Key events
GOAL! Sheffield United 0-1 Cardiff (Ashford 18)
23rd in the Championship take the lead against third! It’s a defensive error that prompts it, with Sheffield United’s Rhys Norrington-Davies dawdling on the ball in his own half. Cardiff’s Cian Ashford hassles him off it but still has plenty to do, driving into the area before calmly slotting in at the near post while holding off Norrington-Davies. Great composure from the 20-year-old.
Fulham v Watford teams
Fulham: Benda, Castagne, Andersen, Cuenca, Sessegnon, Andreas Pereira, Lukic, Smith Rowe, Traoré, Rodrigo Muniz, Iwobi
Subs: Leno, Bassey, Diop, Reed, Cairney, King, Godo, Wilson, Jiménez
Watford: Bond, Andrews, Porteous, Ogbonna, Tikvic, Larouci, Ince, Kayembe, Dwomoh, Vata, Doumbia
Subs: Sierralta, Chakvetadze, Louza, Sissoko, Bayo, Morris, Baah, Nabizada, Roberts
Young (father) and Young (son) both begin on the bench. Everton make six changes to the team that started in the 1-0 league defeat by Bournemouth.
stephendcarr77 (I assume that isn’t on the birth certificate) writes in: “You’d be forgiven for thinking Dyche wrote that club statement himself. No-nonsense to say the least.”
Everton v Peterborough teams
The post-Dyche era begins.
Everton: João Virgínia, O’Brien, Keane, Branthwaite, Patterson, Mangala, Gueye, Mykolenko, Armstrong, Beto, Ndiaye
Subs: Begovic, Harrison, Doucouré, Young, Lindstrøm, Butterfield, Broja, Leban
Peterborough: Bilokapic, Nevett, Fernandez, Katongo, O’Brien-Brady, Kyprianou, Collins, Hayes, Conn-Clarke, Jones, Dornelly
Subs: Blackmore, Mothersille, De Havilland, Odoh, Lindgren, Sparkes, Wallin, Young, Ihionvien
Not a particularly hopeful email in from Edan Tal: “Dyche getting sacked is really reminding me of the Venkys coming into Blackburn and quickly sacking Sam Allardyce for Steve Kean. Relegation quickly followed.”
Speaking of the Young v Young battle, Luke McLaughlin has more on footballing father and sons.
This is a really lovely email, sent in by Nicholas Byrne.
Toffee here. Just want to put on record my thanks to Sean Dyche and his team. When he was appointed, I wrote that we’d finally employed a grown up, and I say that as someone who really wanted Lampard to succeed, and really really wanted Rafa to succeed. I’m firmly in the mind that nobody but Dyche could have got us through our points deductions, which were definitely the club’s fault but most definitely not his, and he has handled himself with dignity throughout his tenure.
It won’t be any consolation to him tonight, but this Everton fan will always be grateful to him. As for who is next, the new owners have already taken one major decision, we need to trust them to get the next one right, too. Onwards and sideways, Blues.
Sheffield United v Cardiff teams
Sheffield United: Davies, Gilchrist, Baptiste, Norrington-Davies, Burrows, Blacker, Brooks, Brewster, Marsh, McCallum, Oné
Subs: Faxon, Hamer, O’Hare, Ahmedhodzic, Robinson, Boyes, Hampson, Colechin, Aston
Cardiff: Horvath, Kpakio, Fish, Daland, Bagan, Ng, Ralls, Colwill, Tanner, Ashford, Etete
Subs: Turner, Davies, Giles, Siopis, Rinomhota, Robertson, Willock, Jefferies, Pearce
This is a tale of two Championship clubs experiencing very different seasons. United are third while Cardiff are tied up in a relegation scrap, only Plymouth below them.
“Don’t you think that club statement is rather cold?” writes Phil Grey. “No gratitude expressed for keeping Everton up for two more seasons through extraordinarily difficult circumstances. No warm wishes for the future.”
I thought that, too, having kept them up despite a points deduction. Dyche will bounce back, in his standard no-nonsense style.
Some news that’s come in: Amad Diallo has signed a new five-and-a-half year contract at Manchester United. He’s been one of the few pluses from a pretty torrid season.
Preamble
Quite the drama … and the real stuff hasn’t even kicked off yet. Sean Dyche was sacked as Everton manager earlier today, just hours before their FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough, the 53-year-old denied his own Robins-Fergie moment. Leighton Baines, the former left-back and now Everton’s under-18s coach, takes charge tonight alongside Seamus Coleman, which is giving off real 2013/14 vibes.
The more wholesome story of the evening is the possibility of Ashley Young lining up against his son Tyler, who plays as a midfielder for Posh. This interview is very sweet.
That tie kicks off at 7.45pm GMT, alongside Watford’s trip to Fulham, which will see Marco Silva come up against his old side. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching the Cottagers this season with all their flair going forward, and reckon they’ve got a decent cup run in them. Before that, Sheffield United host Cardiff City at 7pm, so let’s keep an eye on that, too.
Here’s to the magic of the cup, and the joy it still provides even as it comes up against questions of relevance. For all of Manchester United’s misery last year, it’d be hard to find a supporter who wasn’t ecstatic when they triumphed over City in May.
Let’s get going: feel free to drop in your thoughts, queries, worries, predictions, whatever you fancy. Cheers!
