Consistency and expectation

If the current 4th-placed team and those above them average 2 points a game between now and the end of the season, that will mean circa 76 points to get 4th spot. Of course, we don't know how the results will go but it's a staggering figure which may be too much for our squad... but at least we'll attempt to give it a good go — even if we do miss out in the end.

We have exceeded all expectations to date with a solidity at the back that is the envy of most, a style of possession that is both very easy on the eye and entertaining to boot, and a one for all and all for one mentality that is a joy to behold. Recruit a striker and I have every confidence that we could achieve the promised land of the Champions League, fail to do so and we may choke.

I am sure it is not beyond this team or manager to keep that going for the last 16 games, especially as we have suffered from having to make 5 or 6 changes in some games because of injury.

We have been missing one of our most potent weapons all season don't forget. Leighton Baines's form has definitely been suffering due that ginger prick, and a broken toe on top of that. He will have a point to prove to everyone if he signs a new contract.

If McGeady and a decent striker can give us some fresh impetus, we can do it!

Unfortunately, while I know the boys will still go for it, the recent injury crisis could be our undoing. Ross and Gerard are, for me, the two players who enable us to beat or at least give the best a good game. Coleman has been awesome as have McCarthy and Barry. But there are too many players who have not quite done it or are getting older. This makes me think we could struggle in the coming months.

So I am going to sit back and hope we finish Top 6, beat a few more of the top teams, are pleasing on the eye and fun to watch. I think the lack of squad depth will ensure we won't finish 4th. But to be honest we do not have the squad to cope with Champions League matches. Not now but perhaps in a season or two.
However, who knows? We are in the Cup with a manager who holds it and knows how to attack and put sides away which is perfect cup form. It's about time we won that thing again!

I think 71 should net us close to UCL, though we might miss it by a bit if the top 7 consistently pull away from the rest. I doubt that though because top 7 do have to play one another, and there will be upsets. Hopefully not us. If we win all our home games, we'll definitely have a shout for UCL. And they include Arsenal, MU, ManC.

I'll feel a lot more secure in our ability to stay competitive if the manager is able to come good on his apparent intent to add to the squad in areas that haven't been addressed yet this January.

We only need to continue to beat the 'poorer' sides, and we'll stay in it..

I mean seriously,.. Are Chelsea gonna lose to WBA at home?? Or Man City??

It's no question, whereas, with Everton, you're never sure (shrugs shoulders)..

I apologise for the negativity, but this is the way I see it. 4th is the stars, 5th'll be about right

In general though, I agree with the caution. We've had injuries which affects a small squad. Of more interest to me is movements in this transfer window. I don't care about "January's not a good time to buy" arguments, you'll see other teams strengthening. And a window of McGeady and possibly Jones will not, to my mind, be a "good window" and will yet again highlight the board's failure to give the manager the support needed.

We can just about forgive not backing OFM last January as they probably knew he was off.

I keep sort of waiting for the wheels to fall off but it's not happened yet. Trouble is that there is barely any room for error and a run of losses or even draws will see us fall off the pace very quickly. I do think we need to bring in a couple more players to pep the squad up. It's no coincidence that Mirallas had his best game of the season on the day McGeady was unveiled.

We never get mentioned in the debate about qualification and our squad is as good if not better than those teams around us. Even when we were 4th we never got included in BT Sport's CL debate, MOTD is a complete waste of time, Sky are quickly changing their allegiance to the blue side of Manchester and newspapers omit us completely.

But so what??? We're Everton and we'll show them

It looks increasingly like City will win the league, with Arsenal and Chelsea fighting out second and third, leaving us, Liverpool, Spurs and possible Man Utd and Newcastle fighting out fourth. The top three have big squads, great depth but also commitments such as CL which don't affect us.

If you looks at our performances we are a better team than Liverpool, Spurs, Man Utd and Newcastle and for every big game we've got (from memory Man Utd, Spurs, City and Arsenal at home, Chelsea and Liverpool away) our competition have also got just as many where one or both have to drop points.

I think the arrival of McGeady will be a timely boost and hope Martinez has someone lined up for Jelly rather than letting him go on compassionate grounds (World Cup) and the deal was too good to refuse. He's said decisions would only be made on footballing grounds so - one striker out.....one better striker in? If this is the case and he gets it right then we have as good a chance of gate crashing the top 4 as finishing 6th.

