Despite a flying start, Everton were unable to seal a brilliant season by clinching that elusive bit of silverware we all crave. The Blues were unable to build on Saha's first minute opener and eventually went down 2-1 thanks to goals from Drogba and Lampard.

I for one was convinced we'd win this. Traditionally, each season always see's one team with their name on the cup - they just seem destined to win it. After beating Liverpool, Villa, Boro and Man United along the way, and given the excellent league season the Blues had enjoyed, it seemed like Everton could pull off a win in the final against a Chelsea side who seemed to believe they only had to turn up to claim the cup. And unfortunately, that proved to be the case as Chelsea once again highlighted the gulf between ourselves and the top four.

The build up to kick off was brilliant. A great atmosphere in an around Wembley, and the Everton end was bouncing from around half two. The cup traditions certainly add to the sense of occasion and the Abide with Me anthem set the tone before the teams came out to a barrage of noise. After all the build up since the semi-final - and all the build up in the week leading up to the game - the players must have been glad to finally get underway at 3pm in a sweltering Wembley Stadium. It certainly looked that way as Everton attacked from the whistle and incredibly, went 1-0 up after only 25 seconds as Saha latched onto a Fellaini knock down a rifled a left foot volley past Peter Cech. Brilliant start and a great feeling to be one-up so quickly.

Unfortunately and with hindsight, we just scored too early. That might sound daft because you always want to score, but the players have basically said the same since the game. They sat back too much and didn't attack Chelsea from then on, certainly not in the remainder of the first half.

The biggest disappointments were our fullbacks. Tony Hibbert had a nightmare at right back as Malouda tore at him time and time again. He was booked after only seven minutes and must have feared the worst from then on. As the ball kept going out to Malouda, Hibbert was nowhere near him; instead he was tucked inside almost as a third centre-half. It was this kind of defending that led to the equaliser, as Malouda had time to whip a cross and Drogba beat Lescott to head home past a stranded Tim Howard. It had been coming.

Hibbert was hauled off at half-time and replaced with Lars Jacobsen. On the other side I was also disappointed with Baines. He didn't do a lot wrong in the game and his early cross eventually led to the goal. But what we needed after that was his runs forward, supporting Pienaar as he's been doing all season. But he was reluctant to get forward and we lost one of our main attacking threats as a result. Instead, all we offered were long balls from the back aimed at Fellaini, some of which he won but most of which were dealt with comfortably by Terry and Alex.

The second half started a little better, with Jacobsen looking more comfortable at right back and Everton at least trying to press a bit more. But Chelsea were still creating chances and Anelka had a couple of opportunities which drifted just over the bar. Finally, Everton mounted a bit of pressure of their own and a rare Baines cross was headed over by Saha when he really should have scored. It was a free header.

Chelsea went more or less straight up the other end and wrapped it up as Lampard wriggled past Neville, lost his footing but then recovered to smash a left foot drive in from about 25 yards. He always scores against Everton.

Everton never looked like getting back into it then. James Vaughan got 10 minutes to try and turn things around but despite his enthusiasm and will to try and change the game, he got no service and could only chase a few lost causes.

Tim Cahill had Everton's last chance as the ball broke to him 30 yards out but his shot drifted well wide of the post.

So that was that. Sadly for Everton, their efforts were not enough and we just didn't come close to winning on the day. After the first minute, Chelsea were always in control and apparently it should have been three as Malouda's 30 yard drive smashed off the underside of the bar and over the line.

It's still been an excellent season and everyone should be proud of the players, the manager and the club as whole. It's hard to think what else we could have done here.

I'd have liked to see Jack Rodwell play some part in the game and it might have been an option to bring him on for Hibbert at half time and put Neville at right back, with the youngster going into midfield. His composure might have helped but it's hard to say.

Leon Osman was disappointing and rarely in the game, while Tim Cahill never really got in and around the box where he's at his most dangerous.

The players still got a great reception from the Everton fans and rightly so. The cup run has been brilliant and has given us a lot of fantastic memories this year. We just need to keep this team together now and try to break into that top four next season.

For that, we'll need to keep the current crop - and the return of Jagielka, Arteta and Yakubu will make us much stronger. And we'll also need some new recruits.

We definitely need a couple of players to play on the right. Baines and Pienaar are brilliant down the left and if we had that on the right we'd be a much better team. I was very impressed with Dalmat from Standard Liege at the start of the season and he's the type of player I'd like to see us go for at right back.

In front of him, a pacey, tricky player who can give us more attacking options.

We'll also need a minimum of two other loan signings - a striker as cover until Yakubu's back, and a centre-back to cover until Jagielka returns.

But for now, the current crop should be congratulated on a great season. Let's keep them together and keep building towards the success that shouldn't be too far away.