Review of Season 2015/16With our ten month journey at an end the time has arrived to review the story of our season. It has often been turbulent, it has often been disappointing but for those of us who live and breathe Everton Football Club the season will be remembered for its drama and ultimate despair.

Pre-seasonThe summer months were dominated by the transfer speculation surrounding John Stones who was the subject of several bids by Chelsea. The first publicised offer was £20m. Our club rejected that and the subsequent offers which peaked at a reported £38m in the final week of the transfer window when Stones submitted a written request. That request was refused much to our great relief.

Rather than lose key players fans were desperately hoping the squad would be strengthened. The welcome early deals saw Tom Cleverley join on a Bosman deal from Manchester United and Gerard Deulofeu return on a permanent contract for a fee of £4m. We waited until deadline day to see further additions in the form of Ramiro Funes Mori from River Plate in Argentina for £9.5m, Leandro Rodriguez from River Plate in Uruguay for a token £500k and Aaron Lennon on a permanent deal from Spurs for £4.5m. All in all it could be said the club's business was sound if not spectacular.

The pre-season games saw the team in better form than in the previous summer when they failed to win a single match. This time round they enjoyed victories at Swindon (4-0), in Singapore versus Stoke (0-0, 5-4 on penalties), at Hearts (3-1) and at Dundee (2-0). They suffered defeats in Singapore versus Arsenal (1-3) and in the last two games at Leeds (0-2) and at Goodison in Duncan Ferguson's testimonial versus our old foes Villarreal (1-2). All these games provided indications of an adjustment in the playing style with a more direct approach being employed compared to the first two years under Roberto's management. That was to be commended but there were residual concerns about our defensive capability.

Early Season Optimism Those defensive concerns increased on the eve of the season with the news that Leighton Baines had suffered a recurrence of his ankle problem and would require a second operation ruling him out of the opening four months of the campaign. Brendan Galloway replaced him for our opening game at home to newly promoted Watford. The programme for the opening ten games looked tough and this match was seen almost as a make or break fixture. With a clutch of signings from

abroad the newcomers showed real energy in taking the lead twice before being pegged back by equalisers first from Barkley and then substitute Kone scoring his first goal for our club two injury hit years after his transfer. A home draw was not the best of starts but it hardly justified the outbreak of doom and gloom which descended on some of the faithful. We certainly needed a good performance and result the following week in the Saturday lunchtime visit to St Mary's. Two

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great first half goals from Lukaku and a late clincher from Barkley put the 3,000 or so travelling fans in raptures. The 3-0 victory not only reversed the scoreline from the previous season but also gave supporters some hope we might enjoy a decent season.

The third game of the campaign saw a rampant Manchester City visit Goodison for our first Sunday televised game. Although our boys played reasonably well City proved too strong scoring two second half goals to maintain their 100% start. After that we needed a lift in the league cup tie at Barnsley. Given the absence of any European adventures this season the domestic cups were seen as a priority and a potential source of the long awaited piece of silverware craved by our fans. Delays on the M1 resulted in many of the 5,000 travelling fans missing the start. On the pitch a much changed team, including that blur of red faced earnestness and wrong decisions, Aiden McGeady, found themselves 2-0 in deficit by the interval. Deulofeu replaced the Republic of Ireland international who as it turned out, had kicked his last ball for our team at least for this season. With Ross, Geri, Lukaku, Naismith and Mirallas all featuring in a five man attack a storming comeback saw the Blues take a 3-2 lead with goals from Mirallas, Naismith and Lukaku before immediately conceding an equaliser from the Tykes. So the game went to extra time when an o.g. and a second from Lukaku took us through to the third round. The attacking display after halftime was commendable but the concession of three goals to an average, if hard working, League One outfit, spoke large of our defensive issues.

Three days later we were at White Hart Lane for a Saturday tea-time Sky televised fixture against a Spurs team widely fancied for the top four. They and Harry Kane had started the season slowly and the 0-0 scoreline was not a bad outcome for both teams. The match was notable for a first Premier League rendition of 'Money Can't Buy You Stones'. It was heard again after the international break when we hosted Chelsea and the hated Mourinho in another televised fixture, this time on Saturday lunchtime. The Pensioners had endured an appalling start to their defence of the Premier League title. The day belonged to Steven Naismith, that model professional who enjoyed his finest game in our colours. Starting on the bench he was introduced after nine minutes when Mo Besic pulled up with a hamstring injury. Soon he had scored two goals, the first with his head from a Galloway cross and the second from a left footed grass cutter past the diving Begovic. Although Matic pulled one back with a long range rocket before halftime it was Naismith who sealed the points in the second half when he completed the perfect hat trick with a low right foot finish inside the far post. Although we were not to realise it at the time that proved to be the final goal of Steven's Everton career. The win certainly lifted morale among fans, giving substance to the quiet optimism felt by this scribe.

The following week took us to the always pleasant Liberty Stadium where we kept a clean sheet against Garry Monk's team. Unfortunately we were unable to drive on for the victory which many felt was there for the taking. Nevertheless an away point maintained a mini unbeaten run and with nine points from six games progress could be regarded as solid if not exactly breathtaking. On the Tuesday we took another trip south, this time to Reading for a third round League Cup tie. As at Barnsley we had a large travelling contingent of over 4,500 fans. With Gareth Barry starting on the bench we witnessed a poor, disjointed performance in the first half. Losing 1-0 at the break, Martinez made the obvious decision to introduce the former England man. Suddenly our performance had cohesion from back to front. Barkley hammered the equaliser

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from just inside the box before Deulofeu scored the winner from an excellent free kick. The game served to emphasise our heavy dependency on the fitness and form of Barry who fortunately was enjoying a good start to the season.

