Everton could find the battle to break the stranglehold of the top four harder than ever this season.
Moyes looks to confound the sceptics with another top-six finish
Everton could find the battle to break the stranglehold of the top four harder than ever this season.
The Toffees have belied their lack of investment in the last two seasons by finishing in fifth spot and also reaching the FA Cup final last term.
Everton have again been left behind in the transfer market this summer leaving David Moyes increasingly frustrated at not being able to strengthen his squad.
Big-spending Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham have all added sufficiently to their squads this pre-season which could leave Everton with a fight on their hands to qualify for Europe through the league.
Moyes needs finances to help take the side to where he wants them to be and without a sufficient cash injection a top-four finish seems highly unlikely this term.
The Goodison Park supremo has been forced to fend off the unwanted advances of cash-rich City for star defender Joleon Lescott.
Moyes promised at the end of last season none of his side's top stars would be going through the exit door at Goodison Park and the Scot has kept his side of the bargain by fighting tooth and nail to stop England international joining the Sheikh Mansour revolution at Eastlands.
Keeping Lescott, who has had a transfer request rejected, from joining one of their main rivals would provide Moyes with a massive boost and prove that the club are ambitious to make the step up in the Premier League.
Everton lost out to Tottenham for Kyle Naughton and Kyle Walker despite agreeing deals with Sheffield United and Moyes will be keen to bring in defensive reinforcements before the close of the window especially if Lescott does end up leaving.
Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos remains in talks about a possible switch to Merseyside, but the move for the Swiss international has failed to capture the imagination of the Everton faithful.
New faces have been at a premium due to the lack of finances, but the return of Jo from Manchester City on loan for the season looks like a shrewd piece of business by Moyes.
Jo has found himself surplus to requirements again at City following the influx of forward talent in Manchester this summer, but the Brazilian will be keen to prove himself at Everton.
The former CSKA Moscow forward impressed during a loan spell at Everton last season, scoring five goals in 12 appearances and he will again add options to Moyes' choices in attack.
Germany's Under 17 International Shkodran Mustafi has also arrived on a free transfer and he will provide cover in defence.
Of the other new signings Anton Peterlin and Cody Arnoux are relative unknowns having arrived from Ventura County Fusion and Carolina Dynamo respectively and they will be seen as very much young prospects for the future rather than pushing for the first team this term.
Everton managed to overcome the decimating loss of almost their whole strikeforce last season to finish fifth and they should be boosted by the return of key players from injury.
Yakubu Aiyegbeni missed almost the entire campaign with an Achilles problem, but the Nigerian is close to a return to full fitness and along with Jo and Louis Saha he will help provide the goalscoring nous for Everton's hard-working side.
The creative talents of Mikel Arteta were sadly missed in the second half of last season and the return of the classy Spaniard will add an extra dimension to Everton's attacking play.
Last season's player of the year Phil Jagielka is still a way off a return after a cruel cruciate ligament injury at the back end of last season forced him to miss the FA Cup final.
Jagielka established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League last term and his partnership with Lescott - if Everton can keep hold of him - is one of the best in the top flight.
With the size of squad being so thin at Goodison Park avoiding injuries to key players this season will be vital to Everton's chances of progressing and challenging the big boys as they cannot afford to be without any of their top performers for a sustained period with finances not available to replace any absent stars.
Much more will be expected of record signing Marouane Fellaini this season after the big-haired Belgian failed to live up to his hefty £15million price-tag last term with the player finding himself more in the referee's notebook than in the goalscoring charts.
With the astute management of Moyes, Everton fans can again expect a top-six finish and another good cup run possibly, but the hunt for long overdue silverware seems set to go on.
Everton have relied on the team ethic of their close-knit squad to exceed expectations in the last few seasons, but they could find themselves playing catch-up to their rivals if new faces do not arrive before the close of the transfer window.
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Micky Houghton says: "I genuinely think it will be more of the same from David Moyes' men this year, with more of an emphasis on team spirit and hard work, rather than big money signings. Although a couple of quality signings would help out the threadbare squad.
"Over the last couple of seasons they have consistently finished in the top half. My prediction for the forthcoming season sixth.
"And watch out for Jack Rodwell. Playing in midfield, he broke into the team last season and for a boy of 18 he has got all the time in the world to develop into a big star.
"I predict he might well have a role at centre-half this season, where he looks equally comfortable. Also keep an eye out for 17-year-old striker Jose Baxter."
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Dale Tempest says: "David Moyes is one of the Premier League's longest serving and most respected managers but I think their squad is far too small to compete with the big boys. Much will depend on the fitness of Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill but realistically I can't see them matching last season's outstanding fifth place finish. They were without Yakubu for virtually all last season.
He's 66/1 in the top goalscorer market. It's a big, big price but if he gets back to fitness he'll be the mainstay of Everton's forward line. At Goodison they say 'feed the Yak and he will score' and hopefully if he does he'll pay for next summer's holidays."
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