Another top draw thanks to Pickford's brilliant penalty save

Nevertheless, still hoping for a positive result!

What a daft sod.

Why does he pick Doucoure who couldn't pass water? Stopped watching a while back and won't while Dyche's awful tactics are being employed.

On this occasion I'd take it.

Then come back, post-Dyche, and show what a good player he is.

Man City have been playing shite, haven't won in ages, and it's Boxing Day at their place… and it's us playing them!

Hoping for something, expecting nothing.

No need to go mad chasing it yet but have to make it difficult to get numbers into our area. A lot of hard work required. Up the fighting Toffees.

Seasons greetings to all!

What a finish!

3 points still up for grabs. Come on you (Royal) Blues!

I thought this team couldn't do that?

I thought their goal was down to Tarkowski being out of position again and he seems to rely on Branthwaite getting him out of the proverbial or he backs off thus trying to boost his blocking stats.

And that about sums up my first half.

Great goal from Ndiaye.

No wonder he wants away.

Great stuff!!

Calvert-Lewin is quite simply not worth his current wages and he wants more!

He has played many times in a two-striker attack and still can not score goals – the best part of his game is his leap and running the channels.

His touch is awful, hold-up play could be much better, his passing is poor and when clean through we have all seen many many times he goes to pieces.

He is not the striker we need moving to the new stadium. Sell him. (If anyone is willing to pay!)

All credit to Dyche. Many thought he would be gone by now…

Me included.

I've been on my own for years but could do better than Calvert-Lewin. Quite simply, he's a bang-average non-league player expressed perfectly by Oliver.

Great point all the same so 3 points gained with nothing against in goal difference. Just got to take all 3 points from the teams we're supposed to beat!

Today, we had 1-2 chances where we needed better decision-making. Honestly, we could have won, if we had the cutting edge.

Ndiaye is a gem.

Can't help being a little disappointed with that last break, 4 on 2 and Harrison just shit himself!!! A touch of composure in that minute would have seen us take all the points!!

Left-back, striker and creative goalscoring midfielder in January please, Dan!!

Alan #17 - I watched the full game uninterrupted on Optus mate.

Well in.

Seamus was immense, Pickford majestic, Ndiaye sublime skills, Mangala is a great player in the making. All the players put in a good shift.

My only negatives was some of Mykolenko's descions -tackling and passing. Calvert-Lewin looks like his mind is anywhere but on the park playing for Everton.

Broja, was brilliant when he came on and looks a real team player, who has touch, timing and vision. For me, he starts v Forest.

Great Christmas, so far for Everton, and hopefully it continues v Forest! All have a great Boxing Day!

Again nothing pretty about it but we got a point we wouldn't have expected 6 weeks ago.

I was amused at Pickford's interview after the game when he was asked if he was aware that Haaland usually scores against Everton and his reply was; "Aye, but then a lot of people do".

Plenty of effort, just if there was a bit more quality on the break.

Broja is obviously a better footballer than Calvert-Lewin but neither really looked like scoring today. Thought Lindstrom also showed some nice quality too. Harrison, sadly, is really poor going forward but works his socks off and probably helped to make sure Doku didn't hurt us.

Really tough run of games and we've been good throughout.

Quite simply, that's the most ridiculous statement on the thread. Non-league?

I too would be tempted to start Broja, but I completely disagree that Calvert-Lewin's hold-up play is poor. He cuts a frustrated figure right now, but he's doing pretty well with the nightmare role he's given. Not at his best, but under-appreciared by many.

What an asset Jordan Pickford is.

Well done, Blues.

Although now we need to start putting some wins together, which means scoring more goals. Broja and Lindstrom should start next game.

If I had been on here predicting no points, I'd be happy to eat humble pie. They won't, though.

Dom's touch and decision-making when 1 vs 1 are just not good enough. If any offer comes in for him in January we should sell. I'd take a tenner to get him off the books.

Other than that, I'm a happy Blue today.

Did that really happen?

UP THE TOFFEES!!!!!!!!!!

