A season that briefly had Everton fans dreaming of European football has ended in disappointment, raising serious questions about the club's direction under manager David Moyes — and whether his second stint at Goodison can deliver something more than mid-table mediocrity.

A promising run derailed

As recently as late March, Everton sat eighth in the Premier League, just three points behind the Champions League places with seven matches remaining. A 3-0 victory over Chelsea on 21 March had supporters daring to believe.

What followed was a collapse. Everton failed to win any of those final seven matches — a sequence that included a 2-2 draw at Brentford on 11 April that effectively signalled the end of their European ambitions. Over that closing stretch, only relegated Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers matched Everton's inability to win a single game.

Same finish, very different feelings

The Toffees ultimately finished 13th for the second consecutive season under Moyes — a result that lands very differently this time around. When he returned 18 months ago, Everton were a single point above the drop zone. He guided them to a finish 23 points clear of relegation.

This time, the club invested a club-record net outlay of £97m in the summer transfer window, only to finish in the same position with a single extra point. A 3-1 home defeat to Sunderland — who went on to finish seventh and qualify for European football for the first time in 53 years — served as a painful final home appearance of the campaign.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman argues that back-to-back mid-table finishes still represent progress after years of financial chaos, points deductions, and relegation battles.