Hereford United's 'Famous Five' have reached the short-list of 125 from which the best FA Cup team of all time will be picked.

Earlier this year, fans from 125 clubs - the 92 Football League clubs and the best 33 performers from non-league - were invited to nominate their top manager, goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and striker from their FA Cup history.

Now a panel of experts has whittled the list of 625 down to 125 - with 25 in each category - and the Hereford quintet of Colin Addison, Fred Potter, Roger Griffiths, Ron Radford and Ricky George, heroes of the memorable 1972 Cup run, have all made the final selection.

The achievement of getting all five nominations into the short-list should not be underestimated and reflects the club's massive Cup tradition. Apart from Hereford, only Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, all of whom have hoisted the famous trophy on a number of occasions, have succeeded in getting all of their five fans' choices through.

If the Hereford five are to make it through to the final eleven - goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards - plus manager, then they will have to fight off some serious competition.

Among the managers competing with Addison are his Edgar Street successor John Sillett, a Cup winner with Coventry City, as well as famous names such as Sir Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly, Arsene Wenger, Terry Venables and Bill Nicholson.

Potter, whose flying saves were a vital part of the famous win over Newcastle, is up against the likes of Ray Clemence, Pat Jennings, Peter Schmeichel, Neville Southall and Bert Trautmann who famously broke his neck in the 1956 final.

Hereford's fracture victim, Roger Griffiths, who played for almost 80 minutes against Newcastle with a broken leg, has Bobby Moore, Stuart Pearce, Tony Adams and Billy Wright among the competition.

Radford is probably the most likely of the Bulls quintet to make his way through on the strength of scoring the most famous FA Cup goal of all in the Newcastle replay. But he will have to beat off the challenge of Sir Trevor Brooking, Ryan Giggs, Raich Carter and Sir Stanley Matthews, among others, to win a spot in midfield.

George, who scored the winning goal in the Newcastle tie, is joined in the 25 forward nominations by another United legend, Dixie McNeil, whose name was put forward by Wrexham. Jeff Astle, Eric Cantona, Jimmy Greaves, Ian Wright, Peter Osgood and Nat Lofthouse are among the other stars providing hot competition.

Anyone wishing to cast their vote should visit the FA's website www.thefa.com and follow the links in the FA Cup section.