Back to sleep, grinning like a little kid. Feels so good.

I kept peeking through the window checking the score and was really happy that we came away with 1 point to go with the other 2 points we have got from 3 teams where a lot of supporters including myself thought would be difficult to get any.

Have to congratulate the manager and all players involved in getting the points. I will watch a bit later with more than a few drinks.

Where are you? I'm in Parkwood.

I'm not far from Blackpool, place called Poulton Le Fylde.

Everyone knew he would blow the chance. What makes it really bad is that he did almost exactly the same mistake against Chelsea.

I believe Mangala has made a huge difference in solidifying the team; I hope we can find the funds to make his loan permanent, a key player.

I've been his biggest critic, but credit where it's due: we don't look like losing a game any time soon.

Man of the Match: Ndiaye – and not just for that sublime finish. I hope all you Pickford baiters are listening another penalty save to add to his collection.

Dread to think where we'd be without him.

True… but don't tell me you are now on the Dyche Love Train? :-)

All our relegation rivals have to play them and I'll be surprised if any of them get 3 points from the same 3 games. That alone makes those 3 draws great results in my view.

Being ultra-critical, I would suggest we should have won today. That 4-on-2 break at the end was a criminal failure to put the ball in the net. Harrison can be so poor, but he was also very good defensively today and helped Coleman no end.

Man City are well off their usual pace, as we know; I'm just happy today wasn't the day they clicked and hammered someone, because it will happen. It's a refreshing change for it not to be against us!

No mate, I'm not, but I do recognize he has done "some" good. 😁

I am enjoying the recent resilience that the team and Dyche are displaying. Being hard to beat is a hallmark of what we need to have in our DNA.

Maybe it's taken time for Dyche to imprint his resilience into the team. Now with some proper funds for offensive players, we could start to change the other end of the pitch.

Plenty of good performances helped the team – and it's best to leave out the two really poor performances that had me screaming at my innocent iPad… but Jesus, we deserve better than watching the tripe they continually offer us.

Unbeaten in the last three when probably 99.9% of posters on here predicted a loss in each one, and we'd be sitting not so pretty in the Bottom 3!

Calvert-Lewin certainly isn't playing well but bang-average non-league player!?

Been watching much non-league recently have we?

We lack composure in the final third. Roll on January and a couple of new signings.

4 on 2 in the last minute of the game, what do they work on at Finch Farm?

On Prime, Pickford wasn't exactly showered in praise after the penalty save. Jumpy Pickford was Clive Tyldsley's expert comment, maybe a bit biased but he doesn't get the praise he deserves.

Where did 6 minutes of injury time come from, 1 injury, no goals and a few subs?

What is it with people's obsession with giving Patterson a go? Multiple managers haven't fancied him for a reason.

Looking at what's available, unless we have injuries, there is only Lindstrom or Harrison for the wide role; everyone else more or less picks themselves.

Did anyone else pick up on the commentator saying Gana was retiring?

I wouldn't mind us trying to keep hold of Mangala, he is a calming influence.

Ndiaye my MotM with a class finish.

One thing really peeing me off, every 'foul' we make, no matter how inconspicuous, seems to result in a booking – why?

Apologies for being picky but Harrison probably does amazing work but today in the 4 v 2 he should have done better. And last game at the Chavs he should have squared the ball for a tap-in. If only, eh?

Calvert-Lewin has very little to his game and his main strength is holding the ball up which he has shown very little ability to do regardless of the opposition. His touch is equal to Doucouré and neither of them are deserving of professional status. Control of the ball are basic requirements of their trade and I'd say they both fail miserably.

My eyes are not what they were but his effort is now matching his ability. That's my opinion anyway.

I'm more than happy with our result today but hopefully, with the dark cloud of Kenwright and Moshiri disappearing, we can rid ourselves of these players who simply can't play football.

Rob, results like our last 3 are exactly why I never predict defeat – anything can happen on the day.

