Everton's hopes of Europe dashed by Wolves win

Zouma, Gomes — thanks and goodbye.

My money is on him being in the starting lineup next August.

To be fair, Wolves have been more consistent following our mid-season slump post-Anfield.

Keep the key players and add some creativity, a back-up right back and a striker, and there is little to fear from most of the Premier League.

I'm gutted to miss out on Europe but realistic enough to accept it would probably be a season too early.

There is much positivity about next season but seriously, if Richarlison and Sigurdsson’s goals dry up next term then we desperately need other players to step up and start scoring.

If Bernard could score five or six goals can you just imagine what kind of player he would be, he would be immense for us.

I fully expect at least one striker to be signed this summer but I’m just praying that it’s someone that can not have 10-20 league goals as there’s nothing on our books at present that you can feel assured would get anywhere near the required amount.

Tosun will no doubt head for pastures new, so too Niasse, another fella who couldn’t hit a bulls arse with a banjo while for all the good work of DCL he’s still a powderpuff inside the box, big athlete with the shooting power of a six year old girl.

Sandro needs moving on from his moving on from his disgusting high wage and the money needs using towards attempting to sign Zouma/Gomes.

Mediocre finishing and the mid-season slump has cost us but high hopes for preseason.

Old Nick spawning again, the officials, need sorting out in the Premier League, they more than most, get away with murder in terms of getting off the hook. TAA, by the law should be off.

Time for the Toon to come back?

No easy ask, but we trust in Marcel Brands.

Well DCL is the closest thing I've seen to hitting the ball like a six-year-old girl.

Listen, the fella has come on leaps and bounds since September; at times recently, his hold-up play has been fookin brilliant, especially against Arsenal, but he's the worst finisher I have seen at Everton since Stuart Barlow and Brett Angell graced these corridors.

Maybe Dom will improve that over time, but the here and now, his finishing is a major major weakness.

A cheaper option might be Rondon as one of two forwards I'd like to bring in.

And fuck the Redshite. Come on, Man City. Don't make me go on a month's holiday.

We have failed to win more than five away games in a season since the 2013-14 under Martinez, recording 8 victories and finishing 5th. If only we had Crystal Palace's away form of 9 wins then we'd have finished 5th this season or near to it!

Our home form is always solid; next season, sorting the away form out is the big challenge on the pitch.

Everton should be a quality team before earning the right and they are not yet in that ballpark despite the decent finish to the season, albeit with one to go.

Next season would be better as one of little or no distraction so that Silva can have every chance to mold a quality squad and challenge for the top — not seventh!!

Although, if we play to our best ability without the distraction of the Europa League, who knows what we can achieve? We did well the last month but I'm not jumping for joy that much because we caught all those teams when not on song.

If we had the Europa League, then this block of players like Davies etc would have been involved more.

There's a dream – and it must be a real dream rather than impossible – but, if we get back into Europe next season, great – but we must win a domestic trophy as well..

Time and Bramley-Moore Dock or no stadium, the club must seize this momentum and progress.

Hilarious counting the incidents that would be red cards these days half of which don't even result in a free kick.

Also funny to hear Martin Tyler say Everton fans have been “starved of success”. But the crowd noise and the pressing is reminiscent of recent home games. As is the goals from long throws, only from Stevens, not Digne.

A lot more high balls than today but the energy is similar to what we've started to see in the last few months. Here's hoping... yes! Gray just scored!

Agreed. I assume Jim is using the analogy of a six-year-old girl to imply DCL hits it weakly. Now that's a charge I would level at Jeffers, not DCL.

I think DCL thus far doesn't get himself into the best positions to finish it. Partly, that is because he is smart and unselfish and always looking for a team mate with a higher percentage shot.

Ultimately if he is to be our main man, he will need to improve his goal scoring. But I think he's a good lad with a lot of talent so I do tire of people using him as a whipping boy.

Baines on a one year.