With optimism still quiet but building among fans we had a five day break before travelling to the Hawthorns for yet another televised fixture, this time on a Monday evening. Owing to traffic and an M6 diversion the coaches did not arrive until just before kick off. We need not have worried about missing any significant action but the game came to life just before halftime when Funes Mori was caught in possession and Albion took the lead through Saido Berahino. The task of retrieving a one goal deficit against a Pulis team looked formidable so when Dawson scored a second with a free header direct from a corner five minutes into the second half nobody would have given us a prayer of saving the game. What followed was as surprising as it was pleasing. Within a minute we pulled one back when Romelu headed in an early cross from Deulofeu. Then Kone found space in the area to fire a tidy finish in front of the delighted away fans. The comeback was completed seven minutes from the end when Romelu tapped in a close range finish following another excellent delivery by Deulofeu. Pulis was delightfully distraught as were the Albion supporters. For our club it was the first 3-2 win from two goals down in the league since the Wimbledon salvation game in 1994. It was a great way to end September and took our unbeaten run to six games in all competitions.

With optimism as high as it would reach this season our next opponents were the despised RS on a Sunday afternoon at Goodison. With Brendan Rodgers under pressure we were widely tipped to win our first derby in five years. It was not to be. Indeed the visitors took a first half lead from a poorly defended corner and we were grateful to grab a quick equaliser though Romelu. Thereafter we adopted a cautious approach, only coming to life in the final minutes when Seamus forced a decent save from Mignolet. The prevailing sentiment was that an opportunity to record a rare win against our neighbours had gone begging. Within hours we learned that Rodgers had been relieved of his duties with Jurgen Klopp the strong favourite to replace him.

After the October international break we returned to Goodison for a rare Saturday 3.00 p.m. kick off against Manchester United, another big club struggling to return to former glories. The match was overshadowed however by the morning news that our greatest ever manager and one of our greatest players, the much loved Howard Kendall had passed away that morning at the age of 69. The football world shared our grief. During the pre-match minute of applause one thought of the many great moments he had given us especially in the mid eighties when our club was at its zenith. If our team was affected by the atmosphere, United certainly were not as they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 win. It was our worst performance of the season to date.

The following Saturday took us to the Emirates on a wet Saturday evening for a televised fixture against an Arsenal team with genuine title ambitions. Our defensive vulnerability was exposed with two quick fire goals in the first half from Giroud and Koscielny. As both came from crosses Tim Howard was seen as the principal culprit by many fans although our central defenders did not escape their share of culpability. We gave ourselves a lifeline when Barkley scored with a deflected effort just before halftime but despite applying pressure in the final twenty minutes we were unable to grab an equaliser. The loss of three points was compounded by the loss of Jagielka with an ankle injury. He would be absent and sorely missed for over two months.

The final game in October was a midweek home clash with Norwich in the League Cup in front of a crowd of 31,000, an attendance boosted no doubt by the lower prices in a school midterm holiday week. With a much changed team which included Osman and Robles we struggled to build any momentum on a night of total mediocrity. We fell behind when Bassong scored six minutes into the second half. It fell to Ossie to equalise in the Street End in the 68th minute and in so doing reach a notable career milestone. He had scored a goal for the club in each of thirteen consecutive seasons. Only Jack Taylor and Dixie Dean have bettered that with goals in fourteen seasons. We needed a great performance by Robles to stay in the competition. One of his saves at the Park End when he clawed away a Grabban header was quite spectacular. The night got even better for

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Joel when he saved from Wes Hoolahan in the penalty competition which our team won 4-3, our successful kicks coming from Deulofeu, Barkley, Lukaku and Gibbson. One came away with the thought that now might be the time to give Robles a run in league fixtures; however Roberto quickly scotched such a notion by reaffirming that Howard was the first choice goalkeeper. Many, if not most fans would have taken issue with the manager on that one.

Mid Season Wobbles - The Curse of Added Time

Having negotiated the opening ten league games of the campaign we sat in eleventh place with thirteen points. This was less than we had hoped for but we could now look forward to a fixture list which appeared on paper more promising than that for the opening three months when we had faced all of the previous season's top eight teams. Struggling Sunderland, now managed by Sam Allardyce, were the Sunday afternoon visitors to Goodison. We raced into what looked like a comfortable two goal lead with goals from Deulofeu and Kone within the first thirty minutes. Then in a portent of what was to follow in subsequent games we threw away that lead with the visitors scoring either side of the interval courtesy of Defoe and Fletcher. At this stage Sunderland, victorious in their previous two visits, somewhat lost their heads chasing a win. That left them open to counter attacks, which suited our team's play. Thus did we run away with the game scoring four second half goals from a Coates own goal, Lukaku, and two more from Kone to win by an unlikely 6-2 scoreline. The equally unlikely hat trick from the butt of many jokes, Arouna Kone gave the Ivorian undoubtedly his finest hour in a royal blue shirt.

Our next game saw us visit Allardyce's former charges, West Ham, resurgent under their new boss, Slaven Bilic. In our final league visit to the Boleyn Ground the Hammers took a first half lead through Lanzini but Romelu equalised two minutes before the break when a brilliant through ball from Deulofeu enabled him to go round Adrian and slot home. McCarthy earned the wrath of the West Ham hierarchy when he caught Payet with a challenge which cost one of the season's outstanding players a few weeks on the injury list. Despite controlling much of the second half we were unable to gain a win but a draw was by no

means a bad result against a decent team. After another irritating international break we returned to Goodison to face bottom of the league Aston Villa who had recently appointed Remi Garde. In what was arguably our easiest game of the season Romelu and Barkley each notched two goals in a routine 4-0 win. With the team nicely placed at seventh in the table the quiet optimism of the early months of the season seemed fully justified at this stage.