Martinez has proven that he can cope with the challenges of having a small squad to call on with aplomb this season, and the players have stood up to be counted. What we need to do is carry on but also continue believing we do deserve to sit at the the top table, we can beat any team in the league and when we play any fixture in the league we are there for the 3 points, which we believe are ours.

A massive step towards this would be taking all three points at Anfield a week on Tuesday. That would be a huge statement by the team and would tear down a psychological barrier that's been built by the media, with our help, over the past twenty years.

All you have to do is look at our first half performance against Arsenal to say we not only can make the Champions League places - we deserve one of the Champions League places. We players just need to get their heads down, keep going, trust in the manager and each other and the rewards will come. You never know, we could even make and appearance at Wembley too.....

Step 1: Beat WBA on Monday night.

Have to say to Mike Green, #317, that winning at Anfield don't happen too often; however, if we can avoid allowing them to score within the first 30 seconds (which is what most EPL teams seem to be doing) then we can give them a game of football.

Also, I agree that you can feel that supporters want this to happen, you can feel the anxiety at GP. It will be good for Everton to have a few games away from home where our type of football will allow us to dominate teams.

Arsenal got beat 3-1 on the opening day by Villa, so going by your logic, they have no chance of winning the title.

Stupid post.

Just to level it out, teams who beat Chelsea (home or away), take 3 points at Old Trafford and have more possession of the ball at the Emirates will probably qualify for the CL. Just saying.

I don't think that will happen this year for 2 reasons.

1) We've brought in McGeady and I wouldn't be surprised if we pull 1 more new face out of the bag too. On top of that we have Deulofeu coming back soon which will be "like a new signing" ;)

2) Last year we had a squad who most likely knew that their boss was leaving at the end of the season and who probably didn't really believe that the CL was within their grasp. Contrast that with what Martinez has been telling them.

So yes, I think it's possible for us to get that CL spot. The RS are relying on one player, Man Utd are utter gash this year, Spurs still aren't clicking, and Arsenal are due to implode any day now.

In recent years its been a case of setting the stall out to do just enough to finish top 6 or 7, with the aim of (lets face it) making sure we get a decent share of the Sky money and keeping our heads above water for another year. Also keeping the majority of the fan base happy that we've had another 'plucky' season of over acheiving and happy to renew their season tickets.

Now we have a manager who has looked at the squad, added to it in the right way, and said to them that if they're capable of finishing high up the EPL every year what could they acheive if the caution and pragmatism is removed and real belief and positive play is installed.

And its worked (for now) and I think we all need to keep believing - players, fans, all associated with the club - and see where the adventure goes. After all the RM effect on the club may have many ramifications - not just a high finish (possibly top 4 and CL) but also make us more attractive to that elusive buyer Bills been searching high and low for, then we can really get moving ...

Mine is 3rd or higher because we are Everton and I remember when winning things was the norm and I had a season ticket for Wembley.

Also being paranoid I think if we finish 4th we will be refereed out of the game like last time...

Our biggest problem seems to be against these middling teams like WBA, we draw far too many games we should win. We've drawn eight games this season, only WBA have drawn more. I've always said that the other top teams really have to give it away rather than it being within our power to gain CL Qualification.

I think finally Man City and Chelsea are beginning to realise their potential but Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United and Spurs are all there for the taking this year. I also don't think the answer is out there in the transfer market. Get the players fit! Gibson, Alcaraz and Deulofeu could make a huge contribution.

Buying a second-rate striker like Jones from Stoke won't make any difference, I'd rather they gave Vellios a chance than spent money on him. Just keep Lukaku fit and firing. I think the derby on the 28th will define our season, getting a win there would really kickstart the rest of our season.

The present squad will acquire Legendary status in the Champions League knowing it is not good enough to win the FA Cup (though something better than nothing) as we can see Wigan are not on the Media radar even as Cup holders. The way out is to progress in the Champions League with RM's guidance since he actually understands our dreams and heritage.

And Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu need to be fit without them for too long we won't make it.

I have to say in the past few weeks there's been something about the us in the Sports pages of The Times probably every other day, taking up at least half of Tony Barrett's column inches usually reserved for his daily Report from Anfield. We only used to get a lengthy mention when they wanted to do a piece on the Derby or The Moyes Miracle.

Is that because were doing better? Is it because Martinez is more media friendly / savvy than Moyes? Is it down to a new approach from the clubs Communications department? Because there's more 'news' emanating from Goodison these days?

Probably a bit of any of the above but, either way, I can feel it happening.

Let's face it, the media are whores — get ourselves into the CL and get more coverage all round, with which it comes income, attention, and possibly even investment.

