Blues travel to Old Trafford in FA Cup 3rd Round

Wonder how many tickets we'll get?

Sooner we get this one out of the way the better.

Focus on Premier League survival.

Let them be co-captains or mascots, even hand out Toffees. Then afterwards they can have a special lunch of baked beans on toast with our illustrious chairman, and get commemorative Blue Peter and Jim'll Fixit badges to remember their big day.

Still, the Premier League is the main concern and they need to get that sorted and soon!!!

The last proper silverware we won was against Man Utd, when we won the World Cup in 66, Everton lifted the FA Cup.

It's an omen, I'm telling you, football and silverware coming home.

How's that, Danny?

We get between 7,500 & 11,250 depending on whether they give us 10% or 15% of the capacity.

Can we skip the 28 Years Campaign and move it straight on to 29?

In 1995, we had to dispatch the much admired Newcastle. Followed by seeing off media darlings Tottenham at Elland Road. How disappointed were Sky when we battered them 4 -1?

Before taking the cup from the team about to become the most dominant in not just England, but Europe.

We beat them in a semi-final, albeit courtesy of a penalty shoot out in 2009.

Anything is possible. It get's them out of the way early doors. Especially with over 7,500 Evertonians behind them as well as the countless thousands spiritually willing them on all over the globe.

Spirit. Forever.

There's a long time to go before this game so let's believe… But the most important game is Wolves and to beat them, and then maintain some consistency and keep growing in confidence.

UTFT!

We could be lined up, after we beat them, to a smooth passage to the semi-final.

We will win the cup this year and our odds lengthened today.

I always believed the home team was obliged to give up 10% of the seats in the FA Cup, but I have a nagging feeling somebody reneged on us in recent years. So I wasn't sure if it was obligatory or not.

I want to say it was Arsenal and I want to say it was for so-called Health & Safety reasons, but I just can't remember for sure.

There were a few FA Cup matches at Goodison I recall when Man City had the entire Top Balcony and another where they seemingly had the majority of the Bullens Road.

I'd argue that, if my 25% claim is accurate (it might not be), we could take over 18,000 to Old Trafford. And I guarantee we would sell it out.

Or do we??

Obviously ignore that question if you think Martinez should be assassinated.

We can do this.

But is/ or was it a hard-and-fast rule, or was it some kind of code of practice introduced when the game was a force for good?

They also did it to Man Utd and gave their fans just the lower section, even though in previous ties they had no problem giving lower-division teams their full allocation of both upper and lower sections of the ground.

Probably saved his job.

Fool? Yes. Idiot? Of course. Evertonian? Definitely and unreserved.

Here we go!

Bill Dean as team manager saying: "Put the suits back on the pegs, lads."

As for it being the toughest draw... ask a Man City or Chelsea fan about that.

Two top teams out so early.

We've got this!

We took 18,000 to Old Trafford in 1982 for an FA Cup Quarter-Final, lost one-nil.

I was there – great atmosphere!

Frank Lampard has a lot of work to do with an inconsistent bunch and no real strike force... so, unless something major happens in the transfer market in January, they will struggle to stay out of that dreaded drop zone.

He's in MLS and their season is over. We can sign him to a loan deal outside the window. Sub him on in Minute 85 and it's job done.

On a serious note, not a bad call to provide options and numbers going into the winter period.

It didn't harm too much taking Landon Donovan on loan twice for a short period. He became a fans' favourite. Oviedo is already one.

Fear no-one!

Jim, I'll top the Palace embarrassment with the Tranmere, Oldham and Wigan debacles.

They were painful, notwithstanding that League Cup competition that is becoming a very personal thing with me.

We're in the FA Cup and we can go through to the 4th Round. Believe.

Three down at half-time with all the goals coming in a 10-minute spell or something mad like that.

I'm beginning wonder if Everton will actually win anything again.

I found out the cup draw at 3:15 am this morning, 11:15 UK time.

Ah well, we just have to do it the hard way. Man Utd are no great shakes, and definitely beatable. I suppose it was inevitable that we would get a Premier League team away, while Liverpool get a relatively easy home draw, especially with the draw being made at Anfield.

At the moment I haven't a clue what time it is?? See you Boxing Day!