Tony, if you're still reading, there were considerably more deer this year than I remember in the past, seemed to be several hundred in the main herd. We've done this Boxing Day walk every year since my three boys were toddlers – must be 20 years now.

Looking forward to 3 points from Forest now – I think we've turned a corner.

Still a good result. Could've been a great result but we really don't want chances falling to Harrison who'll run and defend all day but appears to have lost all attacking skills.

Pretty sure that, without the deflection, Pickford would have saved their goal and pushed it clear of the City player at the far post.

Ideally we'd have been singing “sacked in the morning” to Pep but the point will have to do and Broja looked good on a longer run out.

I agree that Calvert-Lewin's best asset is holding the ball up, certainly in the way we're set up. Some other poster claimed he was weak at it. Insane. But while his first touch is patchy, it ain't non-league. To say any Premier League player is non-league standard is clearly daft.

Doucoure's first touch, weight of pass and pass success rate are the worst I've seen from an Everton player in decades. He's an athlete, but rarely looks Premier League standard. But non-league? Come on, man!

Calvert-Lewin is a big man but rarely gets the better of any defender in the Premier League or cup games. His touch is awful and his main job of finishing is shockingly poor. He doesn't belong in the game in my opinion. Head and heart are not there.

On the other hand, we have Ndiaye who seems to relish the challenge of having opposition around him and can play football.

A breath of fresh air to all Evertonians, this kid. We need to build a team around him.

Special shout to Seamus, who looked surprisingly fresh and gave us an added dimension getting up the pitch. Ndiaye and Pickford again proving to be our saviours this season.

With Broja and Chermiti coming back, and Broja looking solid, I don't get the shouts for finding a forward in January if we were to offload Calvert-Lewin. The focus would have to be on the right wing and at fullback.

It would help to have a more dynamic attacking central midfielder, but that will have to come in time, as hopefully McNeil and Iroegbunam will have to do the job this season.

Great present our boys served up for us these last 3 matches, gives us confidence going into the New Year!

Whatever happens on Sunday, December has been our best month of the season so far. The players look fitter than earlier in the season, some are on their way back from injury, and we now have better options on the bench. We are also benefiting from a little bit of luck but no more than we are due or deserve.

With Mangala, Gana and Doucouré working effectively as a midfield trio, we are enjoying periods of greater control in games, albeit from deeper positions than most of the top teams.

Once again, in the closing stages, there were moments when our attackers lacked the composure and confidence to capitalise on counter-attacks.

Broja appears to be a decent option on the bench. Against tiring defenders, he might well be the player who can be a match winner in the weeks to come, from the bench rather than as a starter.

Sean Dyche has laid sound foundations on which to build. The players are undoubtedly giving everything to the cause. Continue in that vein and we can expect to enjoy an improved second half of the campaign.

I got pelters off a certain member for comparing Calvert-Lewin to a Blackpool donkey.

I still stand by that as, in comparison to other Premier League strikers, he's hopeless.

I understand the tactics are impacting on his game but you're right: he rarely holds the ball up because his touch is bang average at best… and he does get bullied by opposing defenders.

If nothing else, Calvert-Lewin has a great first touch. Any ball slammed into him, he can control and almost kill the ball stone dead, before laying it off for a teammate.

As for his finishing being shockingly poor, well you may be half-right, because he has missed a few chances, but given the right service, then I think he could and probably should have scored a few more.

As for his head and heart not being there, well I beg to differ. Calvert-Lewin runs his nuts off every game, though I guess that is something you can't really tell from just by watching on a little screen.

Some posters were suggesting that this tough run of fixtures was effectively an "interview" for Sean under the new owners.

If so, he's made a strong case for himself.

Another brilliant performance by Jordan Pickford.

I thought Broja looked good again. Wish he'd have fed Doucouré though on the 4 v 2 break.

Hope we can make Goodison a cauldron and get a win against Forest.

Fair play to Dyche for getting the defence organised. Just need to add a bit more pace and attacking threat.

I can still see him being let go at the end of the season though.

I can see TFG wanting a more attack-minded manager to make our football easier on the eye.

