2005–06 FA Cup

The 2005–06 FA Cup was the 125th staging of the world's oldest football competition, the FA Cup. The competition began on 20 August 2005, with the lowest-ranked of the 674 entrants competing in the Extra preliminary round. For the top 44 clubs, the FA Cup began in the third round in January. Ties are all single-legged and take place at the stadium of the club drawn first. If scores are level at the end of a match, it is replayed at the away club's stadium, usually 10 days later. If the scores are still level, extra-time and penalties (if necessary) are used to determine a winner. However, from the semi-finals onwards, the ties take place at a neutral stadium, and there are no replays. That is to say, extra-time and penalties are played if necessary to determine a winner in a single match. At the special request of England national team manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, the quarter-finals (i.e., 6th round proper) were held on weeknights (they would normally take place at weekends). This action was made to ensure that the season finishes as early as possible, allowing players a full month's rest before the 2006 World Cup finals. The semi-finals were staged at neutral venues and, like the final, would not be replayed in the event of a draw. The Football Association had hoped to stage the final at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium, London on 13 May 2006, but due to the uncertainty of the new stadium being completed in time, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final, which was contested between Liverpool and West Ham United.