TODAY’S visiting manager described their football as comparable to Barcelona back in November. And when David Moyes looks at the Premier League table he will realise that neither of the teams currently occupying the coveted third and fifth positions have got the better of his side this season.

So it is a frustrating fact of life that while Arsenal and Spurs have not been able to prove their superiority to Everton in individual contests this term, they both appear to be pulling away from them in the race for tangible top flight success.

The Toffees might well have played thrilling football at times; showing their finer qualities at Craven Cottage to name but one display, and displaying their other attributes in a win over Spurs and last week’s draw at The Emirates, but too often they’ve dropped points against sides they have been expected to defeat.

Sunderland at the Stadium of Light is a poor example, given Everton’s heavy legs and the host’s groundswell of motivation.

But that galling draw against Martin Jol’s men in West London last year was nothing in the frustration stakes compared to draws with Norwich, Aston Villa at Goodison, and QPR at Loftus Road.

Compound those with head-scratching defeats away at Reading and Norwich and it’s clear to see that, while Everton have actually been fairly consistent for most of this positive season, they have not quite been consistent enough.

Not by comparison to their two top four rivals in North London who have had the extra squad depth to rotate from a position of strength and weather the storm when they have not been in form.

So how could it have been different?

Strengthening the squad in January would undoubtedly have helped, especially as Everton’s ageing key men such as Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar have dipped in and out of form, but so would have being able to spend more substantially last summer. No shock revelations there.

It remains galling nevertheless that in a season when the Toffees are comfortably on course to better the point total that got them fourth place eight years ago, the bar is set so much higher.

And slip-ups like that of an otherwise excellent afternoon in Fulham’s backyard last year mean making the grade is tantalisingly out of reach.