FA Cup Top 25 Ranking as at 1878-79
| Pos | Club | Div | Pld | Won | Draw | Lost | FG | AG | Diff | No of RD 1 | First | Last | 1878-79 | Previous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | Royal Engineers | NL | 34 | 22 | 5 | 7 | 97 | 29 | 68 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 |  |
| 2 | 0 | Oxford University | NL | 33 | 22 | 5 | 6 | 87 | 30 | 57 | 7 | 1872-73 | 1878-79 | Rd 4 | |
| 3 | 0 | Wanderers | NL | 27 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 86 | 19 | 67 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 1 | |
| 4 | 3 | Old Etonians | NL | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 51 | 23 | 28 | 3 | 1873-74 | 1878-79 | Winner | |
| 5 | -1 | Clapham Rovers | NL | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 63 | 21 | 42 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Final | |
| 6 | 0 | Cambridge University | NL | 21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 37 | 28 | 9 | 6 | 1873-74 | 1878-79 | Rd 3 | |
| 7 | 2 | Swifts | NL | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 26 | 27 | -1 | 6 | 1873-74 | 1878-79 | Rd 4 | |
| 8 | -3 | Maidenhead | NL | 17 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 26 | 33 | -7 | 7 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 1 | |
| 9 | -1 | Upton Park | NL | 17 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 | |
| 10 | 1 | Barnes | NL | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 21 | 23 | -2 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 3 | |
| 11 | 2 | Old Harrovians | NL | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 3 | 1876-77 | 1878-79 | Rd 3 | |
| 12 | -2 | Pilgrims | NL | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 16 | 25 | -9 | 6 | 1873-74 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 | |
| 13 | -1 | Sheffield | NL | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 1873-74 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 | |
| 14 | 0 | Nottingham Forest | NL | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1878-79 | 1878-79 | SF | |
| 15 | 17 | Darwen | NL | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1877-78 | 1878-79 | Rd 4 | |
| 16 | -2 | Marlow | NL | 12 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 8 | 1871-72 | 1878-79 | Rd 1 | |
| 17 | -2 | Woodford Wells | NL | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 1873-74 | 1875-76 | ||
| 18 | 5 | Remnants | NL | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1877-78 | 1878-79 | Rd 3 | |
| 19 | -3 | Crystal Palace (1861) | NL | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 5 | 1871-72 | 1875-76 | ||
| 20 | -3 | Shropshire Wanderers | NL | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 4 | 1873-74 | 1877-78 | ||
| 21 | -3 | 1st Surrey Rifles | NL | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 18 | -15 | 5 | 1872-73 | 1877-78 | ||
| 22 | -3 | South Norwood | NL | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 25 | -19 | 7 | 1872-73 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 | |
| 23 | 6 | Forest School | NL | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 21 | -9 | 4 | 1875-76 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 | |
| 24 | -4 | Rochester | NL | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 18 | -10 | 4 | 1875-76 | 1878-79 | Rd 1 | |
| 25 | -4 | Panthers | NL | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 16 | -11 | 5 | 1874-75 | 1878-79 | Rd 2 |
