Here's a quick trivia question:

No, it isn’t a jinking, evergreen Welsh wing wizard. Though the great Billy Meredith was a key member of the team that beat Bristol City in 1909, Ryan Giggs was still eight months from his debut when the Reds saw off Crystal Palace in 1990. It isn’t a Palace connection either, despite the fact that the 1909 final was won at the venue bearing the same name.

Give up? The answer is that both cup successes came during seasons when the Reds finished in a lowly 13th spot in the league. Unlucky for our cup opponents as it turned out.

Ernest Mangnall’s team entered the first cup-winning season of 1908/09 as league champions, having cantered down the home straight in '08 in a manner befitting Usain Bolt. The club's first title was won with a record 52 points (two points for a win), nine more than runners-up Aston Villa. Goals were also in bounteous supply as United were the division's leading scorers with 81, Sandy Turnbull (25) and George Wall (19) leading the way.

But if Mangnall’s best-laid plans had not hit the skids, they’d certainly suffered a wobble as 1908/09 unfolded. Five straight league wins to start the season had suggested another procession could be in the offing, but that was followed by a bout of wholly unpredictable form including nightmare defeats at Sunderland (6-1) and Middlesbrough (5-0). No wonder the FA Cup became a welcome distraction from the faltering champions' league travails.