Everton were retaining hopes of European football just over a month ago but those hopes now lie in tatters after FA Cup third round exit
15:39, 10 Jan 2026Updated 08:36, 11 Jan 2026
Everton’s season has quickly gone downhill(Image: PA)
So, where do Everton go from here? A season that at one point promised so much has very quickly turned sour.
It was only at the start of last month that the Blues beat Nottingham Forest 3-0, and talk of Europe was on the lips of supporters. Fast forward to now, and it is a very different picture. Those hopes of Europe appear slim after a number of disappointing Premier League results over Christmas.
The FA Cup was the only saving grace left in a stuttering campaign of transition. But hopes of two trips to Wembley before the end of the campaign are now over too.
Everton can’t avoid honest conversations now as David Moyes belief faces crucial transfer test
OPINION
Connor O’Neill
The minute Jack Grealish followed Michael Keane down the Everton tunnel against Wolves on Wednesday night, you started to fear the worst about this game.
And when the teams were announced 60 minutes before kick-off, those fears increased with Tim Iroegbunam missing out as a precaution.
And with just over 10 minutes on the clock, David Moyes stood on the touchline shaking his head in disbelief at what he was witnessing from his side.
The Blues, with the exception of the close stages of the half, spent the opening 45 minutes pinned back in their own half.
The hosts eventually opened the scoring through Enzo Le Fee before two wonder saves from Jordan Pickford ensured the Blue didn’t go into the break already out of the cup.
But from the minute Le Fee opened the scoring, you always felt that Everton were never going to recover; however, they did.
With a couple of minutes of normal time remaining, they were handed an unlikely lifeline. Trai Hume was judged to have fouled Adam Aznou, and James Garner converted from 12-yards out.
And with neither side managing to net a winner in extra-time, we headed for penalties.
What followed were two of the worst penalty kicks you are likely to see this season – and not even Jordan Pickford could prevent the Blues from crashing out of the cup at the first time of asking.
Those Blues supporters who stayed until Luke O’Nien had fired home the winning penalty were now shaking their heads in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.
Everton fans are desperate to see their club land a trophy.
It is now nearly 31 years since that 1995 cup final victory over Manchester United, and there is an entire generation of Evertonians who have grown up without seeing an Everton skipper raise a cup.
But on afternoons like this, the drought feels never-ending.