We get asked this question every year.

I think it will be the same old outcome next year.

Bluey you do make us all laugh on this forum, how on earth can you possibly compare Benitez , and Moyes ????

in 4 yrs as Manager Benitez has taken Liverpool to:

2 -- European Cup Finals (won 1 / lost 1) and could be 3 finals
1 -- FA Cup final (Won)
1 -- Super Cup (won)
1 -- League Cup Final (lost)


In 6 yrs Moyes has taked Everton to:
ermmmmm , errrrrr, ahhhhhhhhhhh, oh i know NOTHING !!! (sorry 4 th place once)

and everyone knows why Moyes hasn't signed a new contract because he is hoping a big club offers him a job (never gonna happen).


Neither Fergie or Wenger, have achieved as much as Benitez has achieved in their first 4 yrs .
and Mouriniho only managed what he did because of all the Money he had to spend.

And given time Benitez may well win the prem (took Fergie 6 yrs).

The poll question isn't "Which team will replace one of the top four", it's "Next likely team to break into top four". A team may be displaced, but not replaced - the four will consistently be in and around that area for a while. I think only Chelsea have the capacity to be replaced, if they enter free-fall mode when Abramovich leaves. As it is both Liverpool and Arsenal have shown a side from the four is displaceable, and we're probably the most likely of contenders for it next season given this year (not that i think it'll happen).

As it has been said though, it'll be more of a top 5 than anything else - a team will have to rise up to the standard of the others, as Everton have nearly done this season.

Keegan says it will be hard breaking into the top4 because of the money you get from occupying those places. This is why it will take 50million to put a team into the top4 spots. It took a lot more than 50million to put Liverpool there. They spend that nearly every year just to barely keep that place.

If Keegan gets 50million and spends wisely we may be challenging for 5 and 6th with an outside chance of 4th. Who knows though. The league is very hard to predict. Most thought Arsenal would be out the top4 this year but they are still there.

Voted for Tottenham, because Ramos should be able to get some great players over there for next season, but I think Newcastle might have a chance aswell. It all depends on how they do with transfers and keeping their best players at the clubs though I think.

No we don't. We spent roughly £25million this year (net), and that's as much as i can remember us paying out in one summer. I agree it takes a lot of money to get there though - and both we and Chelsea show that money doesn't even guarantee success either.

I said nearly.

Someone put the amount each team had spent over the years and Liverpool were up in the top4 of spending. Where is that thread now?

I found something:-

Despite winning the Premier League last season, Manchester United were the biggest spenders during 2007, shelling out £51million on players.

They were closely followed by Liverpool (£50million), while Tottenham spent £40million in their quest for Champions League qualification and newly-promoted Sunderland spent £35million.

I don't really care what the thread said - we haven't spent £50million in any of the season's under Benitez, nor anywhere near that. Feel free to check each player

Our spending will always be higher in recent years because we've had some average players to sell (those not bought by Benitez and some flops bought by he) than other sides. Luckily we're becoming a lot better at that, as we showed in the summer where we spent around £45million and recouped £20million on sales.

Anyway, straying a little off topic. To state the obvious, the teams who can spend the most will have the best chance of breaking the top four, which is why i veer away from Everton. They've come close this season but if Spurs under Ramos can spend well, similarly perhaps with Sven, then they'll catch up very quickly.

You have Ben.

You edited your post whilst i was writing mine it seems, the "I found something..." wasn't there before.

That is only counting expenditure - not net. We spent around £45million (or £50million if you listen to what the above said) but recouped £20million. United did the same, spending around £50million but recouping £25million to strangely equal our net amount spent.

Sunderland were the league's highest spenders, paying out around £40million whilst recouping nothing i believe. Tottenham and Man City were close behind.

Thanx.... Cut the rest as it was just yada yada yada.

Its obviously going to be Villa!

Maybe Villa eventually but i think that Spurs have the best chance to break into the top 4 next season if they can hold on to Berbatov. They have Ramos who is in my opinion Mourinho without the ego and they have the players...for now.

You posted yours without reading mine.


No Ben, you are only recouping some of the previous 50millions you spent in other seasons. Sunderland weren't the leagues biggest spenders. Man Utd were spending 51million and Liverpool next with 50million. Spurs spent 40million and Sunderland spent 35million. All you recoup are some of the previous money that you spent. 12 teams spent more than 20million. There is no shame in spending money to improve you squad, I don't see why you think it is big shame to spend. Newcastle will spend in the summer. Everton don't have that sort of cash so it is excellent for them to find themselves still in the battle for 4th place.

The topic and the question is "which is the team most likely to break into the the top 4 and fight regularly for a CL place". It doesn't mean that any of the current top 4 will be replaced. It could mean more teams having a say in CL qualification (eg: Arsenal, Pool, Everton, Villa, Spurs or Man City fighting for 3rd and 4th). Currently, its quite exclusively a fight between Ars and Pool.

