Top 4 Champions League Race

[Rob17896]

I think top 4 is probably not realistic but we will soon get Allan and Digne back and maybe strengthen in Jan. Richarlison has been out of form, will probably get better and James is about to come back, so again positives. There have been some very strange results this year and yesterday's game could have gone our way easily even though it was a poor performance. I find we are a bit bi-polar in here, one bad result and it's all doom and gloom. I don't think many here thought we would be where we are now at the start of the season so let's try to keep on an even keel and enjoy the ride.

Not doom and gloom lots of teams having runs of form and then??? In any other seasonI would expect us to be about 11th. We have had maybe 7 decent games.

 

[WA Toffee]

I suppose there are 2 ways to look at this.

1. Four wins from our last 5 games is a great result

2. We lost one game we expected to win, therefore the 4 previous wins in a row don't matter.

I'm going for option 1

 

[4737carlin]

You are forgetting Aston Villa, they will finish above us, still got games in hand and a better goal difference. Giving all the big teams a game..........

Good point this, were not the only side in the chasing pack, and Villa do look a good side.
Even if Southampton can win on Monday they are long shot as well, and let's not forget Leicester.
Right now its 4 from 9

 

[RomanReigns]

forget talking about top 4 if we are getting beat at home by the likes of leeds and west ham and can't get at least a point away to newcastle

it aint gonna happen

be happy if we finish top 8

 

[4737carlin]

I suppose there are 2 ways to look at this.

1. Four wins from our last 5 games is a great result

2. We lost one game we expected to win, therefore the 4 previous wins in a row don't matter.

I'm going for option 1

Good point, also if we had too lose one game from the run off 5 it's much better that it was West Ham, we won 3 six pointer games, which was vital.

 

[riddick]

If Everton were to make the champions league then the big % rise of income would allow for more spending beforehand on better players so a better chance of progressing in the competition.

When we "got 4th" David Moyes said the players willing to come to Everton via their agents were on a completely different level than anyone before or after.

 

[Toffee-nerd]

We are in the mix but these next 4 games are crucial to keeping pace and getting the momentum going again after west ham. Hoping that game was a blip but wolves, villa, leicester, newcastle next up in the league are very winnable on paper but all of them can cause us problems. We know how we have performed in those types of games historically. If we can come out of these 4 games still in the top 4, we will be in with a good shout. Players coming back frofrom injury is a big boost, they need to hit the ground running tho and get the levels back up.

 

[PaddyJames]

Relax. We’ve playing without 3 of our best for a month and won 4 of 5. Get them back and clicking and see what happens.

This. Allen and Digne on the pitch means a lot and Coleman.... wasn't too worried earlier but he doesn't half make a difference if he's on it.

 

[Bigduke1234]

it’s all up for grabs, but as Carlo says although we are physically near the top4 we are nowhere near top4 quality. From the interviews I think Europa is the target, I reckon we’re 50/50 for even that, can see all of villa, Chelsea, Leicester, arsenal all out of top 4 ( spurs, city, Utd and RS) but above us, so we’re finishing 9th.

This is the way.

 

[Gilbert..]

forget talking about top 4 if we are getting beat at home by the likes of leeds and west ham and can't get at least a point away to newcastle

it aint gonna happen

be happy if we finish top 8

We've also beaten 3 and drew with the current top 6.
But lets focus on the negative.

 

[MACCA75]

When we "got 4th" David Moyes said the players willing to come to Everton via their agents were on a completely different level than anyone before or after.

Like Koldrup and Nino Valente?

 

[parkendkev]

I just can't see us getting fourth unless we add to the squad this window. As we have seen, our strongest line up has a chance, but a few injuries and suspensions and we lack the quality in depth. I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'd still thing we are capable at present to get Europa at least.

 

[Houghty19]

Its not . If we get champions league we will improve the squad again. This attitude of we are as well off not to qualify is ridiculous .

I never said i don't want us to qualify for the champions league so please don't put words in my mouth. There's nothing i would like better than to be proved wrong but, i am, as I've said being realistic about what the team is playing like. If you think differently then I'm sorry but you must be watching another team cos we (although we have managed to get results in the last month through defensive strength) have absolutely no creativity within the team until James plays and we saw in the games leading upto his injury that teams were working out stop James stop us. As i say i hope I'm wrong but unless there are a number of creative talents brought into the team in this window I can't see us making top four. This is not a defeatist attitude it is a realistic attitude.

 

[Gilbert..]

I just can't see us getting fourth unless we add to the squad this window. As we have seen, our strongest line up has a chance, but a few injuries and suspensions and we lack the quality in depth. I'd love to be proved wrong, but I'd still thing we are capable at present to get Europa at least.

To be fair. And i cant believe im saying this as i never thought they had it in them. The squad stepped up in december without our best players. And reeled off win after win.
I accept there is an argument in the style of those wins were gritty.

 

[Saint Domingo]

I suppose there are 2 ways to look at this.

1. Four wins from our last 5 games is a great result

2. We lost one game we expected to win, therefore the 4 previous wins in a row don't matter.

I'm going for option 1

City and Liverpool both dropped points at home to one of the worst West Brom teams ive ever seen. There are no ‘expected wins’ this season. The fixture list is almost irrelevant, as is home and away advantage. Sheffield United should have been 2 up at Anfield and were unlucky not to get a point. The overreaction to dropped points has been ridiculous. What’s even more infantile is that when we lost to Leeds the rage wasn’t as bad because Bielsa was deemed on the right side of the football hipster debate but when we drop points to Dyche Bruce or Moyes then the fume seems to be cranked up even more as though Everton have been embarrassed on a national level or something. It’s a load of nonsense. All three of those names are very good football managers with a load of experience who know exactly how to scrap for points in the premier league. They’ve taken them from good teams in the past and they’ll continue to do so in the future. There’s no need for this ridiculous hyperbole of ‘Ancelotti got out thought by Bruce’ etc. By that argument Bilic and Allardyce must be smarter than Guardiola and Klopp.