IT HAS been a trying summer at Goodison Park. Paradoxical as it may seem, after last season’s 7th placed Premier League finish – an improvement on the previous year – expectations at Everton have been dampened, rather than ignited.

Blues fans fear David Moyes’ side have ridden a peak, and are chugging towards a trough.

Moyes and his players, of course, would deny such claims, but the lack of transfer activity at Goodison is well-documented, and it is fair to say that dissent from within the club’s fanbase is growing - as evidenced by the recent formation of the “Blue Union” supporters’ group.

Yet while many fans would probably see a repeat of last season as the best the club could hope for, history reveals that the last time the Blues entered into a season in such cloudy conditions, it turned out to be their most memorable in recent times.

Rewind to the summer of 2004. Everton, following a run of just one win in ten games, had finished the previous season in 17th place, just six points clear of bottom club Wolves.

Moyes, having guided the club to 7th place in his first full season in charge, was under pressure. With only journeyman forward Marcus Bent and unproven Australian Tim Cahill added to the squad, expectations were hardly soaring at Goodison.

Worse still, their first game was at home to Arsenal, the reigning Champions and a team in the midst of a record-breaking 49-game unbeaten streak.

Steve Watson, one of the stalwarts of that Blues side, remembers watching his side being torn apart that day, but says he always had faith that 2004-05 could be a good season.

“We were well beaten, but we didn't panic,” says Watson. “If we had lost in that manner to another side, then maybe we would have, but Arsenal were a special side.

“Patrick Vieira that day was incredible, untouchable, and they were deserved winners. We knew we wouldn't be playing teams like that every week, so we just moved on from it.

“We had a strong group of players at that time, both individually and as a collective. I know it gets said a lot but there really was an unbelievable team spirit at the club around that time, and that really helped us through that season.

“We knew the season before wasn't good enough. Any player who is happy to finish 17th has something wrong with them if you ask me. But we knew that we were capable of better, and by that time the gaffer had been at the club long enough to get his methods across and to make his mark on the team, and the way we played.”

Everton lost Wayne Rooney to Manchester United soon after (“nobody held any grudges against Wayne, he had to make that move for his career,” insists Watson) but finished the season in 4th place, pipping Liverpool to a Champions League spot.

“Did we think we would end the season in the Champions League? Probably not,” admits Watson. “We were just looking for a better finish than the previous year

“But we started picking up points, and suddenly we were going into games believing we were going to win, and the confidence started to spread through the team.”

Of course a repeat scenario seems less likely this time around, with the finances of the top-six threatening to create a cartel at the top of the Premier League.

Watson, however, insists that Moyes’ side should be looking up the table rather than down.

“It is frustrating for Everton supporters, there is no doubt about that,” he admits. “They see teams around them improving and with big finances, whereas Everton seem to stay where they are.

“But every year people write Everton off and say they are not as strong as they were. And though they have made bad starts to the season, they then show they are capable of putting together a run of form as good as any team in the Premier League, and prove everyone wrong.

“Of course the squad is not a huge one, but as long as they keep the mentality that David instils in them, they will do well. The crux of the squad is very good, so they will always have a chance. And of course, they have the fantastic support of the Goodison crowd as a 12th man.

“Players will always play down their chances, as I used to when I played, but they will definitely be looking around and thinking there are not many teams who are better than Everton.”