The part-timers who won three Wembley finals in a row
- Published
Question: Which two men's club sides have won three successive competition finals at the new Wembley?
You probably knew Pep Guardiola's Manchester City won three League Cups on the bounce between 2018 and 2020 before adding a fourth in 2021 – but another side did the silverware hat-trick first.
asserted
side → win → trick
Whitley Bay, who play in the ninth-tier Northern Football League, won three successive FA Vase finals between 2009 and 2011 – an unprecedented achievement in non-league football.
asserted
who → play → football
The FA Vase, a national competition for amateur teams, was established in 1974; and in more than half a century The Seahorses are the only ones to win it four times – including those three on the trot.
asserted
Seahorses → establish → trot
And they did so under the eye of an unassuming IT manager from Sunderland, who used "quiet moments in the day" to plan historic cup success.
asserted
who → do → success
Ian Chandler, who had three spells at Whitley Bay as a player, became manager in 2004 and spent 10 years in charge.
asserted
who → have → charge
It was no mean feat, as any non-league manager will tell you.
asserted
manager → tell → you
Instead of focusing on work meetings, Chandler says he spent more time sorting hotel bookings or discussing scouting reports.
asserted
he → focus → reports
His team were inspired by missing out on Wembley in 2007-08, when Whitley Bay reached the FA Vase semi-finals.
asserted
Bay → inspire → finals
They lost 4-0 to Lowestoft Town in the first leg, and despite going 3-0 up inside 20 minutes of the return fixture at Bay's Hillheads Park stadium they were unable to overturn the deficit.
asserted
they → lose → deficit
After that elimination, Chandler developed a superstition of never again giving pre-match interviews - as the last time he did so was before the 4-0 defeat.
asserted
he → develop → defeat
Whether because of his renewed focus, or because of a desire among players to make amends, it steeled the group to make history.
asserted
it → renew → history
"It's the hardest thing to keep a team together - as soon as players get noticed, they get picked up at higher level," Chandler tells BBC Sport.
asserted
Chandler → keep → Sport
"But after we got to the Vase semis, players wanted to stay and prove what they could do.
"
uncertain
they → get → what
Then the lads wanted to do it again."
And again.
Despite being a lifelong Sunderland fan
asserted
lads → want → it
, Chandler admits basing his team on Kevin Keegan's Newcastle - with entertainment even placed above winning.
asserted
entertainment → admit → winning
One time we chased a game with two at the back," he says.
asserted
he → chase → back
"The Premier League can be so boring; fans want to be entertained, that's what we promised."
Chandler was already a Whitley Bay hero when he was appointed manager by chairman Paul McIlduff, having scored the winner in the 2002 FA Vase final against Tiptree United at Villa Park.
asserted
he → want → Park
After a slow start as the then-35-year-old with no prior managerial experience found his bearings, Chandler built a talented team which became the envy of non-league football nationwide.
asserted
which → find → football
"We played good football.
asserted
We → play → football
We had pace on the wing, fantastic midfielders, and strikers who were deadly," says McIlduff, who has been Whitley Bay chairman since 2001.
asserted
who → have → 2001
"When we brought them in, it was about fitting the psychology of the dressing room.
asserted
it → bring → room
No-one thought they were better than anyone else, they played for each other.
asserted
they → think → other
"
A growing influence in the side was the 'Whitley Bay Maradona'.
asserted
influence → grow → side
Paul Robinson came through Newcastle United's academy before a career spent across various non-league clubs in the north-east – including Whitley Bay from 2007 to 2013.
asserted
Robinson → come → 2013
Like several other players and staff, he worked with Chandler both in his day job at software company Sage and at Hillheads Park.
asserted
he → work → Park
"He was my manager at work and football, I was sick of him," he tells BBC Sport.
asserted
he → tell → Sport
"But it helped get time off for matches.
asserted
it → get → matches
"
And it meant he also had an understanding boss if his mind drifted at work.
asserted
mind → mean → work
"Zoning out happened regularly, picturing scoring and winning, what the opposition would be like - hoping they were rubbish so we could have an easy stroll," he says.
uncertain
he → zone → stroll
Perhaps Robinson's greatest Whitley Bay moment came in the 2010 FA Vase semi-final second leg, when his last-minute diving header in the driving rain secured a 6-5 aggregate victory over Barwell, sparking a pitch invasion.
asserted
header → come → invasion
"Everyone goes to the finals, you were there, you could enjoy it," says Robinson, who is now academy head at South Shields.
uncertain
who → go → Shields
At home, we would get 2,000 or 3,000 at every game.
asserted
we → get → game
You felt like a real player.
asserted
You → feel → player
You associate those memories with 90s FA Cup you never think it will happen in non-league.
asserted
it → associate → league
Chandler played in a 2-0 win over Preston in round two as they reached the FA Cup third round for the first and only time in the 1989-90 season, and they also progressed to round two the following campaign.
asserted
they → play → round
Those seasons of success - made The Bay a feared side for non-league clubs across England, and meant they were ready for the big games in a way most amateur sides are not.
"One quarter-final against Biggleswade [in 2009], they turned up in suits and ties," says Robinson.
asserted
Robinson → make → suits
"We thought, this is their day out, their cup final.
asserted
this → think → ?
We won 5-2.
asserted
We → win → ?
By the end, teams were turning up afraid of us.
asserted
teams → turn → us
We had it won beforehand."
asserted
it → have → ?
…and 50 more, not listed.
The Aporia
