The Big Four have the rest of the league in a headlock and in the past six years only one team has broken away, my beloved Everton.

This year David Moyes' men inched their way up the league, rattling off performances not just with their customary metronomic efficiency, but also – and whisper this quietly (it makes the Reds over the park jealous) – on occasion playing some sensational football.

The five-man midfield that Moyes employs at Everton is light years ahead of the same formation used by dour Walter Smith – Steven Pienaar and Leon Osman are both featherweight midfielders forced to use their brains and think fast rather than relying on physical presence like some clodhopping midfielders. And Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill, when fit, were top class attacking weapons.

'The fact that we won our first penalty this season in the 82nd minute of the last game tells you everything you need to know about our luck with referees'


This season Everton again punched above their weight, managing to eclipse their previous best points tally in the Premier League, and embarking on an initially shaky (Metalist away was a nail-biter) but eventually strong and confident UEFA Cup run in which we were only undone on penalties (having beaten eventual winners Zenit in the group stages). Programmes were throttled and palms were sweaty but this wasn’t a relegation shin-kicker of yore – we were fighting for a high altitude league position.

This season cannot be seen as anything but a success, not only because of our points record in the Premier League – but also because our playing staff. Both Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott are only going to get better, and are both being noticed at international level. Lescott especially, has been outrageously good at the back, scoring double figures and having the most clinical shot to goal ratio in the Premier League. And he was playing out of position for most of the campaign.

You cannot summarise our season without talking about some of the refereeing gaffes, most notably Mark Clattenberg – the man who shredded our Merseyside derby hopes at Goodison. The fact that we won our first penalty this season in the 82nd minute of the last game tells you everything you need to know about our luck with referees.

All in all we should be very happy with our progress – given modest funds we have achieved a trajectory that should have been mapped out by a Tottenham or Manchester City with their vast reserves of money. Our season tailed off dramatically after our brave UEFA Cup exit, but that had as much to do with injuries as with a complete loss of heart.

Exciting times lie ahead for Everton, and although the Moyesiah’s contract remains perilously unsigned – the rumbles from Goodison indicate that he is going to be given a huge amount of money to spend.

Everton are no longer a “what if?”, they are now a “watch this space”.