Aston Villa
What went right
A 10-point rise on 2006-07, 10 points that are the difference between the middle of mid-table and the European scrap, even if Villa had to settle for the Intertoto.
Those 10 points coincide with the total earned in matches against the five teams who finished above them - two home wins, four away draws.
November and April were especially great, as Martin O'Neill's side topped the monthly table, while the total of 71 goals - Villa's best in the top flight since the title win of 1980-81 - reflected the fact that they were high up among the division's entertainers when they played to their potential.
Ashley Young, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Gareth Barry were a trio of English stars. Barry has been around for a long time, but he's still only 27. Agbonlahor is paying for many years' worth of youth programme, as Barry has been. Young cost a small fortune in January last season but looked worth every penny this season.
John Carew is Norwegian, of course, but he made impressive repayments on his transfer fee from the same time as Young, too.
Another highlight, as any Villa fan will tell you, was Birmingham going down, sent on their way by a double for O'Neill's team, the second part of which was a crushing 5-1 win as the season moved close to its conclusion.
What went wrong
Scott Carson.
Stilian Petrov took a long, long time to adjust.
Three games against Manchester United featured ten goals conceded and only one scored, the aggregate at Villa Park in league and FA Cup being 6-1 in the visitors' favour. As the chant goes, Villa were shown up on telly.
Defeat against Fulham at the start of February, and the run of five games without a win in March, hit the chances of fifth or even better hard.
The home loss against Wigan on the penultimate weekend was painful. The draw at Everton had put Villa in pole position for the UEFA Cup, it seemed, given the Blues' date at Arsenal. Instead, the Latics wanted it more.
Reasons to be cheerful
The England job won't be vacant any time soon, but Young and Agbonlahor could well be playing regularly for their country soon enough.
Of the new crop of foreign owners, it's safe to say that Randy Lerner has had the best PR, backing his manager to win the approval of home fans and also not p***ing off others.
Doom and gloom
Barry's agent.
The degree of competition for the leading places is hotting up. Well as Villa have done, money is likely to be thrown about by some again. There was little to choose between the clubs that finished between ninth and fifth, while West Ham, Spurs and Newcastle would expect to be in among them next season.
And the moral is...
There's nothing wrong with being Randy.
Everton
What went right
An awful lot. For the first time in nearly two decades, Everton finished in the top half two seasons running - and unlike then, when the sequence from 1987 was 1, 4, 8, 6, 9, the trend is in the right direction.
Everton were fifth at home, fifth away, fifth overall. That's consistency. They recorded their best total in nearly 20 years, just short of Ipswich's 38-game record for fifth of 66 points in fifth place in 2001, matched by Leeds a year later.
It's not easy to deliver value for an £11.25m transfer, but Yakubu proved an excellent new signing, while Joleon Lescott just gets better and better.
What went wrong
Injuries to Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta - two absolutely key players - underlined the relative weakness of the squad. Without Champions League football, it is hard to pay for, justify or attract cover of the quality found at the four clubs up ahead.
Everton claimed just one point against the quartet that finished ahead of them. Worse, arguably, is that they failed to beat the two teams who finished just beneath them, either.
The record against teams above them was hit by the controversial game with Liverpool, when Tony Hibbert's challenge on Steven Gerrard should not have led to just a red card and not a penalty, while Jamie Carragher led a charmed life inside his area. Moyes used that match as motivation for his team, but a point or three would have been useful, too.
Two wins in the last nine league games - one of which was at home to Derby, the other coming on the last day - destroyed hopes of fourth place.
FA Cup defeat at home to Oldham was a worse result than that achieved by Liverpool against Barnsley, as the Latics are from a division lower than the Tykes, while the League Cup and UEFA Cup promised great things that didn't quite materialise.
Phil Neville's passing became the stuff of legend and produced my favourite comment of the season from the supporters taking part in the Observer's Fans' Verdict: "He's supposed to be good in the dressing room, so why doesn't Moyes leave him there?"
Reasons to be cheerful
David Moyes's contract talks seem to have gone well, with a new deal imminent. The Scot has been the key man in the club's revival and his expression of faith in the direction Everton are heading is far and away the best news fans could realistically hope for.
In what was effectively a swap deal involving Phil Jagielka and James Beattie, Everton certainly did very well, even if the striker found his feet with Sheffield United once the handicap of being managed by Bryan Robson was removed.
An administrative error by Nigeria means Joseph Yobo is not going to the Olympics, although Victor Anichebe is set to miss the start of the season to be in Beijing.
Doom and gloom
In the end, Liverpool pulled clear to finish with what was comfortably a record points total for fourth place. Four clubs were closer to Everton than the Blues were to the Reds.
Leighton Baines is a childhood Liverpool fan, was signed for £6m and doesn't look the part. When you don't have the money of the teams ahead of you, you can less afford mistakes.
Andy Johnson, who looked such a good signing when he first arrive from Palace, is struggling now.
The proposed move to Kirkby threatens to divide the club from a large section of the support.
And the moral is...
If the goalposts move, you have to follow them.
Philip Cornwall