What will it take to challenge for silverware?

No doubt Moyes has done an excellent job and got us all excited again by giving us a taste of European football with the Champions League (albeit just the qualifying round) and Uefa Cup football. European qualification now seems imperative rather than the traditional avoidance of relegation but, deep inside me, I fear the gulf between us and the so-called Top 4 appear to be widening, unlike common belief that it is closing.

The reason why I say so is not because of a lack of confidence, but because of a lack of consistency for our side. Teams that win silverware are those that have the killer instinct, which ironically was displayed against us via a Vidic header last Saturday. It is simply not good enough to play well against the big clubs, and not being able to pull of the same performance against clubs like Reading and Blackburn, no disrespect to them of course. Moyes has certainly brought in some some very good players, but we still lack the cutting edge, the creativity, to pick teams apart. I'd wonder how many goals Yakubu or Johnson would score, if they were playing for another team like Arsenal?

The signing of Gravesen has lessened this a little, but an over reliance on the likes of him and Arteta has made us a one dimensional, hoof-it-into-the-air sort of team that ultimately results in creating very few chances. How many times did we see a series of five short passes being strung together on Saturday? I only remember Baines, Arteta, Ossie, and even Hibbert (yes Hibbert) trying to keep it on the ground, whilst the likes of Jagielka and Neville consistently pumped balls into the air as if we had Crouch as our target man.

The purpose of this article is to point out the style of play which we are currently employing which will surely decide whether we can lift a trophy. Some may argue George Graham's Spurs did win the League Cup with such a style, but do we want to follow in those footsteps? Granted Moyes has tried to turn this around through people like Van der Meyde, Krøldrup, and Fernandes, but the general idea I get when I watch my beloved team play is that the direction given is to play it into the box or down the channel for AJ to chase at every opportunity. I think it is no coincidence why AJ managed only 10 goals last season and none so far, while he managed to score more while playing for Palace. At this rate, does anyone dare to bet on Yakubu scoring 20 this season? I think he'd be lucky to grab 12 the way I see it.

Forgive me if I have touched some raw nerve here, but I believe I'm simply echoing some fellow Evertonians sentiments.

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