Am talking about 'potential' and not a dead certainty......

Thus I say Everton have the most potential to do it because of sound club foundation and consistant progress through the years. They also have a very good manager!

Don't be a pr*ck Monty - i was writing mine when you edited yours with 'what you'd found'. I am aware of what i've read.



You manage your books per season with all the money you take from revenue, TV money and prize money taken into the equation of how much you can spend. We may have lost £20million last season or whatever, but that money will have been there to spend from our Champions League run, stadium revenue etc. so it isn't money that needs replacing. That's how most clubs work - by using income to sustain themselves. The money we recouped in the summer was to manage our expenditure as we don't have £50million to spend; we can't afford it.

And Everton still have money. Don't make them out to be penniless. They spent £6million on Baines (more than we'd spent on any defender at the time), signed Jagielka for £4million and Yakubu for £11million (more than was spent on Bellamy, Crouch or Kuyt), as well as attempting to sign Manuel Fernandes with them coming within a whisker of securing a £12million deal. Even without the Portuguese man, who later came on loan anyway, the total is over the £20million which you earmarked, and nearly £35million if the planned transfer had gone through (which had nothing to do with Everton's inability to fund, but the fact Valencia swooped in for him). They may not be able to compete with the four side's above them, but they can more than hold their own.

I know there's "no shame" in spending money, stop talking like a retard. We need to spend money to compete with the likes of Chelsea and United, and i hope we spend a lot in the summer too. But you, by saying we've spent £50million, make it out as if we've strengthened our squad by £50million-worth of players, when that's rubbish, because we've got rid of over £20million-worth of players in the process.

You are behaving like a child again. There was no edit. Look again. You just don't read what I write before you start gobshiting.


I bought a car last week cost by £10000 but I sold my old car for £2000. Does that mean I only spent £8000. No because my old car cost me £10,000. All Liverpool are getting back is some money from the previous waste of money they spent. Liverpool were the second biggest spenders. They spent £50million.

Leave the retarded stuff and the pr*ck insults out of the conversation, Ben.


I didn't make them out to be broke Ben. Everon clearly don't have the same amount of cash to throw around in the transfer market as Liverpool do. You can understand that?

Understand that Liverpool are not in the position that they are because of their manager it is because of the financial position of the club. Everton are in the position they are due to their superior manager.

Monty pwned ben again

I gotta admit that he makes some fair points there!

It's a funny business football. It not like you get that cash upfront is it. It is usually in installments. Same when you buy players. You might get a large amount of money upfront you may not and the rest in installments but the underlying factor is Liverpool are spending about £50million a year however it is done nearly every year and that keeps them in the top4 then they are receiving money for being in the Champions League and it's very hard to compete with that unless you start getting into the Champions League year after year yourself. It isn't something you could do unless a large amount of money comes the clubs way via a takeover.

Newcastle will spend big this summer thanks to Ashley's money and that will enable us to push up the league with a good manager like Keegan is, (debatable I know what some of you think of him). Obviously spending big money doesn't guarantee success though. Souness spent big (around 50million) but achieved nothing and Liverpool have spent so much they should have won the league but they haven't. Everton spend a tiny fraction of that and they have achieved almost the same position as Liverpool, that must be down to better man management by their manager.

Over the last 5 seasons Liverpool have spent a staggering amount of money and only achieve 4th place on average. No doubt they will be spending big again this summer as they try to have another shot at the title.

If i respected you, i wouldn't use the word "pr*ck" aimed at you, sadly when you decide to play insulting little mind games, such as pretending not to have edited your post, respect is hard to come by. I had nothing to gain by saying you did edit your post, and wasn't accusing you of anything, so cut the boring crap.

Look again? Why? It won't say if you've edited your post, because it only does that if someone else posts before you edit it. You wrote up to the "...in the top4 of spending. Where is that thread now?", which i read, then you added the rest before i'd finished writing my reply. It ain't rocket science.



We have the same logic but are doing it in alternate orders. It does not make any difference whether you take the money off for past season's or the money off for this season, we still, when accumulating money from all the seasons, have spent the same. If we spent £50million as you claim for this season, then by the same right we spent nothing last season as the money recouped is taken off those expenses.

We've not strengthened our squad by £50million worth of players, as you want to claim - that's a fact. We've strengthened our squad by £25million worth of players, because whilst some have come others have left. And it doesn't matter how much you've spent in a year... We're not in a discussion on accounting here, Monty, it only matters how much the spending has improved our side, which as i said, is by £25million worth of players.



No. I'll do that when you stop playing puerile mind games and refrain from the patronising crap that fills your posts.



Everton are in the position they are because of both money and their manager, not one or the other. Liverpool can't be guilty of the same because we were once dominant, so we've fallen rather than risen... Money has kept us up there.