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I don't think Oviedo deserves to be dropped, I understand the situation with Baines but Oviedo has been great.

I hope he isn't going to be out as long as Jags. Apparently he pulled a hamstring in the last game.

Makes reinforcements this month even more important.

Hahaha — just as I slag Mirallas off, he smacks the bar... you need to do that more often Kev because that's what frustrates fans; we know you can do it...

Pienaar needs to really take more care with his final ball, if ever a player flatters to deceive too often, it's him; he should have at least 8-9 goals in him a season but never ever does it.

I trust Roberto and we got a point, which was probably all we would have had even if Jags and Distin had been in.

My worry is that;

1) The squad is far too small to challenge for top 4, as today shows;

2) We need to give Barkley a rest, he's only 20 and we are relying on him far too much.

Well done to the team for keeping going and getting a point. Now we need Spurs and Man Utd to draw to end the day on a positive note.

Agree on resting RB a bit here and there but there will be those who will question RM wisdom of not starting RB. FA Cup game coming in quite timely in that regards.

MU draw would suit us well. rs plays Stoke after the FA Cup break. Chance to retake 4th place then with Norwich at home!

The penalty was deserved and well dispatched by Baines, who never lets us down when we need him most.

This game is a clear indication that we need new additions, and I'm sure Roberto feels the same.

1 point off 4th, 7 points off top. I'd have taken that if offered in June when Martinez was appointed.

Spurs and Man U to come, a draw would be good in that match.

We're still in the fight, we'll make a good fist of it. Even if the doom squad keep saying, top 4 is not over and we will still be there come May.

COYB, lets progress in the FA Cup next week, dispatch Norwich and take it from there.

We were unlucky not to score before the penno, but we played like all the top teams when they go behind, you just knew a goal was coming.

A draw is not the end of the world at Stoke. 1 point off 4th.

We have to take into account the number of changes throughout the "fairy light period" and we really have had a bunch.

I already think that we actually look better 2014, because Alcaraz. Robles & Stones have stood up with starts.

Also, BIG STYLE credit to Bainesy. Possibly the coolest man in the Prem: a month away with a broken toe, then steps up to bury an away New Year's Day penalty.

Bainesy!

Things weren't going for us today. It was looking like the goal would never come but there was never any dropping of heads or thoughts of chalking it off as just 'one of those days'. That determination to keep going right until the death is the one positive to be taken from today's game. That and the fact Stones acquitted himself admirably after being thrown in at the deep end.

Our positivity and psychology were brilliant. The Sunderland result was fucking awful to have to swallow but the performance, even when down to ten men was superb. It was the same again today, our heads didn't drop and we kept playing to the final whistle. This is a very positive change compared to previous seasons.

Injuries and squad rotation haven't slowed us down. Alcaraz has played well in his two games and by the sounds of it Stones was alright today.

Newcastle and Southampton both lost today. Man Utd and/or Spurs will lose points also. While this may not seem like much consolation considering we are out of the CL places, I am more than happy to be comfortably in 5th at this stage of the season. If I am honest, we are doing much better than I thought we were going to. I really don't give a fuck if the RS are above us. They are several seasons ahead of us in terms of development and have had a shit load more cash to spend.

We have a cup game next weekend then we are back to one game a week. We will be able to take a breather and recharge the batteries.

Alcaraz and Stones did well otherwise. Coleman is a bit subdued today, probably because of the new back two and Stoke being as thick as they are in defence. The team did well but nothing to show for except the penalty, which almost never came if not for that horrible sub by Hughes.

Great push all the way to the end. Hopefully, that determination will get us to the promised land this season!

No doubt he's infuriating but, to my mind, Mirallas is not a natural wide player. He's a striker who is being played out wide and I think, a lot of times, that accounts for his selfish streak when he sniffs a chance to get in on goal.

The conditions did not help our style of play and, with the injuries and one or two players not in their best form at the moment, I am not unhappy at a draw. Certainly we are down to our bare bones now and the bench is not strong. We really miss Gerard from the bench and a couple of decent reinforcements are needed to beef us up again.

Well done, John Stones in what was a nasty game to make his full debut,and what a good player Rock is looking – we can see why RM was so quick to bring him in, and on a free too!!!

The FA Cup comes as a welcome opportunity to give a couple of players a rest, and hopefully we can conduct any transfer business early this month.

It's all still to play for – 2 defeats out of the first 20 games!

Deulofeu's injury has come as the worst possible time. We really needed him against Sunderland and today. Whatever happens, we will be 5th by the time the Norwich game comes around.

It wouldn't bother me if Martinez played a reserve/weakened side against QPR; we need to put everything into finishing 4th this year or the sniffer dogs will be out in force looking to prize Barkley, Coleman and Baines away this summer.

Problem at the moment is the bus is being parked by those below Soton. No space for us to break into like the winner against them. Sometimes you can have too much possession.

