Indeed, but the League Cup win came from that investment also - they spent something daft like £110m over two seasons (07/08 and 08/09) to get the Champions League qualification in 09/10. They won that solitary cup just by sheer money and the lack of will from their rivals to compete properly in it.
Since the Champions League participation and high profile games against Inter, Milan and Real Madrid, they've sold players for vast amounts of money because their profiles have gone through the roof, and are being linked with top European players every transfer window because there's a realistic chance they'll compete at the top level - Moutinho, for instance.
So basically, since qualifying for the Champions League, they haven't needed to bankroll as heavily as they simply sell and reinvest.
It does make me laugh when people talk about Spurs "plummeting" since the Champions League... They've been fantastic for the last three years, but the sad fact is that Man United have a solid base to build on and have the money in reserves if needed, Arsenal have the consistency that so many years of Champions League football has built them, and Chelski and City have thrown mind-boggling cash at the league and blown it away.
That's why, for a club like Everton, if you get a tiny chance to break that top four, you drop everything else and take a proper run at it, because the chance might not come around again. And if you break the top four and win the biggest cup final there is for a club like ours in modern football - the ECL Playoff - then you change your club long term. You might not qualify the next year, but you get the prestige, honour and, yes, the money that comes with competing in that competition.
