A Royal Blue Monday

When David Moyes finally finished his window shopping in September we all took a step back to assess the strength of the squad.

I don't know about you but I thought then, and still do now, that this is the best squad Everton have had since the late 80s and one that is more than capable of challenging for that magic 4th place.

I felt like pulling my hair out therefore when results went against us early on and the players dropped like flies - it took us until about November before we could actually name a bench that wasn't all kids from the Academy. Baz the physio must have have aged 10 years over the past six month he's been that busy.

But while we were floundering at the foot of the table Liverpool's woes put 'the race for fourth' firmly in the media spotlight. I found myself getting wound up as the press continually talked about Spurs, City and Villa - conveniently forgetting that we had finished above them all for the past two seasons and are the only side to break the big 4 monopoly since 2003.

But we had no choice but to sit on our hands and bite our tongues, impatiently waiting for the casualty list to clear up, hoping that the season wouldn't be over by the time it did.

We ran it pretty close, but going into formidable February with Arteta back in the ranks as well as Ancheibe, Donovan, Osman and Pienaar, the Everton we all knew and loved began to return.

The turning point I feel was the Arsenal game. Before then we had been slowly improving but were playing poor sides we should be beating anyway. But by matching one of the best sides in the country it gave the players the belief could compete with the division's best once more.

We have steadily improved from there and baffling aberrations against Liverpool and Birmingham aside, the Blues have been building up to a performance like Saturday all year.

A solid defence has always been the hallmark of David Moyes' teams and the quintet of Howard, Heitinga, Baines, Neville and Distin is no different. But it is the midfield that is the key for me. We no longer pack it with scrappy battlers and bruise brothers anymore.Yes the 100% commitment and passion is still there but our midfield now matches that with as much skill and finesse as any side in the country.

Pienaar and Arteta we know about, but special praise needs to go to Leon Osman and Landon Donovan. Osman isn't everyone's favourite player and I agree his lightweight frame means he is often pushed off the ball too easily. But when he is allowed to play, as he was on Saturday, he can be a real threat and deservedly picked up the man-of-the-match award.

Donovan meanwhile has been a fantastic signing by Moyes. He is the sort of player the ginger one loves to have in his squad. Bags of skill but perhaps lacks the confidence to show what he can do on the biggest stage - his failure at Leverkusen last year a case in point. But under Moyes' guidance he has become a key figure in the Blues side and I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping Bill can find some spare cash behind his sofa somewhere to make the deal permanent.

Let's not forget Billy, who plays like Kevin Sheedy one minute, Gareth Farrelly the next, but has it in him to score goals like he did on Saturday week in, week out. It's not been a bad first season so far, but with a full pre-season behind him I think we could have ourselves a special player on our hands.

The final word has to go to the two youngsters - Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell. I still think there are question marks over whether Gosling can make it as a Premiership player. But his winner over Liverpool last season will give him plenty of slack from the Toffees faithful and he can argue he has been thrown in the deep end a little bit given our injuries this season. If used properly from now until the end of the season we could see him develop as a player still further.

As for Rodders, well the secret is well and truly out now. We have known this kid is the real deal for a few years now but that goal on Saturday has really got the football world talking. I'm personally delighted for him as he must have been down after his role in the disastrous Sporting goal in midweek, but it is testament to his character that he rose above it and scored a famous goal that we will replay again and again.

The sight of the TV cameras shaking to the beat of 40,000 bouncing Evertonians celebrating a goal always makes my hair on the back of my neck stand up. Goodison is truly a special place at times like that and Rodwell's goal will sit alongside the likes of Arteta's against Fiorentina, Duncan's against United in '05 and '95, and the Carsley and Johnson derbies.

My only hope is that this isn't the high water mark of our season and we take advantage of this momentum to fight our way back into European contention and progress in the Europa League - a trip in Hamburg in May would finish my season off nicely.