A first league visit to Dean Court to tackle newly promoted Bournemouth on the final Saturday of November proved to be one of the landmark games of the season for all the wrong reasons. On a windy afternoon our team withstood early pressure from the home team before racing into a two goal lead. Funes Mori scored the first from a corner and Romelu added a neat second from another assist by Deulofeu. At half time we looked reasonably comfortable and hoped a third goal would see off the home team. Bournemouth with a strong wind

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behind them threw everything at us to such an extent that we began to see a third goal as essential rather than desirable. We spurned a couple of opportunities, including one from McCarthy who elected to pass instead of shooting. It was the loss of McCarthy to a hip injury in the 70th minute which proved pivotal. We were now being overrun in midfield to such an extent that a Bournemouth goal seemed more likely than not. It came in the 80 minute from a cracking long range shot by Adam Smith. Having conceded one goal a second became inevitable and it duly arrived three minutes from the end of normal time when Stanislas scored at the near post.

With six minutes added on by Mr Friend the question was whether or not we see the game out for a point. What happened next will never be forgotten. Our team suddenly rediscovered their attacking instincts and poured forward in search of a goal. Unbelievably we got it with just over a minute of added time left when Barkley's jabbed effort rolled over the line to spark memorable celebrations in front of the ecstatic away fans some of whom ran on the pitch. Of course the referee, Mr Friend, was obliged to add more time for the celebrations and during that time Bournemouth launched a final attack down our right flank. The ball came over for Stanislas to nod home another equaliser to spark untold ecstasy in the home stands. As Rob Halligan observed leaving the ground 3-3 felt worse than 2-2. It felt like a defeat. Although the celebrations were criticised the truth of the matter was we had been punished for failing to control the play from the last restart. One wondered what damage the result and the manner of it would have on the team. Subsequent weeks would give us the answer.

It was back to League Cup action in the following midweek with a trip to Middlesbrough, firm promotion candidates from the Championship. We anticipated a tough game but again had 5,000 travelling fans to shout the team through. Deulofeu scored after a mazy dribble down the middle and minutes later crossed for Romelu to convert with a fine header. Both goals came in the middle of the first half so there were inevitable questions about how we would manage to hold the lead. In the event we restricted the home team to a few long range shots to which Robles proved equal.With confidence restored we looked forward to a Monday evening televised fixture against Crystal Palace who had made a very good start to the season under Alan Pardew. We needed the three points but had no luck on a night when we hit the woodwork three times. Indeed we fell behind to a Scott Dann header with fourteen minutes left before Romelu grabbed an equaliser from close range at the Street End. We came away with the feeling this was another performance which merited more than a draw but had a nagging concern about our inability to eke out any narrow wins in matches between evenly matched teams.

The following Saturday took us to Carrow Road for another televised Saturday lunchtime fixture against Norwich. On a rainy day in Norfolk our team pulverised a poor home team in a first half of total dominance. Romelu scored one goal with a header but could have had at least a hat trick. Other chances went begging so we arrived at the interval with only a 1-0 lead when it should have been at least 4-0. We paid for our profligacy

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in the first minute of the second half conceding yet another goal from a corner. Thereafter what had looked an easy game became increasingly difficult with play flowing from end to end. By the final whistle we were relieved to settle for a point. On the interminable journey home we reflected on the team's inability to see off a team which looked, in this scribe's opinion, certainties for relegation.

With our team struggling to create any momentum we returned to Goodison for the visit of a team which had created plenty in this season of surprises, Leicester City, now managed by the wily Claudio Ranieri. On another wet day, the last Saturday before Christmas, we played an attacking lineup with Deulofeu wide on the right. That proved to be a mistake. Leicester took the lead with first half penalty after Funes Mori was outpaced and penalised for a shove inside the box. Although Romelu quickly equalised we were constantly struggling to contain Leicester's breakaway attacks. After withstanding our early second half onslaught, the Foxes won a second penalty when Vardy connected with Howard's outstretched arm. Mahrez did the rest. Within minutes the Foxes had a clinical third goal from Okasaki and although Mirallas pulled a goal back in the final minutes it was too little too late. The way Leicester players and supporters celebrated at the final whistle indicated how important they viewed their 3-2 win in the chase for a Champions League slot. The season would of course get even better for them. It would get a lot worse for our club.

Boxing Day took us north to St James' Park for a tea time fixture against a team at the wrong end of the table. The game was poor fare for the BT Sport audience but for once in the final seconds of time added on it was our team which grabbed the winner with a long range header from Tom Cleverley. Geordie hearts were broken but how we celebrated! Two days later we were at home to Stoke City fresh from a 2-0 Boxing Day win over Manchester United. Not for the first time this season we started slowly allowing Shaqiri to give the visitors an early lead. Again not for the first time this season we snatched a quick equaliser from Lukaku before Shacqiri scored a second with a remarkable lobbed effort into the Street End. In the second half we took charge of the game scoring two goals through Lukaku and Deulofeu. With eight minutes left we led 3-2. Unfortunately our soft centre was well and truly exposed as our poor game management was again in evidence. Stoke equalised through substitute Joselu and then in the final minute of time added on Stones, who was suffering a mid season dip in form, was penalised for a foul inside the six yard box. Arnautovic converted the spot kick to earn three points for Mark Hughes's side. Having led so late in the game a 4-3 defeat was hard to take for fans who at the halfway stage of the season had seen only three wins at Goodison and now two successive defeats on home turf.

Morale among fans was not enhanced by the prospect of some tough fixtures after the turn of the year. First up at Goodison on the Sunday after New Year were the high flying Tottenham Hotspur. This game at last saw the emergence of Aaron Lennon who had rarely featured since his permanent transfer on the final day of the summer transfer window. Lennon it was who gave our team an early lead with a cracking shot into the Park End net. The good work in a decent first half performance was undone just before the break when Deli Ali latched on to a long pass down the middle for a poked finish past Tim Howard. In the end the two teams cancelled each other out, seemingly content to share the spoils.

