After another deflating Premier League loss at Southampton last weekend, Everton take a break from league action tomorrow as they travel to southeast London and take on Millwall in the FA Cup fourth round.
A decent FA Cup run is becoming crucial to whether Everton will have anything to take from this season.
The Blues league campaign is already looking like an uphill struggle to even be certain of a top half finish let alone a European place or the top six.
So the Toffees need to make the most of any chance to go far in the Cup or even reach the final, not a totally unrealistic hope.
After all the last time Everton won a major trophy, beating Manchester United in the FA Cup final in 1995, the club finished in the bottom half of the league.
I remember going into Liverpool on the Sunday after that final to see the team parading the Cup to fans. If you’d said to me then that it would be the last time the Blues would get their hands on a trophy, I’d have been very surprised.
But that’s what has happened and the Toffees are now approaching a quarter of a century since that victory at the old Wembley. It’s a miserable record and one that the Blues must end soon.
Taking domestic cup competitions seriously is a fundamentally important strategy for a club that still seems a long, long way from contending for the Premier League title.
Once again this season Everton failed to make any progress in the League, (or Carabao), Cup and slid out of that competition with hardly a wimper.
Without European football, (and little chance of that next season through league qualification), the Toffees need a strong showing in the FA Cup.
That means tomorrow’s game at Millwall is important to the club’s season.
The Lions’ have had an up-and-down season and they are an inconsistent side, much like Everton. Millwall also want a decent Cup run as they are probably safe from relgation but unlikely to make the playoffs either.
Tomorrow’s opponents are a physically strong side who excel in areas like set-piece play, something the Blues have struggled with all season.
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So this represents a real potential banana skin of a match for Everton. If the Toffees don’t show up tomorrow and play at something like their best there is a strong possibility they will come unstuck.
The Toffees have been very poor on their travels this season. And there are continuing problems in the team with renewed defensive frailties and the ongoing problem of who plays at centre-forward.
I hope we see a full-strength side for tomorrow’s game and that Everton can shake off the lethargy and poverty of recent performances and get past Millwall and into the next round.