Pickford plays hero again as Everton earn another valuable point

I remain convinced he is one of the best shot-stoppers on the planet.

Obviously the true stat would be penalties faced.

Jordan's stats are amazing in a team struggling at the bottom, year-in & year-out. I hope we tie him down to a long contract, he's kept us in the Premier League.

The team has a handful of quality players who could be the spine of a fantastic team if better quality players can be brought in.

Harrison, whilst he's done a job for us, just is not good enough. His final effort was terrible when we overloaded City's defence. He had to do better.

Trophies and a better league position would be a bonus, and I don't think that we are far off that ambition with new ownership.

Just a shame that we can't get more potent attacking talent to match Ndiaye.

Michael Kenrick: “Another top draw thanks to Pickford's penalty save”

Didn't Ndiaye play and score that goal that also helped us to get that draw?

Not to mention Malanga, Tarkowski, Gueye and Branthwaite. I don't begrudge Pickford being in line for MotM but he helped the team gain a point — he didn't do it on his own!

Absolutely spot on but I think the sentiment is that, had the penalty gone in (I'm one of the few people that thought it was soft: Savinho was already on his way down), then it'd have been another hard luck story

There's so much more about this team now and Dyche deserves huge credit. We do need to reinforce in attacking areas – particularly right wing where Harrison is next to useless.

If we could give Dyche some proper reinforcements to help, I think we'd see a difference.

It would be interesting to hear your view of why you don't think it was a penalty, mate?

Fair enough, and you were honest enough to admit you were one of the few who thought it was a soft penalty.

I've got to be honest myself, I don't rate Mylolenko so there is a bit, or more, of bias in my thinking that it was a very rash tackle considering where it took place and he kicks him right on the knee as he follows through.

I don't think there was any need for VAR.

Nothing wrong with this, especially in the modern game, but I personally thought he slipped before he got tackled because he's overstretching, and this is why I'm not always sure what is and isn't a penalty nowadays because a lot of today's decisions, especially when they've been rerun a few times, can be so subjective.

You couldn't argue with the decision but it's something that I feel that a different VAR might sometimes interpret differently.

Not taking the piss mate but I think, after watching it three or four times, that the only thing getting stretched is your imagination!

On second thoughts, I was taking the piss, sorry about that.

Last season, he was a lockdown defender, pretty much unbeatable off the dribble.

This season year he's been visibly slower, which shouldn't happen at 25, and much easier to beat. And he's been caught egregiously out of position on a couple of game-losing goals.

Harrison was always going to look at his feet, control the ball and then check inside. Must be the easiest player to defend against in the top flight.

I went back and looked at the incident a couple of times and he defo played for the penalty, looking for it I think is the term I'd use. But, as football is now a contactless sport, Hooper, who was as biased a ref I have seen all year, was always going to give it.

There was always only one outcome, play acting winger, full back who was being laced all day, and a ref eager to please the home team. Yep, job done, Mr Hooper, go back to Seasame Street, you Muppet.

Hooper's blatant bias was clearly one of the most embarrassingly obvious I have seen for some time. Brandishing yellow cards each time a City player faked yet another tumble.

As for the penalty, if you look, the player had lost his footing. His foot sinks into the turf causing him to slip, then when already halfway down, in comes a hapless Mykolenko waving a leg that doesn't connect by his movement, in fact it is clearly the other way around.

Pause that. Reverse the situation to the City box and there is not a chance in the world we get a penalty.

With the lies of Webb supporting the disgusting Calvert-Lewin hack-down which was not given, but absurdly presented as Calvert-Lewin's fault, still ringing untruly in my ears, there was never a doubt it would be given.

He said what?????

Harrison was always going to control it, and then come onto his favoured left foot. I'm not sure what the other two would have done with it though.

I think we've got a problem as our very few better players don't trust the likes of Mykolenko, Doucoure, Harrison and are reluctant to pass to them. Ndiaye especially doesn't trust Mykolenko or Doucoure, and sometimes tries to do too much on his own.

Yes, that “Twenty yards earlier” makes a big difference to what might have been!

You're gonna challenge the concept of 'The Headline'? You want to see a full match description instead of pinning it on what is arguably one of the more important moments of the match?

And not an everyday occurrence either. Pickford has saved eight penalties in as many years. Don't you think that might warrant a mention perhaps, especially as it preserves the draw that had been hard won at that point?

Yes, it was a fine goal by Ndiaye (get his name right, for fuck's sake!) but it would have meant next to nothing if Pickford had not saved that penalty.

And at that point in the game, it was all down to Pickford. With a sly and sneaky contribution from Coleman that would have required a paragraph and a half to summarize.

Show some blooming gratitude that we give you the headlines straight and not like that maddening clickbait shite that seems all the vogue on the NewsNow feed.

Dave, a penalty save is much less common than a goal being scored.
The headline almost writes itself mate.

Bit unfair on the Grinch...

However, I stand by the point, which is that nobody has ever seen DCL rip a really great shot like we've seen from even non-strikers like Keane and Dwight and Townsend. The top corner is alien territory to Dom. Even the kind of side-netting outside-of-the-foot drive like Ndiaye pulled off yesterday is totally beyond his abilities. Hell, Gana's swerving shot off the underside of the crossbar a few weeks ago is something Dom could never even dream of trying.

As I said on the other thread, Dom can do lots of fine things on a football pitch. Taking a powerful shot is not one of them.

You posted "but he has never in his career scored a great goal."

I still disagree.

And you now reduce things to 'taking a powerful shot'! That's a wiggle. Powerful headers, apparently, are not 'great goals'.

I find it very perplexing (and unlike you) that you actually have a pop at people for responding to tell you erm you're wrong. And you simply push to one side all the examples and links others have given you to show you how wrong you are. And remember what me and others have said about the 'occasion'?

And why insult good people by claiming they are in a 'meltdown' or losing their shit. That, too, is bollocks Mike. Your original mistake hardly merits any definition of 'meltdown' that I am familiar with.

I wish it could Christmas everyday…. Seriously I couldn’t think of anything fuckin worse!!

“Fantastic Ndiaye goal supplements penalty save by Everton’s goalkeeper “

At post #38 you can see a fine example of "losing their shit"... over one word. "Goal" instead of "strike".

Clearly and obviously my point was that Dom cannot shoot a football. He has scored great goals, all but one with his head. The Arsenal bike was the only great goal I've ever seen him score with his foot.

If you've got another nominee, shoot me a link. I didn't see one in the 50.

But clearly not 'too heavily' that we could not spot a wrong statement about DCL. But, in your words, we were and therefore could not understand the superior subtlety of your more erudite post.

The problem might be that probably like me we have not had a drink today and yep the post is wrong.

Can you? What's the best shot you've ever seen him hit? If anybody can show me even one example that remotely looks like Keane against Chelsea or McNeil against Palace or even Ndiaye yesterday, I'll happily eat my words.

In the meantime I'll have lunch to ward off starvation.