Taking the Carabao Cup seriously

But it leaps out at me what the problem is and it's right there in your piece, manifested in the stance taken by your bro.

How can you claim that the Everton fanbase are taking this competition seriously when at least 1 in 4 of them are not?

Everton fans are providing (almost) full houses for every Premier League game. But not the League Cup. Yes, of course, the reason is that they know the club is going to make changes, and is not going to take it seriously. Of course, they allow that knowledge to sway them from attending in a way that would never happen for a Premier League match.

League Cup attendances are always significantly below capacity. I'm not sure how you break a cycle that has been set in stone. Only by filling (not emptying!) Goodison Park for these games could you convince the club that perhaps a change of priorities is in order.

Michael, you write some great stuff, but I can't agree with your last paragraph though, mate. Everton played Rotherham in the round before and had their biggest gate at that stage of the competition for a very, very long time, so maybe the club have got it wrong, and it might even go against them in the earlier rounds of future cup competitions?

I'm convinced that Kenwright is the jinx, and only once he sells the rest of his shares, will we go back to existing to try and win cups once again.

Just look back at the attendances. Even the Semi-Final against Man City a few years back... it was down by 4,000 from the Premier League.

Why don't more people go? Why aren't they full houses? Sadly, it's not that much better for the FA Cup either!

I will concede that I wouldn't have played Stekelenburg or Schneiderlin. I don't see what the manager was hoping to learn by playing them. But from the other changes, I think the players needed a game – you need to keep them ticking over for match sharpness and fitness as much as anything else.

I don't think we have valid grounds for making a protest based on this. We are frustrated by the result, but the team chosen should still have been able to beat Southampton – especially considering that we brought on Walcott, Niasse and Richarlison.

I think we just have to bite the bullet on this one, I'm afraid.

In the years gone by, I've often wondered how, why, what, and if, like so many of us, 1000s of times. It's got me nowhere and I'm at the stage in life when the heart is always beating fast for Everton, but my head says "No it won't... and, even if it does, there'll be a catch, of a major issue, somewhere!" And the RS shadow always hangs these days.

Working close to Bramley-Moore Dock the last few weeks, and it's a sobering thought to think of the scale of the civil and marine engineering it's gonna take to build a base – let alone a stadium to play in. The scale is immense and whilst I see some bonus in template of the hole in the ground is there, the cost and impact of Brexit etc on the UK economy, remains a potential problem for the Everton Stadium project director.

Digressing on the parallel spiral of the mis-management of the club in business and commercial matters, bar perhaps the last 2.5 years, from the last 30 years, the decline of playing prowess of Everton is such that now none of the away fans I know, from across the UK, take us a playing force seriously, whilst praising the loyalty of the supporters, through – as they say and we know – the most wretched times.

For me, the manager didn't do his homework, had no priority plan to win the game, as he didn't pick his best players. There's no ifs or buts, as our best chance of progressing and growing confidence disappeared in the usual penalty-miss competition.

Silva can say in hindsight whatever; it's too late now. I want him to succeed for the sake of every Evertonian, but it's early days; I'll be putting the 10-game marker for the Premier League down in a couple of weeks. This week will be etched in time; let's hope it's a turning point.

Lucky to have seen glory days but these have been diluted to memory and I feel for the youth and up-and-coming generations of Evertonians.

Is the Everton Rennaissance ever gonna happen soon? At this moment in time, I'd say No, and that's being honest.

Striker in January a must, deffo, but also a settled team as near as damn it allows, and minimum tinkering.

Does the club show by the team selection it really wants to win a cup? This tournament has been the Have-a-go Cup, the Field Trial Cup, the Can't Really Be Arsed Cup... for donkey's years.

Shame on Silva this week, and that's only my humble view, and everyone else's view I respect.

The team needs to get brought in for extra training this Sunday if they melt at Leicester.

If the team isn't plugged in this Saturday, I've no doubt the pending autumn gales will feel even worse around Goodison Park and Finch Farm these next few weeks.

But hope eternal eh, and that sense of pending inevitability of the match result, is always there.

Let's hope the form turns – starting this Saturday.

I'm not blaming Kenwright for the other night, but he kept Moyes at Goodson for 11 years – and he's supposed to be a proper Evertonian?

The reality is that we have jinxed ourselves, allowing ourselves to punch above our weight, and let the once mighty Everton rejoice at coming best of the rest, with some fans it seems, not even interested in the cups anymore.

Michael, I love a good conspiracy theory, but that particular one is just a theory of my own, mate. Bill begged, stole and borrowed to keep hold of Everton (the greatest club in the land, I'm sure he's called us!) and the minute he goes, I just have a funny feeling that we will begin to realise what we really should exist for...

I don't agree with those who say Silva has to play the fringe players in such games, to 'keep them fresh' or whatever reason he might come up with. His job is to send out his strongest team in order to win or attempt to win EVERY game, not just those in the Premier league. In this, he failed big style on Tuesday and as I've said on other threads, he lied to us, by saying in advance he wouldn't be making massive changes after last Saturday.

He has lost my trust, any credibility he had before the game and has been mentioned by more than one poster on other threads, as a result of his disastrous team selection, he has crossed a line with many supporters. He hasn't been with us long enough to play fast and free with the supporters feelings, and his early results haven't exactly got the majority of the fan base singing his praises, I suspect.

So far, he's done little to prove he isn't another relegation manager a la Martinez. I only hope I'm wrong, but hell it's October already and we are basically as crap as we were under Allardyce

I think we would have seen different players if 2 out of Dowell, Lookman and Bernard started with more of a settled team around them. Maybe Tosun was justified with his goal the week before, but that should have been it.

It’s especially harsh on Dowell and Lookman, who are given a chance with 4 attacking players around them who have never played together. They’ll now be shunted back with their limited opportunities “justified” by their cup performances.

You also have a GREAT name, although you're one ‘l' out!

At least all Blues now know that our club from now on will only be competing on one single solitary front when the new season starts up... sigh.

At least we'll give future derbies a real go eh! Erm, maybe?

I believe our way back to the big time is by winning a Cup and this one has eluded us for far too long and is the easiest to win... both on paper and grass.

I'm sure 100% all Blues want another glorious day out at Wembley and a direct route back into European Football... it starts here, folks, and always has!