By Chris Kirwan
May 12 2003

The loss to Manchester United ensured that the season finished with disappointment for the Blues. Nonetheless the 2002-2003 season has been a fantastic one for all Evertonians.

While the likes of Houllier and Wenger harp on about deserving to finish higher in the league, you ultimately deserve to finish exactly where you are after 38 games, so Blackburn deserved to pip us to sixth spot. While it can be argued that we did beat them home and away, Blackburn picked up more points from the top sides, and sneaked ahead of us thanks to their superior midfield. It’s never a good situation when you have to rely on Tottenham to get you a European spot.

The disappointment of missing out on Europe is undeniable, but it is hard not to feel proud of a bunch of average players who have punched above their weight. The real beauty is that Moyes isn’t just getting the average players to over-perform, but he is genuinely improving them as players. Moyes himself stated: “They are probably the most improved squad in the Premiership”.

There is genuine hope that the Blues can go on from what they have reached this season. With a little bit of tinkering in the summer hopefully the Blues finish one or two places higher next year. If Moyes can continue to develop the current crop, while replacing a bit of the dead wood with some midfielders with creative capacity, then there is no reason why next season will not be a pleasing as this year.

After the frustration of being beaten to European football, it is refreshing to know that we don’t have a manager who is prepared to sit smugly on what he has achieved. The intense ginger genius is already planning towards next year:

“Most pundits would probably have predicted a bottom six position for Everton at the start of the season and we may well have exceeded supporters' expectations.

“The players haven't exceeded mine though and having now proved what they are capable of, they now have to sustain it and continue to carry this club forward.''

While other clubs may have managers that believe they are only a couple of players away from launching themselves from their plateau towards the league title, Everton have a manager who knows exactly what faces him and who realises the constraints that he has to work against. If Moyes can be given a little bit of money to buy the players he wants, combined with return of key figures like Pistone and Radzinski then we may well have another season without relegation fears.

Let the tabloid rumours commence……