I'm a Euro sceptic unless Moyes clinches signings
EVERTON went close to getting the victory from their opening game of the season on Saturday against Blackburn Rovers which would have tempered the turbulent summer that has caused a great deal of pessimism among the club's supporters.
They were even closer to getting a point until denied by a controversial late strike that most of those at Goodison Park believed was offside, but very often when things are not well sod's law dictates that such pivotal moments go against you.
How often have we heard the cliché along the lines of when you are down you never get the rub of the green?
As it stands Evertonians must be hoping that the club are not in for a season of struggle and that the team do not become overly-reliant on enjoying more than their fair share of luck in the months ahead.
However there is no doubt that as September 1 rapidly approaches with little inbound movement, the chances increase that the campaign ahead will be challenging to say the least.
For all of the assertions from manager David Moyes that he is happy with his current squad and has a great deal of faith in his youngsters, most observers would view them as an attempt to quell the concerns of supporters and, it has to be said, the players alike.
Hopefully I can be made to eat my words.
That will only happen if the current slim-line squad embarks on a barn-storming run of victories or if the five or six new players Moyes previously insisted were necessary for the club's impending assault on four fronts eventually turn up at Finch Farm fit and raring to join the fray.
Does anyone else apart from me notice the apparent contradiction between what the manager said at the start of the summer and what he is saying now?
Be that as it may, it is only three years ago that Everton were looking forward to the season with fantastic optimism and almost euphoria because they had qualified for the Champions League.
The European adventure that time was ended controversially with the decision by referee Pierluigi Collina's decision to disallow a Duncan Ferguson goal.
With that early exit the whole tone of Everton's season was changed, the club and the team lost its way and the result was a disappointing Premier League campaign.
It was very different Last year when the UEFA Cup run actively lifted everything that Everton did and was a memorable highlight.
But I have mixed feelings about this year's involvement in the Uefa Cup because if the squad is not strengthened before the end of the current transfer window, Everton might be ill-equipped to handle the demands placed upon them by the group stage matches.
The question in the back of my mind is whether it would be more beneficial not to progress beyond the first phase and thus avoid fixture congestion in the second half of the season.
On the other hand, bearing in mind what transpired after the Champions League exit three years ago I'm worried that an early elimination would have an equally negative effect on the club, particularly since they did so well in the competition last year.
The alternative is to simply go for it, ensure they still have an interest on all fronts at the turn of the year and look to strengthen things in the January transfer window.
But we cannot assume that the club will be in a significantly different position with regard to the transfer market in five months time.
As it stands, though, for Moyes it is a case of trying to maintain confidence and morale in the camp and quite literally taking things one game at a time and assessing the options open to him in the couple of days prior to the next test.
There's certainly not much chance of the medium or long term planning that would enable him to mix and match his selections. Ideally he would want to hold back his strongest side for the bigger matches, but in his current situation it's more likely to be a case of all hands on deck every week.
That was the case last Saturday when the team all but picked itself.
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How laughable is it that we have had to wait 3 months for a new signing and we are chaising Tiago, who doesnt even want to come to us but may do if theres nothing else on the table. We have Stephane Mbai who wants to physically would throw himself out of a plane to get into Goodison, yet his reasons are to feed his family he wants Everton to spring board his career onto bigger and better things. cheeky git. Then there is Mr zero confidence Alan Smith that looks like he is going to burst into tears these days. How low have we sunk? I think the real reason we havent made any signings is because we are buying players on next years money, therefore, this summers' money is paying for Yakubu from last summer. Whatever the reason, i think Moyes knows we havent got anything as there just isnt a reason why we would need to wait so long.
once again everton have had a little taste of success and got carried away. Our best signings in the past 10 years have come from smaller stages and been improved by moyes (cahill, jagielka, carsley, arteta, yobo, lescott). This is how our club had progressed so much. Instead of continuing with this sensible policy our transfer negotiators have spent the summer trying to overspend on a portuguese wonderkid who won't join anyway and are now apparently in a battle with Real Madrid no less for Milito. Nice work everton.