And the Most Improved Player Award goes to....

It was 04-05, the season in which Everton defied all odds to qualify for Champions League via a 4th place finish through league standings. It was one of the most horrible pre-season transfer activities we had to endure. With Unsworth, Linderoth and Radzinski leaving, all Moyes could muster was signing two players from the lower division. And the bad-mouthing Radzinski had to say something like ?Everton is a club that doesn?t have ambition!??

And what about the ravings Gravesen?s agent was doing, like as if the Great Dane was not particularly pleased playing for Everton? Oh, and the constant fear of whether Rooney, the only bright hope of our future, would pledge his alliance with the club? Sadly, everything came to a dismal conclusion, including the 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal on the opening day fixture.

But then, Everton changed the form books and created history! The secret of their success is how the manager provides a system of play and how the players he has could be involved in such a system. Not only did the players he brought in help to play that system effectively, but the contribution of existing players was also vital.

Such a player was Pistone. He was one of the players who, I thought, didn?t deserve to wear the Royal Blues the previous season. And I was damn adamant that Moyes should sell him, but he had an exceptional season and proved doubters that he was still part of the team, limiting Naysmith to cameo roles. He didn?t have flair or speed that could penetrate defences but he combined well with Kilbane to rule the left flank and provide fruitful crosses to the attacking players.

If Cahill became the talisman of the club, Bent scoring valuable goals, Martyn keeping clean sheets, Carsley breaking down the opposition ? Pistone was actually helping Everton keep possession, make vital tackles and move the ball to the opposition?s half regularly. I felt he was crap before, but he became a much improved player that season. Thus, I?m awarding the Most Improved Player to? Allessandro Pistone!!!

2005-06 Season
Player of the Season: Mikel Arteta
Best new Signing: Alan Stubbs (2nd term)
Mr. Reliable: Tim Cahill
Most Improved Player: James Beattie

Nothing to rave about in a season which was topsy-turvy. Everton were eliminated from Europe and finished 11th in the league. Very inconsistent performances throughout the whole campaign. If there were few positives to be taken into account, it would be that a raw diamond called Arteta, who was on loan the previous season, showed his true quality and shined throughout those dark moments. Cahill as usual was there to pop the important goals to give Everton a decent finish in the bottom half. None of the new signings flourished except for Phil Neville who showed some experience and grit.

But the second half of the season was something of a revival. The signing of Stubbs was something which was vital. Suddenly there was someone to plug the gap that has been leaking goals for fun. And the form of Beattie provided another revival upfront.

Releasing himself from the pressure of being Everton?s record signing, he suddenly found his scoring touch and started to bang in goals in the second half of the campaign. From being a damp squib, he started to become the savior of Everton with his goals, and talks of Everton being in Europe again came as a breath of fresh air rather than the usual talks of ?relegation fodders? pessimism.

Alas, inconsistency cost Everton not only a place in Europe but also a place in the top half of the table, losing out to 10th place Wigan by a single point! Nevertheless, for the effort he put in for the second half of the season?I present the following award to the Most Improved Player? James Beattie!!!

2006-07 Season
Player of the Season: Mikel Arteta
Best new Signing: Joleon Lescott
Mr Reliable: Lee Carsley
Most Improved Player: Joseph Yobo

A new season; a new dawn. Moyes made three substantial purchases during the transfer window; Howard, Lescott and Johnson all played pivotal roles in stamping Everton back on to the European map. It was also a season in which Moyes got valuable feedback from fans on how to push Everton to the next level.

Arteta continued to glow, but in a different position; the flanks! Lescott who was brought in as a centre-back, made left-back position his own, transforming Valente and Naysmith as mere spectators! A loan signing called Fernandes mesmerized spectators with his dribbling skills in the later part of the season. Wins over Arsenal ,Tottenham and Liverpool were the highlights of a fairly successful campaign.

But someone who deserved a special mention for the success had to be an existing player; Joseph Yobo. From being labeled as Mr Inconsistent to Mr Consistent says it all. Yes, the unsung hero was Carsley, but every time the media portrays him as an unsung hero again and again and I used to wonder ?he is already in the limelight! That?s not called unsung!?

But Yobo formed a formidable partnership with Stubbs and Lescott in preserving 14 clean sheets for Howard and giving a positive goal difference of +16 for Everton for the first time under David Moyes. He started showing his composure at the back and developed good reading of the game. He finished the season with the record of playing every minute for Everton! <>P> With his transformation of being a confused defender to a convincing leader, I present the Most Improved Player Award to? Joseph Yobo!!!

2007-08 Season
Player of the Season: ???
Best new Signing: Too many at the moment
Mr Reliable: Unsure, but Carsley is definitely the front runner
Most Improved Player: Leon Osman

This fantastic season isn?t over yet, and I would not want it to end! I?m just enjoying every moment of it! But with two-thirds of the season gone, it?s time to analyze on the in-form players.

Surely there is going to be a tough fight for the Player of the Season this time and the new boys, Yakubu, Pienaar, Jagielka and Baines are proving to be top drawer and effective signings. But Leon Osman, who has taken many criticisms before, is a revelation in the middle of midfield. Yes, I understand when many people say that he?s lightweight, small,etc. But he is actually dictating the passage of play in midfield and with attractiveness and effectiveness as well!

He is more useful in the middle rather than playing as a winger, but even then with many absentees, he put in a decent effort to utilize his presence in the game against SK Brann. And not forgetting the handful of goals he has contributed ? especially those European sizzlers!

While the season is not over yet, and the main contenders are still fighting out for the glamorous awards, one player has already claimed The Most Improved Player Award? Leon Osman!!!

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