I think it's officially known as 'The Gravy Train'....

Obviously if we win there, it will be a tremendous boost to the team and the supporters... but, if we don't, then I wouldn't want all of the gloom and doom merchants coming out and saying that we've blown it with 45 points left to play for.

Just saying like!

Whatever we say about "those who reside across the park", let us not forget that they were without possibly the most effective footballer in the world at the moment for a prolonged period of their season, then lose his free-scoring partner for another prolonged period, together with the further loss of their ageing but still effective captain, and yet still are one of the favourites for a top four finish with some people saying they could be a dark horse for the title itself (God forbid).

The point here is that, even with their extensive squad compared to Everton (and despite their bemoaning the fact that they are "thin" compared to Man City etc), they are able to achieve this because, unlike the big three (plus, for the time being, Man Utd), they have no Champions League demands to stretch them further, as those games would demand their strongest teams, unlike the current demands of the FA Cup and Carling Cup.

Of course we should strive to get as far as possible in whatever competition we are in (how could we lose to Fulham?) but we do not want a poisoned chalice at this stage of development. Cement the squad further during the next two or three seasons; hopefully win a cup competition to have something tangible to show for our efforts and signs of development; perhaps gain experience of unfamiliar opposition in Europe even be it in the "mickey-mouse" Europa League; further reduce the age profile of the squad and enhance the quality of players in key positions; and then we may genuinely aspire to Champions league qualification without compromising our ability to perform in it and to also function effectively in the bread and butter of the Premier League.

I think Man City will win the Carling Cup, and one of the top 4 in the PL will win the FA Cup.

That leaves a Europa League spot possibly open down to 7th place, depending on beaten finalists in the FA Cup.

I only hope Man Utd fans can bring themselves to watch Channel 5 on a Thursday!

The truth is we may not have as a good a chance to get into the CL as we do this year for the next few years or so as Man Utd will surely get better and Spurs too next season. On the other hand, if RS don't make CL this season then surely Ratface will leave and they could well struggle a bit.

In RM we have a manager that has provided the hope (He reminds me a little of Brian Clough in his ability to aid player development and confidence combined with a clear insight into how he wants his team to play) and rightfully increased our expectation back to the levels of what an Everton team should be aspiring to in all competitions.

If he can achieve CL qualification this season then that would be something to behold.

One thing seems certain however is that Everton are heading back to where we belong.......in the mix, looking to cement our reputation and history as one of the biggest clubs in English football.

The important thing is those points were recouped in games were 1 point would be no bad thing. We are well on our way to a record points tally in a Premier League season and have the equal best defensive record. Two stats that nobody was predicting in June, even the optimists amongst us.

The Europa does not financially benefit clubs such as Everton, because there is no extra cash that clubs get with the champions league, to offset the need to strengthen the squad at the beginning of the season.

English clubs in the Europa with an important game on a Sunday away, may find themselves playing a game near a former Gulag in Russia or some other place way off the map where Easy Jet don't go near to fly to.

The old uafe knock out competition was far better. Clubs played on a Tuesday or Wednesday, against some very good sides that did quite qualify for the CL. Now because what little TV money there is, forces clubs to play on a Thursday.

If Everton do find themselves in the Europa, it may be a good idea to the let the under 21 academy represent Everton to get some further experience in their young footballing lives..

This is a great thread Steavey #459 your analysis is terrific. Please God we get 4th or above but if it is to be the Europa then the 21 team it is.

Kenwyne Jones could be a decent back-up but I think Robbie needs to aim higher. The smell of Kone from this summer fills me with fear, and yet I see a solution in the loan market yet again. I agree that this is the most important choice for us getting CL, and it would be wise to let the scouts search for as long as possible and then decide.

RM has made a small mess for himself by thinking only of Jelavic and what he wants. We are now left with a hole in the squad that needs to be filled by a striker that can give us the goals we need for CL.

Lukaku has been in a bad run and it will likely go on so it is crucial that RM does a good job here. Can he fill the void left by Jelavic? One thing I know for certain, we will not get CL unless we get replacements for Kone and Jelavic.

This transfer vindow has become more nervy then I had thought.

As with his tactics on and off the pitch, many just fail to believe we are capable. The media have told us we can't do it in the past and this season they say little or nothing about us. Well, lads and lasses, we need to believe, RM is a man of his word and we can get CL qualification. Personally, I believe we can get top 3, or if lady luck so chooses, well fortune favours the brave, so why not dream.....