Recently by Hannah Bargery

There have been times in the past when Lady Luck has been blamed for Everton's poor cup runs. Justifiably so when draws in the past have thrown up Chelsea and Arsenal. However this season we have done things the hard way and still managed to succeed.
With eight goals and four penalties, each from a different goal scorer, seeing us through to Wembley, this cup run has well and truly been a team effort.

A YOUNG Everton Reserves side marked their last game at the Stobart Stadium this season with a much-deserved three points.

The result ended a nine-match winless streak which had begun in the reverse fixture in 2008.

The Latics won 2-1 back in November and with regular reserve players missing and three youngsters making their debuts, the odds were in favour of a similar result.

However, Everton's attacking play proved to be as relentless as the torrential rain in the first half as they dominated the game.

EVERTON midfielder Marouane Fellaini has disappointed his wig-wearing followers after swapping his giant afro for braids.

The big-haired star enjoyed a cult following, with hundreds of fans sporting Fellaini-style wigs at matches - but they were surprised to see the Belgian run out with a new hair do for the Blues' 3-1 win over Stoke City at the weekend.

Market stalls in the city centre and around Goodison saw sales of wigs increase since his goal against Middlesbrough helped Everton reach the FA Cup semi-final, but they are not panicking over his change of hair just yet.

Last summer the papers were filled with our supposed transfer targets. So many, in fact, that a whole starting XI of missed opportunities was put together by fansite Bluekipper. Despite the disappointment of supposedly 'missing out' on numerous players, however, it's nice to see today we had at least one lucky escape in the summer.

It's never easy being an Evertonian. It's the reason Brian Labone described each one of us as worth 20 kopites. However if ever fans have had to endure a succession of ups and downs then it was the rollercoaster year of 2008.

From the lows of being knocked out of the FA Cup and Carling Cup at the start of the year to the high of feeling invincible against European opponents after the 6-1 thrashing of SK Brann. A couple of loop-the-loops followed against Man City and Portsmouth, before fans were left feeling sicker than a six year old on the Big One in Blackpool after a stomach churning night against Fiorentina. From that point the once unstoppable runaway train chugged home to the finish line before one last rush of excitement as we secured our place in Europe next season.