 WHETHER Champions League qualification is assured or not, the 2004/05 season has already proved a success story for Everton Football Club. Yet it was built on the shakiest, most unlikely foundations imaginable. The Blues ended last season with the lowest effective points total in the club's history, trooping into the close season shell-shocked on the back of a 5-1 thumping at Manchester City. But, if Blues fans believed a three month break from football would offer them respite, they were proved spectacularly wrong. Bill Kenwright attempted to streamline and modernise the club at boardroom level, moving long-serving chairman Sir Philip Carter and director Keith Tamlin into non-executive positions and replacing chief executive Michael Dunford with renowned football firefighter Trevor Birch. Despite having conducted life-saving surgery on Chelsea and Leeds United, Birch lasted little more than six weeks at Goodison before resigning. It was the start of a spectacular summer of discontent. Director Paul Gregg, previously a sleeping partner in the boardroom, decided to adopt a more vigorous role. Frustrated by a lack of progress in solving the growing financial crisis at Goodison, he announced plans of his own to invest £15m into the club, but on the condition Kenwright stepped aside. Kenwright refused until he had seen evidence of Gregg's funding - and the identity of his backers. Then a crisis descended into a farce. Gregg revealed former Blues director Lord Grantchester as his backer. The Lord released a state-ment claiming he hadn't even seen Gregg's proposals, then changed his mind just hours later, saying he still wanted to see True Blue Holdings dissolved. That dissolution duly took place, but only after an airclearing EGM had been called by concerned shareholders. | 
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