I was very worried going into this run of games about where we'd be in the table. It still doesn't look great, but a bit better than what I was expecting. I've never felt we will be relegated, but sometimes a situation, such as dropping into the drop zone, can cause clubs to panic.

If we can beat Forest (I've a sneaky feeling we will), we can hopefully start putting a bit of a points gap between us and the relegation spots.

So much to be happy about but do you mind if I end on a dark note? Harrison. That's five (it might be six) golden opportunities he has fluffed in three games. He has arguably cost us at least four points. We need to drop him off at the Rocket so he can hitch-hike back to Leeds.

Big Rob, can you round up some of the lads there and get hold of some fog machines and get yourself down to their high prefab?

He's been a good servant to this club, a bargain at £1.5M, and has suffered in the last few seasons from a complete lack of service from the wings, banging crosses into him. When he was being served, he scored. Now, he's not. It's no wonder his head is elsewhere.

But I don't think it's quite as inevitable as many ToffeeWebbers would have had us believe four games ago.

I couldn't agree more mate

I'll be pig sick when I see him scoring for a side that creates regular goal-scoring chances.

I watched his 50 goals on YouTube the other day. You wouldn't believe how many were from good crosses, crosses we're so very very short of and have been for ages.

When you sacrifice attacking, creative play for defensive solidity, your lone "attacker", not just "striker", is going to suffer.

I for one can not wait for Calvert-Lewin to go to a team that are better than us (right now) and prove he can do the business – and make the likes of me eat humble pie. I believe it will not happen.

Again today, he was one one-on-one with a Man City defender and his touch was awful – the guy is not good enough.

I don't know if Iliman Ndiaye was at risk of aggravating an injury but, as that 4 on 2 unfolded late on, I was cursing him or Lindstrøm not being the option on the right.

We played a risky game at times, with City playing over-the-top balls and Haaland splitting our defenders, plus them exploiting our full-backs, Mykolenko in particular.

Stupid tackle from the Ukrainian, but Jordan was up for it.

In both halves, we grew into it, even though Calvert-Lewin was, yet again, isolated.

What a goal from Ndiaye. Touch, hit, goal. Top drawer. My Man of the Match, which the panel on Amazon Prime agreed with.

The 4 v 2 at the end was a chance to win it, but we played the wrong pass. It should have gone left, but we opted for Harrison, who took too long and smashed it at a City defender.

Then you better start baking your “humble pie”.

With limited funds, we will do well this summer to keep hold of the core of the present squad and hopefully replace a couple in attack. That being the case, Dyche is better placed than a newcomer to manage the squad through what will be a transitional period.

I doubt he will be leaving this month. I expect he will remain in charge for the rest of this season. I would not be surprised if he is still here next season. That obviously depends on results.

Great to see Seamus back. Great player. Great character.

Well done, Blues. Happy Christmas everyone!

You got called out for making a fuck-witted comment. Which you are, holy fuck, standing by. So, I'm quite happy to call you out again.

Danny, l beg to differ a bit in that I thought up to actually unleashing his shot, it still seemed odds on we would score.

Complete lack of composure meant he hit it straight at someone instead of finding a gap to put it into.

Good draws are wonderful for morale etc but getting a win and 3 points would make such a difference. But given how few good chances we create, it means that we need a very high conversion rate which even the top teams don't achieve. It took a really good goal from Ndiaye to get us just one!

In September and October, we might have seen Forest as a possible 3 points but they are on such a run at the moment, I can only see us doing more of the same on Sunday. The majority of their goals come from attacks down the wings via Elanga and Maitland Niles so Harrison or Lindstrom and Ndiaye first priorities will be to support Mykolenko and Young and probably again when we play Bournemouth.

Will Dyche continue to play for a point a game and creep away from the relegation places? It's worked for the last 3 games but it only takes a win from Palace or Leicester to drag us back.

Can Dyche find a way to win 3 points? Recently we have played so defensively that we are hardly getting upfield to win corners. But, with McNeil missing, they have come to nothing.