In a very busy period which would stretch the depth of the squad, we now welcomed Manchester City for the first leg of the League Cup Semi Final. With Besic in midfield our team played a vibrant game pushing City all the way in a night full of end to end action. Funes Mori gave us a deserved first half lead with a fine left footed finish. In the second half we pushed hard for a second but instead naively conceded an away goal in the 76th minute when City broke away from our own corner to set up Navas for the equaliser. Pleasingly we struck back within two minutes when the excellent Barry crossed for a limping Lukaku to nod home at the Street End. That was the final score leaving the home crowd relieved that we had a 2-1 lead to take to Eastlands but doubtful it would be enough to take us through to the final.

After the challenge of playing City we had the relatively routine task of dealing with Dagenham and Redbridge in the third round of the FA Cup. The 92nd club in the professional league hierarchy brought 1800 noisy supporters but offered little resistance on the pitch as Kone and a late Mirallas

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penalty took us through. The fixtures were now coming thick and fast with a midweek league visit to Manchester City next up in a ridiculous schedule. Traffic delays on all the routes into Manchester caused the late arrival of many supporters including the Unholy Trinity of your scribe, Mr T and J. We did not miss any goals in the opening twenty minutes and indeed there were none to be witnessed in ninety as the two teams cancelled each other out. It was hard to resist the thought that a 0-0 draw would suit us nicely in the second leg of the semi final a fortnight later.

With no rest for the wicked we set off for Stamford Bridge on the Saturday for a renewal of our acquaintance with Guus Hiddinck who had brought some semblance of order to affairs at Chelsea after the debacle of Mourinho's final weeks. Expecting a tough game we were somewhat surprised early in the second half to take a 2-0 lead with a Terry own goal and a fine Mirallas finish. Once again however our defensive play let us down and two Chelsea goals in the 64th and 66th minutes brought the hosts level. After that we held our own until regaining the lead in the last seconds of normal time. As the players celebrated wildly in front of the visiting section the screen flashed 7

minutes of added time. That immediately set the alarm bells ringing for those of us with recent memories of Bournemouth. Just when it seemed we had seen the game through Deulofeu lost possession on the halfway line and a simple punt forward caused mayhem inside our box. Three Chelsea headers in a crowded area culminated in Terry tapping home in what turned out to be an offside position not spotted by the assistant referee. So a rare opportunity to record a win at the home of one of the former top four teams had been snatched away at the death. The disappointment was shared among supporters and players alike. The truth was that if Deulofeu had simply hoofed the ball towards

the corner flag the referee would have blown his whistle and the game would have been over. It was that lack of defensive application from front to back which had become the team's Achilles heel. Three successive draws in the league, albeit with decent performances against Spurs, City and Chelsea, meant we were losing contact with the top six and increasingly looking like a mid table team.

With a full week to rest and recuperate we reported to Goodison for the next home game, a Sunday lunchtime Sky televised game against Swansea City, in the expectation of an overdue win in front of our own fans. Our players looked up for it in the early stages as Besic fired a shot against the foot of the Park End post. Minutes later the Bosnian pulled up with another cursed hamstring strain which naturally would rule him out of the second leg of the League Cup Semi Final. Things were to get worse on the injury front when Mirallas went off with a calf strain after twenty five minutes. In the meantime the Swans took the lead on 17 minutes with a Siggardsson penalty after a dreadful mix up involving Stones and Howard which ended with our goalkeeper upending Ayew as he attempted to clear a back pass. Gareth Barry equalised with a neat flick direct from a corner and thereafter it was mainly one way traffic towards the visitors' goal but we always looked vulnerable to the counterattack. So it was that Ayew notched a second in the 34th minute. Faced with a massed rearguard we could not find a way through in the second half despite much huffing and puffing leaving the Swans to record their first ever league win against our club. The result reinforced the increasing concerns about our very poor home form. Many felt it might actually be to our advantage to play the second leg of the League Cup Semi Final away from Goodison.

With our club seemingly marooned in mid table that second leg now looked like our biggest game of the season to date. With both Besic and Mirallas missing, Osman and Deulofeu started in front of 7,292 travelling fans. We hardly dared hope for an early away goal but in the 18th minute Barkley pulled away in midfield to drive a brilliant low shot past the diving Caballero. With City now needing to score three we needed a period of defensive stability. Alas that was not to be. Within eight minutes Fernandinho latched on to a rebound to hammer a deflected shot over Robles and into the net. One felt we would now almost certainly need another goal but it never arrived. Instead it was City, with Aguero looking as deadly as ever, who launched a series of attacks on our back

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line with the woodwork coming to our rescue on two occasions. Their second came in the 70th minute when the officials failed to spot that Sterling had taken the ball over the byline before crossing for De Bruyne to slot into the net. After that one sensed we were clinging on for extra time. That proved a forlorn hope when Aguero nodded home a De Bruyne cross for what proved to be the winning goal in the 77th minute. In the end City had too much for us but they were undoubtedly the beneficiaries of a poor refereeing decision.

Losing a semi final is always hugely disappointing but we still had the other domestic cup competition in our sights as we made a Sunday morning trek up to Carlisle. The Cumbrians had recently returned to their Brunton Park ground after a lengthy absence owing to the local floods. The game had been selected for TV

coverage given the possibility of a giant killing. In the event we recorded a comfortable 3-0 win with early goals from Kone and Lennon before Barkley wrapped up the tie in the second half with another fine, albeit slightly deflected finish from outside the area. An away tie at Bournemouth was not the worst reward for the team's efforts.

