Biggest English clubs who have never won a major trophy

In an era in which an increasingly small pool of clubs are winning the major trophies on offer, opportunities for success for smaller outfits are scarcer than ever.

But later this month, Crystal Palace will dare to dream when they clash with Manchester City in this season's FA Cup final.

Lifting the trophy would also mean Palace shake the unwanted tag as one of England's biggest clubs that have never won a major trophy.

And ahead of their final showdown at Wembley Stadium, here is a look at some of the biggest English clubs to have never claimed major silverware.

Learn more about the FA Cup Final with our all you need to know guide.

Crystal Palace

Palace are the best place to start on this list given that they could soon erase their name from it.

Oliver Glasner's side have saved some of their best performances this season for the FA Cup, sweeping aside both Fulham and Aston Villa 3-0 in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

And they will be hoping they can overcome the psychological hurdle of a final, having twice reached the FA Cup showpiece in the 1989/90 and 2015/16 seasons.

It was Manchester United who took Palace down in both of those final appearances, although the Eagles took their opponents to extra time on each occasion, and Palace will hope they can prevail over the blue side of Manchester this time around.

Fulham

Fulham have not always mixed it with the best but the Cottagers have been established members of the Premier League for some time, competing in the top flight in 18 of the previous 25 seasons.

A run to the FA Cup quarter-finals under Marco Silva this season filled fans with promise but Palace took them down, leaving them to focus on the league for the rest of the campaign.

They have, however, got close to silverware before, finishing as FA Cup runners-up all the way back in 1975 when Bobby Moore was in the team, while also reaching the final of the Europa League back in 2010.

The Cottagers beat big clubs such as Juventus, Wolfsburg and defending champions Shakhtar Donetsk on route to that European final before losing 2-1 to Atletico Madrid after extra time.

Brighton

Brighton did not make their first appearance in the Premier League until the 2017/18 campaign but they have gone on to become one of the most enterprising and exciting teams in English football.

All they need now is a trophy to mark their success.

It has been some time since they flirted with major silverware, reaching the final of the FA Cup on one occasion back in 1983, but the club remains in a strong position in English football.

Playing in the terrific Amex Stadium with an enviable business model and exciting managers over recent seasons, everything seems to be in place for Brighton to compete in cup competitions, but they have once again gone trophyless in 2024/25.

Known for selling players on for big prices and reinvesting well, the sustainable approach of Albion surely means it is not long until they have their hands on a trophy.

Watford

Watford have been runners-up in major competitions not once, not twice but three times, falling at the final hurdle in the FA Cup in 1984 and 2019 and coming second to Liverpool in the First Division in the 1982/83 season.

The Hornets have also been a bit of a yo-yo club in recent times, moving between the Championship and Premier League, although they last competed in the top flight in 2022.

Renowned for chopping and changing their managers, Watford had a shot at their first piece of silverware in 2019, only to come up against juggernauts Manchester City, who put them to the sword.

The 6-0 thrashing by City was a record-equalling losing margin in an FA Cup final.

Now back in the second tier, the chance of major silverware will feel some way off for Watford supporters.