The First Round Draw For The League Cup Has Gone Horribly, Horribly Wrong

Cup draws used to be such normal, if somewhat dull, affairs.

One person draws one name out, another draws the second. Occasionally Rod Stewart might turn up looking like he’s had one too many. It was hard to mess up, truth be told.

And yet, somehow, the draw for the newly-rebranded Carabao Cup (it’s a Thai energy drink, apparently) was riddled with disasters. Taking place in Bangkok on Friday afternoon (because outsourcing cup draws to foreign countries is a thing now, apparently).

Defending champions Manchester United were not involved in this round – the first round is only for Championship, League One and League Two sides.

With the draw being broadcast on Facebook Live, the first warning sign came when there was no sound right before the draw was due to start.

@Carabao_Cup draw on Facebook live with no sound. Really! @SkySportsNewsHQ should have it. #Crazy. #LeagueCup #NoGood. #MustDoBetter .

— Joe O’Connor (@N9JOC) June 16, 2017

Things got worse almost instantly after as the first name drawn out, Birmingham City, coincided with the entire stream crashing.

Great start for the @Carabao_Cup when the live stream has no sound and cuts out after drawing Birmingham v H

— James Steel™ (@jimimanovsteel) June 16, 2017

Worse still was to come, however, A technical glitch ensured that Charlton Athletic would have been faced with the hardest draw any team has ever had in the history of the competition:

? When your Sunday League manager WhatApps the group saying you have to play a double header… #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/FTl8jUG3at

— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) June 16, 2017

As it turned out, it will, in fact, be Oxford United that travel to Exeter City, with Charlton at home to Cheltenham.

Once the hullabaloo had died down, the first round draw of the League/Milk/Rumbelows/Coca-Cola/Worthington/Carling/Capital One/EFL Cup was finally revealed.

If this bloke was praying for the @Carabao_Cup to get off to a good start, his prayers weren’t answered. ? #CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/fqjsfhZDIq

— DavoBirmingham (@DavoBirmingham) June 16, 2017

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Former Cork City defender Neal Horgan joined us in studio this week on the Mixer Irish Football Podcast to dissect Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Austria last weekend.