Backing David Moyes key to Everton taking next step

Neville got it right again when he said that to move on and start competing seriously for the Champions League places we have to bring in players that are better than the ones we have now.

Unfortunately for Everton though, those are the individuals likely to be coveted by the very sides we wish to usurp, and they are the ones with all the money, thanks to the cycle of greed perpetuated by UEFA's premier club competition.

And while we all hope to see Everton strengthen in the summer, it would seem naïve to think that the board are going to conjure up huge amounts of cash.

David Moyes has been saying that he hasn't had much contact with the powers that be recently, specifically concerning a new deal for himself, but it seems highly unlikely that the summer has begun without him even getting some indication of the sort of player he can expect to bid for.

Everton have surely learned by recent experiences that the clubs who act quickest in the market get the best deals, so it would come as a massive shock if negotiations haven't started already with prospective targets.

Even watching the Newcastle game it was possible to see how much more accomplished someone like Ayegbeni Yakubu is than a number of his team-mates, and how we would be improved by more players of that sort of quality. As we know, they cost upwards of £10million though, so we probably shouldn't expect to see too many coming through the doors in the next few months. And that's before we even kid ourselves and imagine going for players of the Didier Drogba, Cristiano Ronaldo or Fernando Torres bracket.

This has all the makings of a momentous summer then.

Moyes and Neville are talking about making the next step; it is hard to see how the envelope can be pushed much further though without greater resources. In turn, it's hard to see where massive finance is going to come from. We can but hope though.

There is also the matter of Moyes' contract and the degree of posturing that seems to be going on at the moment. Obviously he knows his own worth, to Everton at least, and that his next deal is an important one for him at this stage of his career. The fans would be happier though if they knew that all the interested parties were sitting down and talking amongst themselves about a new long-term deal, and not reading comments in the Press that can often be interpreted negatively.

With all that to think about before we even touch upon the thorny subject of the proposed ground move, we are likely to be worn out and sick of football before the new season even starts.