Eleven victories from our remaining 18 fixtures will put us over the 70-point mark – if we achieve that then fantastic but the top 3 look as though they are making a break for it and keep on winning... 4th however, difficult but still possible.

Lukaku is starting to piss me off, the way he has been playing this last month or so I wouldn't pay £5m for him. His first touch is terrible, he is static, hasn't won a header in weeks and is pushed off the ball with ease. He was brilliant when he first came but Mourinho was right to loan him out, he looks a long way off being able to play every week for a team in the CL with genuine title hopes.

The one player I now have no time for is Pienaar. He has been shite for so long now that he can no longer be considered a good player. He never gets in the box, hardly ever runs with the ball or plays forward passes. He slows everything down and must be the only winger in the league that never puts a cross into the box. He is probably our biggest earner, if he was one of the lowest earners in the team we still wouldn't be getting value for money yet he seems untouchable. Martinez plays him every week and he hardly ever gets slagged off on here.

Patrick @970, I would think that ten to eleven wins is achievable. We will need to do well in the transfer window but I think we are only one or two players away from the seventy point mark.

It was a really tough game to play against these lot today with both our centre halves missing. Alcaraz and Stones done fantastic but I think both newbies being in the team also stopped either Barry or McCarthy getting forward as much as in recent games. I also think Barry had his worst game for us as well as Baines being pretty awful.

It was never going to be pretty with the shite weather and, well, playing Stoke. Horrible team. Still, we got a result and it was nice to see the whipping boy win us our penalty.

It was always going to be hard away at Deliverance-ville but an away point along with not much luck on the day, was as much as we would have taken before the kick off.

There’s defo been a change imho since Del-boy became injured. We seem to have lost that certain swagger. Anyway, it’s nice to be "hovering" around the top 4 and another run put together at some point in the near future will really upset the meeja.

Fair play to them though, they defended really well, and Shawcross was man of the match by a mile.

With our performance, thought Stones and Alcaraz were really good. Barry a little below par, Mirallas, Pienaar and Lukaku offered very little. But not that concerned. On to QPR!

If we can maintain enough momentum to finish anywhere in the top six, I think next season could be very exciting. Then again, there is still half of this one left.

Interesting to see we had 5 quality forwards involved against Arsenal ten years ago - Rooney, Campbell, Radzinski, Ferguson and Jeffers. On paper, it's arguable we were better off then for forwards than now, although we finished 17th ten years ago and were for the most part pretty impotent up front. Just shows that football isn't played on paper!

Today even though it was the same result we came and played football, were by far the better team and on another day would have got the three points we deserved.

Also Roberto's handling of Osman was the sign of a good manager. He effectively costs us the game at Sunderland through a mistake. Some on here were suggesting that should be the end of his Everton career. What does Roberto do, he gives him the captain's armband. Today we got the reward for that piece of man management. He comes on and changes the game.

Onwards and upwards!

There is no doubt that the rest of the season will now depend on part on our transfer window. If the squad stays at is then I suspect fatigue and injuries will likely see us float around the 6th/7th spot (which is no mean feat) but if we are able to bring in 2 or 3 players who really add something to the first team then we might be able to keep up the challenge for the game changing CL. Over to you bill and Bob.

Nevertheless, great spirit shown by our blue lads today; some might be less or more good from week to week, but all of can be proud to support a group of players who have on the whole (season to date) played above what most of us thought them capable of at the start of the season. NSNO!

Being realistic we've done well to get ourselves into this position but the depth and quality of the squad just isn't there to cope with injuries and lack of form. We've seen before what a good January can do not only is it more options it's competition for places.

Rumours doing rounds McGeady is a cert. and a forward from Valencia, fingers crossed!

Expectations have been set by how well we've done so far, and we should expect better.

Next four games are Norwich away, home to West Brom, Away to RS, Home to Villa.

We should reasonably expect 10 from 12 points out of that. I'd even take 9. Anything less than 9 would see a CL spot very tough to attain.

I hope BK doesn't wait to splash the cash until the end of January as we need an attacking boost right now. Norwich and Villa at home, WBA and Dark Side away surely?

How desperate were we for a player like Deulofeu this afternoon to really run at the heart of their defence and create chaos in the 18 yard box? Ossie did what he could when he came on and drew the challenge for the penalty, but Ross Barkley didn't seem able to show his brilliance frequently or consistently enough. Looking at the subs bench after they scored did not really engender a great deal of confidence that the game could be rescued by anything more than dogged persistence and the hope that someone would rise to the occasion. Anyone know why Oviedo wasn't used today (especially as I thought he had a godd chance of being a starter either at left back or left midfield)?

Considering the way they have played recently and the drubbing we gave them at Goodison not very long ago, anything less than 3 points today has to be viewed as disappointing, compounding the 3 points lost on Thursday. Someone suggested recently that our squad was already robust enough; I disagreed then and I still do. Unless we can add some better alternatives for when our numbers are depleted or if players are just not firing on all cylinders, then it seems unlikely that this season will give us European qualification or the FA Cup.