You've just reminded me of another one. Shrewsbury and our own Kevin Ratcliffe.

But that tells us everything. It's a game of football and anyone can win it. Forget the name. Everton can win this.

Fuck off.

Maybe next season,eh Bill!

Jim Arnold had a blinder that day, when Macari came on right at the very end we all thought, reply at Goodison, then Stapleton struck in injury time, there were 6 of us in the United Road end when that went in, pig sick.

But what surprised me was how many more glum faces were not celebrating the goal in that section of the ground, still one of the best followings we took to a game in my opinion.

Someone will surely correct me but I can only remember Wigan, Leicester, and Portsmouth (?) winning it this century outside of the obvious contenders.

But fuck sense, we'll beat them anyway.

In the Premier League era, it's pretty much a closed shop outside of a few anomalies. But this year's Manchester United are nothing to be afraid of; on a good day, we can beat them.

I don't know the figures, Derek, but I remember the trips to Villa Park. Not just the 2 semi-finals, but the 1987 league fixture as we headed towards the title and Villa were on their way down. A narrow win courtesy of a goal from you know who.

All 4 corners of the ground, let alone the away end, seemed to contain travelling Evertonians. As did the M6 on the way down and the way back up.

I remember being at Old Trafford in the bad old days when the Greater Manchester Police used to verbally abuse us and herd us into corners with batons and horses. It got to a point where I witnessed an Evertonian punch a horse to get them to back off. That's not a proud thing to say or see, but they treated us like animals.

Gladly, I don't see that these days and we mostly all get along with a bit of natural rivalry and banter.

My 'Danny O' heart says we can win this.

But my 'misery arse' head says a hiding or glorious failure.

Bloody Everton!!!!

Good luck to those having to travel for a Friday night fixture.

Go back to 1956 and an FA Cup game against the Busby Babes, we lost 1-0 to a Duncan Edwards shot from about 25 yards. I think we took a lot more than 15,000 that day. Albert Dunlop in goal helped to keep the score down.

Earlier in the same season, we beat those Busby Babes 5-2 in the league game at Old Trafford.

Before my time but my late father saw Duncan Edwards play a couple of times. Rated him in the top 3 British players he ever saw live – along with George Best nd our own Tony Kay (who he rated above Alan Ball).

I saw Ball in his last season with us, but not the other three – wish I had.

The lad was 22 when he died. The UK has had a habit of overlooking fabulous players of the '50s. John Charles tops the list to me via my dad.

I wonder what Toffees even more venerable than me have to say of that generation?

To this day, he is revered by the locals. Street name on the estate he came from, stained glass windows in a church, blue plaque and a statue of him in the town centre. His grave is still a place where many football supporters visit and lay tributes.

We always pass through Munich on our skiing holiday. I've visited the modest but moving memorials at the end of what was the runway of the old Munich airport. It's now a combination of housing, parkland and business parks. The street where the memorial is located was named Manchester Platz by the city of Munich.

No praise was too high for Duncan Edwards, a man at 16 when I first saw him for Man Utd youth team. They drew 2-2 with Everton's youth team in the FA Youth Cup.

It was so obvious even then what a fabulous player he was going to become, before fate altered his destiny. Derek Temple kept us in the game that day, playing centre-forward he scored our two goals, I think. Man Utd hammered us 5-2 in the replay.

I was 17 the day the wireless told me he had passed away nearly 3 weeks after the Munich disaster. I shed a few tears on my way to work that morning, a big loss not just to Man Utd and their fans but to fans all over who had seen him and future fans who never got the chance,

Like your dad, I was a big fan of Tom Finney and George Best. He spoilt his career himself, George, with his off-the-field activities.

As Don says (@62), a lot of brilliant players of the fifties were disregarded later on with John Charles one of the best at centre-half and centre-forward, a great player and man with the lovely gift of humility.

Also, Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton, Dave McKay, John White, Billy Liddell, Stanley Mathews, T G Jones, and three other scheming inside forwards coming to the end of their careers were favourites of mine: Raich Carter, Peter Doherty and Jimmy Hagan.

There were many more but there have been great players in all eras of football past and present with plenty to come in the future… I hope a few of them play for the Blues!!