Having played nine games in January there was a busy start to February beginning with a

Wednesday evening home fixture against the struggling Magpies. We needed to put a few wins on the board to avoid slipping into the relegation zone. Before the match Oumar Niasse our new £13.5m signing from Lokomotiv Moscow was introduced to the crowd. Robles, hitherto restricted to cup games, retained his place in goal owing to an injury to Tim Howard. Aaron Lennon's turn and

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finish put us ahead after 23 minutes but victory was not sealed until the closing minutes when two penalties from Barkley gave the scoreline a 3-0 gloss. His second was a Penenka chip. Those were our first penalties of the season. Like buses another arrived after ten minutes in our game at Stoke City the following Saturday. This time Romelu converted with a shot straight down the middle. With less than half an hour played we had a second goal from Seamus, who headed home straight from a corner for his first goal of the season. Just before the break Aaron Lennon made an interception just inside the Stoke half to race away and pass the ball beyond the reach of the despairing Butland. We had learned never to relax in this season of late collapses but Stoke never looked like repeating their comeback six weeks previously at Goodison.

If there was a sense that Roberto might be on the road to redemption, it was essential we gained a home win against West Brom, a club hovering perilously close to the relegation pack. With the visitors packing their defence, in typical Tony Pulis fashion, the last thing we needed was the concession of an early goal. After 13 minutes our hearts sank when Olsson won a near post header for the ball to loop into the far corner of the net via the chest of Rondon. After that we found it impossible to break through the Albion rearguard. The 0-1 reverse was a severe blow to our hopes of building some momentum in the league and further evidence of our woes at Goodison. We had failed to score a goal for the third successive season against these obdurate opponents.

It was now obvious the FA Cup offered the only hope of success and European qualification in a season which was in danger of petering away before March. Yet our away form was quite acceptable and gave us the hope we could deal with Bournemouth in the fifth round tie at Dean Court. We seemed in control of the game until the 36th minute when a hand ball by McCarthy presented the home team with a great opportunity to take the lead. Fortunately Robles rose to the occasion with a great save from the spot kick by Daniels. Early in the second half Barkley gave us the lead with a heavily deflected shot which spun high into the net in front of the joyful travelling

fans. Gareth Barry, with a neat back heeled flick, presented Lukaku with the second goal. On this occasion there was to be no late fight back from the Cherries as we managed the game to a comfortable conclusion. The draw for the quarter final would bring us back to Gooodison for a tie against Chelsea.

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The Final Weeks - The End of Hope

After a blank week owing to Liverpool's involvement in the League Cup final, the month of March began with the team returning fresh from a break in Dubai for a Tuesday evening match at relegation certainties, Aston Villa. Funes Mori gave us the lead after five minutes with a free header from a Mirallas corner. On the half hour Mirallas dashed down the left to lay on the second for Lennon, who was enjoying a mini goals rush at this point in the season. We sealed the points on the hour when Lukaku bundled the ball over the line after Funes Mori had retrieved the ball from a corner. Villa scored a consolation 11 minutes from the end via the head of Gestede, one of the many forgotten men at Villa Park.

At this stage of the season our away form had been above average with five wins, seven draws and just one defeat yielding 22 points from 13 games. Our home form was in marked contrast with only 16 points delivered from 14 games. With 38 points from 27 games we were safe from relegation but could we build some late respectability in the league while enjoying the FA Cup run?

That was the question as we reported to Goodison for a Saturday afternoon fixture against relatively high flying West Ham. We expected a close game but started well with a goal after 13 minutes when Lukaku turned his defender brilliantly before slotting home. Unfortunately by the half hour mark Mirallas, desperately keen to force his way into the team, received two yellow cards and a red from Mr Taylor. Despite that we managed to control the play before Lennon exchanged passes with Lukaku on his way to scoring a great second goal ten minutes into the second half. That gave us a cushion which might have been made even more comfortable when we were awarded a penalty on 68 minutes. That proved to be one of the turning points in the game. Lukaku telegraphed his spot kick which was easily saved by Adrian. West Ham proceeded to launch a series of attacks with Andy Carroll deployed as the spearhead. On 75 minutes Roberto made the strangest substitution yet in this season of so many debatable decisions. He brought on Niasse for Lennon, at a stroke reducing our midfield to Besic and McCarthy who were both struggling to contain West Ham's lively midfield with Payet and Noble dictating matters. With twelve minutes left they pulled a goal back with a header from Antonio and on 81 minutes the scores were level with another header this time from Sako. With Goodison suffering a collective nervous breakdown the inevitable winner for the Hammers arrived in the last minute of normal time when Payet slotted home from close range. So a game in which we had played very well for 75 minutes ended in yet another home defeat. Instead of building momentum to climb the league this result suggested we might well now have momentum in the other direction. For many supporters, including this scribe, this day was a watershed when Roberto completely lost the plot and with it, the remaining support of the fan base.

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With morale in tatters, we now faced a Saturday tea time quarter final tie against Chelsea. This was Romelu's game in which he scored two goals, possibly the last of his Everton career. His first on 77 minutes was truly exceptional. Receiving the ball near the left touchline he waltzed past four defenders before finishing crisply past Courtois in front of an exultant Gwladys Street. Five minutes later he drove the clinching second goal driving the ball with his weaker right foot through the legs of the exposed Chelsea custodian. Late red cards for Costa and Barry had no impact on the result or the celebrations among the home supporters. The performance and result were out of context with the general drift of our season but were nonetheless most welcome as we now looked forward to a Wembley semi final against Manchester United.

