May

Away from the issue of Champions League qualification, Everton Ladies meet Charlton Athletic in the FA Women's Cup Final. They lose by a single goal. However, there is joy for the Academy who win the Liverpool Senior Cup and the T-Mobile trophy in Austria in the space of five days.

Tim Cahill wins his race to be fit and scores the second goal as Everton all but assure fourth spot in a well-deserved victory over Newcastle. Bolton's 1-1 draw at Portsmouth means that they are out of the Champions League race and all eyes are on Liverpool's fixture at Highbury. Arsenal win by three goals to one, confirming Everton's place in next season's Champions League.

It's also Everton's highest top-flight finish since 1988 and the first time they have finished above Liverpool since for 18 years. A beaming David Moyes says: "It feels great. It's been a long haul and it's been terrific getting there. I'm really delighted with it now. I did feel that Liverpool and Bolton were pushing us really hard and there was an awful lot of confidence coming out of Liverpool about who was the best team in the city.

"I felt under pressure but I never said that we had got the best players. I felt we had a good team and though we had a small squad if we could keep them all fit I thought we would have a chance. To do it is a dream come true, it's a massive achievement for Everton Football Club. There is no denying that Everton are the best team in the city this season."

However, that pride takes a dent when Arsenal inflict Everton's heaviest defeat in over half a century, with the Blues on the wrong end of a 0-7 thrashing. The manager describes the end result as an 'embarrassment.'

The season ends with a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Bolton Wanderers at The Reebok Stadium but despite the result no-one could argue that the players hadn't given their all this season.