Gabby Agbonlahor hits out live on talkSPORT at ‘ridiculous’ development ahead of Crystal Palace vs Everton in FA Cup
Gabby Agbonlahor has hit out at the “ridiculous” development that will force Everton fans to travel to Crystal Palace on Thursday night (4 January).
The all-Premier League FA Cup third-round tie at Selhurst Park was brought a couple of days forward and will be showed live on television.
According to the Daily Mail [4 December], the fixture date was changed at the request of the Metropolitan Police, rather than TV companies, due to 11 cup games being staged in London and the surrounding areas this weekend.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast [4 January, 06:36am], Agbonlahor said: “Why is Crystal Palace versus Everton tonight?
“Why are Everton fans having to travel on a Thursday? The start of a new year and having to travel on a Thursday. Ridiculous.”
Unfortunate
The immediate assumption to make is that the TV companies have once again moved a fixture to an inconvenient time, meaning Everton fans have to make the 10-hour round-journey from Merseyside to South London.
However, this came at the advice of the Metropolitan Police, who understandably do not have the resources to cover 10 different matches across the weekend.
It is unfortunate for Everton that this is a tie made for television in a rather unorthodox slot given that it is a match between two Premier League clubs, albeit without the draw of the primetime Liverpool versus Arsenal game.
Credit must go to those (stupid enough?) who are making the trip south – or from wherever – for what is a rather unappetising fixture on the face of it.
Premier League survival is of course the priority this season, but Sean Dyche would love a run in the cup. However, if a number of changes are made to the line-up, Dyche’s message will be loud and clear.
In other Everton news, Darren Bent has been left surprised by a “very odd” development at Goodison Park.