Everton will begin their quest to win a major trophy for the first time since 1995 when they take part in the FA Cup next month.
Silverware has already passed Everton by this season, being dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Premier League strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round back in September, having fielded a weakened side that included the likes of Mark Travers, Seamus Coleman at left-back, Tyler Dibling and Dwight McNeil.
The FA Cup usually represents Everton’s best annual chance to end their trophy drought, and with the third round draw taking place on Monday night, fans are anticipating a deep cup run after their strong run of form this season.
But, having been drawn against Premier League high-fliers Sunderland, the Toffees know that they’ll have to be at their best to progress into the hat for the next round.
Everton fans cannot believe they have landed another all-Premier League clash in the FA Cup
Everton have not reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for a decade now, where they were beaten in the last minute by Manchester United at Wembley via an Anthony Martial strike.
Of course, they have a long way to go until they reach that point, but drawing an in-form Premier League side is hardly the easiest start possible.
And Everton fans have taken to Reddit to complain about drawing yet another Premier League side – instead yearning for away trips to lower league opposition for a change of scenery, as well as an easier tie on paper.
One fan starting the complaints, posting: “I swear every single time we get a meh draw against another Premier League team. I want a funny day out away at Blackpool or Wigan or somewhere”, whilst another said: Would’ve been a great tie if they hadn’t just got promoted, now it feels like just another league match.”
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The annoyance continued, with a further fan stating: “Ouch. Would’ve loved a cupcake run”, whilst a fourth fan weighed in by claiming: Out of the current PL sides I’m glad it’s Sunderland. Overall I would have preferred a lower league side so that maybe Aznou could get some minutes.”
Others took aim at the rest of the cup draw with fellow lower-league sides drawing one another. A disgruntled fan added: “Of course League Two Grimsby draws 6th Tier Weston-Super-Mare. Stupid random lots”, while another said: “A top half of the table matchup that everyone knew was coming.”
There were some fans who took an alternative approach, with one noting that Sunderland would be missing their players who were at the Africa Cup of Nations. They wrote: “Haven’t looked at when it’s scheduled – any chance it’ll still be during AFCON? They’ll be missing half their team if it is, right?”, and another backed that up, saying: “Worth saying they have 7 players out for AFCON. Obviously this is into the knockouts but they may still have a few players out.”
Everton have had previous FA Cup ties all coming against Premier League outfits
Even in the past few seasons, Everton do always seem to get drawn against top-flight sides.
Last season saw them squeeze past Peterborough United in the third round of the FA Cup, before they were drawn against Bournemouth, losing their last ever FA Cup game at Goodison Park.
The season prior, Everton were drawn away at Crystal Palace, forcing a replay before winning the replay on Merseyside – but fellow Premier League outfit Luton Town then visited Goodison in the fourth round and won in the last minute.
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The 2022-23 campaign saw them drawn away at Manchester United, which is never an easy tie despite the Red Devils going through a relative rocky patch.
Only the 2021-22 FA Cup run saw them face a decent number of lower league opponents, beating Hull City 3-2 away from home. They still had to contend with Brentford, who they beat 4-1 in the fourth round, and after a fifth round win over Boreham Wood, an eventual 4-0 hammering at Palace stopped them from reaching Wembley.
Fans will be hoping that this season is different but facing Premier League opposition in the third round isn’t really the best possible start.
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