ON the back of some outstanding results, leading up to an outstanding perform- ance last Saturday, the return to fitness of Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta and a first appearance in the top half of the table this season, the second half of the campaign holds great promise for Everton.
How that promise would be fantastic if it included another FA Cup run.
On the face of it Everton have a difficult task today against a Birmingham team coming into the game with a remarkable record of 14 games unbeaten.
Alex McLeish is another Scottish boss doing a fine job, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he will send out the same team that Everton utterly outplayed only a few weeks ago.
But for poor finishing and a lapse of concentration, not to mention a poor decision by the linesman, Everton could have won handsomely.
Everton are better now than they were then and hopefully the scare they gave us all against Carlisle will remind them that nothing can be taken for granted, especially in the FA Cup.
