Triple Crown

Last updated : 27 May 2009 By Les Roberts

He first took the award in 2002/03 when he gudied Everton's perennial strugglers to a seventh placed finish.

And, but for a final day defeat to Manchester United, Everton would've finished 6th - their lowest position for the best part of that season - and Moyes would've steered the Blues into Europe during his first full season in charge!

Moyes next took the award in 2004/05 after he took the Blues to fourth - their highest ever Premier League finish and no other team outside of the 'established' top four have broken their monoply since.

This feat was made all the more miraculous by the fact that the Blues had finished 17th the season before, with their lowest ever top flight points tally, and lost Wayne Rooney on the last day of that season's August transfer window.

Moyes hat-trick, a feat no other manager has achieved, came at last night's League Managers Association Awards after the Blues boss presided over Everton's second consecutive fifth-placed finish and their first FA Cup final appearance since 1995.

This will give Everton the pretty patronising 'best-of-the-rest' tag but it really can't be underestimated just what an achievement finishing fifth is.

Aston Villa were just points off the top spot at the turn of the year and, even with all the money they have spent under Martin O'Neill's stewardship, Everton battled on and finished above them for the second season running.

And, for those who think that fifth is no sort of achievement then they need to consider that, bar one season, the gap between fourth and fifth has grown year on year since Everton finished three points clear of Liverpool in 2004/05.

Tottenham finished two points behind fourth placed Arsenal in 2005/06 but since then the gap between fourth and fifth has been 8 points in 2006/07 and 11 points in both 2007/08 and 2008/09.

So it would seem that the elsusive fourth spot is getting further and further away and so fifth place does represent an achievement.

And, once again, Moyes achieved this feat against the odds - he's definitely at his best when his hands are tied - as Everton lost a number of key players throughout the course of the season and started the campaign with many untried youngsters in the side.

It's an amazing end to what started off as a truely dreadful season with Moyes unprepared to commit his future to Everton and the Blues suffering two defeats in a month to struggling Blackburn, an early exit from Europe and a pitiful home defeat - no shots at goal - to Liverpool!

But the momentum just seems to keep going with everything surrounding this Everton team right now - there's no reason why Saturday should be any different!