1926 FA Cup Final - Build-up

Build-up

Both teams had won the FA Cup on one previous occasion and had met in the 1904 FA Cup Final. In that match, Manchester City won 1–0 thanks to a Billy Meredith goal. The 1904 meeting was Manchester City's only previous final, whereas the 1926 tie was the fourth time Bolton had reached the final. They lost in 1894 and 1904, but won the competition for the first time in the "White Horse Final" of 1923, the first to be held at Wembley. The 1926 final was the first to be held since the change to the offside rule in 1925. It now required two defenders behind an attacker receiving the ball instead of three, a change which increased the average number of goals per match.

Of the two teams, Bolton Wanderers had the better league form. After rising as high as fourth early in the league season, Bolton spent the majority of the year in mid-table and finally finished 8th of the 22 First Division clubs with 44 points from their 42 league fixtures. Manchester City remained in the lower reaches of the league table throughout the season and were relegated after finishing 21st with 35 points. Their matches were frequently high scoring. City scored more league goals than second-placed Arsenal, but also had the second-worst defensive record in the division. The two league matches between the teams in the 1925–26 season ended in a 5–1 home win for Bolton in November and a 1–1 draw at Maine Road in March.

In accordance with changes made for the 1924 final onwards, all tickets were sold in advance to prevent a repeat of the overcrowding at the 1923 final. Approximately 91,000 tickets were available. 53,000 were standing tickets, 15,000 were uncovered seats and 23,000 were covered seats. Standing tickets cost two shillings, seat prices ranged from five shillings to one guinea. The majority of tickets were sold before the finalists were known. As a result, few supporters of the participating teams attended; most were unable to afford the remaining tickets available to the general public, which were typically in the more expensive areas of the stadium. 1,750 tickets were allocated directly to each club. Bolton fielded 6,000 enquiries and lodged a formal protest about the inadequacy of their allocation. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway laid on a total of seven special trains from Manchester to London on the eve and morning of the match. A number of supporters travelled to London without tickets in the hope of securing one outside the stadium. 5s tickets changed hands for up to 15s, provoking the ire of ticketless supporters who accused the sellers of profiteering. In one such instance, a man selling twenty 2s tic|kets at 10s each required the assistance of five police officers to escape the wrath of the crowd. The total gate receipts for the match were £23,157, a new record.

Manchester City prepared for the match by training in the spa town of Buxton. Bolton Wanderers followed their usual training schedule for most of the week, then travelled to Harrow on the Thursday. All eleven men who played for Bolton in their 1923 triumph were still at the club. Of those, only the injured Alex Finney was absent as they travelled to London. Jack Smith had been injured for several weeks in the run-up to the final, but recovered in time and participated in Bolton's last league match before the tie.