The third episode in a March trilogy of visits by London clubs saw Arsenal stroll away with the points in a Saturday lunchtime fixture covered by BT Sport. After both teams hit the woodwork in their opening thrusts, Welbeck was able to dribble round Robles to give the Gunners the lead in the 7th minute. Three minutes before halftime Iwobi extended that lead which was never seriously challenged in the remainder of a one sided affair. Among a raft of disappointing individual performances the lack of energy and application on the part of our midfield players, McCarthy, Besic and Barkley was truly alarming. After witnessing the joy of the Chelsea cup victory on his first visit to Goodison Mr Moshiri had now had the benefit of seeing the old stadium at its most joyless with a team lacking all the qualities required to compete at this level.

The international break, not to mention a trip to New Zealand by this supporter, came as a welcome relief from the toil of watching our team's decline. The first game after the players returned, and the first missed by your scribe in the Martinez era, saw our team lose a desperately poor match at Old Trafford to a second half goal from Martial. After the game Baines spoke rather tellingly of the lack of chemistry within the team. Those comments irked the manager who, somewhat peevishly, went public with criticism of Leighton's comments and the requirement for an apology. That did not augur well for the manager's relationship with one of his senior players. It certainly did not go down well with the fans who unfurled a banner at the next game at Watford declaring that 'Baines is One of Us'. Banners urging the manager's exit were also now in evidence at games. Watching the game on TV in Christchurch it was apparent any late season revival in the league was now beyond the will and ability of the players. The minute before halftime was perhaps the whole season in microcosm. We took the lead when McCarthy stole possession on the edge of the Watford box before slotting home his first goal of the season. We could not hold that lead for even a minute. With only seconds remaining a corner was conceded after Stones had elected to play a risky back pass to Robles. That we failed to deal with the corner came as no surprise with Watford scoring from a deflected header at the far post. A draw at least broke the sequence of defeats in the league but did nothing to rekindle support for a manager looking increasingly bereft of ideas or any realistic strategy for improving results or performances.

A midweek outing to Crystal Palace was the final game of the three missed by this observer. To say it was good one to miss would be an understatement. The 0-0 outcome certainly made for poor viewing on TV. We returned to Goodison for the first time in four weeks for a Saturday afternoon fixture against Southampton. Yet again we took the lead with a 68th minute goal from Funes Mori. Yet again we failed to hold that lead with Southampton scoring an equaliser fourteen minutes from the end. The most worrying aspect of the afternoon was the loss of Seamus who succumbed to yet another hamstring injury which would rule him out for the remainder of the campaign.

The next two games were hailed by Roberto as the defining games of the season. Within 72 hours we would play the RS at Anfield on the Wednesday followed by the Wembley semi final against United. With many local pundits rather stupidly urging the Manager to play his strongest team in both games, we duly turned up at Anfield with our strongest available starting lineup. That lineup included Gareth Barry who returned to action from a groin strain. He lasted 45 minutes. By that time we were 2-0 down with goals in the Kop end just before halftime from Origi and Sakho. The RS scored two further goals through Sturridge just after the hour and Coutinho fifteen minutes from the end. We might well have conceded six or more. Funes Mori was given a straight red for a bad foul on Origi while Stones departed with some sort of stomach problem. We thus played the final

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twenty five minutes with McCarthy and Besic in central defence in a truly shambolic performance. It was certainly a suboptimal way to prepare for a semi final. With the humiliating RS chants of support for our manager still ringing in our ears we made our way with our bedraggled, heavily bandaged team to Wembley with no expectation of success and little hope of anything other than perhaps glorious failure.

As we took our seats in the national stadium it was sobering to reflect on the list of players unavailable for our most important game of the season, Funes Mori, Barry and Coleman. In an act of desperation Jagielka had been rushed back into action having injured a hamstring only two weeks previously at Watford. Our performance in the first half was simply dreadful. There were no redeeming features in a one

sided match which must have had the tea time BBC audience searching for alternative viewing. With Rooney allowed the freedom of Wembley, United took the lead in the 34th minute from a

goal by Fellaini. Martial created the chance after strolling past our replacement right back, as though Besic was a lamppost. Gibson and McCarthy could not get close to the United midfield while Barkley and Lukaku were starved of possession. On the rare occasions they had it, they failed to take advantage with Lukaku in particular guilty of wasting two early opportunities to score the opening goal. What was said in the dressing room by and to whom at halftime we may never know but the second half was a vast improvement. With Stones moving forward with the ball through the midfield we at last gained a foothold in the game. Barkley won a 55th minute penalty which was telegraphed by Romelu for De Gea to save. That was a blow but the equaliser came nine minutes later when substitute Deulofeu crossed for Smalling to net a welcome own goal. We had chances to gain an unlikely victory notably when Romelu had a close range effort blocked and Deulofeu's prod was fingered away by De Gea before our Belgian centre forward could reach it. With just a minute of additional time left United gained possession just past the halfway line, Martial exchanged passes with a tumbling Herrera before rifling a low finish past Robles. So that was it. We had lost the semi final to a late goal which owed much to our defensive vulnerability. Bringing on Mirallas at that point with less than sixty seconds left said much about our manager's bizarre thinking in regard to team selection and the use of substitutes.

The end of the season could now not come quickly enough. The final weeks were painful for the manager, the players and not least the fans. Facing Bournemouth at Goodison on the final day of April in a game of no consequence for either team we gained a narrow 2-1 win, our first such scoreline in the league this season. Our inability to retain a lead for longer than a minute had become a cliche. So having taken a 7th minute advantage courtesy of a neat finish from Cleverley

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it was no surprise we should concede an immediate equaliser after stand in centre back Matt Pennington had been nudged away from the ball. Our winner came on 64 minutes when Baines read Lennon's pass across the six yard box to lash the ball high into the Street End net. It was the former England full back's first goal from open play in over three years. The subdued nature of his celebration perhaps reflected his feelings about his manager and the season in general. The post-

match protests by 200 or so fans in the Street End about the continuing employment of that manager were apparently drowned out by music blasted from the loud speakers.

