Greg O'Keeffe reviews Everton FC's season

IT WAS a season of extremes which belatedly promised much but delivered nothing except hope.Everton's 2009/10 campaign was a disjointed affair that threatened to implode at times thanks to an injury crisis that saw David Moyes' senior squad decimated.The winter bit was hard as the amount of walking wounded made Finch Farm resemble a battlefield medical post.Players dropped like flies, some more seriously hurt than others, but each casualty forcing David Moyes to find new ways to field a competitive first 11.Moyes was on the verge of running out of appropriate players. Seamus Coleman had to make his debut at left-back away to Benfica in the group phase of the Europa League. The young right-back had the unenviable task of marking the Agentinian winger Angel Di Maria, who is now among the most coveted players in the world. Benfica won 5-0.It was the headache Moyes did not need after an opening glut of games that saw his side languishing near the foot of the table.The Scot had already witnessed his transfer plans thrown into disarray by Joleon Lescott's protracted departure from Goodison.Lescott joined Manchester City in a £22m deal in August after several weeks of bitter wrangling between the clubs.Moyes was highly critical of City's conduct throughout the saga and insisted the affair had a negative effect on his team.Remarkably, Everton recovered enough to push for Europe, but during that opening few months they collected just 15 points from their first 14 Premier League games.Moyes said: 'Damage was done by that transfer.'I think it had a lot to do with how we started the season, it wasn't just injuries. It took us a long time to recover.'Our away form hasn't been as good as our home form.'That could have had a lot to do with the instability we had at the start with new defenders coming into the team.'It was a bit unfair on Sylvain Distin and Johnny Heitinga, being thrown straight into it when the team was short of one or two players.'

Source: Liverpool_Echo