Random back up goalie from somewhere.

Bolasie, Stekelenburg, Niasse, Tosun, Sandro and Jagielka to go.

(I've just done more than Steve Walsh ever did but for 100% less money.)

Arnautovic wouldn't come here – he's a mercenary who plays for himself.

Zouma and Gomes we badly need and a striker capable of 15-20 goals.

We want younger players who will grow into the squad being built. I would love to have Tammy Abrahams but, as with Zouma, the Chelsea Transfer Ban / Appeal / Ownership issues exist. He has proved he can do it in the Premier League (Swansea) and has been prolific everywhere he has been, Bristol City and Aston Villa.

Again, as with Zouma, do Chelsea value him, he has been loaned out at least 3 times.

All the media talk and hype is coming externally.

Brands is keeping his powder dry, and I’m sure he is doing all he can to provide Marco with the signings he and we want.

You hear very little from within and that’s good enough for me.

We have to be patient and see what transpires.

When we finished 4th on a minus goal difference, we weren't the 4th best team in the league. The goal difference showed that. You often see teams that finish high in the league with a poor goal difference struggle the next season.

Players-wise, I reckon we will keep Gomes but be unable to get Zouma. I wish it was the other way around. The defense has been key to our resurgence recently and I hope Brands will prioritise getting a pacy defender (similar to Zouma) who can bed in quickly. Ibrahim Konate is my pick but look out for my annual transfer article in a week or two!

You sound like a Sky panellist! We were excellent in the 2nd half vs Chelsea and brilliant against Arsenal and Man Utd, plus we breezed through the Burnley game. I'd say it was nothing to do with how bad we caught them – more how bad we made them look.

As Jim rightly says, the away form is an issue that needs addressing; get that sorted and carry our home form of the last couple of months on and we will be flying...

Spurs away is always a tricky game but they are having a meltdown at the moment. Coming away with all 3 points would show that maybe we have something solid here. For all the talk of making a challenge on the top clubs, well, we won't get a better chance than next week. My thoughts on Silva are still mixed.

I would love to see Zouma sign for us but that is out of our hands. Chelsea may go political with him and refuse to sell to us as he improves our defence. After all, why help a rival?

I would rather YouTube a more honest beIN Sports analysis of any game nowadays.

No longer am I contributing to their agendas, thus making life harder for my club.

If they do, there's a chance Zouma will sign but, if they don't, we've got no chance. However, on a more positive note, they will be weakened by their inability to sign players and we will have less competition for quality additions.

I agree with Jim about DCL. He has a great attitude and holds the ball up well and wins most headers but he isn't the prolific goalscorer we need.

Good article from the Burnley lot below. Respecting the holy trinity. Worth a read.

http://www.uptheclarets.com/not-a-good-night-at-goodison

With new players and an improving team maybe the timing is just right so we can hit the ground running in 20-21. Non-qualification this season could be a blessing in disguise.

Rather than lamenting the fact, we must use not being in Europe as an opportunity to aid domestic progression. Glass half full.

All we need now is for Bill to say that while he is standing down but always ready to assist, he will be maintaining his season ticket.

But if were all honest both Wolves and Watford deserve it more than us.

Wolves because they've been so good after coming up, and Watford because we took there manager and one of there star men.

But by the looks of it, it may be back on... If Arsenal win the Europa League, then it seems 8th will go into Europe. It seems complicated but at least 2 websites seem to confirm it. A draw/win against a hopefully depleted Spurs team should see us finish 8th.

So, apart from obviously supporting us, I'll now be rooting for Brighton, Spurs and Arsenal for 1 game only.

The way I see it, If Arsenal win this season's Europa league they will qualify for next season's champions league, and England will only have two EL places, and five in the CL. Should Chelsea win the EL, and because they are guaranteed top four place anyway, we will only have four CL places and three EL places. The top six as it stands now, are guaranteed European football next season, with the final place going to Watford or Wolves.