Just what I was thinking!!

Si, on this night, I have to cede that we need some reinforcements. Maybe the goals against Southampton are wee luckier than I thought. However, the display today is still excellent.

I feel that we need a winger more than a striker, as many crosses have been more hopeful than not. Deulofeu is sorely missed. Where are we on McGeady?

We don't have a pile of cash and are unlikely to have a pile of cash in the future unless we sell Baines and Barkley. The BK chickens are beginning to come home to roost and depending on what happens in the next couple of windows we were always likely to fall off the pace this season, that we haven't yet is testament to good management by Roberto, but he will have his work cut out to maintain those levels for the next 18 months.

So... will he stick or twist? It will be an interesting team selection.

So let's enjoy what we have and stop hankering after a status beyond our reach. Europa League is a total wash-out and should be avoided but another sixth place on the back of great football would be an excellent performance with which we should be satisfied.

And there's always the Cup!

The School ofScience is back.

I see football that is played the proper way, on the ground, which in time, will evolve to our national team .

You are one miserable bastard, maybe your lack of optimism is just a self defense mechanism. But really ’seventhish’ why would you bother?
You are watching football on the front foot for the first time in a long time. Maybe we won’t get a Top 4 finish but maybe we might just. Other than City who I think will win the league no-one has dominated us.... When do you last remember that?
This is not about taking sides, Moyes must take some credit for assembling most of this squad but we are making progress.
And given the players coming through with plenty of years to come like
Coleman, Oviedo, Stones, Barkley et al the future is pretty bright

Unlike so many, I shall regard a sixth place finish as a good job done by the Little Spaniard just as I did when the Scotsman did it.

We then took 30 points from the last 18 fixtures and ended up with 63 points a similar return from our remaining games will see us with 68 points at the end of the season.

At least I'm prepared for 'seventhish ' and if accompanied by good football will celebrate it !

Stones and Alcaraz both impressed given they were a virgin pair. The goal was not Stones fault- there should have been a DM sweeping on the edge of the box.

Don't know why people thought Barkley was average. He's not a miracle worker but he still looked our most penetrative player. He's nothing like as good pushed into a more defensive midfield role, as he was later in the game.

Lukaku was again mediocre up front. He can look very clumsy, the ball pinging off his feet. We may need to look at another option there, if only to give him a break. I have said for a while, I think Mirallas could do a job there (again he was annoyingly intermittent but presents a threat in a way that e.g Naismith simply cannot). Might be wishful thinking but I sense Jelly might be about to break his duck and definitely he should start the cup game.

Credit to Ossie who could well be out supersub for 2014. Or is that Delboy? Could do with him back asap because one thing is for sure, McGeady is certainly no substitute for him...

You're not a supporter are you?

No real supporter would be say that or be happy with that.

Otherwise let the RS have it.

Oh and we all should be ringing the bloody phone-in’s to let them know what we think.

I am hoping it is a slight injury / precaution because little else makes sense to me. He can't be tired and he has been contributing more than some of those who were used today.

My (remote) worries would be that some are getting game time just to put them in the shop window or that he has made waves because he is unhappy at being dropped (it is important for him to get as much game time as possible this year as well). Do we really know that he has settled in England or that he is happy with his personal development at Everton?

Stoke were NEVER going to be a lie-down 3pts were they ?

Bainsey was coolness personfied and buried he pen when all odds were against him

TBH the outcome was disappointing
BUT
The circumstances really were'nt ideal, were they ?

Howard back after a suspension
Stones PL debut
Alcaraz 2nd EFC PL game alongside a 19 yr old debutant
Baines only 2nd game back after a moths layoff
Barry back after a 1 game suzzy

So basically a "disrupted" defensive back 5 ? ? ?

A point away against a side we deeply wounded recently
AND we really were the best side

Wake up lads n lasses, THESE are the BIG points in the season

Not so worried about him possibly being cheesed off now, though I am a little surprised he wasn't put on to give us a more attacking dimension at some stage. Would have chosen him instead of Naismith (who does put effort in but seems less effective to me).

I agree that Oviedo should have gotten a shot at Stoke today, though it would be difficult to take off Bainaar. Might have been better off putting him up straight at half time on Coleman's side and attack both directions but I think RM preferred Mirallas on and he's on that side.

Tough choice. Take off the guy that hit the wood 2x or bring on guys to help him take more shots...No winner here either way. Glad we have a point.

Actually, he makes sense if you don't read his posts

I can, in that sense, understand your being happy with your "plucky little Everton"...

Not for me though.

She was clearly under the impression he was playing.

(By the way, she confirmed herself who she was.)

The moment when Jelli missed the penalty has to be the most bittersweet moment of the year. I felt so bad but laughed my ass off when the commentators went, "Oh no". Anyway, onwards we march and Roberto's rotation magic stays strong.

COYB!