Winning the league

[Zatara]

Well, I'd also suggest that the players we have now if they fulfill their potential could be the best "team unit" since Joe Royle was manager if they can stick together. The quality is there.

A lot will depend on the playmaker as he will be the one who knits the side together and also a new keeper so we have half a chance in games.

For the mentioned players,

Garbutt has more youth caps than Baines and 12 u21 to Baines 16 whilst competing with Shaw and others (baines was the best LB in his age group by far), that may not mean much but Garbutt was in lower leagues on loan also. i think baines joined us at the same age garbutt is now and was competing with Lescott whilst garbutt of course competing with baines....i think we need to wait and see as baines wasnt great defensively when he joined us and Garbutt is more attacking also.

Galloway -- i think hes more highly rated than jagielka was at the same age?

If you look at most of the squad the players martinez is paying cash for (other than kone) are better than the ones he was left with.

Two things need to happen for us to get Top 4

1. The players coming in need to be better than those finishing and
2. Our team has to be better than the sum of it's parts

Martinez, more or less, did the latter in his first season, but, to use your later example, Garbutt's pretty unlikely to be better than Baines and I'm not convinced that Galloway's going to be better than Jagielka, in fact, I think that's unlikely too.

Pushing for Champions League is possible, thinking we're going to be good enough to win the Premier League is another thing entirely. I applaud your optimism, but I think it's misguided.

 

[Hibbertinho]

I'll be ecstatic with a cup, first and foremost - the winning mentality in a knock-out format is one that we need to hone with this set of players, but I see the feat as achievable... whilst it is true that in recent seasons we have had frustrating periods of form coupled with brilliant stretches (usually the whole 1st half/2nd half jobby that we saw frequently under Moyés) which makes it tempting to extrapolate the good moments and think we're capable of the big prize over the course of a season...

...we're just not, at the moment. It takes something else entirely. This squad can achieve a lot, obviously a lot more than it did last season - just not this, anytime soon, in the current environment i.e. amongst the big spenders above us.

And, frankly, whilst it's great that we have so many young prospects at once... it's slightly embarrassing the level of 'soothsayer-ing' people are doing over their possible development in order to dream about winning the league. Baby steps.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Barely any of the players you mentioned will be here in 5 years time unless we win something. We need a Cantona or Keane like figure to help the younger players over the line with a cup win or top 4 qualification. Trying to organically grow a team outside of the top 4 is virtually impossible. We need to get the core right then have a summer of decent spending to add quality. You then need an injury free run and good consistent performance from the players and manager to get top 4. Currently we have a board who won't spend, a group of players who bottle every big game and have been in woeful form and a manager who spent last season clowning around after skipping pre season. Can't see it but then again I couldn't in 2004/5 either.

 

[HuddersfieldToffee]

A couple of players with quality and we'd be not far off. Tevez wouldn't go a miss

If we can do some more work with statistics and getting undervalued players, we can certainly challenge for top four. Title is a bit too far at this point but Bobinho should improve over time. Look at Brentford last season, not many star players but they challenged.

HAVE HOPE, PRAY BOYS, PRAY.

 

[RaleighBlue]

Not enough depth.

We'd have to have the perfect, injury free season while the usual suspects all failed.

Not going to happen without cash to make sure that when our best player's ankle snaps he's not replaced by Osman.

 

[Chang Elephant]

Have you seen the state of our goalkeeper ?

 

[HuddersfieldToffee]

Have you seen the state of our goalkeeper ?

His beard had 3 clean sheets alone last season

 

[marty mcfly]

The only time we'll win the league again will be if we get bought by an oligarch and money is pumped in

We'll never manage it on our own stead

It's City, United or Chelsea for the rest of time now, with maybe Arsenal or Liverpool sneaking it one year when those three are in transition or have a bad season

The highest Everton could probably reach in it's current form is to maybe win a cup or finish in the top 4

Until we start spending like the top teams, we won't be within a sniff of that Premier League Title

This is why we need to sort out the ground issue and then get the club sold on to someone who can actually invest in the club

Arsenal are looking like favorites next year if the sign zlatan or benzema.
With Deulofeu and cleverly we have a better squad than the RS.

I agree money is the most important factor but football isn't that predictable to say only 3 teams have a chance.

 

[marty mcfly]

Have you seen the state of our goalkeeper ?

I'm a big believer in Robles.

 

[marty mcfly]

I'd just be happy if we made the top 4 once in the next five years. It'd be a genuinely stunning achievement for a club with our limited financial clout. How on earth we did it in 2005 I have no idea. Still for me one of the great achievements any premier league club has pulled off, domestically in the last 10-15 years.

The money that the current top 6 have makes it unbelievably difficult to achieve anything substantial when you're not a rich club.

Totally agree but that year we where helped by everyone else being really turd.

Frankly I don't know if its harder or easier. There's more teams, 6 with money instead of 4 however that might mean they'll all take points if each other which we'll need to happen.

 

[Chang Elephant]

I'm a big believer in Robles.

I was referring to the first choice pretend goalkeeper/no handed gimp

 

[Del]

State of this thread ffs

Thought I'd come on RAWK

 

[marty mcfly]

Barely any of the players you mentioned will be here in 5 years time unless we win something. We need a Cantona or Keane like figure to help the younger players over the line with a cup win or top 4 qualification. Trying to organically grow a team outside of the top 4 is virtually impossible. We need to get the core right then have a summer of decent spending to add quality. You then need an injury free run and good consistent performance from the players and manager to get top 4. Currently we have a board who won't spend, a group of players who bottle every big game and have been in woeful form and a manager who spent last season clowning around after skipping pre season. Can't see it but then again I couldn't in 2004/5 either.

We didn't bottle the game against Arsenal in the first season which moved us ahead of them.

We got beat by a decent team away in a hostile stadium in Kiev and they scored 3 wonder goals.

 

[marty mcfly]

That's the thing though, no other teams have the same quality of those ages coming through. They may have a couple but not almost an entire team.

Chelsea do. They're just all on loan or in youth teams

 

[marty mcfly]

I'd like to see more of him before I compare him to Matic

So would I but it does seem like everytime he plays internationals he puts in a MoM performance.

We also have McCarthy who Utd rate highly it seems.