We’re all going on a European tour……

Newcastle United are becoming one of my favourite teams in the Premier League. Yesterday, Everton defeated the Geordies 3-1 to claim 5th spot and a UEFA Cup place, while in 2005 a 2-0 victory over the same opposition, at home, on the final day secured 4th spot and a shot at the Champions League. Yep, the Toon seem to be a lucky charm for the Toffees.

And its a deserved finish for David Moyes’ team and an achievement that fully merits its own post on my blog. As an Evertonian, I am absolutely thrilled that the Blues can dig the passports out once again and hopefully the team can go one further in Europe than they did this season, when they suffered penalty heartbreak against Fiorentina.

Overall its been a very good season for the People’s Club, but one which did have some low points. I’ll reflect on those shortly, but let us rejoice in the positivity reverberating around Goodison at the moment, which goes all the way back to the summer.

The Blues had had a terrific season last season, finishing 6th and thus entering the UEFA Cup. The summer arrivals of Steven Pienaar, Phil Jagielka and £11.25 million record signing Yakubu from Middlesbrough sent a message to the rest of the league that Moyesey’s boys meant business and aimed to consolidate themselves as consistent European challengers.

The season started well enough, with 3 wins and a draw from their opening 6 matches. But the season could have been so different had a cold October night in Ukraine gone differently. Everton were sluggish in their UEFA Cup first round 2nd leg against Metalist Kharkiv, and at one point looked set for elimination. But goal machine centre back Joleon Lescott, James McFadden and young player of the year Victor Anichebe rode to the rescue to send the Toffees through and start what would prove to be a memorable European run.

League form continued to be good and although they were robbed by some blatantly shocking decisions by Mark Clattenberg in the 2-1 reverse to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby, such as Lescott being wrestled to the ground in the box, the Blues began an assault on 4th and Champions League qualification.

In November, myself and some friends took in our first Everton games of the season at Goodison and we watched on as the Blues roared to victory over Birmingham, thanks to Yakubu, a stunning Lee Carsley strike and another from James Vaughan, both of which were in the final minute.

The Blues continued to bubble along nicely and a highlight was a 7-1 thrashing of Roy Keane’s Sunderland, with Yakubu notching 2 more on the way to 21 goals for the season.

Progress continued in Europe, smoothly winning their UEFA Cup group to reach the last 32, while the club also reached the Carling Cup semi finals. One of the disappointments of Moyes’ reign has been performance in the domestic cups, but the Blues went into the semi final first leg with Chelsea confident and backed by 6,000 fans in London.

They fell behind, but Yakubu equalised after Jon-Obi Mikel was sent off but disaster struck as Lescott scored an injury time own goal. Chelsea won the Goodison return 1-0 to end the dream and break Evertonian hearts.

More heartache would follow in the UEFA Cup last 16 as Everton dominated Fiorentina but could only win 2-0 in the 2nd leg to level the aggregate at 2-2 before losing the subsequent penalty shoot out. The Italians would reach the semi final, to lose to shock troops Rangers.

It was more shock and dismay that could best sum up Everton’s short lived FA Cup run. Possibly the lowest point of the season, a Gary MacDonald goal gave League One Oldham Athletic a stunning win at Goodison and sent the home side to another humilating defeat, adding to the likes of Shrewsbury Town and Tranmere Rovers.

In March we were back watching Everton win, this time 1-0 at Sunderland in a scrappy performance but a hallmark of the Everton team- they have a great ability to grind out a result when not at their best. And it was proven that day.

In the end, the pursuit of Liverpool for 4th place fell towards the final hurdle, not helped by the loss of key man Tim Cahill through injury. Despite late pressure from Aston Villa, Everton hung on and clinched continental competition for the 3rd time in 4 seasons.

Its been a remarkable turnaround under Moyes. When he took over, the club were constantly flirting with relegation. He came in, made them safe and while in season 2003/2004 they finished 17th, its been finishing in the upper reaches all the way. The board deserve credit for sticking with him even through some sticky times, such as when the Toffees struggled in the first half of 2005/2006, which included a 5-1 aggregate drubbing by Dinamo Bucharest in the UEFA Cup.

And to the players. Many questioned whether Yakubu would be worth the money Moyes paid, but its easy to see why he shelled it out. The Nigerian is strong, has quick feet, good pace, brings team-mates into play and knows where the goal is. Mikel Arteta has had another fine season, while Tim Cahill, Lee Carsley and Leon Osman continue to be important players.

Steven Pienaar has excited and impressed down the flank and I was delighted when he signed permanantly from Borussia Dortmund. But the main man for me has been at the back, and that man is Joleon Lescott. While Joey Yobo and Phil Jagielka have had good seasons, Lescott has been sensational. Deservedly an England international and part of Fabio Capello’s plans, the former Wolves man has grown in stature and his cultured and solid defensive play saw him awarded the Everton Player of the Year award. He also netted 10 goals, a remarkable total for a centre back.

So, Europe beckons once more. And I’ll end this long piece with a reference back to Newcastle United. Kevin Keegan, a man who I greatly admire, said “If Everton can finish fifth, why can’t we? We have a bigger stadium and more fans, but they all play for each other and that’s the spirit we don’t have.”

More fans and a bigger ground doesn’t mean you should get success. Newcastle as a club have done nothing of note since 1969 when they won the Fairs Cup, aside from blowing the league in 95/96 and disgracefully sacking the legend that is Sir Bobby Robson. Newcastle need to come away from this big club mentality and mould a team of grafters and build around it. Moyes has done that, and Everton are now one of the strongest clubs in England.

But, I’ll sign off this post with simply- We’re all going on a European tour. Come on you Blues.