These 11 poor sods are all trophyless. The 2024/25 FA Cup could change that though – it is any club’s to win after Plymouth knocked out Liverpool.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!And we do mean absolutely any trophy, by the way. Nothing is too tinpot for us…
Newcastle: Nick Pope
Given Newcastle United are without a trophy since 1955, it is surprising that so many of their players have won shiny things. Sandro Tonali is understandably a Serie A (and Serie B) champion but even Alexander Isak has a couple of cups to his name and Bruno Guimaraes won four trophies at Athletico Paranaense.
Nick Pope has zero winners’ medals but at least he has two Premier League Save of the Month awards to his name.
The 32-year-old was suspended when Newcastle lost the Carabao Cup final two years ago and surprisingly never won a lower-league title during spells with Charlton, Welling, Cambridge, Aldershot, York, Bury and Burnley, joining the Clarets after their promotion to the Premier League in 2016.
Newcastle are progressing in excellent fashion this campaign and have another Carabao Cup final to look forward to, though the prospect of facing Liverpool is a daunting one. Pope could have a Carabobbins medal before the FA Cup final rolls around if the Magpies get there.
Aston Villa: Ollie Watkins
Villa have a plethora of players searching for their first trophy win, including England striker Ollie Watkins. They also have Leon Bailey, Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Matty Cash on the hunt.
Watkins has plenty of individual honours in a superb career and almost won his first trophy last summer with England, losing to Spain in the final of Euro 2024.
Villa are in with a great chance of winning this season’s FA Cup and are in the last 16 of the Champions League; it could be a historic season for them and Watkins.
Crystal Palace: Eberechi Eze
Eze is another English silver medallist after last summer’s European Championship heartache. Both are talented players but it is understandable that they are also trophyless. Watkins’ CV includes Villa, Brentford, Exeter and Weston-Super-Mare, while Eze’s boasts Queens Park Rangers, Wycombe and Crystal Palace.
Despite being around forever, Nathaniel Clyne and Will Hughes are also hoping the FA Cup can be the first major honour of their careers, while the closest Jean-Philippe Mateta has been to winning anything was at the 2024 Summer Olympics with host country France.
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Manchester United: Leny Yoro
It might not come as much of a shock that a 19-year-old who had only played for Lille until last July has never won a trophy.
Man United won the FA Cup last year, so it all came down to their summer signings. Considering they signed players from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, there were not a lot of options to choose from. Even Joshua Zirkzee has won some pots and pans having previously played for Bayern.
Yoro was injured for a few months before making his Red Devils debut and it has been a difficult time for him, just as it has been for every United player, really. An FA Cup win would be sweet; even if it gives the club another season of the dreaded Thursday-Sunday schedule.
Fulham: Joachim Andersen
Andersen is now 28 and after spells in the Netherlands, Italy and France, he has been unable to end his search for silverware in England. In fairness, his time here has been with Palace and Fulham, who have a grand total of zero domestic trophies in a combined 266 years of existence.
Fulham should really fancy themselves in this year’s competition. Liverpool and Arsenal are out, making Manchester City the strong favourites, but they are as beatable as they have ever been under Pep Guardiola.
Bournemouth: Justin Kluivert
We feel Bournemouth’s main focus is the Premier League as they chase an unprecedented Champions League campaign but like with Fulham, why the hell should they not go on and win the 2024/25 FA Cup?
They have had some major scalps this season, smashing Newcastle and Manchester United away from home and beating Arsenal and Manchester City at the Vitality; they clearly have what it takes to beat everyone left in the competition.
An FA Cup win would bring a first career trophy for Justin Kluivert, Milos Kerkez and Antoine Semenyo.
Kerkez has played for AC Milan and AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands and Kluivert spent two years at Ajax between 2016 and 2018, making his empty honours list all the more surprising. He did finish as a runner-up in the 2016 Europa League, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United in Stockholm.
Nottingham Forest: Murillo
Forest are another team expected to have one eye on the Premier League every time they take to the pitch on FA Cup day, but they are also another team more than capable of going all the way.
Champions League qualification would go further financially and for the reputation and lure of playing for Nottingham Forest, but there is nothing more special than winning the FA Cup for a club outside the so-called ‘big six’. Forest are clearly the best of the rest, they have shown as much this campaign. Go for it, we say.
An FA Cup winners’ medal would be Murillo’s first of a collection expected to grow. The Brazilian centre-back could not win the Brazilian Serie A with Corinthians, nor was he successful in the Copa Libertadores or Copa Sudamericana.
Wolves: Rayan Ait-Nouri
Matheus Cunha can’t be Wolves’ only point of interest. The Brazilian has won two very prestigious trophies: the 2020 Summer Olympics and 2019 Toulon Tournament.
That leaves us with Ait-Nouri, who has only played for Angers and Wolves, two teams with similar expectations in their respective countries.
The Algerian is a player we fancy to go on and win a few baubles, but probably not with Wolves.
Ipswich: Omari Hutchinson
Kieran McKenna’s side are comfortably the biggest Premier League underdogs left in the competition but two more wins and they are at Wembley.
Despite playing for Arsenal and Chelsea, Hutchinson is without a trophy in his short career. Given his potential, we are confident he will not retire with zero major honours to his name.
Brighton: Joao Pedro
It would be nice for Brighton to have something tangible to show for their impressive rise up the divisions into an established Premier League club and the FA Cup gives them a solid opportunity to do that.
Bart Verbruggen, Georginio Rutter, Solly March, Jan Paul van Hecke and Jason Steele are five trophyless players in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad but Joao Pedro is the one who caught our eye.
Winning nothing with Watford is obvious but with Fluminense, we kind of expected something. A Brazilian FA Cup, youth trophy, Brazil Under-20s maybe? Nah. Nothing… yet.
Manchester City: Vitor Reis
Slim pickings, innit. Omar Marmoush’s Regionalliga Nord with VfL Wolfsburg II was a real blow.
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