2 things I'd say are:
a) with the league as it is now, I don't know if there will actually ever come a stage where we can relax, either 'cause the lower half are chasing or the top half is too tight!
b) If we DO get into Europe then Ashley will still probably only spend around ã35m (European money will go on wages I'd suspect). The issue for me would be that a lot of that money would then go on padding out the squad to cope with a season of 4 competitions. Yes it may allow us to bring in better quality, but it'll be a balancing act between quality and quantity AND with our wage cap, we probably won't be bringing in highly established names/finished articles anyway...
In the same way as I think getting relegated was the best thing for us, I think finished just outside europe would be best for us this season...Another season of mid-table consolidation - bring in a good young striker and give him a year (without the pressures of Europe) to establish himself!