The penultimate away game took us to the King Power Stadium, home of the new champions, Leicester City for a live Saturday tea time Sky clash. The Foxes were to be presented with the trophy after the match but if we hoped their play would lack intensity we were to be disappointed. Our defence went missing when Vardy gave them a fifth minute lead, Andy King scored the second just

after the half hour and Vardy rounded off the scoring with a penalty in the second half. So spineless was our team's performance the Premier League's leading scorer could even afford the luxury of hoisting a second penalty over the bar before substitute Mirallas scored a very late consolation after a solo dribble. That earned the Belgian a starting place the following Wednesday for a visit to Sunderland who needed one win from their final two games to secure their survival in the Premier League. There were few who doubted they would achieve that against our team who were virtually beaten before they stepped on to the pitch. Against a very nervous home team we could not muster a worthwhile shot on goal before Sunderland took the lead in the 38th minute with a Van Aanholt free kick which Robles appeared to step away from! Within four minutes Lamine Kone had scored a second and the same player wrapped up the points with his second goal ten minutes into the second half.

These last two results and the pathetic performances which accompanied them made it unthinkable the manager could retain his position and forced the Board to act before the end of season awards scheduled for the Thursday evening. The breaking news of Roberto's dismissal reached the national media early that afternoon. Among supporters there was considerable relief the agony of the past few weeks had come to an end. Of course speculation on a replacement commenced immediately with names such as Ronald Koeman and Frank de Boer widely tipped in media circles and near the top of most fans' wish lists. In the meantime David Unsworth, supported by Joe Royle, was given responsibility for managing the team for the final game of the season against an already relegated Norwich City. As is so often the case the change of manager brought about an immediate uplift in performance levels and a 3-0 win with goals from McCarthy, a Baines penalty and Mirallas. The result enabled our club to hold on to eleventh place in the league with 47 points thus matching the performance in 2014/15. The full debuts of Kieran Dowell and Tom Davies and an impressive hour from substitute full back Jonjoe Kenny gave hope for the future. Meanwhile Tim Howard bad a fond farewell after ten years service and 414 games.

In some ways the final game might be seen as marking the end of the Moyes legacy with Howard leaving and the likelihood that other long term servants Osman, Hibbert, Pienaar and Gibson will be on their way at the end of their contracts on 30th June. The Martinez era has certainly been brought to an abrupt conclusion much to the relief of our fans and no doubt the majority of the players. Your scribe saw 140 of the 143 competitive matches played under our former manager. Despite his strenuous efforts to embed a supposedly more sophisticated, possession based playing style by this, his third season, fans had grown disenchanted and players increasingly uncomfortable as opposing teams worked out how to combat a very predictable team formation.

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Everybody in the club yearned for a return to a simpler approach with a high tempo, robust tackling and energy evident all around the field. That is what we saw in the final game of the campaign and what we hope to see in the seasons ahead.

The Players

Most of the players had a disappointing season which is reflected in the ratings below with none scoring higher than 8.

Howard (6) Took the blame, perhaps harshly on some occasions, for several of the goals conceded in the first half of what turned out to be his final season. The announcement of his departure to the MLS came as a relief for many but his experience will be missed.

Robles (6) Without ever being totally convincing he performed well in the cup competitions and did enough in the league games from February onwards to suggest he will be an adequate deputy, but no more than that.

Coleman (6) Always seemed to be coming back to form before falling victim to hamstring injuries which ruled him out for three separate spells.

Baines (6) Having missed the opening months of the season with a recurrence of his ankle problems, he struggled to get back to top form.

Galloway (6) After a series of promising displays at left back his form and fitness deteriorated from late November onwards.

Jagielka (7) Held things together at the back amid the chaos around him. Was badly missed when injured.

Stones (5) Lost form in mid season when his errors of judgement cost the team dearly.

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Funes Mori (6) The jury is out after a mixed first season in England. His goals were very welcome but his right foot clearances were frequently an embarrassment.

Barry (8) Enjoyed a fine season as the team's pivot. A model of consistency, on the few occasions he was absent, most notably the FA Cup Semi Final, his presence was sorely missed. Player of the season.

McCarthy (5) Measured by the standards he set in his first season, his contribution has fallen away alarmingly. Suffered groin and hip problems which were doubtless contributory factors.

Cleverley (6) His debut season with our club stuttered when he collected an ankle ligament injury in August. He returned before Christmas to add industry to our left flank plus a couple of goals in narrow victories. We would expect more in future seasons.

Barkley (7) Overall a better season for the Wavertree Diamond. With twelve goals and a worthy volume of assists there was more end product to his play but he remained frustratingly inconsistent with his application and decision making. His form nosedived in the final two months of the season.

Deulofeu (5) Following his permanent signing the early signs were promising with plenty of crosses and a small handful of goals. After the turn of the year he lost form while the questions about his lack of stamina were never resolved.

Lennon (7) Used sparingly in the early months after his deadline day signing on a permanent deal. Could never be criticised for his prodigious work rate. His goals and assists from January onwards were vital in our fight to stay out of the relegation pack.

Mirallas (4) A wretched season with two red cards and apparently not trusted by the manager.

Lukaku (8) Without his goals our campaign would have been a complete disaster. He benefitted from a more direct approach in our build up play in the early months but the flaws in his penalty taking technique were exposed at Wembley. Plainly logged out in the closing weeks.

Kone (5) His hat trick against Sunderland was a highlight. Lukaku appeared to benefit from his presence but by the turn of the year his form dipped along with that of the team as a whole.

Besic (4) Another whose season was disrupted by hamstring injuries. Showed what he can do in the first leg of the league cup semi final but after two years one wonders if he will ever develop the physical attributes to cope with the Premier League.