It's a real problem for Dyche: Attack with 2 players and not create enough chances to win a game? Or get us further up the field and tell the wide players their first job is to create chances?
If we do that, lose the ball, get caught out on the breakaway and are 0-1.

Unfortunately, I think we all know the answer to that problem!

Someone made the point the other day, it's about service, or lack of, and, although admittedly his finishing is often quite frankly dreadful, the fact is he won't get near as many opportunities as the strikers for the top sides do.

Take Haaland as a case in point: now the supply line dries up, therefore, his goals do too obviously.

As for the Pickford detractors on here, I always thought it was absolutely ridiculous – the man has been consistently our best performer for 3 or 4 seasons now the good outweighs the bad tenfold. Proves the doubters wrong once again. Top keeper.

I don't know what you guys saw in the UK, but the NBC coverage here was an absolute fucking disgrace. Not the commentary, which was perfectly balanced, but the camera work.

Did the traveling blues not make it to Manchester? Did Sean miss the bus? You could assume so, from what we saw. After our goal, shots of City fans, sitting stone-faced. No close-ups of the traveling blues celebrating. Shots of Pep trying to encourage his team. No shots of Sean pumping his fist in the air at the equalizer. Just absolute broadcast garbage.

Regarding the penalty – no, I'm not gonna call it a PK even if it would irritate someone I don't mind irritating – Jordan certainly made a good save, but to me the unsung hero is Coleman bearding Haaland. The guy didn't look happy to begin with, and Seamus definitely got under his skin. Well done, captain!

What impressed me most about this performance was how composed everybody looked. Calm, confident, not at all nervous. Jarrad in particular was immense. It has taken him a while to get back to full form after the injury, but today he arrived.

And finally, it was great to see Patterson back on the pitch. I watched him a few times and was impressed with how alert he was, head on a swivel, constantly looking over his shoulder and adjusting his position relative to his center-backs. This is new. He has always been a conspicuous ball watcher with no clue what was going on behind him. He was totally aware. Great to see.

Now I'm going back to sleep.

Are they not “on the grass” yet? 💁🏼

It's why Carlo always said to him to stay in the box, because he knew his touch and vision when holding up the ball or running the channels is not great!

He's never looked imposing, clinical, never really bullies defences (apart from Chelsea under Dunc!).

If playing as a part of a front 3 with a decent attacking midfield behind him, where his only task is to finish stuff off, I think he may flourish. Its not this team now!

It's like asking Mykolenko to play left wing, he'd do a job, try his best, run his arse off, but he's not going to be the answer!

As I say, I think it's time for the natural parting of ways. For us to stop thinking he will be our answer and for him to get a new challenge. I'd wish him all the best!

They would both be a welcome return to the squad.

We need 40 points to guarantee safety? Maybe it will be less but 40 and there are no ifs and buts.

We need wins soon, need to start scoring and taking the chances on offer.

Oh and three great chances against Wolves would have knocked our goal difference down. Surley he will be first out of the door probably to Grimsby, followed by Mykolenko, Doucouré for starters.

And as for our passes going astray, I don't think it's the training ,I just think they need to go to Spec Savers.

Happy Christmas, everyone.

I was happy enough with a point for the Blues. Yes, we could have snatched a win in the last minute, but so could City in the previous 94 minutes. I sometimes wonder what other fans are thinking when they watch us, then I shrug my shoulders and think “Who cares? We only have one objective this season (although winning the FA Cup would be nice)!”

Another solid performance; a couple of wins between now and the start of February would help to dispel lingering doubts.

Mariners? Still struggling. 0-3 down after 70 minutes, almost turned the game on its head but lost 2-3.

Best wishes all round.

All players deserve praise both individually and team-wise; however, I thought our midfield, especially Mangala, were excellent. His link-up with Gana is improving every game.

Well done, alL!

I saw it mentioned earlier that the penalty was soft. I didn't think that at all – it was an amateurish challenge by Mykolenko and a stonewall penalty. I thought the only controversy there was that he wasn't given a second booking. Penalty fouls seem to be yellow cards 9/10 these days and that was a pretty poor one.

