THERE was a time when facing teams from the lower divisions in the League Cup meant only heartache and humiliation at Goodison Park, and some of the memories still make Evertonians wince.
Losing at home to Oxford United in 1999, for instance, was pretty dreadful.
And even worse was the night in 2001 when Ibrahima Bakayoko was so bemused as he was press-ganged into taking a penalty against Sunderland that the referee had to instruct him that he couldn’t proceed until he took his training top off.
Heady days indeed.
However, the Blues have improved immeasurably since those dark days and, if the truth be known, the gap in quality between the Premier League and the rest of English football increases markedly every season.
You only have to look at Huddersfield Town, one of the clubs fancied for promotion of Division One this season, to realise the type of player that the managers are working with at that level now.
Despite having a really good go against Everton on Wednesday night they simply couldn’t compete.
