The Toffees finished the 2003-04 campaign in 17th position, just 6 points clear of the relegation zone, and star player Wayne Rooney was sold to Manchester United in the summer.

With all that in mind, every Evertonian could have been forgiven for expecting another relegation battle during the 2004-05 season, but things turned out to be vastly different.

Little did we know it, but Everton were on the verge of their best-ever finish in the Premier League.  Marcus Bent was brought into the club to replace Wayne Rooney, much to the dismay of the Goodison Park faithful, but this turned out to be a shrewd signing by David Moyes.

Tim Cahill was offered the chance to prove his ability at the top level of English football as he signed for the Toffees from Championship side Millwall.

The First Half of the Season

Everton got off to a miserable start, losing 4-1 at home to Arsenal on the opening weekend. However, an unbeaten run of six games followed as the Toffees beat Crystal Palace (3-1), West Brom (2-1), Manchester City (1-0), Middlesbrough (1-0) and Portsmouth (1-0), as well as holding Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford.

Moyes’s men went on to win three games in October, including a 2-0 victory over his former side Preston in the League Cup 3rd Round. The highlight in October was the five-goal thriller at Carrow Road, which Everton won 3-2 thanks to goals from Kilbane, Bent, and Ferguson.

The Toffees were knocked out of the League Cup in the next round by Arsenal but then went on to win five of their next seven in the Premier League, including that famous 1-0 win at Goodison Park in the first Merseyside Derby of the season.

On Boxing Day, Everton secured a 2-1 home win against Manchester City but lost their next two festive fixtures against Charlton and Tottenham. January saw Thomas Gravesen leave the club to join Real Madrid but Moyes invested in a new creative midfielder, Mikel Arteta, and added to his strike force by bringing in James Beattie from Southampton.

The Second Half of the Season

Moyes had worked a miracle to keep Everton at the top end of the table with the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, but losing Gravesen from the heart of the midfield proved costly.

Everton picked up three wins in January, though only one arrived in the league against Portsmouth at Goodison Park. The other two wins saw Everton knock Plymouth, followed by Sunderland, out of the FA Cup, but the 5th Round would see the Toffees beaten 2-0 by Manchester United.

A frustrating end to the season saw Everton pick up just four wins from their final 11 league games. The second Merseyside derby ended in a 2-1 defeat but Everton still managed to claim 4th spot ahead of their local rivals.

The Toffees lost three of their last four matches but did win their final home game of the campaign against Newcastle 2-0, thanks to goals from David Weir and Tim Cahill. Mikel Arteta scored his first goal for the club from a direct free-kick in a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace, a game in which James Vaughan became the league’s youngest goalscorer.

Duncan Ferguson headed home the only goal in a 1-0 win at Goodison Park over Manchester United, 10 years after he had done the very same thing to Alex Ferguson’s side.

The Final Outcome

Tim Cahill top-scored for the Toffees with 11 goals in his debut season as the club secured fourth spot and a place in the Champions League qualifiers, three points clear of Liverpool and Bolton. Moyes’s men scored 45 goals and conceded 46, claiming nine 1-0 victories on their way to their best-ever finish of the Premier League era.

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