I had a fair bit of confidence in Pickford though. He's great in those situations. Loves the big moment.

Broja did well when he came on. I thought Calvert-Lewin did well too but there's a difference between someone with a point to prove and someone who is starting to look pretty dejected.

The reason it wasn't a yellow is because when the penalty is called, the yellow is only also given if it's also “reckless”, (which you could almost argue it was), but not for “stopping a promising attack.”

It's the reason you also don't get a red card for a penalty in which you attempt to play the ball, but are “denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity,” which is a red card if not also a penalty.

Essentially double jeopardy is the reason: you shouldn't get punished twice. If that's just outside the penalty area, it's 100% a second yellow and Mykolenko's day is done.

Doucoure and Harrison both went to Specsavers recently…

They couldn't find it! :-)

The same fella called Lukaku a lazy cunt nearly every game and that fella could finish two fish suppers. Some people will never be pleased.

Imagine if we'd lost, we'd be looking at around 300 comments by now.

Using an equine analogy... compared to a thoroughbred, he's a Blackpool Donkey.

Call me out all you want, I won't lose any sleep over it.

I go round Petworth Park with my dog, a few times a week and have noticed more deer than last year. Despite 100 being shipped out to Scotland, to start a new herd.

Tony Dunn, wildlife correspondent.

Will it be a Dinosaur next ?

Oops ! :-)

A restrained response from you. Fair play.

350 plus by this stage 8.5 hours after a defeat!

We’re not easy on the eye but we are competitive in most games!

Three wins and only15 goals after 17 games makes me think DCL isn’t the problem here.

One thing. It aint never soccer it's football. 😉

Friedkin is advised by me, a discerning observer for decades (!), as you all know of course, to have a hard think about Dyche and Thelwell.

Given the crock of financial shit in terms of the squad they inherited from the gruesome twosome they're due credit for a number of recent signings they've made and the impact several had today.

With funds, a professional owner/board, a new stadium, and a bit of luck (and everyone needs a bit of luck) D&T may be able to get us in the top half and better, but who knows?

Anyway, in this season of good will, shit and derision to everyone not a Toffee and all the best to the rest!!

So great tactics by Dyche and great effort and performance by the team.

Just remember, basically the same tactics got us a defeat at bottom of the table Southampton.

One Trick Pony.

Beware that Dyche doesn't use a version of the 'same trick' Kenwright pulled on Moshiri on TFG...Listen mate we're skint, all these draws against top teams though, we're nearly there, all I need is some investment for better players and watch me go.

3 draws against teams that have massively outspent us should be a positive shouldn't it?

We all know our problems, small squad, low quality, 9 players out of contract in the summer, overly reliant on loan players and restricted by psr despite being the only prem club with a positive net spend over the last 4 seasons, but Dyche is a one trick pony am I missing something?

Dyche's contract is up in June, my worry is he kids them into getting re-hired on the back of his one trick low block, stating the reason above.

The job he has done is genuinely incredible

I accept we should have taken more this season but we’re not in a bad position and if he can add quality to forward positions: particularly a right winger, we’ll be much much better

I think Dyche & Thelwell have earned a chance to continue & reinforce

Another tough game on Sunday and if we remain tight at the back and play Ndaiye in, three points beckons.

Hence, whilst Dyche continues to scrape out good results he is safe from the chop. His contract can run down and he can exit quietly at season end at little or no cost. Plainly, he is not the man to take us forward nor to be trusted to spend any serious money on players of his choice in January However, I do suspect that he is 1, possibly 2, poor results/performances away from the sack and that TFG have a plan B in these circumstances.

Today was a much improved performance and an excellent result. 3 points from 3 games where many of us would have expected little or nothing. However, the next couple of games may be seen as a truer test of Dyche's competence and the resolve of TFG.

My bad! Football. Just excited we’ve stayed away from wretched relegation, and have some promise… just want more attack! In the future maybe.

Not a PL player.