January

Following a stuttering start to the 2011/12 campaign, David Moyes' men went into the New Year 10th in the Barclays Premier League table with few predicting a 2012 to savour.

How wrong they would be. January would in fact set the tone for all that was to follow - one evening at the very end of the month proving critical to a remarkable and somewhat typical turnaround in form.

On an unforgettable night at Goodison Park, the Blues defeated would-be champions Manchester City, unveiled a new superstar striker and welcomed home a cherished former son.

The arrivals of Nikica Jelavic from Glasgow Rangers and Steven Pienaar on loan from Tottenham completed a productive January shopping spree which had also brought in Darron Gibson and seen Landon Donovan return for a second spell on loan from LA Galaxy. 

Leaving Goodison Park were winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and striker Louis Saha, while the month also saw FA Cup wins over Tamworth and Fulham and Tim Howard lob Bolton’s Adam Bogdan from inside his own box to become one of the unlikeliest scorers in the Club's 134-year history.