Maybe the most appropriate question is "Can they ?". Arguably for the first time since David Moyes took charge of the blue side of Liverpool, Everton have, at least on paper, a squad that seems to be the strongest in recent memory. While all the hype this season has been around the rise of Tottenham and Manchester City, and rightly so, Everton have gone about their business in a quiet manner. The acquisitions of forwards Jermaine Beckford, Joao Silva and Magaye Gueye for almost no money may raise questions about the ability to challenge the hegemony at the top of the table, but let us not forget that in David Moyes they have a man who unearthed the likes of Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini. Not to mention the grooming of talents like Wayne Rooney, Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines to name a few.
While Manchester City have splashed the cash and Tottenham have made noises about big name acquisitions, Everton has quietly secured the services of Jagielka, Rodwell and Arteta on five year deals. In Yakubu and Saha, they have a potent strike force and no one can doubt the aerial and goalscoring threat that Cahill presents. The three new signings along with Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan add much needed depth in the final third. In midfield, Moyes is spoilt for choices as Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Dimitar Bilyaletdinov, Rodwell, Fellaini and Leon Osman all fight for a starting berth. At the back Moyes has the assurance of Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Leighton Baines, Tony Hibbert, Phil Neville, world cup finalist Johnny Heitinga, and the highly rated youngster Seamus Coleman. The signing of Slovak keeper Jan Mucha gives a much needed back up for the ever present Tim Howard. This is arguably the best squad David Moyes has had at his disposal, and lets not forget that Everton were the only team to "break the top four" before Tottenham did it last year. With a better team, maybe it is not much to dream of a challenge for a top four finish, with qualification for Europe a minimum expectation.
Last season was blighted by injuries to a big part of the squad which resulted in players being played out of position and sometimes even being not match fit. Once the injured players started returning, Everton made an amazing surge up the table (which included victories over Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford and a dominating draw against Arsenal at home) to finish just one place adrift of their local rivals, Liverpool. If Everton can maintain the run of form, and keep a fully fit squad for the major part of the season, they might just be the surprise package of the season. Lets not forget that Manchester City may need time to gel and Liverpool are in a process of rebuilding. Martin O'Neill leaving Aston Villa and the departure of James Milner leaves them in a tight spot. Tottenham may have over achieved last season and they arguably do not have the squad to compete both domestically and in Europe simultaneously as the season progresses. Taking all this into account, this just might be the year that David Moyes and his men in blue finally come good. But they cannot afford to drop points like they did at Blackburn in the opening game of the season. The Toffees have the squad to bounce back from the defeat and mount a serious campaign... and if the squad list and the pre season results are anything to go by, they might just be the value for money bet that you are looking for this season.
