I suppose things will return to normality when the crowds return. Seems like Man City is the only team doing things right by being consistent.
Everton will be in Europe this season, don't fret Mike. With the Pool and UTD loosing momentum and totnum hitting a bad form, leaves other teams to fight it out.
Fingers crossed, but it is a crazy season with so many unexpected results almost every week. As an Evertonian, we have to be optimists all the time since we had better days.
It's not just inconsistency. We are seeing the effects of the strength in depth of the Premier League. Barcelona and Real Madrid are having relative nightmares of a season in La Liga, but they are still 2nd and 3rd (and there's no shame finishing behind Atletico Madrid). Those sides have had a few disastrous results against lowly opposition, but outside of half a dozen teams, they can get away with bad performances 9 times out of 10. The same is not true in the Premier League. You rest your star players against Sheffield Utd or Fulham at your peril. Have an off day against Palace, you'll be lucky to get a draw. Every season now, there are 5, maybe 6 teams (not sure about Arsenal) who realistically expect to win the league. There are another 6 who realistically aim to crack the top 4. And a few others, like Newcastle, Leeds or Burnley might think that 6th place is possible if the cards are dealt in their favour. This competitiveness is why Liverpool were so damned impressive until the wheels fell off once the season restarted. They were never the same after that. There is an upper elite echelon of players- Messi, Ronaldo, Lingard, Mbappe. After that you get £50m strikers. It's a very thin line which divides that £50m player from the one who costs £25m, and sometimes there is no difference at all. The bottom sides in the Premier League can all afford those £25m players. Compared with La Liga where £5m (or less) is a record fee for many of the bottom sides, and you can see why the Premier League giants don't get any days off in comparison to Barcelona and Real Madrid.
One can make predictions to feel inwardly better to one's heart content. Whether they turn up to be true............. Hope reigns.
