Ciaran McKenna says…
I think we could’ve done much worse with the draw — a title-challenging Premier League team away would’ve been rather upsetting.
Equally, a home draw against a lower league team wouldn’t have gotten the fans up for a cup run. An away game at a new ground with a bustling away end is a great draw in my opinion.
Hopefully I can get a ticket for the cup game at this brand spanking new stadium, although I would have preferred it to have been at Goodison Park, having missed the legendary Roker Park.
John Wilson says…
I suppose
the “magic of the cup” truly comes alive when a lower league team gets drawn against a “bigger” club.
From Sunderland’s point of view, it would also represent a chance to hopefully progress to round four, so to be given a tough away tie against another Premier League club was a bit of a downer. There are those who think that if we can feel relatively safe in our league position come the new year, putting in a full blown effort for a decent cup run would be a good thing.
Of course, you can’t usually get far in the cup without competing against top teams, but to come across a tough hurdle straight away is slightly disappointing, but certainly winnable.
Still, a decent away contingent will get to visit Everton’s new home.
Jon Guy says…
It really depends on how we want to approach the competition.
Given our league position and the way we’ve been playing, we’re right in the mix for a European place if we remain consistent.
As such, it might be that Régis Le Bris decides he wants to use the competition to give game time to squad members who haven’t had a great deal of minutes. If so, a home tie against a minnow would’ve been best.
However, if Le Bris looks at our current league position and thinks we’re not fighting for our league future and we have a real tilt at winning the competition, it’s a tough but winnable tie and will provide a bumper number of fans with a chance to visit Everton’s new stadium.
I love the cup and if you’re going to win it, you need to beat what’s put in front of you.
