The League Cup is one of the more unusual and mystifying enigmas of English football.
Some see the competition as a source of good and a great opportunity for smaller teams in the lower leagues to test themselves against some of the biggest clubs in England, whilst others view the League Cup as a pointless trophy that only causes fixture congestion and where the more successful Premier League sides don’t respect it enough.
Yet Everton seem to be seeing the cup this season as a source for good as well as a way to break down barriers as to why some fans loathe the League Cup.
Marco Silva’s side have both provided good entertainment against lower league sides that have shown their worth in the form of Lincoln City and Sheffield Wednesday as well as start strong teams that on any given day could compete in the Premier League, with the likes of Jordan Pickford, Alex Iwobi and Lucas Digne starting in their two games.
And it seems like the Portuguese manager is genuinely looking to add the League Cup to Everton’s once gleaming trophy cabinet.
Silva spoke in August to The Guardian before the Toffees’ clash against Lincoln that he is aiming to do something in the competition this season, and another strong showing in the cup against Sheffield Wednesday this week seemed to confirm this.
Indeed, it has been nearly 25 years since Everton last lifted silverware in the form of the 1995 FA Cup final where the Merseyside club pipped Manchester United to the prestigious trophy, and this season, Silva should be aiming to end this barren run.
With fortunes in the Premier League already taking a turn for the worst with Everton currently sitting in 14th place after six games, silverware will not only end a barren run of nearly a quarter of a century without a trophy, but it would be something to unite the supporters again with the majority of the fandom seemingly more divided than ever before.