Premiership Preview

Mike Adamson, The Guardian

"In the past few years it has become patently clear that only those clubs which boast impressive financial clout can truly compete for the major prizes. What we don't want is to be left behind."

So said David Moyes this week, but sadly for him the top four broke clear of the pack long ago, with Everton's fourth-place finish in 2005 being a hugely commendable but freakish exception. So a repeat of sixth place is realistically the best Liverpool's other half can hope for this year, Everton's ambition being to front the tightly-packed peloton that is trailing at some distance the tête de la course and the poursuivant, Tottenham. With the strengthening of the runners and riders around them this summer, even that goal may be out of reach.

How, then, can Everton seek to improve on last season? In practice, they're unlikely to, but theoretically a lengthy cup run on top of more of the same in the league would do. However, both domestic cups are now also dominated by the fantastic four - Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United contested last season's showpieces at the Millennium Stadium and Wembley - so the Uefa Cup is Everton's best hope of glory (if that is the right word) this year.

The problem with this is two-fold. First, Moyes will have to prove he is tactically cuter than suggested two years ago when Everton's dogmatic approach led to failure at the first hurdles in both the Champions League (though they were admittedly unlucky in Villarreal) and, more embarrassingly, in the Uefa Cup. Secondly, Everton do not have the squad to cope with the extra fixtures a prolonged jaunt in Europe entails - such a campaign would impact on their league prospects, as it has for Middlesbrough and, to a lesser extent, Spurs in recent seasons.

Last season Everton played just four extracurricular matches in the cups - Spurs played 20 - enabling eight players to start 31 or more league games. Were they to reach, say, the Uefa Cup quarter-finals, this would add 10 fixtures to the schedule, placing severe strain on a squad that has welcomed only two new faces this summer: South African left-winger Steven Pienaar on a season-long loan from Borussia Dortmund; and odd-job man Phil Jagielka, who will fill in for the influential Joseph Yobo - an ever-present last season - when he jets off to the African Nations Cup in January.

This shortage of newcomers made it imperative that Moyes clung on to his trio of star players in the off-season: the goal-grabbing Tim Cahill and graceful Mikel Arteta, who both autographed new five-year contracts, and Andy Johnson, whose form (much like Johnson himself in the penalty box, some would say) took a tumble last season after he struck six times in his first seven games for the club. Equally important were the signatures of 19-year-old hotshots James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe - the most exciting pair of young strikers in England have committed to the club until 2011. Unfortunately, Vaughan will miss the start of the season after dislocating his shoulder; and should Cahill's foot not recover or a body part of any of Everton's other major players break down, their tracing-paper thin squad will be spread beyond its limits by this season's extra demands.

More worrying still for Everton fans is Moyes's tendency to alternate top-half with bottom-half finishes. The best chance of preventing an extension of this quirky streak to a sixth season may be for early cup eliminations to allow Everton to concentrate their efforts on the Premiership. This leaves Moyes with the tricky, but crucial, decision over which competition to make his priority, because he's unlikely to succeed on both fronts. If he tries to, the Toffees may be chewing over a season of disappointment; and they may slip even further behind the leading group.

In: Steven Pienaar (loan), Phil Jagielka (£4m), Lucas Jutkiewicz (undisclosed).

Out: Richard Wright (free), Gary Naysmith (£1m), Alessandro Pistone (released), Alan Kearney (released), Scott Phelan (free).

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