Everton's 0-0 draw against West Brom in the Premier League has been shrouded by one talking point - the missed penalty by Kevin Mirallas. Mirallas' decision to take the spot-kick instead of regular taker Leighton Baines has been largely condemned with the likes of Gary Neville slamming the incident as a 'despicable breach of team orders.' Despite the incident Everton fan and 90min.com blogger Gary Stevens insists the Belgian international mustn't be blasted for his miss as he is an integral part of the team. Let's not beat around the bush - it's been a grim season so far. We spent nearly £30m on a striker who keeps forgetting how to score and most of the team have gone from giving 110 per cent to 25 per cent overnight. But there are still a couple of players who, when you turn up at Goodison, you know you're going to see them give everything they've got - and then a little more. You can rely on Leighton Baines, you can rely on Steven Naismith and you can always, always rely on Kevin Mirallas. There's been a lot made of his Monday night penalty cock-up and while it's true that he made a mistake, there's no doubt that he did what he thought was best for the team. He was wrong, it turned out, but surely you'd rather have somebody who's willing to stand up and be counted when he thinks his team needs it than someone who'd hide away at the first sign of a challenge? Kevin Mirallas missed a penalty as Everton drew 0-0 against West Brom at Goodison Park on Monday . Mirallas (second left) demanded to take a penalty, despite Leighton Baines (left) being the regular specialist . The Belgian dragged his penalty wide of Ben Foster's goal as the game remained goalless just before half-time . Mirallas watches his penalty clip the outside of the post beyond the outstretched arm of Foster . He's not been at the club for a long time in the grand scheme of things - only two and a half years - but his gutsy performances on the pitch and his attitude off it show just how much he's taken the club, the fans and his team-mates into his heart and the least we can do is pay that back in kind. Of course, it isn't just his love of the club that makes us want to keep Big Kev around. If it were that simple, Leon Osman would be the most popular man in the blue half of Merseyside. No, we also need to keep him around because he's one of the best wide men in the league. He's not necessarily the most skilful - although his assist against West Ham showed that he's hardly lacking in that area - but there's no ball too far away to chase down and the words 'lost cause' don't appear in his French-to-English dictionary. There's very little that he can't do, and he's always up for the fight. Mirallas scored a sublime free-kick for the Toffees in their FA Cup third round replay at West Ham . Hammers goalkeeper was a mere spectator as the ball flew past him at Upton Park after Mirallas' effort . It's make or break time now though, as he's admitted that it's 'difficult' not to have won a trophy at the club and has hinted that improvements will have to be made for him to stick around. If he is sold with 12 months left on his contract in the summer, it will be just about the biggest loss possible. Few other players in the league, let alone the club, have his ability to create a moment of magic from nothing, or to recover a lost cause with his now signature tenacity and determination. We need Kevin Mirallas. We have to hope that he needs us too. Mirallas will be in his final 12 months of his current Everton contract at the end of this season . For more fan views and to join the conversation, go to www.90min.com.
Everton drew 0-0 at home to West Brom in the Premier League on Monday .
Kevin Mirallas controversially took and missed a penalty for the Toffees .
Belgian international has less than 18 months to run on his current deal .
Everton's 0-0 draw against West Brom in the Premier League has been shrouded by one talking point - the missed penalty by Kevin Mirallas. Mirallas' decision to take the spot-kick instead of regular taker Leighton Baines has been largely condemned with the likes of Gary Neville slamming the incident as a 'despicable breach of team orders.' Despite the incident Everton fan and 90min.com blogger Gary Stevens insists the Belgian international mustn't be blasted for his miss as he is an integral part of the team. Let's not beat around the bush - it's been a grim season so far. We spent nearly £30m on a striker who keeps forgetting how to score and most of the team have gone from giving 110 per cent to 25 per cent overnight. But there are still a couple of players who, when you turn up at Goodison, you know you're going to see them give everything they've got - and then a little more. You can rely on Leighton Baines, you can rely on Steven Naismith and you can always, always rely on Kevin Mirallas. There's been a lot made of his Monday night penalty cock-up and while it's true that he made a mistake, there's no doubt that he did what he thought was best for the team. He was wrong, it turned out, but surely you'd rather have somebody who's willing to stand up and be counted when he thinks his team needs it than someone who'd hide away at the first sign of a challenge? Kevin Mirallas missed a penalty as Everton drew 0-0 against West Brom at Goodison Park on Monday . Mirallas (second left) demanded to take a penalty, despite Leighton Baines (left) being the regular specialist . The Belgian dragged his penalty wide of Ben Foster's goal as the game remained goalless just before half-time . Mirallas watches his penalty clip the outside of the post beyond the outstretched arm of Foster . He's not been at the club for a long time in the grand scheme of things - only two and a half years - but his gutsy performances on the pitch and his attitude off it show just how much he's taken the club, the fans and his team-mates into his heart and the least we can do is pay that back in kind. Of course, it isn't just his love of the club that makes us want to keep Big Kev around. If it were that simple, Leon Osman would be the most popular man in the blue half of Merseyside. No, we also need to keep him around because he's one of the best wide men in the league. He's not necessarily the most skilful - although his assist against West Ham showed that he's hardly lacking in that area - but there's no ball too far away to chase down and the words 'lost cause' don't appear in his French-to-English dictionary. There's very little that he can't do, and he's always up for the fight. Mirallas scored a sublime free-kick for the Toffees in their FA Cup third round replay at West Ham . Hammers goalkeeper was a mere spectator as the ball flew past him at Upton Park after Mirallas' effort . It's make or break time now though, as he's admitted that it's 'difficult' not to have won a trophy at the club and has hinted that improvements will have to be made for him to stick around. If he is sold with 12 months left on his contract in the summer, it will be just about the biggest loss possible. Few other players in the league, let alone the club, have his ability to create a moment of magic from nothing, or to recover a lost cause with his now signature tenacity and determination. We need Kevin Mirallas. We have to hope that he needs us too. Mirallas will be in his final 12 months of his current Everton contract at the end of this season . For more fan views and to join the conversation, go to www.90min.com.
Everton's 0-0 draw against West Brom in the Premier League has been shrouded by one talking Belgian international mustn't be blasted for his Kevin Mirallas missed a penalty as Everton drew 0-0 against West Brom at Goodison Park on Monday