So Rooney goes to Everton.

[Pavilionaire]

A defence of Pickford, Coleman, Ashley Williams, Keane and Baines looks very good, then Schneiderlein and Klaasen, Bolasie, Barkley and Rooney. If you used some of the Lukaku money on someone like Giroud then they'd have something going.

 

[Del Fenner]

No great surprise here then. Bit like BZ returning to the Albion, really. Spiritual home and all that.

*coff*

Bristol Rovers

 

[Weststander]

I don't really get this feeling that Everton could get in the top four. I'd struggle to make a case for them finishing above any of the top six, so who do people think are the THREE they could be ahead of?

They've lost one of the best players in the league and replaced him with Rooney (five goals last season) and Ramirez (one reasonable season in Spain to his name). There are no guarantees there. Keane and Klaasen are decent signings but they aren't going to lift any team from 7th to 4th. Don't get me wrong, Everton are a very good team, but Champions League contenders? Not for me, Clive.

Exactly. ManU, ManC, Ars, Chelsea, Spurs are all far bigger clubs, with far more money, a lure for the greatest players.

A new owner turns up at middling Everton, recruits Koeman, they spend some money .... and a narrative is created that they're now amongst the top 4 contenders.