Carabao Cup draw RESULT- Manchester United draw Bristol City and Arsenal face West Ham United
- The draw for the quarter-finals of the League Cup was set for 4pm BST
- But draw delayed until 5.45pm following 'minor technical glitch'
- Seven Premier League teams including Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd feature
- Championship side Bristol City are the only side from outside the top flight
In fact it did roughly take the entire duration of a football match plus half-time.
I shudder at the thought of what could go wrong in the semi-final draw, but for now thanks for following and also thanks for keeping me company over a rather mind sapping two hours. Cheerio.
One minute there was no news, next thing you know a 'pre-recorded draw has taken place' and Bristol City are drawn against Manchester United. Hmmm.
Chelsea v Bournemouth
Arsenal v West Ham United
Leicester City v Manchester City
Bristol City v Manchester United
The fixtures are to be played on the week commencing December 18.
So what caused the real thing to go so drastically wrong? I haven't seen a collapse like this since... well... Tottenham last night.
I need something to keep me going. I'm losing the will to live here. A few of your comments have raised a smile or two, especially Michael Fernandes from Abu Dhabi and his United v Bristol City theory.
Also I'm pleased that Nimbus2 has backed my predicted draw. Let's put it forward to EFL now, it might get passed quicker than it takes to get the actual draw done.
So just for the sheer sake of it I'm going to try and predict the draw - feel free to add yours in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Closest match wins front row seats to the next Carabao Cup draw for the semi-finals - just remember to bring a change of clothes, a sleeping bag and a tooth brush.*
Ripley's prediction:
Bournemouth v Bristol City
Manchester City v Manchester United
Arsenal v West Ham United
Leicester City v Chelsea
*There is no prize or competition just for clarification.
And yes, that does mean the signal failure technical issue hasn't been fixed yet.
I think we should be thinking of making tactical changes. There's been no breakthrough and there doesn't look like being one.
Looking at the bench there are credible options such as going back to the long serving Carling Cup, or even 90s favourite the Coca-Cola Cup.
We are going to have to try something... anything.
I mean if this was a football match we would have just kicked off the second half. In terms of entertainment it would also be Liverpool v Manchester United at Anfield.
You know when FIFA or UEFA look set to start a draw then perform a swerve by showing an opening ceremony... then a 20 minute highlights clip of the 'competition so far.'
*Shudders*
'Apologies from the EFL and Twitter. We are still working on the technical difficulties and will bring you the draw as soon as possible...'
Total shambles, folks.
We hope...
'The EFL and Twitter would like to apologise for the delay in the #CarabaoCup live stream. Normal service to be resumed within the hour.'
Normal service though? It's a one-off five minute job chaps. You had one job.
I mean how many times can you get a simple cup draw wrong in the same season?
At least twice in the form of the Carabao Cup - which in its previous guises always had smooth draws from what I recall.
Well all publicity is good publicity, right? Here are the previous gaffes from the first three rounds including a mix up of home and away sides, teams appearing twice and a stupid o'clock in the morning draw.
I mean let's look at the evidence (we haven't got much else to do at the moment.)
The draw set features the trophy, the fish bowl to put the balls in, the two trays for the balls to be placed when drawn and of course the ba... wait, WHERE ARE THE BALLS?!
I bet Lonnie's got them in the back of his Opel again.*
*I make no apology for making another Mike Bassett reference.
Due to a technical glitch apparently.... a 'minor technical glitch at Twitter HQ.'
What on earth would a major one be? Total farce.
Dawson and Tuffers seem a little... busy right now.
But while we wait, why not check out the best goals from the last-16 while the rest of us twiddle our thumbs.
Give it another couple of minutes and I'll make the draw myself. Manchester derby anyone?
Typical. While you wait here are the numbers to look out for:
1. Bournemouth
2 Arsenal
3 Bristol City
4 Chelsea
5 Leicester City
6 Manchester City
7 Manchester United
8 West Ham United
PREMIER LEAGUE: Arsenal, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Leicester City, Manchester City, Manchester United, West Ham United.
CHAMPIONSHIP: Bristol City.
If you hadn't already heard, you would be stuck for hours trying to guess the duo involved - they are not even footballers from past or present!
It's (of course) going to be 'A Question of Sport' team captains Phil Tufnell and Matt Dawson of cricket and rugby union fame respectively.
I'm sure they know their stuff but come on!
But there's no denying it. Each year this competition serves up some outrageous drama which more than justifies its place on the English football calendar.
The big teams apparently don't take it seriously, but look at the names left in the hat as I welcome you to Sportsmail's live coverage of the quarter-final draw.
Following an eventful last-16, the Carabao Cup is down to its last eight teams as the majority of the Premier League's elite prepare for Thursday's 4pm quarter-final draw.
The likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United will all be in the hat along with fellow top flight outfits Bournemouth, Leicester City and West Ham United
Bristol City are the only side left representing teams from outside the top flight following the Championship side's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, so follow the draw live as it happens.
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