Where Bolton Wanderers and Oxford rank on all-time list of Wembley appearances

ONLY seven clubs in English football have played at Wembley cup finals more often than Bolton Wanderers.

Data compiled by PlaymakerStats.com* confirmed that the Whites will make their 15th appearance at the national stadium – either in its old or new guise – when they turn out against Oxford United for the League One play-off final.

The only clubs who can better them are Manchester United (54), Liverpool (42), Chelsea (41), Arsenal (40), Manchester City (35), Tottenham Hotspur (23) and Everton (19).

Wanderers share joint-eighth spot with Aston Villa and Leicester City.

Saturday’s opponents Oxford United have reached Wembley six times but had to wait 112 years for the first. Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton and Jeremy Charles scored in a 3-0 win against QPR in the 1986 Milk Cup final, which remains the club’s only major honour.

Among the clubs who have fewer appearances at the national stadium are Nottingham Forest (12), Newcastle United (11), Sunderland (11), Blackpool (10), Portsmouth (10), Leeds United (9) and West Ham United (9).

Wanderers competed in the first FA Cup final at Wembley in 1923, then lifted the trophy again in 1926 and 1929. They were runners-up in 1953, winners again in 1958 and then had to wait until the Freight Rover Trophy in 1986 for their next appearance, a defeat against Bristol City.

They won the Sherpa Van Trophy in 1989, lost the play-off final in 1991 and the League Cup final in 1995, then returned to Wembley a few days later to beat Reading in the 1995 play-off final.

They lost the play-off final against Watford in 1999, the FA Cup semi-finals in 2000 and 2011, but then won the Papa Johns Trophy in 2023.

Overall at Wembley Bolton have played 14 times so far, winning seven and losing seven, albeit one was on a penalty shoot-out.

At time of writing two clubs currently in the Football League have never played at Wembley – but Crawley are about to break their duck in the League Two play-off final, to be played on Sunday.

With Chesterfield and Bromley coming up from the National League, the only member of the 92 who will not have played at the stadium will be Accrington Stanley – who were denied their chance in the semi-final of the Papa Johns Trophy last season by Wanderers.

* The data does not include league games played by Tottenham at Wembley.