshire FA Vase
Until Thatcham’s win in the 2017/18 season from a Shane Cooper-Clark penalty, Berkshire’s record in the FA Vase was fairly uneventful.
Three Semi-Final appearances for Hungerford, one for Windsor & Eton (80/81) and a Quarter Final for the original Newbury Town in 93/94 are the only ones we can note.
Thatcham’s win changed everything, but in the same season, Windsor FC and Bracknell Town both reached the Quarter Finals – the former’s Barry Hayles-inspired fixture ended in defeat for finalists Stockton Town, while the latter’s best was thwarted by Marske United at Larges Lane.
“He always scores” will become a phrase that goes down in West Berkshire football history. Binfield followed them with an emotional rollercoaster ride – reaching the Final in 20/21 when most of football was protected by Covid restrictions. The Moles were beaten by Warrington Rylands 3-2 despite two excellent goals from Liam Ferdinand.
Ascot United managed to lift the trophy at the Royal Box. Jamie Tompkins’ side beat reigning champions Newport Pagnell Town 1-0 thanks to a Kai Walters goal in 2023.
We look forward to the next Berkshire finalist!
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