For a good part of the last ten years, the Premier League ruled the roost when it came to the debate of “Which is the best league in the world?” With the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea each making deep runs in the Champions League, there was just no comparison. But with the recent resurgence from Bayern Munich (Bundesliga), Inter and Milan (Serie A) and Real Madrid and Barcelona (La Liga), the balance of power has been more or less restored.

And despite Chelsea taking the European glory last season, many still feel that was more of a fluke than a sign of the Premier League being revitalized. Their Champions League triumph had more of the same feel of when the Houston Rockets won consecutive NBA titles in the mid 90’s; with a big asterisk.

“Yes, Houston you won, but that’s because Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls) was retired.”

“Yes, Chelsea you won, but that’s because you parked your entire team inside the penalty box against Barcelona. You won because you didn’t play football.”

That’s the sentiment I’m sensing from fans across the globe. Barcelona’s semifinal defeat was more a fluke than it was a sign of things to come. We have seen Lionel Messi go on his record breaking goal scoring run (92 in all competitions for 2012), helping his team build a commanding 11 point lead in La Liga. To make matters worse, we have seen champion holders Chelsea crash out of the group stage of the Champions League and Premier League champions Manchester City bow out without registering a single win in group play.

Manchester United and Arsenal are the only two EPL clubs left standing and both face stiff competition against defending La Liga champions Real Madrid and Champions League finalist Bayern Munich respectively. It would not be a shock to the football world should both English clubs be knocked out. But to start the restoration that the EPL is the best league in the world, both United and Arsenal need to make another deep run in the Champions League, especially United since they are currently in first place.

Only a deep run this year will give EPL fans a foundation for defending their league as the best. It won’t bring back it’s glory days of 07-08, 08-09 but it can stop the rumblings that the EPL is on its way down… at least for now.

My favorite matches of each Premier League season come down to the fight for European qualification. I find these matches have an even greater intensity than any final, including the World Cup. There is no holding back. Win and you’ll have the chance to play in the exclusive Champions League. Lose and it’s oftentimes a season that almost was.

Qualifying for Europe isn’t the same as winning a trophy, but you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference by the euphoria from the winners. And while we can count on every season the usual big three or top four to qualify easily, there’s always a club or two that’s on the outside looking in, waiting and lurking for a chance of a team to slip up. It seems though that every season for the better part of the past 6-7 years that Everton have been one of those clubs, on the edge. Ever since they finished fourth in the 2004/2005 season, they seemed pegged as the club that might finally challenge for a spot in Europe and do it consistently. But for whatever reason, they’ve been doomed with horrid starts in their campaigns and while ending up respectably in the top 6 or so, they’ve never really been able to kick it to another level that we’ve all been waiting for. And while the fans and the owner have been patient and faithful, this season may be their very last shot at glory.

Everton, in recent memory, have largely been a selling club. Their manager, David Moyes has been commended for his ability to keep Everton as a top 10 caliber club on a shoestring budget. In every transfer window, there seems to be headlines and rumors of an Everton player being plucked away by a bigger club offering higher wages. To date, Everton have been successful at bringing through players that they’ve been able to sell for a handsome amount (Wayne Rooney to Manchester United, Jack Rodwell to Manchester City, Mikel Arteta to Arsenal, and Joleon Lescott to Manchester City). And while most clubs’ fans enjoy the transfer market and love the speculation of incoming players to help improve their club’s chances, I have found many Everton fans dreading this period as the papers often just link their best players to being sold rather than them buying anyone (for example, Leighton Baines to Man Utd and Marouane Fellaini to Chelsea.)

This could be a make or break season for Everton. If they cannot secure qualification for Europe, I cannot see how they can hold onto Baines and Fellaini to balance their books or match the players ambitions to win silverware. They will get good transfer fees from both players, but it won’t change the attitude or the mindset that Everton are a selling club.

But this could all stop with one match in the Champions League. If they succeed in a top 4 finish and win qualification, they’re guaranteed a minimum of €17.2 million. (This is based on the previous two years’ distribution. €10 million, a very conservative estimate, from the market pool and €7.2 million from just participating.) This doesn’t even include any performance bonuses (€800,000 for every win and €400,000 for every draw in the group stage) or gate receipts which the club is allowed to keep.

An injection of cash flow would give the club the chance to change the operations of the club and start competing with the top tier of the Premier League. Top 6 finishes are acceptable and even welcomed when you are battling relegation by the halfway point of the season, but with this campaign they are sitting comfortably in 5th place with a little under half the season to go. I believe it’s time for Everton to finally reach the promised land of the Champions League group stage.

While he is a pure class striker at the peak of his powers, Robin van Persie is not Sir Alex Ferguson’s best signing this past summer and not necessarily the one that Roberto Mancini should be ruing about. Mancini has made it clear and publicly known that Manchester City were chasing his signature and that RvP’s decision to go to the red half of Manchester will ultimately be the difference in the title race. That will most likely be true this season, but in the foreseeable future the best signing this past summer was the diminutive attacking midfielder, Shinji Kagawa.

Kagawa’s debut season with United has, at best, been pedestrian. A couple of goals, some flashy passes, but he’s generally been anonymous for many of his appearances. Clearly his knee injury that sidelined him for much of the first half of the season was a major hindrance to the level of cohesion he’d develop with his teammates. Take for instance the number of times he receives passes at his feet. For someone like Tom Cleverley or Michael Carrick, that is how you play them the ball. They want it right there so that they can swing the ball around quickly. But in the two seasons at Borassia Dortmund, Kagawa was at his best when the ball was played for him to run onto. Kagawa is a horror to deal with when he is running full speed at opposing defenses. His deft touch, vision, passing skills and uncanny ability to make quick and lethal decisions is what makes him a joy to watch. Unfortunately, United and their fans have yet to see him leading the charge on the break.

Since his brief return during the holiday run in, Kagawa has played a solid 87 minutes in two appearances and in each match, he showed the type of nerve, vision and downright craziness in his game to attempt the passes he played. Take for instance the little 1-2 flick he pulled off against West Bromwich Albion with Ashley Young that led to a goal. What other United player would even see that as a playable option? Then there was that tiki taka play of Barcelona-esque proportions with van Persie and Javier Hernandez against Wigan that dazzled and wowed the fans where there was a combination of roughly seven one-touch passes in a matter of seconds that bypassed the Wigan midfield.

What Kagawa needs is a run of games to start building the understanding an attacking player of his quality needs to have with his striking partners. But more importantly so that his teammates will understand how to play him the ball properly; ahead with some pace for him to run onto. He’s still young — only 23 — and his best qualities will shine for Manchester United in years to come. In three years time, he’ll be entering his prime and will have developed the trust and understanding of his teammates right when it’s probable that RvP’s powers will start to decline. Should United hold onto Kagawa, he’ll be darting through the heart of defenses with deft one touch passes with Cleverley and hitting lethal final passes to Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Chicharito.

RvP will return Manchester to red and bring the title back, but it will be Kagawa that will keep it that way for years to come.