Recently by Barry Horne

EVERTON restored some pride and some hope after the disappointing result against West Brom with a spirited showing in the capital.

I was delighted for Jermaine Beckford and even though his equalising goal against Chelsea was a fairly routine finish, hopefully it will give him a confidence boost and, as I wrote last week, will mean a run of starts which is all I believe he needs to get himself in the groove.

I must admit I couldn't help smiling to myself watching last Saturday's Match of the Day programme, when the pundits were talking about a particular player as if they had just discovered a new talent.

ALTHOUGH David Moyes' comments regarding Portsmouth's intention to apply for a place in Europe next year were made when Everton still had an outside chance of clinching seventh spot, they were clearly not made from a selfish point of view.

His comments were considered and made in a more general context.

Portsmouth failed to make an application in the allotted time, which is sufficient reason to rule them out.

THE two points dropped at Wolverhampton were an obvious setback in the race for a European spot but the situation is not terminal.

I thought Everton played superbly well in patches and had enough chances to win several games.

Rivals Aston Villa appear to have hit something of a brick wall and there seems to be some uncertainty as to the future of their talismanic leader Martin O'Neill.

I WAS fortunate enough to be at the Adelphi Hotel on Thursday night as part of the 1995 FA Cup winners reunion dinner.

It was a tribute to that great Evertonian Joe Royle.

David Moyes was kind enough to attend along with current stars Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines who picked up the young player and player of the year awards.

MANAGER David Moyes has spoken about his determination to ensure there are no departures from Everton this summer.

Considering the value and age of the current squad, it's no surprise that he's keen to keep them all together and make a couple of acquisitions.

When you compare the squad now to what Moyes inherited it's a huge improvement.

AFTER Everton's poor showing in Lisbon our season is effectively over.

Nevertheless I still think it's been a great year for the club and David Moyes and the players have done absolutely great.

If you look at the state of some clubs' debt Everton have done fantastically given their early season difficulties.

I WAS unable to get to Goodison Park on Tuesday night but believe a good performance against Sporting Lisbon was marred by a sloppy final 10 minutes.

Nevertheless, at 2-1 up, we are still in a good position in the Europa League tie.

While the task to qualify for the last 16 is now less than straightforward, it is by no means impossible.

I was as disappointed as anyone with the result at Anfield last Saturday - not just with the scoreline, but with the sense that, just as at Goodison, we actually deserved to get something out of the game.

But what a wonderful reaction four days later, to once again raise the spirits - and typically at an evening game.

I always say that Goodison Park under the floodlights is one of the best atmospheres to play in front of . . . anywhere.

I AM fortunate enough to occasionally work for BSkyB on their Champions League, international, La Liga and Football First coverage..

On Wednesday, however, I was given the opportunity to be part of a full dress rehearsal for their inaugural 3D presentation.

I turned up at Goodison Park somewhat sceptical. I am a confirmed technophobe and always the last buy into the latest techno- logical advance, so I expected a gimmicky offering.

IT was another fantastic day to be an Evertonian last Saturday watching Everton, as I had hoped, start the game brilliantly and totally overwhelm an expensively assembled Manchester City team.

David Moyes was very brave to speak honestly and openly about his feelings over the Joleon Lescott affair.

If Manchester City had won much would have been made by the post-match media and the manager ran the risk of looking churlish.