Everton’s 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane is a creditable result and must give them renewed hope as they face a tough end of the season with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea still to play away from home.
Everton face a dilemma. Everton manager David Moyes believes that earning a place in next season’s Europa League would enhance his side’s prospects of keeping their best players and make them a more attractive proposition for potential transfer targets.
Everton’s 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane is a creditable result and must give them renewed hope as they face a tough end of the season with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea still to play away from home.
Everton face a dilemma. Everton manager David Moyes believes that earning a place in next season’s Europa League would enhance his side’s prospects of keeping their best players and make them a more attractive proposition for potential transfer targets.
The Europa League has been regarded as something of a ‘B’ list competition, especially by top clubs who have failed to make the grade in the Champions League, although as the final approaches, the interest intensifies. The really top players want to play in a Champions League side, but the next tier of players would probably prefer the Europa League to no involvement in international competition at club level.
But the Europa League comes with a cost in terms of one’s league competition, as Newcastle United have found this season. The length of the competition and the pattern of Thursday/Sunday matches takes its toll on players. You need a big squad to cope, but Everton has one of the smallest squads in the Barclays Premier League. If Everton did qualify, could they afford to enlarge the squad with enough players of sufficient quality?
The answer has also been new investment, but it has never arrived at Goodison, and the stock of quality investors with real money available is diminishing. Many of them prefer to take a gamble on a Championship club as a more cost effective route to glory, although that does not always pay off. Anyone becoming involved at Goodison would face the need to upgrade the stadium or build a new one.
It’s a particular dilemma for Everton, but it also illustrates a bigger issue about the competitive structutre of football. It’s difficult to knock the top teams off their perch, even if you have an excellent manager like Moyes.