Champions League - We're Having A Laugh?

Interestingly enough, the summer has been dogged by supporter unease and agitation at the lack of activity in the transfer market as we approach August. With the Pienaar and Jagielka deals done (putting to one side the minor youth deals or trials), it has been commonly accepted by most fans that we haven't done enough to strengthen the side in almost "all" departments as we prepare for a tough and arduous season of three cups and a league campaign that threatens to be one of the toughest in the past few decades for every club.

Progression, as far as Everton Football Club are concerned, is reasonable improvement based on the performance of the year previous. The worry of the fans, however, is that whilst the sides who finished below us have spent dangerous amounts of money on various players, we've stood still, meaning that, logically, the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle, West Ham, Manchester City and Tottenham are likely to usurp us in the top six before we're going to push on and break the top four.

The surprising thing, in my opinion, is that Everton still have a stronger chance than ANY of those sides in breaking the dominant top four next year and a very good chance of bringing home a trophy this year!

My reasoning is simple. The Everton side we field next season will not be weakened from the one that finished in a Uefa Cup spot last campaign. Consider that we've let Naysmith, Wright and Davies go from our first-team squad since January, none of those players were actively involved regularly in the first-team set-up ? or at least, didn't make any sizeable contribution.

Therefore, we've bolstered, bringing in a versatile, undoubtedly talented Englishman in Jagielka and a foreign winger ? hailed once as a world-beater ? with something to prove (sure, we heard that about Van der Meyde, but let's give the new lad a chance before making comparisons with Shandy).

With that in mind, we're also looking to bolster with quality, not quantity, before the season starts. This is a welcome reprieve from the days of Claus Thomsen, David Ginola and Brett Angell - being brought in to "give options".

Other clubs have spent ridiculous amounts of money on players, I feel, will go the "way of Beattie". Kamara for £6M is simply daft money. Chopra is a stupid signing given the fee. Teams have spent money, in some cases definitely improving the squad, but for the most... the real quality has gone to the top four. Nothing startling has arrived below us ? the only thing startling is the amount of money spent. The likes of Nani, Pizarro, Anderson, Torres etc are all world-class and, suitably, have joined the elite sides. The likes of Petrov ? whilst a "good" player ? isn't in the same league.

In short, the amount of improvement in teams below and around us is not equivalent to the money spent. The fear as fans is understandable, but the main concern is not that we're not spending money, but where on earth is the guaranteed revenue we have recieved this season and last season ? and from the Rooney sale ? gone? Even as an optimist, these questions must be satisfactorily answered by the Board of Directors if the purse strings are kept drawn by September.

The team, however, in terms of quality, is not as great a concern as it first seems!

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