Everton left with a mountain to climb already says Nigel Martyn

25 August 2009 01:00
FROM starting out on a level playing field, suddenly Everton are faced with the prospect of climbing a mountain this season. While breaking into the top four was always going to be difficult - particularly without spending lots of money - many will have felt before the new campaign got underway that the Blues could keep their place in the top five or six. Now, though, two defeats have dramatically changed the landscape. True, we got off to a bad start 12 months ago but ended up salvaging the situation so it would be folly to write David Moyes or his players off at this early stage. They will know, however, what a challenge ending up as best of the rest again is going to be, especially given the flying starts that Tottenham and Manchester City have made. Only time will tell how handy the respective nine and six point advantages they have already will ultimately turn out to be. I'm not for one minute suggesting that it is time for anyone to start panicking. There are still 36 games to play and you should never underestimate the ability David has to galvanise his teams in the face of adversity.

Source: Liverpool_Echo