Osman (4) An increasingly peripheral figure although his intelligence and dancing feet were still in evidence on his rare appearances.

Oviedo (4) An in and out campaign from a willing player who has struggled to regain full fitness since his horrendous injury in 2014.

Naismith (6) Another whose memorable hat trick, versus Chelsea, was a highlight. His subsequent loss of form and an £8m+ bid from Norwich made his departure inevitable in January.

McGeady - Was cast aside after an appalling 45 minutes at Barnsley. Ended the season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday.

Niasse - Oh dear! We saw too little of him to make a final assessment but the evidence to support a £13.5m outlay was less than convincing.

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Hibbert - His 45 minute cameo against Bournemouth at the end if April served to highlight the defensive qualities we have been missing.

Connolly - One not unpromising substitute appearance.

Davies - Another who enjoyed one impressive late substitute appearance before shining in his first full game on the last day of the season.

Dowell - Started on the last day of the season after scoring freely at under 21 level.

The Manager Having struggled domestically in 2014/15, we hoped and trusted that in the absence of European football Roberto would get our club back on track in his third season. He failed on so many counts that his position became untenable by the time we entered the final weeks of the season. If his summer transfer dealings could hardly be described as eye catching, bringing in Cleverley, Deulofeu, Lennon and Funes Mori were reasonably sound decisions; the £13.5m signing of Oumar Niasse on the back Steven Naismith's sale was however a catastrophic error in January. Longstanding weaknesses in defensive play including the management of set pieces, persistence with moribund possession play, inexplicable selection policies, eccentric deployment of substitutes, failure to learn the lessons from a series of late collapses, reluctance or inability to react to opposing teams' tactics and constant hyperbole attributed to the underwhelming performances of several players were by no means the only issues which irked supporters.

There was a widespread perception that the squad was not fit enough. Given the number of soft tissue injuries, especially hamstring strains, there was certainly a serious problem in terms of conditioning and preparation. In training the players were either not doing enough of the right things or conceivably were doing too many of the wrong things. There were also strong rumours of dressing room discontent which peaked in the aftermath of Bainesgate when Leighton floated his thoughts about the lack of chemistry in the team. Roberto's reaction and public rebuke of Baines spoke volumes of his own increasing insecurity. Other characteristics such as stubbornness, obstinacy, arrogance and delusion were never counterbalanced by any acknowledgement of, let alone apology for, his own mistakes. The lack of any humility in the face of the overwhelming evidence of his own shortcomings must have grated with the players, especially those on the receiving end of the crowd's wrath for following the manager's instructions during games. In the end the team looked uninterested and as is usually the case demotivation in the dressing room was the final nail on the manager's coffin. The bright shiny Roberto who arrived at our club like a breath of fresh air in 2013 cut a tragic figure in his final weeks as results and performances plummeted to new depths. His departure in the final week of the season was both inevitable and unlamented.

Goals of the Season

1. Lukaku (Everton v Chelsea - FA Cup)2. Barkley (Everton v Watford)3. Lukaku (Southampton v Everton - first goal)4. Mirallas (Leicester City v Everton)5. Barkley (Manchester City v Everton - League Cup)

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The Final Reckoning

At the start of the 2015/16 season many fans and local pundits were of the view our squad was the strongest we had seen available to the club in the past thirty years. Some remain of that view and hold that simply with a new manager at the helm we will see an immediate, significant improvement in performance levels to take us back into the top six. That view does not really bear close scrutiny. Not all of our problems can be laid at the door of Roberto Martinez.

Twelve months ago we foresaw the summer of 2016 would be a significant transitional period for the club with several players coming to the end of their contracts. That remains the case with Osman, Pienaar, Hibbert and Gibson all likely to depart along with Tim Howard who has already left to play in the MLS. There is the threat of renewed interest in John Stones plus the likelihood of Romelu Lukaku seeking pastures new. Ageing stalwarts, Barry, Jagielka and Baines will soon need to be replaced. There are also several players continually beset by injury, notably Coleman, Oviedo, Besic, McCarthy and Mirallas, whose physical capacity to deliver consistent performances over a nine months season cannot wholly be relied upon. Who is left? Well, there is Arouna Kone, who has one year remaining on his contract but appears no longer up to Premier League requirements, Oumar Niasse who appears to be a £13.5m dud and Aaron Lennon. We also have a number of unproven quantities: players such as Robles, Galloway, Deulofeu who may or may not be able to cut the mustard in the longer term. To be brutally frank there are question marks about the vast majority of the squad and a clear need to strengthen in virtually every area.

We therefore face a huge summer not only in respect of recruiting the right manager but also in making the right decisions in the transfer market. There will be no shortage of funds; certainly the new TV money, probably the money from the sales of a couple of players and possibly £100m courtesy of Mr Moshiri if the rumours of his largesse are to be believed. The club is at a crossroads with a very real risk we could go the same way as relegated Aston Villa and Newcastle. Equally there is the potential for us to bounce back into the top half of the table. Bringing in the right manager and the right players will go a long way to determining how the club moves forward. Of course it will not just be about new faces. There is an overriding need to restore the team ethos, the chemistry if we like, which can make such a difference in a league where most matches are settled by very small margins. Some of us would also wish to see the team develop a harder, more competitive edge. A total fouls count of only 315 was by far the lowest in the Premier League with Arsenal the next lowest on 350. The champions, Leicester City, were penalised for 405 while Manchester United notched 472.

So there we have it. The 2015/16 season will be remembered for disastrous league form at Goodison, too many late goals conceded and the end of the Roberto Martinez era. Apart from the runs to two domestic cup semi finals it had little else to commend it. We can only hope following the Blues next season will bring us a little more enjoyment and that long awaited trophy.

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