PL: Season Review: Everton

They are one game away from clinching UEFA Cup football for next season. All in all, it's been another good season for Everton.


Take the 'Big Four' away, and it would be difficult to find a side better than David Moyes' Everton. In recent years they are the only side to have broken the strangle-hold those four sides have on the league by finishing fourth in 2005. Now one of the league's longest serving managers, Moyes has been building a competitive squad since he joined in six years ago. The likes of Phil Neville, Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta have helped transform the Toffees from mid-table mediocrity to European contenders. This season has been another success story. The goals of summer signing Yakubu have certainly given their attack more potency, and at the other end Phil Jagielka has proven to be a class act in the centre of their defence. They were giving Liverpool a run for their money in the race for fourth before being edged out in the Merseyside derby in March. A semi-final spot in the Carling Cup and then reaching the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup has represented progress. The main disappointment, like a lot of other teams, would have been their FA Cup performance when they lost at home to Oldham. However they only need a point on the last day to guarantee fifth spot, and can achieve that at home to Newcastle on Sunday.


So how does David Moyes continue this progress? You get the feeling that a trophy would be high on his agenda. Everton haven't won anything since the FA Cup win in 1995, and will have two domestic and one European trophy to go for next season. Trying to break the 'Big Four's dominance in the league would also be an ambition, but that would require a lot more funding than perhaps is available to the manager. In terms of the squad, they are pretty solid all over the park. Tim Howard has put his nightmare spell at Old Trafford well and truly behind him while Jagielka, Yobo and Lescott have provided a difficult to break down defence. The creativity of Cahill and Arteta in midfield, along with Yakubu's finishing, is very strong. More strength in depth would help the club compete in all competitions, and if Yakubu was to get injured, is there a striker able to take his place? Andy Johnson hasn't been as prolific as he can be, while Victor Anichebe and James Vaughn are young and still learning at this level. If they keep hold of their key players, Everton will be as tough as ever to beat come next season.

Player Of The Season: Phil Jagielka