Premier League preview No4: Everton

Guardian writers' predicted position: 8th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter's prediction, but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position: 7th

Odds to win the league: 250-1

It is rare to witness David Moyes in spirits as high as those that greeted the unveiling of Steven Naismith as an Everton player in July. In truth, it is unusual to see Moyes alongside any summer signing at all and the Everton manager could not resist making the salient point after again capitalising on the collapse of Rangers. "The last time we moved this quickly in the market we qualified for the Champions League," he said. No one is suggesting a repeat of 2004-05 is on the cards at Goodison Park, though a sustained challenge for European qualification cannot be discounted.

Naismith has since been joined at Everton by Steven Pienaar, the South Africa midfielder whose form, confidence and influence lifted when he returned on loan from Tottenham Hotspur last season and who represented Moyes's transfer priority. Crucially, not one of the club's major assets has been sold to cover Pienaar's £4.5m fee or annual losses of around £5m. Not at the time of writing anyhow.

Leighton Baines remains an Everton player and under long-term contract despite months of speculation linking him with Manchester United who, if they have made their interest known to the England international or his representatives, have yet to approach Everton. So too Marouane Fellaini, frequently admired by rival clubs according to his father but committed to a new five-year contract as of last November. Keeping both will be crucial for the coming campaign.

Tim Cahill has gone to New York Red Bulls for £1m and £55,000-per-week off the wage bill, bringing to an end an outstanding eight-year career with Everton and a combative, driven presence in the dressing room. The Australian's goals and performances had declined over the past two seasons as injuries took a toll but not his willingness to take responsibility on or off the pitch during lean periods, and it will fall to others to fill that void.

Cahill's role behind Nikica Jelavic is likely to be taken by Naismith as the Scotland international, still nursing his way back to full fitness following a cruciate ligament injury, reprises a partnership that flourished at Ibrox. Should Jack Rodwell or Ross Barkley realise their potential on a consistent basis, Moyes will have the option of fielding Naismith wide with a homegrown talent in the centre. And the manager will need Rodwell, Barkley and Séamus Coleman to develop from promising youngsters into established assets. A series of hamstring injuries ruined last year for Rodwell while Barkley, after a promising start, was taken out of the first team picture by Moyes in order to further his education with regular youth and reserve team football. The manager's calculated move on the commanding 18-year-old midfielder is scheduled to pay dividends this season.

The next generation are required to step up as, beyond a settled, productive first-team unit, the squad lacks the depth to cover for injuries to key players. Jelavic proved an inspired signing for £5m from Rangers in January and his 11 goals in 13 starts confirmed Moyes's repeated assertion of recent summers; that the team is only a prolific marksman short of a European return. The comprehensive 3-1 defeat of a Newcastle United team that had an outside chance of the Champions League on the final day of last season reinforced that point.

On the flip side, the anaemic display against Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final renewed doubts over Everton's ability to deliver under pressure and amid expectation. The first trophy of Moyes' reign – into an 11th year after Tottenham's interest in him failed to materialise into a job offer – is long overdue.

Retaining Moyes and, to date, the bulk of the squad that finished last season impressively bodes well. In the course of last season the manager began to lower the average age of the team and, with the fillip of a few new faces, there is one less excuse for another of the notoriously poor starts that has left Everton playing catchup in recent years. Anyone who saw their defeat at Blackpool on Sunday, their first outing since pre-season was interrupted by the cancellation of the Java Cup tournament in Indonesia, would not bet against a repeat, however. "Every year it is the same story with Everton," admitted Pienaar. "The players tend to wake up in the second half of the season."

One influential presence who may yet be sold is John Heitinga, Everton's player of the year last season and whose confidence on the ball in defence improves the entire team. Much can change at Goodison before the transfer window closes but, for now, Moyes can look ahead with quiet optimism.