Although I agree, if you just look at the last few years we got knocked out of the league cup in the Q final by Sheff Utd and Liverpool and the previous year we lost to Sunderland.
The majority of teams stick out weakened teams, so the quarters/semis are well achievable...! If you take the FA Cup too, there is no reason why we can't get to atleast 1 cup final in the next 5 years.