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With another defeat to Liverpool, this time at Anfield which all but destroyed their hopes for Champions League football next season, will Everton ever join the big boys and once again become a force in English soccer that they once were in the past? David Moyes must be wondering what he must do in order to make Rafael Benitez eat his words and kick their hated rivals out of the Big Four and become a privileged group themselves. In a disappointing performance in front of the Kop, Everton never looked like threatening Liverpool’s dominance and were fortunate not to have lost by more than the single goal, even if they created some worrying moments for the shaky home defence.

Despite the loss, David Moyes has not given up hope of overtaking the Anfield team in the race for the remaining Champions League slot. There are a few games left before the season ends, and if Liverpool were to lose their concentration and drop a few points along the way, Everton might just be able to sneak in at the last lap. However, to do that, they will need to ensure they do not drop any points themselves, and winning all their remaining games is a must. That in itself is a difficult, if not impossible, task.

In truth, Everton missed the services of Tim Cahill, and with the Australian midfielder out, they suffered badly in the middle of the park, losing time and again to the Liverpool midfield trio of Gerrard, Alonso and Leiva in tackles and possession. Without the ball, Everton could only try to defend in numbers, but with the three Liverpool midfielders are all capable ball players and are master passers of the ball. Everton were also not helped by Yakubu’s careless loss of possession in his own half, which allowed Torres the space and time to race past their defence and tuck his shot into the net.

For Everton to crack the Big Four of English football, they will need more than just effort and hard work. What they need is the same financial strength the other four clubs enjoy, in order to buy some quality players who can be creative with the ball. Without that, hardworking and hard running midfielders can only bring you this far, before falling at the final hurdle.

Once again, it has been anybody’s guess why David Trezeguet was overlooked by France international manager Raymond Domenech, as the Juventus top scorer has been left out of the team to face England in next week’s friendly. The player himself has admitted feeling disillusioned for being ignored despite his efforts at club level, and is resigned to missing out on Euro 2008 regardless of what happens in the next few months leading up to the tournament.

The fact that Domenech picked a large squad has not been lost on both Trezeguet and football journalists worldwide. With such a sizable squad, one would expect Domenech to have included the free scoring striker in his squad, at least to have a look at him in one of the games. If not against England, at least against Mali, if he did not hold him in high regard. However, with the likes of Florent Sinama-Pongolle to be in front of Trezeguet in the pecking order, one could more or less what Trezeguet’s fate would be. Sinama-Pongolle had a spell in the English Premier League with Liverpool and did not do as well as expected, although he is a product of Gerard Houllier’s scouting system and that might have played a part in Domenech’s selection.

It would be strange that Anelka was forgiven and selected for France after he had initially rejected being selected for any games due to being angry with the national team selectors for not choosing him, while Trezeguet has never been in such a position and is a proven striker at the top level with both Juventus and even France themselves, winning them a past Euro title. Perhaps Domenech might have a change of heart in the near future, but at the moment at least, it looks like Trezeguet has been consigned to the international graveyard.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan has stated his faith and belief that if the club were to repeat their performance they presented against Birmingham City late in the game in other matches, they will be able to avoid the drop and stay in the English Premier League for another season. Keegan was heartened by the team’s efforts and was encouraged by their desire to play against the odds and win a share of the spoils. While the draw did not boost their chances of survival by much, with other relegation rivals picking up points on the same weekend, Keegan saw signs of a growing partnership between his midfielders Geremi, Barton and Butt that might prove to be their lifeline in the coming games.

Michael Owen also revived his chances of an England recall to the first team by scoring another goal and he has been Newcastle’s main scorers in recent games, when they have actually managed to put the ball in the net. The team will need its other strikers to get into gear if they are serious about staying in the top flight, else suffer the same fate as Derby County, something which would be an embarrassment with the riches the club enjoys and a large fervant fanbase. Will Newcastle survive relegation? Only time will tell, and that is something that is currently a precious commodity at Tyneside.