CARABAO SUPERNOVA
While an eagerly awaited announcement from Oasis captured the headlines on Tuesday, Liam, Noel and whatever session shoe-gazers they happen to bring along for next year’s ride aren’t the only plodding collective from the north-west of England looking forward to a reunion. Without a win in August for the third season in a row after circling the drain for most of last season, Everton fans are once again being treated to the same old, same old, with the likes of Michael Keane, Abdoulayé Doucoure and Dominic Calvert-Lewin continuing to contribute little or nothing, while assorted players Sean Dyche brought in during the summer to compete for their places all look on from the bench pondering their questionable career choices. And if Everton supporters have been experiencing a sense of deja vu in their opening two games of the Premier League season, they are going to feel it all over again tonight when Doncaster Rovers travel to Goodison Park for a repeat of last season’s early season Fizzy Cup second round tie.
While tickets for this particular reunion are unlikely to be as sought after as those for the Noel’s Got An Expensive Divorce To Pay For Tour, it is to be presumed that at least some of those “passionate” devotees who recently turned up at Euston Station to raucously eff and jeff underperforming players who were boarding a train after losing against Spurs will be in attendance. Those who do turn up at Goodison Park will be able to inspect some of the club’s new acquisitions, as Sean Dyche has promised the likes of Jake O’Brien, Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrøm will finally get to experience the uniquely special atmosphere of a half-empty and completely fed-up Goodison Park on a Tuesday night. “I’ve made it clear in my time here that I do value the cups and think they’re important, but on the other hand I think it’s fair to say that we are going to have to use players to get them fit,” growled Dyche. “The players who have come in haven’t got as many minutes game time wise, so we are going to play some [of those] players, so we’ll certainly be putting out a team that I believe can win.” Despite Doncaster Rovers’ lowly League Two status, this confident statement of intent will have raised quizzical eyebrows among those who witnessed Dyche’s side get dismantled by Brighton and Spurs.
In other reunion news, Leicester City host Tranmere Rovers in a repeat of last season’s first-round Fizzy Cup tie won by the Foxes, while Crystal Palace, Brighton and Fulham are the other Premier League sides in action tonight. With two wins out of two under his belt as a top flight manager, it will be interesting to see how Fabian Hürzeler approaches Brighton’s opening game in a tournament he and his players really ought to be going all out to win. The 31-year-old, who is 31 years old but don’t tell anyone because it’s not something anyone ever mentions, is in charge of arguably the best run club in English football and they’ll face Crawley Town, who until quite recently, were arguably the worst.
LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE
The Carabao Cup continues! Join John Brewin for live clockwatch action from Everton 2-0 Doncaster, Birmingham 2-1 Fulham and many, many more from 7pm BST.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We laughed, we cried and we knew we were saying goodbye. Sven, thank you for always being the person you have always been – passionate, caring, calm and a true gentleman. I will be forever grateful for you making me your captain but I will forever hold these last memories of this day with you and your family … thank you Sven” – David Beckham leads the tributes to Sven-Göran Eriksson, who died on Monday at the age of 76. Beckham visited Eriksson at his home in Sweden shortly before the former England manager died.
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“A death is always difficult to come to terms with. But Sven-Göran Eriksson gave a dignity to his death and dying days that is hard to fathom and impossible not to admire. His last days were as impeccable as his tailored suits” – Krishna Moorthy.
“I don’t know who this ‘Nobel Francis’ [Friday’s Letters] is, but describing him as ‘stalwart’? He sounds absolute dynamite” – Mac Millings.
“Let me be the first of 1,057 observers to suggest that Thomas Connolly may be rechristening ‘Nobel Francis’ a tad prematurely. To my knowledge, Noble hasn’t even won a Booker yet, his myriad letter o’ the day awards notwithstanding” – Clinton Macsherry [and 1,056 others].
Send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Krishna Moorthy. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.
