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Premiership betting: Expansion is essential for Everton to go to the next level

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We know who will fill the top four places in this year's Premiership but who will finish fifth? Will any team be able to close the gap or will it lengthen?

Everyone in our solar system knows who will fill the top four places in this year's Premiership but who will finish fifth? Will any team be able to close the gap or will it lengthen?

Presumably the team best placed to infiltrate the top four is Everton but David Moyes has two major obstacles hindering progress. The first is daft chairman Bill Kenwright for posturing and delaying Moyes' new contract extension. It should have been signed seconds after the Newcastle game when fifth place was assured. This sealed a place in the UEFA Cup next season. Taking Moyes for granted is a dangerous game, as they need him more than he needs them.

Moyes has made progress year on year since taking over in March 2002. Though finishing fifth last year was a great achievement he feels that to go to the next level he needs more time, finances that reflect the fan base and a new stadium.

Goodison Park holds 40,000 people, which by European super-club standards is microscopic. Built in 1892, it is now too small, old, tatty and tired for the 21st century and has declined badly. The crumbling decay does not reflect the stature of the club. It is hemmed in by roads and housing that would make expansion of the site impossible. It will not be fit for its purpose in 10 years. The view for opposing supporters is particularly bad and I would never go there again.

Planners at Knowsley Council are deciding whether to approve Everton's new 55,000-seater stadium and shopping complex but residents in Kirkby are against it. The proposed move has infuriated some Everton fans, as the stadium would be located just outside Liverpool. It could be up and running just after 2010 with very little debt at the end of it. This would give the club an extra £10m a year in revenue to spend on players.

Kirkby lies nine miles from the centre of Liverpool in the neighbouring borough of Knowsley. The designated land of the overspill is currently worthless and those who oppose the regeneration do no favours to Liverpool. It is a win win situation for Everton supporters and the people of Kirkby. I have little time for those who oppose progress.

Moyes is back at his desk this Wednesday and Everton report for pre-season training on Thursday. He urgently needs to improve his squad. The team lack depth and injuries affect them more than most. They need to entice some quality players to the area and I do not mean more of the Phil Neville variety.

Tim Howard has urged the Everton boss to make a move for another top-rated keeper during the summer so that he can be pushed to maintain his form but a striker must be the priority. Yakubu is the only consistent goalscorer at the club. Arteta and Cahill need help, not dogs of war type help but players who can hold the ball and feed. He should buy two midfield players, one of which is less combative and more expressive. It is okay to buy aged thirty plus to complement his team.

Some good news is that Moyes received a welcome boost ahead of Everton's pre-season preparations when his African contingent emerged largely unscathed from their final round of World Cup qualifiers.

So how can the Toffees improve on last season? The honest answer is that they cannot. The UEFA Cup is their best hope of glory but Everton's dogmatic approach and the size of their squad will not allow fruition. Some supporters will actually be hoping for early elimination from domestic cups so that they can concentrate on the Premiership and Europe. There lies the problem for a team like Everton.

An interesting market is Betfair's 'Winner without Big 4'. Everton rate some value at [6.6] with Aston Villa [6.6]. Tottenham are too short at [3.35] and so are Manchester City [6.0].

I sincerely hope that Everton get the stadium that their supporters and team deserve, let's hope the 'not in my back yard' merchants lose the argument.